Think fast [Ben]

It was just after dinner, and Alexander was bored. Quidditch practice was over, and he was tired from that but his brain was still too awake to wind down. He had decided to put off homework for another day, and he was lonely. He didn’t have a girlfriend right then, no one to fawn over and send little kisses too via letters, so he was completely dependent on his best friend keeping him entertained. Of course, Benjamin most likely had better things to do than deal with a mopey and annoying roommate. He was throwing his quaffle up in the air and catching it carefully as he went. He was doing one-handies, spins, and all sorts of things to keep his body sharp, but his heart wasn’t in it. He collapsed back on his bed. 

“Ben, entertain me…” He managed, looking listless. He looked over at his roommate. He was a cute boy. Always had been, but the two were close like brothers. While Alexander was struggling a little with his bicurosity, he was certain that he would never let anything happen with his fellow Slytherin, regardless of the fact that Ben was straight as a pin. He found him attractive, which disturbed him, but there was nothing else there and that was the part that confused Zane. Was he into boys or not? 

He whined, when he didn’t get a response as quickly as he wanted it. “Booooored.” He whined, throwing the quaffle against the ceiling. “Think fast.” He said, throwing the red ball directly at his roommate’s back.

@Benjamin Danvers

Ben didn't even bother with the pretense of feeling self conscious as he walked into the Slytherin 6th year boys dormitory in nothing but silk pajama pants while toweling off his hair. For one he knew he was attractive (what was not to like, really. If he was a girl he'd fancy himself. Vanity was, undoubtedly, a serious character flaw in the Slytherin) and for two he actually did not care who he was showing off for. He was a peacock in that he really did enjoy being admired by the denizens of Hogwarts.

His blue gaze landed on his best friend laid out on his four-poster like a tart as he messed about with a Quaffle. "Don't you have anything else better to do?" he asked, unknowingly echoing his friends internal thoughts as he hung his towel up. He smirked and rolled his eyes, some fondness bleeding into his expression. He was reacting even before the words were out of his friends mouth, though, moving to catch the thrown quaffle almost subconsciously. "Don't you have any underclassmen to torture or some bird to snog?" he asked curiously as he moved to Alex's bed. "Shove over." he said, nudging the other boy with his thigh and dropping the quaffle onto his chest before he settled in.

It was honestly a tight fit but it was easier to watch his friend this close than to let him remain unsupervised. Who knew what sort of havoc he'd set loose otherwise.

Alexander slid over as Ben crawled onto the bed, feeling playful but happy for the attention. “You mean your pretty face isn’t over here for a snog?” He teased, turning to look at him a bit. He made fluttery eyes at his best friend. Despite how not-serious his comment was, he enjoyed the closeness. He put his head on Ben’s shoulder after a few moments, reveling in their bromance and thinking of how he was lucky to have someone like this. So many guys didn’t get to show physical affection with other men in any capacity, but he and Ben had always been different than other guys in this regard. Bro-hugs were common.

He looked over at the quaffle, a little wistful. He needed to practice more, especially with the infamous match against Hufflepuff (last year’s champions) coming up. The Captain was a cutie pie, more a soft vanilla cookie than a fierce competitor, but that didn’t mean the Hufflepuffs couldn’t play. Their team was pretty good, though, and this year it seemed they were determined to beat the Puffs.

“You think your crush on the Hufflepuff Captain will stop you from hitting bludgers at her during the match coming up?” He teased again, knowing full-well that Benjamin didn’t have a crush per-say. The soft vanilla cookie was under his protection, for some reason, but it wasn’t like that. Maybe she was too pure. Even Zane had left her alone, though he frequently teased Ben that he would compromise her innocence just to piss him off.

"You're a bit too flat to tempt me." he said with a laugh. "Though you certainly are a pretty bloke." not at all shy to admit his best friend was rather good looking. He resisted the urge to take the opportunity to elbow him in the gut, knowing it would ruin the moment. He was too tired to wrestle and knew his friend would be too offended not to retaliate. It did strike him that theirs was a bit of an atypical friendship in the sense that teenage boys didn't snuggle unless they were ... otherwise entangled but Ben was the type of boy to give his affection rather freely towards those that were close to him. There was a great distinction between what he let his friends get away with than those of a looser acquaintance. It wasn't just any bloke he'd let rest on him to indulge in a snuggle, really. Definitely Baylen, of course, and perhaps Jet.

