it's all meaningless now

“can ya’ skip to the part where i’m supposed to give a shit because transfiguration is really kicking me in the ass and i’m CLEARLY not great at multitasking–”

“ well, see, every person’s threshold for giving a shit is completely different. what if I skip for you but I skip ahead too far and you haven’t heard enough to give a shit? “

          ❛   alright  ,   honest  opinions  only   ━━━   ❜    ariel  began  ,   holding  the  dress  up  against  her  slim  (  and  ever  thinning  )  frame  .     ❛   what’d  we  thing  ?   slutty  enough  while  still  conservative  or  just  plain  whore  ?   ❜

“you missed the food?  that’s it?”  jasper watched, enthralled as nate set his copy of the prophet on fire.  “nothing else?  not even a certain best friend of yours?  i’m offended, nate.”

“ you know what, you’re probably right to be offended, “  nate conceded with a small smile and shrug in jasper’s direction.  “ thanks for reminding me I haven’t caught up with ollie yet. “

                        ❛ you’re not wrong about that. even with everything going on, this place just feels more… homey, than my actual home. ❜ although, the more she thought about it, the more it seemed that had less to do with the house elves and more to do with the situation she was currently living in. her family didn’t ever make her feel the best when she was at home. ❛ well, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to try at least. i’m sure i’ll figure something out. and don’t worry, i will keep you in the loop as well. ❜  

                   “ yeah. I tried to get away to my mother’s family’s house in louisiana if just to be away from my grandfather and talk of the shop, and when I’m going to start taking it seriously. “  nate shrugged, pasting a tight grin onto his face. he’d been unsuccessful in that attempted escape; his dad wouldn’t allow it, and so the break was as future - filled as ever. he really was happy to be back; happy to pretend that his life could be his own for a few months longer.  “ worse case scenario they tell you nothing and we get to share the baked goods they’d give you in consolation anyway. win - win. “

                  ❝    no;  if  i  wanted  to  die  during  sex,  i  could  get  that  anywhere.  the  vampire  would  hardly  be  necessary.   ❞   she  noted  his  lack  of  answer,  but  decided  not  to  comment  on  it   —   she  hadn’t  really  cared  that  much  to  begin  with.    ❝   i’d  much  prefer  something  senseless;  more  tragic  that  way,  no ?   ❞

                   “  not fucking true, “  nate said, pointing an emphatic at freya. he let it drop with a careless shrug and raised his eyebrows at her before he continued.  “ listen. sure. anyone could kill you during sex. but you just said it yourself  ---  you wanna be exsanguinated! and only a vampire could do that and sleep with you at the same time. personally, I’d prefer the newness of the experience over any perceived tragedy. “

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[ nate — alena: 8:29pm ]  are we absolutely sure the stairs to the girls dorm will turn into a slide if i try and take refuge with you? [ nate — alena: 8:30pm ]  the way some of the guys talk makes me never want to be unconscious around them ever again, alena, i swear. it’s enough to make me want to sleep in the common room for the rest of the year and i’m not even a target of it 

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[ nate — alena: 12:41am ]  hey, how does a late night run to the kitchens sound to you right now? 

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❝    have  you  ever  thought  of  how  you’d  like  to  die   ?   ❞     the  question  lacked  tact,  given  recent  events,  but  tact  wasn’t  freya’s  best  quality  to  begin  with.  she  tapped  her  fingers  against  her  chin,  turning  the  idea  over  for  herself.      ❝    i  think  i’d  quite  like  to  be  exsanguinated.  i’ve  heard  vampire  bites  are  quite  fun,  before  the  actual  dying  part.    ❞

              nate decided he was going to ignore the actual question part of freya’s question   ---  it wasn’t a topic he was fond of thinking of, inevitable though it was. the past year had sort of put him off the fun of lighthearted death questions. still, he leaned back in his seat and looked at her for a solid handful of seconds before he said,  “ when you say  ‘ fun, ‘  are you really saying you’d like to fuck a vampire and then go out in the middle of your kinky vampire sex? “

                     she was grateful for nate and his friendship, despite the circumstances they were thrown into. she was more grateful, however, that he was still here, at the school. it seemed as if the school’s numbers had dwindled down since the murders, and it was a relief he was still right beside her, like everything was normal. ❛ you’re not wrong. it’s probably the one thing i still enjoy about this place. i’ve got to wonder about their secrets, there must be a reason why it’s so good. maybe i ought to ask about it. ❜ not that she ever cooked a day in her life. something for the house elves at home, perhaps. it was an idea she’d have to keep in the back of her mind for now.

