Signs of Change ((Bradley))

[Colin Morgensen G7]

Featuring Michelle O'Riley.

“Remind Bradley that my Potions notes are in the table by my bed, alright? The essay is due in tomorrow and I’ve seen his notes from that lesson; he’ll need mine.” Colin shouted one last reminder to Katie before turning away, barely suppressing the yawn that rose up within him. Katie fussed worse than his mother did sometimes; to see him yawn would just make her scold him about letting Bradley persuade him to stay up so late when they had lessons the next morning. He loved the girl like a sister, really he did, but part of him was always conflicted by the desire to point out that Bradley could never make Colin do anything he didn’t want to and the amusement that Katie would side with Colin over her own cousin. Colin would probably side with himself over Bradley though, if he were in Katie’s shoes. Colin had the look of innocence that Bradley could sometimes lack, as Angel repeatedly told him. Apparently it appealed to girls, according to Bradley and Katie, but Colin didn’t see it. Girls preferred Bradley; that had been proven many times over, even if Bradley was almost never interested enough to pay them much attention.

At least Katie didn’t seem to have cracked the boys’ secret code yet though. As a Ravenclaw, Bradley’s cousin disapproved of copying, claiming that it was technically cheating. She had a point, of course, because when did Katie ever not have a point in her lectures? It was just...simpler sometimes to not have to sit through a Katie speech. Besides, Katie didn’t need to be privy to the information that Colin’s essay, not just the notes about the topic, had been placed in the drawer that morning in the time between Colin waking up and kicking Bradley out of bed about an hour later. Only Bradley needed to know that. Though, actually, now that he thought about it, his essay was still in the bottom of his bag; Colin had woken up late for the first time in a long time and it had been a scramble to wake himself up, let alone having time to stash his essay someplace where Bradley could easily access it. Bradley would just have to hunt him down if he wanted help. With that in mind, Colin fully expected to see Bradley in less than half an hour, demanding to know where the hiding place for homework had changed to and why Colin hadn’t told him. The two of them were terribly organised about their homework, albeit in a different way than the professors probably wanted them to be.

The sound of a small crash came from behind him and Colin spun around instinctively; it seemed that years of working in an apothecary and the dangers of breaking vials with potentially hazardous contents had long since ingrained the need to be alert within him. From the look of it, someone’s bag had broken or the girl had been pushed to the floor but either way her bottles of ink were broken, her quills snapped from the impact and her rolls of parchment were rapidly soaking up the ink spreading across the floor. “Prats,” Colin muttered irritably, changing direction to kneel next to the girl with a kind smile. She looked roughly the same age as him with dark hair and, he noticed when she lifted her head to stare at him through strands of hair, even darker eyes. “You look like you need some help,” he offered as an explanation, hands already busy plucking quills from the ink and laying them to one side. They could be repaired with a spell easily enough. The soggy parchment, however, Colin regarded with some bemusement. There had to be some spell for getting rid of the excess ink without removing the writing already on it but he didn’t know of any.

Nevertheless, Colin put the parchment to one side after a moment of though then pointed his wand at the bottles to repair the shattered glass before anyone hurt themselves on the shards. Rocking back on his heels with one hand on the floor to steady himself, Colin offered an ink-stained hand to the dark-haired girl with a friendly smile. “I’m Colin Morgensen; sorry about your work.” The girl shook his hand delicately, allowing Colin to pull her to her feet lightly as he stood up.

“Michelle,” she informed him with a curious second of hesitation, eyes firmly locked on his. There was something almost familiar about her; for a moment, Colin thought he knew why but then she tilted her head, a tiny smile touched her mouth and the thought escaped. “Thanks for helping. D’you mind helping me to the Hospital Wing? I think I hurt my ankle when I fell.”

Nodding immediately (because Colin never was one to turn away someone who needed his help), he stretched out an arm for Michelle to lean her weight on rather than force her to step heavily on her injured foot. Somewhere between the first floor and the second time they were trapped on a moving staircase, the two fell into light conversation, laughing quietly with heads bent together and Colin’s arm somehow moving to provide support from around Michelle’s waist instead of its previous use as a crutch of sorts. Odder still, she captured his attention so thoroughly that Colin utterly failed to notice the person approaching. It was perhaps the first time in years that Bradley had not been the immediate focal point for Colin’s attention and he didn’t even realise it.

