|
|
Post by Brooke Davidson on May 22, 2008 21:36:43 GMT -5
There were times when life was holding on so hard that it was bordering on the suffocative. The day seemed to fall around her and school was piling up. She wasn't letting it get to her through; she wasn't even letting the impending owls fracture her demeanor. She was unwhelmable and she prided herself on it, nothing had ever been able to get anywhere near overwhelming her in all the lovely years that she had spent upon this earth.
Ten minutes to midnight and she was awake, of all the ways to welcome in her sixteenth birthday this was probably the most um… unique. Sure she was awake; it wasn't strange for her to be up pretty late especially when she didn't have to be at practice at five thirty or six in the morning like she had back home. Though even then she had stayed up late to go to parties often, she missed that part of her old world at least.
Nine minutes, she knew that the next day she was probably going to be showered with presents from her parents and even get a few from her friends, by way of her parents of course since all of her friends still thought she was at some selective up scale boarding school. It wasn't exactly a lie, well except maybe the up scale part, she doubted that any of her friends would see a place were electronics and cell phones don't work as up scale.
Eight minutes, the lake shimmered before her and she walked up to the edge the cold water lapping over her bare feet her shoes left forgotten behind her. It was peaceful as the moon shone down across the water and very beautiful. She knew that chances were she wouldn't be going to sleep at all tonight and would get to see the sunrise as well. For a moment she allowed herself to be thankful for the catnap she had taken that afternoon in the library.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chase Firebrand on May 23, 2008 16:47:56 GMT -5
Chase couldn't sleep. He'd dutifully lay in bed for an hour, then decided it wasn't worth the effort. Tomorrow was Saturday, anyhow. If he was half as distracted as he was now, the lack of sleep wouldn't make a hell of a lot of difference either way.
So he'd dressed and slipped out of the dormitory, then out of the oppressive stone walls of the castle itself to walk the grounds. The lake drew him tonight; the pitch-black of the forest at night felt too much like the walls of a closed room.
He saw the girl as he neared, her feet just in the water, seemingly lost to her own thoughts. He slowed, but didn't stop, not yet recognizing her, though from the darker shade of her hair he could tell it was neither Vannah--thank God--nor Cassie.
|
|
|
|
Post by Brooke Davidson on May 23, 2008 17:16:51 GMT -5
Seven minutes, Brooke flipped her hair over her shoulder and kicked the water gracefully causing little ripples across the water the tiny ripples merging and overlapping as they made there journey. It was pretty in its own way, it would have made a good picture.
Five minutes, she turned around and looked away from the water and back towards the castle. She wasn't alone, there standing not to far off was someone else, she wasn't sure if she recognized him but knew that if she did she would be able to figure it out eventually. Did she even want company other then her thoughts, she didn't know but figured she would make the best of it. After all it couldn't really be that bad and it wasn't like she could restrict who was or who wasn't allowed to be out late at night, though she was pretty sure that as far as the school was concerned they were both supposed to be in there dorm rooms asleep.
She walked towards him and smiled, "I didn't know anyone else was awake." She said sweetly. She now knew that she recognized him from somewhere, though she couldn't place when or where or even who he was. Maybe they had just ran into each other while in the hallways or shared a class or something of the sort.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chase Firebrand on May 23, 2008 17:34:15 GMT -5
Brooke. He never forgot a girl, even if the circumstances hadn't been the best. He recognized her voice from the day he'd gotten out of the hospital; he'd met her here, in the light of that first indescribable day. And he'd been thinking about Dru the entire time.
But that day was past, and he and Dru had worked out something better than the whole dating fiasco, leaving him guilt-free and ready to actually enjoy himself. He wondered if Brooke would remember, or if he'd be lucky enough that she'd forgotten how horribly it had ended. He decided to assume the latter, and if she did remember, she could deal with it however she liked.
"There's always someone out," he said at last, finally drawing close enough to see the face that went with the voice. Not that her silhouetted form in the moonlight hadn't been enough for the moment, but in cases like this, more was better. Chase stopped close enough to make out the lines of her face. "Couldn't sleep," he said, answering the unasked question.
|
|
|
|
Post by Brooke Davidson on May 23, 2008 17:56:44 GMT -5
He was right, there was always someone. Though she had actually found that less true here then any other place she had been. Maybe the students were just better here or the administration was better at keeping them inside after curfew. Either way there would always be at least one or two other people out, she just never expected to meet them down here. After all it was a rather big school, wasn't there someplace else for them to be.
"Yeah same here." It was true in a way, so she had never actually tried to get to get to sleep but she knew that even if she had she wouldn't have been able to. She was just much awake to even think about it. She smiled over at him "It's pretty out here." It was a perfect night and it would be such a pity to see it wasted and so she planned on having as much fun as she could and if there was someone to share it with she was fine with that. And besides it wasn't like he was bad looking or anything of the sort.
She remembered his name now Chase or Firebrand or both, she still still couldn't remember how they had met but know that she had a name it really didn't matter. She could figure the rest out later if she needed to.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chase Firebrand on May 23, 2008 22:22:50 GMT -5
"It's always pretty out here," Chase observed, looking out over the water for a moment. The moonlight was playing games with the rippling black water, touching the peaks of every movement and illuminating them. "The company makes a difference, though," he added. Chase looked back at Brooke, wondering what kind of company she'd be. To that point, wondering what kind of company he'd be.
