Fall from above [OPEN]

[kaleb]

each step you take makes it easier for you to fall
on your face, each tear you fake makes it easier
T O S E E S T R A I G H T T H R O U G H Y O U !
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All the times Kaleb had spent trying to impress his father, and in doing so, he’d lost himself in the person he presented to the world. He’d diminished his own personality to become someone that his father ended up ignoring anyway. It was just his luck that he would go to such lengths to become someone he hated, just for the sake of his father, who didn’t care anyway. And now all that had crumbled and fallen. He’d rebuilt himself as a dependant wreck, craving Zane’s attention. And then he lost that too. Not so much lost, as he’d never really had Zane’s love, like he thought he had. No, Zane had tricked him into this little game, and thanks to Vicky, Kaleb had gotten out. But he was broken, left with a lack of confidence that he’d depended on before.

And then Kamil had been there to pick up the pieces, one by one. And there were a lot too, as he’d lost himself first, for his father, and then remade himself for Zane. He didn’t know if he’d ever been himself properly before he was released from Zane’s games. He’d locked himself away in the dormitory, and the Slytherin common room when ever he could get away with it. Leaving only for lessons and to get food, he enjoyed the silence, and the chance to cry it all out. And here he was now, in his grey pyjama bottoms, his bare chest, pale white from the cold. He was spread out on the sofa of the common room, no one else was there to bother him, as they were out there with their friends, oblivious to what had gone on with a stupid teacher.

Kaleb realised that the sofa he was lying on was the one that Kai and he had first kissed on. The emotions that he’d felt then, one’s of friendship, something more than that, lust. That was it, he was lusting after his best friend then, but he’d felt guilty, guilty because the stupid pervert had made Kaleb think that they would be together forever, that they were in love. Some may call that pathetic, that Kaleb had believed such nonsense. The irony was that what Zane had made him feel was basically what Kaleb had promised to all those girls, just to get them into bed with him. And he’d fallen for the same old lines that he’d used on them. And even worse, it had been him who had kissed Zane. It was he who was the initiator of their whole affair. It was his fault that he’d fell into the sick little games.

Kaleb ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. His eyes were red, and he looked a wreck. He’d been having dreams recently. Not dreams, nightmares. He’d dreamt that Zane was hurting Kai, and he’d woken up shaking, and crying Kai’s name into the pillow. He had to be careful, as Kai shared a house with him, and he didn’t know how Kai would take it if Kaleb was screaming his name in the dead of night. It wouldn’t sound particularly good to be honest! But he swore to himself that he would never let Zane look at Kai, let alone talk to him, about him or anything else to do with Kai. And if that meant he had to follow Kai around like a stalker when he was anywhere near Zane and his classroom. Kaleb didn’t know what he would say if anyone walked in and saw him like that, but he had been the ghost of himself recently, walking around and not caring what people thought. And right now he didn’t care now, either.

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Hola! This lovely thread is Open, so feel free to reply! I want to say thanks for reading this! It counts at 620 words! So you know, this kid's wearing Clothes (described). Credit for the template goes to moi, aka Emma! And The lyrics are borrowed from the awesome song, Throwing Punches by Paramore. Oh, and before you go, you should know; My poor baby!!

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[hanariyo]

Dinner had been fabulous.

That was the sole thought going through Anemone's mind as she practically skipped back from the great hall to the Slytherin common room. If she wasn't as dignified as she had let others believed she would've twirled around a bit and hummed happily as well. Unfortunately, she was still in control of some of her brain.

Why was she so happy? Well, to be honest, Anemone was a little embarrassed to admit it. She was just so damned happy. She had had a wonderful day, topping off a wonderful week. All her assignments had been handed in or completed. All her friends were happy (it was rare that there wasn't at least one drama or disagreement brewing between them), and she had her favorite dessert tonight. Tomorrow was the Hogsmeade weekend and she was just dying for some sweets and a butterbeer. She was a girl of simple pleasures.

Feeling like the queen of the world, Anemone slipped into the Slytherin common room. Unfortunately, the sight before her caused the happy tune she had been humming to die on her lips. "What are you doing here?" Shouldn't he be...well, where would he be, actually? Anemone didn't know Kaleb very well and although she tried to keep their relationship as agreeable as possible, she would much rather have someone else in their common room. The irritating sixth year was sprawled across one of the comfiest sofas in the common room, and by the looks of it, he was not planning to move any time soon. Anemone rolled her eyes, there went her plans to stay in the common room and catch up on some reading.

