Archive of Our Own

  “Good job today, Rosier” Potter clapped Evan on the back, and he nodded in response. He closed his locket shut, and threw a towel over his shoulder. 

  “Sucking up to the captain again, aren't you Rosie?” Barty leaned against the locker next to him, in an attempt to block Evan's way. Evan rolled his eyes, and shoved his face aside. 

  “You're just jealous because you were warming the bench” 

  “I was not. And besides, at least I'm not useless enough to play defence” 

  “Get lost Crouch, You wouldn't score a point without defence” 

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say” Barty stopped in front of the showers, and ran a hand through his hair, sweaty from practice. “Are we going out with the girls tonight?” 

  “We should also phone Reg, drag him out of his despair” Evan took off his shirt, and patted his hair afterwards, like he wasn't going straight to shower. It was too strong of a habit to avoid. 

  “Yeah, I'll get him” Barty replied quickly, and Evan caught his eyes flying to the ceiling, like he was looking at him a moment ago. Weird.

  “I'll call Cas, you call Reg. Pandora's shift ends at eight” he announced and walked inside the shower. 

  “Alright!” Barty's voice echoed from the hallway, and Evan listened to his footsteps as he walked away, waiting for them to fade completely before turning on the water. 

___

  The ‘Friday Night Club’, had become a reference point as well as a meeting spot for the group. The neon lit cramped video club, with the unreasonably labeled shelves since the tapes were mixed up around anyway, happened to be the place Pandora worked in. It fit her a lot- the colours, the atmosphere, the fluorecent lights, the register desk with the collective merch, character figures and framed vinyls. It seemed like the perfect place to find a girl like her, with her embroidered jeans and striped shirts and untamed curly hair tied into pigtails and glitter eyeshadow. It was a Pandora place. 

  “I would like to make a complaint, can I speak to your manager?” Evan said in a fake voice before appearing behind a shelf to see his sister on the counter. 

  “Yeah, you joke about it but I've gotten at least five customers today telling me about their tapes not working” Pandora sighed, leaning back on her chair. 

  “You are doing God's work” Evan patted her head, and she grimaced, but accepted it anyway. 

  “Is everyone coming?” she asked after a beat. 

  “Yeah, just thought I'd come to keep you some company” 

  “Or pick this up before I throw it on the street” a voice echoed from the back of the store, and Slughorn, Pandora's boss and the groups’ favourite adult popped his head from the employee rooms with Evan's skateboard in his hand. 

  “Love of my life!” Evan embraced the board, earning a gratuitous eye roll from Slughorn. 

  “Collect your stuff next time. Or better, don't have a next time!” Slughorn threw his hands up in surrender. “I am sick of your lot coming here and making noise and distracting Pandora! I pay too much for this!” 

  “Say whatever you want, Horace, you love our company” Evan smirked, and the older man just sighed, looking at the ceiling. 

  “Yeah, yeah, you can go now, I've had enough of you two, I don't need Barty in here too” 

  “It's only seven forty though…” Pandora informed Horace from the stool she had climbed on to fish a tape. 

  “It's okay, you're a great employee and your friends are a pain in the a-” 

  “Language!” Evan cut him, and Horace pinched his nose bridge frustrated. 

  “Just go, kids. I'll see you around” 

  “Bye Horace we love you” Evan waved at the man, dragging his sister out with one arm. 

  “Bye!” Pandora said too, and Horace waved, tiredly. 

  Evan jumped on his board and rode a lap around Pandora, who was tying the laces of her rollerblades. 

  “Well if it isn't the Rosiers in wheels” Dorcas Meadowes walked towards the twins, the wind dancing with her long skirt flying behind her. 

  “Cas! I haven't seen you in, like, ages” Pandora skated to Dorcas, and gave the girl a hug. 

  “That's because you're either working or doing some random side quest” Dorcas gave her friend a look, and walked to Evan to give him a hug too.

  “I have some news for you, but I'll wait for Barty and Reg” 

  Evan raised an eyebrow. “News?” 

  “You'll see, be patient” 

  “Oh no, killing machine is back” Regulus and Barty, with his hand over the other boy's shoulders, walked to the rest of the group. Evan rolled his eyes at Regulus's comment. 

  “Yeah, you missed it” Evan lifted his board, eyeing Barty's hand on Regulus' back with determination, in hopes that he might make it let go. 

  “Where to?” Dorcas asked, while stealing a hair tie from Pandora's wrist, absentmindedly.

  “I'm thinking the mall?” Barty ruffled Regulus' hair before finally getting the hand off him, drawing an internal relief from Evan, as he followed the group, picking up their way to the mall.

