𝚃𝙴𝙰𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚄 𝙰𝚂𝚄𝙽𝙳𝙴𝚁!

OWLMSG INCOMING

〈 ✉ → sms 〉oh you’re telling me you haven’t heard of the bcu?

〈 ✉ → sms 〉i’m ashamed you’re not as invested in bratz as i am and that’s on you not me

“who needs four and a half cups of olives?” benjy yelled at a retreating figure before throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. where was he even going to get four and a half cups of olives? he turns around looking for a familiar face in the crowd and letting out a relieved sigh when he sees one but he keeps an ear out for an explanation as he approaches  — unsure if he’d even hear one over the thumping music.

“please tell me that you just happen to have almost five cups of olives on you, right now.” he started with an attempt at a pleading look on his face. he still didn’t understand why the other even needed that many olives and was praying for an explanation.

    *    ❛   funnily  enough,        i  just  ran  out  of  my  supply.   ❜         she takes pity on him,      a grin playing on her lips.         ❛   buuuut  i  might  know  where  you  can  find  some.   ❜         she holds out her arm for his own to link through,      tipping her head in what she hopes is the right direction.         ❛   come  on,        then.           i  can  promise  almost  five  cups  of  olives  and  a  good  time,        right  this  way.             [   . . .   ]             not  that  kind  of  good  time   !   ❜        she uses her free hand to knock against her skull.

𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞  was  such  a  foreign  feeling  for  the  lad  but  he  felt  it  clearly  and  only  at  it’s  most  powerful  while  in  the  presence  of  lily  —  he  compared  the  feeling  she  brought  him  to  that  fleeting  flash  of  green  as  the  sun  dipped  beneath  the  horizon.  it  was  rare  …  brilliant  …  beautiful.  it  was  easy  to  get  lost  in  this  bliss  and  drown  out  the  sounds  around  him,  her  voice  and  her  company  lulled  him  into  a  partial  sleep  though,  it  wouldn’t  take  much  to  bring  him  back.  hence  the  scrunch  of  his  nose  in  response  to  the  tapping  against  his  head,  irritation  clear  in  the  brief  shift  in  his  features.  “  i  enjoy  the  lessons,  ”  he  whispers  just  loud  enough  for  her  to  hear,  certain  to  add  his  irritated  undertones  just  because  he  could.

“  it’s  your  bubbly  personality  that  sucks  the  life  out  of  me,  dearest  lily,  ”  he  retorts,  while  only  remaining  still  for  a  moment  longer  before  he  peeks  at  her  through  one  eye.  it’s  an  energy  reserved  for  lily  evans  and  lily  evans  only.  so,  in  order  to  shield  it  from  passersby  he  finally  sits  up  and  conceals  all  signs  of  the  smile  threatening  to  show.  “  what  is  it  you  wanted  again?  perhaps  instead  you  should  share  it  with  the  grindylows,  they’d  be  less  inclined  to  run  should  you  speak  to  them  at  the  edge  of  the  lake.  ”

    *    watching  him  doze,      untroubled in a way he never quite is within the sanctuary of hogwarts,      unfurls a likened tranquility in her.         it’s almost enchanting,      watching the rise and fall of his chest,      his heart      (and  thus  her  own)      secure somewhere in there.         but she can’t help but be a menace.         after all,      she’s been chasing his reactions since she was six and just learning the ropes of pigtail pulling.

the scrunch of his nose only makes her all the more delighted,      fingers shifting direction to poke at the slope down to the button.         ❛   yeah,        yeah.           how  could  i  ever  forget  i’ve  got  the  hogwarts  swot  in  my  company   ?           how  many  o’s  did  you  get  again   ?   ❜         she punctuates her words with more pokes,      strategically going for the well - mapped ticklish spots on his chest.

aurelia’s eyes rolled again before returning to the book in front of her. “well if you’re such a master in dealing with pests, than you should be aware of when you’re being one.” with an overly dramatic flip of the page, they offered lily a terse smile as if trying to will the other into going away. 

“oh you’re so right, i really wish i had the ability to shriek like a banshee, that must get you so far.” her expression betrayed the fact that she didn’t really believe what she was saying. “i mean, really, however will i live?” they took a moment to think, “oh right, i guess i’ll just have to live with my inheritance accounts, silly me. and hey, i’m sure you could get a job making howlers, you definitely have the voice for it!”

