The road home (Chase & Anna)

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna cringed at his choice of words, but let it slip since he didn't appear to mean it negatively. She knew he was a pureblood, and didn't want to hold his upbringing against him. "No, really, it's not magic Chase." Anna paused, trying to think of some way that she could possibly explain it. "Those people are just actors, and they do their parts, then everything is fixed with really good computers to make it look like that. A lot of it is actually done in front of these big green screens, then they go and put the special effects backgrounds in later on the computer. I've seen a show on making movies once but I still don't know enough to explain it to you. Maybe I'll try to hunt it down over the holiday for you to watch." Her eyes were gleaming with amusement, glad that her idea had gone so well.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase's eyes darkened slightly, both with frustration that he still had no idea what Anna was talking about, and with that laughing gleam in her eyes. He saw nothing amusing in feeling anything remotely related to ignorance, and he wouldn't label himself stupid just to avoid it. He was annoyed that she'd thought it necessary to remind him that the people in the movie were actors, too. That much he knew, and he was irked enough with what he'd already accepted that he didn't understand that it didn't take much else to truly aggravate him.

"Go ahead and hunt that down, then," Chase said, looking out into the cabin rather than glare at Anna. He'd just wait and see if the show could explain things. All at once, Chase pushed to his feet.

"I need to do my rounds," he said, setting aside his frustration to look down at Anna. "It might take a while, and when the train stops I'll be needed up front." Maybe he'd stop by that cabin full of third-years he'd passed up earlier and dock some points.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Oh. Okay." Anna's voice dripped with her disappointment. She thought Chase had been interested and enjoyed the movie, but she could see him withdrawing from her. She hated that she hadn't been good enough and that he was leaving as a result. She slid down the seat before standing up next to him so she didn't knock over the laptop. "If you don't have time to come back, Merry Christmas." She didn't want to let him go, but she could tell he'd already made up his mind. As head boy, his excuse was valid, even if it probably wouldn't take the entire time remaining before they arrived at the station.

[Chase Firebrand]

"Yeah, Merry Christmas," Chase said almost flatly. He knew it only amounted to well-wishing, but had no tender feelings for the holiday himself. As far as he was concerned, holidays' usefulness extended to getting him out of classes. "I'll see you around, Anna," he added, the words softer this time. He didn't want her to think he was pissed with her. He paused then, looking her over like he'd never see her again. She didn't know what he was going home to do, but he did, and he knew the likelihood that he'd be able to come back to any of what they'd had, whatever that was. Chase pulled his gaze away, then left. He needed to do his rounds.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna watched him leave before sinking back into her seat. She reminded herself that they weren't a couple, and that it was just silly that she'd been hoping for at least a goodbye kiss. She realized she was still staring at the door that had closed behind him and tried to shake off her thoughts of him. After putting away all the things from the movie and setting the cabin back to it's original order, she settled back into her seat with her book. She re-read the same paragraph three times before she finally gave up and set the book aside. The rest of the trip was spend alternately wondering what Chase was doing, and trying to figure out what she really wanted out of their liaison.