After a closer look, Anemone realized he wasn't dressed. She flushed in embarrassment and an uncomfortable sensation passed through her stomach - most likely killing the pleasant feeling of a full dinner in the process. "And put on a shirt, Garcia!" She snapped with averted eyes. It was way too cold to be half-naked. The nerve of some boys! "You're going to catch something." She said reproachfully, making her way past the sofa, and him in general.

It was only when she was almost by her dorm room when she turned around to look at him. He looked pretty out of it. Although they weren't close, she had noticed that he looked like he had received a kiss from a dementor recently. He certainly acted like he had no happiness. Anemone had to make a choice: she could either slip into her dorm and read in there, or talk to the prat. She sighed, and with one last longing glance at her dorm, she made her way to the couch and sat down by the foot of it. "Are you alright, Garcia?"

She half-expected him to snap at her and was ready to recoil (and possibly, reach for her wand). If he did that, she knew exactly what she was going to do. She was going to give him a good ol' bat bogey and then storm off to her dorm like she should have done and try to salvage her good mood. If he actually talked...well, then she'll be there to listen...and receive a few insults. After all, no conversation between the two lacked insults. "Garcia?"

[kaleb]

each step you take makes it easier for you to fall
on your face, each tear you fake makes it easier
T O S E E S T R A I G H T T H R O U G H Y O U !
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Kaleb’s ears didn’t register for a moment, the voice that had floated by him. He was in his own little bubble, running the same thought over and over in his head. Why? why had Zane hurt him so much? why had Zane chosen him? Was it because Kaleb had been a little git in his lesson? Was that it? Did Zane hate him enough because of that to want to break Kaleb into little bitty pieces that were hardly recognisable anymore? He hadn’t really done much, if his memory served him correctly. He’d probably insulted Zane’s teaching style, and inability to control his class, but he hadn’t really said anything mean. He’d just spoken the truth, as Zane couldn’t control his class. Okay, so his teaching style wasn’t half bad. He wondered who they’d have in as a replacement for Zane. He hoped it was someone less likely to screw him over at least.

His brain registered at last that there was someone in the room, and they had asked him a question. His eyes moved up for a second to allow himself a look at who it was, and Anemone was stood there, eying him somewhat reproachfully. ”Whatever I want, it’s a free castle. Besides, I thought it would be slightly obvious what I was doing considering you can clearly see it. I’m sitting on a sofa.”

[/color] Kaleb said sarcastically, casting his eyes down and hoping that she didn’t notice his bright red eyes. What was he thinking, staying down here? Idiot. He’d lost his mind in the process, he supposed. He snorted a little when she said to put on a shirt. ”What, does my half nakedness offend you?”[/color] He asked, again keeping his eyes low. It looked as if she was about to go, and he let out a low sigh of relief. He could go then, upstairs where no one would bother him. When she warned he would catch something, he laughed bitterly again. ”What, like a cold? A cold is Childs play. I can handle a cold.”[/color] He said with a semi-confident smirk. He was sure that if he could survive this…heartbreak, a common cold would be no trouble!

But the remainder of Kaleb’s heart skipped a beat when she asked after his health. ”Do you honestly care if I am?”[/color] He said rather rudely, but then sighed, and continued. ”Look, I’m sorry, that was rude of me, you were being polite. Define alright?”[/color] Kaleb said, with another sigh. What did alright mean anyway? Did she expect him to lie and then she could go and be happy that she at least asked. But he couldn’t really lie any more, so he was going to skirt around the issue and just conceal all his pain and the secrets that way. She said his name again. His last name, not his first. ”Kaleb. I’m breathing, I’m living, in some sense. So I guess I am alright if that was what you wanted to know.”[/color] He said, slipping further into the couch and avoiding her eyes for a moment. He glanced up for a second and then moved his eyes back down again. Merlin he must look a mess!
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Hola! This lovely thread is for Anemone! I want to say thanks for reading this! It counts at 533 words! So you know, this kid's wearing Clothes (described). Credit for the template goes to moi, aka Emma! And The lyrics are borrowed from the awesome song, Throwing Punches by Paramore. Oh, and before you go, you should know; My poor baby!! Thank you for replying (:

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[hanariyo]

Honestly, why had she even bother trying to be nice? This was exactly what she got for trying to be a nice Hufflepuff. She had been sincerely worried that he would catch something and instead of understanding and (hopefully) putting on a shirt, he had snapped at her. Fine, she had decided. Something must have been in the dinner for instead of walking away like she normally would have, she was sitting by him and being even more concerned, more involved. What was the saying her father had told her? What was it? Oh yeah, the good guy always finishes last.

