Breezing through (Luke/Open)

[Brooke Kennedy]

Currently, Brooke Kennedy was walking through the castle trying to find her elusive twin, Bryn. She hadnt seen him much today which was odd. She was up, ready and out before he was, she got to all her lessons which he had failed to show up in. Professor's had been asking if he was alright and all Brooke could do was say she hadnt seen him, he must be sick. Now the classes had let out for the day, Brooke made her way hastily back to he common room. Her heels clicking on the stone flooring. She knew of course, that he'd been at the party last night with Luke and Bayne. She'd seen Bayne today who was wearing a smile, but Bryn and Luke... well she hadnt seen either of those two.

Finally after lessons Brooke took to walking around. She knew Bryn was going to be in a lot of trouble from the Professors, many had told her that. She walked into the common room and found Bryn on the sofa with an ice pack on his head. Brooke, who didnt feel much like being sympathetic walked over to her twin and said in a loud voice which made him wince. "There are a lot of Professor's out for your head Bryn Kennedy. And I am not covering up for you again." He nodded, which in Brooke's mind was a silent thank you, she sat down on the couch beside him and said; "So? Did it work?"
"Like a charm." Bryn smiled and removed the ice pack, putting it on the table beside him. "Bayne and Luke got on real well... until..."
"Until...?" Brooke's eyebrows raised.
"Until Bayne had to leave cause Lisha broke up with whatshisface and Luke decided to snog me instead."
"YOU'RE KIDDING!?
"Brooke dont shout! No I'm not kidding he kissed me. Of course I pulled away, told him I was straight--"
"Nevermind that! How could you let him do that to Bayne? He's one of my best mates and he likes Luke! You know what Bayne's like Bryn... how could you?"
"Look I didnt plan it! He kissed me. I was shocked but I put it to rights and Bayne doesnt have to know. Now please... I'm nursing a hangover here. Try to see the funny side of it Brooke."

Brooke left Bryn alone and headed upstairs, she was no going to go and look for Luke. She got changed out of her robes into a black and white top and a pair of dark jeans, shoving her wand in her bottomless bag and a few other items before leaving the common room again and recieving a rather snappy comment from the Fat Lady. Despite being in Gryffindor, Brooke and the Fat Lady never had gotten along... maybe it was because Brooke loved pranks so much she'd lost more than a few points for Gryffindor. She didnt know, and neither did she care.

She found herself outside, crossing the lawns and cutting through the outskirts of the forest. You know, when she didnt want to find her brother or one of his friends, they was always around, when she did want to find them, she never ever could. Brooke eventually gave up looking for him, figuring that she'd speak to him whenever she saw him. Hell they were both in Gryffindor, Luke couldnt avoid her forever could he?

Searching around in her bag she pulled out a red and black blanket and put it on the ground before kneeling on it. She wasnt afraid of getting dirty, she loved wandering the forest and climbing trees but she'd prefer to sit on the blanket right now. She pulled off her boots and rolled up her jeans to just beneath the knee. They wouldnt go any higher, and lay down. Pulling up her shirt so her stomach was bared. She placed her arms behind her head and closed her eyes. She wasnt sun bathing, the sun was now too low for that, but she liked the feel of the cool breeze against her skin.

[lukas]

Lukas was nursing a hangover from hell, and with all the people running around and talking too loudly in the Common Room, he had headed out to the lake, hoping to find some peace and quiet there. Since everyone was in class, it had been okay, and he'd quickly fallen asleep under a tree, curled up against his bag. The only reason he'd brought it was in case some Professor found him, then he could claim he'd just skipped his last class. Not that they wouldn't find out the truth eventually, but he didn't think he could stand any sort of detention right at the moment.

Last night had been some party, from what he remembered. Which, quite frankly, wasn't all that much. He remembered hanging out with Bryn, then...if it were possible, with Bayne? He vaguely recalled that it hadn't been half bad either, but then his memory sort of blanked. How on earth he'd ended up in his own bed was a mystery to him.

Sitting up, he found one of his favorite people nearby, and one who could probably enlighten him as to how the night had gone. Scrambling to his feet, he cursed the stupid head ache and promised himself that he wouldn't drink as much next time - just as he'd done the last few times he'd had a hangover. Rubbing at his forehead, he grumbled somewhat as he headed over to where Brooke was laying down. He sat himself down, none too elegantly, and looked at her, wrapping arms around his knees. "Hullo"

[Brooke Kennedy]

"Dont think I'm going to give you any sympathy Mr Clarke." She spoke without opening her eyes. Self inflicted, when she got herself in that state she never expected sympathy and she didnt dish it out to others either. Of course, thanks to Bryn and Brooke's earlier conversation and of course, Brooke and Baynes earlier that morning, Brooke knew just about everything that had happened. She didnt doubt for a moment Luke didnt have a clue.

