Learning How To Take A Blow, Matt/Open

[Mallory Roberts]

Mallory walked up the stairs, the infinite number of stairs, that led up to the North Tower. She rarely ever came up to this part of the castle and she wouldn't be doing it now if she didn't have a perfectly good reason for doing so. The echoing of her footsteps was all that could be heard as she ascended, the barren stairway gave her an almost eerie sort of feeling. She took a deep breath and told herself that she was being ridiculous and childish before letting her mind wander to other thoughts. Her main concern at the moment was her brother, that stupid boy seemed to be off in another world lately. When she had spoken to him earlier that day, he was distant and far from the normal egotistical, pain in the neck, happy-go-lucky brother that she'd known for the past lifetime. When she had finally gotten annoyed with his mopey attitude he had simply told her to meet her up in the North Tower at midnight. Normally she would have stomped on that idea and told him that she had to get rest for Quidditch practice the next day but there was a certain alarm in his voice that made her say yes without any kind of hesitation.

Which is why she was now in the North Tower at midnight waiting on her brother. She sat down on the cold stone ground and huddled herself in her robe. She tried to make herself less anxious by thinking about something that wasn't related to Matt in the slightest. She thought about the Potions essay she had due in two days, it didn't do too much to calm down her racing heart. Her thoughts immediately returned to Matt. She had never seen him so down, so melancholy. It was out of character for him, as far away from her normal brother as possible. But what could make someone like Matt feel that way? Normally Matt's initial reaction to anything that might cause sadness in any normal person was anger, intense and irrational anger.

She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and could only hope it was Matt and not a professor or some stupid annoying Hufflepuff looking for some attention. She leaned her head back on the wall and watched the door, crossing her fingers for Matt.

[Matt Roberts]

Matt had been writing in his journal for quite some time now. It wasn't until he looked at his watch that he had realized it was already midnight. Well crap. He was supposed to meet Mallory in the North Tower...now. He hurried and collected his things, stowing them away in the trunk at the foot of his bed, and hurried down the stairs and out of the Common Room. He was careful to be quiet while he was out but knew that if he was caught out after hours, especially if it happened to be a few certain professors, he could get out of any trouble without much trouble at all. He could merely say he needed a walk around the school to get his mind going, he was studying for some class or another. Or he could even say he had to tell Mallory something important that their father had told them, they wouldn't ask questions simply because of who his father was.

With the new found confidence he practically ran towards the North Tower, not even bothered by the noise that he was making. Knowing Mallory she'd wait five minutes, feel like it had been two hours, and then leave because she was bored. When he finally made it up the last flight of stairs he opened the door quickly, letting out a sigh of relief as he saw his sister sitting there, looking bored much like he had predicted. Oh crap, what was he going to tell her? What possible excuse could he give for being in such a foul mood lately? It was if some of the bad feelings evaporated, just for a moment, while he stood there with his little sister.

He took a deep breath, "I 'spose you're wanting an explanation for my sourpuss attitude, huh?" Where could he start? He couldn't tell her Alana or Charlotte's secrets but it was impossible to explain the situation without giving away that solid bit of fact. He stood there, stumped for a moment, "Well, have you ever known someone whose family members hurt them? Like really badly?"

[Mallory Roberts]

Mallory's eyes searched her brother as he entered the room. There certainly was something different about him. She wasn't sure if anyone but her could notice the minuscule differences in her brother quite like she was able to. Her first warning sign that something was wrong, was that she had been the first to arrive at the tower. Normally Matt made a point to be at least ten or fifteen minutes early to everything - even if it was something like helping mum degnome the garden. His hair wasn't as ruffled as it normally was. While some may think this was nothing to point towards any changes in her brother than perhaps styling choices, Mallory knew better. Matt always ran his hand through his hair whenever he was feeling particularly pleased with himself, which happened to be about 97% of the time. But here his hair was, looking as though he hadn't touched it at all that day. The most prominent thing that she noticed, and she was sure that any of Matt's friends would probably realize this one, the spark that he normally had in his hazel eyes was gone. There was no signs of life behind his eyes, the most expressive tool he possessed. There wasn't the optimism and hope, there wasn't energy and curiosity, there was nothing.