    *    ❛   ouch,        aurelia.           careful  not  to  scratch  too  hard  with  those  manicured  claws     -     we  wouldn’t  want  you  to  break  a  nail.   ❜

          lily tried not to make it a habit to pick a bone with randoms after the unfortunate incident in fourth year.         that’s why debate team was so good for the soul;      it allowed her to shed every clot of bad blood that stuck to her like a pesky leech between meetings.         it sure beat wack meditation,      at the very least.         however,      all that hard work was undone by bumping into the same stuck - up clone that had their stink eye set on her in the club outside of it.         in her domain of    peace   !          (ignoring  the  fact  that  lily  started  it.)

“well, whatever made you think that?” she asks, not even glancing up from the book that they’re holding instead merely flipping to the next page. a hand flicks away lily’s, annoyance flashing across aurelia’s face as she turns to look at the other.  “indeed. say, did your parents never teach you about hands-off, respect on?”

“which answer is going to get you to leave me alone faster?” binns isn’t a professor that aurelia has hard opinions on, his period has always been a good time to work on other assignments. “or better question, did you suck some of his life force to make yourself more interesting?”

    *    there’s a single eyebrow raising to heights unknown on her face,      but she ignores it in favor of tamping down the smirk on her lips,      eyes lazily following the offending gesture snapped her way.         ❛   y’know,        that  sounds  familiar,        but  they  also  taught  me  to  bat  away  flies,        so  you  do  what  you’ve  gotta  do,        right   ?   ❜

her  mind  is  elsewhere;  a  mile  a  minute  as  it  usually  does,  brain  cells  withering  with  every  moment  that  she  spends  listening  to  lily  instead  of  paying  attention  to  the  pages  before  her.  if  hestia  were  a  color,  it’d  be  the  most  average  shade  of  grey,  compared  to  the  courageous  swipe  of  maroon  and  yellow  that  lily  is.  her  fingers  trail  down  the  page  of  the  book  before  her,  the  page  of  hand  taken  notes  tucked  into  the  page  underneath  as  she  raises  her  head  to  look  at  lily  –  a  look  of  shock  has  molded  itself  onto  her  features  over  her  standard  –  plainness.            “    what?    ”

finally    …    lily’s  words  catch  up  to  her  and  hestia  shakes  her  head.  a  firm  hand  goes  to  her  flushed  cheeks,  the  back  of  her  hand  pressing  against  the  soft  heat  as  her  brows  draw  together  tightly.    “  why?  oh  my  god,  i  look  horrible,  don’t  i?  is  it  my  hair?  you  know,  actually,  i’m  trying  out  this  new  makeup  look,  ”    she  lies  –  about  the  makeup.    “  i  don’t  look  TIRED,  do  i?  you  have  to  lie  if  i  do.  ”

    *    the  smile  that  is  perpetually  gracious  on  bitten  lips    is growing dimmer with every word catapulting out of hestia’s mouth.         finally,      lily can’t take it anymore and a hand rises to cup the girl’s other cheek to complete the matching set,      though there’s a softness in the gesture that hestia lacked in bringing to her own face.         (lily dutifully ignores that.         a lecture in self - love is the last thing she'll be adding to her plate,      however fundamental it may be.         she’ll save it for a rainy day with treacle tarts and hot chocolates galore.)         ❛   jesus,        hez.           take  a  breath,   will  you   ?           the  only  new  makeup  look  you’ll  be  sporting  at  this  rate  will  be  the  one  the  mortician  picks  out  for  you.   ❜         she allows a moment for some levity to breathe into the space between them,      before pinching the cheek she’s commandeered and removing her hand altogether.     

there is something wrong with the cupcake.

he doesn’t mean to ignore lily. usually, when she enters a room, it’s difficult to look away from her, even if it’s equally difficult to stare right at her – like someone abruptly drawing the curtains in the morning, or when a sliver of light reflects off glass into your eyes. but this time he’s spared being blinded. xenophilius is very much distracted by the cupcake in his hand, enough that when her knuckles rap against the side of his head he startles and says it out loud.

“there’s something wrong with this cupcake.“

his ears turn pink all at once. it’s a silly thing to say, and to keep more strange things from being said he takes a bite of it – chewing once with his mouth open, then closed. when he can speak again after swallowing he asks, “maybe it’s … drugged? there are leaves baked into it.” he holds it out to her.

