Misfits | Aria/RhysH

Aria leaned against the wall of the clock tower, her head and one shoulder pressed against it as she wrapped her arms tightly about herself. She listened to the gears of the great clock churn, the seconds ticking by... tick, tick, tick... And then -

Flames. Agony.

She choked back a whimper, hugging herself even tighter.

Rhys, a bit chipper this morning, was walked through the court yard when, to his surprise, Aria was there. He smirked, strolling over to her. He had been hoping to see her soon to "teach" her something else, but when he saw how distressed she seemed, Rhys cancelled those plans.

"Oi, hot stuff," he said, crouching down, "What seems to be the problem?"

Aria looked up at the boy, eyes overly bright with keenly remembered pain.

"Rhys," she said, voice a bit hoarse. "I... know you don't... I know, we're not..." Unable to verbalize her thoughts, the girl gave up and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around the boy's waist as she lay her head against his shoulder. She was trembling.

"Someone hurt me," Aria whispered. "And I'm scared and I - if you could... Just for a moment. Please...

Rhys, feeling her shake against him, sat down and pulled her into his lap. Normally, he wouldn't have cared in the slightest, but society had obligation for him to fill. Comfort to the innocent was one of them. Protect the girl he de-flowered a few days ago was another.

"Show me where," he said, stroking her hair. He wondered if that was comforting, since people did it so much. Hers was soft and fluffy.

"Come on, show Professor Haines," The joke came with a small smile and a kiss to her forehead. It probably nothing; no Hogwarts student would have the guts to parade another maiming other people.

Aria gave a shaky sigh as he stroked her hair, feeling soothed, though she wasn't certain why.

She let out a laugh that was half-sob, somehow managing a wan smile. The girl was wearing a long-sleeve button up over a sleeveless top. Hesitating a moment, she unfastened the buttons. Then, leaning away from him a bit, she pulled down one side of the shirt to reveal the hand print burned into her upper arm.

"There's one on the other side, too," Aria said quietly, focusing on the burn instead of Rhys. "I know it d-doesn't look that... It's just hand prints, but... When he burned me, I f-felt it everywhere.

"Karma thinks it her fault, and..." the blonde shook her head. "I don't know. I just -" She started trembling harder, clasping her hands together anxiously. "I'm scared he'll do it, again."

Rhys reached out and lightly stroked the print, a strange feeling coming to his mind. A Deja vu. A memory he just couldn't place.

When you're a big boy, your gonna treat girls well, okay? Like they're a million pounds! He remembered spindly arms, dotting with darkened cigarette burns.

He shook the thought away, pulling her close. He rubbed her back, watching the sky above them.

"Don't cry, I'm here," he said, "I know I'm not your boyfriend or anything, but I'm going to protect you.

"Who was it? I'll kill that kid. I really will," He said this as if it was a job, not a threat. It really was, to him. He was never really one to disobey his mom.

Aria leaned into the contact. "Okay," she murmured softly. For a moment, she allowed herself to believe that he could protect her, that she really was safe. She wasn't, though; Djinn could summon her from anywhere, at any time.

"'s not a student," Aria told him. Her fingers fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "He can't be stopped."

Rhys leaned away and took her hands in his, pulling them near his face. He kissed her hands softly, his eyes watching the Slytherin's.

"It'll be alright," he promised, "We'll figure it out,"

We. Not her, or me, but we.

"Is there any way to, you know, stop him?"

Aria watched as Rhys took her hands and kissed them. A funny sort of ache formed in her chest. We. How could one word and such simple actions be so comforting?

He wanted to protect her. Karma wanted to, as well, of course; but she was Aria's sister in all the ways that mattered. Rhys, though... he was just a boy, a classmate - her friend with benefits.

For the first time Aria could recall, she felt that maybe she was lucky, just a bit.

The blonde leaned forward on impulse, brushing her lips lightly against his. "Thank you," she told him, sincerely.

"I don't know," Aria answered, biting her lip. She cast an anxious glance about the tower, as though expecting her attacker to appear. Her voice dropped to the barest whisper. "He... he's a demon, and I haven't seen anywhere he can't go..."

Rhys raised a brow as she mentioned demons. If it was Arsen, that stupid Syltherin wouldn't survive...

"Why is he doing that?" he asked slowly, running some fingers through her hair, "Can you.. ask him to stop?"

He leaned back, thinking about what to say. He was never an emotional kid for obvious reasons, but he had become an actor of sorts. He smiled at her, cupping her shoulder.

"I'll try my best to help,"

Aria shrugged helplessly; she didn't know. Not that the demon had to have a reason for anything. Her eyes flew wide in alarm at his words.

"Djinn doesn't like being questioned!" she exclaimed, another anxious glance flitting over their surroundings. She closed her eyes, focusing on the sensation of his fingers running through her hair. They opened again when he touched her shoulder. When she returned his smile, hers was a little more genuine, this time.

The blonde leaned against his chest. "Thank you," she repeated.

Rhys leaned back against the wall, looking into the sky. What did he want her to do anyway? Just sit here? He wasn't like that; he was a man of action. Someone was going to pay for this, whether they were guilty or not. He smirked at this thought, leaning to kiss her hair.

"It'll be fine," he promised, "It'll be fine,"

It probably wouldn't be, but it was the thought that counted.