Me, Nervous? (Tag Perseus)

It looked like Jim was late by the time he finally made his way to the Great Hall for lunch. And he was starving. All those lessons and lectures were starting to drain him and he needed something to eat, or else he was going to end up falling asleep in his next class. The place was a bit empty as he made his way to a seat, getting his hands on whatever food was nearest. But he didn't mind. He needed a little time alone to think, mull things over. Hopefully he wouldn't start worrying about things again, but knowing him, it was probably going to happen. Of course, in his haste, he didn't exactly notice where he was sitting. Or, more specifically, which table he was at.

(( Pffft. Poor jimmykins and his naivety~ Perseus is going to have fun with this. >3 ))

Bloody brilliant. Just bloody brilliant. Perseus gave a long, quiet sigh as he sat at the Slytherin table by his twin, his food forgotten and hardly touched, and his thoughts turned to Larissa and Aurora, yet again. While he didn't know to what extent any type of relationship between them could have bloomed, he could tell, just from their mannerisms and the subtle looks they gave when they were around each other, that something was there. But what he was getting angry about was why it was bothering him. Larissa's possible flings had never bothered him before, but now? Forget about it. Maybe it was just the fact that Aurora was the Minister's daughter...

Fuck, Perseus rolled his eyes. I need something to take my mind off of it.

And just then, a very unfamiliar body sat itself down at the wrong table. Perseus' eyebrows went up in surprise as he saw Jim Hawkins eating from food that was meant for Slytherins. He immediately deduced that the little, naive teen didn't realize his mistake. Perseus felt his lips curling into a smirk, and then he got up, briskly walked over, and sat down casually next to the boy, towering over him even while in aforementioned seat. "Good afternoon," he said with a genuine-looking smile, raising a brow as Jim ate hungrily. He didn't mention Jim's mistake quite yet. He wanted to play with him a bit, see if he caught on. If not, he'd... eventually point it out.

The deep voice came out of no where. Jim got so startled that he nearly choked on his pumpkin juice and had to cough for a couple of moments. Once he managed to pull himself together, he looked to see that was Perseus, of all people. Jim didn't get scared or anything, but his guard went up. He didn't know much about Perseus or his twin, just that they were together all the time and didn't do much to stand out too badly. "Um...hi," he said, not sure what else to say. "Um, aren't you at the wrong..." He turned his head, but to his surprise, he saw few Slytherins down the table. It took Jim a whole four seconds to realize that in his haste, he had sat down at the wrong table. "Oh...um, well, this is awkward. I'm just gonna...go now." He swung a leg over the bench in an attempt to leave before Perseus said anything.

Perseus's eyes widened slightly when Jim suddenly coughed and choked on his beverage. He reached a hand over, giving him an effective thump to help clear his windpipe. Didn't want his new toy to die, now, did he? He retracted his hand, his smile curling upwards into a teasing grin as he stared down at the boy, who was slowly putting the pieces together. He gave a low chuckle as Jim realized his mistake, shaking his head a bit. "Exactly," he commented at the look on Jim's face the moment the realization had struck. But when the boy swung his leg in an attempt to move, he stood and blocked his way.

"Now, who said you had to move?" he asked, leaning down towards him, getting just close enough to invade private space. Any normal- or antisocial- person would back up at that invasion, which is exactly what Perseus wanted. He didn't want his plaything to leave just yet.

To Jim's surprise, Perseus blocked his path, preventing him from leaving. He felt his face go hot as he leaned back, the edge of the table pressing into his back. He wasn't sure how to feel about this. What was going on in Perseus' head? "Um, well, it's kind of how...things go in this...place," he said, trying to find his words. "I mean, Ravenclaws sit at one table, Hufflepuffs at another, and...well, you know the rest." He hadn't exactly heard of somebody from a different house sitting at another table.