    *    ❛   oh   ?    is  that  why  you’ve  been  starting  at  it  like  its  grown  dancing  tentacles   ?   ❜      she laughs then,      but not the mocking kind,      never with xeno.         more that there’s a joke and she’s happy to be in on it      -      though she can’t help but be concerned he isn’t.

she watches,      enraptured and a touch alarmed,      as he offers himself up in spirit of the experiment,      the objection at his lack of vigilance long - abandoned in her throat.      then,      a single eyebrow quirks as he proffers the cupcake to her,      another smile itching on her lips at the absurdity.       ❛   right,        because  both  of  us  going  to  town  on  a  drugged  cupcake  is  definitely  the  right  move.   ❜       but before her words can even begin to take effect,      she snatches it out of his hand and into her own,      taking a large bite out of side,      frosting smearing her lips.         after about an exaggerated ten seconds of thoughtful chewing,      she soundly swallows and holds it back out,      tongue peeking out the side of her mouth in jest.

𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻       :       utp     ,       hogwarts     .

𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲       :       post   first   day   of   classes     /       sept   2     .

    *    ❛   it’s  a  new  dawn,        it’s  a  new  day,        it’s  a  new  life  for  me,        ‘n   i’m  feeling      [   ...   ]      like  this  energy  is  not  being  reciprocated.   ❜         she pouts,      lips pushing out dramatically to seal the    puss  in  boots    act.         ❛   should  i  go  from  the  top  or  am  i  just  wasting  my  voice  and  my  time   ?   ❜         she pauses,      waits a second,      then fingers,      of their own accord,      go to knock against their skull,      gently.         ❛   hellooooo,        anyone  home   ?   ❜         she smiles,      like you would at a growling bear,      with a hint of    concern    and    caution.

:    ⏤    𝙰𝙻𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙾.

I would kill you. ✧ I would physically hurt you. ✧ I would attack you unprovoked. ✧ I would manipulate you. ✧ I dislike you. ✧ You annoy me. ✧ You scare me. ✧ You intimidate me. ✧ I hope I intimidate you. ✧ I pity you. ✧ You disgust me. ✧ I hate you. ✧ I’m indifferent toward you. ✧ I’d like to get to know you better. ✧   I’d like to spend more time with you. ✧ I’d like to be friends with you. ✧  I’m unsure what to think of you. ✧ I’m unsure how I feel about you. ✧ You are my friend. ✧ You are my best friend. ✧ You are my mentor. ✧ I look up to you. ✧ I respect you. ✧ You are my hero. ✧ You inspire me. ✧ You are my enemy. ✧ You make me happy. ✧ I want to protect you. ✧ I would fight by your side. ✧ I consider you an equal. ✧ I think you are beneath me. ✧ I think you are above me. ✧ I would lie for you. ✧ I would lie to you. ✧ I would sleep with you. ✧ I would sleep by your side. ✧ I would hug you. ✧ I would kiss you. ✧ You are family to me. ✧ I would die for you. ✧ I would kill for you. ✧ I would trust you with my life. ✧ I would trust you with my most precious belonging. ✧ I would trust you with a secret. ✧ I would trust you with my biggest / darkest secret. ✧ I love you (platonically). ✧ I love you (romantically).

:    ⏤    𝙹𝙰𝙼𝙴𝚂.

I would kill you. ✧ I would physically hurt you. ✧ I would attack you unprovoked. ✧ I would manipulate you. ✧ I dislike you. ✧ You annoy me. ✧ You scare me. ✧ You intimidate me. ✧ I hope I intimidate you. ✧ I pity you. ✧ You disgust me. ✧ I hate you. ✧ I’m indifferent toward you. ✧ I’d like to get to know you better. ✧   I’d like to spend more time with you. ✧ I’d like to be friends with you. ✧  I’m unsure what to think of you. ✧ I’m unsure how I feel about you. ✧ You are my friend. ✧ You are my best friend. ✧ You are my mentor. ✧ I look up to you. ✧ I respect you. ✧ You are my hero. ✧ You inspire me. ✧ You are my enemy. ✧ You make me happy. ✧ I want to protect you. ✧ I would fight by your side. ✧ I consider you an equal. ✧ I think you are beneath me. ✧ I think you are above me. ✧ I would lie for you. ✧ I would lie to you. ✧ I would sleep with you. ✧ I would sleep by your side. ✧ I would hug you. ✧ I would kiss you. ✧ You are family to me. ✧ I would die for you. ✧ I would kill for you. ✧ I would trust you with my life. ✧ I would trust you with my most precious belonging. ✧ I would trust you with a secret. ✧ I would trust you with my biggest / darkest secret. ✧ I love you (platonically). ✧ I love you (romantically).

:    ⏤    𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙰.