Everybody's Having Fun... [Oz][Ball]

[Seth Hevulen]

There were about a hundred other ways Seth Hevulen would have rather spent his birthday. Going to a fancy dress ball had never been on the top of his list of things to do, but he was stuck, on his seventeenth birthday going to a whole school event. Curse his mother for giving birth to him on Halloween.

The only hope he had, this evening, of having a good time lay in the hands of the Squib caretaker, Oscar Peterson. The students, thanks to that idiot paper of their’s seemed to have decided that if you spoke to somebody for more than five minutes, you fancied them, or were with them. As much as Seth liked Oscar, nothing had happened between them.

Sure they’d met in the library and chatted to each other until the threat of a detention for being out past curfew loomed over Seth. But as of yet, that was as far as anything had gone and they were happy with that. Ultimately, Seth missed Oscar when he wasn’t there. He was on the same level as him, as much as Oscar looked down on himself and saw himself as an idiot or something wrong, Seth really didn’t think he knew a nicer person, a person more deserving of happiness.

-

Seth left the sixth year dormitory and headed out of the common room. He was clad in a black, white pinstripe, suit, and black tie which hung loosely around the collar of his crisp white shirt. He was carrying his tilbry hat in his hand, fiddling with it as he walked.

He wasn’t nervous – he was dreading it.

Tonight was guaranteed to be one of the worst nights of his whole seventeen years of existence.

When he walked up the steps to the ground floor, he had already passed a few excited girls garbling about who knew what, and a a handful of couples as well. One of which seemed to think it silly to wait until the actual dance to start molesting each other. Some people had no dignity – that or completely lacked self control…

Upon reaching the Great Hall, Seth couldn’t help but looked around and groan slightly. This really wasn’t what he wanted to be doing tonight of all nights. Sure his birthday when he was younger had been spent trick of treating with a few of his friends, who he then ate ridiculous amounts of sweets with and made himself feel rather ill afterwards, but it was all good fun.

A ball, a masquerade ball, was not. Not to Seth.

Whilst Professor McGonagall made her speech Seth had loitered at the back of the room leaning against the wall next to the door. Sighing to himself, he made his way lazily over to the drinks table on the far side. A random fourth year girl approached him, or somebody he assume was a fourth year by the way they were speaking to him. He merely raised his eyebrows – though hidden by both mask and hat, and span on his heels, looking in each of the four corners expectantly.

As if by magic, he set his eyes on a Wizards with a broom. He smiled to himself and started to walk away from the table.

”Hey! Where are you going?” the female demanded, she was dressed as a pixie, McGonagall was going to love the amount of clothing the girl was wearing.

”I’m off to see the wizard,” he said abruptly, smiling to himself, and pointing generally in the direction of the shape he assumed to be Oscar. Tonight the caretaker really was the ‘Wizard of Oz’, just like Seth kept calling him in his letters, never to his face though. As weird as Seth came across on parchment, he still managed to behave himself most of the time in public.

Oscar had his back to him when he finally got close enough to speak. So he approached him, stood up on his toes slightly and whispered in his ear, ”Why my little party is only just beginning,” Seth was a prize nerd. He’d grown up watching the film with the lion and the scarecrow and the tin man and all those tiny little munchkins, he could probably recite the entire thing at somebody.

Taking a sip from his drink and looking around the room he smirked, ”And I thought I was at the bottom of the social ladder with you. I had no idea they would make such a fuss,” he muttered sarcastically into his cup before looking up and smiling at Oscar.

Now Seth could allow himself to have a good time. At least now he was in company he wanted to keep. With company that wanted to keep him.

[oscarpeterson]

Oscar had spent the whole day clearing up the Great Hall with the house elves and decorating it in preparation for the Ball that night. He'd had an alright time talking to Fly, his only other friend. Fly didn't judge him like the rest of the world. Actually that was a lie, there was one other person in the world who didn't judge him. Seth Hevulen. Oscar was actually looking forward to hanging out with him. It wasn't as if he was going to be dancing much. Oscar was on stand by for litter, cleaning up fights and up after people in case they took their fun a little too far.

People didn't often end up chucking their guts up, but it had happened before and it could happen again. The glamour of being a caretaker...

