stronger (what doesn't kill you)

Alec sighed and shrugged, "Whatever you say."

"Desperate? Me?" he exclaimed with a laugh, "Oh, please. Alec Blanchard is never desperate, flower. Never."

When Iris started saying those things about his father, Alec, for some reason, felt. . . offended, and in the need to defend him. "He's my father, Grayson!" he exclaimed, "What the hell am I supposed to do? Live on the streets?! Of course I was angry, of course I was hurt, but I was hurt at both of them: my dad and my mom! For everything, you know? But they're my parents and I love them. No, everything was not alright. You think we went back to being the perfect father and son? But it was either live with my mother or with my father, and my mother didn't really give me an option. So it was either my father or the street." Alec shook his head slowly, "Stop. Just stop it. Lots of people have drinking problem, alright? It's not something they're proud of- he was trying to stop. You don't know him, he's not a bad person."

He chuckled slightly, calming down with a few deep breaths, and rolled his eyes, "Scars are sexy... yeah, right." Alec looked at her, "Tell me more about your family."

"It being better doesn't mean it's not painful, Iris!" he exclaimed, "You don't have to be tough all the time!" He clenched his fists when she said he touched them, his eyes holding hatred for the man, "Maybe I won't kill him, but I'll put that asshole in Azkaban. That I'll do. And make him pay for what he did to you and your sister." The Prideux hugged her tight and wiped her tears,, running his hand through her hair, "Ssshh, it's okay now. It's all over, alright?"

Sorry, my bad, Alec Blanchard flirts with desperate girl. Right, gotcha," Iris smirked.

"I'm sorry, okay?!" Iris shouted. "I don't know what's it's like. All I know is if someone hurts the people I like, I get pissed, regardless of who that person is who hurt them," she said. "I just thought parents were not supposed to act like this or something. But like I said, I know shit about living with family," she growled. Forcing herself to calm down, she mumbled, "Didn't mean to offend your dad. And you're right, being a drinker myself, I shouldn't bitch about other people. And by the way, just stay away from the streets." She warned. She gave him a hug and and told quietly, "Good thing your dad took you in. How come your mom didn't?"

"They are sexy! You know, on most people," she shrugged and grinned slyly. Her gaze hardened a little at Alec's question, but tried not to make a big deal. "Nothing much to tell. I was at an orphanage since I was three. Got adopted a lot of times, but none of the families could actually 'handle' me apparently," she smirked though there was no humour. "I would run away all the time and live with people on the streets. Even made a couple of friends actually, though not the good kind. Oh, that would explain my fighting and combat skills," she winked. "Never met my mom since then and I'm sure my dad is dead. Well, I hope he is," she muttered darkly.

"Well, what do you want me to say?! That it was so damn painful, felt like my skin was ripping apart?" She nearly shouted, once more. Feeling herself break down, let a few tears fall not bothering to wipe them away. "Before you put him in Azkaban, I'd like to deal with him. Though I'm pretty sure he's already dead." She looked at Alec in shock, not believing he was actually paying her so much attention. "But what if someone else tries to do the same?" She asked softly.

Alec winked, "Very good, now you got it."

He calmed down after a while and hugged the girl back, blinking away the lonely tear that was threatening to spill. "I didn't mean to- I mean, you're right. Parents shouldn't act like that, I'm not even sure why I'm still defending him, we fight nearly all the time now. He's still my dad, though, and deep down, he's a good person." He smirked, "Away from the streets, got it." The Prideux shrugged, "It wasn't her fault, she wanted to take me in, but she's just a Muggle. Nothing against muggles, but it's just that my mother's family isn't very rich, you know. They don't live in huge mansions like my father's family does, they're not poor, but they're not rich either. They're normal. They live in a small-ish house and with my mom having to go there after the fight- our house was my dad's, you see - there wouldn't be enough space for us to live comfortably. She just thought we'd have a better lifestyle if we stayed with my dad."

"Pfft, couldn't handle you?" Alec scoffed, "What a bunch of wimps, you're so easy to handle." He listened to her story and hugged her, planting a kiss on the top of her head, "You didn't have to run away, though. Live on the streets, that's not good for you, flower. Even if you didn't like the family, or they couldn't handle you, I'm sure it would've been better than staying on the streets."

"Of course not," he said, calmly, "You just don't have to pretend it was fucking fantastic." He kissed her cheek and held her, "They won't. I'll kill them before they get the chance."

