Characters: Leon Shaw and Professor Simmons
Setting: Sunset, in the woods by a creek off campus. Backdated to Thursday.
Rating: SFW
Content: After much concern from fellow students, the faculty begin to search for their missing student. Professor Simmons, however, opts to go collect him once he has been located.

Leon didn’t know what he’d been planning to do once he’d gotten off campus. It was more or less as if he’d let his feet just take him where they wanted, without regard for direction or purpose. The weirdest part, really, was that he couldn’t decide if he was upset, or just numb to it all in the end. He felt like a coward all over again, running away like this, or rather the lack there of. What was he even going to do? Walk on until some student eating bat thing ate him?

In the end he’d ended up by the creek that ran along the edge of a creek that ran close to campus. For a moment he’d considered crossing it, but better judgement had kicked in at the last minute as he stared at the swelling waters. Even if he’d made it across on foot, where would he have gone? Going home meant explaining why he’d left, and for the life of him he couldn’t imagine that going well.

So he’d sat on the bank, cross-legged, and stared at the rushing water with a sense of apathy. Rationally he could think of a million reasons he was being stupid, maybe even overly dramatic, but he could help the feeling of wanting to be as alone as he felt he was. He had exhausted his friends, exhausted his ‘I forgive you’s, and only proven just how much of a failure in life he was.

He probably wasn’t even passing his classes, come to think of it. When was the last time he’d actually turned in an essay? Or looked at what he’d scored on an exam?

Leon was far to occupied with his own thoughts to notice the way the temperature started to drop as the sun dipped lower in the sky. There was too much self-loathing in him to really care, that much, and too much cowardice to even be stupid. Why was is Adelaide, anyway? Why’d she have to do it? If someone was going to top themselves, shouldn’t it have been him?


The faculty was in a bit of an uproar with the information that Leon Shaw had not only been involved with Adelaide, but there were some other factors going on with him that had worried a few students for his safety. As soon as Marissa had gotten the heads of house together, they had divided up the work and gotten down to it. Some searched the campus, some tried magic. Everyone played their strengths, and it wasn’t really all that long between getting the information and figuring our where Leon had gone.

It was Amethyst Simmons who went out to actually get him and bring him back. She was his head of house, and she had known him for four years now. She had been worried for him, in a general sense, but had yet to actually have cause to act on that. Choosing her words carefully as she went, the Sonnier potions professor came upon her wayward senior by the creek.

“You’ve picked a nice spot for thinking, Leon.”


Leon’s head snapped up at the sound of Professor Simmons’ voice, eyes a bit wide as he glanced from her to the area around her. Why was she out here? Shaking his head a little, he shrugged, frowning as he looked away. He didn’t really know why he should have been surprised, having taken off like that, that the faculty was involved. Logically he figured someone would have brought it to their attention, or maybe they just knew when things went horribly wrong.

“Yeah,” he said after a moment, swallowing as he looked back at the water flowing by them in the creek. “Am I in trouble?” He asked, figuring he’d probably be in detention until graduation after this. Probably more so, if they’d actually read the email.


“Not exactly. See... there are a lot of people worried about you. Seems that there’s been a lot going on in your life recently, and not too many people knew about it. And there are people who want to help you, Leon.” She walked a little closer, but didn’t actually get too close to him, giving him the idea that she wasn’t just here to drag him back home to punishment.

“We saw your email. You have to talk to someone Leon. This is too much for you to keep all to yourself. There are lots of people who care about you, and were scared to hell about what that email could have meant. You’re in pain, child. And we want to help if you’ll let us. You’re too bright a boy not to know that I would talk to you any time you needed me.” She gave Leon a half-smile. “Doesn’t have to be now, of course.”


He didn’t know what to do at that point. Which seemed incredibly stupid, too. Who didn’t know what they wanted to say or do? She called him a bright boy, but he didn’t really feel all that bright. Stupid, moronic, and dramatic? Sure, bright? That was almost laughable. He even snorted a little, picking at the grass a little. “I don’t feel anything, right now.” He said after a moment, frowning. “It is my fault, anyway. She wouldn’t be dead if I hadn’t...done any of the things I did. If I’m so smart, why didn’t I just leave things alone?”

Biting his lip, he went quiet for a moment, looking down at the grass. Merlin, he was so stupid. He could have saved everyone a lot of bullshit, really. Everyone else might say otherwise, but he knew it regardless. He should have seen the signs, it wasn’t like he didn’t know them like the back of his hand. “I doubt a ‘lot of people’ care, anyway,” he said after a moment, “pretty much the most hated person on campus. After they all read that bullshit, they won’t even have to doubt it a little.” He paused again, then, taking a deeper breath. Why did he feel so numb? “It wasn’t even supposed to go to everyone. I’m...so stupid..”