-

Oscar was already inside when the students arrived in drips and draps. They all looked so sparkly. He looked so ordinary in his 'wizard' outfit. And by 'wizard' outfit, he meant a point hat like the one in Fantasia. But that was supposed to be irony or something. Basically he'd been told he had to come in fancy dress and this was as fancy as it got. A pointy hat and his best shirt. He couldn't be too extravegant, he wouldn't want to ruin any good outfit when clearing up an accident.

He unconsciously found himself searching the growing masses of students for Seth. He couldn't remember if he;d been told about what outfit he was wearing or not. And with all these people wearing masks it was hard to tell who was who. There was the odd recognisable student. Miss Bones from Gryffindor was easy to pick out in her bright red (and rather poofy) dress. She was hovering between going over to the Quidditch team and a small kid, Charlie Jones possibly. But Oz didn;t watch long enough to find out which she picked.

His eyes fell on a slight kafuffle in the centre of the hall. Someone had been looking at him and bumped into a girl/pixie. McGonagall wasn't going to be best pleased when she saw that outfit. Oscar could see a clothes-y spell heading her way. When the bumper started walking his way Oz knew it was Seth and he started to smile. Instantly realising what he'd done, Oscar turned round to face the other way in embarressment. Why had he not gone for a mask? He could have come as a troll, at least then his embarressment wouldn't be public.

Seth crept up on him quicker than he'd expected. Speaking in his ear had made Oscar jump and spin round, he was lucky to have not knocked Seth's drink out of his hand. "Well if you're joining my party I hope you know there will be a lot of cleaning involved." It had sounded cooler in his head... Not that Oz was cool. Seth wasn't particularly cool either, but that wasn't why they were friends. He fought the urge to apologise.

Oscar actually laughed at what Seth said. And he hadn't had any of the teacher's punch yet either. "Well, here's to the bottom of the ladder." He said, picking his glass up from the nearby table and offering it as a toast. This was going to be a good Hallowe'en Ball, unlike the previous years. This year he had good company.

[Seth Hevulen]

Fly had been with the rest of the house-elves nominated to help get the Great Hall in ship decorated shape for the school's annual ball. She hadn't minded so much, occasionally lending a helping hand to Oscar Peterson. Fly liked him, he didn't treat her badly like some of the other wizards did, Bad Fly! Bad! he treated her well, and in turn she gave him things and helped him out. She liked him being happy, he should be happy. Mr Oscar Peterson should not feel bad. Ever.

As Oscar turned sharply Seth took a quick step back, steadying the cup in his hand so he didn't spill it's content all down himself. He let out a high-pitched-nearing-girly chuckled and took a sip from his cup. Good old pumpkin juice. Butterbeer made him feel ill.

"I would rather be cleaning than joining in with that," he said pointing with his cup hand towards the crowd of bouncing, screaming teenagers that just looked ridiculous. Some couples were dancing, other girls were just looking slutty and well the teachers were all making fools of themselves really. Everybody looked stupid. Stupid bloody ball, "But cleaning on my birthday really doesn't seem like that much fun," he contemplated taking another sip from his drink.

He toasted Oscar, "The bottom of the ladder," he jested taking another swig from his cup finishing the liquid. He set his cup down on the same spot that Oscar had just retrieved his from before watching it quickly disappear from sight as it got magicked away to be washed. It would soon reappear on the drinks table shiny and new, no doubt.

Seth fiddled with his mask, it was itchy and he was dying to take it off. He pulled at the elastic holding it to his face and sighed. He'd just have to deal with it. Another five minutes and half the people in the room would have lost their masks, so he'd take it off then, when he wouldn't be the only one. He wanted to rid himself of the hat as well. He felt like an idiot, dressed up in a suit and tie looking like a 50s gangsta.

"How's today been for you?" Seth knew Oscar was never good with small talk, but after a good thirty seconds looking around with nothing else to say, small talk had to be Seth's safest bet. He wished he hadn't put his cup down now, he could fiddle with it. Look at it, just generally occupy himself with it rather than concentrating on how much of a prat he looked.

This is not how he had envisaged his seventeenth birthday. Not one bit.

He'd gotten his gifts from his Mother and Sister in the post, his mother had sent him a Chudley Cannons Scarf and a couple of tickets to the next Hogsmeade Game, Jazz had sent him a box full of different Cadbury's products. He missed muggle chocolate whilst he was away at school so having the added boost to last him until Christmas was a god send. They also sent him a scrapbook full of pictures of his lizards that they had taken every day over the last few weeks. A Yearly tradition. Seth liked to keep a track on how they were looking and he would inspect the photographs for any dodginess about the cages as well. So if they were left uncleaned for too long he could complain at them.

