hesitations are for the weak

The fact that it was summer was not evident during the night time, especially in a place as dense as this forest. Which was why Blaze enjoyed taking strolls certain days of the week, also added to the reasons was that there wouldn't be anyone else around.

Covered in a pair of dark blue jeans, black half sleeved shirt, the line of tattoos on both his arms were exposed. One of his hands was wrapped around his gun, which he had taken out because he thought he had heard footsteps a few hours back. It wouldn't be the first time someone had tried to kill him and he just wanted some reassurance.

Blaze leaned against one of the trees, wondering if he should head back and find a proper place to sleep. It was nearing midnight and he had some work that needed to be taken care of in the morning.

He closed his eyes tightly and let out a deep breath; he needed a distraction.

One thing was sure: Hunter McCoy was not following Blaze Kristian. It was purely the fact that they enjoyed taking strolls in forests at night that she came across him in the clearing. This meeting was purely coincidental and unexpected by either of them.

When she saw the back of his head and a hand wrapped around a gun, she couldn’t help but take out her dagger, and poise it, just in case he decided to attack her. “You know, Kristian; when it’s nearly midnight and you’re alone with a gun, it doesn’t really help your reputation as an innocent boy,” she said in amusement.

She made her way and sat down on the ground opposite him. “If you wanted to sleep, I doubt against a tree would be very comfortable...”

"And who the fuck said I was an innocent boy?" Blaze questioned without opening his eyes, already knowing who the voice belonged to. He wasn't sure whether he was glad or put off to have her here, but he supposed it would be fine.

Also that things would not turn out like they did the last time.

The Hufflepuff felt the brunette sit next to him, and he finally turned to look at her. "I was not planning on sleeping here," he muttered as he placed his gun back into his pocket. "Though I may have to, since I do not have other arrangements." Shaking his head, Blaze asked, "What are you doing here anyway? It's not safe for for girls to be roaming around here alone, you know."

She shrugged, even though he couldn’t see her, “I never did, but the fact that anyone can see you, will make people suspicious of murder. I mean, imagine it would be kind of suspicious, it seemed like you have a buried body there...”

Her face was devoid of emotion, “Well that sfucking suck,” she murmured, mostly to herself. “Me? I like taking strolls at night. Is that a problem? And you should know by now I’m not as harmless as every other girl you may know.” She neglected to mention the fact that her own housing arrangements were pretty crap and she decided to sleep here too.

She narrowed her eyes at him, daring the Hufflepuff to say otherwise on the matter. The fact that she had a dagger with traces of dry blood on it really made her seem ten times more intimidating.

"I don't give a fuck what people think about me McCoy," the Hufflepuff snapped at the brunette. "And what's it to you whether I'm hiding a dead body or not? Last time I checked, we had agreed to stay out of each other's business, because it was just pleasure involved."

Blaze shrugged his shoulders, "No, that is not a problem. If you don't care about your own safety, then why should I?" He could care less about what happened to her, though he would feel a bit remorse seeing as she was one of his best kisses. "Oh, I already know you're not like other girls," he smirked.

"You got a home someplace nearby?"

She shrugged at him, “I don’t,” she stated, her voice emotionless. “I’m merely stating an observation, Kristian. You don’t need to get too worked up about it anyway,” She raised her eyebrows at him.

“You shouldn’t,” she agreed with him, “And I don’t care about my own safety because I have nothing to care for. I’d be in more danger if I was in my house, actually,” she neglected to say the word ‘home’ because it wasn’t a word to her since she was aged six. She narrowed her eyes at his blatant flirting, “Thank you,” she said, sarcasm overflowing her voice.

She crossed her arms at his question and turned away from him. “Last time I checked, we had agreed to stay out of each other’s business, because it was just pleasure involved,” she retorted back coldly, accidentally repeating exactly what he said. “But no, I don’t. My father has a few friends over and they’re already drunk out of their minds.”

She vaguely wondered if he remembered that she told him her father’s drunk friends tried to rape and kill her.

