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Post by superwholockin on Feb 24, 2012 21:47:22 GMT -5
"That's too bad; now we're both in the same boat."
Charles laughed as his friend sneezed right in the middle of a grin. “Yes we are, but you did it to yourself which really is pathetic.” He shrugged slyly before grinning, and sneezing himself. “What a pair we are!”
Prodding back, Charles blushed a bit, “I don’t think I’ll be going with anyone…” He mumbled shyly.
“Nobody would want to go with me anyways, I’m too boring.” He hunched over a bit, feeling kind of self conscious.
“What about you? I bet anyone you ask will say yes.” He leaned forward and prodded his friend in the forehead again. “Maybe ‘that pretty girl’ that you said sits across from us?” He laughed lightly, leaning back again.
“I myself am fine with just sitting around at the ball.”
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2012 14:51:22 GMT -5
Benedict scowled at his friend, holding back another sneeze. He mumbled an illegible response that sounded suspiciously like "well, whatever then" and laughed.
"You can't go alone," he told him, furrowing his brow. "It's the Triwizard Ball. You have to go with someone."
Pursing his lips, Benedict scrutinized Charles with a keen eye. A smile flittered across his face, finally breaking into a wide grin. He laughed again, and abruptly pulled back to lean against the back of the seat with his face suddenly calm.
"You could always go with me," he told him, holding out a hand and pretending to inspect his fingernails before turning to his friend and grinning.
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Post by superwholockin on Feb 25, 2012 15:43:39 GMT -5
“I can go alone if I like.” Charles pouted, eyes turned towards Benedict. “I’ll bring myself to the ball. There aren’t any rules that you have to go with somebody.”
Charles watched as Benedict’s face transformed and he laughed. Charles narrowed his eyes, vaguely suspicious. “What are you on about?” He asked curiously.
"You could always go with me,"
It took a couple of moments for Benedict’s suggestion to sink in before Charles turned bright red. He looked at Benedict, eyes wide. He wasn’t entirely sure if the man was joking and he gazed at him, trying to determine the truth.
Not wanting to embarrass himself, he choked out, “Pfft. Yeah right.” Charles punched Benedict in the arm once again, “Don’t tease me.” He mumbled.
OOC: stupid short post….. sorryyyyy
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2012 4:07:19 GMT -5
Benedict scoffed, furrowing his brow at him. "That would be so painfully...lame." He grinned again, reaching over to poke Charles's nose. "No one goes to the ball alone, and I most definitely will not let you be the first. Mark my words, Harlow."
He watched with curiosity as Charles took in his words, wrinkling his nose in an odd smile as he accused him of being not genuine. Rolling his eyes and leaning back, he straightened out his mouth at him. "Come on. I don't kid around with stuff like that. I'm being serious."
Smiling at him, he opened his mouth to speak again and further convince him, but instead clenched it shut with a hiss of pain. His hand went up to his chest, his face scrunched up, and a groan tore from his lips.
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Post by superwholockin on Feb 26, 2012 4:18:08 GMT -5
“Lame? I’m already lame, this won’t change anything.” Charles joked. HE grinned, pinching Benedict’s nose. “People have gone to balls alone before! I won’t be the first.” He protested,
Charles narrowed his eyes suspiciously again, “You’re always kidding around.” HE took one more look at Benedict’s face before giving in, “Fine, you’re being genuine. What if I say no???” He asked, grinning some more, mischievously this time.
He was waiting for a response when Benedict groaned, hand to his chest and face scrunched in pain. Charles stood in the booth, mouth wide in shock, before running around the table to Benedict’s side. “What’s wrong?” He asked hurriedly. “What do you need? I’ll say yes, I’ll go to the ball with you, just tell me you’re okay!” He was panicking, the pain in Benedict’s eyes was all too real.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2012 4:38:40 GMT -5
Benedict reached out his other hand, his fingers extended, and gasped. "No...I...it's not that, you berk..." Pulling his hand back in, he forced himself to take a deep breath, just like the doctor had told him to, and held it.
Cursing under his breath, he looked up at Charles, planting a smile on his face and failing miserably at it. His lip twitched and it wasn't two seconds before it was morphed into an expression of pain once more. Tilting his head down so that Charles wouldn't have to see the look on his face, he gasped in another breath.
"I'm fi...I need to..." Benedict didn't finish, standing up abruptly and placing a hand on the top of the seat to steady himself. One step out, however, and he was already on the floor, hands out and trying to lessen the fall.
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Post by superwholockin on Feb 26, 2012 4:53:26 GMT -5
One moment they had been laughing together, the next, Benedict was collapsing in pain in front of Charles’ eyes. He saw the fake smile that soon morphed into the expression of pain and he saw Benedict’s failed attempts to hid his pain from Charles.