His morning he had spent talking to Ash about his birthday and about how his family and lizards were doing, receiving his gift from his best friend and spending the rest of the day at his usual lessons. After lunch he made the executive decision not to do any work and the time he had spent in the library he had spent reading more of Beedle the Bard. He had half hoped Oscar would make an appearance but he knew he would have been busy sorting out things for tonight.

At least he got to spend time with him now. Even if it was under the prying eyes of every student and their pet.

[oscarpeterson]

Oscar, feeling oddly confident, decided to make it apparent to Seth how weird his laugh just was by pulling a face. Not even Fly laughed like that. But it was all good, and he ended up laughing soon enough. Oscar, laughing? Who would have thought? Certainly not Oz. He also would never have imagined having a good enough friend to have recieved a nickname from. But Seth had brought about many a new thing in his life, and Oscar was actually quite enjoying these turn of events, despite their scarinosity.

The pulsing crowd of over excited teens didn't particularly look like a good place to be, and Oscar pulled a face of disgust in agreement with Seth. Even at muggle school, when Oscar had been forced to participate in social events he'd always been hovering at the edge waiting for someone special to come along. He guessed he had someone now. Seth was different, which made him special to Oz. Different meant that he spoke to Oz. Something he was beginning to enjoy. "Don't worry you won't have to clean. I'll just make you watch."

Oscar too took a sip from his drink, but decided to down it immediately after. He put it on the table and mentally apologised to Fly for making more work for her. He was there on duty, he shouldn't be making a mess. He knew she liked to clean, but he still felt guilty. Taking a moment to think about the bottom of the ladder, Oscar wouldn;t want to be anywhere else. He had good company there: Seth, Fly, even Scrivens. Though, he didn't class Scrivens as the same sort of friends as Seth and Fly. He was more a mentor who was looking out for him. Seth and Fly were there to make him feel better and to hang out with. Though, he only ever hung out with Fly when they were working. But nevertheless, the bottom of the ladder had good company.

Seth's fiddling caught Oz's attention. He was glad he hadn't gone for a mask. A pointy hat and cape was all he needed. The broom would have been there whatever he'd have worn. He needed something practical(ish) though, cleaning didn;t work when you were in large furry outfits...? Oscar blinked in surprise at the sight of someone dressed as a muggle's view of a werewolf. Strange children. Seth's 50s gangsta look worked well on him though. It should have alarmed him that he was thinking that about a guy, but no alarm bells rang in Oz's mind. It just felt... natural and right.

"Today has been like any other day. I clean and stuff with the only added bonus of decorating." He shifted a little, closer to his mini-camp. Every ball Oscar had to have a corner for his emergency cleaning/fix it kit for those disasters the teachers pray to not happen. So far, he'd only used it once in his career. It was pretty spectacular though. A sixth year had managed to steal some of the teacher's punch, then got into a fight. After that it just got messy. If he looked really hard, Oscar could still find the scorch marks on the hall floor where the drunk student had singed off someone's party outfit, and semi-successfully too.

"I did however get up early for a trip into Hogsmeade." He didn;t know why he was building up suspense - or was trying to anyway - for this. He;d seen students do it before when giving gifts, he just never knew how lame it could sound. He hadn't forgotten the fact it was Seth's birthday, in fact he'd known it before they officially met. Seeing the same people for a number of years, you pick up patterns like when they get birthday messages and such. Seen as how he'd always made a bee-line for the Hufflepuff, Seth noticed in the first year that Seth's birthday was Hallowe'en.

And because they were now new friends, it seemed only fair he got him a present. He fingered the wrapped gift behind him, fingers tangling in the precisely placed ribbons. He hadn't wrapped it, he asked the store owner if wrapping was on offer because Oscar always just managed to tape himself to the paper and nothing else. He pulled the gift out from behind his back. "I had a birthday present to buy." He offered the rectangular box-like thing to Seth with a smile. "Happy Birthday."

Although he already knew what he'd bought Seth, Oscar felt anticipation waiting for the present to be open. It was like he needed it verifying, that he'd bought Seth his own copy of the Beedle Bard. It was Seth's procrastinating book, so it made sense for him to own a copy rather than always having to take it out of the library. It also meant less contact with the librarian. It had taken forever to find too, but Oz didn;t want to just get him some sweets or something. Because that was lame. The book actually meant something. All he could do was pray Seth liked it.