Blaze sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "It's been a rough couple of days McCoy, I sort of have earned the right to get worked up over trivial things." This was not good. He had not planned on seeing her or talking to her anywhere other than school, yet here they were, trying at least to have a civil conversation.

"Join the club, I don't care about me either," he muttered. "But since you have a mother and brother to protect, I say that you actually should give a fuck about your safety." It wasn't like that for the Hufflepuff, he literally had no one to live for. He was sure that no one would even show up to his funeral, except maybe the devil himself.

He raised an eyebrow, "The same people who tried to hurt you? Your father is an asshole, you know that? I suppose he doesn't even deserve that title." Blaze's own parents were sort of such people, and hence arose the unexplainable anger at the fact there were so many others of the kind out there.

Blaze may be heartless, but he would make sure he doesn't turn out like the rest.

She crossed her arms at him and and shrugged, subtly covering the bruise on the side of her neck. She hadn't expected to meet him at this time, and was instead hoping to just sleep peacefully in the clearing with no disturbances. They were here though, and they were already trying their hardest to keep having a civil conversation.

She shrugged again, amused, "I didn't know you cared so much," she said sarcastically, before turning serious, "I sent them to safety, they're at a neighbor's house for tonight. And if I don't come back the next day, for some reason, they'll stay there because they know that without me, they're dead. I'm prepared to die at any time, Kristian."

She raised her own eyebrows at him, "Frankly, I'm surprised you remember that. And yes, I know he's an asshole. And I know he doesn't deserve that title, but calling him McCoy feels as though I'm talking about myself in third person, and calling him Edward feels just plain wrong. So father's the only other alternative I have for him."

She rubbed the back of her neck, not quite sure if she's covering the large bruise on her neck, but feeling the need to rub the ache she had.

"I don't, it was just curiosity you see," the Hufflepuff murmured and gave her a sarcastic smile. "They're dead without you? That's a little extreme, isn't it?" He smirked. "I'm sure someone like you has some faith in them that they can take care of themselves, even without you." Blaze nodded his head slowly and let out a sigh, as though in defeat. "I am ready to die too, yet I always fight when someone's after me. Ironic, isn't it?"

He chuckled lightly,though the sound was hollow, "Remembering what drunk bastards do to girls is kind of my thing, because it is one of those that radiates anger off of me like a supernova." If given the chance, he would perhaps kill all of them or injure them so bad that they wouldn't even think of doing it to another girl ever again.

At that thought, Blaze could hear his parents taunts' in the back of mind, saying that wasn't how they had raised him. He growled to himself in frustration and once again ran his hands through his hair. Forcing himself to calm down, he glanced back at Hunter and questioned immediately, "What happened to your neck?"

"Of course," she murmured sarcastically, not quite sure if he heard her, "And no, it's not extreme. My brother's ten and my mother's a weakling with no willpower whatsoever. She'll probably just watch my little brother get killed if she ever sees that circumstance." At his next words, she managed a chuckle, "Getting killed isn't the best way to die. It would ruin your pride and make you feel weak. So it's not ironic at all, actually."

For once, she was at a loss for words at his reaction. "It's nice to see you have some sort of emotions," she muttered inaudibly.

When he growled and ran a hand through his hair, she couldn't help but think of their last encounter when she ran her hand through his hair and he growled... She inwardly slapped herself and looked back up at him, then he asked her the question.

"My neck? What? There's nothing wrong with my ne- oh. That," she shifted uncomfortably, deciding to tug on the end of her shirt so he doesn't see that she had worse, mostly due to the fact her father smashed multiple beer bottles on her. "That's... that's..." she just decided to tell the truth, so she quietly said, "That was the work of my father."

"That just sounds fucking horrible," Blaze remarked, giving the Ravenclaw an amused look. "Now I can't decide if your father is worse or your mother is, though I am sure I feel the most sorry for your brother." He looked at her in surprise at her next comment. "Huh, seems like I managed to agree with you on another thing," he grinned. "You're right, I could never go down without a fight."

