*Tristan was walking around the back streets of Hogsmede, trying to earn a couple of bucks. It was way past dark and he was horrified. More than horrified, he was disgusted at what levels he had been forced to stoop to such lows to survive. Tristan thought that his life would return to normal when he returned to Hogwarts. He was wrong. It was getting harder and harder to sneak down into the kitchen for food.....so he was back to working on the streets so he could buy meals. It was beginning to snow and Tristan was freezing in his pea coat. He walked the streets looking for a 'customer' (tristan shivered at the thought of it, embarassed and shying away from the word) and contimplated taking up smoking. As he forced himself to think of anything else other than what he was doing there in Hogsmede, he lost trach of where he was, turned to look for a sign and lost his ballence (mostly from being somewhat weak from hunger.) He fell into the snow, scraping up his hands. He was now even miserable than he was before.*

*Aiden had been in Hogsmeade for absolutely no particular reason, only because he wanted to be. He didn't feel like eating at the school that night so he searched the town for some where that looked decent. He ended up meeting some girl who ate with him and then forced him to go to a bar with her. He didn't complain; He bought her a drink, so it was all good. He was walking back to Hogwarts, only slightly tipsy, but it wasn't obvious. Only his occasional stumble gave hint to it. He saw a boy trip and fall right into the snow. He hurried over to him and offered a hand to help him up.*

Aiden:"Hey, are you okay?" *He asked in a concerned voice.*

*Trsitan was midly startled by the boy's kindness* "Thanks..." *He murmered, taking his hand and standing. Tristan brushed off his coat, which was difficult from his freezing cold hands that were shaking uncontrollably. He vaguely noticed that the kid was cute.* "Yeah...I'm fine." *He held up his hands so he could examine them in the dark* "Just a scrape."

Aiden:"Are you sure?" *he asked with concern. He looked like he was about to shatter right before his eyes. He noticed that Tristan seemed to be very cold, so he took off his own coat and winced when he felt the sting of the cold air.*"Here, take my coat, you look like you're freezing." *he held out his coat to the stranger. He wasn't going to take no for an answer, so he changed the subject.*"What are you doing out here, anyway?"

*Tristan didn't want to take his coat, espically when he saw him wince like that* "Uh, just....walking around...." *He said vaguely* "Do you wanna go grab a drink or something to get out of the cold?" *He offered, looking at him with his large brown eyes as he chewed on his his lip in his characteristic gesture. Despite the situation, he couldn't keep himself from asking.*

Aiden:"Yeah, sure. You really should take my coat, though, you'll feel a lot better." *he smiled to reassure Tristan.*"C'mon, let's find some place before we get even colder."

*Tristan didn't bother to argue; he was freezing. So he took the coat and slid it on, almost instantly feeling better.* "Thank you." *HE started to walk in the general direction of a pub where he knew there was good food and drinks* "I'm Tristan, by the way." *He glanced over at the boy as another cold breeze ripped through the town, bringing with it another fresh wave of guilt about having his coat* "How are you not freezing?" *He muttered, hugging the coat tightly to himself*

*Aiden followed Tristan, not knowing that they were heading to the exact same bar that he had just left, and where the girl he was with still was.

Aiden:"Nice to meet you Tristan, I'm Aiden."

*he shrugged at the question. He didn't mention how cold he actually was because he really didn't want Tristan to give back his coat; He needed it more than him.*

"So I'm guessing that you go to Hogwarts too. What house are you in?"

"Gryffindor....6th year." *He said as they reached the bar. Tristan pulled open the door and stepped inside, once again wishing that the gash on his cheek and the black eye had healed.* "I think I had a class with you before...in like, 2nd year or something." *Tristan hung up the coats, revealing the tight grey shirt that showed how thin he actually was with a dark blue vest over it. He sighed and turned around to look at the semi rowded pub.* "So where do you wanna sit?"