"So..." She said simply, feeling the breeze ruffle her blonde hair. What she really wanted to do was blurt out Did you enjoy kissing my brother last night? But instead she smiled and said; "How much do you remember from last night?" She opened her eyes again and sat up on the blanket, pulling her top down and her jeans legs since she was getting really kind of cold.

She gripped hold of both edges of the blanket and wrapped it around herself and Luke. The breeze, even though she liked it, was now biting against her arms and she wanted them covered, but she wasnt about to leave Luke uncovered either. She just hoped he wouldnt throw up on her. "You better not be sick on me." She warned and laid her head against his shoulder.

"Have you spoken to Bayne yet?" She asked with a smile on her face. "Or Bryn for that matter?

[lukas]

Lukas purred as she wrapped the blanket around them, snuggling into her a little more. Her question made his head pound, and he shook it gingerly. "I'm assuming I did something that warrants a conversation with both Bryn and Bayne, then? Did I fight with them?" Had he? He honestly couldn't remember being anything but nice to the two, though how nice he'd been he couldn't recall. Maybe he'd said something of his crush to Bryn? It was hard, trying to figure out this mess, and Brooke's questions weren't helping. He'd done something wrong, that much was sure, but what?

Pouting a little, he ran fingers through his hair, having only taken a shower before heading outside, completely ditching class for the day. He doubted Bryn would have been attending, but Bayne surely wouldn't miss out on a single class. He was too good like that. "I won't be sick, I just have a headache. I can't remember how much I drank but I think it's been quite a lot. Can you enlighten me as to what the fuck happened during that party?"

[Brooke Kennedy]

"No you didnt fight with them so dont worry." She said trying to hide the laughter that was threatening to burst from her at any moment. The poor thing didnt have a clue, he didnt remember any of the significant things he had done. But yes, she nodded. "You did do things which warrents a talk with the both of them." The way she said it made it sound bad, worse in fact, than it actually was. Brooke found the situation quite funny, but would Luke when Brooke told him what he had done the previous night?

"...are you sure?" She asked, knowing full well he'd want to know what happened. Brooke shrugged, "Alright then, but remember you did ask me to tell you." She shifted so she was infront of him, the blanket still covering both of them. Well it was a very very big blanket, you could get easily twenty people underneath it. Brooke had a huge grin on her face, almost like she was going to drop a major bombshell -- which she was going to do -- but being Brooke, she liked to play with her food for a bit first and so for a few minutes, she simply said nothing.

"Well... you and Bayne were getting on brilliantly..." Brooke smiled, unsure now of how the hell she was going to explain this one. "You both worked out your differences, the fight you had in the library was forgiven -- yes I know about that. You were having fun, you know laughing and joking drinking... and flirting... and kissing... a lot." She let her voice trail off, her brown eyes floating to the sky above them, waiting for Luke's reaction.

Then the big bombshell came.

"Oh yeah! I forgot. As soon as you'd had your way with Bayne and he'd left you decide to snog my brother too!" Her voice was not as light when it came to this. In fact, some of her previous anger at Bryn dripped into it. If it werent for Bayne, she'd have found it funnier. But the fact was, Bayne was one of her close friends... and she didnt understand why Luke would have done what he did to a nice guy like Bayne... luckily, Brooke didnt have the heart to tell Bayne. Not that it would hurt him, it would bother him a lot for the simple fact it was Bryn... and already Bayne didnt feel like he would ever match up to what Bryn should have been.

[lukas]

Flirting, drinking, kissing...okay, so that last part was new, but the rest wasn't anything out of the ordinary. If that was the worst he'd done, then...wait. Wait. What?! He'd gone and done...No way. No. There just. He couldn't have...

Luke hid his face in his hands, groaning loudly. Of course he would have. That was exactly the sort of thing that he would do. He could just imagine it now...being drunk lead him to think that kissing Bryn was exactly the right idea to have. Fuck. Just. Fuck. "I'm an idiot" He hardly even put things in perspective, where Bayne was considered. Yea, he'd forgiven the boy and okay, they had kissed, but that didn't make him a factor into this situation.

