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Post by mikeym on Dec 29, 2008 16:52:30 GMT 1
Jake was glad to hear in Ash's voice that him being a little nosy wasn't a bad thing. The Hufflepuff seemed to want to be able to talk about it like it was no big deal but rarely had the opportunity to even talk seriously about it to a friend. That made him even more determined to help out as much as he could, it made him feel better if his friends were happy through and through and not just on the surface. He listened quietly as Ash explained about his exercises.
When the blond started to talk about his parents, Jake felt for Ashley just because of him losing his parents, unable to really say goodbye to them. Jake hadn't had to deal with anyone's immediate death and he didn't like to think he ever would have to. It was a scary thing to have a person there one minute then gone the next, unable to comfort you. "I bet" he murmured, putting a gentle hand on Ash's shoulder and squeezing gently for a little support.
"Ow, yeah. I can imagine your hands cramping up at that.. I've got this crick in my neck from falling asleep reading last night" he said tilting his head to the side a little. "I don't think I can get my hand into the right position to really help when I rub my neck" he smiled slightly, reaching up to his neck with his other hand to try and rub at the spot. He still hadn't removed his hand from Ash's shoulder.
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Post by ashley on Dec 29, 2008 17:04:39 GMT 1
The hand on his shoulder was nice and Ash couldn’t help himself from leaning slightly towards the other, watching him as he rubbed at his neck. His lips were already parted to offer him a massage when the Ravenclaw muttered something about falling asleep in the wrong position. He gently slid one hand up to the boys neck, rubbing there experimentally. ”There?” His voice was soft, a little hesitant and shy even. He wasn’t sure if Jake would mind that he touched him, though he realized that Jake’s hand was still on his shoulder.
”My mum used to ask me to massage her neck, pretty much every night” Ashleys eyes clouded over for a moment, but he shook it off quickly. ”I miss them” It sounded so simple, not even meant to get the older male’s sympathy but just because he felt like he could tell him and not make this into a pity party. ”Don’t get me wrong, I love being at Hogwarts, I just...miss how simple everything used to be.” And how he could turn to his parents for advice on anything. They had always loved and accepted him, no matter what he did or how badly he screwed up. Ash liked to think that they were proud of him.
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Post by mikeym on Dec 29, 2008 17:31:55 GMT 1
Inhaling quickly, but quietly, Jake felt a little shy when Ash touched his neck but he couldn't help tilting his head a bit to get Ash's warm fingers to the right spot. "Yeah.." he murmured, almost sighing it. His body was definitely taking on a mind of its own to react to the younger boys stimulations...and Jake didn't mind. That just meant he didn't have to think of what exactly to do. "My mum used to rub my neck and back since I almost always fell asleep with a book" he said, smiling slightly and looking sideways at Ashley's face.
Jake licked his lips, hearing the sadness in Ash's voice. Even if it sounded sad he still said it in a stronger voice, like it was a sign he was dealing with his parents being gone. At least he was slowly healing from it. He had yet to tell Ash of his adoption but figured he could now, since he too missed his biological parents even if he'd never seen them. "I get it." He murmured, giving his shoulder another gentle squeeze. "Growing up really sucks. The world really is as horrible as the grownups make it out to be sometimes..growing older and having things happens throws things into a dark perspective unfortunately." Jake wanted to continue and say that he was sorry that Ashley's parents died and he was in a wheelchair, but that wouldn't be doing any good. No family deserved to be broken up that way.
Looking down at the water for a moment before he shifted slightly uncomfortable in his seat. "Know how you said earlier about my dad freaking out if he saw us?" he asked softly, not really knowing how to bring this up. "He's not.. really my dad.. technically" he finished, inwardly groaning since he sounded like an idiot.
