tearing up the town

"I will keep thinking that because it's the truth," the Greek girl grinned with a shrug of her shoulders. "No idea, huh? Want me to jog your memory, Rousseau?" She gave a not-so-innocent smile.

Iris rolled her eyes at the boy's tactics and gave a punch to his arm. "No need to show off so much, all your bimbo fans are not here at the moment, in case you hadn't noticed," she smirked. "Well, being strong is good, makes it a little easier to defend yourself."

"You do know that you can just leave, right?" The Gryffindor asked with a raised eyebrow. "I know you are not going to, but if you really don't want to accompany me, I'm fine with it."

Her night was ruined and the last thing she wanted was to ruin someone else's.

She nodded her head at the Priduex's answer, not saying anything. Unable to resist, smiled slyly, "Still six or is it seven now?" She hoped he knew what she meant by that question, though she had a feeling she already knew the response.

"Even if you keep thinking it, I'll have you know that there are plenty of girls willing and able to refute that." Nodding, he fiddled with the cuffs of his shirt. Glancing back up at her, he murmured something unintelligible in French, rolling his eyes. "Sure, go right ahead."

He rubbed at his arm, frowning. "I'm not showing off, I just happen to be pointing out the truth." Huffing softly, he continued to rub at his arm, turning his frown towards it. It was only a matter of time before he bruised. His skin had always been rather prone to turning black and blue, and its constant torment at the hands of his father hadn't helped.

"Or you could just run," he suggested, kicking at a pebble and sending it skidding away. "Seems less painful in the end." Julian had tried to defend himself that time his father had found him back over the summer. And what had that donr? It'd ended up almost killing him.

"If I was going to leave, I would've already," he said simply, glancing sideways at the brunette.

The prefect hummed softly, finally allowing his arm to fall back to his side. "It already was seven. You should pay more attention to everything I say, Grayson." Grinning, he said, "Well, it depends. Do you care about me and my well-being?"

The Gryffindor grinned teasingly and messed up the prefect's hair, "Aw, did I hurt your arm? Trust me, that was not even my good punch." To which it was the truth, especially since she resorted to punching when she was really angry or frustrated.

"But where's the fun in running, Rousseau?" She shook her head. "Unless things were really bad, I could never turn away without a fight, just to give those bastards the satisfaction." And the times she did run meant she had not finished the work off then and there, and hence they were able to find her still.

Iris did not know what to make of the question. She had a good thought to just lie and say she did not care, because if his answer depended on hers, she could easily convince him not to worry about her.

The last thing she wanted was for someone else to give a damn about her.But for some unknown reason, she found herself giving a nod in the affirmative to the Priduex's asking.

Perhaps she had warned him enough, and after witnessing tonight's events, she was sure that he knew things in her life were more than just simply complicated.

Making a face at her, he pulled away, making a large show of patting his hair back into place. Sticking out his tongue at her, Julian said, "Shut up." Continuing to rub at his arm for a moment longer, he added, "Well, I'd hate to see your worst."

The boy frowned, tilting his head. "You're being beat up." He spoke calmly, but there was a slight edge of something forlorn to it. "There's nothing fun about it. If running stops it, why not?" He shrugged his shoulders. "But that's just me. What do I know?"

He was just the boy with the larger than life persona. In the grand scheme of things, he didn't know and hadn't experienced all that much.

When she nodded, a little smile lit up his face. He almost hadn't expected her to. There were moments when Julian couldn't help but wonder if Grayson was terrified of caring about people. "Good," he said, responding with a nod of his own. "Then yeah, it seems like it did become seven."

Iris did not know if she was meant to say something comforting. Either way it wouldn't have made a difference because she really did not know how to make someone feel better. It was one thing she was really terrible at.

All she could do was stop for a moment and give the Priduex another hug. She didn't think it'd matter to him, he was perhaps looking for words, but it was the best she could do. "I understand why you would want to run away," she simply said and pulled away, resuming her walk.

"I should let you know that, I am not the type of person who showcases openly that I care," she stated in a quiet tone. "I have my own ways, and though it may not be obvious, it's there." Stepping in front of the prefect, she held his arm, "Just promise me you will try to stay safe. Unlike you Rousseau, I do not have a lot of people to care for."