He did not bother to disagree with her. "I may be heartless, but that does not mean I enjoy hearing about innocent people getting hurt, especially from the male population. Besides, my parents were such sadists as well, that it fucking puts me off when I find out there are others out there walking free and doing the same crimes. I won't hesitate to kill one of them McCoy, just so you know."

Blaze didn't say anything for a minute, just clenched and unclenched his fists. "And you didn't think you had to report him to the authorities?" The Hufflepuff questioned, his voice neutral. "Since you're not yet legal, this is considered as child abuse and you do know that you can press charges, right?" Though he sounded like himself on the outside, he was currently having a battle of emotions. At a point he just wanted to hug Hunter, but the devilish part of him refused to make him move his hands or say anything else.

And therein lies the supernova like anger.

"My father is," she quickly said, "My mother is just cowardly and weak, not ready to fight back. But at least she provides us with money, even though my father blows it off on more alchohol. And I'm training my brother, so he can defend himself..." She noticed that his grin was attractive, even though she would never admit it or even react to it. At his words, she decided to act arrogant, "Well of course! I'm always right!"

An almost-smile smothered her face at his words, but frowned when he spoke about his parents. "What... what happened to your parents?" She asked quietly, "If you don't want to tell me it's completely fine, I'm not supposed to be in your business, anyway..."

"I did!" She argued back, "He had four years of imprisonment but someone bailed him out! And my mother is too damn scared of my father, so she let him stay at the house! I know I can press charges!" This was not good. This was bad, horrible even. She was planning to stay here for the night because her father was in the house, she was not expecting to have Kristian there, and she definitely didn't expect him to find out about her father. Mindlessly, she threw arms around him in a hug and and buried her face in his chest.

She didn't notice that her waist, where the bigger bumps and bruises were, had made contact with his skin, and she didn't notice that he felt them.

"That doesn't make it any better, but I suppose it's good that you have at least one parent on your side," Blaze sighed. "I hope your brother is a fast learner, because judging by the sound of things, he needs to be the one to protect your mother when you're not around," he stated. "Hm, 'always' is a strong word, isn't it?" He rolled his eyes but smirked nonetheless.

The Hufflepuff shrugged his shoulders. "My parents are currently locked up in Azkaban because they were Death Eaters. Amazing, isn't it?" He scoffed with a shake of his head. "It's as though I'm their infected, demon child. I'm pretty sure I'll end up with the Dementors as well, in a dingy cell. But until then, I plan to fight and just try to live."

"Bailed him out? I'm telling you now itself McCoy, you can't stay with your father anymore," Blaze pointed out warningly, his voice having taken a dangerous tone. Before he could continue however, the Ravenclaw was hugging him.

The brown eyed boy was frozen. No one had ever hugged him before. Once people found about his family, they always treated him like toxic. After what seemed like minutes, he reluctantly placed his hands on her waist, but then frowned once more.

"What the fuck?" He muttered angrily, as he reached for under her shirt and felt the bruises on her waist. "What happened?"

She shrugged, “I guess so, it’s already hard enough for me to protect my family, but to have to be out most of the time for work would be even worse,” she said, and she smiled softly at the mention of her brother, “Yeah, he is, he’s already quite good at physical combat,” she replied, her eyes filled with pride for a moment. His next comment snapped her out of her trance for a moment. She rolled her eyes at him. “It’s pretty strong, yes, but I stand by my statement. I am always right.”

She winced at his words, “I don’t think you’re infected or demonic,” she murmured quietly, “And I don’t think you deserve Azkaban either. You may act like an ass most of the time, but I don’t think you’re deserving of Azkaban.” Her words were so quite she was nearly sure he hadn’t heard her.

She sighed heavily, “I know I shouldn’t, but I really have no place to go! And when the days get really bad, I just send my family off somewhere safe and come here. It’s no problem.”

