Three months later, and everyone was packing to go home for Christmas. The entire flat was decorated with tinsel, at Emilia’s demand - and Amy had threatened them all with their lives if they should –start mucking about with itâ€. Her flatmates took this threat very seriously - Amy was known to be terrifying when angry, and though it rarely happened, her reputation was fearsome. Zak sometimes wondered whether she just used her reputation as a threat and never really got that angry, but never said it out loud - fair play to her, she’d got everyone strung along. Zak grinned at this thought as he threw socks into his suitcase.
They’d had a great first term. Zak had decided by about the fourth week that he’d been letting everyone off far too easily, and started to prank them all, one by one. He’d gotten Amy with a fake fly he’d secreted halfway into her butter - hence how they knew what her temper was like. Though she had seemed to think it was pretty funny when she was shouting…
He still hadn’t managed to get Eddie, though. He’d gotten pretty close on several occasions, but Eddie always seemed to slip away, normally leaving the results on Zak’s head. Zak and he finally agreed to a truce the week after Hallowe’en, when Zak’s intricate plot had been entirely turned on him. Zak was yet to figure out how Eddie had managed that; he refused to explain, saying Zak could work it out for himself.
Zak shook his head. Maybe he’d figure it out over the Christmas break. Mind you, he was heading back to London; he didn’t expect to have any time to think between his mother’s endless fussing, his sisters’ chattering and expecting him to remember everything and everyone they’d ever met, and his father testing his Russian. Maybe not, then.
The time came when people began to leave. Amy was picked up by her parents, but almost everyone else walked to the train station together. When they got there, there were a good few hugs before everyone went off to find their own platforms. Eddie ended up on the same one as Zak, who looked at him, puzzled.
–Heading to London?†he asked. Eddie nodded.
–Yep,†he said.
–But I thought you lived in some little village…?â€
Eddie laughed.
–Yeah, I do, but my mum works in London and my sister’s got an audition there today, so I’m going that way, meeting them there and then we’ll head home tonight.â€
Zak nodded.
–What time have you got?â€
–Twelve forty-two.â€
–Same.â€
They both glanced at the clock, which told them it was only fifteen minutes past twelve. Zak sighed and sat down on his suitcase. Eddie looked down at him, raising his eyebrows, then grinned and sat down on the floor next to him, cross-legged.
–You could sit on your case.â€
–It’s squishy, not hard, though,†Eddie said.
–So?â€
–It has my laptop in it.â€
–Good point.â€
They sat in companionable silence until the train came. When they got on, Zak managed to swap his booked seat with a very austere-looking business woman so that he and Eddie could sit together. They spent most of the ride home joking and laughing, and when it came to going their separate ways, Zak realised he was going to miss this, over Christmas. But he shrugged the thought off - he’d see all his friends in a few weeks, after all.
~
–Eddie!â€
Eddie looked around, his height making it near-impossible to see beyond the people immediately around him in the crowded train station.
–Eddie, on your left!â€
Eddie turned left, thought about it, then turned right, and saw his sister standing on the end of one of the benches, waving at him, a huge smile spread across her face. He made his way over to her, pulling his suitcase behind him.
–Don’t you mean your left?†he asked teasingly. Ezzy barely took the time to roll her eyes before she pulled him into a tight hug.
–It’s been ages since we’ve seen you!†she exclaimed, pulling him away towards the station exit. –Mum’s waiting just outside, it was so crowded in here we thought it’d be better if I came and found you on my own.â€
Eddie grinned; his sister’s enthusiasm was contagious.
–How did your audition go?†he asked.
–Great!†she answered. –Well, obviously I don’t know for certain for a few weeks, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were people better than me - but it went really well for what it was…â€
At that point they reached the exit to the pavement, and then Ginny was there.
–Harry’s meeting us for lunch in about half an hour - oh, it’s good to see you sweetheart!â€
They found a quiet corner where Ginny shrunk Eddie’s suitcase so that she could put it in her handbag.
–Missed magic much?†Ezzy asked, smiling.
–Not really,†Eddie shrugged. –I never used it a lot. It’s weird not getting bombarded by Weasley cousins every five minutes though!â€
Ezzy laughed.
–You seemed to be getting on pretty well with your housemates, from what Esmerelda said,†Ginny said. –What are they like?â€
Eddie was about to answer, but they had obviously just reached the café they had been heading towards, because leaning against the wall next to it was Eddie’s father.
–Dad!†Eddie called. Harry looked around, breaking into a wide smile when he saw his son.
–Dad, you’re early!†Eddie exclaimed as he reached him. Harry shrugged.