[Seth Hevulen]

Seth couldn’t do anything but blush at Oscar’s look. It was certainly a new improvement from the 20-year-old – mockery? Jovial, friendly mockery at least. That was definitely new, slight bizarre but good. Even more bizarre and even better still was the sound of Oscar’s laughter. In the month that they had been friends, and the vast amount of times they had met up with each other or seen each other in the hallways, Seth had never heard the bloke laugh. It was a nice sound, a jolly sound and one Seth wanted to hear more times that night and forever in the future.

Seth smiled, he could always count on Oz to agree with him when he needed it. Especially when it came down to the other students and either how evil they were or, in situations like this, where they would both rather be curled up in bed reading a book. That’s another reason they got along so well, they were quite alike. Considering whoever said ‘opposites attract’ lied. They were living proof of that. The only thing they were opposites on was the whole fact that Oscar had been brought up in the wizarding world to be thrown into the muggle one and Seth the other way around. But they could overlook that, and they quite successfully did.

”Watching you clean would be the highlight of my day,” Seth said honestly. He really hadn’t done that much that was overly interesting. He had opened his gifts and read one of the books his mother had sent him. That had been about it. Then he had gotten ready for this god forsaken ordeal and all he had looked forward to all day was this. Spending time with Oscar. As long as the guy didn’t ignore him point blank whilst he busied himself with his broom Seth would have no problem with watching. Hell he’d follow the guy around like a lost puppy if it meant he got to spend time with somebody who wasn’t Ashley – who was busying himself with Shiro anyway.

Seth watched as Oscar downed his drink and instantly found himself wishing he hadn’t finished his own already. His mouth was dry again instantaneously. Seth liked his position on the bottom of the ladder. He couldn’t imagine a life in a higher position like his best friend seemed to have. Having to talk to so many people on a regular business and so nicely all the time? It would be nearly as hellish as the ball itself. Luckily for Seth though nobody spoke to him, so he could refrain from speaking to anybody as well. Apart from those he decided to talk to.

Just take it off! was all Seth found himself thinking, all he wanted to do was rid himself of the blessed item. Oscar didn’t have one, surely he could get away with it? Maybe not. He was glad his costume didn’t require a mask for get the fully effect of it – it would probably work better without it. At least Oz’s face wasn’t hidden from view, it was one of his best aspects. Not that Seth was overly shallow and put looks before personality – because Oscar would still be at the top of his likes list if he wasn’t gorgeous too – but he was, so it didn’t hurt that he could worship the guy from afar. Not that he would ever admit to it to anybody – especially not Oscar, he’d scare the guy off.

”And a good job of decorating you did too,” Seth complimented looking up at the ceiling and around him at all the festivities taking it all in again. Seth saw Oscar shift towards a gathering of things which he assumed was the caretaker’s stuff and made a move with him so he didn’t get too far away and feel like he was being socially outcasted again. He quite liked having this friendship that nobody else had. He hadn’t even let himself share the guy with Ashley – and he shared pretty much everything else with the bloke.

Seth didn’t say anything in reply he merely looking interested and made a ‘hmm’ing noise and looked Oscar in the eye and waiting patiently for the guy to continue. The thought of Oscar getting him a gift for his birthday had never crossed his mind. He knew Oscar knew his birthday was today, he had mentioned it and complained about it being the same day as the ball, but still, he hadn’t expected anything.

He watched as Oscar reached behind him and produced a small package, ”I, uh,” Seth couldn’t bring words to his mouth, ”Thank you,” he managed just about before he found the parcel in his hands. He looked at the box for a few moments dumbfounded before opening it.

The Beedle the Bard. Seth couldn’t help but let out another weird chuckling noise. Excitement, happiness, pleasure. Everything positive. ”Thank you!” he repeated taking the book in his hands and turning about in them looking at the pristine cover, he flicked through the pages and looked back up at Oscar again, ”I don’t know what to say,” he let out a laughed sigh and smiled broadly, ”I love it, thank you,” he said, as if on automatic placing his arms around Oscar’s shoulders – having to raise himself up onto his toes to get a better hold of the guy, and hugging him I thanks.

Seth hadn’t even thought about the fact that a hug would be completely alien to Oscar, he just did it. Like he had hugged Ash that morning when he had given him his present. Only it was different with Oscar – Oscar he didn’t want to let go off too quickly.