The only thing that mattered was that he'd kissed his best friend, and though being intoxicated should warrant as enough of an excuse, it was still a terrible thing to have done. What if it did mess with their friendship? "Is he okay? Bryn? Is he mad at me?" Who cared if Bayne was upset? Honestly, at this moment, Lukas didn't. He couldn't, not when there were more important things on the line. The best Bayne was was a friend, and though he hadn't meant to hurt him and wouldn't do it on purpose, it was hardly something he should apologize for.

[Brooke Kennedy]

Brooke waited... and she waited... Finally, Luke groaned and Brooke couldnt help but let a smile spread across her face. The thought of kissing Bryn had hit him, of course he didnt remember it but he knew Brooke wouldnt have said it unless it was true, and he had Bryn for confirmation because he remembered it all too well. Brooke knew Luke fancied Bryn, it wasnt exactly the worlds best kept secret. She placed a hand on his shoulder and announced, "Yep! You are an idiot. But we all knew that already, didnt we? So its not exactly new news or anything. Besides, you wouldnt be Luke if you didnt do something silly at least once a week." She wasnt going to say things that other people would, "Ah dont worry about it, it'll be forgotten in a week or so." Because she knew as well as he did, Bryn would never forget it. Bryn wasnt the sort of person who forgot things. Honestly it amazed Brooke sometimes the memory that boy had.

"I think he was at first... when he woke up and remembered it." She answered honestly, Bryn when Brooke had spoken to him about it, and he had told her. Bryn hadnt seemed at all happy about it. You could tell by the tone in his voice, even though he had tried to make light of the situation and even told Brooke to see the funny side. Bryn did have trouble with it but she knew too, he wasnt the sort of guy to let it get in the way of his and Luke's friendship. Luke meant too much to him for that. "Ah, Bryn's fine now. I think he's trying not to think about it to be honest with you. Pretend it didnt happen or something, trying to repress it. Dont worry, if you know anything about my brother you should know this wont come in the way of your friendship. But you should choose the people you like more carefully," She warned, her eyes becoming hard, "Even if Bryn was gay I'd warn you to not go for him. He's not well known for making relationships last and he would more than likely hurt you in the long run."

"Ah I wish I hadnt told you now!" She sighed in frustration, "You look like you've been slapped in the face! You kissed Bryn its not a bleeding crime Luke. Laugh about it, make a joke out of it 'cause I can guarentee you Bryn will do. Dont let him see it's bothering you or you'll only make him feel worse." Truth was, Bryn felt bad because he'd reacted, he'd told Brooke about his worries. What if Luke thought it was more than just a drunken thing. Now, Brooke could see where he was coming from, she was worrying too. She almost blurted it out, but managed to bite her tongue.

[lukas]

"I just feel like a bleedin' fool is all" Luke pushed the hair back from his eyes, shaking his head solemnly. "I mean, even drunk, I ought to know better than that. Believe me, I know Bryn's straight and I know that even if he wasn't...well." He'd probably never see me like that. He didn't remember Bryn kissing back and it was probably for the best, as it would have messed with his brain quite a bit. Kissing his friend was one thing, having his crush kiss back when there was nothing between them...quite another.

"I have to tell Bayne" Even the blonde wasn't quite sure where that came from. But Bayne was Brooke's friend and it was quite obvious what she meant when she said Bryn would hurt him. The whole 'Bayne wouldn't' was pretty clear in her message. And now he'd gone and hurt him, when he hadn't meant to. Man, he was such a screw up sometimes.

Sighing, he shook his head, unable to see the funny side of things quite yet. Not when he'd made such a mess of things. Brooke could say she wasn't upset, hell, Bryn could do the same, but he didn't like the thought of Bayne being upset with him, for some reason he didn't want to think through.

"I'm not the relationship type either though, you know that. I'm sixteen for chrissake. I don't plan on dating seriously for a good, long while" It came out somewhat out of the blue, but he wanted her to know that. Wanted Bayne to know that. When it would come to dating him, he just didn't think there was a chance.

[Brooke Kennedy]

"Believe me Bryn feels like a bigger fool." Brooke put her arms around Luke's shoulders and rested her head against his trying to make him feel better, "Serve him right too!" She spoke, though you could hear amusement in her voice. She gave Luke a kiss on his cheek like she always did. To Brooke, Luke was just another member of her family. Hell, she'd known him long enough. Brooke didnt know what to say to him, this was obviously making him feel bad, or weird, or both. She sighed, everyone did stupid things. Even Bryn. Bryn more than most.