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Post by ashley on Dec 29, 2008 17:42:28 GMT 1
"My mum used to rub my neck and back since I almost always fell asleep with a book"
Ash couldn’t help but laugh at that, continuing to softly massage Jake’s neck, not minding in the slightest that it meant his side was fully pressed against the others body. ”Look at you, being the proper Ravenclaw” He teased, a laugh obvious in his voice. He could just see a small Jake falling asleep with his cheek rested on the book he’d been engrossed in. Though Ashley loved to read, he had always been busy playing sports, Quidditch of course, but also many Muggle sports like soccer and basketball. He was the kind of boy that would only get tired after physical exhaustion. Maybe that was why the nightmares tended to come so frequently... he had no real let out anymore.
As Jake mentioned growing up and how the world was a sucky place, the Hufflepuff frowned, listening to him in silence. He wondered what had happened to the Ravenclaw to make him feel this way. Even after the car crash, when those first terrifying moments had faded, he had never seen the world the way Jake described it. There were a lot of bad things, definitely, but in the end he firmly believed the good outweighed them. Still, he felt as if the other had more to say and just stayed quiet, giving him the chance to talk.
"Know how you said earlier about my dad freaking out if he saw us? Ashley glanced up at those words, into the boys eyes as he finished speaking. ”He's not.. really my dad.. technically". That could mean two things. Either the man was his stepdad, or Jake was adopted. The Hufflepuff wasn’t really sure how to respond to it, biting his lip for a moment or two. ”You were adopted?” It was the option that seemed to make the most sense, given what the Ravenclaw had told him.
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Post by mikeym on Dec 29, 2008 18:17:29 GMT 1
Jake grinned a little when Ash teased him about being a proper Ravenclaw "How does this make me proper?" he asked softly, closing his eyes a little to enjoy the massage before opening his eyes again, looking over at him getting a little lost in the soft brown eyes. Brown had never really been a beautiful color to Jake.. but the shade that Ash's were corrected that thought almost immediately. "Were you one of those kids that ran themselves ragged then passed out?" he asked thinking that with Ashley being so passionate about Quidditch then he must have been a little ball of energy.
Seeing the frown that crept up on the blond's face, Jake's brow furrowed for a second, ready to ask what was wrong before he realized that his moody talk of the world probably did it. "Sorry.. I tend to slip into being maudlin and depressing sometimes. I try not to but.." he shrugged a shoulder slightly, sliding his hand off Ash's shoulder since he was pressed against him anyway and he just let his hands settle in his lap. It was how his father acted about some things.. it maid the world seem a little less bright and with the thought of being forced into the Army when he turned eighteen, Jake's outlook on life had been dwindling even more the closer he got. He only had a year left since he turned seventeen only yesterday.
The Ravenclaw watched the younger male figure out what he was getting at and he nodded. "Yes..which is how I'm a wizard. My adopted family is completely Muggle." he said, biting his lip for a moment before opening his mouth to speak again "All I know about them is my real dad's name."
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Post by ashley on Dec 29, 2008 19:02:35 GMT 1
Ashley chuckled when Jake asked him what kind of kid he had been. Before he was introduced to sports, he used to drive his mum crazy. She had often sent him out in the back yard to play with their dog, watching her son roll around with the dog, play fighting and running with the animal. Ash had always been fond of animals, and he missed having their family dog. It had still been with him at the time of the accident, but after he woke up, the animal had been brought to a shelter and got adopted by another loving family. It was supposed to be for the best, but sometimes the Hufflepuff felt incredibly lonely because of it.
Trying to drive the thoughs away, he focused on Jake instead, on massaging him and trying to make him feel relaxed. ”When I was a kid, mum used to tell me that she would sell my bed...I barely ever slept and kept coming downstairs in the middle of the night.” He smiled fondly at the memory, glad that even though his parents had died, he could still think of them and be genuinely happy.
Looking at Jake, he watched him bite his lip and wondered if the older boy was nervous for some reason. Did he worry that Ash would think less of him because he was adopted? ”You do? Do you want to go and find him?” Sure, he was curious, but found it was hardly his place to go and demand to know the boys fathers name.