The idea of letting Andy join on their puppy pile sent him into a peel of laughter just thinking about it. "We should invite Andy." he said, blue eyes glittering in amusement. They probably all would end up beating eachother up, piled up on Alex's bed, like a bunch of naughty crups. "It's not a crush." he denied with a roll of his eyes, not bothering to address the last bit. They both knew, without him having to confirm it, that he'd be struggling against Hufflepuff. Hy was a tiny slip of a thing and though he didn't doubt her skill on a broom he also acknowledged that it would be difficult for him to actively target her.

Then there was Davina. An added complication on top of an already complicated situation. He honestly wasn't sure how he'd gotten so entangled, though he blamed his charming personality and good looks. Humble Benjamin Danvers was not. What was false modesty worth, really, when you could be competent and confident instead? "At least she's not the seeker." he added brightly, internally meaning both girls. "I usually focus more on making sure your sorry arses are protected though. Can't have my best mate complain I let a bludger mar his precious face, can I?" and he'd be busy for certain. Most of his favorite people were on the Quidditch team. "I can also target Jae to my hearts content without feeling bad about it." he added, referring to the Hufflepuff keeper. There was a bit of a rivalry there, though he mostly enjoyed winding the younger wizard up.

“You better not let them mar my face.” Alexander countered, a bit frightened by the prospect of getting injured in the pretty face. Especially by the snugglepuffs. He gave Ben a little elbow at the simple mention of it. He laughed lightly, though, loving that Benjamin skirted by the topics of the pretty girls on the Hufflepuff team and went straight to the one target that he actually could get a bludger on. He was amused. 
 
“I’m thinking about having a party over Easter. My parents are going away on business, and said I can have a few friends over.” He admitted. “I think I’ll keep it just a few of you guys. Come over, let the elves cook for some of my friends who’ve never had the luxury. Drink expensive wine from my dad’s wine cellar—don’t worry Ben, only your family’s best brand will do, I wouldn’t make you drink swill.” He laughed a bit more. “I’ll show off my racing broom.” He offered. “I think my grandmother might come to ‘chaperone’ but she’s asleep like a rock after eight in the evening, so as long as we don’t make too much noise, she won’t notice anything. Unfortunately, her being there means no girls allowed. I know, not much of a party without the birds, but we’ll have a proper sleep over. When you fall asleep first I’ll be sure to make sure the dick I draw on your face is an exceptional likeness.” He teased. 
 
“Who else ought I to invite? I mean, Andy’s alright. I was thinking of inviting your girlfriend, Jet, too. He and I have been friendlier since he joined my study group. I’m telling you, this Ravenclaw boys group is getting me better grades than any of my past tutors ever did.” He laughed. “Of course, we actually study now. Before, with the girls, we were just studying anatomy, mostly.” He teased with a dark grin. He wanted to be like Ben, he really did. Ben never kissed and told, but Zane felt the need to brag about everything, including explicit details. He figured one day, he would meet a girl who he didn’t want to tell on, and that would be the woman he chose to spend the rest of his life with. For now, fleeting girlfriends were enough for him. Though, he wasn’t too picky about the shape or size. Unless the girl was genuinely hideous, he found most girls in their year gorgeous in their own right. 

"Have some faith, will you? Andy and I are the best beaters at Hogwarts." and no one would convince him otherwise. Besides just because he didn't want to hit Hy didn't mean he couldn't ferociously protect his team. And honestly Davina had a bat of her own, so he wasn't too worried about it. He took the ribbing good-naturedly anyway.

"That sounds like a good time." he agreed, opening his mouth to make a comment about the wine selections before he snapped his mouth shut. He had been about to go into a long rant about the inferiority of wines not made in his family's vineyards but his friend new him too well at this point. He'd heard the ranting and the argument quite a few times at this point. Ben was a bloody snob about it and he didn't drink other wines on principal alone. Meade, beer, brandy, rum, and whiskey were all on the table but wine was not. "I've gotten good at the imperturable charm, so even if we do make noise, it should hold up well." he offered with a bit of a mischievous grin. "What do you think keeps your loud snores at bay for me to actually sleep?" he teased with some laughter.