[950 words o.O Bit of a rambly essay at 3am XD]

[oscarpeterson]

Thanks to Seth, Oscar truely believed that he would be laughing more in the future. He just felt alive with Seth. He felt like taking chances and being like a normal person. The recluse gig had worked before, but now he actually had a friend it seemed a little out of place. Seth was his miracle, and he would be eternally grateful. This friendship felt right, until all the other times people had made attempts. (Though there'd only been a couple, and he was fair sure one was a dare.) His pain of loneliness was ending, it was... brilliant.

When Seth smiled, Oz smiled back. It was all part of his new leaf. He was going to not be so anti-social, which meant smiling. He finally understood how Wednesday Addams felt in the second Addams Family movie. Those muscles were severly under used. But he liked how similar he and Seth were, it made it easier for him to talk. Or for him to not talk, in a way. Seth understood his introverted nature, something not may people could claim. And Oscar liked it that the same personality traits were part of Seth too. They were like two peas in a pod.

"Then you are strange." He said, another slight laugh escaping his lips. What was in that punch? He had to wonder. He didn't think it was alcoholic, but that was his only explanation for this kind of behaviour. Unless Seth was truely breaking him of his old habits. Now that was strange. "I was under the impression cleaning was boring, hence why people avoid it and leave me to do it." He wasn't complaining, not really. Some of the messes were horrific, and he hated cleaning them up. But at least he got paid. Though that could be hard to remember when knee deep in goop.

Oddly enough, Oscar too felt parched despite just finishing his drink. He was nervous. And he didn't know why. Maybe it was because of the feeling Oscar was only too aware of. The feeling that tonight would be a turning point of sorts in their friendship. He was silently panicking about the gift, for one thing. Plus, they'd planned to meet there, at a social event rather than in the back corner of the library or his office. This was where people could see them. Oz was only too aware of the fact that people could be looking and judging. He liked to pretend that he didn't care about that, but he really did.

Looking round, Oscar saw almost everyone wearing a mask and immediately felt out of place. He didn't know it was part of the dress code, no one had given him that memo. Scrivens had only told that he had to be in fancy dress a few nights before - hence the not particularly well thought out outfit. He may have been told about the whole mask thing, but he'd clearly forgotten. The poor lighting was a godsend at that moment in time, for Oscar was very grateful that it hid the slight rise in colour that was covering his cheeks. He normally ran when he felt uncomfortable, like this, but tonight he didn't want to. He was enjoying himself. A truely alien concept.

"Thank you." He blushed a little more, compliments were most definitely alien to him. Not even his Ma had complimented him much when he was little - but that's because he was the disappointment of the family who nobody though would amount to much. Way to prove them wrong! Oh well, at least he was somewhere he liked now. Hogwarts had always been a place of wonder to him. Now it was a place of miracle, so to speak. He was fair sure that if Seth knew Oscar referred to him as a 'miracle' he'd get weirded out. Oz was going to keep that one quiet. "I did have some help though." He said, referring to the house elves.

Oscar felt a little glad when Seth kept the same amount of space between them. Before he'd got the horrible feeling that Seth would feel like he was shifting away. Which he wasn't. Well he was, but he had every intention of coming back. The fact he was 'hmm'ing kind of let Oz know that Seth saw right through this little show he had going. But he couldn't stop now he'd started. Even though it was horrifically lame what he was doing. Just thinking about what he was saying, and the way he was saying it just embarressed Oz. He would never be able to live it down.

He didn;t quite know what to make of Seth's reaction. Was he surprised? Was he thinking, "Oh God, another unwanted reminder of this day,"? What?! Oscar's heart all but stopped as he watched Seth open the present. The moments before he ripped into the paper terrified Oz. Why was he just staring at it? Did Seth know some spell which made inatimate talk to him telepathically? Now that was just ridiculous, but going through his mind all the same. But the chuckle just freaked him out. Oz almost believed he was having a heart attack.

Then he spoke. An excited, "Thank you!" It was such a relief seeing such a genuine reaction. Oscar had seen many a fake 'thanks' over the years, and this was anything but. "Yeah, well. I knew you liked it." He mumbled nervously, scratching the back of his head. A smile grew as Seth thanked him again, never before had anyone 'loved' what Oz had given them. It felt so nice to be appreciated, or to be connected with appreciation in this case.