  He was not jealous. Everyone knew Barty and Regulus had something no one could reach. A friendship, a bond, a something. It was too strong to control, too fast to keep up with. After a while you got used to it, the single glances, the inside jokes, the nonverbal conversations. It was fine. Evan was fine. It's not that he wasn't close with his friends, just the small tug in his chest when he didn't have Barty's full attention. Sometimes it felt like he lived for it. 

  “Oh my god, I need to visit my latest discovery again” Dorcas ushered them to the stairs once they entered the mall. 

  “Latest discovery as in the shop in minus two” Regulus explained, following behind a skipping Dorcas. 

  “The whole storey is nearly deserted! It's scary down there!” Barty protested while being dragged down the stairs by Pandora.

  “Don't be a coward” Evan smacked the back of his head, and Barty pouted. 

  “Can I tell y'all a secret?” a mischievous smile was painted on Pandora's face, making Dorcas turn back so quickly she missed the last step. Evan caught her by the hand before falling, and looked at his sister expectantly. 

  “No you can't.” Dorcas warned, and Pandora looked even more entertained. They stopped in front of the store, with the flickering letters on the sign. Inside, there were few customers, most of them young, in eccentric, goth, even hippie outfits hovering around the racks. 

  “She comes here to see the hot cashier” Pandora giggled the moment they stepped inside, and Dorcas turned to smack her mouth closed, wide eyed. 

  “Shut the fuck up!”

  “No way, let me see” Barty hissed and ran to the counter. Dorcas buried her face in her hands, and pointlessly tried to disappear behind the shelves. 

  “I think you should ask for her number” Regulus raised his eyebrows while peering at the rings booth. 

  “I am not asking for her number” 

  “You probably should, she looks pretty gay to me” Barty returned from his trip to the back of the shop like a victor returning from war, and Pandora grabbed Dorcas's hand just in time to stop her from throwing a purse at him.

  “We are leaving now” She announced and left the shop nearly running, and the rest of the group exchanged looks. 

  “We just came” Pandora commented and continued looking through the hangers. 

  Evan hummed with a smirk. “Leave her be, she's still processing the cashier” 

  “Well, we could separate I suppose” Barty shrugged at the direction of Regulus and Pandora, who were concentrating on their thrift hunt. 

  “Alright, outside Wendy's at nine” Evan dragged Barty by the arm and they left the store, walking in the direction of Dorcas. 

  She had managed to already vanish inside a phone booth, waving her hands as she talked with the phone glued to her ear. Barty rolled his eyes at her. 

  “And you'd think she'd give her social duties a break now that we're out together” Evan grinned, and Dorcas excited the booth smirking like a maniac. 

  “I have news” 

  “Of course you do” Barty scoffed, earning a shove from Dorcas. 

  “Shut up, she asked me to call her tonight and for good reason” 

  “Which is?” 

  Dorcas looked at the two boys with the mischievous grin she had when she was about to tell them the juiciest gossip of the school she just overheard in the hallway. 

  “Quit building the tension and tell us” Evan looked at her impatiently, and Dorcas gave in with a scoff. 

  “Vance is throwing a party this weekend. And…”

  “And?” Barty cried, and Dorcas shushed him.

  “She asked if Evan is going to be there. In particular!” She finished, as if she had said something astonishingly obvious and important, for some reason. 

  “...which means?” Barty frowned, confused. 

  “You idiot! The most popular girl in school wants to hook up with you!” She told Evan, holding her hands up in surrender. 

  “Wait-” Evan felt heat rising up to his face as he processed the information, along with a sink in his stomach that pulled his face to his side, to meet Barty's. He didn't have his usual smirk and easy quirk as he usually did when anyone mentioned hooking up. He looked… kinda dubious? puzzled? It was the most unreadable he had ever gotten, according to Evan, who, to his defence, had seen Barty through every possible phase. 

  “She told you so?” He asked after multiple beats. Dorcas looked more confused than both of them combined, which, well, fair. They were being weird.

  “Yes, she said that.”

  “Well” 

  Barty was being awfully quiet. He needed to fix that. “Shall we go to the arcade?” 

  Barty's face lit up. Evan felt the knot in his chest ease up. “Say no more” The other boy found his smirk, and took a sharp turn to the other direction. 

  “Please don't take ages in there again" Dorcas pleaded, but followed them inside anyway. 

  “If you're too bored to come, you can go chat with the cashier at your cute little store” Barty teased her, and Dorcas groaned in frustration. 

  “I hate the lot of you” She crossed her arms and leaned towards the wall, as Evan followed Barty through the buzzing machines and coloured lights of the arcade.

___

  “This is a bad idea” Pandora observed, a hand on her chin. 

  “It's not a big deal, just a few strands, come on. It will grow out again” Barty reached out for her hand, in an attempt to connect with her through their not very eye contact friendly placement. 

  “I'm not saying it's gonna look bad on you, I'm saying I'm gonna mess it up. I've never done this before” Pandora elaborated. 