"You've got jokes tonight don't you? If Jet's my girlfriend than what are you? You seem to be enjoying a good nuzzle right now, you hypocrite." he quipped with a roll of his eyes. Part of him understood that it could look that way but he honestly couldn't care less. He knew what he liked and people could talk all they liked it wasn't really going to change how her interacted with his friends. "That's because its a challenge to you- they challenge your intelect and you can't help try to prove them wrong." he said with some laughter. "The girls were just a distraction." he added, feeling amused. Personally he had a tendency to keep his entanglements with girls pretty low-key. In such a small school it was obvious he was a bit of a skirt chaser himself but, well, he was quiet and discrete about it. Most of his interactions were friendly in public and he didn't push the limits past an arm around the shoulder here, or a brush of lips around and ear there. He was tactile enough in general that it wasn't strange and he never really said anything about it once it got past a broom closet. "One day a girl is going to hex your bits of for being a shit about it." he warned with a shake of his head, amused despite himself. "They call blokes like a you a pig for a reason, you know." he added, making a little oink sound for effect. 

Zane rolled his eyes. “Me?” He asked, playfully affronted. “I’m your wife.” He teased, putting a finger over the other’s lips as he kept talking. “No, no. No one calls me a pig, you know. I may like to whisper secrets to you boys here and there, but I wouldn’t ever besmirch a woman’s good name publicly. Besides, I like to make an honest woman out of most of the girls you see me with. Like to take them out for butterbeers in Hogsmeade and write them horrible poems—do you remember the one I sent that Rose girl?” He laughed loudly, removing his finger from Ben’s lips.  “I barely remember any of it, but it was terrible. I cannot believe she pinned it to her bedside.” He laughed. “After, I think she might have burned it. At least, that’s what I heard.” 
 
“Anyway. You. Me. Jet. Maybe one more guy back at my place for a day or so. It’s still a bit chilly for the pool, but we can certainly take a ride on broomstick.” He admitted. “Not to mention there’s a nice little shopping plaza a mile or so down the road from the property, we could go there and look around the next day. Assuming you can reverse the irremovable ink hex.” He teased, alluding back to the dick-drawing.  
 
He leaned into the other a little more, liking the comfort. “Anyway, time to get off my bed.” He made no move to get up. “Gotta get my beauty rest, a face like this isn’t on accident.” He teased.

The tall Slytherin couldn't help the snicker that escaped him at the term wife. "You wish I were that committed." he teased, completely amused by the thought, and trying not to lick the other boys fingers (or bite, really) in an effort to be gross. The only thing that held him back from it was he wasn't keen to get quaffle hand germs (and Merlin knew what else) on him. Seemed rather unsanitary. He couldn't imagine his friend willing to be tied down to anyone long enough to make a relationship happen though, so marriage was laughable.

"People are gullible." he muttered, shaking his head. It still surprised him, sometimes, which was sad. "Why'd she burn it again?" he asked pointedly, letting the eventual response validate his argument. "Sounds nice." he agreed, letting the drawing threat linger in the air without addressing it. There was no way he'd be admitting to purchasing a special salve for the kind of shit he'd inevitably get drawn on his face. Best to just let them do whatever he was bound to do (he was not going to loose sleep over it) and then just cover it up the next day.

"You're the one wrapped around me like  you're related to the squid." he said, amused, as he raised an eyebrow but patted his friends head. He usually just let him hang on, not really being bothered by the proximity. He drew the line at actually sleeping on the same bed, though, even though sleep was probably a good idea right about now. He made a move to detach himself, pinching the other boys side, to get him to scoot over a bit so he could make it out of the bed. He stretched out, yawning, before he threw himself towards his own bed, a happy little sigh escaping him before he mumbled. "Can't believe 7th year's so close." it was hard to imagine.

He wasn't looking forward to NEWTS.