Calvin is complicated, which is a nice way of saying he's messy, difficult, and evasive. Even a first impression reveals the telling signs of a troubled teenager. Calvin presents himself as articulate, logical and haughty, and adults peg him as a well behaved, if somewhat pretentious kid. He has a dry, sarcastic sense of humour, and is often lovingly exasperated by his peers. He usually falls into the role of straight man next to his more silly and rambunctious friends. But on the other hand, he always seems to be mildly upset. Calvin's default state makes him sound like he's constantly on the verge of cracking. Fortunately, he's a little too steely to let anyone actually see him fall apart, even if there are a lot of cracks in his facade.

Calvin's abrasive. He isn't very friendly despite not being especially shy, and lacks the mindset to put his silver tongue to work making friends. He doesn't soften his statements or opinions, so he often ends up harsh, sharp and aggressive. It's not uncommon for him to hurt peoples' feelings even when he's not trying to. Sensitive people are frustrating. He doesn't want to upset them, but their fragility often leaves him irritated with his own inability to talk to them. Dressing up his words and being soft doesn't come easily to Calvin, much to his chagrin. He wants to be nice, but he usually isn't.

Calvin may not know how to sound nice, but he knows how to sound reasonable. Maybe when he matures a little he might be considered "harsh but fair". Calvin usually appeals well to adults because he talks like a very good boy who definitely never goes to parties or participates in after curfew seances. It's not too much of a stretch, since Calvin's not exactly a troublemaker, but his actual interest in good behaviour is negligible at best. With peers, though, Calvin's diplomatic side is bossy. He likes being in charge. This can lead him to butting heads with other bossy kids, but Calvin generally doesn't enjoy power struggles. He respects people who are assertive, and can learn to work with them if they show him the same consideration. Just anticipate that he'll always secretly think he's the one actually calling the shots.

Calvin has a lot of nervous energy. He's determined and focused, but in an almost manic way. He's patient, but persistent, only content if there's forward movement. It makes him a practical problem solver who doesn't like to drag his feet, but he's not fickle and won't abandon the problem easily. Calvin's methods for going about this are often indirect. He prefers subtlety and talking his way through things, and can be fairly deft and subtle. On the downside, he's dishonest and underhanded. Calvin likes solutions that are quiet and tidy, even if they're not necessarily obtained above the table. He's manipulative, which may not be pretty, but in his experience it gets results. He's also not afraid to lie, and doesn't see that as an issue. There are simply situations where lies are easier, more convenient, and get you what you need. Calvin's mentality very much hinges on "it's okay as long as nobody catches me."

This is all assuming, of course, that said problems are not his own. The closer the matter is to Calvin's heart, the less practical and objective he becomes. Calvin may act like he's a logical person... but he's not. At all. Calvin is exceptionally emotional, and lets those emotions get the better of him regularly. When upset, Calvin behaves irrationally, often making incredibly stupid decisions. He'll carry on and pretend that nothing's wrong, hardly showing any emotion at all, and at the same time do things that seem erratic or out of character. Hand in hand with that is Calvin's hair trigger temper. He doesn't know when to back down or keep his mouth shut, and can often escalate things unnecessarily with his considerable mean streak.

It's tough to shake him out of one of his bad idea ruts, because Calvin has a hard time seeing the truth through his overpowering negativity. Calvin is gloomy, and builds well-supported narratives with selective use of facts to prop up his negative outlook. He's full of excuses, and some of them are even good ones, but ultimately he uses them to support his inaction. He's not much of a risk taker, and keeps his cards close to his chest. Calvin would rather tolerate his moderate misery and depression than risk making things worse.

He's proudly defensive and contrary, too. Calvin will not let anyone step on him, and he's prideful to the point of arrogance. Once he's set his mind to something, he's impossible to dissuade. The more you argue with him, particularly if you're not respectful enough for his tastes, the more he digs his heels in. Even if he knows you're right, Calvin will find a way to make his contrariness sound reasonable. Calvin doesn't want anyone to look down on him, and this extends to how others treat the people he loves. He gets punchy when he thinks a friend is being mistreated or undervalued. This is all fine and good, even admirable, except he sometimes goes overboard or snaps when it isn't called for.

While he's very good at telling you what he doesn't want, Calvin is absolutely awful at expressing what he does want. Early interactions with him are frustrating because it can be a minefield of negative feedback and angry outbursts. One wrong step, he's mad at you all over again. Getting close to Calvin is an often unrewarding guessing game, because he's both hard to read and sensitive. Sometimes tough love works, sometimes it makes him shut down. Sometimes being understanding gets you sincerity, sometimes it just lets him manipulate you and evade questions.

The silver lining of all that is once you've been put through the gauntlet, Calvin lets his guard down. Under all the whining and bluster is a naive, awkward boy who struggles to relax and feel at ease with people. He's uncomfortable in his own skin, and tends to err on the side of paranoia, especially when it comes to how he thinks people see him. Discomfort, fear and humiliation are just daily experiences, even when there's not much going on to justify them.

Luckily, Calvin's brave under the proper circumstances, and will drolly slog through his day to day fears. When there's a real threat, he can pull himself together and deal with it, which includes soldiering on in the face of his unrelenting discomfort. He'll get into arguments, put his neck on the line, take the fall for friends, and follow them out on risky adventures. He's got a lot of white knight tendencies if you're in need of a sub-par, whiny defender. And yet, many simple things send him into a panic. Examples include: boys he's attracted to, kissing, letting people touch him, horror films, being teased about crushes, being made fun of, ghost stories, things that go bump in the night, social risks, etc. Calvin's deeply embarrassed by... well, himself.

Calvin is an adoring friend, though. He has a dry sense of humour and enjoys playful banter, and the people he likes are often on the receiving end of acerbic teasing. Sometimes his attempts to be playful get off course and turn into pigtail pulling and picking on them. However, there's a clear note of affection as he vies for attention, even if he's not always gentle. When he cares about a sensitive soul, you can practically feel Calvin straining to be gentle. But if he doesn't manage gentleness, he's at least patient. Endlessly, unfailingly patient. This has gotten him in trouble before when the wrong person earned his loyalty, because Calvin's friends can do no wrong. Sure, he might complain or argue with them, but he's always on their side when lines are being drawn. They're always correct. Whoever they're upset with is at fault. Everything they do is reasonable. Calvin would forgive a friend for anything, and he'd do whatever he thinks they need him to. This could be staying up until 3 AM comforting them, or could be conspiring to stab someone in the back in their name. Calvin doesn't ask, he just acts. He has no compunctions about any of it.

It's noteworthy that Calvin is deeply forgiving in general. He's yet to forgive himself for certain past actions, but anyone else who puts out a little effort to apologise can get the slate wiped clean. If he likes you enough, you don't even have to do that much. Although he's quick to anger, Calvin doesn't struggle to let bygones be bygones, and doesn't hold onto grudges once amends have been made. This often supersedes his pride, which is good because Calvin gets upset at a lot of people for frankly stupid reasons. All will be forgiven, and you're free to accidentally upset him again later and go through this all over. Unfortunately, there's no way to escape Calvin's ire long term.

Once upon a time, Calvin was a merciless bully. He might not have been the ringleader, but the capacity for that is still inside him. He worries that he could go back to it under the right circumstances, and periodically lapses into cold, cruel words. Calvin's trying to be kinder and braver now, and he's largely successful, but he holds his big brother up as his role model. Calvin puts Damon on an unreachable pedestal, and everyone always falls short, especially Calvin himself. Even worse, he's realising he's a much more unhappy person now than he used to be. This is because he's been forced to do more self-reflection and take more risks, but it's still a daunting feeling to know he was happier when he was a worse human being.

tl;dr
+ diplomatic, articulate
+ problem solver
+ patient, forgiving
+ dedicated
+ brave
+ focused
+ intelligent
+ clever, dry sense of humour
= naive
= emotional
= proud
- unhappy in general
- abrasive, harsh
- stubborn, difficult
- negative, complains a lot
- quick to anger
- irrational
- dishonest, manipulative
- mean streak
- ashamed, uncomfortable with himself

⇢ Angelica Evercreech (nee Avery), mother. Pureblood. Personal assistant to a successful wizard fashion designer. Angie is often stressed out, and finds extended family get-togethers exacerbate that. No one on her side was thrilled she married Morris, and Morris' family is just put out he exists at all.
⇢ Morris Evercreech, father. Halfblood. Morris is an aspiring painter who doubles as a stay-at-home dad. Now that all his boys are in school, he has a lot more time to get work done. Morris' grandmother ran off with the halfblood Emery Evercreech, creating the Evercreech offshoot of the Bulstrode line. As a result, his relationship with the Bulstrodes can be strained.