  “You're making it too big of a deal. Just do it, it's a simple task, it can't go bad” Dorcas commented without looking up from her magazine. 

  “I actually think it can” Regulus joined in, sitting across from Dorcas, his own eyes buried in a book. 

  “Pandora” Barty demanded, and Pandora leaned forward to look at him again. Evan giggled at the sight. He was sitting on the floor across from Barty, who was sitting in a chair with Pandora over his head, looking at his hair with an uncertain expression. 

  “I am warning you that I am not gonna do well” Pandora put a pair of plastic gloves on her hands, and Barty threw a fist. 

  “At least you are doing it. Come on!” 

  Pandora started pouring the bleaching dye on a bowl, her eyes never lacking doubt. Evan glanced at her futile efforts to open the packaging of the colour brush, and then at Barty, who was looking absolutely thrilled. He picked up the magazine that was lying on the floor next to him, already open in the crumbled page that gave him the wondrous idea. The fucker wanted to dye his hair green.

  Well, not all of it, was his all time excuse. The guy in the picture only had the front strands dyed, and Barty wouldn't stop talking about it until they finally gave in and agreed to do it. 

  Which brought them to the present, all gathered in Evan and Pandora's living room, with a very unprofessional hair salon set up to support the operation of dyeing Barty's hair. And as someone wise once said, it was a bad idea. 

  “Play the video again” Pandora ordered, the brush already coated in dye hanging above Barty's head without having touched it. 

  Evan groaned when neither Regulus or Pandora moved, and he got up to the video player, to replay the tutorial on how to bleach hair they had rented the previous day.

  “Pan, I don't think watching it again will do anything” Evan sat back on his spot, as the woman on the screen talked in her informative tone and black gloves on.

  “Okay, I've got this. I've got it” Pandora whispered to herself, and followed closely the instructions of the hair stylist on the screen as she started applying the dye on Barty's hair. The Barty in question was looking too happy for his own good, his eyes glued to the mirror he was holding to stare at each of Pandora's movements.

  “Okay, I think that's enough” She took a step back, letting Barty take a look at the dyed area of his head. He was beaming at the sight, and Evan quickly realised he was mirroring his expression. He looked away quickly, rolling his eyes. 

  “It's a bit uneven. Just this spot” He pointed to a vague place on one side and reached out to grab the colour brush. Pandora pulled it back frustrated. 

  “Let me do it” 

  “You're gonna get the spot wrong!”

  “And you are gonna mess it up!” 

  “I am not if you let me” 

  “I have been doing it all along, you can't just do it by yourself!” 

  “My hair my choice” 

  “Give it to me now” 

  Barty pulled the brush from Pandora's hand forcefully, causing a drop of bleach to travel across the room right on Dorcas's shirt. Everything froze for a moment.

  Then it was over. 

  “YOU USELESS FUCKS” Dorcas threw her magazine with perfect aim on Barty's head, who attempted to dodge it with no success. Pandora ducked for no reason, and Dorcas jumped up and walked to the two responsible for the act, making Evan stumble back. Regulus didn't do much as give them a single glance and continue reading. 

  “If you ruined my shirt I will end your bloodline” She threatened and stormed off the room. Pandora looked at the brush on Barty's hand. 

  “Okay now give it to me” 

  “Fuck no” he got up and ran behind the armchair Regulus was seated. 

  “You better not touch me” he warned without looking up, and Pandora ran to get the other boy with the determination of a cat chasing a bug.

  Evan, more than entertained by the sight of Pandora and Barty chasing each other, picked up Dorcas's magazine from the floor and replaced her on her seat.

  “Barty.” 

  “Come get it” 

  “This is not a game!” 

  “It kinda is” The boy grinned and jumped on the table. Pandora ran towards him, overcoming an extremely collected Dorcas who showed up from the hallway again. 

  “You have three seconds to come here and let me help you, otherwise you are dead” She said simply. Pandora and Barty took a pause from their chase, and exchanged a glance. In respectable distance, they approached Dorcas, and sat on their seats speechlessly. 

  “Alright. Can I have the brush?” 

  The brush found itself on Dorcas's hand with minor effort.

  With a few brushes, Barty's hair was dyed symmetrically, and Dorcas continued with folding the foil on the dyed strands. Pandora watched, impressed, as the other girl revealed skills that could have been very useful if only she had shared them earlier. 

  “I have never looked this good,” Barty smirked as grimaced in the mirror with the folded foil strands over his eyes. Evan could feel the smile growing on his face, as he watched Barty stumble around doing ridiculous stuff just to cause a laugh. 

  “If this turns out bad I am not scoring at the party and it will be your fault” he pointed at the two girls, who seemed indifferent to his accusations. 