She didn’t know what came over her when she hugged him but she felt really comforted for some reason when his arms found her waist and she leaned into him some more, but jumped back when his hand went under her shirt.

“What’re you- oh... that...” she actually blushed at the fact he found her bruises. “It’s nothing. Just my father, he hit me with a few glass bottles... But’s it’s fine,” she assured him quickly, “I managed to take out all the broken glass out of my stomach and clean it.”

She didn’t mention the fact that it took her seven hours, since her mother was too scared of her father to help her.

"Your brother sounds like an okay guy," the Hufflepuff remarked with the faintest of smiles. "And plus, I tend to have a soft spot for those who love combat." Being with such people never made him feel left out and it was one of few times he felt like he had a place in the world. "I'm sure I can find out certain instances wherein you're wrong," he said and gave her a not-so-innocent smirk.

He waved his hand dismissively at Hunter's line. "You don't know me well enough to think that. If you were aware of my sudden urges or things I've attempted to do, I'm sure you would agree." He never liked himself, not in the least. He hated his family and he hated what they did to him and made him be. "You don't need to be so sympathetic with me, by the way. I don't give a fuck what happens to me or where I end up."

"Why not find a permanant safe place then?" Blaze questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Because sending your mother and brother to different places, is not going to work out in the long run."

The Hufflepuff's eyes narrowed in anger and he clenched his fists once more. "He did what?! Fucking hell, the bastard deservesto rot in Azkaban!" He exclaimed, the sound a little loud in the forest. "And you didn't even get it checked out? Fuck," he cursed angrily under his breath.

Blaze mentally slapped himself for behaving so concernedly. This was a first time. He had come across many such helpless people, but never had he shown any mercy. Still, Hunter was just a teenage girl, that too his age, and none like them deserved something so cruel.

“Well that’s good,” she said sarcastically, “I’ll be sure to bring him next time. But he is a good person.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, “I may not know you well enough, but the fact that I’ve said quite a few words that tend to get me slapped, or punched, and so on... The fact that you didn’t shows you’re not as bad. And I’ve had quite a few urges, and my attempts weren’t just attempts, they actually happened. So don’t fucking think so lowly of yourself,” she scoffed at his words, “I’m not being sympathetic, I’m being honest. But I suppose you couldn’t tell the damn difference because of that thick skull of yours.”

“As soon as I graduate, I will,” she promised firmly, “I’ll be able to keep my father away from us once and for all, but I won’t be able to do that until I’m legally allowed to live on my own.”

“I know he deserves to rot in Azkaban! I know that the guy’s a total asshole with no morals whatsoever!” she yelled back, “And I couldn’t get it checked out, because my father said that I deserve to be in pain for maimed some of his friends, who’re as bad as my father!”

She paused for a moment, before saying, “I have no fucking clue why you’re caring about that, since you don’t even seem to give a flying fuck about yourself.”

"That is because you are not worth getting a slap or hit from me," Blaze snapped at the Ravenclaw, before looking away. "And I don't just go around hitting people, if that's what you are implying. I only cause pain to those who deserve it and you are not one of them." He merely let out a chuckle at her words. "You didn't seem to have a problem with my thick skull when you were busy snogging the living daylights out of me!"

He shook his head, "There's still a whole year for that, and you never know what all damage can take place in such a duration of time!"

"Well then, your father is bastard whom you really shouldn't be listening to!" Blaze growled out, his eyes glinting dangerously. "And that is a stupid reason to not have your injuries checked out. It could have been fatal for fuck's sake! Honestly McCoy, there's a limit when it comes to taking care of yourself."

The Hufflepuff glared at her. "I don't show my concerns for anyone, so the least you can do is appreciate it! But if you don't want me to, then I won't."

“Well, thank you! It’s always a good day when you’re not worth being slapped or hit,” She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes, and she blushed ever so slightly when he spoke about when she snogged him, “Well, snogging takes no part in being intelligent. And I’d just like to point out that you liked it even though it was my first kiss.”

