Beauty and the Harry Biest

[Deleted]

Chel cursed and stamped her foot. Not that doing so really helped the issue at hand; it really didn't make her feel any better either. She tried grumbling, and reached up to flip back her hair. It landed upon her back with a wet thwacking sound that was not appealing in the slightest. Chel grimaced on hearing it, then crossed her hands over her chest. Her fingers grabbed the towel she wore as a covering and she attempted to jerk it up a little better.

Tulio had locked her out.

Which was admittedly new. Usually they didn't even bother locking the door, since they could both deal with locks about as easily as they could door handles. In fact, this shouldn't even be a problem for Chel now. However, there was the whole fact that all she had on hand were a handful of dirty clothes, her shower caddy, and the thick, fluffy pink towel wrapped around her body. None of that was going to be usable as a lock pick. At all.

Chel groaned again, moving to beat at the door a few times. What she really wanted to do was shout and hope that either Henry or Tulio was...

Henry. The little jerk had to have been the one to lock her out! He'd made no secret about how much he didn't like Chel, and he'd been even more testy since the news of the war had gone on. Chel cursed him, his name, and his children, leaning forward against the door.

Then, she got a brilliant idea. She'd heard there was a new student, a prince even, and he'd moved in just a few doors down. Smiling now, Chel reached up to run her hands through her hair, combing it out a bit. This was before she reached up and purposefully mussed it. Another slight adjustment to the towel, and she was soon heading over to the door. She knocked as femininely as she could manage, putting on her best "I'm a cute girl and I'm all alone and worried" face, hoping that Harry Biest didn't live up to his name.

[panda]

Harry Biest was in the process of taking his mid-evening nap. He was hoping the concept of 'beauty sleep' would actually pay off and help him out a little. A rather annoying knock sounded on the door, rousing him from his sleep and interrupting a rather delightful dream about his home life. In a fashion that flaunted his mood (one that could only be described as 'royally ticked'), Harry flung the covers off of himself and stood to see who was at the door. If it was some annoying roommate, they could buzz off and let him finish his nap in peace.

"This had better be good." Maneuvering his way around his rather messy room, the prince wiped a bit of slobber off of his chin. Biest then proceeded to itch some itchy places. Harry unlocked the door and flung it open in a somewhat unpleasant manner, letting out a very friendly half growl that housed the word, "What?"

As soon as the word came out of his mouth, he regretted it. There was some random, beautiful girl outside of his door and he had just greeted her with a growl. Harry could feel the heat rising to his face, and he raised an eyebrow in a quizzical manner; his tired mind was trying to find an explanation for this predicament.

Wait a minute... Why is there a chick in the boy's dorms? Shouldn't she be out getting her hair done or something? Impulsively, his eyes flickered down her body and then rested upon her face. She had just taken a shower, and she was now knocking at his door. Maybe he was being a bit judgmental, but he really wanted to peg this girl as a nut.

Who honestly took a shower and then came to knock on his door, let alone the door of a 'Harry Biest'? Mixed feelings greeted Harry as his mind took in the situation. The hesitation he was offering made him seem rather awkward, but what else was he supposed to do? Be cool about it?

Hey baby, come on in! Aw hell to the no.

"Um... Can I... help you?" Biest was not presentable at the moment; normal people did not answer their doors clad in a pair of checkered lounge pants and a stupid looking graphic tee. Fufilling the messy boy vibes he was probably giving off, his hellhole of a room lay behind him in wait. This was quite the sticky situation, and he didn't know if he should be angry or pleased.

[Deleted]

Well, this should be easy. Harry looked like the type of person who thought that girls were some sort of foreign species that vaguely resembled humanity. Chel could actually feel his smile growing at the sight of him. As for the mess she could see just inside the door, that hardly mattered; her own room (well, Tulio's; that was complicated) was perhaps one of the messiest in the entirety of Tintagel. The girl beamed at the boy, a hand reaching up to tuck back some hair. Maybe the wet look would help her seem all helpless and stuff.

"Hi there, I'm Chel," she said, the words almost bouncy, "and I was hoping that you could help me out. You see," she shifted, letting the towel slide slightly; not enough to actually reveal anything, mind, "I was taking a shower here, I'm staying with my..." what the hell did she call Tulio now? Prince? Master? "Friend, over there," she jerked her head toward her room, "well, actually, it's less staying and more 'borrowing his shower.' Mine isn't working. Well, his roommate; total stiff, by the way, you'd hate him, I can tell, anyway, this roommate totally must have locked me out."

Chel paused, taking a deep breath, making sure to suck the air through her chest. She batted her eyes up at him, pouted her lip and added: "So do you think you could help? Maybe lend me a shirt or something. I can't go outside wearing this. I'm all wet and, well, wearing a towel..."

[panda]

Harry smoothed his now shortened hair, which was only beginning to hint it's truly curly nature. The situation was completely unbelievable; there was the faint idea that it was just a dream, though it was clear the idea wasn't legitimate.

After listening to Chel's ridiculously long, desperate rant about her friend next door's annoying roommate who had locked her out of the room, Biest usually would have remained rather unsympathetic to her misfortune. Instead he found himself staring at her, wondering why the fates had decided to send him this girl. If it was a trial from the old shrew that sent him here, it was working. Maybe he had changed some. Maybe not. He was indifferent.

Well, there were three ways to deal with this wet, naked girl. One; Biest could be a dear and give her a shirt, allowing her to change and whatnot in his room and then assist her in getting into the other room if need be. Two; he could completely ignore her request for a shirt and try to break the door down. Though he had no doubt he could do it himself, he didn't want to make a fool of himself or have a couple of unhappy boys on his case. Three; he could slam the door in her face and go back to bed. Bed sounded nice.

Biest was compelled to step aside and let her into his room. There was no point in pissing her off, though he did think it would be rather fun to tell her no and see how she reacted. His brain was dormant; not awake enough to think of some good comebacks and various ways to deal with a mad woman. Harry went to his dresser and grabbed a random green shirt donning the 'mountain dew' logo.

Why anyone cared about dew on a mountain was beyond him, but it should satisfy Chel's request for a shirt.

[Deleted]

Chel slid into the bedroom the moment Harry abandoned the door. Did it matter to her if he'd closed it? Of course not. He'd all but invited her to come inside, and seeing as Chel was probably going to wind up in Harry's room at some point irregardless of whether he let her in or not, she might as well get it over with. She stepped around the piles of clothing with a dancer's grace, showing far too much practice at it. Again, her hand went up to brush back the overlong hair, while her eyes scanned the room.

Definitely a prince. You could always tell. Most of them were notoriously sloppy too, whatever outward image they liked to portray. This one seemed to be one of those that fully embraced modern life though, which Chel was definitely a big fan of. She had her phone, and even if it had been unwanted, she had the knowledge in how to use it far more extensively than any person really should.

"Oh hey, thanks!" She chirped as the shirt was provided. She grabbed it, only vaguely recognizing the label. "You don't mind if I get changed in your bathroom, do you? I mean, I'd do it out here, but we just met and all..."

She gestured at the room around them, as if he couldn't already guess what she meant.

[panda]

Harry dismissed the thanks he received with a wave of his hand. He didn't care much for manners himself which caused him to wave them off like he did all other random formalities. If he wasn't in a castle performing princely duties, he saw no reason to be formal.

"You don't mind if I get changed in your bathroom, do you? I mean, I'd do it out here, but we just met and all..."

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead." Harry hadn't really done much with the bathroom. His clothing and things were more or less thrown all over his area of the room. The more he looked at the mess, the more he wanted to hide it. All of the clothes Harry could find were soon in the process of being kicked under the bed. He really had to get around to doing laundry one of these days, or the room would smell a bit too manly.

Once he was finished kicking things under his bed, Harry shut his door and flopped down on his bed. His shirt would probably dwarf Chel and make her look like she was wearing a potato sack, but he would feel more comfortable with a girl who looked like that wearing a sack than wearing a fluffy pink towel. Something about her put him on edge and he really wanted to ditch the feeling. He did his best to stare up at the ceiling and appear to be relaxed, though he wasn't sure how any guy could be relaxed around a girl who looked like that.

Hopefully Chel would go back to her room after this. If she insisted upon getting into her friend's room, there was a way you could pick a lock, though Harry wasn't sure he knew how to do it. Considering how crafty Chel appeared to be, she probably wouldn't have a problem doing it now that she wasn't wearing only a towel. Hopefully.