  They were flicking through leaflets and the recorded tutorial, Dorcas now deep in the process, trying to figure out what the hell they should do with Barty's hair. Not thinking deep into it, Evan suddenly got up to bring a thought he had to life. 

  “Wait, I need to see this” He reached out to the foil squares on Barty's head and turned them upwards, making them stick up like cat ears. Barty grinned uncontrollably looking up, and then down, right in Evan's eyes, the smile not leaving his face once. Evan physically felt his head drain from any thought, suddenly uneasy. He turned away in an instant, protesting for his cognitive resources to come back and say anything about this. Because what the fuck. 

  Pandora suddenly jumped up, making a dramatic turn from the screen to the rest of the audience. “Alright, I am officially a licensed hairstylist now!” she announced, and Dorcas pinched her nose bridge, getting up behind her. 

  “No she isn't” 

  “Yes ma'am I am” she pushed the spinning chair towards Barty, an invitation. 

  “Well this is gonna be interesting” Regulus cast a single glance away from his book for what felt like the first time today, to the helpless group that was attempting a task completely out of their skill areas. 

  “Don't fuck up” Barty warned. 

  “Shut up” Dorcas deadpanned. 

  “No I mean it, don't screw up” 

  “I mean it too, shut your mouth cause I can't focus.”

  Probably an hour later, Barty was getting his newly partially green hair blow dried, with his back turned facing the mirror. He looked buzzing with excitement. 

  “Okay show me now” He demanded, in a dangerously similar tone to a bratty six year old. Not that they don't share lots of traits. 

  Pandora spun the chair, and when Barty saw himself in the mirror, the look on his eyes lit the whole room up. 

“Oh yes” he smirked at the mirror, and ran a hand through his hair. 

  Evan got up to get a better look. 

  Well holy fuck. 

  “You are definitely scoring tomorrow” He only said, and Barty turned around with considerable speed. 

“Was that a compliment Rosie? I am flattered, really, all there's left is for Reg to compliment me too”

  “You look ridiculous.” Regulus said without missing a beat, and Barty raised his eyebrows. 

  “Never change, Reggie.

  It did look awfully good on Barty. The green strands over his glimmering eyes. It just added up to that mischievous grin he almost always had on. Of course, Evan would never admit it to him. He was just observing it, unwilling to share said observations. 

___

  “I didn't say it earlier, but there is gonna be a little more than drinks as far as I'm informed” Dorcas muttered as they stepped into the elevator.

  “YOU MEAN LIKE DR-” Regulus slapped a hand over Barty's mouth.

  “Yes. Not until later. And don't say anything about it before that time” Dorcas warned, and pushed the door open. 

  “Oh don't you worry Cas. It will be our guilty little secret” Barty smirked, and the door of the house in front of them opened wide, music blasting from inside, and a girl with piercing eyes and black eyeshadow stood in front of them. 

  “Finally! We were getting worried here” She laughed, as she embraced Dorcas into a hug, and Barty noticed her gaze linger on Evan for a few moments. She stepped aside to let them in, and Barty just passed as fast as he could, avoiding the girl's look.

  “Oh, Evan!” He overheard Emmeline say, and didn't walk too far.

  “That's me” 

  “I, um. Glad you came” Barty heard her say hesitantly, which was a bit out of character for her, to be fair. Vance was usually quirky and daring, not the girl that would come to a loss of words in front of a dude. Well, Evan Rosier was an exception, Barty assumed, which, honestly, fair. He looked good tonight. His hair a mess as always, though that could have been Barty's fault too. The ‘hard rock cafe’ t-shirt under the leather jacket, picked with the contribution of the girls, made quite a visual. Not that he wasn't one always 

  “I heard,” Evan said, and then quickly spoke again. “I mean, um, shit. Yeah. Glad I came too” He said, and Barty tried his best not to slap his forehead. 

  “Oh, um, well, I'll be… around. If you need anything tell me” Barty saw her patting Evan's hand with the corner of his eye, and he just stormed off to the living room.

  It wasn't anything, just some possessiveness over his mate. No big deal. 

  He went straight to the kitchen bar, where there was quite a large crowd waiting to pour themselves drinks. He searched for any of his friends in the better access area, hoping to ask them to get him a cup, but he had no luck. With a combination of waiting and pushing, he finally reached the vodka bottle. 

  “Nice hair” He heard a voice right next to him. Turning around, he faced a girl, not older than him, with brown curls and dark red lipstick, pouring vodka to her glass. She made a vague nod, asking if he wanted too, and he accepted, pushing his cup towards her. 

  “Thanks”

  “You're Crouch, right?” She asked as they escaped the human cage in front of the bar, and leaned back on a wall. 

  “Yeah. I've seen you somewhere too” He said because he had, in fact, met this girl before. He was sure. 

