A lot On My Mind [james]

The library, he had spent most of the day just catching up on studies. Albus was one to take learning seriously. The boy couldn't imagine failing a test nor dealing with a bad mark. Blue eyes skimmed over the pages and he found himself chewing the inside of his cheek in thought. Maybe one day of fun wouldn't be too bad right? He meant like actually journeying to do something more entertaining something besides being a know-it-all. It could be a good experience right? Albus shook his head and lost his thought process. Of course he couldn't do something like that. The boy buried his face back into his book and spent a good couple hours cramming.

At this point he wondered why he didn't get kicked out of the library he had nearly spent all day there. Albus smirked at his inner thoughts and decided he'd do one more thing before leaving and moving forward with his day. The boy removed a sheet of parchment and grabbed his quill and ink. Albus had to write his mother it had been a while and when he lost his father he sort of detached himself from his family. Not to say he didn't care of course he'd do anything for them, it was just his way of copping with his loss. He wrote it, that he missed her and wanted to spend a day in Hogsmeade with her. Ginny would be thrilled to get a letter from him and he knew this. Then finally he stood up tucking his chair in. Albus waved to the librarian and exited the favorite room.

Then it was to the staircases the boy made his way to the towers then to the owlery. After dropping off his letter he walked the halls looking down at his shoes while he walked. It was sort of boring being a loner yet he had his role under control. The grand hall would be a nice place to sit down and catch up on his romance novel. Albus smirked and nodded. Yes that was what he could do. Albus traveled to the Grand hall and took a seat at the Ravenclaw table. Reaching into his cloak and removing the smaller book he flipped the pages and found himself lost in this tale. Then he heard a door slam and he looked up unstartled. "Bloody hell what now? He questioned awaiting a face to match the noise. Then his aqua eyes fell upon his older brother. Just dandy, he thought skimming his bottom lip with his large front teeth. What hell would he be enduring today? "James what brings you here?" Albus asked with an unamused look in his eyes and a fake smirk on his lips. "Come to bug me?" Albus asked closing his book awaiting a response.

( Well take it outta here )

( I think I'm ready to leap, ready to live )

Understating would be saying that James had done a hundred stupid things in his life. He had only been fourteen when he'd smoked his first cigarette, and that same year he'd gotten drunk for the first time. A year later he'd lost his virginity and the year after that he'd dabbled in recreational drug use. Did he regret some of it? Yes. Would he do it over again given the chance? Probably not, because everything James had done had led him to where he was: the girlfriendless idiot who couldn't stop smoking. But he liked it that way. Everything he'd done had some sort of significance for him; he learned something new with every experience. For example, the aforementioned things had taught him to keep smoking, keep drinking, keep shagging, and leave most of the drugs to Ben because frankly, though he hated to admit it, he was just a little too weak for them. James knew that, in his place, most other people would have made the decisions that make parents proud at least one out of ten times, but what fun was that? No fun at all.

Seventeen years young made him officially an adult in the wizarding world, and that scared him a little. Adult, to him, meant getting a job, getting married, having kids, and taking care of that family. Bloody hell, James could hardly take care of himself, much less another person and a kid or two. Every summer since he'd been fifteen his mum had harped at him to get a job so that after he graduated he'd have at least some work experience. He had promptly ignored her and gone off to get drunk with Ben. Now, with months left in his life at Hogwarts, he was realizing just how serious all of this was. A little late, Potter he thought to himself as he grabbed his Herbology textbook and a pack of smokes off his bed. Between sixth and seventh year it seemed the difficulty levels of the work had gone up exponentially. Where last year he had been clever enough to pull off good grades whilst doing no homework, he was threatening to fail his NEWTs if he couldn't remember which plant it was that looked like a grey cactus. Theory was fine, but when it came to applying himself and remembering things, he'd just never had the motivation to sit down and read the material. Today, he was determined to solidify the chapter four subject matter before the summative test on Monday. The cigarettes were for later.

With no lack of purpose, the seventh year left Gryffindor tower with the intention of studying in the library. Upon reaching the doors he faltered, realizing that he wasn't actually a hundred percent sure what the inside of the library looked like. It was one of the few rooms in the school he didn't frequent. Ben never went in there, and when Emma did she was usually trying to avoid him. The library to James was like a church to a vampire: a do-not-enter kind of place. This run-in with the library just about caused him to completely give up on his quest to study (though he was sort of looking for an excuse not to do his school work anyway). No, James, he chastised himself, and turned to walk instead to the Great Hall. As far as places to study went it was pretty safe because he knew what it looked like, yet usually the people there mid-day were fairly quiet.