Brooke looked at him surprised, one minute he hadnt even seemed bothered by what had happened between him and Bayne and now he was... worried? Was that the right word? "Yeah, guess you will." Brooke sighed, well then this threw a spanner in the works. Bayne found it difficult to trust people, Brooke knew that. But she also knew Bayne liked Luke enough to see it for what it was... maybe? She hoped. He'd definatly be pissed off, with Bryn though more than Luke, he'd also feel maybe slightly hurt by Luke how fast he'd jumped from him to Bryn.

"So am I!" Brooke sighed "Just because you're sixteen doesnt mean anything. I've been in relationships! Just because they dont always work, Luke doesnt mean they're not worth it. They're fun while they last you know." Brooke sighed in frustration, sometimes this boy was such hard work. She let go of him and stood up, muttering to herself as she edged closer to the lake. "Fine. Fine. But dont come crying to me when you realise that someday you may have let someone go who you shouldnt have let go! Because you're too stubborn! Because you're still pining over Bryn -- dont deny it -- and because you cant see a good thing when its shoved under your nose. All I'll do is say I told you so."

She softened and turned back to him. "Is it so wrong to have a bit of happiness in your life? Whats so bad about that?" Shaking her head she flapped her hands in defeat. "S'your choice I guess. Just dont keeping letting things go just because you're scared of your own feelings Luke. You'll always be alone otherwise."

[lukas]

Lukas listened to her in silence, feeling very close to protesting at some of the things she'd said, but letting her finish all the same. She was right, he supposed. He was running away from relationships, and he was scared about them. She didn't know why, he'd only just told Bryn and he was hoping that this was one secret he had been able to keep. Even if he told her, he wasn't sure if she wouldn't just ignore his objections and tell him to go after Bayne anyway.

"So...okay, let's say that I would be interested. And let's say it's Bayne, and...well, then what? You keep telling me that he'd be so great for me, but what about him? I wouldn't be great for him." He sure as hell wouldn't be. Bayne was decent and proper and an all around good guy. What would he want with a fuck up like Luke Clarke?

More yet, he was gay. What if he found out the truth? Would he be disgusted? The blonde didn't think he could handle that, could handle finding out, falling in love and seeing the look on his face when he did. "It's just. It's more complicated than you think. I'm not a great guy to fall in love with, and you shouldn't be encouraging him." Then again, judging from the way he'd apparently been kissing him, he'd been doing some encouraging of his own.

[Brooke Kennedy]

"Lukas Clarke I am going to punch you so hard in a moment." Her voice became annoyed, a tone she saved specially for Alfie Chase. "Stop putting yourself down all the time! You're a great person, you're lovely to be around and you're one of the most genuine people I know! Why do you think I love you so much? Dont you think if I thought you werent good enough for Bayne I'd tell you?"

Brooke turned away from Luke and began to walk around in a circle, trying to think about things. She couldnt understand why he was being like this. Sure, she knew he was hiding something, Bryn told her that much but he point blank refused to say anything else. Best friends code of honour or something. Bayne was one of her closest friends, and he liked Luke more than was healthy for him. You wouldnt guess it, Bayne was very reserved in his feelings.

"Right, get off this self-pitying trip right now." Her voice was slightly irritated. She turned to him and waved her hand as though telling him to let go of whatever it was he was holding on to. "You like Bryn... sorry but tough. You cant have him, he isnt and never will be gay. I know you're holding on to the hope of him turning but I wouldnt waste your time. Bayne is a good guy, believe it or not he's also a very good judge of character. If he says you're a nice lad, he means it. So just let go of whatever it is thats holding you back and go for it. Worst case scenario, it doesnt work out."

[lukas]

The blonde girl definitely wasn't afraid to say what she felt. Luke sat there, looking up at her as she paced around, simply listening to her every word. Even though he knew that she couldn't possibly know his secret - this was one thing that Bryn wouldn't share, despite their closeness - it was almost as if she told him, whatever secrets he had, they didn't matter. Bayne wouldn't care about them. He wasn't quite sure if that were true, but he'd like it to be.

"Okay. You know what? I'm going to talk to him. And if you're right, if he doesn't care about my secrets, then we'll figure something out. I'm going to be honest with him, about everything...and, I guess we'll see right?" If Bayne really wanted him, well, he trusted Brooke. He trusted that she was right about the two making a great couple. Over time, he'd learn to forget Bryn, wouldn't he?

He wasn't in love with Bayne Williams. He wasn't even sure if he liked him. But. He knew how it had felt to hurt the guy, how he didn't want to do that again. That had to count for something, right? This uncomfortable feeling, the jealousy at the thought of him with another male, that meant that there were some feelings. Whether or not it would be enough...only time could tell.