  “I'm Mary” 

  “Wait, Mary Macdonald?” 

  “Yes”

  Barty's face flashed with recognition. “You are in Dorcas' class”

  “Yes I am. I actually wanted to ask something about Meadowes” 

  Barty raised an eyebrow. “Go on” 

  “See my friend over there?” She pointed at a blonde head across the room. The moment the girl turned around, Barty's eyes widened. Dorcas' cashier. 

  “Yeah I see her” 

  “She works a shift at a store down the mall, and Meadowes has happened to come around enough times for Marlene to tell me she wants to marry her” Mary managed with a straight face, and Barty snorted uncontrollably. 

  “Oh wow. Go on” 

  “Is it possible that your friend Dorcas is like… interested. If you know what I mean” She looked at him pointedly. He did know what she meant.

  “Yes. Entirely possible actually. Tell her to shoot her shot” 

  Mary's face brightened up. “Fantastic! Oh, don't tell Meadowes about any of that. Let's leave it look effortless” 

  “Bet. See you around Macdonald” 

  “See you around Crouch” 

  Barty spun his drink in his hand, watching Mary strut towards Marlene. He also noticed the looks she received after her. The inappropriate, hungry looks washing over her. Mary was a beautiful girl. Damn great body, and if you were a bit more humble, you would notice her round brown eyes, and her lovely gaze and bright voice. Weird thing was Barty wasn't feeling any noticeable attraction towards her. Sure he was recognizing she was pretty, but there wasn't any possessive need to have her the way everyone else in the party seemed to want to. 

  He went to find anyone, really. Not Dorcas, cause she was about to be flirted at by her crush, but someone nonetheless. 

  He saw Pandora in a corner, talking with a red haired girl. He chose not to bother her. He decided to turn around and go to the living room, hoping to crash in a couch and wait for time to pass until he could get stoned. 

  Evan was chatting with Emmeline. He looked away in a second, unwilling to watch her be pathetic in front of Evan, afraid of puking the little he had drank. Speaking of little. He went back to the bar. 

  “Crouch your hair rocks!” Barty turned to face Sirius Black, open armed and confident as always. He grinned at him.

  “Bold coming from you Black” 

  “Cheers” he ran a hand through his own hair. “How did I not see you earlier?” 

  “I was gonna say that, where have you been?” 

  Sirius thought for a moment. “Around,” he said finally. “And you?” 

  “Same thing. I was talking with Macdonald a while ago” he took a sip from his drink. “You are friends, aren't you?” 

  “Mary? Oh yeah, she's amazing. We dated at some point too, didn't work too well but, you know. Very nice girl” 

  Barty recalled, almost two years ago. Regulus talking about the new girl his brother is dating, and how she's too good for him. He chuckled. “Yeah, I remember it.” 

  “I bet Regulus talked lots of shit about me for it”

  “Oh no, he didn't” He absolutely did. 

  Sirius shrugged. “I find it hard to believe. Anyways, I'll leave you. Gotta make sure that Jones isn't flirting with Remus. See you round” 

  Barty waved, and thought about what Sirius had just said. As far as he was informed, Lupin didn't have a girlfriend. So why on earth would Sirius not want him to flirt with a girl?

  Quite frankly, he could do the same. Make sure his own best mate wasn't flirting with Vance. He cheered up, got another drink and went to find Evan.

  A small part of him didn't believe Evan would actually give it a go with Emmeline. It was small, but it looks like it was dominating, cause Barty did not expect to find him shoving his tongue in Emmeline’s throat.

  “Took him long enough” Dorcas had appeared next to him, and Barty could feel his head spinning. He downed his drink, and pushed the bodies swaying one next to the other trying to get somewhere. Somewhere else. He heard the echo of Dorcas’ voice calling out to him, but his brain couldn't respond. He just kept going. He gripped to the wall, and closed his eyes. 

  One, two, three, four… five… 

  “You okay?” he felt the touch of a hand on his arm, and forced his brain to get back into place.

  “Yeah, I just…” he ran a hand through his hair. Mary had grounded him without even knowing. He suddenly became conscious of what had just happened. He recalled the image of Evan and Emmeline, and felt his face crumble.

  It probably did, cause Mary raised an eyebrow. “Okay, something happened.” 

  “It's not… look I have no idea what it is okay?” He mumbled, pretty sure the alcohol was thriving, messing with his head. 

  “You look jealous” Mary admitted, and Barty felt a tug in his chest. Could he be?

  “Maybe I am” 

  Mary narrowed her eyes. “Look. Right now, I am too, so we are matching”

  It was Barty's turn to raise an eyebrow. “Are you?” 

  “I won't tell you who, and you don't have to tell me either. But I have a suggestion” she looked at him, and Barty made a pointless effort to guess what she was about to say. 