                  “ the food and the beds, I swear, “  nate agreed.  “ they’ve never really changed and neither has my love for them. whatever the classes and the students may have in store for you, those are always a comfort. “  he paused and looked at alena, considering. the last seven years told him it was tradition to ask about someone’s break right after seeing them again, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to leave such a comfortable conversation just yet. he shook his head, more too himself, and smiled before grabbing another roll.  “ I feel like if you ask the elves with enough compliments sandwiched in, they might share some secrets with you. not all of ‘em, of course, but enough to satisfy your curiosity. “

                       alena’s mid was spinning ever since she had heard the news. considering her parents’ and their current… circumstances with the ministry, she was on high alert. she could feel everyone’s eyes on her, and she knew the burden would fall to her once again to maintain the greengrass family image. it was all so tiring, and she could barely keep her head up. thankfully, a familiar voice sprung her back to life. ❛ oh, right. here you are, ❜ she said handing him the plate, giving him the faintest smile she could manage. ❛ the house elves here sure know what they’re doing. ❜

                  “ I can reliably be found here, “  nate said with a shrug and a small, sideways smile. he was happy to see alena doing well. well - ish. he was happy to see her okay and there, he supposed, talking like things were normal; normal, this year, wasn’t often well. wasn’t often allowed to be. still, he took a roll and carried on with pretending everything was alright. it’s what he did best, and he was more than willing to do that for his friends.  “ especially after a break. the food at home is good, of course, but there’s something about food here that I know I’ll always miss. “

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[ nate — jasper: 1:58am ]  i was smoking in the astronomy tower and i heard something in the stairwell and man i think this is where i’m gonna die and i need you to know in case i don’t come back to the dorm tonight that

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[ nate — aya: 9:22pm [ DELETED ] ]  i think it’s really cool that you like your family so much. i wish sometimes that i knew what that felt like. 

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[ nate — aya: 10:19pm ]  at the risk of sounding   needy i have to ask you a questio n [ nate — aya: 10:20pm ]  will you play a drinking game with me??? this party’s boring   

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                ❛     Light-hearted.  Subtle.  Guess  I  could  hold  it  back  a  bit  .  .  .  wouldn’t  want  ya  overdoin’  it  or  anything.      ❜     She  mocked  him  with  a  smirk,  standing  up  and  motioning  for  him  to  do  the  same.      ❛     We’re  gonna  have  ourselves  a  rematch.  Sober  edition.  You  feel  lucky    ?     Do  ya,  punk     ?      ❜

               “ see? I’d be grateful. gotta go easy on me, ease me back into the world of doing stuff. “  nate gamely ignored her mockey, shrugged his shoulders with his utmost sincerity and a genuine smle on his face before he followed her lead and stood up.  “ I don’t feel lucky in the slightest  ---  so let’s do this thing. “

           “ maybe. gotta wait a little while to see if she’d mind having eyes on her. “

                “ ah, now that’s the million galleon question. I don’t know if we’ve ever really put a label on our buddy - ship  —  it’s too beautiful a thing to tie down. “

              “ sure. but I hope that that’s just because I’m seventeen, and the whole world’s a mess at this point in time, and not indicative of any kind of permanent state. “

            ❛     What,  are  ya  kiddin’     ?     Look  who  you’re  talking  to.     ❜     She  pointed  to  herself for  emphasis,  the  petite  girl  turning  slightly  to  fully  face  him.     ❛     I  mean,  I’m  not  exactly  going  nuts,  but  I’ve  definitely  been  keepin’  busy  .  .  .  Want  me  to  keep  ya  busy  too     ?      ❜    

                     “ I’d almost forgotten! “  nate went the extra mile of feigned surprise for a moment, before he let it drop with an easy grin in aya’s direction and an extra slouch added to the way he was sitting.  “ please keep me busy. I’d love the light - hearted fun kinda aya - busy I’d hope you’ve got going on.  “