When Seth placed his arms around Oz, he instantly froze. This was new, unexpected and - ultimately - scary. He even held his breath for a second. But then his brain thawed. This was Seth hugging him. A friend. A good friend. It was natural for friends to hug each other, Oscar saw it happen every day. So with that notion in his mind, and the previous 'new leaf' notions, he went to put his arms round Seth too. At first his limbs didn't want to co-operate, he was usually such a non-contact sort of person, but he eventually found Seth's shoulders. It was odd, but it felt so right. It was like he was embracing hope itself.

[Seth Hevulen]

Oscar wasn't the only one in new territory. Sure Seth was close with Ash, but he was pretty much the only person Seth would speak to voluntarily, before he became friends with Oscar anyway. There was something about him that made him feel that much better about himself and who he was. And because Oscar made Seth see these things in himself, he wanted to help Oscar see them in him too. He was a nice, good guy, who didn't deserve a single ounce of the abuse he got from everybody else. If Seth knew he was helping him, it would mean the world to him.

When Oscar smiled back at him it lit a flame inside of him. He felt warmer, happier and smiled wider. Seth wasn't one to frown, or really smile that much, he would smile, he laughed a lot too, that was probably the only difference between him and Oscar. Seth had gotten into the habit of laughing out loud and making jokes. Oscar was getting there. Apart from that their similarities were endless. They could sit for hours in a companion silence and not feel weird about it, or like they missed something.

Seth feigned shock for a second before smiling broadly at a laughing Oscar. He really was coming out of his hole. Seth felt good about that, it meant he was helping. Or at least he liked to think it was him who was doing this. Even if it wasn't him Oscar was slowly becoming more open, "Well it's either that or my dream about being chased by a giant piece of toast, I had this afternoon. I beat it in the end! I ate it," he smiled, "I didn't say it was the cleaning that was the highlight," that was just enough information to confuse Oscar, another minor difference between them, Seth made these sorts of comments without really caring about the consequences of them.

Seth had thought about the fact that people could see them. He knew a few people had seen them together before and the stupid school paper had assumed that the pair must automatically be dating, cold two people not be friends in this school and not be dating? Now though, they were really out there, showing the entire school that they were friends. Some people would probably think that Seth should be ashamed about the fact that he spent any time he could with a Squib. Truth be told, Seth just didn't think about it, it didn't matter to him, who Oscar was was what mattered to him, and if nobody else saw what a good person he was, then he didn't care, all the more Oscar for him.

As much as Oscar was fretting about not having a mask and not fitting the dress code, Seth was wishing that it wasn't apart of the dress code. It may have been his imagination, but he cold have sworn his mask was starting to itch. Not that it was a total hindrance to him having a good time, if having a good time was even possible at such an event, but he was certain it wasn't helping. At least he felt spiffy in his suit.

"No worries," if Seth wasn't mistaken Oscar was blushing, that made Seth smile as well. Like most things Oscar did, apart from when he was putting himself down and apologising all the time. "I bet you did the best bits," he wasn't intentionally making more complimentary comments to make Oscar go redder, but it would be interesting to see quite how pink a person so pale could go.

Seth was smiling from ear to ear, flicking through the pages of his present, looking at the images, and just check it out in general, "Like? I love it," he thanked him again, and once more for good luck. It genuinely was one of the better presents people had gotten him. People tended to get lazy at birthdays, just get them some chocolate and a card and that will do. Oscar had clearly put in a lot of thought into what he had gotten him, which mean it meant more.

Seth worried for a second that he had taken it a step to far hugging Oscar, especially in such a public place. But on feeling Oscar's arms enclose around him too he smiled into the taller male's shoulder and gave a quick squeeze in appreciation and pulled slowly away from him so not to make Oscar think he'd done something wrong, "Seriously, thank you," he beamed up at Oscar through his mask. I've had enough of this! he though to himself, placing his book under his arm and pulling his hat from his head. Balancing the garment he pulled off his mask and threw onto the table they were standing near. It could stay there for good for all Seth cared, he didn't want it.

Running a hand through his messy hair he placed his hat back on his head, crooked, and took the book out from under his arm. He started sifting through it page by page, taking in all the finer details of the book that he might not have seen before, and even if he had, he appreciated them more now.

