Invitation
Date. 10/9/25 Tag. @Luke Tompsett
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Thirty minutes into the essay portion of Charms, Gabriele had already slammed his quill onto the bench with a loud sigh and slumped down in his seat, fully resigned. Not because the Freezing charm was a difficult topic, but because it was fucking boring. How was he supposed to fill out more than TWO scrolls- about only one spell?! The answer was simple; Gabi hadn't. So instead, he’d slouched back with his arms crossed and suffered through another hour or two until class was finally dismissed. In that time, he'd managed to squeeze out half a scroll of bullshit- all of which was correct and technically contained everything required- just not in enough words to suit the professor. Ma che cazzo? These rules were absolute bullshit.
It had been the worst day to finally attend class. It was not unusual for Gabriele to be skipping class sometimes. Just the other day, he'd skipped charms to get into a fight in the bathroom with some Slytherin guy.Okay, the fight hadn’t exactly been planned, but he’d more or less invited it — by dressing like a girl and tricking a few guys. Then one of them had seized Elizabeth by her hair, believing both of them to be dressed up in drag. That must have been a major blow to her ego. The memory still made him smirk. Even if he'd gotten out of that situation without as much as a scratch(boring), he'd gotten more out of that altercation than this class had given him this far.
Gabriele still had a few days to finish the essay, but he would probably hand it in like it was, even if it meant a bad grade. What was the point of caring about grades in second year, when he didn’t even know what the hell he wanted to do with his life? Gabriele was already set for life when it came to money.
When the teacher called for quills down, Gabriele was the only one who didn't have to move a muscle. He was one of the first out the door however, bag hanging unevenly off his shoulder as he headed back towards the Hufflepuff common room. A group of giggling girls could be heard in the background, echoing between the stone walls, but Gabriele ignored it out of habit. That's just what girls did. Giggling girls were annoying and could be found just about everywhere.
Quick footsteps caught up behind him and fell into step with his. Breathlessly, Luke greeted him and then offered — again — to let him copy his essay. Convenient, since Gabi had never planned on finishing it himself. Not that he expected Luke’s offer, exactly — though it definitely wasn’t the first time. The first time it happened, Gabriele had been suspicious of the blonde, but accepted anyway. He would’ve been dumb as fuck to turn down a free chance to cheat his way to a better grade. That had pleased his parents — the better grade part, not the cheating. They didn’t know about that.
It would be stupid of him to deny it now, too. “Tch. Thought you’d never offer,” Gabi said, rolling his eyes. Albeit with a smirk. “Yeah, bring it to the dorms. I’ll owe you one. Maybe.” They continued walking, Gabriele not minding the company. Luke kept coming around for whatever reason, and maybe that was why he’d started to grow on him. Gabi had kind of started seeing the fellow Hufflepuff as somewhat of a friend. Nothing deep, obviously, but closer than could be said for most people. Most people couldn't stand him for very long as soon as he opened his mouth. They could piss off for all he cared, he didn't need anyone. That's what he told himself.
Luke lowered his voice, mentioning something about hating the giggling and wondered if Gabi related. It took a second for him to realize he was complaining about the giggling girls. When he did, he scoffed in amusement. Well, yeah, they were fucking annoying. Everyone knew that. "Ugh yeah. Try living with a slut for a brother, though. If you thought the girls were bad." Luke wouldn't get it. What it was like to be forced to watch all the boys and girls his super popular, handsome older brother brought around. Until he got bored of them, that was. The italian frowned deeply just thinking about it, annoyance and something akin to jealousy flared inside him. Not that he would ever admit to that. Gabriele just thought they were absolutely pathetic, that's all.
He paused for a moment, caught off guard by Luke’s earlier comment. About Gabi being the topic of the gossip and giggling—Wait, what did he mean by that? Was he jealous, or something? Gabi’s mind briefly ran through all the possible reasons girls might be gossiping, none of which he cared to dwell on. The most obvious one was that someone had heard about the bathroom incident. Probably that. Then, with a sideways glance, he shrugged and added, “More like they heard that some dude almost kissed another dude pretending to be a girl.” He tilted his head slightly, letting the impish grin settle in. “Damn right, that was me.”
