AN ENTIRE DAY of unproductivity. it was unheard of. every minute more she spent smothered beneath her blanket, her guilt grew tenfold. yet she couldn’t muster the energy nor the strength to venture out and face the world. it was not a hangover that trapped her, but shame. how could she? did she? was it all some sick nightmare? she desperately wished. 

      as evening inched closer, holly knew she couldn’t go the entire day without eating. she only hoped she’d avoid seeing any slytherins (well, one in particular) or hufflepuffs (two, to be exact). nose buried in a book as she shuffled to the great hall, she prayed to merlin she’d simply blend in with the (admittedly sparse) group of ravenclaws she’d ducked between. gaze peeked over the covers of her novel, she scanned for any sightings, locking in on a familiar pair of orange and blonde heads. at least they were ahead of her, at least people didn’t have eyes in the back of their heads, at least he was- 

      shit. book discarded to the floor, holly sprinted forward faster than she’d ever had in her entire life. slipping between either sister, she linked arms with them, pulling forward at a brisk pace - far, far away from the demon of a man she observed approaching them. 

      ‘ good evening, girls!! ’ she greeted, abnormally cheery. so much for staying under the radar.  ‘ i’m absolutely famished, what an... awful party, hm? i mean i drank far too much. i’m still under the weather. are you? how about you, nessie, you alright? ’

                   EMERY TILTED HIS HEAD, SLIGHT ROLL OF THE EYES after all if that was the answer, then why ask the question he thought to himself as he watched the other. ‘ well then why ask if you should ? you already made your mind up’ he informed, trying his utmost to keep the condescending parent out of his tone. because she was having fun, and he was at least, amused. there was no need to spoil it so soon. ‘ i suppose i hadn’t thought of it like that but now that you mention it i can certainly see what you mean’ he replied in thought, it was ironic really, the girl was about two sheets to the wind already and clearly wasn’t trying to sound philosophical but it was the first thing she had said so far that impressed emery. however if she really thought he was going to support her just because of their shared house in this then he felt a slight urge to scoff, it went against what their house was well known for entirely being….well, smart. 

       ‘ i’m always right, especially when it comes to alcohol’ he drawls in response, watching her movements lazily as he picks at the popcorn on the snack table. ‘ so what should we do now ? wait for you to start having fun ? to be fair, you will. but it’ll be the regrettable kind of fun, in the morning. you know, the dancing on tables, nearly stripping, breaking several bones on the walk home kind’ he teases with a charming smile. 

      HIS WORDS DROWNED out as the party noise seemed to swell and the once sensible ravenclaw found herself using every ounce of strength to fight the urge to either throw up or pass out. hands placed firmly against the tabletop to steady herself, holly stared intently at the ground. god, this was embarrassing. though it wasn’t just her tolerance, she’d neglected to eat much that day. which in reality... was still her fault. 

｡:゜☆｡ ･ﾟﾟ･｡. “i’m drunk?!” she nearly screamed, not knowing how to process this new piece of ( obvious ) information. “i-i’ve never been drunk!! wh-what do i do?? oh, this is bonkers!! should i sleep it off here?? – w-why are you smiling so much and why are you touching my cheek?? you’re scaring me, holly–” holly rarely ever smiled. “y-you’re not holly are you!! who are you imposter!! reveal yourself!!” pointing her wand backwards toward her friend. “i-i’ll have you know, i’m quite good at spells a-and, if you’re a demon!! i’ve watched many exorcism videos on youtube, i know what i’m doing!!” she began sloppily waving her wand in a cross motion. “the power of christ compels you, demon!!”

three things. there are a total of three things that holiday cha seems to do better than her sisters (more accurately, the shy and demure wednesday). seems to strike interest in alphonse the easiest. hook, line, and sinker. first, the crinkle in her nose, contorted with ire, doesn’t the slightest bit help readily soft features. reminds him almost of their family dog. second, the way she spats his name. positively vile. (relatively endearing). perhaps it’s just been a while, and alphonse has grown in terms of masochistic tendencies—but holiday cha and her white hot fury has him tickled. held captive, for lack of better terms.

three—and this alphonse notes with mounting amusement, the grip around his wrist, the pull that draws him away from the small blonde (head turning to wink in her direction)—her temper. 

he hadn’t been one for violence, blind fists in fits of anger is more dad’s specialty than it is alphonse’s. on most days, he’s gone as far to avoid it. but when the perpetrator is someone like holiday, who—at her very best efforts—remained more adorable than intimidating. he didn’t care all too much at all.

of course, that might just have to do with her demeanor than anything.

alphonse knows a little lamb when he sees one.