[Bradley Jameson]

"Have you seen Colin?" Bradley grumbled to Angel, who had just entered the boys' dormitory and was making her way to Santiago, sitting on his bed with a book in his lap. Bradley himself was pacing around the room, a small ball bouncing between his hands. He looked thoroughly bored. "I can't find him anywhere, and I need his Potions notes."

Angel shook her head, too used to Bradley to bother showing or even feeling exasperation at his childish and needy behaviour anymore. "You can't always rely on Colin for your Potions homework," she admonished nevertheless, a firm believer in doing one's work alone and not sharing. It was a trait that was both endearing and thoroughly irritating, but at least Angel was no Katie, who could be extremely pushy and demanding when it came to what she believed was right and just. At least Angel nor Santiago would give Bradley or Colin an earful; just sigh and give up.

"So? He copies my Defence notes," Bradley pointed out uncaringly. "Colin and I have a very good system; it works. But not when he hides them somewhere I can't find them." He threw the ball at his bed in frustration, watching as it thumped into the duvet softly and rolled to a stop against a pillow.

"If you must know, I saw him with Katie only five minutes ago," Angel informed, giving in to Bradley's childish tantrum. She also secretly wanted to get rid of him and his unstoppable mouth to spend some time in peace with her boyfriend, who was watching the scene unfold with his usual quiet amusement. "They were near the Library."

Bradley was out of the door in seconds, muttering loudly under his breath, leaving Angel and Santiago to give each other knowing looks. Bradley refrained from jogging down the corridor, but he was keen to find Colin as soon as possible before his elusive best friend ran out of reach again. Sometimes Colin was impossible to find, but it wasn't even when he didn't want to be found. If he was avoiding Bradley, Bradley would find him in a heartbeat; they were that in sync, and they knew exactly how each other's thoughts worked. Ironically, though, when they needed to find each other for something as trivial as the location of Potions notes, it was near to impossible to find each other.

Bradley was close to the Library, when he turned the corner and stuttered to a grinding halt. Right in front of him, at the end of the corridor and heading towards him, was Colin - and he was not alone; a girl hung by his arm, dark head bent low so her face could not be seen. She and Colin were talking friendlily, but what alarmed Bradley the most was their close proximity; she was practically in his arms. When had Colin gotten himself a girlfriend? Bradley wondered wildly. He would've known if Colin had a crush, would've teased the hell out of him about it, and then helped to get them together. Colin didn't go around School and date girls after only a few hours, it just wasn't his style.

It took a few seconds to collect himself, before Bradley began walking towards them again. He steeled himself to ask several questions: Who? and Where? and How? and Why?, when he realised, upon closer inspection, that the girl was struggling to walk - or at least that appeared to be the case. From the way Colin was handling her and the manner in which the girl held herself, she was meant to be injured, but Bradley, having broken quite a few bones thanks to his dedication for and love of Quidditch, knew that there was no way she was actually hurt. He was sure she was faking the injury. Bradley's eyes narrowed as he drew closer; just who was this girl, to pretend to be hurt and get Colin's attention?

Emotions bubbled in Bradley's chest, but he quelled them as he finally stopped in front of the pair. Colin hadn't even noticed him, which was even more alarming, but Bradley brushed that aside for the time being. "Hey man, is everything all right?" he tried tactfully, but whatever else he'd wanted to say went right out of the window when the girl looked up, and a startlingly familiar face stared right into his eyes. "Michelle?" Bradley bit out, unable to stop his reflex reactions as his gaze widened considerably. "What the hell are you doing?"

Bradley's suspicions increased tenfold now, as he stared openly at the girl in Colin's arms. Michelle O'Riley - daughter of a once-powerful man fallen from grace, thanks to Bradley's father. Bradley didn't know the details, but he had always been aware, since the day Michelle joined Hogwarts a year after his own arrival, that she did not hold Bradley in her good graces. She had always treated him impolitely, and ignored him whenever they saw each other - which was rarely, considering they were in different years and she was in Slytherin (even more reason to despise and be suspicious of her). Bradley had never mentioned her before to Colin, though; she had always been a separate, almost non-existent entity in his life, always minding their own businesses, but now she was looking rather chummy with his best mate, and Bradley was not pleased. Not in the slightest.

"Get away from her, Colin," Bradley ground out, glaring coldly at Michelle, who stared right back without fear. "I don't know what you're doing, O'Riley, but you'd better stop that innocent-little-girl act right now. It doesn't become you, and I can see right through you." His eyes dropped to the supposed injured ankle as he sneered, "What are you trying to accomplish, eh?" Bradley couldn't help being suspicious, however far-fetched it sounded, already accusing the girl. She had never before interacted with himself or Colin before, and it was well known that they were best friends. Bradley had little doubt that the cunning kid wanted to use Colin, even if Colin would never see it or agree with him. Bradley would just have to force him to believe it.