Okay, Herbology, he thought to himself as he opened his textbook to the fourth chapter and realized in a panic that he had almost no idea what any of it was talking about. If Emma weren't such a prig he'd ask her because she was clever, but she would be terribly condescending about it, so no luck there. Ethan would be a good option too, but James hadn't the slightest clue as to where in hell that boy had gotten to. Ben was no help when it came to school. James listened better in class than Ben did. He frowned into his textbook and prayed to whatever omniscient deity that death would come swiftly. Instead of dying on the spot, his brother walked through the door. Which may not have been death, but it was a welcome distraction. James shut his Herbology book and tucked it under his arm, trotting over to the Ravenclaw table where Albus sat by himself. "Unfortunately, today I'm not here to pick on you," he grinned, sitting down next to his brother. "What are you reading anyway? School work?" upon seeing that it clearly wasn't a textbook James' face crumpled into a look of sheer confusion, "People read for fun?" Sometimes Albus' habits were beyond James' comprehension.

( words ) 801
( tagged ) Albus Potter
( lyrics ) Ready to Go by Panic! At the Disco
( notes ) The ending is fairly rushed. Sorry [/blockquote]

It came to a relief to him James was not here to 'pick on' him. Through his younger years of life he shadowed his older brother becoming the victim of a lot of James' teasing. It shaped who he was in life, and how he handled real bullies therefore it never bothered him. It was always that way for as long as he could remember. All bothers had their differences he assumed. Albus was shy, he didn't really socialize due to his impulsive judgment of others. The boy rather keep his circle limited to his female cousins as well as a couple of his close friends including Amy and Yvaine. Then there was his new infatuation of course, a smile appeared on his lips as he scooted over making some seating space for his big brother. "Well bugger, my day will not go properly if you don't at least do something to tick me off." Albus said sarcastic in tone. The boy rolled his aqua eyes and smirked, he'd let his big brother feel at least a bit important to him.

What was he reading? Albus looked down to his book cover and if James were one for listening he would give him a summery of what he was reading however that were not the case. Albus wondered if James even paid attention in class let alone to the lectures Albus gave him. He chewed his bottom lip for a moment looking down at his book, this one was one he had already read before. The other day in Hogsmeade he missed out due to the fact he had over slept. Yet if he hadn't he probably would have never got to spend time with Ben. Another smile and he was off and running with his thought process. He had hopped James was still oblivious to everything, yet Ben made it clear James was not to find out about their little...well whatever they had. Albus cleared his throat and looked to James. "Love stories." Albus said simply looking to the book tucked under James' arm. Before he had anytime to inquire James' words caused him to narrow his eyes. "Yes, people read for fun!" Albus said peeved by his older brothers' rhetorical question. Gosh he and Ben were similar. Then he knew he could say something that would catch James' interests. "Emma reads for fun." Albus mused with a sly smile. Al had overheard James and Ben speaking of Emma over breaks, the only reason he knew of the girl other than that was, they were both constantly in the library. When hanging out somewhere often you tend to make acquaintances with those who were nice. Emma, the girl James must have fancied due to how he spoke of her. Albus was pretty good at ease dropping on his older brother, the boy was loud it didn't take much effort to hear through the paper thin walls of their home. All those sleepovers he was never invited to. Merlin,was he that annoying to James?

Albus shrugged off his thoughts and eyed James' book again. "James, you can read?" He asked his tone astonished. Al quirked a brow snatching the book from where James had it secure. Blue eyes skimmed over the book and it dawned on him why James was over here. "Procrastinating are we?" Al asked chewing the inside of his cheek. James better pass his NEWTs or mother would kill him. Al placed the Herbology book in front of James. "Mother will not be thrilled if you don't pass exams. Best to study,unless you can not focus. In that case I could always help you." Albus suggested, if he knew his bother's pride he wouldn't allow it but he figured he'd be nice and offer anyways. "I am rather intelligent after all." Albus boasted a bit proud. It was true, he awaited James to respond rather then furthering his conversation, if James didn't want to study they could always find something more of his liking to do.