[Deleted]

"Thanks!" chirped Chel. She bounced up to peck Harry on the cheek Wscurrying off into the bathroom. To her credit, the first thing she did was actually change, dropping the towel and draping the shirt over her lean frame. She did that almost in the same motion, and it took mere seconds. Which gave her plenty of time to start snooping around the bathroom for a few moments. She ostensibly was looking for a comb, as she was already dragging her fingers through her hair, but really, you could tell a lot from a bathroom.

Having found what she wanted, Chel walked out, heading directly for Harry's room. The shirt proved as large as Harry had expected, easily dwarfing the short, lean girl. It draped down over her like a tent, covering her nearly to the knees, and easily as well as some of the dresses she'd worn. Chel still ran fingers through her wet hair though, hoping it didn't end up knotting or something worse.

"So, I don't suppose you've got hair pins?" she asked. She lowered her hands and began looking around the room, showing absolutely no sign of modesty. "or maybe a couple of paper clips? Something skinny and preferably made of metal..."

Someone who knew better could probably guess what Chel was looking for..

[panda]

Of all the things Harry expected from Chel, a kiss on the cheek wasn't one of them. Needless to say he had turned bright red before sitting down on his bed; things were not going as he had planned. Not that I planned anything, but seriously? What kind of a person kisses a creature like me?

Sure, Harry was a prince. The thing that got to him about moving to Tintagel was that this place was supposed to be a kind of punishment for his selfishness. His new body wasn't blessed with rugged good looks or manageable hair, but he was managing to live comfortably in the academy. The old woman's point was that he was selfish and vain, not someone who was a blessing to the world. Lessons were supposed to be learned here; Harry was not learning much about anything, let alone himself and the person he should be.

He accepted his selfishness as if it was a part of him that would never be changed. If it left him spiteful and horrid, a so called beast, so be it. Just to make the old bat mad, he would continue being that way until something caused him to change.

Biest snapped back into reality when Chel came out and said something about hair pins. He sat up lazily and scratched the back of his head. "Well," It only took Harry a moment to realize what she was asking for, the crafty little devil. Harry got to his feet and went to a small desk, pulling open the middle compartment. After rustling around in it rather impatiently, he found a random rainbow bobby pin and a mid-size silver paper clip. "Will one of these work?"

Neither of them actually belonged to Harry; the desk he had just rummaged through belonged to his roommate. He would definitely have to remember to organize it before the kid returned.

[Deleted]

Wait a moment, did Prince Lazy there figure out what Chel was really asking for? Her head tilted to the side for a moment as she tried to figure that out. No, no way he figured it out. Though he did produce something definitely workable, Chel took both things with a grateful smile.

"Thanks, you're a life saver," she said. she paused for a moment. Well, if he was going to be helpful, she figured she might as well go for broke. "Say, you don't have any idea how to get one of these doors open, by chance, do you?" she asked. She stepped a little closer to him. Chel held up the pin and clip, giving him her best pouty look. "I was gonna use this to try and pick the lock, but I've never done it before," oh that was such a lie, "so I could really use some help. Maybe you could do it?"

She was half tempted to suggest he break down the door. Tulio and Charming certainly deserved it, the jerks.

[panda]

Harry shook his head in mock sadness. He had done all she had asked of him so far, but there was no way he was going to attempt to pick a lock for her. The only thing he put in a locked door was a key that unlocked it. To be frank, he wasn't sure why she didn't just go back to her room anyway. She had already showered and there was no point in going in there if her friend wasn't there. Biest was beginning to believe she had lied to him, and the belief in that made him feel restless.

The pouting face Chel offered was hard to resist; most guys would have succumbed to its cuteness and went out there to pick the lock for her. Harry hadn't picked a lock before in his life; he had never attempted it and didn't plan to. He gave Chel a blank look and shook his head. "I could try to pick the lock but I'd fail," The statement was issued assertively, showing that he wasn't going to accept any argument or pouty face she could throw him, "Once you learn how, you could pick the lock any time that stuck up little prince locks you out."

There were two obvious advantages to Chel's learning to pick a lock. She'd be able to enter any time her friend's room whenever she'd like, and her stuck up little prince enemy would be pissed. Who wouldn't enjoy that? By the way she talked about him, she didn't care for the prince's feelings or ideas any way. Why try to be nice? Harry saw no point in it.