Aiden:"Really? I'm a 6th year, too, but I'm in Ravenclaw." *when they walked into the bar, he realized that the girl would still be there and almost killed himself.* "Oh s**t, she's going to ask what happened." *he thought out loud, staring at the girl he had been with earlier.*


~Mel

*Tristan stopped and watched as Aiden said something about a girl. He scanned the rom, looking for what he was looking at* "What's wrong?" *He said, trying to sound like his hope that the kid was interested in him, let alone guys wasn't just crushed*

Aiden:"It's this girl that I was just with...I only came with her so I could have an excuse to get drunk. It got to the point where she was p**s drunk and trying to make out with me and I was like 'uh, sorry, no' and made up a lame excuse to leave." *he had noticed that Tristan seemed to be disappointed by him mentioning a girl, though.*"Why?" *he asked. It didn't even occur to him that Tristan was gay, so his reaction seemed odd.*

*Tristan shook his head when he asked why, avoiding the question since he knew he didn't really want to share the answer* "No reason....we could go somewhere else if you wanted. It's not like this is the only pub around here." *He looked back at Aiden for the first time since he had mentioned the girl origionally and Tristan had begun scanning the place. At least it sounded like he didn't actually like the girl; that was some conselation. But still.....*

Aiden:"No, no. We're here now, we might as well stay. I'll figure it out. You can pick the table, I'll get the drinks. What would you like?" *he asked Tristan before casting a glance in the direction of the girl just to make sure that she hadn't noticed him yet. She didn't, and that was good, very very very good.*

"Whatever you're having's fine. " *He said with a small smile. Tristan glanced around the room for a table. It took him a moment, but he finally found one in the back or the room, out of the way, which would probably lower Aiden's chance of being spotted. He walked over and sat down, leaving the more concealed seat for Aiden to have. Tristan absently rubbed at his bruised eye and looked around the room again to check that he didn't see anyone too threatening*

*Aiden went to the bar to order two firewhiskies and an order of fish and chips, because Tristan looked more starved than an anorexic girl. He looked for the table that Tristan has chosen and went over to it, somehow managing to carry both firewhiskys and the food without spilling anything. He set the alcohol on the table first, and then plopped the fish and chips in front of Tristan.*

Aiden:"Eat." *he ordered before sitting down across from him. He picked up one of the firewhiskies and drank it. When he was done he set the glass back on the table and looked at Tristan, trying to think of some sort of small talk to make.*

*Tristan pulled the meal to himself and picked up a chip, dipped it in tartersauce, and ate it. IT was the first warm food he'd had in weeks* "This is good....help yourself." *He said, ignoring the whiskey for now.* "What house are you in?" *He asked, trying to actually taste the food as opposed to just eating it too fast to enjoy it.*

Aiden:"No, it's all for you." *he told Tristan.*"I'm in Ravenclaw. You said you were in Gryffindor, right?"

*He was very forgetful and was really just guessing and hoping to God he was right. He hated offending people and knew that, if he was wrong, Tristan probably would be offended.*



OOC: :cupcake: :cupcake: :cupcake: :cupcake: (Sorry I'm like REALLY craving cupcakes right now...cupcakes and shrimp. I have no idea why....

*Tristan nodded* "Yeah.....6th year." *He ripped off a piece of fish, dipped it, and then put it in his mouth as opposed to dipping it and biting it off. Just a habit* "So, are you going out with the girl you were in here with?" *He prompted, praying for a no*

*Aiden laughed at that. Going out with her, right.*

Aiden:"No, I'm not. Don't worry, she's all yours." *he joked. Of course, right at that moment she noticed him and came stumbling over. She was wasted as hell and could barely walk at all.* "Oh f*ck." *Aiden mumbled, looking over at her struggling.*

Girl:"Hey Aiden-poo, I thought you said you had to feed your dog." *she slurred while she started grabbing on to him and practically molesting him. She made sure that her boobs were in his face, of course. Aiden clearly looked uncomfortable, and even more clearly not aroused.*

Aiden:"I did, but I decided to come back with my friend." *he lied. What kind of a dumb a*s girl would believe that, they didn't even allow dogs at Hogwarts.

The girl looked over at Tristan*

Girl:"Oh. Well don't you want to come back with me now?" *her tone made it clear that 'coming back' meant something other than just innocently sitting and talking.*

Aiden:"Not really, no."

Girl:"Why not?"

Aiden:"Because I'm gay." *he answered calmly.*

Girl:"What? You mean I've been wasting my night on some underage fag?"