( Well take it outta here )

( I think I'm ready to leap, ready to live )

As far as siblings go, James and Albus had a pretty common relationship. They got along well enough in the way that most sixteen and seventeen year old boys who have to live in the same house do, but they still had a fair number of differences. It occurred to James as he stood by his brother that they were, in fact, very different people. For one, on a normal day, James would be outside having a snowball fight, running Quidditch practice, or upstairs in the common room playing some stupid game with Ben and Ethan whilst trying to impress Emma, Molly and Chloe. Albus, on the other hand, did what he was doing now, he would come into the Great Hall or the Library when they were at their quietest and he would read a book. It had been years since James had recreationally read a book, and even then, he was nearly certain that he hadn't finished it. The students who were in the Great Hall now were the kinds of students James didn't really pay attention to: the quiet ones. That fit Longbottom girl was sitting at Hufflepuff table all by herself reading or doodling or something that involved paper, there were a couple of Ravenclaws quietly playing wizard chess down at their table, and a handful of first years from every house who weren't yet comfortable enough to hang around in the common room chatting in hushed voices. This was a world in which James had never been submerged, and it was one of the few social (or in this case, almost social) situations he hadn't had to deal with while he was at Hogwarts: most likely, a product of his lack of studying. Albus, however, unlike his brother, lived this life and saw these people daily. Yes, the Potter brothers were very different indeed.

Their differences aside, they got along well. James with his outgoing, obnoxious, and frankly, more dominating personality had often been the leader between the two. And, if we're speaking honestly, occasionally he had abused his poor second in command with his teasing and stupid pranks. Despite bearing the brunt of James' idiocy, Albus had always been a good little brother and had entertained his older sibling's stupidity with a grain of salt. These days, things remained very unchanged. Daily, James still dealt his younger brother a healthy dose of light-hearted mockery. "Alas, the day is still young. There might be teasing yet." James grinned impishly at his little brother who had dared to imagine he might spend a day free of James' senselessness.

Then there were those books which never made sense to James. Albus could pick up any book, even if it was some boring muggle written nonsense and devour it as though it were actually good. Honestly, the older Potter had never understood how anyone could possibly be interested in any literature without an abundance of moving pictures. James raised an eyebrow when his brother mentioned love stories, and had Albus, that sneaky little git, not continued to talk, James probably would have made fun of him for it. Emma. That bloody girl showing up in every single one of his conversation immediately caused him to furrow his brow. "I know that Emma reads for fun." he half growled, "But she's a prig." Alas, the ups and downs of the roller coaster that James refused to admit was anything more than just being "in like". If he were in like with Emma, he was very much so in like with her, and that bothered him immensely.

"I don't read," he confirmed to his brother "I just look at the pictures." his signature cheeky grin spread across his face as he sat down next to his brother and dropping his book on the table with a heavy thud. Albus seemed a bit surprised that his brother had any kind of academic material in his possession, and even more shocked that the tall Gryffindor had any intention of actually using it. James ran his fingers over the wood of the table which was still rough despite having a varnish and he sighed. "Yes, I'm procrastinating. Memorizing plant names has never been fun, and I'm just not in a rush to do it." That being said, the whole you-shouldn't-fail-your-NEWTs thing hit home. James was fairly clever, but memorization had never been his strong suit, and he knew that he needed to know key terms and definitions for that bloody final. Who in Merlin's name invented standardized testing anyway? Truthfully, Albus probably understood this crap better than he did, but his pride just wouldn't allow him to ask for help from his younger brother. "Nah, I'm good. I got this." actually paying attention to the book and reading the words on the page he realized that in reality, he didn't "got this" at all. "A mandrake's that yell-y think, right?" shit. James shut his book promptly. "Studying's boring. Reading, is boring. Let's do something fun." James rambled, "We could sneak into Hogsmede, want me to show you the tunnel by the one-eyed witch?" he wasn't sure if he'd shown his brother than tunnel yet. Maybe, though probably not. James had never been in a state of such terrible boredom as he was now before in his life.