⇢ Damon "Dimi" Evercreech, eldest brother. Former Coppertale. Shopboy and aspiring photographer. Calvin idolises Damon, and writes him with (mostly honest) updates about his life abroad. Damon is Calvin's best friend, although their relationship is rife with teasing. Dimi is the standard to which Calvin holds all men. It's not unfair to call them codependent.
⇢ Edmund Evercreech, older brother. 7th year Gryffindor. Eternally in trouble. Edmund is brash, and gets into fights on a weekly basis. In many ways, he's the worst kind of Gryffindor.
⇢ Nathaniel Evercreech, younger brother. 4rd year Gryffindor. Always in trouble. Nate's disregard for authority landed him in Gryffindor.
⇢ Rupert Evercreech, youngest brother. 3nd year Slytherin. Constantly in trouble. Rupert is a snotty boy with a love of pranks.

CHILDHOOD. Teachers at Hogwarts dreaded the Evercreech boys. Not one of them was pleasant or easy. Calvin, right in the middle, was considered the best of a terrible bunch, but that was hardly meant as a compliment.

Calvin and his brothers were all problem children. They fought, they lied, they were mean, and they were arriving at school one after another with no reprieve. Calvin had his fair share of troubling behaviour, but next to Edmund's fights, Rupert's pranks, or Nate's blatant rule breaking, it just wasn't as big of a deal. Especially to his parents, who had enough on their hands. The Evercreeches never had much money, and lived above a shop in a modestly sized flat they rented. Tension in the home was always high, and moments of peace were rare. Privacy was completely out of the question. Calvin shared a room with his two younger brothers, and learned quickly that if he wanted to keep anything he loved from being destroyed in a tantrum, he had to hide it better.

Calvin was clever enough to keep his misbehaviour out of their sight, and therefore, he was an angel in their eyes. His parents always praised him for being the good child, the easy child, the one they could rely on to be responsible. If his brothers said otherwise, they assumed it was petty sibling rivalry. There was always one brother who always had Calvin's back, though. Damon, the eldest, developed a close relationship with his middle brother. With five boys to raise, Calvin's parents didn't have much time for individual parenting. When Calvin needed comfort, advice or support, it wasn't his mother or father he turned to, but Damon.

When Damon left for Hogwarts, Calvin was devastated. The years spent with his eldest brother at boarding school were lonely and frustrating, but eventually Calvin's own letter came.

HOGWARTS. Calvin was not destined for Gyffindor with Damon, and instead ended up alone in Slytherin. For better or worse, Calvin had found a fast friend in Samuel Goyle, his new roommate. Samuel was a lot of what Calvin wasn't: strong, direct, and sure to grow up classically good looking. Unfortunately, Sam didn't treat anyone, including Calvin, very well. This didn't improve even when their friendship bloomed into a secret pre-teen romance. The two of them became the leader (Sam) and the number two (Calvin) of a group of bullies notorious for being particularly cruel. Sam knew he was in charge, but envied Calvin's marks, and often thought Calvin was interested in other boys. Calvin resented Sam for walking all over him, but was always quick to make excuses and take Sam's side. They were inseparable for all the wrong reasons. Calvin couldn't have gotten space if he'd wanted to, and his life at Hogwarts was nearly as tense and chaotic as it was at home.

Meanwhile, Calvin's parents never believed he was capable of hurting a fly. He was, after all, their sole well behaved child. All his brothers constantly needed punishment, intervention, and oversight, but not Calvin. What Calvin lost in attention, though, he gained in praise. He was their golden boy. All attempts by teachers to tell his parents that Calvin was as much of a problem as his siblings fell on deaf ears. The only disapproval that slowed Calvin down at all was Damon's. His older brother was the classic charming, heroic Gryffindor, and it didn't mesh well with the friends Calvin had made. Their relationship began to strain under the weight of Calvin's bad decisions.

Not that his parents noticed. It was hard to convince them anything was wrong because Calvin's marks were impeccable. Calvin was a brilliant student who took as many classes as he was allowed, and worked hard to master all of them. But where his parents wouldn't intervene, a perceptive professor did. Whether the teacher's plan was to break up the little group of bullies, or to save Calvin from becoming any worse, he brought up the Gooseberry transfer program. Calvin knew what Gooseberry was, of course. Damon had been trying to get a spot at the prestigious overseas school for a while, and Calvin immediately imagined him and his brother leaving Hogwarts. He'd finally escape Sam Goyle, Dimi would forgive him, and everything would change.

