Through the halls (Ryan and Vannah)

[Ryan Magby]

Ryan had been back only a couple of days now. He really hadn't done much of anything, and hadn't seen any of his old friends since coming back. He had spent most of his time back either in the Hufflepuff common room, or in the Room of Requirement, where he could be where ever he wanted. Today was a lazy day, and he was just kinda walking through the halls, thinking about going back to the Room of Requirement. As he turned a corner he bumped into someone, not very hard. He stumbled back a little bit, "I am very sorry, wasn't really paying...." his sentence stopped short when he looked up at who he had bumped into. He stood silent for a moment and then finally said, just above a whisper, "Vannah......"

[Savannah Brooks]

Savannah liked to spend her time blending in. There was a time in her life when she made it a point for everyone, especially the guys, to know her name. That was when she planted the seed of fear in little first years’ eyes, laughed as they cowered in a corner, and gained satisfaction from their obvious misery. Savannah was a different person then. She thought she knew what she wanted, and she saw that she got exactly that every single time. It didn’t matter who she knocked down or hurt, as long as she got her way. The old Savannah made her sick to the stomach. She was in such pain, that part had not changed a single bit, but at least now she was more reserved in dealing with that pain.

Savannah blended in simply because she found it humiliating to be a student among professors that were once her peers. She had taken a leave and decided to come back, but she wanted to be done with her education as quickly and as painless as possible. While Savannah was passionate before, she was nearly emotionless now. She did not care for reminiscing or living in the past because all she could remember was how miserable it was. She found that if she remained numb, the pain wasn’t there.

Savannah was on her way to the Library. It was a good place to lock herself up in. The peaceful quiet gave her the promise that no one would disturb her. She felt someone walk into her, the careless fool! The old Savannah would have snapped something bitter to whoever it was who ran into her, but the new one just stared expectantly. She heard his southern drawl before she actually bothered to look at the face. Savannah tilted her head to the side in mild surprise. “Hello, Ryan.” She said calmly. She had nothing more to add at that point. Pleasantries never had been and still weren’t her strength.

[Ryan Magby]

Ryan looked at Vannah. She still looked as beautiful as when he first met her, but he could tell something was different. Something had changed about her, and he could sense it. It took a second before he could find his voice again. He had wanted to see her, but he was afraid of how it would go, because now it was him that had left without a word. Finally he looked at her and said "How are you doing? I didn't think you would still be here..."

[Savannah Brooks]

Savannah pursed her lips. His words jumped up and bit her like a snake. Her piercing green eyes looked him up and down for a few moments that felt like years. She tilted her head questioningly, as if to see if he had really just said that to her face. Sure, it had been a while, but she expected Ryan to know just as well as anyone else that she was not a pleasant person when handed an insult. Savannah was her own defense. She became defensive not because she was over-sensitive, but because she wouldn’t allow people to walk all over her.

Savannah took her sweet time composing the words she wanted to use. She wouldn’t let the fact that his comment had offended her show like she once would have. Instead, she picked some lint off her jacket and took a short breath in. “No, dear, I did not expect it myself.” She said in a tone bordering sass. “Then again, I could say the same to you, couldn’t I? Tell me, do you ever plan on leaving this place? Or is it your intention to simply stay here forever. We all have to move on with our lives at some point, Ryan.” She said sharply.

[Ryan Magby]

Ryan sighed, he deserved that. "I did not mean that as an insult Vannah. And I do plan on leaving here, but I had a lot of things to attend to at home first. So now I am a whole year behind because my mother decided to leave and go marry some other guy, and because of it my dad lost pretty much everything, including his health which made him have to go through heart surgery." He finished quickly, not knowing where the little burst came from. It had been a horrible year, and he didn't like anything about it being thrown at him like that.

After a second Ryan sighed and looked at Vannah, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you or anything. I just didn't know if I was ever going to get to see you again."

[Savannah Brooks]

"Save it." Savannah said, holding up a hand. She didn't particularly care to hear his sob story, or anyone else's for that matter. She had hoped that Ryan had changed somewhat by now to the point where he could handle the many trials life threw at him, but much to her dismay...he had not. Some people change for the better, some people change for the worse, and some people don't change at all. Everyone had their own problems and she didn't care enough to keep up with any of them. She had her own problems, but at least she dealt with them privately. She did not think it was information the world needed to know about. People judge people by their problems, whether they realize they're doing it or not, and Savannah had been judged enough in her short little life time.

"Well, now you've seen me." Savannah pointed out plainly. She wondered what he thought would happen when he saw her. She didn't forgive people, she simply got over it, and Savannah had gotten over Ryan long ago. "Weren't you going somewhere?" She asked.

[Ryan Magby]

Ryan looked at her and sighed. "Actually no I wasn't. I was just walking around. Look, I know that we have had our problems, and I know that I lost my chances with you a long time ago, but I don't want it to be like this. I want us to at least be friends in some way." He kind of trailed off at the end. He had thought about Vannah a lot while he had been gone. He missed her more than anything else at this school, and he had hoped that things could be better between them, but he was afraid that they wouldn't.

[Savannah Brooks]

Rolling her eyes was simply a reflex. Savannah really couldn't help it at this point. If she had a nickel for every time she had heard the 'let's still be friends' talk...she'd probably be as rich as her hated father right now. Not really, but one could dream. "I honestly don't see what you're talking about." Savannah answered immediately. She didn't understand what the 'in some way' part meant. You either were friends, or you weren't, and there wasn't much more to it than that. "Look, it's really not you..." She began. "But I don't really need any friends right now." Savannah was her own person and friendships generally involved some form of trust. She wasn't quite willing to give that up right now.

[Ryan Magby]

Ryan sighed and looked up at the ceiling "Lovely, the 'It's not you, it's me'. Forget I ever said anything then..." he tailed off and walked over to the window, looking out at the grounds. He stood there, not knowing what else to say, but still hoping that Vannah would come to him and say something.

[Savannah Brooks]

Savannah watched him sulk off like a hormonal teenager and shrugged. “Well, if you’re going to put a gun to my head…” She muttered under her breath. She was too old for this bullnuts and so was he. They weren’t little pre-teenagers anymore and it was time to grow up. “See you around, I suppose.” Savannah said. She then continued on her way to the library.