Last edited by Gabriele Ricci-Armani on 23 Jul 2025, 15:26, edited 1 time in total.
| Sta: 7 | Eva: 7 | Str: 5 Wis: 5 | Arc: 10 | Acc: 7 |
Invitation
Date. 10/9/25 Tag. @Luke Tompsett
────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────
Slut had rolled off his tongue like spitting insults was a second language to him. Gabi didn't consider if Luke was even allowed to swear at home (Gabi wasn't either, they just couldn't do shit about it.), until he noticed the scandalized look on Luke's face. Guess not, then, he thought with an amused smirk, catching a glimpse of the flush spreading on his cheeks. That just made it more fun.
To be fair, English was his third, even if he knew way more English than he'd ever know Arabic, despite his dad's numerous attempts at engraving it in their brains. For heritage. The older twins Frans and Rosetta had caught on quickly, of course, because they were fucking nerds. Even Antonio knew more than Gabriele ever had! That if anything pissed him off. Never mind that Antonio was several years older than him and had had the time to learn more. It was Antonio they were talking about, dude couldn't focus on one thing even if his life depended on it. ADHD, or something.
Something soft and reminiscing flashed over Luke's face at the mention of his sister, like he missed her. Weird. Gabriele never went soft for his own sisters. Quite the opposite, actually. He always liked to piss them off by acting like a caricature of a girl to make fun of their behavior. It used to work like a charm, until Rosetta got old enough to become the responsible one. Now she mostly ignored him. Or beat him with her birkin bag when dads weren't looking. There was still Belladonna of course, but it was kind of a low blow to bully a ten year old. Even in his standard. The main reason was that she was dads princess, so he couldn't get away with it even if he tried.
"I didn't know you had a sister," Gabriele admitted in an incredulous tone. Let's be honest, did he know anything about Luke? Except that he was smart and eager to please? Admittedly, not a bad trait to have, especially if you were in Gabi’s current shoes, but beyond that... nothing came to mind. Normally, he wouldn’t give a fuck to ask. But Luke was—well, close enough to a friend that Gabi was willing to walk the mile to make some effort. Not much by anyone else’s standards, but monumental for him.
“I have two... and Antonio. He’s as bad as a girl when it comes to shopping and boys.” Gabi waved a dismissive hand, like that explained everything. “What’s your sister like, then? Brilliant in what way? She's in Ravenclaw?” If Luke's sister was anything like his sisters, she was a shopaholic with dad's credit card. All girls loves shopping! Or horses.
The next topic of conversation shocked his housemate. Gabriele caught Luke’s wide-eyed look and met it with feigned carelessness, though an impish grin threatened at the corners of his lips. Then, his head snapped up, shooting Luke a playful glare when he asked—between the lines—if he was the dumb bitch who had fallen for it or the prankster. Gabriele quickly corrected him before Luke could make any weird assumptions about his character. Weirder than usual, I mean. "I was the one almost getting kissed! I would never be such a dumb fool to fall for that! Do I look like an idiot to you?" Actually, don't even answer that. That Luke believed it was honestly insulting.
Gabriele didn't linger in hard feelings for too long. He'd already moved on at his next query. As to how it happened... "Don't fucking laugh, okay? I was just playing... dress up." That was one way of putting it. "When this ravenclaw girl came in. Long story short, she dared me to go into the boys bathroom dressed like a girl and flirt with someone. For a reward, duh, I wouldn't do that for free." Never mind, he absolutely would for the payment of pure chaos. “It worked… until he snatched the wig off my head.”