[Colin Morgensen G7]

“I know exactly what you mean,” Colin agreed with a laugh, attempting to lighten the bitter atmosphere that had descended at Michelle’s unhappy observation that school supplies seemed to be getting increasingly expensive with each year. She had to be from a similar financial background to himself then, he deduced idly, or perhaps even worse off since Colin at least got all of his Potions kit for free. That was just one of the perks of living above and working in an apothecary. Apparently he succeeded at least partially since Michelle’s sulky pout evaporated to be replaced with a slightly pained smile as she stumbled and had to grasp at him harder to keep herself upright. “Don’t fall again,” he teased her light-heartedly, shifting both his and her bags higher on his shoulder before stirring up the conversation again to avoid the awkwardness of having a strange girl so close to him by distracting them both with playful banter.

“Bradley!” With a pleased smile, Colin tugged Michelle to a gentle halt, casting her an apologetic downward glance for the break in their journey. She didn’t seem to notice though, too busy staring at Bradley. Typical. Colin smiled wryly. Everyone wanted Bradley. He couldn’t really blame them, he supposed; Colin had seen Bradley’s charm in action. There was little competition between a wealthy businessman’s son and a poorly-dressed seamstress’s son whose only inheritance would be a rundown apothecary owned by his not-quite Uncle Richard. “Yeah, everything’s fine. She fell and hurt her ankle so I’m just helping her out. I have the Potions notes in my bag though, sorry. Forgot to leave them for you this morning...”

Any further explanation was interrupted by Bradley’s apparent realisation that he knew Michelle somehow. Colin’s eyebrow shot up questioningly. It would sound odd to anyone else but...Bradley knew someone that Colin didn’t, that he had never even mentioned to Colin? It was unheard of. Then again, Colin would have said that he knew practically everything about Bradley just five minutes ago. Seeing the way Bradley reacted to Michelle raised questions in his mind about just how well he really did know his best friend. It was almost...jealous? Colin narrowed his eyes at Bradley thoughtfully. Fine, so Bradley liked Michelle; that was no reason to sound so appalled by seeing her with Colin. He was just helping her. Surely Bradley knew by now that Colin wouldn’t pursue a girl his best friend was interested in, even if he ever did encounter someone who preferred him to Bradley.

The harsh tone accompanying Bradley’s words, however, changed Colin’s immediate observation of the situation. He was being too callous to be attracted to Michelle. There was some other history behind this, and Bradley didn’t seem at all inclined to share. Hurt despite common sense telling him that Bradley didn’t have to share everything with him, Colin tightened his grip around her waist when he felt the faint pressure of Michelle shifting closer to him, and glanced down to see her shoulders hunch over slightly as Bradley’s ridiculous accusations continued to be hurled at her without thought for how she felt. The grin adorning his face, though it had brightened at initially spotting Bradley, dropped instantly. Colin didn’t know what was going on, but Bradley had no right to be so rude to someone who was injured. Even if they did have a bad past together, which Colin felt was implied since Bradley’s hostility did not spring from nowhere (but Colin had never heard anything about a Michelle O’Riley and since when did Bradley keep secrets from him?), the girl was hurt. “You sound paranoid, mate. Stop being a prat, apologize and get on her other side so you can help me get her to Madam Pomfrey.” Colin glanced at Bradley with patient expectation, eyes conveying his silent disappointment. He really had thought that Bradley was past behaving so irrationally.

[Bradley Jameson]

Bradley's head jerked towards Colin, eyes bright with anger and scowl strong. "I'm not being paranoid. Don't be an idiot and listen to me for once, okay?" he ordered harshly, turning back to Michelle. "I'm helping no one, especially not someone who despises my guts and has the nerve to go round my back and seduce my best friend," Bradley continued to seethe; after all, that's exactly what it looked like - seduction. Bradley didn't like the way Michelle's body was leaning close to Colin's, the secretive smile on her lips before he'd approached them, the cunning gleaming in those blue, blue eyes. Michelle had always been beautiful, constantly sought after even by boys from houses which hated Slytherin. There was something ethereal about her, and if she hadn't hated him from the moment their paths had crossed, Bradley would've found her rather attractive, even if she was in the bane of all houses. Michelle could have any man she wanted, Bradley was sure, and if she'd set her sights on Colin - well, he would have none of it, whether Colin himself liked it or not.