“where are you taking me?” mused wryly, it is a question that alphonse didn’t expect an answer to, simply allowing the younger girl to lead them wherever she may see fit. as it was, the more things seemed to unravel, the more he grew invested in seeing things through. 

without much resistance on his part, the two found their way to one of the many walkways, his shoulders rubbing harshly against cold wet concrete with the shove. an action that would’ve proved annoying, had she not quickly lost her balance right after. his hand reaches out regardless to steady her, remaining on her hip for a while longer. “i’m not “tormenting” anyone, holiday.” her name sounds like a promise for more on his tongue, lips settling for something smug. “do you know how jealous you sound right now?” alphonse has to pace himself, forgo the urge to sneer. 

“is that why you brought me out here? away from the party, just you and me—” he leans forward, thumb brushing over her hip absently. alphonse is attentive with the way he regards her, a hint of coy evident in his tone, aimed to tease. “don’t tell me this was your plan all along…”

      SHE WISHED HER expression wasn’t betraying her so brutally. she justified the heat spreading across her face as an effect of her drinking rather than his words. she refused to let him get to her. she refused to lose. the audacity of the twins, of this one especially - which ever one he was - astounded her. enraged her. yet her confidence had begun to fall as her thoughts became less coherent. she found herself scrambling to formulate a complete sentence in her own head let alone speak. 

      ‘ why would i be jealous? ’ she finally snapped back, brows knitting so tightly she was nearly giving herself a migraine. even repeating that sentiment left an awful taste in her mouth. jealous. jealous of what, exactly? there was nothing to be jealous of. ‘ the only thing i’m feeling right now is anger and... and the only thing i feel when i see you is disgust. don’t flatter yourself. ’ her normal dry delivery of speech had increased several pitches, she rarely spoke passionately but these were vital circumstances.

     holly found herself swaying again and cursed her lack of self restraint. if there was ever a more essential moment to be sober, this was it. yet she found herself almost melting, into the floor and into... alfie’s hand. when had he placed it there? it almost felt nice to have someone steadying her. she so often stood alone. 

      wait. 

｡:゜☆｡ ･ﾟﾟ･｡. “r-really?? you really mean it?? no take backs!! or i’ll ask my sister to curse you too!! – WAIT–” pulling away from holly for a moment. “are you drunk!?” sniffing her a few times before pulling away again. “eee – this is the worst!! you won’t know how to get out of here!! and my boyfriend isn’t a sagittarius!!” straightening out her jacket. “i’ve told you many times he’s an aries sun, capricorn moon and a rising scorpio!! why don’t you ever listen to me!!” she completely removes herself from her friend, taking deep breaths. “this is making me feel so stressed!! you know i don’t do well with stress!!” on the verge of tears, yet again. “last time i felt this stressed was when someone found my musically account and made fun of me– do you know how horrible it is explaining to people why you make videos of yourself lip syncing to post malone and azealia banks?? it’s the worst!!”  

wednesday cha remains his to play with. it’s evident from the way her shoulders tense, body language cold in contrast to the slightest bit of pink that dusts her cheeks. even now, inebriation clouding both of their minds, the dynamics hasn’t changed. positions in power hasn’t changed. the way alphonse reaches out, fingers delicate in the way they pinch at the fabric of her sleeve, impish smirk in place, compliment on his tongue—hasn’t changed. 

and, like clockwork, holiday makes her entrance shortly after.

“we’re just having a conversation, holiday.” the “innocence” in his tone is meant to be tantalizing, alphonse is brazen in the way he plays with fire. picks at the nerves of these cha sisters. he and ambrose has a bet, you see. to see who caves in to them first.

and alphonse seldom played to lose.

“you don’t have to be so aggressive,” his gaze flicks over to the quiet blonde beside him while his arm snakes around her waist, smile almost cat-like the way he leans in, slouching to lazily rest his head on the smaller girl’s shoulder. it’s always too easy with these two. “nessie and i are friends—so, there’s no need to be a shrew.” alphonse hums, meeting the ravenclaw’s eyes. “or for you to stay, actually.”

      UNACCEPTABLE. it was a wonder how this demon managed to survive this long without anyone punching that pretty face of his. she’d be the first volunteer to do the honor of breaking his stupidly perfect nose. if only holiday had the confidence to resort to violence. perhaps a fist fight was too drastic, besides, her height did not offer her much of an advantage. 

      instead, her hand shoots out to grab his arm. the mere sight of the other getting so comfortable with nessie inducing her with an uncontrollable rage. ‘ get off of her. ’ for a considerably intoxicated bookworm, holly’s grip was surprisingly strong, though she still needed to enlist the help of her other arm to completely pull the man away from her sister. 

      but she wasn’t done yet. she needed to get him as far away from nessie as possible, or at least give her sister enough time to disappear into the party. a hand is wrapped firmly around alfie’s wrist as the ravenclaw purposefully dragged him across the chamber. had she grown superhuman strength suddenly or was he not putting up much of a fight? 

Nose scrunches up at her comment, the vaguest of a smirk ghosting his lips as he shrugs.  ❝  I think it’d be more of a glitter fight. It’d be fun to use a sneezing charm and then throw it at those … ,   ❞ he pauses, thoughtful for a moment,  ❝  I’m not so fond of.  ❞  Of course, in his sober state, he knew better than to do that. Still, the thought was tempting.  ❝  But I’ll let you know either way, you’d probably get a kick out of it.  ❞ Eyes watch as she refills her goblet, head cocking slightly as he debated with himself. He suppose to be staying sober, a drink-off with Holiday would more than likely lead to the opposite of that happening but it did sound fun. But, ah, she said bet and he wasn’t one to back out of challenges  —  no matter how trivial. And drinking wasn’t trivial in his books, he did claim to have a high tolerance for alcohol. ❝  I wasn’t planning on drinking much,  ❞  he downs the remainder of his own goblet, pouring more into it afterward,  ❝  but I’m a sore loser and losing by default just isn’t my style, so I’ll take that bet. Don’t feel bad when I drink you under the table,   ❞  he winks, bringing his cup back to his lips.

      THE IMAGE OF a glitter fight manages to draw a chuckle from holiday. ‘ hmm.. even better, a glitter duel. ’ she honestly hoped to merlin that daehyun would decide upon it later, the party was dragging on to be incredibly dull. there’d never been much to these sorts of things that holly ever enjoyed, besides drinking (clearly). she never cared for the music, the dancing, the socializing or whatever else went on. in the end it was just too many people stuffed into one room sweating on one another. 

EMERY HAS NO CLUE how he has even ended up next to this girl, he’s fairly certain that he has never spoken to her in his life before now. alcohol was wicked though, because apparently he didn’t need to know someone to end up being in their personal space, especially since the drinks were right next to her so he is sort of convinced he was actually here for that originally. ‘ i don’t think that anyone implied you were ’ was his only response, eyes flickering to the double fisted firewhiskey’s in her grasp. she really did not want to be drinking any more of that, seriously how much truth serum laced forbidden fruit could one desire. ‘ do you want to chug them ? considering they don’t look entirely like your average firewhiskey brew, i’d just drink it at a moderate pace. it’s going to get you drunk either way you know. rushing it won’t make a difference, alcohol takes its hold when it chooses not at the rate you pace yourself ’ he informed, giving the other a knowing look, that she was drinking more for the sake of adaptation than enjoyment. it was pretty clear this girl didn’t party or drink a lot. 

      IT WASN’T THE answer she was looking for. nor was it the person she was looking for. ‘ obviously i want to chug them. ’ holly retorted with a frown. that warm sensation in the pit of her stomach from her first drink had begun to spread making her just tipsy enough to find conversation a good idea (though still not tipsy enough to be having fun). ‘ just thought a challenge might make it more fun. isn’t that what this whole ordeal’s supposed to be? ’ her eyes narrowed, surely a fellow ravenclaw could of at least thrown her a bone. she was the only one that’d have pay for the consequences of this anyways. never mind him. she didn’t need anyone’s support to... chug... unhealthy amounts of alcohol. screw it. 

          oh, this is bad. she can’t even pin the blame on the potion. after all, those words are from her thoughts. “ i didn’t say it was your fault, and you aren’t the worst. no one is. ” she protests weakly. nessie isn’t the type to argue, not even with her siblings. no matter how serious it is, so she tries to keep it in, she really does. she’s been doing such a great job at hiding it as well. yet, it forces its way out before she can stop it. “ but good sisters don’t usually hook up with the very person who finds joy in bothering their sister, do they? ” and the cat has officially been thrown out of the bag. 

｡:゜☆｡ ･ﾟﾟ･｡. “save me from the spiders!!” she cried, relieved someone much more braver than her had appeared. “get me out of here!! i want my boyfriend!!” clinging onto holly. she didn’t want the other to abandon her, she would make sure of it. despite being a sensitive crybaby, she had a tight grip. “d-d-do you know how to get out?? please tell me you do!! i’m too young to die!! i haven’t been to an ariana grande concert yet!! maybe millie bobby brown and jacob sartorius will get back together, but i would never know because i’d be dead!!”