"No, I think it's pretty cool that you're defending your parents like that," Iris admitted. "I haven't even met my mother and I already sort of hate her cause she's a drug addict and cause of the way she used to treat Kait, my sister. And still Kait defends her," she muttered. "But at least that woman didn't put her in an orphanage," she said. As she listened to Alec talk, she smiled and said, "I frickin' want to meet your mum, she sounds like an awesome lady." She looked at him and told, "Sorry that you can't be with your mum right now. I want to say 'I know how you feel' but then I'd be lying." She grinned lightly. "How's your sister handling all this?"

On hearing his comment, she couldn't help but laugh. "You know that you're probably one of the very few people to say that?" She said and shook her head amusedly. Hugging him back and moving closer jut to feel warmth, she realized that she liked all his friendly gestures. It was the first time someone was showing an interest in her as a friend. "They kept me sending me back to the orphanage, pretty boy. Finally I was stopped from getting adopted and so I ran away," she shrugged. "Living with people who hate me is not better," she argued. "By the way, I also found out that I have an older brother who is a spy," she confessed. "And I may or may not have totally yelled at him for not having found us earlier," she said and smirked lightly.

"I never said it was fucking fantastic, just that it didn't hurt that much," she grumbled. "No killing cause then you'd end up in Azkaban...which is something I can't handle," she told with a shrug.

"I don't think it's cool- I mean, I don't want to feel like I'm being used and not even caring, but it's just that they're my parents. There's nothing you can really do about family," Alec muttered and listened to what Grayson was saying, and nodded, "Yeah, it's easier for you to hate her because you haven't met her or lived with her. Like I said, family is a hard subject, there's nothing you can really do about it. That's probably the only reason your sister defends her- she grew up with the woman, didn't she?" He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, my mother's pretty cool. I see her a few times a year, though, and that's almost as much as I see my father. The rest of the time I'm at Beauxbatons." The Prideux sighed and looked down when his friend mentioned his sister, and he shrugged, biting his lips, "She's alright, I guess. I feel horrible because during most of their fights last year I would run away and, since she wasn't old enough, she had to stay home and listen to it all. I feel bad for abandoning her during those times, she was just a little girl, but I couldn't handle being home. I just went out and smoked, went to parties, did everything to get my head away from that. I don't know how my sister handled it, she's a hell lot stronger than she seems."

Alec looked at her and sighed, "Well, in that case, I guess you're right. Living with people who hate you must be awful. But at least there you had a roof over you head, you had clothes and food." The boy raised an eyebrow and laughed, "A spy for a brother and you yell at him for not finding you earlier? Oh man. Why didn't he find you earlier, though? He should've looked better- maybe you wouldn't have had to live with those horrible people and then on the streets."

"Can't handle me in Azkaban, eh?" he teased and winked, "You could visit me, though."

Iris laughed humourlessly and shook her head. "Wow, I really do know shit about family," she replied. "Well, Kait had just as much as a hard time as well. Only good thing that she had a proper house....or close to it, anyway. I hate her cause of the way she used to treat her own daughter," she said angrily. "And with the drugs, alcohol, I can't even call her my mother." Looking at Alec with an amused smile, "At this point, I don't even know if it's a good thing or bad thing that you don't see your parents that much. "It must be nice though, to have a family member to lean on."

"Don't beat yourself up over it pretty boy, I'm sure your sister'd understand why you kept leaving," she assured him. "Smoking, parties, drinking, but no sex? Surprise, surprise," she told with a raised eyebrow and grinned teasingly. "But seriously, don't feel guilty about it, you didn't do anything wrong," she told and gave him a small smile.

"I guess clothes and food weren't good enough to stay. Besides, it was the families that took me back to the orphanage, didn't really have a choice since I'd be a nuisance and bitch," she shrugged. "I guess I'm still a bitch, but just for people who mess with me," she grinned. "I yelled at him real bad, Blanchard. Said some crap about him not caring enough and just like others, won't mind I ended up dead. I don't regret it, but I think I feel a bit bad," she sighed and laid down on the grass, looking up at the sky. "He works for a lot of dangerous organizations and couldn't risk being found out, so he couldn't look for us before." She muttered.

"Visit you? oh please, I can't annoy you if you're stuck up in a cell," she scoffed and chuckled. "Really though, if anyone ends up in Azkaban for killing that guy, it's gonna be me," she told in an even tone.

"You do have family memebrs to lean on," Alec pointed out, "Now you have Kait, and your brother. Not to mention your foster parents. They all love you."