  “Elaborate” 

  “Do you want to make them jealous back?” 

  Barty considered that for a moment. Mary was pretty, as he'd established. It was only fair that if Evan had the right to put on a show snogging a girl he could do the same.

  “If you don't want to then no hard feelings. But I mean it, just for the show” 

  “No no, I'm in. Let's do it” 

  “Really?”

  “Yeah” 

  “Alright” she took a step closer and got to her tiptoes to reach Barty's face. He pulled her by the waist, and let her guide him through it. 

  The sensation was nice. Mary tasted sweet, her lips were soft and her touch gentle. She looked ruthless in personality, but Barty could tell all that persona shattered when she was kissing. 

  He casted a single glance around. People were staring, but he only cared about one person. 

  Evan. He was, in fact, staring as well. Emmeline was pressed to his side, still on the sofa he found them and was saying something to his ear, but Evan wasn't paying attention. Barty felt the eye contact reach his chest. Fuck you, he thought, and pulled away from Mary, giving her a spin to the song. 

  “Getting giddy?” she laughed, pulling him to the dancefloor. 

  “Oh yes. Did you get what you wanted?”

  “Absolutely, she was staring shamelessly” Mary grinned. 

  “Well mission accomplis- wait, she?” 

  “Shhh Crouch, come dance with me” Mary put a finger in front of his mouth, and pulled him to the centre, moving close to him. 

  Their little play went on well; until they got too tired, and Barty, with the tightness still in his chest, thanked Mary with a peck on the cheek and went to sit down with his lot, who were all together and finally Emmeline-free. 

  “Well here he comes. You have no idea how many guys I heard cursing your name” Pandora greeted him when she spotted him, and Barty sat between her and Regulus, very aware of his smug expression, and even more aware of Evan's eyes piercing him. 

  “I got lucky I guess” he played humble, and Dorcas leaned forward just to shove him. 

  “Shut up. Fucking Mary Macdonald. What did you tell her anyway?” 

  “I shall keep the secrets to my charm private” He smirked, and glanced to his left side, where a speechless Regulus and an even more speechless Evan sat. 

  “I know about Evan, but what got you so tense Reggie?” Barty said in a graceful turn around the elephant in the room, and Regulus looked at him with a mixture of fury and helplessness. 

  “Have you seen,” he ran a hand through his hair, “have you seen my brother's stupid, stupid best friend?” 

  “You mean Lupin?” Barty asked, and Evan shook his head. 

  “Potter”

  “Don't fucking say his name” 

  “The captain? What about him?” 

  Regulus groaned, his face buried in his hands. 

  “That's not an answer” 

  Regulus flipped him off, without looking up, and accepted the spliff he was offered before Barty could process what was happening. 

  “Hey! Me first” 

  Regulus took a puff and let it out on his face. “No”

  Barty leaned back, and looked at Evan. 

  “Hi” 

  He looked at him. 

  “Hey”

  “Had fun with Vance?” 

  “Yeah, actually. You and Macdonald?” 

  “Very. Makes it even more fun that most dudes here are jealous” 

  Evan lit a cigarette too. Barty didn't know if it was a regular one or one of the specials that moved around the party, given that Evan had the hostess on his lap a while ago. Whatever privileges that gave him.

  He watched the smoke release from his mouth, and dissolve into the thick air. He watched his fingers bringing the cigarette to his lips, glowing from the alcohol. He watched. And Evan saw he watched. And let him. And maybe that was enough for now. 

___

  “What's the matter?” 

  Evan turned to his sister sharply enough to trip on his board. 

  “What matter?”

  “You tell me”

  “I don't know what you are talking about”

  Pandora titled her head. 

  “Okay” 

  Silence settled between them. For a few seconds. 

  “You're not gonna ask anything else?”

  “So something is up.”

  Evan scoffed. “I just didn't believe you would give up this easily. There's no matter” 

  “Is it something with Emmeline? Did she call?” 

  Evan didn't know what to tell her honestly. No, it wasn't exactly about Emmeline. But it still was. It was about how Barty watched him and Emmeline. It was about how Barty watched them over Mary's shoulder. It was about how Barty watched him. With desire.

  “Getting stoned last night was not good for any of the participants” He said eventually, avoiding Pandora's eyes that felt like they could see through his head. 

  “Surely not for me. I have never felt more intimidated by a person's vocabulary” she gushed, and Evan chuckled. 

  “The redhead?” 

  Pandora turned to him frustrated, and shoved him, nearly throwing him off the pavement. “Shut up, none of your business" 

  Evan hummed in response. He tried to think about how she will be back in a few days analyzing every detail of the forty second call she is gonna have with said intimidating person. It was easier than thinking how fucking complicated his relationship with his best friend was getting without a word spoken. No explanation, just drunk Barty leaving a disaster path behind him. 