Her eyes flashed, “I’ve tried taking him to jail, for fuck’s sake, it didn’t work! What am I supposed to do then? What’s your genius idea? Because I would gladly take it!”

“You misunderstand! I was physically unable to! My father forbid my mother from healing it or giving me money to get it taken care of!” She growled back, secretly touched at he cared.. ish. “You think I wanted to feel like complete crap because I wouldn’t bloody stop bleeding for three hours?”

She suddenly did the only thing she had been avoiding the whole night: She wrapped her arms around his neck, and crashed her lips on his.

"Of course it's a good day when no one is out to hit you," the Hufflepuff murmured and gave her a pointed look. "Your first kiss, huh? Consider yourself lucky that you got such a great one for your first time, most girls would die for that you know," he remarked with his signature smirk. "And well, I never denied that I didn't like it. Quite the opposite in fact."

Blaze stared at her for a minute before a humourless smile crossed his lips. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, though I guess I would be a terrible person for even suggesting such a thing." Still, the more he heard about Hunter's father, the more he wanted to hurt him. "If I ever get a better idea, I'll let you know."

"JUST GET AWAY FROM HIM THEN, THERE MUST BE A WAY FOR THAT!" He shouted, feeling frustrated with the Ravenclaw's complaining and also towards the people who tried to hurt her. However, all that flew out the window as she suddenly pressed her lips to his.

He wasted no time in responding, his hands already getting tangled in her hair and pulling her closer. "What the fuck was that for?" Blaze whispered roughly against her lips, breathing heavily, his hands not loosening their hold on her.

She shrugged at the Hufflepuff, agreeing with him for once. She rolled her eyes at his next words, “Oooh, I’m sooooo lucky,” She said sarcastically. She smirked at him, “Nice to know you see it the way you’re supposed to.”

She smiled at him, “I tried that, didn’t end so well,” she murmured, looking at her hands. She managed to give him a scar to run across his leg, but he managed to permanently give her a scar that ran down her neck. She didn’t even want to think about how Kristian would react if he saw the scar.

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO! HE’S ABLE TO FOLLOW ME WHEREVER I GO BECAUSE MY MOTHER’S TOO WEAK FOR HER OWN DAMN GOOD!” She yelled back.

“No idea, but I don’t see you complaining,” she murmured back, just as breathless.

She wasted no time in pressing her lips back against his and pulling herself closer to him, so she was nearly sitting on his lap. She licked his lips and tangled a hand into his hair. One hand was running over his tattoo softly.

"Oh yes, you were very lucky indeed," Blaze nodded his head, ignoring the Ravenclaw's sarcasm. "It didn't matter to him whether she agreed with him or not; he already knew how she felt. He shrugged his shoulders, "Why waste my breath denying the truth? It is not as though we are going to get together or something."

The Hufflepuff looked at the brunette in surprise, "You did? I'm assuming that it didn't turn out to be a wise choice." Blaze commented, the humourless smile widening across his face. "By the time you leave Hogwarts, I'm sure you'll be able to, unless fate catches up with him first."

"Then get away from both of them!" The brown eyed boy shouted back. "Just leave your mother and brother at a safe house and for fuck's sake worry about youself for once! With any more injuries, who knows where you'll end up!"

Instead of replying, all Blaze could do was pull her onto his lap, barely aware of his actions. The only thing he could feel or see was her. His hands tangled deeper into her hair, as he kissed back roughly. The Hufflepuff hissed in pleasure as she touched his tattoo and trailed one of his hands down her arm.

She scowled at his obvious disregard for her sarcasm but made no move to comment because she knew he would find something worse to say to her. She blinked at his next words, feeling kind of... weird... when he said they weren't going to get together at all. It's not like I have a problem with it or anything, she thought firmly, ignoring that weird inner voice in the back of her head once again.