｡:゜☆｡ ･ﾟﾟ･｡. “h-h-holly, holly!!” she ran up to her friend, nearly crying. “i-i think i’m cursed!!” throwing herself at the girl, wanting to be comforted, despite knowing holly will most likely push her away. “i’ve seen so many spiders tonight. i think my sister cursed me!!” blaming her sister for every minor inconvenience she has, easily becoming one of her habits. “this is all so bonkers!! what should i do?? should i curse her back?? how do you even curse someone that’s so far away!! she’s so evil, why won’t she leave me alone!!” 

xx. @holiliday

      NO. SIMPLY NO. even in a state of extreme intoxication, holiday could recognize a situation that did not sit right, one that needed immediate amending. by her. the determined ravenclaw rolled up her sleeves, pushing and stumbling through the crowd separating her between her sister and the demon in a suit, better known as alfie. or ambrose. like she could tell, or care.  

      ‘ excuse me. ’ the journey to the duo had felt strenuous despite only taking a minute (if even). regardless, it left her a little breathless and swaying - more a comment on her level of drunkenness than stamina. she took a step between the pair in an attempt to protectively shield nessie, craning her neck to direct her glare at the twin. ‘ what exactly is going on here? i told you- you and your brother, to stay away from her! forever!! i meant it. ’ so what nessie and her weren’t on the best of terms at the moment, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t take care of her. 

          nessie really shouldn’t have picked the firewhisky. her eyes widen at the accusation and she shakes her head. “ what — no. i meant, like, no one listens to me anyway. literally. ” merlin, her filter has completely disappeared. “ but that doesn’t make you a bad sister. just a bad listener — oh my gosh. ugh. bad choice of words — ” she reaches for a cherry tart, promptly stuffing it in her mouth before she can dig her grave any deeper. “ i’ll shut up now. ”

      HOLLY HAD REACHED peak irritation. no, she’d reached that long ago. this was something else. panic, perhaps? she’d allowed herself to get swallowed up by the meat of the party - the dancers and those practically dry humping in plain view. disgusting. she’d lost chacha long ago, though she’d never held any hope that she’d remain in sight for the entirety of the party. nessie was.... another issue to deal with entirely. this left holly entirely alone and for once she wished she wasn’t. at this point she’d settle for any familiar face to serve as a life preserver. literally anyone. and her prayers were answered. 

          it’s entertaining, to say the least. she had no intentions in partaking in the actual festivities, even though she did come out of her own volition. after the whole truth serum in the firewhisky fiasco, nessie’s resorted to just drinking the juice, which she’s certain is spiked with something alcoholic, but better that than some other potion. that’s how she found herself in the company of her younger sister by the drinks table. “ sure, go for it. it’s not like you’ll listen to me if i say otherwise. ” the last sentence was meant to stay in her head, but the truth serum makes it come out before she can stop it. she offers holly a small, apologetic smile. “ sorry. ”

❝  I’ve got glitter in my pockets,  ❞  he doesn’t prove it, his hands remain wrapped around his drink, but it’s in there alright.  ❝  I dunno if that’s me being festive or just an excuse to blow it in a few people’s eyes.  ❞  People who pissed him off, because in his books they deserved it. And, well, it tied his confusing look together. No one would guess what he’s went as, and it made the explanation easier. ❝  Ah, I knew there was a good reason I don’t dislike you,  ❞  he hums, bringing his own cup to his lips. He thinks while he swishes the liquid around his mouth, swallows and then shrugs.  ❝  I came with Anna.  ❞  That was more of a ruse than anything else. He shakes his head, kind of pointless to feel guilty this far along. He raises a brow at her, curious,  ❝  are you planning on getting drunk ? I guess that’s one way to force yourself into enjoying this.  ❞  He gives a half scoff, half chuckle.

    ‘ WELL, let me know when or if you decide to start the glitter show. i’d love to see it. would make this whole thing more interesting. ’ she scrutinized the other’s outfit for a moment, though she didn’t care enough to ask. she supposed he looked fashionable enough and that’s all anyone cared about. obviously excluding her little sister’s ridiculous bear trio. 

      ‘ thanks. ’ she muffles the desire to express she’s pleased by this, forcing more firewhiskey down her throat. what’s this? holly rarely ever cared for what others thought of her... though perhaps she held certain individuals to a higher value than others, especially ones she could almost consider... friends. ‘ anna, right. ’ a fellow ravenclaw, good taste. 

          drinking at parties was a giant issue for moonbin. he continuously told himself that he wouldn’t go overboard with his drinks and really hold his alcohol. perhaps he was being a tad too optimistic once he made those forms of ( empty ) guarantees, since each single time he found himself drowning in alcohol and playing the role of a complete fool in his own book. oh, not a lightweight? that’s nice, i am, he thought as he detected a voice to his side, drinking yet a bit more from whatever it was he was holding, and as he turned his head to be able to examine the source of the voice from just seconds ago, his eyebrows were slightly raised in surprise, but a smile grew on his lips without much delay. ❝ sure! i dare you to chug those. ❞