[Deleted]

"Well, aren't you a spoil sport," drawled Chel. Of course she knew full well how to use a lockpick; why else would she have bothered asking for exactly what she needed? this wasn't the first time that someone had locked her out of somewhere she wanted to be. Besides, not picking locks would mean lots less time looting all the rooms in the dorms, and that just wouldn't be any fun at all.

"Don't suppose you'd like a reward or something?" she asked, grinning. She took a few steps backward, heading toward the door. While it was fun playing with Harry, she'd have to get into the room soon, if she was going to have any hope of getting there before they did. "I'm sure that my host," she was going to kill him, "wouldn't mind giving you a few gold pieces or something."

Oh sweet gods of El Dorado: how much fun would it be to give some of Tulio's gold to this guy? Chel was practically dancing at the very idea of it. "C'mon, whattaya say?"

Maybe she should try the pout again... on the other hand, when you overused it, it had a tendency to lose its potency.

[panda]

Harry was not a very greedy person. He liked what he had and was not left wanting more. That being said, she was offering him gold to pick a lock. How hard could it be? He thought about her offer for a moment, trying to choose between his moral beliefs and his desire for a gym membership.

"How much gold we talkin'?" Biest had picked up some useful slang by eavesdropping on random passerbys while in town and such. He usually didn't use slang and opted for practical English, but he couldn't find a better way to phrase the question.

If the price was right, the odds were higher that he would go out of his way to pick the dumb lock and receive the payment. Seriously, though, was she really wanting him to do it that bad? Failure was likely to infuriate him and result in a busted door, and failing would inevitably lead to yet another failed potential friendship between him and someone else.

Then again... Biest stopped the thought in it's tracks; there was going to be no more thinking on this situation. If she could offer him enough money, he'd try to pick a lock. Perhaps that would lead to him losing his temper, and if that was the case, so be it. Then there's be a broken door. Was the money worth it? More than likely. That was good enough for harry Biest.

[Deleted]

Chel shrugged, "I dunno. Five gold pieces sound fair?" She held up a hand with the indicated number of fingers, as though Harry couldn't already count for himself.

Sure, it might be Tulio's money, well, possibly some of Henry's too though the boy had apparently been cut off from mommy and daddy, so Chel actually felt a little sorry for him, but Chel just wasn't the type to go throwing money around. Okay, she was, but not just for spite. Okay, she really was, but not for an instance like this. Not when she could fully manage the operation all on her cute little lonesome.

"I mean, I can pay whatever you think is," Chel paused. She'd begun moving while she talked, closing the distance between Harry. Now her hand traveled up his arm, stopping just short of his face before she finished her sentence: "Fair."

[panda]

Harry blushed like a mad man when Chel had ever so bravely came closer to him. This had never happened before. No, not once. The female species seemed to avoid getting near him, let alone actually risking a touch. Biest tried his hardest not to supress emotion from weaseling it's way to his mind, the hope that appearance wasn't everything.

Such thoughts would lead to his downfall, he was sure. Feelings were not something he allowed. He couldn't have some dark haired beauty creeping her way into his heart. Lord, no. "Why are you touching me? It's awkward. Stoppit." Biest brushed past her in a hurry.

She got to him. She really did. Clearly she would be able to tell with the heat that had rose to his pale face. Harry was the one who refused to admit it, and he probably never would admit it. Biest went straight for the door and opened it, realizing that it probably needed a good oiling to stop it from squeaking. That was going to get on his nerves sooner or later.

[Deleted]

Score! Chel nearly did a little dance of joy in seeing that reaction. Oh, she got it fairly often; shot for it, as a matter of fact, but it was always fun seeing it from a boy. Besides, it hadn't escaped Chel's notice that some of these guys didn't get as much attention as others. You just had to give them a little attention, and they were practically begging to do stuff for you.

Case in point:

"It's only as awkward as you let it get, furry," she drawled. She took her time in following him, first making sure to scoop up her towel and various shower materials. She pointed at the door to "her" dorm, adding a nod in case he missed the finger. "That's the dorm."

Now, what exactly had they agreed on? Chel was pretty sure she'd talked circles around Harry; he hadn't agreed to pick the lock at first, but there he was, standing outside her door. "So, are you going to pick the lock, or you want to let the girl do all the work?"

That teasing smile was back, and once more Chel had entered what was likely Biest's personal bubble, standing just a few inches to his right.