"I'm fi...I need to…”
Charles panicked, Benedict was falling and Charles reached out, catching him around the middle but ending up falling with him. Benedict landed on his arms and it hurt but Charles was up immeditaly, ignoring himself. His voice was choked as he managed to call for help; tears were sliding down his face. Benedict was dying and Charles didn’t know what to do or how to help, no matter how much he wanted to.
“Benedict?” He called softly, choking up some more as the tears tripped off of the end of his nose. “I don’t know what to do…”
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2012 5:09:13 GMT -5
The restaurant around them seemed to still, and Benedict curled his lip in a snarl of frustration. He gasped for a breath, standing once more and grabbing onto passing objects to steady himself on his way to the door. His ears were buzzing, and Charles lips moved as if he were talking but he couldn't hear what he was saying.
He all but crashed through the door, landing on his hands and knees again as his palms were scraped on the stone. Struggling to stand he grabbed a lamppost, coughing little bits of blood into the snow beside him.
It didn't last long. Raising his shirt to wipe his mouth, he frowned when the sleeve came back tinged scarlet. He sighed, raising a hand to his throat, and pressed two fingers down under his jaw. His heartbeat fluttered weakly and irregularly under his fingers, and he gritted his teeth in frustration.
Noticing Charles behind him from the corner of his eye, Benedict closed his eyes tightly and looked away. "I'm fine," he growled, his voice hoarse. "Really."
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Post by superwholockin on Feb 26, 2012 5:40:13 GMT -5
Charles followed behind Benedict when he got up and started stumbling towards the door. He could see people watching them as Charles walked past and he blinked back tears.
Benedict had collapsed onto his knees by the time Charles exited the Three Broomsticks and he held out a hand to rest it on his friend’s shoulder but Benedict moved before he could get close enough to do so. Charles stood back, letting Benedict breath as he stood there leaning against the lamp post.
” I'm fine," he growled, his voice hoarse. "Really."
Charles shook his head, an escaped tear dripping from his eyelashes. “No your not Benedict.” He countered, his voice low and worried. “Tell me what just happened!” He nearly shouted, eyes turning up to face the friend he felt he had nearly lost just then.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2012 16:20:33 GMT -5
Benedict frowned. He hated being snappy with his best friend when all he was trying to do was help, but he couldn't help it. He was doing it to protect him, so that Charles wouldn't be burdened like he was.
Or at least he hoped he was. Nagging doubt chewed at his stomach, and as he took another deep breath to try and steady himself he refused to meet his friend's eyes. He knew he was upset, and that he was the reason why he was. His vision spun around him when he opened his eyes again, and he leaned heavily on the post for support.
Though maybe he wasn't giving Charles enough credit. Curiosity would eat at him from the inside out until he found out; he already knew there was something wrong after finding out about the scar in the middle of his chest. He hadn't let anyone else see it--heck, even Charles saw it completely by accident--and no one knew (or really cared) about why he couldn't run for too long or spend much time on his broomstick or his shortness of breath at times. It would be nice to have someone to confide in; to help him through the rough patches of his chronic heart failure.
But if Charles had reacted to to him having a little fit, how would he take the real reason? Benedict shook his head, slowly, and looked down. "Nothing...serious," he lied, his eyes flittering to the blood on his sleeve. He shoved the hand into his pocket, hoping that Charles hadn't seen it.
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Post by superwholockin on Feb 26, 2012 16:44:25 GMT -5
Charles was worried, had this type of thing happened before? Was it serious? Was Benedict in danger? He knew in his gut that all three questions could be answered with a yes. But Charles wanted to hear it from Benedict’s own mouth, he didn’t want to find out his friend was dying or anything from a healer’s mouth.
When Benedict leaned on the post again Charles stiffened, his face going still, “Let’s go sit down.” He said, pointing to a bench down the street a short ways.
Charles was going to find out what was going on with Benedict.
"Nothing...serious,"
“You were coughing up blood and collapsing and I’m supposed to believe that nothing serious is going on? Please Benedict, you can trust me, don’t leave me in the dark. I want to know if you’re hurting.” Charles sighed, looking down at the snowy ground and wincing when he saw the red splotches on the snow once again.
Charles held out an arm, ready to help Benedict over to the bench. “Come ooon.”
The image of Margret, his sister, in St, Mungos’ flashed through his mind and he moaned, he didn’t think he would be able to handle it if he lost Benedict to a sickness as well. He had already lost one best friend and sister, he wouldn’t lose another.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2012 17:25:57 GMT -5
Benedict sighed, grudgingly taking Charles's hand to go sit down on the bench. He noticed the dark shadow in his friend's eyes, and he felt a wave of guilt crash over him. He was only trying to protect him, trying to keep him from hurting. But it seemed as though he was doing the opposite, and he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat down beside his friend.
He wanted so badly to tell him. A shadow of doubt still hung over him, though, and it was hard to find the right words.