Perseus felt quite a bit of satisfaction at the sudden change of color of Jim's face. He leaned a few inches closer, just to get a little more satisfaction, a corner of his mouth tilting up and turning his smile into a smirk. "You're alright?" he asked, referencing to when Jim had nearly choked on his pumpkin juice, completely ignoring Jim's statements about the unspoken 'sit with your own housemates' rules. He paused for a moment, glancing at the general body of the boy, then locked their eyes and sat back down, holding his gaze. "Apologies if I scared you half to death," he chuckled at the implied dark-humor, the irony of that statement's truth showing in his eyes. He brushed a side of his cloak behind his shoulder, freeing up one arm as the other had its elbow casually leaned against the table. His smirk turned once again into a charming smile.

Jim felt his stomach squirming uncomfortably and wished he could just evaporate through the table. He felt like a dangerous predator was staring him down, deciding whether to eat him or not. Jim's brain seemed to have the idea that if he sat perfectly still, nothing bad would happen. Perseus decided to sit next to him for some reason, and Jim wasn't sure if that was an invitation for him to stay or not. Common sense told him that he should try to leave, but no doubt Perseus would stop him again. "Do you always invade people's personal bubbles like that?" he muttered, brushing his brown hair out of his face.

Perseus truly was very amused. Why hadn't he thought of this years ago? He adjusted his position, leaning just a little closer towards the uncomfortable teen. He couldn't help but chuckle in an amused manner at Jim's question. The boy really did like his personal space, didn't he? Although he didn't seem to mind letting Evaine invade it. Perhaps he fancied her? Well, that really wasn't much of a question, actually.

"I shared my mother's womb with my brother, I don't know personal space," the blonde with a teasing grin. He leaned even closer to emphasize his point, leaning against the table and ignoring the stares of the other Slytherins. Some in disgust of Jim even being there, and some in approval of Perseus' invasion-tactics. Either way, they were staring. But Perseus was practically in Jim's face, and therefore blocking the boy's view of the rest of the table.

Jim rolled his eyes. "Well, we're not in a womb. We're at a table that could probably seat half the Slytherin house so if you wouldn't mind-" He looked up as he continued talking, only to find Perseus' face inches away from his again. "Ah!" He jumped back in surprise, nearly losing his balance and falling off the bench. "Don't do that! Sheesh!" His face was red again, a familiar nervousness creeping into him. He remembered feeling it when he was with Aurora in the library, reaching up to touch his neck with a brush of her hand. Perseus didn't even need to touch him to make him feel that way. And he hated it.

Perseus laughed quietly when Jim jumped, placing a hand ob his shoulder to steady him and keep him from falling. His hand lingered for just a moment, perhaps one moment too long, before he retracted it and let it fall to his side. And when Jim's face turned red, he smirked, tilting his head a bit. "You're blushing," he teased, his pale lips curving into a bigger smirk than ever. He glanced to Jim's unfinished plate of food, then backed up by a few inches.

"I apologize, I interrupted your meal," he stated, gesturing to it. Although he had more than likely made Jim lose his appetite entirely, he didn't want to seem rude... well, ruder than he had been during his personal-space invasion.

Jim could feel Perseus' fingers through his robe: strong, sure. He felt like he got a lump in his throat, although for what reason, he couldn't be sure. He was just about to knock Perseus' hand away when the blonde pulled it back himself. His lips pressed together at the blushing comment, but didn't say anything about it. No snappy comebacks came to mind anyway.

"Not hungry anymore," he muttered, pushing the plate away. Even if he was, he doubted he could eat anything with Perseus staring at him. "You keep looking at me. Do I have something on my face or what?"

"No, you don't have anything on your face," Perseus replied, shaking his head. "What, I'm not allowed to look at the face of a fellow student?" he asked with a hint of a teasing tone. Evaine suddenly came to mind, and he couldn't help but smirk. "Well, you probably wouldn't want me staring at Miss Moonblood, would you?"

He knew he'd probably hit a sensitive, if not embarrassing, topic. But what fun would it be to not bring it up? Perseus noted mentally that the lunch break was nearly over, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. Right now, he was focused on Hawkins, and nothing else.

