A Club.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

It felt like his heart stopped when Ariel heard the shower stop, and he pushed Markise a little faster out the bedroom door, down the hallway, and to the stairs. "Be quiet," he whispered, though Markise had never been more quiet than he was being right then. He wondered if Markise was picking up on his panic. That was one thing he certainly hoped didn't happen, not when they weren't out yet.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise was too involved in his own misery to give Ariel's obvious nerves more than a passing though. He could feel it, but it didn't register. "I'm tired," Markise pleaded, his voice low, reflexively mimicking Ariel's. He hoped they'd be outside soon. Ariel had said he could lie down again once they were outside. Unfortunately, on the other side of the door was a staircase. Vertigo washed over Markise again and he bent, his stomach clenching painfully even when there was nothing left.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

"I know, I am, too." They just had to get down that staircase, though, and they would be fine. "This is it, after these stairs we'll be outside," he promised. And then he would stay in an alley for all he cared, as long as they were out of that house. He tightened his arm around Markise and started down the stairs, moving carefully but quickly, with an ear trained back to the bedroom just in case.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise found the stairs nearly impossible. He had difficulty finding them with his leaden feet, especially with the world spinning so quickly around him. The sun was still weak, but he squinted against even that. He didn't even realize it when they hit solid ground. "Are we there?" he asked when his foot didn't find another step. He peered around the waking street, but it wasn't at all familiar. Nothing but the car. Markise stared at it, trying to place it in his blank memory.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel felt strange seeing the car, and averted his eyes. "If you want, we can walk somewhere, or we can find somewhere here," he said, glancing around. The building had a walkway that led to the back, surely they could find some chairs or something on a porch somewhere and sit for a little while, unless Markise was up to walking. Just as long as they weren't in view when the man came downstairs.

[Markise Sterling]

"You said I could lie down," Markise complained weakly. "I don't care, just take me somewhere, I can't stand anymore." That and the light was brightening as the sun rose, peering in between the dirty buildings and sparse trees on the street. Markise shrank from the light, idly wondering where the night had gone. Where and when were they? How had they gotten here? Markise was too miserable to bother asking.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel pressed a light kiss to Markise's hair and led him around the building, finding a small patch of grass that was probably labeled a yard by the landlord, and helped Markise down. "Just tell me when you're good enough to go back to school," he said, tucking his hands away in his pockets and shifting uncomfortably on his feet.

[Markise Sterling]

"I don't think I can get up," Markise said, though he laid back all the same, sighing at the relief of lying down again. The world was still spinning, and he rode it, let it take him where it would. He wanted to go to sleep again, but Ariel had said... "We can't go back to school, they'll see us," he murmured, eyes still closed. Markise reached blindly for a handful of his deep black cloak and pulled it over his eyes, sighing again when the sun was blocked.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel sighed and then winced as he moved to sit, only to roll over on his stomach in discomfort when he found that sitting was most definitely not going to be a fun thing to do. "We can later, I'm fine for sitting here as long as you want to," he said. It would give him more recovery time, and maybe he could get some sleep finally, as long as one of them stayed awake.

[Markise Sterling]

"Can I sleep, then?" Markise asked, yawning. He felt like he hadn't slept in a week, and in truth, he'd gotten very little sleep the past week, and last night's unconsciousness was hardly restful. Markise was still lost in his own discomfort, and so he focused on the fact that Ariel was taking care of him. He grimaced as he rolled to his side, but he wanted Ariel to hold him and to feel safe and comfortable. And he wanted some coffee when he woke up. Markise fell asleep with that thought, one hand stretched out across Ariel's lower back.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel sighed softly when he realized that Markise had gone to sleep, and silently lamented the knowledge that he wasn't going to be getting any himself any time soon. He wasn't exactly a city boy, but he had enough common sense to at least know that going to sleep out in the open like that wasn't a good idea. He rested his head on his arms and tried to do anything other than think of the night before that would keep him awake.

[Markise Sterling]

They didn't get much of a rest. The landlady happened to live on the ground floor, and when she opened her kitchen curtains, she saw kids on her lawn, bold as brass soaking up the morning sun. She grabbed her mace and headed outside, intent on getting rid of them.

"You don't pay rent 'ere!" she called, storming onto the pation, which was in truth a block of cement. "Get out, both of ye!" She brandished her mace menacingly.

Markise groaned as consciousness faded in to an angry female voice. "What's going on?" he mumbled, blinking. The blinking was a bad idea, though. The sun, stronger than it had been before, was blinding. Markise grimaced.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel sighed and pulled himself up, apologizing to the woman ad he held out a hand to Markise. "Let's go," he said, uncaring for the moment if anyone saw them, as long as it wasn't that man. He was really missing Australia at that point, what he wouldn't have traded to be able to go and pass out somewhere on the warm ground with the hot sun bearing down on his back.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise took Ariel's hand as firmly as he could and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet. One hand rose to his head a moment to keep it steady, then he fumbled at the back of his neck, searching for the hood to his robe. He tugged it over his head as far as it would go, using its shade to make the light more bearable. "Where are we going now?" he asked. He could stand on his own now. He was still a bit shaky, but he thought that if he held onto Ariel, he could stay up.

The woman watched the boys with narrowed eyes all the way to the edge of her property, eyes narrowed at them. Only when she was positive that they were on their way did she return to her house and her kitchen.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

"I don't know, just look around for somewhere," Ariel said, sighing softly. "I have some money, so we can do whatever." He really just wanted somewhere they could sit and relax for a little while, then go back to Hogwarts and sleep all day and night, and pray that everything was back to normal by Monday. He felt lost, which wasn't a good thing, as he looked around the muggle neighborhood, and he prayed that they would be able to get back.