–I had the time. And there was no sense in keeping you waiting, it’s been far too long since we’ve seen you!†He smiled again, and the four of them went inside. As they sat chatting at the table waiting for first the waitress and then their order, Harry looked Eddie over carefully. He seemed to be fine - better, even. Esmerelda had said that when she had visited him he had seemed brighter than usual, but Harry had wondered if that was not just because he was glad to see his sister. However, looking at him now… Eddie would always be thin and pale, but today he shone with more energy than Harry had before seen. He was talking almost to match his sister, describing people and places and events with the delight of a small child describing their first day at school. Harry realised that he couldn’t stop smiling. He leant in and joined the conversation which carried on well through their meal and all the way home.
~
Because of various work and university commitments, it was not until the second semester that Joe and Henry got in touch and asked Eddie when they could come up and see him. The three set a date, and it was the first weekend of March when they arrived on a blustery Saturday morning. It was around midday and they were laughing over coffee in the kitchen when something happened that no one could have predicted. The door swung open; the three of them didn’t really notice until someone spoke.
–Well, well, well,†Zak said, a delighted grin spreading across his face. –Small world, Joe Harts!â€
Joe turned around.
–Zak?â€
–Joe!â€
Joe, stunned and at a loss for words, could think of nothing better in reply than,
–…Zak!?â€
Zak laughed, and Joe, seeing Henry’s stunned expression, was soon laughing too.
–Hang on, hang on, wait a minute,†Henry interrupted, –you two know each other?†He looked entirely bewildered.
–Know each other?†Joe asked. –Know each other? We were best friends all the way through school, until he -†he pointed a mockingly accusing finger at Zak –- moved to London!â€
–Seriously?†Henry asked. –Eddie, did you know about…†He gave up attempting to ask Eddie, as the younger man was leaning against the wall, laughing so hard that he could barely keep upright.
Eventually Eddie managed to string together a sentence.
–You two are the biggest geeks on the planet,†he said, still laughing a little bit. –I don’t know why I thought you didn’t know each other!â€
Zak shrugged.
–What can I say, us geeks got to stick together,†he grinned. –But in all seriousness - what are you doing here and how do you know Ed?†he asked Joe, who laughed again.
–Zak, Henry, Henry, Zak. Henry’s my boyfriend, of around four years now?†The last part of his introduction was directed towards Henry himself. The tall red-head gave a warm smile.
–Four years in May,†he said quietly, meeting Joe’s eyes for a second. –It’s good to meet you, Zak -†he nodded at him –- I’m assuming you’re the Zak that Joe talks about every so often?â€
–I don’t know,†said Zak. –Am I, Joe?â€
Joe looked him up and down with raised eyebrows.
–Yep,†he pronounced. –Definitely.â€
Zak laughed again at this.
–It’s nice to meet you too, Henry,†he said, –but I still don’t get how…†he looked at Eddie questioningly, who answered.
–Henry’s my cousin, Zak.â€
Zak looked taken aback, but not at all displeased.
–So,†he said, turning back to Joe, –you’re dating my housemate’s cousin?â€
Joe gave this a moment’s thought, then nodded.
–Yep,†he said again. Zak shrugged, grinning.
–Fair enough!â€
The three of them spent the next hour or so chatting in the kitchen, until Henry pointed out that Eddie hadn’t given them a tour of the flat yet. Zak took this as his cue to leave and go back to his own room - not because he wasn’t enjoying seeing Joe for the first time in years, but because he had noticed that Eddie had gone quieter after a while, and Henry seemed to be worrying about him. Zak decided that he should probably leave them alone to talk about whatever the issue was. He heard them move around the flat for a minute or two before they entered Eddie’s room, the door closing behind them and staying closed.
Zak’s room was directly next to Eddie’s, and so although he couldn’t make out exact words, the tones of the muffled voices coming through the wall were fairly clear. One sounded slightly softer and slower than the other two; probably Henry. His voice sounded coaxing, and he seemed to be talking to someone - presumably Eddie - who wasn’t giving him much in the way of response. Zak brought up his notes from the last seminar on his computer, determined not to eavesdrop, but still straining to hear anything that he could for a minute before he realised what he was doing. Shaking his head, he turned on his music and turned the brought up the volume until he couldn’t hear anything from next door.
He had only just begun to focus properly on his notes when there was a knock on his bedroom door.
–Come in,†he said, looking around. The door squeaked open a little way and Joe stuck his head in.
–Hello,†Joe said, with a sheepish grin. –Henry and Ed are having a brotherly - well, cousinly - chat. I think Ed’s just not been writing home as much as he should, and he’s making his parents worry, nothing serious. Anyway, I thought I’d come in here instead. You can kick me out if you like.â€
Zak grinned.
–Nah, it’s okay.†He gestured to the seat next to his. –Come on, we need to swap emails anyway. I’m not losing touch again, it was boring last time!â€
Joe laughed and leaned in to see the computer screen properly as Zak brought up his e-mail account.
Life carried on - Zak and Joe stayed in touch, and met up a couple of times in the summer holidays, sometimes with Eddie or Henry in tow. Eddie and Zak’s first year at university seemed to have gone well; for their second year they had to move out of student accommodation, and so they bunched together with Amy and Adam and Henrietta to share a house not far from campus, which seemed to go fairly smoothly.