Amethyst frowned slightly. “This isn’t your fault. I’m no Muggle therapist, but I’ve been a head of house for a while, and I’ve heard the stories. Sometimes... girls like Adelaide are just looking for a reason. Sometimes there’s a lot of other things going on, and you just happen to be near them when everything happens. Sometimes these people are just that unstable to begin with. But the fault lies with them, Leon. Not with the people they leave behind. Especially not in this case.”

She looked around the area a little bit. “Maybe here isn’t the best place to talk. Would you like to come back with me now? Have a cup of tea and chat for a while? I’ve got some sugar cookies still left, if you’d like....” She was giving him the illusion of choice here, since either way she was coming back to campus with him. But there was no reason that he couldn’t decide that for himself.



Leon didn’t really believe her, but he nodded slowly. It was really just to get him back on campus, he knew, but there wasn’t any way to fight it. At least he could claim some sort of dignity if he walked back, right? Pushing himself up, he stood and brushed his jeans off before turning to look at her. He pursed his lips, before moving over to stand beside. “I’m sorry...Professor,” he said as he looked off to the side. “That you had to come out here, and such...”

Looking back at her, he reached up to scrub his face with his left hand as a tear dropped down to his cheek. He didn’t even know when he’d started to cry, and the sudden realization startled him as he started to scrub them away. “I’m sorry, I just...I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t even know why I’m out here, I just started walking, to get away.” His voice cracked a little, his hands shaking. “I just...I just...I..”




As someone who had seen this sort of thing before, Amethyst’s heart went out to the poor student in front of her. “Don’t be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for, sugar.” And she looked as if that was the truth. To her it was, and she let the conviction of that show in her voice. “It’s alright, Leon. You’ll be ok. You just need some help. And that’s what we’re going to get you, if you let us.”

Seeing the state that Leon was in, she couldn’t help it. “Oh, come here. Let it go, hun. Let it out. You need to.” She closed the distance between them, stopping only about a foot or two away from him, with her arms half opened to him for a hug if he wanted. Leon was a tough case sometimes, but she knew that he needed to get it out or he would just break under the pressure of it all.


Leon took that offered hug before he even thought about it. Professor Simmons had been, particularly for the last four years, one of his favorite professors at school. She was more than the head of Sonnier, in many ways, she was his second mother; even if he never would admit it. He held on to her for a moment, resting his head on her shoulder as he attempted to gather himself.

There was really no stopping the tears once they started. His shoulders shook as he inhaled a few ragged breaths, his eyes squeezing shut. It was a few moments before he pulled away, eyes red and puffy, nosing stuffed up. He felt a bit floaty, though his head had started to throb as well, a mind numbing pain that radiated from his temples. Wiping at his face with his hands, he tried to collect himself some, even if it was a lost cause. He didn’t want to go back to campus looking like a mess.

“Sorry,” he said quietly, licking his lips as he finally dropped his hands and lifted his head up. Stuffing his fingers into his jean pockets, he swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. “We can go...”


When he moved to hug her back, she started to make soothing noises, holding onto him as he cried. Not really saying anything, she let Leon cry, hoping that it would help to get some of what he was feeling out. It did him no good to keep it all bottled up inside, and she knew that.

After his arms let go of her, she took a step back, but only barely. “Don’t be sorry. No need. You can come back with me and we can have a chat. If you like, you can spend the night in the infirmary if you don’t want to go back to your room. Not mandatory though. It’s up to what you want in that regard. And tomorrow... we can figure out where to go from here, ok?” From the way she was talking, it didn’t sound like there was some sort of huge punishment coming Leon’s way. Not at all.


Leon nodded, taking a few heavy breaths as he turned to walk back to campus. He didn’t know if he wanted to talk, mostly because he didn’t know what he wanted to say. He felt a little better, to his own surprise. That was a bit unnerving, considering he’d told the world he was gay. It almost felt like a relief, though. There wasn’t this giant secret looming over him, and even though he was convinced people would stare at him differently? He was...okay with that.

It was weird. He couldn’t even begin to understand the logic behind his feelings anymore, that much was certain. “Alright,” he answered Professor Simmons, offering her a sad smile as they started walking away from the creek. “Tomorrow, then.” Though, he was a little surprised that it didn’t sound worse already.

Tags: !complete, leon shaw, npc