Bad News

Piper could not help half of a smile at his words, thinking it funny that he preferred that when it had become her personal hell. It would have been funnier had the situation not been so serious. But for now she could allow for that half smile, reaching up to push her hair out of her face. "I'm sure it's a lot better when you're, y'know, willing." She smiled sadly.

Damien seemed to be a little distracted by something, but she supposed that had to do with the whole opening up aspect, she knew she felt sort of awkward and out of place at the moment. But she also felt like this was a doorway, someone to talk to. She brushed the spoons and attacking doily out of the way as she sat back on the table, her feet just short of the ground.

"Don't apologize, it's nice to hear some honesty for once," she replied. "Better than all the bull I get on a regular basis, y'know?"

"And you're not willing, ever?" Damien asked, truly curious. At his age, romance was possibly the biggest topic of conversations and motivations among the student population. Everyone in school seems to be having it somehow. The boy had already considered himself a little too green in that department. Could this girl, possibly, not be interested in romance or, at least, lust at all? Damien found it hard to believe. He had never met one person in school like that. He was intrigued.

"Well, have you dated anyone?" He continued without waiting around for the girl's reply. The boy had heard what Piper had said about honesty. He felt amused at how ironic everything had become. However, Damien had merely nodded at that, not wishing to comment about honesty.

Piper shrugged, crossing her arms and hugging her sides. "Not when any of the guys around Hogwarts come knocking, ever so rudely." She did not know why she was telling Damien any of this- maybe she was just so desperate to tell someone, anyone, hoping that maybe someone would understand what she was going through. She found very few did.

She wished the answer to his question was simpler. "Look, Damien," she began dropping her voice. "Some bad stuff happened to me when I was younger. Stuff with my uncle, that got us kicked out. I learned that 'no' is not always your choice. And when I came to Hogwarts, boys had the same attitude. They think that they a right to something, and they aim to take it." She found that she could not look him in the eyes so her vision was filled with her shoes. "So, I don't let myself consider they are being sincere. It would be nice if just one person was, but that's not likely to happen. I'm too used to it not."

Damien listened as Piper seemed to reveal more and more about what had bothered her, setting her up into such a permanence of temper. "Well, not every guy at Hogwarts go knocking all the time, especially when they're not wanted. No?" Perhaps it was time to pay more attention to people, or student life, than get so absorbed in books, the past, and what could ensue in the future with regards to the good versus evil fight, to say the least. Things cannot be as simple as that sounded though.

"I mean, I know of willing hookups. I never really heard of ... forced ones." Damien thought to himself as soon as he said that, as if trying to run through his mind all that he has learnt that can validate what he said. Sure, there were the serial players in school. There were times when Damien envied them. He wished he could care less, like them, or so they look to be like. Then perhaps he would have more fun with life and stop being so uptight. Besides, his father had that natural talent, why could he not follow in his father's footsteps. This was one set of footsteps that Damien is willing to follow.

Piper began to reveal more, and Damien merely nodded in acknowledgement. He had always been merely a good listener, less of someone who knows how to respond after. He felt curious about the mention of an uncle though. What does an uncle have to do in association with boys trying their luck with this girl? Unless ... Damien wondered but dared not venture to suggest what he thought. He knew of nasty families, and he felt relieved that his was actually pretty good for him. Well, if you don't count his mother's recent developments. Perhaps, though, it seems Damien has not heard of the worst of families yet.

"Look, I'm sincere alright," said without an inkling of how he just lied. "I respect girls, maybe a little too much. It's my mother, probably. I grew up with her and I think she cultivated too much of a feminist in me, kinda." Damien forgot about how he was supposed to like boys. "I always feel like I need a girl's permission before I do something, and that works against me, especially when it comes to getting intimate with them." An absent-minded slip came up. Damien had gotten too comfortable with what had turned into a litle bit of a heart-to-heart sharing session.

She shook her head, looking down at her feet still. "Not the guys that are after me. They're persistent. 'No' to them means 'try ever harder.'" She brushed her hair out of her eyes, the blonde mess of frizz seeming to be determined to get in her way and on her nerves all day, no matter how many charms Renny had done for her to keep it down.

"You wouldn't hear about them, I don't let them happen," she said. "I've gotten quite skilled of groin kicks, if I say so myself." She managed a small smirk. "Besides that's not so impressive is it." She lowered her voice to make it sound male. "'So this girl totally rejected me so I forced her to snog me.. Pretty awesome, mate.' No, even idiots have dignity." She shook her head.

At his words, though, at first she thought he was sympathizing with her, maybe having had run ins with some overly-insistent males on his own. But as he continued, something struck a wrong chord. what was he saying, getting intimate with girls. She snapped her head up, her eyes meeting his in confusion. "What do you mean Damien? Girls? You haven't.. you... You're gay." She paused, cynicism leading her towards the truth. Her heart began thumping and she paled. "You're gay, right?"