He shrugged and looked up at the sky, laying down on the rocks and putting his arms under his head. "Maybe she did understand, but it still doesn't make it fair," he told her and chuckled, "No sex. Well, I won't be cheesy and say it's because I haven't found the one, because it's not that. I just think fourteen, fifteen. . . it's a young age. I know they have all sorts of protection and all but," he looked around and whispered, "what if I got someone pregnant? Merlin, I'd be dead. My parents would kill me, the girl would kill me, the girl's parents would kill me, I would kill myself."

"You're always a bitch, Grayson," the Prideux teased, and laughed, shaking his head, "Honestly, flower, I feel bad for your brother. Though he should have tried to find you earlier." He raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly to show he understood, "I guess that makes sense. Dangerous organizations, huh?"

The boy had been grinning and about to make a joke, but when Iris said that if anyone ended up in Azkaban, it would be her, he sobered up. "You will do no such thing," he warned her, "You won't, alright?"

Iris sighed and looked at Alec. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Though I never expected things to turn out so twisted. But hey, something is better than nothing, right?"

"Well, if there's somewhere you can take your sister to, I suggest you do it so that you don't feel guilty," she told him. She laughed lightly at his answer. "It's you after all, so of course that won't be the reason. But yeah, glad you have the sense to know that cause if you do go around sleeping with girls now, I will kick your ass," she told seriously. "Don't forget, I would kill you also," she grinned. "Plus, I don't want to go the girl and show her my sympathy at having to bear your child," she commented and chuckled.

"I've gotta be a bitch to get what I want pretty boy," she said with a smirk. "Yes, yes, everyone feels bad for the big protective brother," she muttered. "Truthfully, I also feel that he ended up with me as a sister. Dangerous organizations, trained spy, looking for bad guys, you know the story."

Iris looked at the Priduex in surprise and grinned lightly. "Can't handle me in Azakaban?" She repeated his earlier words. Then she turned serious and nodded. "The bastard's not worth it anyway....I think."

Alec nodded, "It is. I mean, like it or not, you have a family now. You have your siblings and, trust me, they don't hate you. They'll love you and protect you."

"I'm gonna buy her something - a present or whatever," he decided and smirked, "Why? Are you jealous?" He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "I'll have you know that my child would be extremely good looking, alright?"

"Preach it, girl!" the Prideux said, in an American accent, "Isn't that how Americans say it, or something?" He looked at her and sighed, putting an arm around her shoulders, "I'm just saying he must have had his reasons, that's all. You shouldn't blame him. Or yourself," he continued, after she said she felt that he ended up with her as sister. "Oh, really?" Alec muttered, interested. He still wasn't sure what he wanted to be when he grew up, but that job seemed . . . awesome.

"He's not," he reassured her.

"I'll contribute some cash to that gift, cause I actually like your sister. She is better than you after all," she gave Alec a sly smile, though she wasn't lying about liking his sister. "Yeah, extremely good looking and extremely dumb," she retorted.

She laughed at his impression and shook her head. "Right as you are, don't say that again." She threw a rock into the waters and laid her head on his shoulder. "He didn't do anything wrong really, I just felt like he doesn't care enough," she shrugged. "Or maybe it's because I'm too complicated to understand," she smirked. "Yup, really; tough but seems like a well trained job."

Suddenly getting an idea, she smiled devilishly at the Priduex and got up from her spot. "So pretty boy, you're not afraid of the water, are you?"

Alec rolled his eyes, "Don't be stupid, flower. Of course they will. I don't get why you're pushing them away so much, though."

"Better than me? Better than me?" he shook his head, "Not even Mel could manage that, even though she's kickass. I mean, duh, of course she's kickass. She's my sister."

The Prideux sighed and turned her face so she would look at him, "You do know that by pushing him away, you aren't going to get him to care for you, right? He does care for you, and if he doesn't he's an idiot. But I'm almost one hundred percent sure he does. Maybe he's just like you, maybe he just doesn't like showing it. You guys are family, after all."

He raised an eyebrow as she got up and frowned, "No. . . " Alec smirked and quickly got up, picking her up bridal-style, "And I really hope you aren't either. . ." he said as he ran to the border of the lake.

"She's kickass and she's better than you," Iris smirked. "End of story, no discussions."

Nodding her head in understanding, she sighed. "But it's what I do pretty boy, I push away the people who care because...I'm scared it's all a big lie," she admitted. "Because, I know that no one will be there with me forever, they'll all abandon me just like people did when I was a kid." She shook her head and plastered a smile. "Anyways, who gives a fuck right now, right?"

Her eyes widened in surprise as he picked her up and ran to the edge. Once they reached, she jumped out of his arms and before getting into the water, she pushed him in and laughed. "Nope, I'm not at all scared!"