So Much Behind Those Eyes ~Open~

[Kadie Taylor]

16-year-old Kadie Taylor could be found down by the black lake. It was nearly midnight. Coming here had mostly become a nightly ritual for her. She had insomnia, and rarely ever was able to sleep at night. She usually fell asleep around four in the morning and then when woken up, was not a morning person at all.

Down by the lake at night was where she gave in to her thoughts. Thoughts about her twin brother and best friend, Kevin. Kevin had died less then a year ago, and it was still something that brought guilt and pain to her. Guilt, because she was sure it had been her fault. Pain, because he'd been her best friend. Nobody had been able to understand her like he'd been able to.

Now, being here at Hogwarts without him, was just hard, and weird. She'd come back last year in time to study hard for her O.W.L's, and managed to get really good grades, in spite of being behind. But that had only been because she'd spent all her time and energy studying to numb the pain.

This year, she'd quickly become known as the Snow Queen. Whereas before, she was quite the player and loved to be around guys; now, guys knew to stay away from her. At least, the smart ones did. There had been stupid guys who had been pushed into the black lake by her because they'd merely tried to flirt with her. There had also been bets from guys to see which one could melt her icy heart. So far, all had failed and she planned to keep it that way. She hid her pain behind the mask of the Snow Queen, and didn't plan to let anyone see beyond that mask anytime soon.

Another thing she hid her pain behind was her writing. She'd been writing since she was six years old. And one of her dreams was to become a journalist for the Daily Prophet. At least it had been. Now, she didn't know what she wanted.

Kadie was wearing a light black jacket with a white tank top on underneath. She had her favorite pair of faded blue jeans on. Her hair, naturally blond was actually blond at the moment, but she had a tendency to dye it. In her hands was a bottle of fire whiskey as she occasionally took a drink and looked out across the lake. Nobody had ever bothered her here before, mostly because she knew that most students followed the rules, and being out here this late at night was breaking a rule. Kadie didn't even care if she got caught. But then, that was the usual occurrence with her this year. She didn't seem to care about anything, which couldn't be farther from the truth. She cared, she cared too much. She simply hid it behind her mask. Only her eyes occasionally gave anything away.

[Liam McAdam]

Liam had been sleeping near the lake. Apparantly he had dozed off while relaxing here earlier, and no one seemed to notice. How idiotic of him. He sat up and looked at the sky, wondering what time it was. If it was very late, he had to get back to the school, but for some reason, he could not leave from his position. He saw someone approaching the lake and layed down on the grass, but in a fashion so that he could see who it was and what they were doing.

It turned out to be that girl from the Gryffindor table. What was she doing here? He moved his left arm, the false one still on it and positioned so it was better for him to see what was happening. He then noticed she had a bottle of some unknown fluid and was nervous. He slowly moved, staying as quiet as possible. As he was standing, the fingers on his false arm locked up, an occasional mishap. son of a drow he thought as he tried to fix the problem. This was inconvenient as it was possible for Kadie to hear him as he fixed the problem. He winced in pain, or at least acted like it.

[Kadie Taylor]

Kadie did not hear or see Liam since she was so lost in thought, but she sensed that she wasn't alone, and her fingers tightened instinctively on her wand. She wasn't afraid at all. Indeed, she didn't scare easily. The things she was scared of were far more complicated and complex then she would ever care to explain.

But, as Liam tried to stand up, she whirled around with her wand pointed in his direction. As she realized who it was, her wand did not lower. She had also been known to hex males that got too close. She noted that he winced in what appeared to be, pain. But, her face remained that expressionless mask as if she did not care how much pain he was in.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked, her wand still not lowering. She held the bottle of firewhiskey in her other hand, though it was lowered. Yeah okay, so she was a tad bit intimidating. But that's how she wanted guys to perceive her, as nothing more then the scary Snow Queen.

[Liam McAdam]

As Liam stared at Kadie pointing her wand at him, he kept a straight face. "I guess...I dozed off while relaxing...here.." he said, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed. "What about you?" he asked. His hands did not make any sudden motions, nor did he make any attempts to disarm Kadie.

[Kadie Taylor]

Kadie lowered her wand at his response, but kept it in her hand. She took another swig of firewhiskey at his question.

"I always come out here at night," she responded cooly. She said nothing for a moment as she took another drink. She turned her gaze once more to look at him.

"I'm Kadie, or better yet, the Snow Queen. I'm not even going to pretend that I recall your name. Though I've seen you around," she said in that style of hers. She didn't ask what his name was. But then, that would require being polite, which Kadie wasn't used to being anymore. But, at least she was talking to him.

She wondered why that was really. Perhaps she was bored and perhaps she really had missed talking to people, something she'd never admit.

[Liam McAdam]

"Makes enough sense." he said, not pursuing that topic further. He then heard her introduce herself and knew he should introduce himself aswell. "Well met Kadie...My name is..Liam McAdam...May I ask why...you call yourself 'Snow Queen'?" he asked, a little curious. He was getting used to speaking common and was still unsure about the fire whiskey Kadie had been holding.

[Kadie Taylor]

She couldn't help but laugh at his question.