[oscarpeterson]

New territory, somewhere Oscar was finding himself more and more. And what scared him most was the fact he wasn't scared of being there. Which was just completely weird. How could something so scary, not be scary? Before Seth, just the thought of actually spending time with someone would have made him tremble. But now? He found himself missing Seth when he wasn't there. It was so odd. Beyond odd. So beyond odd that he could not comprehend how odd it was. In that second, the word 'odd' had lost all meaning to Oz, he'd thought it that many times.

That smile also warmed Oscar. It felt like a start. The start of something new, something wonderful. He was beginning to find he might like this whole social lark. But only with Seth. He still feared the rest of the school and their judgemental ways. Seth was different, something he'd always known. He'd seen it, before they became friends. Oscar usually had a good judgement of character, he was glad he'd been right about Seth. Otherwise he'd be standing at the edge of the floor, alone like all the previous years.

Another laugh escaped Oz's mouth at Seth's little act. Oscar could slowly feel himself unwinding. The world didn't seem such a bad place anymore. "Chased by toast? I thought I was strange." Oscar laughed again. "At least you won." Cleaning was never the highlight of Oscar's day. Not anymore. His highlight had morphed from cleaning, to reading at night, to hanging out with Seth. He'd changed. And for the better. He was a little confused at what Seth had said though. Was he implying that seeing him was his highlight? Confusion crossed his face for a second, before he just let it go. He wouldn't get the subtlies of implications for a while yet.

That school paper issue, which Oz had only seen because someone had nailed it to his door, still brought up a cold sweat. Was that what it had come to? You make friends and everyone immediately assumes some kind of scandal? For a few days, he was certain that was what the younger years had been giggling about when they walked past. That had made him nervous, and had he not have had a job to do, he would have stayed in his office for a week. At least then he'd have avoided the period of time when everybody was talking about it. He hated that newspaper, and Oscar didn't hate often.

Seth's outfit was way more spiffy than his own. In a way, Oscar wished he'd been more inventive with his costume. But it was the best he could do in his time frame. Plus, he was fairly sure he'd worn it in his last year of education at a fancy dress party he'd been forced to go to. Oz grinned nervously, tugging at his cape nervously. "I did the bits the house elves couldn't reach." Oz was tall, even for people. He must look like a freaking giant next to the house elves. He mentally kicked himself for finding something else to be self-conscious about.

Oscar couldn't help but smile too, the wide grin Seth wore was infectious. Plus, he was just so happy that Seth liked - no loved - his gift. "Really?" He had to ask, just to be sure. The amount of thanks was indication though, indication enough but Oz was a natural worrier and liked to be sure. He had put a lot of thought into the gift, he liked to give good gifts. Else, what was the point?

He panicked only slightly when Seth gave him a quick squeeze. But he got over himself fair quickly. He was getting better! "You're welcome, seriously." He smiled too then laughed as he ripped off his mask in annoyance. After that the thing was forgotten. Oscar would probably rescue it later when he was tidying and give it him later, but for now it could remain on the table. Oscar watched had Seth messed with his hair, and ran a self-conscious hand through his own. But all he could think about was, what now?

[Seth Hevulen]

Something so scary would seem not so scary when you had somebody who cared about you to take you through it. Somebody who wanted to take you out of the hole you lived in. somebody who wanted you out of it. That somebody for Oscar was Seth. Seth wanted to help him out of his hole because he couldn't bare it when the guy wasn't around. It was like something was missing, and he knew exactly what that was, because whenever Oscar was around he didn't feel so empty. He had never had anything like that before, and he liked it.

Seth smiled at the laughter that left Oscar's lips, it was a good sound, one he could certainly get used to. "Obviously the toast I had for breakfast went down the wrong way," Seth mused before smiling up at Oscar. He watched the confusion spread and filter from Oscar's face and inwardly congratulated himself. It wasn't often that he could make comments like that at people without feeling odd or have the person look at him like he was a complete social retard. Even if he was one.

Seth had manged to hide pretty wel from the sniggering idiots that the school was home to. He knew people had been looking at him over his breakfast and boring holes into his skull as he walked down the corridor, but he could ignore it. He even ignored pinned article on his dormitory door. He just pulled it of and screwed it up and threw it in the bin at the end of his bed. The whole ordeal didn't stop him from seeing the caretaker though. He went to his office for the first time to see him, they didn't talk about the article they just did what they usually did and had a good time doing it.

