 Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
Gaston heaved a shuddery sigh as he stood outside the Great Hall. It had taken all the energy he had just to leave the sanctity of his office. Now he still had to gather the courage to walk through those doors, to pretend to be fine in front of all those people... but he wasn't fine.
Not at all. He didn't want to go inside. He didn't want to come back, but he had to for the little girl back home who no longer knew him. His own daughter was terrified of him, and he couldn't go on frightening her. The best thing he could do for Desiree was stay away.
Pulling a battered photograph out of his jacket pocket, he stared longingly at the smiling dark-haired child's image for a moment before putting it back. If he looked at her too long, he would start crying. Do it for her... he thought as he trudged into the Great Hall.
The attack last term had caused a stark change in Gaston's appearance. He was paler and much thinner than before,
and jagged scars were still clearly visible across the right side of his face. His dark hair was long enough to fall into his face, something that previously annoyed him but now served to hide his scars - his scars already frightened his daughter; he didn't want them to scare the students too! Several gray strands of hair stood out from the black. Actually, he started going gray about four years ago, but he'd been dyeing his hair to hide it; now he didn't see the point. His eyes were rimmed in dark shadows and held a tired, haunted look. The vision in his right eye hadn't returned, and the injuries had turned that eye slightly cloudy, a bitterly ironic reminder of the creatures who gave him his scars.
He approached the dais clad from head to toe in black, the only pop of color coming from his gold lion pin and cufflinks... and even that was too much brightness for his liking. His cane click-clacked on the floor alongside him. This wasn't the same cane he had at the end of last term but a custom made one of a highly polished dark wood with a silver rose topper; his father ordered it for him after learning about his injuries. Although he no longer needed it to walk, it was the only thing keeping him from collapsing under the weight of his sadness... a reminder of the summer spent with his family.
"Good evening, everybody," Gaston said, making his way to his seat. His heart sank as he saw he was one of the last to arrive. Great... disapproval from Regina Hawthorne was the last thing he needed with everything else on his mind! He gave the headmistress a polite nod of acknowledgment, as well as a nod for each of the new staff (Alice, Foster, Josh, & Katrina). Normally he would've given them a smile to welcome them to Hogwarts, but that wasn't happening in his current state.
It was only then that his blue eyes scanned the table, and he took stock of the (odd) things around him... the still vacant seat between him and Regina,
Kalen dressed strangely like Tristan - and what was with that look he gave Foster?! The fanged geranium and Kaysha looking angry... He had so many questions, like How? and Why? His eyes darted from her to Josh and back, and he shot her a questioning look as if to ask, Is he bothering you? The only thing that seemed remotely normal so far was Ignatius reading his newspaper.
Gaston had been standing outside the doors long enough to hear the end of Foster's song, and the sight of the guitar got a very small smile from him. "That was a very nice song," he said. It was always nice to meet a fellow musician! "I'm something of a songwriter myself." That didn't sound like he was bragging, did it?
__________________ Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led
If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true... |