( words ) 884
( tagged ) Albus Potter
( lyrics ) Ready to Go by Panic! At the Disco
( notes ) kinda long...[/blockquote]

It seemed James had been a him beat in most aspects of life. James was always the one who was more out going, he could do anything he wanted. Talk to girls, make friends, be adored. James had got his first kiss first, had been in his first relationship first everything Albus hadn't accomplished yet. Cept the kiss part, he didn't want to think of his bother in a non innocent sense but he was sure James had done that before as well. Albus scrunched his nose at the thought of his bother and a female in intimate standings. How gross, he wondered if James showered half the time let alone the poor female's reaction to the boy. Al couldn't help to giggle at his thoughts, poor girl. Then there was ickle Albus, whom was shy and wouldn't think of doing anything with a female outside of conversation, and with that came his nervousness as well. They were complex females were, how they made him stammer over his words and caused his palms to be sweaty. Albus watched James flirt from the sidelines over the years, the bloody boy was a professional. Of course Albus had pretty friends like Amy and Clara to keep his certain things about himself hidden. A hint of a smile crossed his lips when James spoke of teasing. "Can't wait." Albus said sarcastically with a fake grin. It wasn't like James could do too much damage to his ego nor self esteem, they had been bothers forever, knowing each other's boundaries came with the territory.

Albus cleared his throat as James confirmed he knew Emma read. Albus listened to James' tone and quirked his own eyebrow. "A Prig? Hardly." Albus replied licking his lips. "So I presume anyone who doesn't want a go on the James Potter carousel is a Prig or think they are inferior?" Albus asked, he wouldn't take James' overly cocky attitude. As if he were so perfect that he could have any girl he wanted. Albus gave any girl respect that didn't toss themselves at his bother. Of course James was good looking, but never-the-less a self absorbed arse. The type of boy Albus liked to mess with on his own time. A bad boy. Like James, Ben was this way around everyone as well. Vain and cocky but when spending time with Albus the boy acted different is the only reason he could tolerate his boyfriend's arrogance. "No James I beg to differ, independence is a great trait to have." Albus admitted he wouldn't argue more on the topic, his bother probably was just too stubborn to see Emma didn't follow his child-like impulsive ways. Some wanted to excel in life when others had potential and held themselves back.

"You should read. I am sure there is more then hot air in your head James, although sometimes I question that statement." Albus stated flipping his hair out of his face. Albus let James look through the pictures of his book and he chuckled at James' defining a mandrake. "Mandragora is that root with the fatal cry, so I guess your accurate." Albus teased. When James spoke of leaving the castle he looked down. It would be the second time this week he skipped out on classes. Oh this was going to look dreadful on his record but he wanted to spend time with his bother. "Studying is not boring nor is reading, your just impatient but sure. Let's have erm... fun?" Albus replied his tone questioning. Albus was never one for 'fun' but if it would make James happen and fulfill the craven to spend time with his brother it wouldn't kill him. The one-eyed witch. Albus smirked closing his book and concealing it in his robes. "Sure James you can show me where I catch pesky, thrilling seeking students like yourself. Remember I am a prefect James, I have patrolled and searched this castle high and low without the help of Dad's map." Albus mused. He gathered his belongings and stood up smoothing over his jumper. "Shall we?" As asked walking toward the destination. James was so sure of himself at times, perhaps Al could lighten up on the sassing, though it was so fun to put James in his place at times.

Albus watching his feet as he walked counting out his steps. The boy was always clumsy, he didn't need to be tripping over his feet in front of James. Then James would have more to tease him on and that was just unacceptable. Albus giggled to himself turning around noting James' presence. "Keep up, I am not getting caught because of your slow strut." Albus scolded softly gazing from side to side making sure the coast was clear. It was bad enough he was skipping, he didn't need to be caught in the act. Once at statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor Albus waited for James. Although he had never been in the tunnel he knew of it. Albus let his blue eyes skim the statue. "Is there a password or something James?" Albus asked looking up at his big brother with wide eyes. He could feel his adrenaline kicking in as he skimmed the perimeter for professors keeping watch a bit paranoid.