He wasn't in the restless mood he'd been in the last time they'd met. That day, he'd been toeing the line between teasing banter and outright flirtation, then guilting himself over it. Tonight, he was half distracted by thoughts of the same girl, but in an entirely different context. Tomorrow, he told himself.
"So what's keeping you up?" Chase asked, pushing thoughts of Dru aside for now. He knew exactly what had been keeping his mind running, but no idea what was running through Brooke's mind. He was interested, if only for the distraction.
|
|
|
|
Post by Brooke Davidson on May 25, 2008 14:40:48 GMT -5
It was past midnight and Brooke wished herself a silent happy birthday before turning her thoughts towards the question at hand. What was keeping her up, she turned towards the lake. "Do I really need a reason." It was more of a statement then a question. If he wanted something more then that she could tell him that she almost never was asleep before now unless there was an awfully good reason to be or that she just hadn't felt like being inside.
Well then what did she feel like? Ok so maybe she felt a bit like doing a standing back tuck but that wasn't something that she could just randomly do because basically it looked weird. Maybe what she really wanted was to be back in her own world, the world where she had ruled. It wasn't that she didn't love magic she just wished for a moment that the two worlds that she loved so much could at least coincide together. She got like that every once in a while.
She almost wondered if it would be possible to go home for a weekend instead of hanging out here or meeting her mother to go shopping in Milan or Paris or whatever it was at that time. But whatever she could figure all that out later and thinking about it wasn't going to make her any happier. But despite her thoughts the smile hadn't really left her face. She was a master actress and not even her own self could change that.
"So now that you’re here what do you want to do?" She asked lightly just a tad of teasing in her voice. She was going to have fun and he was going to be a part of it. The second she made the decision she knew that she would stick with it. After all fun was one of the few things in life that one had to truly care about at her age.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chase Firebrand on May 25, 2008 15:39:44 GMT -5
Chase's lips curved at what amounted to a loaded question. He considered his usual response, his gaze slipping over what he could see of Brooke in the dark. A thought occurred to him, and he paused, putting his first response on hold. "Depends; how old are you?" he asked. The incident with Eloise was still fresh in his mind, not that it was really over yet. And he didn't want to make that kind of mistake again, didn't even want to set himself up for the chance of it, knowing how easily he could change his mind when faced with temptation.
|
|
|
|
Post by Brooke Davidson on May 25, 2008 15:56:08 GMT -5
Brooke paused for only a moment, "Sixteen why?" She was so glad that she could actually say that now, the last time someone had called her a kid it had really galled her and at least now she was olderish then she was before, though the difference in a number didn't make much of a difference to her she knew that to most people they were a really big deal. She had always been really mature for her age, she doubted that she had ever really been treated like a child and she had definitely never acted like one, or at least she hadn't in as far back as her memory went. Sure she had been spoiled but she had also been expected to behave correctly in social situations since she had been old enough to be in a social situation.
She sighed and looked over at Chase "What about you?" If he was going to ask she might as well too, though she doubted she would care one way or the other. She knew chances were he was at least a little older then she was but if couldn't be that much because he was after all still in school. Maybe the problem was that age was just way more important for guys then it was for girls.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chase Firebrand on May 25, 2008 23:24:43 GMT -5
"Eighteen," Chase replied. In the British wizarding world, he'd been a legal adult for a year and a half. "I just figured I'd ask, is all." He'd decided fifteen was way too young, even if it was only a few years younger than him. So even if that meeting with Eloise had been misery, at least it had taught him to be wary. He wouldn't make that mistake again.
|
|
|
|
Post by Brooke Davidson on May 29, 2008 9:54:18 GMT -5
Brooke nodded "So this must be your last year then." She almost envied him but part of her was glad she was still stuck in the middle. After all this way she didn't have to worry as much about life after school and all the wonderful decisions she would have to make. "So you never really answered my question." Depends was not a real answer so it didn't count.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chase Firebrand on May 29, 2008 10:00:56 GMT -5
Chase looked aside at Brooke, recalling her question, then thinking it over. Normally, he'd have said something sly, given her a line of subtle innuendo to amuse himself. But lately, it seemed that had just ended everything, leaving him bored again. "I don't really know what I want to do," he said honestly. "I'll leave it up to you, I'll go with whatever."
|
|
|
|
Post by Brooke Davidson on May 29, 2008 11:24:51 GMT -5
Brooke looked around "Oh I don't know...race you to that tree." The tree stood quite a ways off and the idea had been a totally random one, besides this way she could buy some time until she figured out what it was that she actually wanted to do. Besides she was pretty fast and she knew she was in good shape "We can even wager on the outcome if you want." At least that would make in more interesting and give it a bit more of a purpose.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chase Firebrand on May 30, 2008 11:32:02 GMT -5
Chase eyed Brooke, wondering if she had any specific goal in mind, or if it was really the momentary diversion it seemed. It didn't matter, though. It was something to do, a way to pass the sleepless time. "I'll race you, then. What do you want if you win?" He'd decide on his own prize after he heard hers.
|
|