Marks and grades started to count towards their degree in the second year, so work was more intense and the whole house alternated between silent studying and noisy tension-breaking. Upon discovering that Eddie had never seen any Disney films, the others spent a weekend working through all of the ones that they could get their hands on, and by Christmas Eddie would hum the tunes around the house, all mixed up in whatever piece they were supposed to be studying for their course.
They came back in the springtime; Joe and Henry came to visit again. Joe had finished his BA now and had moved on to his master’s in psychology. He was still working at the instrument repair shop that he had been since his second semester of university, and thinking of going on to work there full time despite his psychology degree.
–I love the shrinkology stuff,†he said to Zak and Eddie as they wandered through the city centre with Henry, –but I don’t know if I’d do it for a living. I’d happily keep studying it though!â€
–Just keep it up,†Zak joked, –you could just stay at uni until you get too old to stay awake in lectures.â€
–You can talk,†Joe teased back. –You’re the only person I know who genuinely agrees with the phrase ‘learning is fun’.†Eddie laughed. Zak did have a habit of taking up other hobbies. Short, two-week language courses; –Idiot’s Guides†to random topics; whatever he could find. Sometimes Eddie thought that it was amazing Zak had ever managed to choose one subject to study at university.
~
A few weeks later they were sitting in a rehearsal room on the second floor, when they heard the shrieking, coming from the other side of the opposite building. Zak looked up from his work and caught Amy’s eye, who shrugged.
The shrieks turned into screams. Sam stood up, putting his music to one side, but before he reached the window there was a sound.
A bang.
A gunshot.
The room froze, everyone waiting for someone else to suggest the joke, to break the silence. But no one had to; it was broken by two more gunshots, and more screams from outside. Zak stood, and walked past Sam to the window, looking out. Amy started to speak.
–Zak, what’s going on, can you see -â€
BANG!
The gunshot was much louder now; Emilia turned just in time to see the glass of the window shatter and Zak drop to the ground. There was another shot.
–Get down!†someone shouted. Everyone got or fell to the floor.
Silence.
Several seconds passed. No one moved. Then -
–Zak?†Adam whispered from his place on the floor. –Zak, are you okay?â€
There was a pause.
–Yeah,†Zak’s voice came back, shaking. –Yeah, I’m alright.†He started to crawl along the floor, away from the window.
–Careful,†Emilia whispered, –mind the glass.â€
–Yeah.â€
They all moved now, slowly, terrified of making too much noise. Eventually they were all on one side of the room, closer to the door than the window. Zak was last. His eyes were wide and he was breathing hard. There were little cuts all over his face and neck, but they weren’t deep - what was more frightening were the tiny shards of glass you could see glinting all over his neck and back.
–Here,†Webster said. He’d reached for the first aid kit from the cupboard by the door, and was holding it out, looking uncertain.
–What do we do?†Sam asked. No one answered.
–Water.â€
–What?â€
The others turned. It was Eddie who had spoken. He looked scared, but in control.
–You need water to rinse the glass out. Trying to pick it out can do more damage, though it doesn’t look deep,†he said. The group looked around the room almost as one.
–There’s no tap,†Henrietta said.
–There’s the toilets down the corridor,†Adam ventured.
–Zak?†Amy said. –Zak, you okay?â€
Zak took a deep breath, his eyes slowly becoming less wide, and he seemed to relax a little. He nodded slowly.
–Yeah. Just having a hard time not freaking out,†he said, giving a slightly scared smile. –I’ll be alright.â€
The eight of them had just got carefully to their feet - Zak trying not to move too much - and were about to walk to the toilets to help Zak with the glass, when they heard a door swing open at the end of the corridor. Then there were slow, steady footsteps along the corridor.
Zak felt his mouth go dry.
–Shit,†he heard someone behind him mutter. Adam. The footsteps stopped; there was another pause. Then, again, the footsteps… considered, controlled, one after the other. Coming closer to the door.
Whoever it was stopped again. Just outside the door. They knew someone was standing there - they could see that the light from the corridor that normally shone under the door was being blocked in two places. Two feet. Someone standing, right outside the door.
And then, slowly, the door handle began to turn.
Looking back, Zak would never understand why none of them started trying to barricade the door, but it didn’t even seem like an option at the time. At the time, Zak couldn’t take his eyes off of the door handle, which reached its utmost before stopping.
Another heart-stopping pause. Zak could almost hear everyone praying that the person outside would think this room was empty. He wanted to laugh out loud at the ridiculous terror that held him standing deadly still, too scared to move.
Then the door slammed open.
1. Master of Instinct (Lightning Clan Trilogy) by HermitKnut
Chapter Notes: A/N: Apologies for any posting delays; for some reason my email keeps eating the chapter validation alerts.