"She's faking it," Bradley then said bluntly, pointing at Michelle's ankle with force and rage. "She hasn't hurt herself; I can tell, mate, I've had plenty of injuries in my lifetime." He looked at Colin, urging him to believe him; Bradley had no doubt his best friend would, but he continued to look fiercely angry anyway. He couldn't believe Colin. It wasn't his fault he didn't know about Michelle, about her evil ways, and Bradley was certainly to blame for not forewarning him, but at the same time, this was so typically Colin - walking around helping any stranger he met, even if he or she were, say, the worst person in the world. Colin was so naive and nice, and it made Bradley so mad sometimes, how he didn't look after himself enough.

"Why would I pretend that I'm hurt, Bradley?" Michelle finally spoke up, pretty little face schooled into a pained expression, eyes wide and cerulean. "Colin's right; you're just being paranoid. Are you always this unfriendly? Colin's been ever so nice to me." She looked up at Colin then, a brilliant smile spreading across her face, and Bradley felt his stomach curl with anger.

"You're a liar, Michelle," Bradley ground out, hand curling into a fist beyond his control. She was really beginning to rub on his nerves and he'd always had a volatile temperament, probably inherited from his father. "Stop lying to my best mate and get the hell out of here." Bradley reached forward and grabbed Colin's arm, pulling him forcefully towards him. "Let's go, Col," he barked, eyes still trained on Michelle, who was watching him just as intently. "C'mon, leave her!" When Colin evidently showed some hesitation, Bradley tugged harder and switched his gaze to his best friend. "You aren't seriously thinking of believing her over me, are you?" he exploded, astonished, bewildered and raging all in one. "I'm your best mate, Colin, I've known you for seven years, and you'd believe I pretty girl you've only just met over me?" A flash of hurt faded from Bradley's eyes as he finally let go of Colin's arm. "Are you coming or what?" he finally demanded, less fierce and staring straight at Colin for an answer.

[Colin Morgensen G7]

Oh Merlin. Colin grimaced to himself intolerantly. Bradley was annoyed; he had worked himself up over entirely nothing and was probably past the point where he would still listen to reason. To deal with Bradley right now, Colin would have to be in possession of Angel’s endless patience or somehow manage to employ Katie’s charming ways of manipulation that she used whenever she wanted something that her cousin wasn’t willing to give, like dragging him along on a shopping trip. “Of course you’re being paranoid,” Colin snapped back, now entirely sure in his belief that Bradley somehow knew Michelle. He knew her and that meant that he had been keeping secrets, which was just something that best friends didn’t do. “You think she’s trying to seduce me?” Colin echoed mockingly, the same protective streak that had led him to first despise Bradley flaring up again in defence of Michelle. “Is that how you ended up dating Holliday and Georgia, Bradley? They deliberately hurt themselves just to capture your attention so that they could enchant you on the way to the Hospital Wing? Get a grip, Jameson. Girls don’t do that. Sane people don’t do that.”

Patience frayed to the tiniest thread, Colin glared at his best friend with fury-hardened blue eyes. At exactly that moment, Michelle’s cool hand pressed against his arm and Colin switched his gaze to her, eyes softening in the process, in time to see her wide smile as she compared the two best friends’ attitudes towards her. “She’s right,” Colin noted quietly, Irish accent thicker than usual from the remnants of irritation lingering within him. Bradley could be so unreasonable sometimes, so unwilling to change his mind once an idea had occurred to him. “You’re not usually like this. If you’re still pining after Angel,” he hissed lowly, “then get over it in some other way than directing your frustration at innocent people like Michelle. She doesn’t deserve any of what you’ve said to her. Neither of us do. And neither does Santiago, before you get any ideas. So you came in second best for once; get over it. It happens to me all the time.”

“It shouldn’t,” Michelle murmured, enough like a whisper that Colin had to duck his head to hear her. “You deserve better than that, Colin. You should be everyone’s first choice.” Her eyes pinned his squarely, and Colin actually felt the heat of the blush spreading across his cheekbones as he dragged his gaze away to study the floor determinedly. She laughed at that, just a quiet giggle of delighted amusement that ended the short moment that had existed solely between the two of them even while Bradley watched on.