Damien's grew large in alarm before he clamped them down back to their normal size when he realized how untamed they had been just a second ago. He felt his heart thumping at his mistake and how Piper now seems to have tensed herself up again. Earlier, Damien had chuckled at the girl's impression of a male voice, keeping it starkly in mind, though, that she mentioned her skill at groin kicks. He felt his insides wince a little upon imagining how bad that could feel if she should decided to use it against him if she finds out about his lying.

Shaking his head vehemently, Damien nodded quickly before he replied Piper. "Yes I am. I just ... like the pretty ones, you know. The pretty boys. Sometimes we play at the possibility of them being girls, but it's just a game 'cause they don't have to be, so it's like a nickname for them I guess." He offered the explanation quickly, hoping Piper would accept it. Damien felt a little miserable though, should this girl start spreading around that he was gay. He consoled himself with the fact that she had always minded her own business and kept away from much attention.

Piper stared at him, completely hollowed by the realization she was coming to. She was an idiot, a complete and utter fool. She was no better than her moronic sister, naive and idealistic, so eager and enthusiastic at the idea of having someone to talk to, someone who would not judge her and who would not be looking to take advantage just. like. everyone. else.

But such a person did not exist- she knew this and yet she had been so hopeful, so willing to be ignorant to the truth if only it could be true. Her face stung with embarassment as she stared at Damien who was sloppily trying to fix his mistake, but when it came down to it, Piper really was not a fool. She knew it all for a lie.

"You lied to me," she whispered dangerously, her lip curling. She threw herself off the table, making floor shake at the thud she caused. "You bastard," she said, whipping out her wand and pointing it at his throat, disregarding the law. So what if she got in trouble- no one got her to reveal everything she had and was capable of telling the tale. "You have three seconds to convince me to not curse you so you are physically incapable of reporudicing," she demanded.

Damien jumped one step away from Piper when she threw herself off the table in a rather loud fashion. Too bad it was not far enough to be just in front of the wand that she had produced. He pondered upon reaching for his own wand to disarm her so that they could talk without having to resort to wands. But, he knew better. The girl had become more angry than before, and the wand intimidated him more than her skill of groin kicks. More importantly, it was a threat that told him to keep his hands in her sight, and not to reach for his wand. Despite the fact that children are of absolute annoyance to Damien, he wanted a legacy for himself, one of which was to have a decent number of children with his name, and to chuck them to nannies.

What could he say to convince Piper not to curse him?! Damien felt his mind transform into a fast train, hoping it would be fast enough to come up with something. He pondered on the legacy reason, and knew it would only speed up the process of her cursing him. He wished he could say he had no ounce of fear in him, but when once had a wand out pointing to you and you have none, fear seems like the only possibility. It was not as if they were First Years fighting either. Older students, better spells, worser curses. Dang, he began to swear on many other words in his mind. He could make up another lie for sympathy. But he felt sure he would not even have three seconds later when the lie is unravelled.

Damien raised both of his hands a little, as if signalling his surrender to the girl. Perhaps some honesty, since he remembered how this girl had talked about sincerity and honesty earlier when the wand was not produced.

"Look, I lied not because I wanted to get into your pants. I'm not like that, even if you choose not to believe it. I've never had a reputation with girls. I just wanted a decent friendship with another Slytherin, and I've managed with a number of such in what I believe to be a sincere way. Before you rush into your curse, I just want to say maybe you want to hear me out a little. You can keep your wand at me now. Just ... don't curse. I only lied because it seemed to be the only way to get you to be civil with me. I mean, urm, friendly with me. And by friend, I mean really just friends. I'm not going to touch you or entertain any dirty thoughts in my mind. I promise." That was a mouthful, and Damien stopped to catch his breath, preparing to shut his eyes any minute if Piper should proceed to curse him.

"You can curse me if I lie again, I swear. Just not this time." Damien began run through possible people or ways to seek for, for a cure, if he was cursed. He felt a part of him sigh at the vulnerable position he had allowed himself into.

Piper listened to him, trying to hold onto her anger- it was definitely there, yes, but she was also reasoning her way through this. What good would come of cursing him? He would be upset and would set out to seek his revenge on her- and she had just let him become pirvy to a lot of information her sister did not even fully know.

She stared at him. He was being honest too, she thought. she sighed and dropped her wand arm, looking as though she were really tempted to curse him despite what she thought. She tucked her wand into her pocket and sighed again. "Fine," she said. "You've saved yourself, this time. But you owe me. Owe me BIG TIME. And you can't talk about anything we said. Okay?"

Damien lowered his hands very cautiously as he eyed the girl. He nodded and decided he should not display any smirk of victory at this in case Piper took in the wrong way. He kept quiet for awhile, thanking Salazar Slytherin for 'helping' him dodge a bullet; or rather, a spell. Biting on his lower lip again with uncertainty, Damien offered the girl a weak smile.

"Urm ... Friends?" He began as he offered his right hand to her. "Okay, well, truce at least." Friends had sounded came to him. He suddenly realized how that had sounded very much unlike him as a Slytherin, and attempted to recoup the losses of her impression of him with what he thought sounded more like a battle term.