  They both got off their wheels before entering ‘Friday Night Club’, and Pandora gave not so much as a greeting to Slughorn as she disappeared to the staff room. 

  Horace gave her a wave when she entered, not that he expected a response. He was sitting at the register desk, his eyes focused on a small yellowish book, with the picture of a woman in the bottom half, titled “Carmen”, and a block of tightly placed french in the back. 

  Without looking up, he nudged to the seat across from him. Evan sat, and peered at the book. The pages were equally packed with the blurb, the small characters with all their accents around. 

  “Whatcha reading?” 

  “Carmen. Like the opera. This one is the original book. I don't understand why Bizet had to change the story completely though.” he remarked, shrugged, and closed it shut, pushing it aside. He looked at Evan curiously.

  “What?”

  “You're not bothering me for fun. What's up?” 

  Evan groaned. Was ‘I feel like shit’ written in his forehead, because suddenly everyone saw that he was fucking messed up. 

  “I have no fucking idea” He muttered, and Horace sat on his place, expecting more. Evan tried to think. If he wanted to talk he had to think. “Apparently I did something that bothered someone, when it shouldn't, and I didn't know I shouldn't do it and I don't know why I'm bothered now! It's not like I did something wrong!” 

  Horace rubbed his chin. “If you weren't wrong then why do you feel bad about it?” 

  “That's what I'm asking” 

  Horace thought once more. 

  “Maybe you don't want to see what's wrong” 

  “I am not wrong!” 

  “Evan, I have so limited information, what do you want me to say?” 

  Evan sighed. 

  “He got all weird for some reason. Like I was giving away something that was his without asking him. I didn't know he would mind” 

  Horace’s expression changed from the puzzled grin to a calm one, with a tender smile.

  “You have to be true to yourself, Evan. He has to be true to you, yes, as much as you have to be true to him. But before you are true to anyone, it has to be you. Even if it's not ideal sometimes” 

  Evan looked out of the window, at the willow tree that was dancing playfully with the wind. How was he supposed to forgive himself if he started being true? He has always been so close yet so distant. So much that he still refused to do so.

  “I don't know what it is though” he admitted, and Horace sighed in frustration.

  “That I can't tell you Evan. It's up to you to figure out what is there. Just don't let it chase after you. At least acknowledge it” 

  “Yeah, yeah, sure. I won't get consumed by my dark unprocessed truths” He held a Venom figure, and pretended to attack Horace with it, who exhaled deeply and turned around to face Pandora. 

  “Evan, cut the shit. Are we ready to open?” She pinned her tag on the side of her chest, replacing Slughorn on the register desk. 

  “Yeah, I'll turn the sign” he walked to the door.

  Pandora was crouching over some notes, scribbling in a not-so-good posture. “At least tell me when you figure it out” 

  Evan felt the threat of guilt tease inside his ribcage, but it didn't come in full. There was more to happen until he could tell Pandora. He would, but at the right time. 

  “Oh course” He planted a kiss on top of her head, while being shoved away. 

___

  Barty Crouch is the king of bad ideas actually. The group tends to estimate how bad an idea is based on whether it could be Barty's. So far there has not been an occasion where an idea is worse than a Barty idea. Evan doubts if there even is such a thing. 

  Another issue that comes with them is that if Barty finds any obstacles executing said ideas, Evan is not one of them. He doesn't admit it for the sake of his blasé persona, but he loves Barty ideas. Or, more specifically, he loves Barty during Barty ideas. The way his eyes sparkle with mischief, how he is unable to stay still and will bounce around, effects of the adrenaline rushing through him uncontrollably. 

  Whatever it is, Evan could blame himself for being a little unhinged too, but it was mostly because of his guilty weakness to that Barty thrill. He had bad ideas all the time, but Evan never said no. Which was an issue, if you asked him. 

  A Barty idea was the one that brought him to the current situation too. Cycling in the rain at midnight to a small bar in town that was probably empty. With Barty. 

  “WAIT FOR ME YOU IDIOT!” he panted laughing behind Evan, who was leading the way, aware of the high danger of falling. 

  “TRY GOING FASTER” Evan took a sharp turn, Barty still short behind. 

  Or not, as proved shortly after. 

  “Well hi” 

  Evam looked quickly to his left, to find Barty having lost that distance between them, and now cycling next to him with a dangerously small gap. 

  “You might wanna reclaim your ground” He reached out and ruffled Evan's hair, and without giving him any time to process it, he overcame him, speeding up in front of the other boy. 

  Evan reached him with minimal effort, and flashed him a smug grin as he passed, choosing to ignore the heat on his cheeks, and the fact that he could practically still feel Barty’s hand in his hair. He looked at the other boy’s eyes just for a moment; searching for that glint, that familiar glinting dancing in Barty’s eyes. It was there. And then Evan was gone, building as much distance as he could. 