She had zoned out when he started giving her the tough guy spiel. A cold can't kill him but it'll make him downright miserable! When she finally came to, he had just asked her a question. "I care." She said lowly, maybe he didn't even hear her. Hopefully, he didn't hear since she didn't sound very convinced herself, but instead of commenting on her hesitance, he continued to speak. And to her greatest shock, he had apologized. He even admitted to being rude. That was something new from the most Slytherin of Slytherins. "Alright..." What a strange question. How the hell could she definite alright? All she could think of were synonyms: okay, fine, content, healthy, satisfied....

He was speaking again, without letting her figure out an adequate definition for him. If he didn't honestly look and sound like shit, she would've snapped at him. But since he was in the mood to play nice, Anemone decided she should behave as well. Perhaps this conversation wouldn't ruin her good mood at all. "Kaleb," She said with emphasis on his first name, "Just because you're alive doesn't mean you're alright." She smiled grimly and shifted on the couch. She was careful not to touch or brush up against any part of him. Just because they were suddenly on first name basis didn't mean they were any closer. "I'm not stupid. If you don't want to talk that's fine. You can even change the topic...like you were doing just now. However, it would do you some good to get out more." It wasn't killing her to say it, surprisingly, it was easy. Perhaps she did give a flying crap about him - just a little bit, even if he is a pain in her neck most of the time. " There's a Hogsmeade week end coming up, you should really consider going."

[kaleb]

each step you take makes it easier for you to fall
on your face, each tear you fake makes it easier
T O S E E S T R A I G H T T H R O U G H Y O U !
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Kaleb sighed, why did he have to be so mean automatically? Not everyone had bad intentions toward Kaleb, did they? He couldn't spend his life thinking that everyone was conspiring to hurt him, now that he had learned that he wasn't as strong as he made out. So he had to trust some people, and being in the mood to prove that he wasn't a complete asshole to Anemone, he tried a weak smile. He was glad that she was at least interested enough to lie. "Well if it will make you any more comfortable then as a gentleman I will oblige."

[/color] Kaleb said, drawing his wand from his pocket and imagined a white t-shirt in his head. "Accio Shirt"[/color] Kaleb called, holding out his other hand to catch it. It flew from the stairs to the boys common room and landed a few centimeters from his hands. He sighed and heaved himself forward a little and inched his fingers toward it. He caught the corner of the shirt and pulled it toward him, then slipped it over his head. "Thank you for caring"[/color] He said, somewhat sarcastically, as he noticed the tone of doubt in her voice as she said it.

Kale laughed half-heartledly at her little word. He would have been shocked too, as he had never been so nice to another Slytherin, other than Kai of course. Oh God, Kai! His stomach flipped a little at the name, as he had a small memory of that damned nightmare. He hated the idea of Zane near Kai, and he hated Zane. but at the same time, there was that part of him, and he didn't know how dominant that part was, that still loved Zane. he just didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to admit that even after breaking his heart, and leaving Kai to pick up the pieces, that monster had still managed to keep a hold of part of Kaleb's love. And that was a big part of what was screwing Kaleb up. The love that he still held for Zane, whilst he hated Zane at the same time. It didn't make sense to him, to both love and hate one man, and that was the question he was asking himself alot to. Why? Why after all the pain Zane had caused him, did Kaleb love him still? It made no sense. "Confused by my response?"[/color] Kaleb asked, a slight smirk on his lips. He'd never shown this part of him to any other Slytherin, not counting Kai, and he figured that there was no point in hiding himself any longer. This was who he was.