"Not the way you're doing," Jim muttered. "You look like you're sizing me up." He was being honest, if a bit blunt. But he was getting annoyed and he wanted to know what kind of game Perseus was playing with him. Mind-games wasn't something he dealt with easily, mainly because he didn't have much experience with them. When bullies wanted to get to him, they gave him a good beating or shot a spell at him. But messing with his head? That was something new to him and he didn't know how he could fight it off, especially when he felt his own mind was muddled half the time thanks to his werewolf nature. "And if you look at her the way you're looking at me, then you can be sure that she'll tell you outright to stop creeping her out," he said, giving him a look. "She's not afraid to speak her mind when she's backed up against a corner."

"And if I am?" Perseus asked, giving him a charming smile and leaning just a bit closer. It was clear that mental games were a new tactic that Jim was completely unprepared for, and Perseus was enjoying every moment of it. And of course, he had to stop himself from laughing at Jim's statement regarding Evaine. The boy had no idea Evaine had melted just like every girl he'd used his charms on. And it looked like she hadn't intended on telling him. Perseus wouldn't tell, either. It might make things more complicated between those two lovebirds, anyway. He'd rather have them both as allies and keep that little secret.

There he was again, leaning in so close that Jim could smell whatever cologne he was using. The smell made his nerves tingle. He didn't like it. "Then I suggest you stop beating around the bush and cut to the chase," he said, feeling a little bolder this time. That was how Jim was in situations that made him nervous. He could be stuttering and tripping over his words one moment, but if he ever managed to compose himself enough, he could say something that might not be so smart. He assumed that Perseus was just sizing up as a future bullying victim, although he wasn't entirely positive if he did that kind of thing. He wasn't sure if Perseus was the type to get his hands dirty.

Perseus blinked in genuine surprise at the sudden change in Jim's personality, his gaze softening as he was caught momentarily off guard. He took a moment to recover, then grinned. This was getting interesting. "Fine," he stated simply in a soft voice, standing up from his seat and fixing his cloak. Although Perseus' bisexuality was no secret, he still wasn't willing to go any farther than flirting with males, in public, that is. He gave no indication of his true intentions, but smirked nonetheless, staring down at Jim. Something told him that his and Jim's definition of 'sizing up' were on two completely different ends of the spectrum.

The clock chimed, then, indicating the lunch period had passed. "We'll have to continue this conversation at a later time," Perseus chuckled, glancing around as the other students began shuffling lazily towards their next classes. "If you're game, meet me after school."

Jim's fingers tapped nervously against his knee, but his face was still set in a scowl. What was going on in Perseus' head? Jim almost wanted to ask, but he bit his tongue and kept quiet. Perseus probably wouldn't tell him anyway. The clock chimed, making him look up. It looked like lunchtime was over. And Jim had still hardly eaten anything. He told himself he would catch up at dinner. Besides, his stomach was still in knots. "After school? Fine. Wherever you want." He figured Perseus was going to beat him up or something, which wasn't new to him. Bullies wanted him to meet in obscure locations all the time so they could show him who was boss. But even though Jim kept telling himself this, a tiny part of him wondered if his assumption was right.

Perseus turned and gave a look to his twin, who stood and waited quietly for Perseus to finish playing. He leaned over Jim, again, and took in a breath, pausing for a moment of two as if in thought. He moved a bit closer, as if to whisper a secret to him. "The dungeons, then," he stated in a hushed tone, just loud enough for Jim to hear. He then pulled away from Jim's personal space, and walked off, joining into a conversation with Proteus and a couple of fellow Slytherins as if nothing had happened. He glanced back to Jim, once, and then headed to his and Perseus' next class.

(( Oh mai~ Perseus feels evil today. x3 ))

Jim felt his body tense up as Perseus leaned in close again. But it looked like he wanted to keep this just between the two of them and didn't want to take the chance of somebody overhearing. Jim nodded. "Dungeons. Fine. Whatever." He tried to act as if he didn't care, but he was still a little nervous about all this. He wasn't sure what exactly to expect, and from the smiles that Perseus kept giving him, it was probably something bad. The blonde finally left him at that point, joining his twin. Jim tried not to walk away too quickly, in case Perseus took that as him being scared, but he still moved a little faster than a normal person would. He glanced over his shoulder twice to look at Perseus before he finally made his way out of the Dining Hall.

((XD So the plot begins. Whenever you want to do their meeting in the dungeons, just send me a message and we'll get it underway. ))