“Bradley.” Colin’s tone this time was coaxing rather than angered, a sure sign of what he was going to say next. He wouldn’t, couldn’t, leave with Bradley when someone needed his help, no matter what his best friend happened to think of the girl in question. It simply wasn’t in his nature. “She’s hurt and in pain. What do you expect me to do?” Colin shook his head, taking one slow step backwards to stand a mostly equal distance between Bradley and Michelle. “If you think that I could possibly do anything but help her as much as I can then you don’t know me very well at all. But just to put the record straight? The only thing I don’t believe you about is that you think she’s trying to seduce me. There are more appealing targets for seduction, mate.” He smiled almost shyly, desperately hoping for a sign of forgiveness from his best friend. No matter which of them was in the right at the moment, the fact still remained that Colin, in Bradley’s eyes, was choosing Michelle. In reality, he was just helping someone who needed him, because that was what his mother had brought him up to do.

[Bradley Jameson]

"Yes I think she's seducing you," Bradley lashed out with force; when he was angry, not even Colin - especially Colin, in fact - could avoid the brunt of his turbulent emotions. "In fact, I know she is." He glared hard at Michelle, who remained quiet, but he could feel her smug triumph radiating from her, (couldn't explain how he could tell, he just could), and he was sure he was not being paranoid. "Actually, Colin, they did," Bradley snapped, eyes flashing as he recalled the two girls he'd ever seriously dated (and then thoroughly regretted). "Holliday would've killed to date me and then have me take her back, and Georgia was bloody insane, remember? I recall quite clearly you describing them both as 'psychopaths', or was that just my imagination?" Somehow this confrontation Bradley had started against Michelle had turned into a full-on argument with Colin, but Bradley didn't care; he was too annoyed with Colin's naivety, too angry, to let it go; and that would always be one of his several flaws, however much Colin pointed it out and Bradley tried to change.

"They weren't sane, and neither is she," Bradley continued fiercely, finger pointing straight at Michelle. "I would know, Colin, I've known her since she's been here, and she's always wanted me dead, and now she's using you to get back at me." Bradley's eyes widened with paranoid realisation, and they shifted back to Michelle, taking on a darker hue of blue to signal his fury. "That's your plan, isn't it, you bitch?" he spat, advancing one step forward to stare her down. "I'm warning you, O'Riley - stay away from Colin and stay away from me. Stay away from all my friends, understood? Don't you dare hurt them, because you will pay. There will be hell to pay." Bradley's shouting ceased, glare narrowed as he added, "If you have to come at me, come at me from the front; it is the only honourable and just way. If you so much as touch a hair on my friends' heads--"

Bradley's tirade was interrupted by Colin, much to Bradley's dismay. "Angel?" he repeated, the word a detestation on his lips for the first time. "Angel?! Don't be stupid, Colin! You know I've been over Angel for years! This has nothing to do with her!" Bradley was becoming gradually more and more agitated, and he could do nothing to stop it, too engulfed in the glaring red heat of anger and frustration. "Oh, she deserves it all right," Bradley said through gritted teeth, "it has nothing to do with you, or me, amazingly! I'm not taking it out on anyone, you should know I'm not like that anymore! Bloody hell Colin, can't you see that there's a reason I'm so hung up over this!" Bradley's fingers stuffed into his hair with sheer frustration boiling over. He almost lost it completely when Michelle murmured something seemingly sweet and innocent to Colin, which made him blush like a girl in love, and Bradley saw blood-red. It was with every restraint in his body that he did not lurch forward to grab Michelle and punch her square in the face. She was lucky she was female, because he would've landed one in her jaw by now if she wasn't a girl.

"Colin," Bradley started again, breathing heavily and staring straight at his best friend, hoping and praying he would trust him. "I'm telling you, mate - she's not hurt, and she's definitely not in pain." A look of hurt appeared on Bradley's face at Colin's next comment, and he shook his head in disbelief. "I do know you, Colin Morgensen," he said quietly, "better than I know anyone else in the world, including myself. And that is why I need you to trust me. She's taking advantage of your best and worst quality - that stupid empathy of yours; you've got to believe me." Bradley made a noise of frustration as Colin brought up the topic of seduction again, and groaned out loud. "For crying out loud, Colin, you're so blind!" he shouted, throwing his hands in the air and pacing away in a circle. "You're such an idiot! Fine. You know what? What is the point? You've obviously made up your mind about her," he gestured wildly at the silent Michelle, "and nothing I say is going to change it. You're a stubborn, foolish idiot." With that, Bradley began to storm off in the opposite direction; Potions notes forgotten, everything forgotten, except a thunderous anger, bitterness on his tongue, and a stabbing pain in his chest.

