#pcrystalline

The truth was, Erik was looking for Thalia. He didn’t want to be entirely transparent about it, especially since he had next to no idea where he stood with her. He just needed to see her. He’d been thinking about her a lot lately and the times they’d spent together. His head was going crazy and he just needed to see how things were. Somewhere casual and possibly where he was even sober, although those moments were few and far between anymore. So he was glad to see that the blonde girl was nearby, even if she was chasing after a paper.

He sped up to meet her, watching and grinning as she dive bombed after her paper and then mended it back together. “Nice save,” he teased, reaching out a hand to offer to help her out. He shot her a fresh grin, unable to stop himself as he helped her to her feet. “So what’s the paper?” he asked, just trying to make small talk and not look like he was jumping to spend time with her. “Homework?” He let go of her hand as she stood up, although he didn’t really want to. However it wasn’t going to make him look nonchalant to show affection to her when they weren’t even together.

“Where were you headed anyway?” he asked, getting into step beside her. “Maybe I could keep you company?” he offered, tugging at the sleeves of his coat in an anxious manner. There was something about her that made him more aware of his own presence, the way he walked or the way he talked or the way he just existed. It was unnerving but he didn’t want it to stop. He sort of liked this new feeling of change that pulsed through him when Thalia was around.

Thalia Carmichael:

Thalia laughed breathlessly, her lungs not yet entirely full of that oxygen, which still felt freezing as it flowed into her. "Thanks," she muttered, shaking brittle grass from her tangled hair as she took Erik's hand, pulling herself up. Dusting off her clothes, Thalia was able to hide a faint, unfamiliar blush that had crept onto her cheeks at the sight of Erik's grin, the feel of his hand around hers. 'What's wrong with you, Thalia? You're acting like some silly third year, blushing about this sort of thing. What's so special about Erik? Just because he's nicer to you than most guys, more polite, and despite drinking a lot, he seems so...amazing. And you know a secret that could destroy his entire life. He didn't entrust it to me in his right mind, and yet, he doesn't seem upset or fearful of me. He treats me normally, almost, and yet...not. He's almost flustered, sometimes. Just like me, it's vice versa for us.'

Looking back up, she laughed, her cheeks cooled by then. "Yeah, homework. Care of Magical Creatures essay on the muscular and bone structure of hippogriffs. Fun, fun." She rolled her eyes, a laugh on her lips. "It's really not something I would care to rewrite." That was entirely true, seeing as she'd spent most of her evening the day beforehand writing it up, and the day before that doing the rough drafts. Today had been the finishing touches, and had she lost the precious parchment on which it was written, not even one of Erik's sweet, shy smiles could bring her back from what would surely be a destructively stormy mood. 'Wait... What?'

Erik was beside her as she let the startling thought pass, and Thalia took a moment to compose herself. "Well, now that I've pretty much got this "little" assignment done and over with, I've got nowhere in particular to head to," she admitted, shrugging as she looked him over, hoping her wouldn't notice - or if he did, that he wouldn't mind. It was simply that there was something about Erik that greatly attracted Thalia to him. Refusing to believe that it was merely his essence, who he was and what she knew, Thalia was always searching for something physical that struck that chord with her. He was almost perfect, really, even when he had those cuts and scratches, and the dark circles under his eyes were nearly painful to look at.

Thalia:

Drawing her coat tighter around her, Thalia ran with the wind, her hair tangling and swirling all around her as she went. Her breath coming in freezing little puffs, she chased her homework across the crisp brown grass of the Hogwarts grounds. She had been busy finishing up her essay for Care of Magical Creatures - a front-and-back assignment on the bone and muscular structure of hippogriffs - when a gust of wind had snatched the parchment from her little table, sending it flying across the pavilion and off onto the grounds themselves. 

Praying that the hard-worked upon paper would find itself in the lake, Thalia ran faster, determined to catch it. Finally, with a grand tumble on the ground, Thalia fully tackled the paper, effectively tearing it into three pieces. With a weighted sigh, she sat up, gathering the pieces and with a tight hold, mended them to be as if the had never been torn. Thalia smiled and laughed, mentally congratulating herself. She folded up the precious essay into a nice little square, tucking it into her pocket and patting it for good luck.