"You're new around here aren't you?" she asked with a quirk of her eyebrows. She felt sure that he was. If he wasn't, he probably would be smart enough not to stick around here, talking to her. Most guys around here were scared that she'd rip off their nipples or something.

"My nickname came about not by me, but the guys around here. And for good reason. I'm cold and heartless to the guys around here. I'm not one of those girls who will be swept off my feet by these nut jobs around here. I've been known to push guys into the lake or hex them if they get too fresh. So last year, a guy started to call me the Snow Queen, and it just.................stuck," she explained with a shrug.

"Don't tell me the guys haven't told you to steer clear of me?" she asked with a quirk of her eyebrows, teasing him a little.

"Want some?" she added, stepping closer and offering the bottle.

[Liam McAdam]

Liam blushed lightly at her laughter, feeling as if he had been unaware of some important event. "Well...Yeah..I am ..new." he said, smiling a little. He then heard her story about the 'Snow Queen' thing. "Oh...That makes...sense..Well..for things happening...in this school I mean.." he said, trying to make conversation. He was then confronted by the rhetorical question and didn't bother to answer. He was then offered some fire whiskey and was hesitant. "Uh....I...guess...Thank you" he said before he held the bottle carefully and drank some. It had a sharp taste to it, yet he seemed to enjoy it regardless. As he handed the bottle back to Kadie, a small hiccup had escaped from him and he covered his mouth with his right hand, blushing deeper at it. "Excuse me.." he said, out of reflex.

[Kadie Taylor]

It was too dark so Kadie could not see Liam blush, but she could sort of sense it in his words. She simply nodded at his words.

"Yeah, I guess," she agreed. It was crazy to think that before all that had happened to her, she'd been such a player. She'd flirted with so many guys. And then, well...........everything had happened to her, and quickly, the mask of the Snow Queen came. She honestly didn't know who she was anymore. She wasn't that same girl who flirted shamlessly with the guys, but neither was she the Snow Queen. Really, it was just a mask. But she never let anyone know that. Really, she believed that hiding behind it was all she had left.

A laugh escaped again as a hiccup escaped from him. She couldn't help but quirk her eyebrows again. She sat down, making herself comfortable and finally putting her wand in her pocket.

"So, how long have you been here?" she asked.

[Liam McAdam]

Liam heard her laughing again and didn't say anything else until Kadie sat down. When he sat down, he heard he question about how long he had been hear. "uh..about a...week...maybe two.." he said, a small smile spreading on his face. This was probably due to the alchohol in the fire whiskey, or maybe because of the peacefulness of the night.

[Kadie Taylor]

She nodded in response and said nothing for a moment as she took another swig of firewhiskey.

"So, where did you go to school before?" she asked him curiously. Usually she didn't even pretend to be interested in other people, but she didn't even have to pretend. She wondered why that was. Maybe she did miss how she'd once cared about pretty much everyone at Hogwarts. She was by no means ready to give up being the Snow Queen, but it didn't hurt talking to people ocassionally. She knew that there was no harm in it because she wouldn't let anyone in very far anyway.

[Liam McAdam]

"That...I can't answer.." he said, looking away for a bit before shaking his head, trying to keep himself from getting dizzy. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer, it was that there was no answer to that question. Everything he learned prior to hogwarts was on his own.

[Kadie Taylor]

"Okay," she replied with a shrug as she took another drink. She wondered what to say. But she didn't really begrudge him not answering the question. There were many questions that she couldn't or didn't want to answer.

"So, honestly, how do you like Hogwarts so far?" she asked him. She wondered again why she was being so nice. Maybe the firewhiskey was dulling her senses a little too much.

[Liam McAdam]

Liam felt like he had to tell someone. "To be honest....I don't think I like it...as much as I should..." he said, thinking back on how his performance with spells and other classes were. Although he was talented, he had yet to prove it to himself. "I...I am always...the most useless one...when it comes to...group assignments..." he said before he thought about those painful words. He sighed a bit before he placed his right hand on the false arm. "After all....a man with only one arm...and one good lung...is a broken tool at best.." he said before removing the false arm, revealing that his arm was cut off.

[Kadie Taylor]

Kadie listened to his response. There was something different about him, something honest. Usually people weren't this open. She actually admired him for being so. Kadie was an honest person, she just wasn't open.

As he revealed that his arm was fake by taking it off, she hardly knew what to say. But she didn't agree with his statement.

"I'm sorry," she whispered truthfully.

"But a man with only one arm and only one good lung does not have to be a broken tool at best. I think you sell yourself short. Whoever told you that you could only be a broken tool at best was wrong. I hardly know you, and I'm probably being presumptious, but hey. Anybody has the potential to become something great, not just a man with two full arms and two good lungs," she said with a smile. She should listen to her own words. She actually felt like half of herself had been torn off when her brother died, and now she thought that she couldn't make something of herself. But it wasn't true. And she should probably stop hiding behind the Snow Queen mask, but it felt safe to be the Snow Queen. Letting people in and grieving just brought pain.

"Look, if you ever need help with anything, like your schoolwork, I'd be happy to help. Just don't let it get out. It would ruin my Snow Queen reputation," she said with a wink.