[Colin Morgensen G7]

“Don’t be such a prat,” Colin ordered coolly. If he hadn’t still had one arm around Michelle’s waist to support her, both arms would have been crossed against his chest to form his usual pose when arguing with Bradley. As it was, the only way to convey his irritation and displeasure was through his eyes hence the level gaze Colin steadfastly held on Bradley. “No one wants to date me, much less seduce me. And even if she did, what’s wrong with that? Surely you can’t begrudge me a date, or, Merlin forbid, an actual girlfriend?” With the root of Colin’s argument finally broached, some hurt entered his tone. Even if they had been utter psychopaths, Bradley had had two quite serious relationships. To date, Colin had never even really dated a girl. He didn’t have the time, or so he always told himself, but he also didn’t exactly have girls queuing up to date him either. If Michelle was interested in him (which Colin doubted, and had told Bradley as much) then he couldn’t honestly say that he would mind. She was witty, intelligent from what they had exchanged so far and very attractive. No, Colin wouldn’t mind at all.

“Stop overreacting!” Colin shouted furiously, temper completely inflamed by Bradley’s continued haranguing of Michelle. It was uncalled for and Colin wasn’t going to stand for it. “You don’t refer to women in such a way, especially someone who hasn’t done anything!” Colin warned Bradley, his usually mild temper now barely in control. His mum had taught him to respect women, even if Arthur Jameson had missed out that lesson in his only son’s education. Men who didn’t show respect for women were, in Colin’s eyes, no better than his bastard of a father. It was an instinctive action to remove his arm from Michelle’s waist to step between her and his best friend when Bradley strode forward with fury clear in his expression but once he registered his movement, Colin felt stricken. To express such mistrust in his closest friend was unthinkable, yet he had just done precisely that. He knew Bradley better than to think that he would ever raise his hand to a girl. Didn’t he? Watching him now, Colin wasn’t so certain that he did. Bradley definitely looked like he would happily hit Michelle.

“I have no plan to stay away from Colin.” Michelle hobbled forward to stand next to Colin again, tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow but fixing her attention firmly on Bradley. A smug smile touched her lips, almost seeming to mock his ineptitude in convincing his best friend that he was telling the truth. “He’s sweet and handsome, and I have no idea what he sees in you, Bradley Jameson, but I think he would make a good friend. If you don’t mind?” She glanced up at him through a shield of dark hair, that brilliant smile making a reappearance at Colin’s entranced nod. There was no way that he could provide any other answer to the girl with such captivating eyes.

His best friend was right, but Colin would never admit that. Not now. The argument was too intense; the friendly atmosphere that had surrounded Colin and Michelle while they had been walking to the Hospital Wing had somehow morphed into an antagonistic confrontation the second Bradley had entered the equation. He had been out of order to bring Angel into the argument – that was just raking up the past for no reason but to strike at Bradley in the only way Colin knew how. If it wouldn’t confuse the girl and lead to her asking questions that he wouldn’t answer because doing so would expose Bradley’s secret, Colin would seek Angel out to apologise to her about it. He would probably end up making an apology anyway. If he didn’t then he would just feel little prickles of guilt whenever he saw her, and they saw each other very often since they were in the same house, year and group of friends. His apology to Bradley could wait a while, a long while. It would take a while for Colin to remember this encounter with anything but anger directed at his best friend.

“If you’ve known her for so long then how come you’ve never mentioned her, eh? What happened to telling each other everything?” The words were spat out bitterly as the revelation of the other reason why Colin had gotten so angry at his best friend. For someone talking about trust, Bradley wasn’t really showing much in Colin. He knew how to take care of himself. He didn’t need Bradley trying to tell him what to do and how to do it. “Oh yeah?” Colin yelled after Bradley, increasingly incensed that his best friend thought he could simply storm away from the argument without a second thought. If he was going to do that then why should Colin hold himself back any further? There was one niggling thought hiding in the back of his mind that had occurred to him when Bradley had first started hurling accusations at Michelle: Bradley’s reaction had somewhat reminded Colin of how Arthur had reacted to finding Colin in the Jameson household. “Well, at least I’m not acting exactly like my father!”

He didn’t watch Bradley leave, or call after him, or even run after him as his best friend was doubtlessly expecting him to do since he seemed to think that he could order Colin around. Out of mixed spite and the enduring need to help Michelle since she was still in pain as the tightened skin around her eyes reminded him, Colin did exactly the opposite. His left arm wound around Michelle’s waist once more, allowing her to lean against him as she wished as they resumed their interrupted journey.