Fool Me Once PV | C. Baird

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Clark growled, tired of running, stopped mid footfalls and found himself falling onto the ground face first as he stared back at Simon. "Simon, don't do this. I didn't try to.." Clark fumbled, unsure of exactly what his crime was. Hmm, maybe he didn't commit a crime. He grunted as Simon drew closer with every lingering step. And with one foot, he threw all of the force he could muster into one kick in his family jewels.

"I did nothing wrong." He growled, rolling onto his knees to force himself up. He ran under a table, which wasn't so difficult given his height.

He watched his brother bend over in pain and try to take in deep breaths to try and negate the throbbing pain he must've had. Clark's eyes locked onto Simon's. Pain. Immense pain. Clark didn't even know he could hurt someone that bad.

Good.

Simon deserved it.

Clark tried to back up as far as the benches would allow him under the table but to no prevail, he felt his brother's hands on his ankle as he was roughly dragged out, dragged out hard enough to slam his head into one of the wooden legs. "GOD DAMN IT FUCK THAT HURT!" He yelled.

Simon squinted his eyes. "You don't know nothing about pain, do you? All these years with us and you still haven't learned? What a pathetic, puny, weak little boy you are. You're not even worth a name. A dime." He picked up Clark by his ankle and held him upside down in the air, letting him dangle. "You do that trick to me again, and I will slam you into the table like you're a sledgehammer. Don't you ever do that again Clark." He said with violence in his tone, almost as if he had a bit of slobber and venom in his throat.

Clark stared at him, upside down of course, and just instead used his arm and directed the punch towards his stomach. He missed. Being upside down sucked.

And then Simon decided to address the girl that was speaking to her. Clark recognized that weirdo. Gross little gremlin. It was a good thing she was leaving Hogwarts soon, she was doing the school a favor. Simon turned to her and still held Clark in his hand. Clark could not see Koko behind him, all he saw was his brother's stupid shirt.

"Simon. Aren't you.. Bobo? I think I've seen you around before. It's kind of hard to forget a face like yours as pretty girls don't exactly blend in." Clark just watched his brother's shirt ruffle. "You smell that?" His brother asked, Clark noticing that Simon's voice went lower, almost as if somewhat amused. "That sweetnes sin the air? That little shimmer in your eyes. That's not perfume, darling. That's desperation." Clark felt himself swing around like a slinky stuck on a ceiling fan. "You want me, don't you?" SImon whispered, using his other hand to brush Koko's arm and grab her palm. "Even now. Even like this?" Clark only groaned.

The dangling goblin yelled. "LET ME DOWN NOW YOU STUPID SON OF A-" His brother only cut him off and let go of Koko's hand to clamp his sweaty palms over Clark's mouth. "Language, brother." Simon said maliciously. "Tell me, Koko. What about me do you like?"

Then the words that Clark dreaded to even hear.

"Come closer Koko, or we can watch Clark suffer together."

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It was with a glimmer of intrigue in her amber eyes that Koko eyed the fight breaking out between the Baird siblings. She was no fan of Clark, and she hardly knew the dreamy guy that had to be his brother, but damn, he was good-looking. It was such a shame that Clark had kicked him. Koko almost pouted, but stopped herself at the last moment. Merlin's gnarled feet, what was wrong with her!? That was a pathetic reaction.

She couldn't stop herself from smirking, though, as the older boy – what was he, a sixth year? a seventh year? – began to verbally threaten Clark. Slam him into the table like he was a sledgehammer? Koko raised an eyebrow, still vaguely trying to appear as if she weren't eavesdropping, while also trying to get a glimpse at the older boy. He'd been able to pick Clark up, which, given the idiot's tininess, was hardly a feat in and of itself, but she had to admit, she was curious if he would make good on his sledgehammer threat. Surely that would take strength... muscles...

She blinked. What the fuck? When was the last time she'd given a damn about someone's muscles unless they were a beater on a Quidditch team?

The boy saved her from her daze by introducing himself. Simon. 'Right...' Koko began, but she cut herself off with an offended glance at Simon when he mispronounced her name. Ugh, really? Well, not everyone could be hot and intelligent. Simon at least knew how to talk to girls, how to smooth over the stumble; he took the right approach in buttering her up, at least, or started to. She couldn't help but catch onto each of Simon's words – something about his voice was just enchanting. Her first thought as she sniffed the air was food. Then perfume; she almost sniffed her wrist to see if her usual rose-and-honeysuckle perfume was still strong. But she didn't – not when Simon said something about desperation.

Koko, desperate? Psch.

She had too much dignity for that – dignity that was promptly lost when Simon whispered at her and touched her arm. Her cheeks reddened, she looked away and her breath caught in her throat. That was forward. Not what she'd expected. Apparently she really wasn't desperate – it seemed Simon was into her, too.

'Even like this?'

'Like what?' Koko murmured, still unable to meet Simon's gaze. Whatever soft, mushy feeling had done away with her confidence was very unnatural for her, and she felt almost as if she were being held under a microscope, with every single movement, every word being analysed.

Clark's grating voice knocked her out of her stupor, if only for a moment. Koko's nose wrinkled, and she gave a dagger-like side-eye to the younger Baird. 'Does he not know how to shut the fuck up?' she said slowly, her voice measured. For a moment, she was herself again, and then she looked at Simon again and was gone. Those dreamy, dreamy eyes, Merlin, 'Do you even know what you're doing?'

Shit, she'd said that out loud, hadn't she? Well, she might as well own it. Louder, she added, 'With, you know. Dreamy brown eyes and a tantalising smile and fucking muscles. It's not fair!' She laughed and then promptly felt like an idiot. Too much – and what was it with muscles!? She'd never even been into muscles before!

Almost belatedly, she remembered they were in the very public setting of the Great Hall. Koko cast a quick glance around to make sure people were too preoccupied with their own lives. A group of first years having a food fight in the corner seemed to have captured most people's attention. Good. She turned back to Simon. 'Watch him suffer?' She leaned closer to Simon and smirked. 'I mean, he did attack you. What a shame, I mean, you're just too handsome to be bruised. We can't have that. So what exactly do you suggest?'

The longer she stared up at Simon, the more the twinge of strangeness, the concern that her behaviour was very un-Koko-like, dimmed. As long as she just kept her eyes on him, the weirdness would go away, right?

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@Clark Baird