  The bar was another pinpoint for the everyday lives of the group. It was small, and pretty empty most times. The customers minded their own business, and the barman asked no questions. It also played good music. 

  Barty threw his bike to the side, and Evan mimicked him. It’s not like anyone will care enough to steal an old abandoned bike in the middle of a storm. 

  They entered the bar, aware of their absolutely wet state, and Barty waved at the bartender. He nodded, probably trying to recall the safety exits in the building. He then flashed a grin to a group of girls sitting in a corner who were looking at them and giggling since they entered, and pulled Evan to the bar. 

  “Gid! Long time no see!”

  The bartender, Gideon, raised an eyebrow. “Is it, really. What can I get you, boys?”

  “I’d like a gin tonic”

  “Vodka, on the rocks” Barty winked, and Gideon nodded and turned his back to prepare the drinks.

  “Planning to get wasted?” Evan teased, and the other boy turned to look at him with what seemed like a sincere smile. Rare one.

  “Depends. Will you carry me home bridal style?” 

  “Absolutely not”

  Barty fake-pouted, and Evan resisted the urge to say yes, even if he knew it was a joke and the whole purpose of the question was to decline. 

  “You are not a good husband, Evan” Barty announced, and pulled his drink in front of him, like what he said didn’t send rocks down Evan’s stomach. He probably had no idea anyways. That was Barty, he said shit like that. 

  “If you want an answer, no you are not getting wasted. I forbid it” Gideon announced, serving Evan his drink, and Barty groaned.

  “Tossers, all of you” he took a sip. Evan huffed a laugh. 

  Suddenly, Barty looked at him. Oh no, a Barty idea. 

  “Wanna dance?”

  At first, Evan couldn’t tell if he was joking. But for the second time today, Barty looked sincere. It was weird, if not alarming, at the very least. 

  “Really?”

  “Yeah” Barty said quickly, and if he didn’t know better, Evan could say he was nervous. Funny thing. 

  “Sure, let’s go” Evan got up and dragged him by his hand without looking back, afraid that he might come to his senses if he did. 

  ‘Just Like Heaven’ went on. Barty held Evan’s hand, and took a turn. He was laughing. The bass was vibrating through Evan’s body, he could feel it in his heart. The heart that was beating too fast. 

  They stomped, and spun each other and lost balance and found it again. It was nothing like dancing and still exactly that. Barty was chaos; as always, really. Without warning, he grabbed Evan’s hand and snatched him close. 

  “Are you still talking with her?” He probably meant to sound casual as he muttered it, but Evan could feel the strain in his voice without having to hear it. 

  “Emmeline?”

  “Yeah”

  Evan thought for a moment. He and Emmeline weren’t a thing, they had decided. It was more complicated than a one word answer, but instead of explaining, Evan chose the peripheral route. 

  “Why?”

  Barty sighed, frustrated. He looked sober enough, but the slight edge on his every reaction was noticeable. “Why do you even like her that much?”

  Evan shrugged. “She’s pretty. And she’s nice, I don’t know why you hate her so much” Evan said, cause it was the truth. Emmeline was great, yet Barty had been showing aversion towards her since the moment she heard about her. Evan never looked too much into it. He should have, he is starting to realise. 

  Barty wasn’t angry. He looked pretty content, actually. On the verge of being lost in the music and the lights, but still there. Enough to answer. 

  “I’m just saying. There’s lots of people better than her. Is that how easily you give your attention now?” 

  “I don't think we’re on the same wavelength here” Evan frowned, cause that was meant to be offensive, right? What else was there?

  “I was trying to say,” Barty pulled him a little closer, “Why her?”

  Evan was really close to exploding. His head, his chest, he didn’t know, maybe everything at once. Some part of him expected Barty to laugh and be like ‘Haha, you believed it? What a fucking fa-’

  “Why not me?” He said so hesitantly, that Evan could have imagined it. But he knew he didn’t. Because Barty finally met his eyes, and kissed him. 

  It was everything and nothing all at once.

  Everything he wanted and nothing he didn't know. 

  The familiar existence that is Barty Crouch stepping into his personal space and owning all his attention was nothing he hadn't experienced before, nor was the quiet longing that led to this. It has always been there. 

  And everything. He was everything. Holding Barty- god- kissing him. Having him at a loss of words and hesitation to talk for him. About him. This was everything. Barty was everything.

  Evan could get lost right there. Spend an eternity on Barty’s lips, Barty’s scent. Barty’s hands. 

  And then he pulled back. 

  His eyes, lustering, were full of question. So many answers to give, so many things to explain. But words were not enough. So they didn’t say anything. And Evan pulled him back. No explanations given. Just a few words, circling his mind. 

  Kiss me more.