Side Streets

Side streets where some old abandoned houses are

Corbin stood outside of an old house alone, tears silently pouring out of his eyes as he jammed his hand into his pockets and memories of his childhood home and his deceased parents came flooding back

Corbin still stood there silently, not having moved in 20 minutes

*In animagus form, Madison was trotting along at a quick pace, but she stopped as she spotted Crobin, and checked to make sure no one else was around before changing back to human*

"Corbin- uh, I mean, Professor Corbin?"

Corbin turned quickly and his hand was on the way to his wand but he stopped once he realized it was Madison.
He started to try and wipe the tears off but a few kept coming

*Madison's hair was a bit unkept, and her clothes a tad dirty, but she didn't seem to notice*

"Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah, Im fine" He lied, it showing on his face as he continued to wipe tears away

*she subtely slipped her hand into her pocket, checking to make sure she still had her letter- a habit she had formed since the end of the school term. She glanced around again, then looked to him*

"You don't look it..."

Corbin sniffed and glanced back at the house, staying silent for a moment
"Im sorry that you have to see me like this" He said quietly

"You shouldn't be sorry. Everyone experiences pain."

*She couldn't help but glance around occasionally, but she remained sympathetic*

Corbin finally stopped the tears and sent a weak smile at Madison
"This is where I grew up, my parents and I" He said quietly

"Did you have a nice childhood?"

*she was trying to avoid asking him what was hurting him so much, but she couldn't think of much to say*

"It was alright, a little rough at most times, but alright" He said, trying as hard as he could not to think back to all the problems back then

"I didn't have many friends as a kid. I was always studying. Silly, I had the idea in my mind of proving myself to my grandfather. Like that ever worked."

*She said absentmindedly*

Corbin smiled slightly
"We never had any money, my mom was a drunk, useless bitch and I didnt know my dad." He said quietly, succumbing to the memories that came flooding into his mind

*Madison immeditely felt bad. Corbin faced pain because of all that, and the only pain she had to recall was how her grandfather effected her pride. The worst thing he ever did though was teach her- Madison quickly shook her head, not wanting to think about it as she looked to Corbin*

"Well, life goes on, right?"

"Not for my mom it doesn't" Corbin muttered, biting back tears again

*Madison grew silent for a long time*

"...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-..."

*she sighed*

"No, no, it's okay" He said, looking to Madison and smiling weakly before he slowly walked over to her

*Madison looked up at him, but then looked away. This reminded her far too much of that painful day. So much that she wasn't being sensitive enough. She looked to him again, but couldn't think of anything to say*

"Come on, let's get out of here" Corbin said, holding his hand out a bit

*she hesitated, but then nodded and took his hand*

"Where to?" He asked, wiping the last remnants of tears from his face with his free hand

"Wherever you wanna go."

*she didn't want to allow herself to be selfish right now. That and she didn't want to reveal what she had been up to the entire summer*

"3 Broomsticks? Let me buy you a drink" He said, smiling a bit