( Well take it outta here )

( I think I'm ready to leap, ready to live )

Frankly, James had always been sort of antsy. His mum used to accuse him of having the shortest attention span in the world because before he turned sixteen, his brain spun at a thousand miles a minute and he bounced from thought to thought quicker than anyone else could keep up with. His brain still spun at a thousand miles a minute, but he'd gotten a little better at controlling it. The looming detentions-to-expulsion number had forced him to learn the art of sitting quietly and paying attention in class: both of which were things he was not particularly adept at. To be out of class and to be sitting here talking to his brother who was the absolute pinnacle of well-behaved (or so James thought, anyway) was completely boring. And he even felt a little guilty for being bored by his brother's desire to study, do well and do something with his life, but if the truth were told, James just couldn't deal with idleness right now. He was thinking too much about Emma and how much he hated her, and more importantly how much he didn't actually hate her at all. The whole ordeal was rather confusing and therefore he'd rather not focus on it. The only problem was that smoking in the Great Hall was more than a little bit frowned upon.

See, Albus was the reasonable one. Both boys knew that calling Emma a prig because she preferred reading to the eldest Potter was an exaggeration and that it wasn't really fair to her, but Albus cared about the injustice and James was too pissed off to think about it. Merlin, sometimes James hated women. Now, anyone who knew James knew that this "sometimes" meant "almost-never-but-on-occasion-one-bird-pisses-me-off-and-I-blame-them-all" James sighed heavily, because deep down, he knew that Albus was right. That didn't please him much. It was frustrating because at a time he wanted to be cool, but he felt more like a big ball of teenage angst than anything. "Well, truth is, she wants me and she's just being difficult." he shrugged because that statement may or may not have been true. More than any other person he'd ever met, or any other girl he'd ever spoken to, Emma seemed like she didn't exactly know what she wanted from James. And that posed a problem because James wasn't exactly sure what he wanted from Emma. That sort of left them in a state of relationship limbo (he wasn't sure whether this was romantic or friendly. Neither was she. That was the problem). "Just because she's lasted till now doesn't mean she gets to be all self-righteous and better-than-thou about it." He didn't really want to talk about Emma anymore. In fact, he wanted to talk about Emma even less than he wanted to talk about mandrakes, which was very, very little.

Books were tricky. James had decided that even before he'd gotten to Hogwarts. It wasn't that the language was too difficult, because contrary to popular belief, James was actually quite clever. It was more that books were long and they took a long time to read. By the time he was hitting the end of the page, his mind had already started to wander, and he had no idea what the last three sentences he read were about. Albus could read books no problem, but James was not like that. Concentrating was not his strong suit. "Yes, well, too much cleverness in there already," he mockingly sighed and smiled "No room for anything from books, unfortunately." Not unfortunately at all. It would take a miracle or the threat of another really tricky herbology test to get him to open a book. The latter was why he was currently in the Great Hall contemplating the best way to skip class and spend quality time with his brother.

Albus, for being sort of lame and sort of a stick in the mud, was pretty cool. Over the past couple of years, James' appreciation for his brother had grown exponentially, and these days he didn't even mind doing things like taking his brother to Hogsmede because Hogsmede is the best place to skip class. Albus darted off in front of him, leaving James a few steps behind. Though Albus complained about James' unhurried pace, the older Potter did little to change it. Unlike Al, James did scurry, or scramble, or hasten, or dart. James sort of strutted, sort of strolled, his gait was upright and proud, while being fun and relaxed. He never needed to go fast. They wouldn't get caught anyway, and if they did, Albus was the school's golden boy. James would probably just get a detention. "Don't worry about it, Al." he laughed to himself, had he been like that the first time he skipped class? "We're not in a rush to get there anyway." His pace remained unchanged, though Albus still insisted on walking a few steps ahead of him.

Probably the biggest perk of being the eldest sibling was inheriting things. Mr. Potter had given James the invisibility cloak at Christmas when the latter was in his first year at Hogwarts. The Marauders Map had more been swiped than anything, but that was besides the point. The point was that being the oldest, he got a lot of the cool things from their parents. These cool things had probably shaped him into the devilish, not-so-law-abiding student that he was today. They had also given him in depth knowledge of the castle's particular haunts, and which broom closets to stay away from due to excessive snogging. The One-Eyed witch passage was one a few students knew about, but despite the fact that it wasn't totally a secret, it was still probably James' favourite. For starters, the statue was of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor (who was easier to call the One-Eyed witch, but for description purposes, it's nice to know her name) who was absolutely hideous in every respect. Though James was fairly certain that in her time she had been a woman, the lack of hair or any kind of feminine features on the statue led him to wonder whether or not that was actually true. Though she was referred to as being the "One-Eyed Witch" it was always the impressive hump on her back that caught James' attention. It looked as though a small mountain were trying to grow up between her shoulder blades, and it made her entire body bend forward. She held one hand out, beckoning any students weary enough to come near her. Honestly, the damn thing looked worse than death, but it held a good tunnel behind it, so James had learned to deal with it. "Yeah, there's a password, it's Dissendium" as he spoke the "magic words", that hideous hump split in two, revealing a narrow passage down the middle. "Mind your head," James chuckled, urging his brother forwards. The roof was low and it was dark. "Lumos," he whispered to his wand. When the passage shut behind you, it was impossible to see without wand light.