"Who the hell isn't hurting nowadays?" he said, croaking a half-hearted laugh at his failed attempt at a joke. He slumped his shoulders, looking down at the ground between his feet. The ground that had threatened to give out from under his feet just minutes before. Benedict reassured himself with the feel of the bench behind his back and Charles's warm body beside his. His vision slipped again, and he pressed on his eyes with one hand and grabbed onto Charles's shoulder with the other. He didn't dare look at him when the moment passed, instead staring off into the streets of Hogsmeade and suddenly finding the various signs very, very interesting.
He'd put Charles through too much not to tell him, he realized with a sigh. It wouldn't be fair to keep him in the dark after he'd witnessed his episode. Benedict looked at his palms with a frown, thinking to himself that he'd need to wash the scraped flesh sooner or later, and then looked back out again.
"I was born with a defective heart," he growled, closing his eyes against the flood of memories, of doctors, of hospitals and surgical instruments and machines and everything that frightened him more than anything else on earth. "Childhood was a bitch. Do you know how much it sucks to watch your siblings and friends run off to play while you're stuck inside because you can't exert yourself?" He exhaled a breath in frustration. "Anyways, they always had me hooked up to something until I was old and healthy enough for a transplant. And when I was thirteen, I got one." Gritting his teeth, he opened his eyes again, still avoiding Charles's gaze. "It's failing. My body's rejecting it, and my immune system's killing it."
He grinned then, even if the smile was not all there, and nudged his friend. "I'm not dying, yet. I'l still alive and kicking, see?" He swung his legs comically for effect, and finally turned his eyes towards Charles.
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Post by superwholockin on Feb 26, 2012 18:01:09 GMT -5
Charles sat quietly beside Benedict, letting him take his time with the explanation. He worried when Benedict closed his eyes for a moment but was reassured when he began staring off at the signs of Hogsmeade.
"Who the hell isn't hurting nowadays
Charles frowned at his friend’s attempt at a joke; it really wasn’t the time in his mind to joke about at all, even about yourself.
Then Benedict started talking, telling Charles what he had wanted – the truth - but it wasn’t something he would ever want to hear again. Charles listened in shocked silence until the last sentence that his body was rejecting his heart and Charles let out a choked groan, his vision blurring, whether from tears or the shock of it all Charles would never know.
"I'm not dying, yet. I'l still alive and kicking, see?"
Charles let Benedict nudge him, swaying where he sat at the touch. “So, you’re saying that your heart is dying?” he whispered in askance. He had caught the ‘yet’ part of it and he leaned against his friend, knowing that it was his job to stay strong for his friend but not thinking that he would be able to do it. He looked up, letting a half-hearted almost smile come to his face, “I’ll just have to never let you out of my sight again won’t I?” He replied, still not able to talk normally.
He was silent for another moment, “I can’t lose you like I lost my sister.”
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2012 20:05:45 GMT -5
Benedict's grin faltered as he saw that his words were doing nothing to reassure Charles. He studied him with a concerned expression, mentally kicking himself for giving in. This was exactly what he had feared; this reaction from his friend. He frowned when he noticed for the first time that Charles had been crying, and he reached over to wipe his cheeks.
"Hey," he murmured. "Hey. It's okay."
Wrapping his arms around Charles as he leaned against him, Benedict rested his cheek on top of his head. "I...guess you could say that," he admitted, heaving a sigh against the words. He couldn't blame him for reacting that way--the whole thing was sudden to him, whereas Benedict himself had had his entire life to come to terms with it. Something he hadn't quite done yet, but he was working on it.
Benedict pulled Charles closer to himself. "You won't lose me. I promise. Come on, it's me we're talking about. I don't back down from anything, remember?" He shifted his head so that he could press his lips to the top of his friend's head. He felt a frown play on his face again, and he buried his face in Charles's hair. "It's okay. I pro..." He paused, cutting himself off. "I'll be okay."
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Post by superwholockin on Feb 26, 2012 20:32:19 GMT -5
Charles smiled slightly at Benedict, “I should be the one comforting you, not you comforting me…” He joked half heartedly. Here he was having his tears wiped away while the guy doing the wiping sat there with a sick heart, how very ironic that was. When Benedict leaned his cheek on Charles’ head he sighed, leaning in some more at the same time as Benedict pulled him closer. He smiled as Benedict said that he wasn’t going to back down from anything, that was Benedict, stubborn as an ox with a heart just as big. Charles felt Benedict’s kiss to his head and buried his face into his best friend’s shirt as he had done before in jest, but now did in comfort.
Charles heard Benedict cut himself off and he lifted his head a bit to look up at his face, “It better be okay, if it isn’t I might have to kill you.” Charles said, his face straight but his tone light. “I want to go back to the common room, its warm there.” He said suddenly, sitting up fully. It felt wrong, sitting in the cold on a bench where their privacy could be broken at any time.
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