Seth pulled on the sleeve of his jacket, with little else to bring into his hands to play with. Luckily his suit was meant from somebody a couple of inches taller than himself so it reached lower over his hands than it should have, "As I said, the best bits," he grinned at his friend and dropped his sleeve and asserted slightly more confidence, even though he didn't have it. Seth would have been proud of Oscar if he could have known that he was mentally kicking himself for berating himself. It was a moment in Oscar history, he really was starting to change for the better.

Seth's grin couldn't fade, he was happy and Oscar was grinning brightly down at him and the whole picture was beautiful. They were such wonderful friends, nothing could get in the way of that. not even Oscar's subconsious issues. He was training himself to not think about it, to step over the hurdles that had been placed in front of him at every turn. Seth has happily kicking down these hurdles and trying to make sure they stayed down, but there was only so much he could do, Oscar had to do some of it on his own.

If Seth could read his mind, he really would be proud of him. Seth smiled some more at his friend, looking over his present once more and smiling at it. his hat had flattened some of his hair into his eyes, making a mental note to find some scissors he pushed it out of his eyes. Biting down on his lip, this was where the pair of them was flawed, they didn't do small talk, it was unimportant and well, bloody difficult to keep up. "How'd you use to spend Halloween? Before you came here, I mean," Seth asked.

He had always spent his Halloween in the same way until he'd gotten his letter from Hogwarts. Then he spent his birthday gorging himself on sweets and getting a bit too full and feeling quite sick. Later years had seen him being forced to balls and fancy dress serades in the Great Hall, not what Seth would imagine as fun at all.

[oscarpeterson]

Had he and Seth had the ability to communicate telepathically, he would have agreed with Seth's point. Having someone there did make the scary not so scary. And Seth was that 'someone'. It was nice, despite the fact that that was also terrifying. Oscar had never had someone he saw as a permenant fixture in his life - other than family of course. Not even Scrivens and Fly, his mentor and only friend - pre-Seth. But, when it came to Seth, Oscar couldn't bear the thought of Seth moving on and leaving him behind. Maybe when he left Hogwarts, Oscar would follow...

After one feeling of confusion had washed away, another wave hit Oscar with force. What on earth was Seth going on about? The whole toast conversation was flying past his head to be honest. "Huh?" Oscar didn't get weird dreams. The weirdest one he ever had was one where he was a mop. Scrivens was using him as a mop. It was an anxiety dream before his first day. Since then, they'd been his normal colourless dreams which hold very little interest. However, since Seth's arrival, in Oscar's dreams there'd started being a colourful corner which he can't quite reach. It was gettin closer each time he entered the dream world.

Oscar was glad that Seth hadn't avoided him during the article period. It made the whole ordeal a lot easier - even if them hanging out just sparked off more gossip. When Seth was there it was as if that stupid paper didn't even exist. Though, when he was gone Oscar had gone through just about every irrational thought for getting rid of it. He'd stopped when his mind came to reporting it to Professor McGonagoll, for that was when he saw how stupid he'd been. She had no time for the complaints of a caretaker - especially when they were over something as menial as a gossip fueled paper.

Seth tugging at his sleeves caught Oscar's attention, making him notice for the first time that his costume was a little too big for him. When it came to his own costume, it was closer to being a little too small for him - the cape was going to leave a lovely red welt in Oscar's neck, he just knew it. He blushed a little when Seth re-confirmed his compliment and grinned nervously. "Thanks." He murmured. Oscar looked down, a little embarressed, and started to pull at a loose thread on his cape. Now he'd found it, chances were he wouldn't leave it alone.

This whole grinning and happiness lark was beginning to grow on Oscar. He'd spent so long not really being alive, that it was about time he changed that. He just never thought he'd like it. The whole thing had started the day he met Seth, though. Something he only realised when looking back. That night he hadn't focussed on all the bad points of the day before going to sleep - he'd been thinking about Seth. No wonder his dreams had been grey before. Seth was the colour in his life. Oscar hoped that there would be no reason for desaturating again. He'd tasted colour, and was never going back.

The lacking of social skills only affected them for a short moment, as Seth came up with a question fairly quickly. "Before here?" Oscar thought a moment, trying to think back to before Hogwarts. He tried to keep that part of his life as hazy as possible, which made thinking back a little hard. "Urr... Reading? I never did much. The family would have a fancy meal before my siblings came here, but after that the buzz got lost." Once his siblings had left, his parents had lost all effort for Oscar. Sad but true.