Whether to listen to her or not was his choice, but at least she'd informed him.

Blinking at the sudden but not entirely unexpected hug, he hugged her back, wrapping his arms around her before letting go. He nodded, his lips pulling upwards slightly, but it couldn't be called a smile. "I run and never go back." He should've went back, if not for himself then at least for his own siblings. But he hadn't. He still saw them, and it wasn't as if they could come live with him, but still.

He hadn't even tried.

"Gotcha," Julian nodded. "It wouldn't be as much fun if everyone showed how much they cared the same way, wouldn't it?" He grinned, raising an eyebrow and his eyes shining with amusement. "I always do," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "It's other people who ruin it. But I'll try to be extra safe for Grayson."

"Sometimes we need to be selfish if we want to live," was all the Gryffindor said, indicating that she was not the selfless kind in every situation. After all, here was a girl who had already made plans to kill her mother, and would have no remorse in doing so.

Just like the woman didn't feel anything when she tried to kill her two daughters.

"No, it wouldn't be," Iris agreed with a smirk. "Thanks, you better keep your word." Sure, she wouldn't worry about him the way she always did about Kait, Alec, Eye and Tshering; she wasn't that close to the Priduex yet. But there was enough concern that she'd help him if and whenever needed.

As the reached the corner of the street, she looked around, trying to find any familiar building where she could spend the night, like she had been doing for the past one week. Turning to the blonde, the Greek girl said, "I suppose we can part ways here. Feel free to go home or back to the club." She offered a small smile and added, "Thank you for everything, you've been a little too good to me. But I appreciate it."

He chewed on the inside of his cheek, glancing down at his feet. There was still Madeline, wasn't there? He supposed she could be making sure Tristan and Dilly were alright. It was all he could really count on. Because if he went back, even just to check up on them, he had a feeling that this time, his father would make sure he ended up dead.

A bitter smile darkened his face. He couldn't stay happy for very long, could he?

"When don't I?" He raised an eyebrow, a hand over his heart. "You make me seem dishonest, Grayson, and that just hurts." Shaking his head, he let his arm fall back to his side.

Nodding slightly, Julian smiled. "I guess we could, yeah." Though a part of him still felt like she shouldn't be alone, he couldn't just force her to spend time with him. There was only so much tagging along he could do. "And I - we -" he corrected himself as Nightmare jumped into his arms, blinking up at him, her amber eyes annoyed, "are probably going to head home. Somehow, I don't think anyone at the club is going to top what happened tonight." Glancing over his shoulder at the way they'd came, he shuddered slightly before looking back at the brunette.

"You're welcome Grayson." Julian dipped his head in recognition of her thanks. Grinning at her, he added, "You're not the first girl to say that." Amusement flitting across his face, he gave his head a small shake. "Stay safe, alright? If I don't hear anything from you, I'm going to track you down." He was only half-joking.

"Chill Rousseau, I'm going to be fine, alright?" The Gryffindor grinned lightly with a shake of her head. "If anything, just hope that I don't get caught for breaking into that store a few feet away, because I need some new clothes." She didn't like what she was about to do, but she did need the change of dressing and didn't have any other alternative at the moment.

Iris shrugged her shoulders and asked, "Do you know any hotel nearby that I crash at? I sort of don't have a place to stay for the night." She was feeling too tired to walk anywhere too far and figured a stranger's house or some random building might do the trick.

"It may be amusing for you, but I do mean when I say thanks," she muttered. "I don't say it to a lot of people, but you did help." She raised an eyebrow at the blonde's comment but nodded her head, "Sure, I want to stay safe also. And you seriously want me to owl you every now and then?" She teased lightly.

Opening his mouth, he snapped it shut again, deciding that pointing out that she might not be not the smartest thing he could say. "Tsk, tsk. Stealing, Grayson?" He shook his head, shifting Nightmare onto one arm to rifle through his pockets. Pulling out a small pouch of Galleons, he threw it at her. "Here, that should be enough for whatever it is you were going to steal."

Glancing around them, he shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. I never stay in Azorat overnight. I just Floo back home."

A little smile flitted across his face. "I know, but shh. Let me have my fun." Grinning widely, he said, "That's me. Here to help." He shrugged. "I'd know you're alive that way. It's less effort than tracking you down."