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Post by mikeym on Dec 29, 2008 19:20:43 GMT 1
"I knew it.." he said laughing softly at Ash's admitting to being a wound up kid, he leaned more into his hand. He smiled when he saw Ash smiling after telling him how his mum threatened to sell his bed. Memories were good with his mum as well, his dad not so much, with him being strict and all. Ashley's parents sounded like they were a lot of fun and Jake found himself wishing he could meet them even though he knew he wouldn't be able to.
After another minute, the kink in his neck was gone and even though he wanted to let Ash keep rubbing his neck he wanted to dip down under the water and get wet since his chest and shoulders were getting a little cold "Hold on.." he said slowly pulling away from him and slipping off the bench, holding his breath to sink down into the water. He popped back up in front of Ash a moment later, rubbing the water out of his eyes and he looked at him wondering if he wanted to get into the pool and get all wet too.
"Do I want to find them?" he repeated the question, thinking about it for a second. Even though he'd thought about who his parents were, he'd never actually thought that they'd still be around to find and get to know. "I'm not sure" he finally concluded after thinking about it. "I don't even know if they're alive" he said shrugging a shoulder before he moved back over to sit on the bench next to Ash again.
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Post by ashley on Dec 29, 2008 20:52:28 GMT 1
He pouted for a moment when Jake pulled away from him, luckily the other had chosen that exact moment to bury his entire body in the water. He looked at him longingly, both wanting to touch Jake and wanting to be emerged into the water and feel weightless. It was such a nice feeling. To be free for a while, to feel like he could do anything if maybe he just tried.
As Jake sat back down next to him and wondered whether or not he wanted to meet his parents, Ash thought about the situation. He had been lucky, being born into a family that wanted him. He could only imagine what it would be like to know that you weren’t wanted by those who had birthed you. That although you were taken in by another family, you still wanted to find out why you hadn’t been good enough. He sympathised with the Ravenclaw, though he didn’t pity him. There was no point to pitying anyone. Support. That was far more important.
”Well, if you want to go and look for them...Maybe I could help. It’s the least I can do” He didn’t need anything in return. Ashley just liked to make his friends happy. If he could make a smile appear on that lovely face, that was enough. And besides, maybe his real dad wouldn’t be such a homophobe. He didn’t even want to think about why that could matter.
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Post by mikeym on Dec 29, 2008 21:12:28 GMT 1
Jake had thought about pulling Ash into the water with him, but figured that if he wanted to do the same he would ask. Swimming was something that Jake loved to do, it wore him out and helped him keep his muscles toned. He loved how being in the water felt like a completely different world, one where nothing bad could happen if you just pushed a bit further. The high from winning a race or swimming fifty laps wasn't bad either with the endorphins kicking in.
He smiled at the younger male "If I knew where to start I might, but I have no clue if there's even a Robins in the wizarding world." With Ash being supportive about it, he was glad that he told him about being adopted. He felt a little out of place sometimes with people talking about their families because of this little secret he'd keep. Not many people knew besides Jake's closer friends because they noticed how different Jake looked from his siblings. "That's his name I mean, Robins. Carter Robins." he continued, looking at Ash.
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Post by ashley on Dec 29, 2008 21:21:44 GMT 1
Ashley had been about to ask when Jake threw that sentence in so carelessly that he blinked for a few seconds. He had figured that Ryan was well known in the school, but apparently the Ravenclaw had managed to avoid the rumors to the point where he was wondering if there was a Robins family around. God help him, did everything about the older male have to be cute by default? It really wasn’t fair.
He ran fingers through his hair, wondering how to say this and eventually just settling for the easy truth. ”My friend is called Robins. I think his second name is Carter, actually. Ryan Carter Robins...yeah that sounds about right. He’s in Slytherin.” His voice was soft as if he was talking to himself, eyes cast down at the water where he played with his hands, his left massaging his leg, the right one just making little waves in the pool.
”Maybe he’s somehow related to your real dad? I can’t imagine there would be too many Robins families around...Unless your father wasn’t a wizard. I know that Ryan is a Pureblood. He’s related to the Diggory’s too I think...” In his attempt to help out Jake, Ash had sort of shot off into a ramble, and when he realized, he gave the other a guilty smile.
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