She immediately stood up, her legs shaking underneath her as though they were threatening to send her crashing down to the ground. Whatever was wrong with Matt, it was serious. She didn't know how she was going to handle this abrupt change in her brother. Her older brother was a rock, something that was both unstoppable and unmovable, he was indestructible. She felt as though her entire world had been turned upside down, nothing was as it should be any longer. She stepped towards him but stopped herself as he began to speak, her lungs rattling her ribcage as she tried to remember how to properly inhale and exhale. How bad was it?

At his first question, Mallory couldn't even find the strength to chuckle as Matt used the word "sourpuss." She was too stunned by the change in him that she found that nothing really seemed all that funny right now. His next question caught her off guard, so this wasn't about him? She was glad to know that but still, it would have to be a close friend for him to worry this much. Or would it? Matt held such a high respect for family and had very preconceived notions on just how a family should act. If any family was abusive, Matt would probably be bothered, but would he be this disturbed? She shook her head at his question, "No, why?" She stepped towards him, her eyes growing large as she looked more closely at him. He looked as though he hadn't slept for days on end. What was wrong with him?

[Matt Roberts]

Matt felt like he was being x-rayed. His sister was looking at him as though she was trying to pinpoint everything that was wrong with him, as though she was trying to see through any charade that he might have been trying to put on for her. He didn't have the strength to pretend, he didn't really have the strength to do anything. All he knew was that something had to be done. If he didn't act soon, his sanity would be lost. He could already feel the madness taking over him, coursing through his veins like some sort of sick poison. What if he died? What if he never saw Mallory again? His jaw clenched at the thought, he couldn't think about things like that. He just couldn't. He didn't need anything else to give him nightmares while he slept, whenever he actually did get to sleep. Mallory looked weak, like she could barely hold herself up. This was an uncommon sight for him to see his little sister, the fighter, unable to be strong enough to do something as simple as standing up.

He had gone the wrong way about it. Now he was going to be able to lie to her but he wasn't going to be able to tell her the truth either. He loved Mallory and he loved Alana, he could do no wrong to either of them, especially if his days were now numbered. He took the few short steps to close the distance between himself and Mallory and he wrapped his arms around her tightly, putting his head right on top of hers. He clung to her desperately. He could feel the tears threatening to fill his eyes. He blinked several times before realizing that he had already lost that battle. He took a deep breath before dropping his arms from her side and put them on both of her shoulders.

He took a quavering breath, "Mallory, you are the best sister I could have ever asked for. I don't think I can really tell you whats going on with me right now, I just don't know. I just want you to know that I love you and if I do something stupid that has some bad consequences, I just want you to know that. You are one of the reasons I used to be able to get up in the morning smiling, you're the best. Just know that I love you and you'll always be my baby sister no matter what." His voice was no where near as strong as he had hoped for.

[Mallory Roberts]

As Matt wrapped his arms around her, Mallory felt the urgency that her brother was feeling. They normally didn't show emotions like this towards one another, the friendly rivalry they normally held vanquished any sort of display of emotions such as this. But she surrendered and hugged her brother tightly, feeling as though she might deeply regret it if she didn't. Besides, it felt like Matt, for once in her entire existence, needed her just as much as she had always needed him. She almost felt as though she could cry, though she didn't really know why she felt that way. All she knew was that the rock that was her brother was crumbling in her arms. The strength he had once possessed vanished, the happiness leaking through all of the cracks. As he loosened his grip on her, she found herself clinging onto him as though her very life depended upon it. It wasn't until her brother had put his arms on her shoulders, slightly pushing her back, that she realized she was the only one who was holding on.

As she looked at her brother, she saw the tears building up in his eyes. She looked at him, confusion written all over her face, "Matt, why are you ---" but she stopped when her brother began to speak. As Mallory soaked in what he was saying, it became obvious to her what was going on. Something bad had happened to one of his close friends, either Charlotte or Alana were her guess, and now he was going to go do something, like avenge them. He was going to go get in some sort of fight and he was worried that he might not make it out alive. Or something. Maybe she was being dramatic but she had a strange feeling that something bad was about to happen.

So she did the first thing that she thought of. She began smacking his shoulders, "Don't you dare do something stupid! And don't you even think about talking to me like that ever again! You are not doing anything that is going to put yourself in danger. I WILL HEX YOU INTO THE NEXT OBLIVION!" She immediately stopped hitting him and wrapped her arms around him once more. The sobbing fit began.