Calvin was accepted on an academic scholarship immediately. Dimi was not, and Calvin left him behind after a very uncomfortable summer.

GOOSEBERRY. Calvin didn't arrive at Gooseberry with a very stable mindset. He was certain Damon would resent him forever, and he'd broken up with his boyfriend by way of a dramatic school transfer across the ocean. During Calvin's first months at Gooseberry, he thought he could arrive on the scene and rule this artsy American school. Instead, he was quickly knocked down a few pegs, finding that there were plenty of students bigger, stronger, and cooler than him. One of them was Sy Stoker, who would spend the next year and a half bullying him. Calvin's venomous personality didn't win anyone over, and most attempts to reach out to the troubled exchange student were met with anger and cruel words. The only student who managed to get through to him was Regan Hobbs.

And yet, his pride wouldn't allow him to admit that he hated Gooseberry and had made the wrong decision. He wrote back to England to Sam and his family with tales of how much he loved it in America, and how popular he was. The only person at home who knew better was his brother, Damon. That moment of honesty and the shared secret reminded Calvin that Dimi was still there for him.

SOPHOMORE YEAR. Sophomore year went much like freshman year at first. Sylvester Stoker bullied him, Regan Hobbs was his friend, and Micah St. Clair chased him for attention. But Calvin was softening, and his group of friends started to grow. Sy had stopped bullying him after getting in trouble for an elaborate series of pranks. Calvin eventually began dating his roommate, Cole Moss, and joined in on the adventures of his fellow sophomores. It was harmless at first. He made awkward appearances at parties, he got drunk for the first time, and attempts at seances in the woods. Calvin began a sophomore Quidditch league with Micah, and planned to try out for Ribbonfin's team. And then, much to Calvin's elation, Damon arrived at Gooseberry midway through the year. Across the world, Damon's friend group had crumbled, and he'd left Hogwarts behind to go to Gooseberry when a spot opened up.

The paranormal activity in the woods was increasing, but it didn't seem serious until Dimi had a harrowing vision of Calvin jumping out a window. Calvin was fine, but the incident terrified the brothers. Their parents weren't pleased either, and they told Calvin that he wouldn't be allowed to return to Gooseberry. The news was devastating for Calvin, who felt like everything he was looking forward to had just been ripped away. He began to behave erratically, ending things with Cole and threatening to break serious rules and skip prom. The stress of leaving and fears that Dimi had attracted the attention of something malicious began to wear on him.

It also contributed to Calvin pushing his peers to keep attempting to contact the creatures in the woods. Calvin thought if they could solve the problem, Dimi would be safe, and maybe he'd be allowed to stay. This led to a shocking incident where they contacted the spirit of a boy who'd been accidentally killed by one of the forest spirits. It was a merely a taste of what was in store. Calvin was one of the students that was abducted by the anonymous writer, forcing Dimi to go into the forest to rescue him.

Calvin was found, and was one of students who ended up descending into the mines to retrieve the heart of the older forest spirit. Hearing the mimic remind Calvin of exactly what kind of person he really is was a harrowing note to end the year on.

(Some notable relationships: Calvin considered Regan Hobbs his best friend after she was the first person to get through to him when he arrived at Gooseberry, but they've drifted apart recently. Despite reacting poorly to Micah St. Clair's crush on him, Calvin and Micah have since become close and do a lot of Artificing projects together. He dated Cole Moss for a few months last year, and only broke up after thinking he wouldn't return for his junior year. He counts Hazel Keating and Estella Morales-Tran as close friends. Historically, Calvin struggles to befriend other boys, but has something that passes for a friendship with Cassius Holcomb and Ramon Delgado. Sybilla Borgin is/was romantically involved with his favourite older brother, Damon.)

LAST SUMMER. Calvin spent his summer assuming he wasn't coming back to Gooseberry, and spent his summer hiding away from everyone. Only Damon had any luck getting him to socialise. Most of his time was spent on Beater practice in order to hopefully steal a spot on the Slytherin team. He even began experimenting with dressing up more, ignoring any comments from his younger brothers. He needed to show up at Hogwarts looking like a NEW AND IMPROVED Calvin, home from two years abroad. But then all of his plans changed again: his parents relented, and agreed to let him resume schooling at Gooseberry. Ashamed of what a big fuss was made over him leaving, Calvin froze. He was uncertain of how to tell his friends in American that he was coming back. In a mistaken attempt to not make this a big deal, Calvin opted not to tell them at all.