Kaleb smiled when she called him by his first name, and not his last. He didn't like being reffered to as his last as it made him think of his father, and that was never good. His smile fell a little at her next words. "I know. But I chose to say I am alright, and one day I may start to believe it. And hopefully one day when I say it, I won't be lying."[/color] He said with a frown, hoping to God that one day this would all be over, and he wouldn't have such trouble in his life. One day, he hoped his love and hate of Zane would fade, so he could be neutral and then not care about Zane at all anymore. He listened to her words, but he knew that although he could be normal Kaleb, he could never tell her all that had gone on, not considering that technically they hadn't really talked before. "I can't tell you. I think my dad would just about kill me if anyone else found out. But it is pretty scandalous. And besides, I prefer not to talk about things, it's the way I was brought up."[/color] Kaleb said, remembering his family policy of 'don't ask, don't tell'. He frowned at the prospect of going out. Okay, so it probably would do him some good to get out and about. But he didn't know if he could handle it, he was sure to think that all the people knew, or at least they would know something was up because he wasn't the perfect Slytherin anymore. "Is it now? It would be good to get out and about. But, well, I'm a bit of a mess at the moment. If you didn't guess"[/color] He said, the last part full of sarcasm.

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Hola! This lovely thread is for Anemone! I want to say thanks for reading this! It counts at 745 words! So you know, this kid's wearing Clothes (described). Credit for the template goes to moi, aka Emma! And The lyrics are borrowed from the awesome song, Throwing Punches by Paramore. Oh, and before you go, you should know; My poor baby!! Thank you for replying (:

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[hanariyo]

1DA237

It was surprising that he had even bothered to get his shirt. Now that she thought about it, if she didn't look, it wasn't that big of a deal. Nevertheless, she was relieved that he had retrieved his shirt and put it on. She may not have been convinced that she cared about him but it was true that the dungeons were extremely cold. She smiled a little in thanks - even if it was for his own good, he had obliged her. Oh crap, he did notice her hesitance! However, Anemone didn't let it faze her and definitely didn't dignify his sarcasm with a comeback. Perhaps he wasn't going to be a prick tonight? It was strange though. They were having a semi-decent conversation...well, rather, an exchange. They were never that close, she must stress this again.

Or never mind. It seemed like he really was in a depressing state of mind. Yet she was able to see some hints of his former self in that bleak mass that he was now. He still smirked and taunted her in that taciturn way of his. "I am pretty confused," She admitted honestly with a little laugh. "But then again, I doubt that I could ever figure you out, Kaleb." She had no idea where they stood now but was willing to offer some friendliness towards the boy. It seemed like he needed some sympathy for who knows what.

One thing that was bad about Anemone was that she was never really in touch with her emotions. To be completely honest she was a really "in-between" kind of girl. She rarely experienced extreme happiness or sorrow. It was also because of her detached nature that she was absolutely awful at relating with people or sympathizing. At this moment, she felt quite inadequate. What Kaleb really needed was someone to listen to him (which she can do) and someone to sympathize with him (which she could try and fail at).

But she wouldn't get the opportunity to even try to listen or sympathize. She felt a little relieved at the burden that she avoided. Then she felt awful. She immediately shoved the feelings away. She wanted to give him some advice...but seeing as he wasn't going to divulge any information, she was left with the generic: 'everything is going to be okay' and 'I'm so sorry'. She had always hated using the two phrases. They were such empty promises and lies. Instead, she chose a hopefully safe comment. "Your father sounds like a prick." She paused and then added, "Um, no offense." She would be the first to admit that her father definitely wasn't the father of the year, but she wasn't reluctant to talk about something that bothered her like Kaleb was. Anemone frowned a little, was it also bad of her to be even more interested now that he used 'scandalous' to describe his certain situation? Well, now she knew that it wasn't the usual teenage angst that was driving him batshit insane and moody to boot.

Again, she felt immense relief as their focus of conversation was on the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. "You should really consider it. Even if you're not...uh...the perfect Slytherin." she stressed. Like her mother had said to her once, 'You should always keep your head held high and remind yourself that you're worth all the stars in the sky' It was good advice at the time but she definitely didn't want to repeat such a cheesy phrase to Kaleb. Instead she opted to say: "Everyone's going to talk shit about you anyways." She shot him a sharp glance so he wouldn't interrupt her. "But plenty of people already talk shit about you before this...whatever this is. You should make an appearance even a short one." Ultimately, it was his decision. She had never experienced any kind of humiliation or emotional pain (she was guessing that either two were the source of Kaleb's strange mood recently) and the worst thing that happened to her before would be when she accidentally flashed a few people back in fourth year.