Aiden:"Yup, you have."

*she let out a angry scream and started storming away, almost falling over and knocking out quite a few tables. Aiden looked back at Tristan and gave a slight awkward smile, looking over just vaguely in the direction of the girl*

Aiden:"Sorry about that."

*Tristan had been disgusted by the girl's display. Girls like that was precisely the reason he didn't like girls in the first place. But then, out of nowhere, the kid announced he was gay...and although he wasn't sure why Aiden would go with a girl to a bar if he wasn't interested, it didn't really matter.* "You're gay?" *He asked, leaving the fish and chips abandoned on the table. tristan wore a small smile and had his head tilted to the side, his big brown eyes amused*

Aiden:"Yeah. So how about that new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? He seems pretty cool, but sort of self-centered." *he changed the subject for Tristan's sake. Most guys were uncomfortable with homosexuality was all. It was not out of embarrassment, Aiden was proud of who he was. He just didn't want it to get awkward, he really liked Tristan and didn't want something stupid like this to ruin their friendship.*

*Tristan ripped off another pieve of fish and ate it* "I haven't met him yet. I haven't been in school for very long. Iwas hiding from the family out on the streets for a few months." *He explained. Finally. Someone who he was positive wasn't a family member.*

Aiden:"Well, basically, he's a bit of an a*s. He made this little kid duel a 5th year or something. The poor kid was scared to death and he just let it happen. It wasn't fair. Why were you on the run? You're obviously not a vampire...."


OOC: I'm just sort of pretending like Aiden was there. I might post as him later and pretend like he was there the entire time. lol.

*Tristan laughed at the mention of a vampire. He finally did his shot, setting the glass down with the rim on the table.* "No, the party's against homosexuality....I thought you'd have knoe known that." *he took a moment to rip off another piece of fish* I'm gay, so I had to go into hiding." *He ate the fish and shruggeD*

Aiden:"Well, yeah, I knew that The Family was against it but I didn't know you were gay. I've managed to slip under their radar." *he pointed out.*"You might want to watch yourself, by the way. I'm a slutty drunk." *he joked*

*Tristan laughed* "Well in that case...." *He raised his arm, calling the bartender. When he had his attention he held up the shot glass, calling for more firewhiskey. Tristan turned back to Aiden* "My parents are in the Family." *He explained* "So they told them about me. And forced me to go into hiding."

*Aiden laughed when Tristan asked for more drinks. He was practically begging for something to happen.*

Aiden:"That's rough, your parents turning you in. I'm muggleborn so I don't have to worry about that, but...Gosh, how do you deal with it? If my parents ever did that to me I'd be...I don't even want to know."

"Well, my parents and I haven't gotten alone since I came out. I had to move out last summer. I have a flat near here." *Tristan took another bite of food, his hunger pangs finally subsiding.* "Right after I came out to my parents, when I was 13, over the summer, someone pushed me down a hill and I broke my arm. So I came running home and they refused to take me to Mungos...." *He held up his arm to show him a scar.* "I passed out on one of the strets and woke up in a muggle hospital after they'd already operated on me." *He laughed bitterly* "My parents were born to be family members"

*Aiden didn't know what to say to that. In truth, there was nothing he could say.*
Aiden:"So...how do you live like this? Without your parents and everything? I'm no where near ready for that...which probably means I'm going to die whenever I graduate." *he joked*

*Tristan smiled and shrugged* "I have an appartment not far from here. Just down the road. And I have a job. Well....had a job before the family took over everything. It's not that hard.....I hate cooking and laundry and cleaning and all....so my appartment's a mess, I do launry in bulk and never fold anything, and live off of pop tarts."

*Aiden laughed.*
Aiden:"Well that would explain why you look like you haven't eaten in a year." *he replied*"Why don't you eat at Hogwarts? It's not like they don't do the cooking for you."

*Tristan sounded a lot like himself. He despised cooking and almost always caught something on fire whenever he tried. When he washed clothes he'd but reds with whites and wonder why everything turned pink.*



~Mel

"Can't." *He smiled and leaned back in the chair* "Not with so many party members in the great hall all at once. I tried when I first got back to the school, and I was beat up." *He sighed and ate another bite* "Such is life."