( words ) 1177
( tagged ) Albus Potter
( lyrics ) Ready to Go by Panic! At the Disco
( notes ) I got carried away. Again. Sorry.[/blockquote]

Albus scowled at how arrogant his brother could be. Didn't he know that Emma was just independent. The girl may have had something for his brother, who knew? Yet James like to let things go to his head. Albus licked his lips and nodded a bit. "James you think everything is difficult. Emma just doesn't need you like you think, but if it puts your mind to rest call her what you want." Albus stated. He was not in the mood to talk about how every girl swooned over his brother. James might have been 'in love' with Emma, it certainly seemed that way at least to his own knowledge. Everyone wanted what they couldn't have and for years he listened to the countless shut downs Emma Forbes had graced his dear brother with. Albus rolled his eyes. Girls were a difficult species, Albus didn't like anything he couldn't understand and the female mind was just that. It wasn't like he didn't have his own little array of fan girls, he just didn't like how nervous he got around them. Those who could make the young Slytherin stutter and clumsy were no good indeed. "Lasted? Oh boy James your a piece of work. I don't think it would be easy dating someone such as yourself, so cocky, arrogant and just you...Gross." Albus admitted scrunching his nose. He started to giggle, he hoped James knew he was just teasing.

It was common for the two to do that, yet today was weird. Albus never got the upper hand. His last words were very true, it was not easy dating someone cocky and arrogant but he himself managed. Even if it was torture in it self at times. What bothered him most was he was like a dirty little secret, no one could know about. Merlin, the boy couldn't even cheer his boyfriend on and paint his number on his cheek at a quidditch game. A roll of his eyes and he was on his way. It was bad when Albus started to over think and analyze. His mind kept on his negative train of though and he began to wonder if eventually would his brother disown him for dating his best friend. Or his mother accept his sexual preference and the worst would his father be pissed if he did not carry on the Potter name. Life was difficult but love, was love right? "Yes." Albus muttered out loud agreeing with himself. James was a slow one, then he told Al there was no rush. Albus stopped dead in his tracks. "No rush? Oh that would look just lovely during dinner announcements. The Slytherin prefect caught sneaking away from a day of learning to be foolish with his idiotic brother? Not to mention they are the sons of Harry Potter? No James we're walking fast, that's that." Albus stated finally looking at the hump on the statue. "Merlin, What an ugly statue. I mean really imagine seeing that damn thing everyday, would make one sick eventually." Albus bickered watching James speak the password and open it. "Well that is interesting, I never knew that one. See you do learn something every day" Albus boasted with a cheeky grin being shoved into the entrance.

"Watch it." Al hissed fixing his jumper. James' lumos spell lit up the dark cold passage and he looked around. The sound of squeaking caused him to jump back leaning onto James. Albus' aqua eyes final caught sight of a rat and he looked at James and cleared his throat, straightening himself out. "I wasn't scared." Albus claimed softly as he started to walk. It was said to him before that this passage was a long one. It might take a bit to get there so he'd figured he'd inquire more on his brother's life. Talking and bonding was never bad. "So James anything new going on for you, I mean it's your last year here at Hogwarts. Have you decided anything for the future?" Albus knew James to the the type to 'live the moment' yet maybe he had given some thought to it. The small boy ruffled his own hair. "Unless you want to tell me what's been going on in your social life, that more you?" Albus asked looking down at his feet. It wasn't really known for him to inquire but he felt close to his big brother right now and felt it to be the right thing to do. If James reversed the question he wondered what he'd say, maybe telling James he met someone special himself might make James not hate him fully, when he found out it was Ben. Albus looked up to lock eyes with James awaiting a response.