[kaleb]

each step you take makes it easier for you to fall
on your face, each tear you fake makes it easier
T O S E E S T R A I G H T T H R O U G H Y O U !
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Kaleb smiled a small smile back, as at least she seemed thankful that he had decided to cover up. He didn't get it, why she'd tried to cover her unfomfort up with pretending to care about him. He probably would have put a shirt on anwyay, but then he realised that his old self wouldn't have, just to make her even more uncomfortable. Man, he had changed alot! This was probably really strange for her, and she was probably wondering what the hell had happened that was so drastic to cause him to change so much! He wasn't going to tell her, as the last thing he needed was her going around and telling everyone, meaning that there would be even more rumours about him than ever! He was sort of used to hearing rumours now, but he knew that if they cut close to the mark, Kaleb woudln't be able to handle it. A part of him wanted the truth out, and the other part of him told him that he didn't, as he'd probably face sympathy and humiliation if everyone found out, not to mention what his dad would say, after he tried so hard to keep it on the down low.

But Kaleb knew that he wasn't going to tell her anyway, as he didn't want it to get out because people would know Vicky was involved, and he wanted to protect her, and Kai too. Becuase he was sure that if people found out about Zane, that ratty little kid who made the tape would be only to happy to share his knowlidge of Kai and Kaleb's little incident, and that would be worse for the both of them! He wasn't going to let that happen. And people would probably end up calling Vicky a whore, and then Kale would probably end up fighting them, and then he'd come out with bruises and marks from curses or whatever, and it would just be a bad situation. He wasn't going to tell her, it was bad enough as it is! "Yeah I don't doubt it! I'm confused too! I mean, what happened to the fun loving guy that everybody got on with!"

[/color] He said sarcastically, laughing a little. He'd never got on well with people, and he knew she'd know he was joking. "Well I think I am pretty complex! it's this hugemungous brain I have"[/color] He joked again, glad that there was a little lighteartedness back for him, as Merlin knew that he needed it!

Kaleb laughed when she insulted his father, but was silently glad that he wasn't the only one who thought so. He was sure that alot of the Slytherin population saw his father as the good man that he presented himself as, but Kaleb knew different. He knew about the whores and the affairs and arguing and drinking and about everything else his father did that contradicted the image that he presented of himself. Kaleb also knew that he didn't get a split lip from walking into a door, it was his dad who was at the root of that, but he wouldn't say anything, and besides, that was a long time ago. Although no-doubt his dad would have another in store for him the next time he had to go home. Maybe he'd just live in Hogwarts permanently! Or he could stay in his appartment, but knowing his father, he wouldn't pay the rent so that Kaleb had to come home. Asshole. "I'd use stronger words than that, and I won't take offence! He is a prick."[/color] Kaede said with a sigh, wondering why he used to be so eager to please the man that he hated.

Kaleb nodded, a thinking look on his face. He was thinking about going out, but the sea of people, it would seem so crowded, and Kaleb liked his space at the moment. "Maybe I will. Maybe I'll take Vicky with me. "[/color] He said, thinking aloud and not really realising. Oh great, now he'd mentioned the Gryffindor. Well at least Anemone could maybe give him some advice with girls. woah, that was something he thought he'd never have to think! Girls used to be Kaleb's strong point, charming them and flirting and all that jazz. But Vicky seemed different, especially now. Because now it wasn't just wanting to jump into bed with her, he was thinking about something else, feelings that had developed that he was trying his best not to acknowlidge. He didn't want to acknowlidge them as if he did it would mean hurting Kai, and he didn't want that on his conscience. And it would mean that he'd risk hurting Vicky, as what was to say that after he was with her, someone else wouldn't catch his eye? No, they would surely pass.
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Hola! This lovely thread is for Anemone! I want to say thanks for reading this! It counts at 802 words! So you know, this kid's wearing Clothes (described). Credit for the template goes to moi, aka Emma! And The lyrics are borrowed from the awesome song, Throwing Punches by Paramore. Oh, and before you go, you should know; My poor baby!! Thank you for replying (:

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