She snorted, "Well of course I did! Do I look like a freaking butterfly to you? I'd do anything for my family! The asshole gave me a bloody scar though," she added very quietly and quickly, in hopes of him not hearing her words, "Maybe I should poison him next time... Then again, he already poisons himself with that alchohol..."

"I'm not leaving my family anywhere! I can't trust anyone enough!" She crossed her arms angrily, "I can't worry about myself! My brother's more important than me! And we can cope for another year! I've been enduring this since I was six! I've been fighting back since I was six! I can't stop now!!"

She was grateful that Kristian had pulled her on his lap, so they could be even closer. Her chest pressed against his, and she smirked against his lips when he hissed in pleasure. Hunter let out her own hiss of pleasure when his hands tangled into her hair. She pushed him back against the tree and pushed her tongue through his lips roughly.

Blaze narrowed his eyes at the brunette once more, as though scrutinizing her reaction. "You do realize this is nothing, right?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't do relationships McCoy, and I least of all cannot care for another soul when mine is so fucked up. I'm hurting every day, last thing I need is someone showing me feelings."

"A scar where?" Was his instant demand, but frowned at his words. "On second thought, never mind. I think I've seen and heard enough for tonight," he sighed and shook his head. "If you are serious about poisoning him, let me know. I happen to have certain contacts that can get you some very effective ones." And for just a minute, an evil smirk crossed his lips before it faded quickly.

The Hufflepuff retorted at Hunter, "What if something happens next year and you're not there? Honestly McCoy, you need to talk to someone and get help for your family. It's not fair to them that you're all the way here, and they're the ones suffering more!" Taking in a deep breath, he finally calmed down and when he spoke, all emotion was dead. "Fine, forget what I said. Do whatever the fuck you want."

"This is all I can offer you McCoy," Blaze growled against her lips, as his hands rested on her cheeks. "Whatever twisted pleasure we're both getting now, is the only thing I'm worth for." Their tongues battling for dominance, he kissed her once more, before trailing his lips towards her earlobes and biting none too gently.

"I know it means nothing," she said defensively, "And the fact that you're ignoring your own troubles and focusing on mine is kind of stupid, if your soul is 'so fucked up' as you said. I'm not showing you 'feelings' either. I've no idea how you came up with that idea anyway."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Well good. I wasn't going to show you anyway," she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when he changed the subject. Kind of. A twisted sort of smile crossed on her face for a moment before it went away as soon as it came, "I'll call you if I ever need it,"she said, fantasies of a dead Edward McCoy drowning her thoughts, and a small genuine smile found its way to her face for a minute.

She frowned at his words. "You obviously have home problems of your own, yet you still concentrate on mine," she shook her head, "I don't get it. For someone who doesn't care, you're 'not caring' an awful lot."

"I can take that," she breathed, rubbing her thumb on the side of his neck gently, where her hand somehow managed to rest for a moment. She shut him up by pressing her lips to his once more. All Hunter could do was shiver in pleasure when his lips trailed towards her earlobes. She buried her face in his neck and placed soft, chaste kisses along it.

"You think I like caring for your problems?" Blaze responded irritatedly at the fact that her accusations were half right. "You are the cause of my internal conflicts, McCoy. I am just as confused about all of this as you are and I am hating every moment of it."

He nodded his head, his eyes cast downwards. "I suppose you haven't met a lot of boys who offered poison for murder, huh?" He chuckled humourlessly. "My parents would be proud right now. Especially since I can't deny the thrill that accompanies with doing something so wrong and forbidden, even if it is taking a life."

"I concentrate on yours because I need a fucking distraction," Blaze muttered. "I don't have any problems, my life is set. You are the one who still has people to worry about. Listening to you gives me a sense of reality, one that is not there when I am by myself. Besides, I feel glad to have found someone who understands what I've been through.

He closed his eyes in bliss, at the feel of Hunter's lips on his neck. His arms wrapped tighter around her and buried his face in her hair. "This is not right. So why do we keep doing it?" He asked softly, his fingers still tracing patterns across her arms.