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In a large room, there are five four-poster beds with curtains to allow for some measure of privacy. Each student has a cabinet for his things and his trunk sits at the foot of his bed. The room is rather dim all day long and candles sit in brackets on the walls, lighting it.

Toby had returned to the sixth year boy's dormitory to work on his Charms essay. He had gotten half way through when the afternoon sun started to dwindle. He rubbed his eyes, not realizing how long he had been immersed in his homework. It probably hadn't taken his classmates half as long to complete the entire assignment. Alas, this was Toby and things had to be perfect. Finding he needed a break, he walked over to his bed, where his majestic white cat Cyndra sat calmly. He patted the docile animal along its soft back as it sat silently still. Sitting to pay Cyndra the attention she seemed to deserve, he found the comfort of his bed overwhelming. To Cyndra's dismay, he retrieved his hand from her body and collapsed backwards, his gaze fixed on a certain patch of ceiling. There he lay, in the solitude of the dorm room, awaiting something exciting to happen.

Toby had been shaken back to reality when a large ball of orange and white had leaped onto his abdomen. He yelped in pain and surprise. Feeling the cat's claws digging into him, he jumped up and tried to pry the animal off of him. As this went on, Cyndra lay silently, her bright green eyes looking with little interest. Soon, the figure of Felix, his roomate, appeared in the threshold. How nice. He handed Leba over to the other boy. "Um, just a bit," he replied, poorly hiding his pain as he rubbed his stomach. He could feel a burning sensation under his shirt. He'd have lifted his shirt to inspect, but resisted, too shy to expose his body to the other. "No worries," he said, wincing. By this point, Cyndra had lost all interest in the situation and stood, stretched dramatically, and relocated herself to the centre of Toby's pillow. There, she lay and closed her eyes. "So... what's going on?" he asked shyly, not knowing if it was appropriate to address the boy.

Toby found himself caught off guard. One moment, he had been lying, belly exposed, in the quiet of his empty dorm room. The next, a cat had pounced onto his stomach and his social roomate had appeared, now showing his scars in an irresistable Dutch accent. I'd pounce on him in a heartbeat. Realizing he was fantasizing, about a boy just a metre away, he stopped himself. Donning a more subdued demeanour, he replied. "No, really, I'm fine." Damnit. Why must I be teased like this? Needless to say, had Toby had his way, the situation could have gone south rather fast. However, not the courage in the world could have pushed thoughts into actions. "Cyndra here loves to be brushed. She's kind of an attention seeker herself, though a little subtler in her approach."

The pain had passed, the initial shock subsided. "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it." A compassionate boy. Toby liked that. "Yes, this is Cyndra. A spoiled cat. But she's great," he said with a smile. He couldn't help but be affectionate with Cyndra - but only when no one was around to see, of course. "I see I've met Leba. They say pets share traits with their owners. From the looks of it, it seems to be true." Felix was energetic And warm. And friendly. "Cat's are brilliant. Cyndra protects me. I'm more of the scaredy cat. I'm sure Cyndra'd like for someone to take over her job. She's probably sick of my talking... and my constant need to cling... and my random twitches of paranoia. Needless to say, we share the bed, but she probably hates it when I roll over and cuddle her." Stop talking. Too much information, Toby scolded himself. "Sorry. I'll stop." He let out a nervous laugh. How could he be so stupid?

Toby sat completely still as Felix grew closer and closer. Not knowing what to do, he remained silent. As Felix placed his hands on Toby's shoulders, he tensed and drew a deep breath. In a way, it sounded as if Felix was mocking him. I knew it was too much information. I'm just strange. He prepared himself to say something so that the matter could be dropped (and so that he could make a swift exit). Then, Felix burst out in laughter. Gosh. I've already been humiliated enough. Then came the apology. A little slow in the comprehension of the situation, he had finally realized that all was well. Even still, Toby was frozen in his awkwardness and said nothing. The shortest of moments passed. "No, it's alright." And without a thought, he did something he thought he'd never do. He leaned forward and whispered into the other boy's ear. "I like you too... I think." He said this without any idea of what the other boy had said in his native tongue, however he had a sense of what he was expressing. Then, a thought hit him. Did I just tell a guy that I liked him? I did! Crap. What possessed me to say such a thing?! Realizing his world had changed in a very moment, his attitude refocused to the situation. Returning to his overly analytical side, he started to worry. For the first time in his life, instinct had taken over.

Toby breathed a sigh of relief, glad Felix hadn't made him regret what he had just said. Then, feeling the weight of the other boy, leaning on him, he hesitated. "Uh... um... Felix... what if someone sees? I don't think you should do that here." He had come off rather cold, but it seemed he was still preoccupied with his image. In a way, he had come out to Felix, but the rest of the world was still oblivious to Toby's true nature. "And... could you... not act like I said what I just said? Please?" He had taken on a pathetic tone, a pleading one. "Promise you'll act like you don't know?" Suddenly, he used a more direct tone. " 'Cause if you tell anyone, I will disown you. You can be sure of that." Hearing what he had just said, Toby frowned. He had reverted to intimidation and rudeness - cruel mechanisms he had learned to rely on, but knew were wrong. Still, Toby knew no other way. You have to protect yourself first. No one will care enough to do it for you.

Toby was satisfied with Felix's response. He was sufficiently (if not excessively) convinced that his sercet was safe with the boy. He was also amused at the fact that he "owned" another; it was a funny notion. "Yes, it is. And thank you. You are a chatty little one, aren't you?" he asked the last part with a smile. Then, more safety precautions rolled into his mind. "By the way, could we possibly... keep things low out in public? Say... we act like roomates more than anything? We'll live in our seperate lives until we can figure something out." Toby knew he sounded completely irritating with all his worrying. "I'm sorry... it's just that... I've never thought of what to do if someone knew. I guess I've never considered telling anyone. Like. Ever. I just want things to stay the way they are. And I think it'd be easiest to maintain things the way they are if no one suspected." Toby frowned. He was an insecure wreck. "And you're also going to have to deal with this. With my whining. And my worrying."