Before Luke could even ask about the guy’s reaction, Gabriele cut him off, barely containing laughter. “Dude was sooo pissed...” But most of all, hurt—for some fucking reason beyond Gabriele. “You’d have thought he was actually in love with her or something. Anyway...” He trailed off with a smirk. “I’m a legend now. In a dress.”
| Sta: 7 | Eva: 7 | Str: 5 Wis: 5 | Arc: 10 | Acc: 7 |
Invitation
Date. 10/9/25 Tag. @Luke Tompsett
────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────
Judging by Luke's tone when he mentioned his sister was home ill, it was clear that it was a sensitive subject. Nothing that usually deterred Gabi from probing relentlessly, if he didn't suspect that the mood would be ruined real quick if he did. He could handle embarrassment and people being pissed off with him, but deep and potentially sad things he rather stay away from. Gabi didn't know how to handle it. He could barely deal with his own feelings, how was he supposed to deal with someone elses? For that reason, he didn't push for more information about his sister's illness. Even if he was curious.
"Well, that sucks..." He offered earnestly, albeit awkwardly, but Luke told him to forget it and moved on to less depressing shit. Namely, his own annoying family and how he got in trouble with Vincent Balfour. Gabriele had a lot more to say in that regard. Luke found some amusement in his story, especially when he asked if he looked like an idiot, though quickly apologized for laughing.
Turning to glance at Luke, he gave him a weird, yet mildy amused look. Rude? It baffled him how anyone would apologize for that. So what if it was? Well, if anyone would apologize, it was Luke. But he couldn't imagine anything the demure boy said- who never had said a swear word from what he'd heard- would ever offend Gabi. He'd roll his eyes and flip him off at most. “Dude, you think that’s rude? You’ve clearly never met my family.” Looking at Gabi was enough, who said the rudest shit to people and then laughed at them for being offended all the time! He couldn't remember apologizing. Not even once. At least not to anyone that wasn't threatening to drain his bank account before he could spend it.
"Well, no... I was just-..." Uncharacteristically for him, Gabi fought back embarrassment creeping up from beneath his collar. On his fair skin (thanks a fucking lot, Dad two), it was painfully obvious. Something about the way Luke said he didn’t seem like the type—he wasn’t girly exactly—made him feel sheepish. It was true he didn't have many other girly interests, and he dressed like he was spawned straight from hot topic, when he wasn't wearing school robes. Maybe he'd gotten hung up on all the times he'd been compared to girls because he had longer hair and was skinny, lacked muscle and his brothers sharper jawline. At some point he'd simply embraced it. It made people uncomfortable (clearly), and that was fun. However, Gabriele didn’t know how to convincingly explain his odd interest in dressing up like a girl without Luke taking it the completely wrong way.
What had started as a way to piss off his sister by raiding her closet and smearing her lipstick across his face had turned into something... else. While it technically still was absolutely true, he couldn't blame his sister now, could he? She hadn't been anywhere near him in the bathroom when it happened this time. “I guess it started as a joke, but now it’s... kind of fun. Especially if it pisses people off. Actually- why does it matter why? Shut up,” Gabi deflected with a huff, rolling his eyes and hoping Luke didn't make it a thing.
He had totally forgotten about the potion essay if the fellow hufflepuff hadn't mentioned it just then. "Fuuuck," Gabriele stopped in his tracks to tilt his head back and groan into space. "They give us too much homework." It wouldn't make him any less unmotivated just because they kept piling it up. If he got paid though... Then yeah, he would do it.
They entered into the common room, Gabi still pondering if he'd said too much. Which was stupid. Why would he give a fuck what Luke thinks of him? It wasn’t like he’d go run his mouth or twist the story into something it wasn’t. Gabi seriously doubted the boy had the nerve. Besides, he had bigger problems—like the essay due tomorrow. God, his life sucked ass.
They entered the common room in silence. He didn’t realize how quiet he’d gone until Luke spoke again, his voice low but steady—just enough to pull Gabi out of his head. An offer to help him with his potions essay, too... If he wasn't busy being a legend in a dress. Gabriele shot him a warning glare. But recognizing the tease for what it was, he only rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right.” The offer was well needed, though. "If you want to, yeah... That would be great. I'm way behind." Busy kissing boys, or whatever.
| Sta: 7 | Eva: 7 | Str: 5 Wis: 5 | Arc: 10 | Acc: 7 |