Making sense of the stars [tag:Chris] on Quidditch Pitch

Lexi Stafford

May 24, 2007 12:01 AM

Making sense of the stars [tag:Chris] by Lexi Stafford

For the first time since she’d realized it was actually important that she learn the material, Lexi Stafford was, if not quite excited, then at least dreading the idea of astronomy a little less. And, for the moment, that was good enough for her. Progress was all about the small steps, after all.

It was only after Lexi had gotten everything ready for that night, and was on the way down to dinner, when she realized that she and Chris had never actually agreed on a time for the two of them to meet. She spent a fair amount of time analyzing it, which was actually a big deal for her, and showed just how off-balance the entire exchange over lunch had made her, since promptness had never been one of her priorities. Still, she already felt Chris was making a sacrifice of his time, whatever he might say to the contrary, and she didn’t want to waste any more of it.

After much mental deliberation, and several assertions that she was going completely mad, she’d decided that they couldn’t really do anything until it had gotten properly dark, so there was no point in heading down to the pitch until then. She’d gone back up to her common room, and had spent the extra time looking over her astronomy book once more, hoping the sixty-eighth time was the charm, and that she’d finally understand it and not look like a complete fool. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case.

So it was with gratitude that Lexi put the textbook away in her bag, grabbed her (well, technically, Ben’s, but that was a minor detail) broom in the other hand, and headed outdoors as soon as the light started to fade. It was a pleasant night outside, she’d noted as soon as she’d walked out the front doors, particularly for January. No clouds as far as she could tell, which was definitely convenient. It would have been rather difficult to accomplish anything with relation to astronomy if the stars weren’t even visible.

Chris was also already there when she arrived, which caused her more than a hint of embarrassment, as that had been what she’d been trying to avoid, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. “Hey,” she said as soon as she was next to him. “I'm sorry, I wasn’t sure about the time…you haven’t been waiting long, have you?”

0 Lexi Stafford Making sense of the stars [tag:Chris] 0 Lexi Stafford 1 5

Chris Dupree

May 25, 2007 9:02 PM

Not long now before you do by Chris Dupree

Before Chris had left his dormroom, he made sure he had everything he would need. He had his broom. It was a couple years old, but he had gotten it when he had played Quidditch. At the time, it had been top of the line, but now it just sat around getting dusty. He wasn't sure why he bothered bringing it to school anymore. Fond memories, he supposed, but he hadn't been on it since then, which made him a bit nervous, so he hoped this really worked. Otherwise, he'd be making an utter fool of himself in front of Lexi and wouldn't be able to teach her anything.

He also packed a couple sandwiches and some bottled water that he had snagged at dinnertime, as well as a blanket. It wasn't like it was a date or anything, but more that he wanted to be prepared. If they were doing alot of flying, they might get hungry or thirsty. With the supplies already there, they wouldn't have to go clear to the dining hall. As for the blanket, while he doubted Lexi was anything like his sister, she might still not want to get grass stains on her clothes.

Nearly ready, he took a final look in the mirror, as he ran the comb through his hair. It was a bit long now, as some of it curled behind his ears. He supposed he looked all right for his non-date. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt with a popular wizard band. About to head out the door, he thought better and grabbed a hooded sweatshirt. He hoped Lexi would think to bring a jacket or something since they'd be up in the air in the cooler night air.

When he arrived at the pitch, Lexi wasn't there yet, which suited him just fine. It gave him an opportunity to test out his flying skills. Straddling the broom, it felt wobbly for a moment, then steadied out. He started by flying low, then added in some zigging and zagging. Soon, he was flying high and fast, enjoying the whipping wind. After about a half hour, he landed, knowing Lexi would probably be here soon.

As though reading his mind, she appeared only moments later. Meeting her, he gave her greeting, "Hey, no, not long at all."

0 Chris Dupree Not long now before you do 0 Chris Dupree 0 5

Lexi

May 25, 2007 10:08 PM

Well, you're confident by Lexi

So she wasn’t late. Excellent. Or, rather, if she was, Chris was too nice to make her bad about it, which worked just as well. The point being that she didn’t have to feel guilty now. Guilt was not an emotion that suited Lexi well, at least not in a situation like this, where Lexi was already a little off-balance about everything. And she had the feeling that, if conversation continued in the manner of the one at lunch, that was only going to get worse.

To get back on the subject at hand, she glanced around at the things Chris had brought, and couldn’t help but giggle a little (though she managed to do it softly and inconspicuously) at the food and blanket, just because they were things Lexi would have never thought of bringing along. She was good at the essentials (like remembering to grab a sweatshirt, and, of course, broom and books), but never went above and beyond like Chris seemed to do. It was kind of cute, in an obsessive, over-preparing kind of way.

Realizing that she had, once again, gotten off topic mentally, she glanced at her companion once more. “Well, now that we’re both present, how were you planning to do this? After all, you’re the one that knows what’s going on here.” She paused for a second, then decided she couldn’t resist. “Also, you wouldn’t happen to have been a boy scout, would you? You seem to be the embodiment of their motto.” She asked with a slightly cheeky smile, gesturing at the stuff around him.
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0 Lexi Well, you're confident 0 Lexi 0 5

Chris

May 26, 2007 1:20 AM

I try to be by Chris

He raised an eyebrow curiously at her. A boy scout? Him? Sure, he tended to do good deeds and he liked to be prepared, but that didn't mean he was a saint. When he and Kaylie had been dating, he had made the occassional attempts to get under her shirt. Unfortunately, he had never succeeded, but he was too much of a gentleman to pressure her past where she was willing to go.

And of course, being male, he was suddenly made aware of the fact that he was under the stars, had a blanket, and was with a very sexy female. Swallowing, he had to remind himself that this was Ben's sister, his roommate's sister.

Making himself concentrate on the task at hand, Chris answered, shifting his broom from one hand to the other, "Okay, playing Quidditch you have to learn various plays."

Getting on his broom, he flew around in a pattern, looking as though he were practicing a strategy, landing again, he continued, "That was the constellation Draco. The first step is getting you to be able to picture the constellations. I thought this might be a good way for you to begin."

0 Chris I try to be 0 Chris 0 5

Lexi

May 29, 2007 11:35 PM

Do or do not, there is no try by Lexi

Lexi couldn’t help but chuckle at Chris’s apparent skepticism, or just cluelessness, maybe. She wasn’t sure if there was a magical equivalent of boy-scouts (if there was, Ben had never been involved). Still, even if there weren’t, it was fairly well known. Besides, this did make for a marvelous teasing opportunity.

“You know, being prepared for every possible circumstance and doing good deeds like helping old ladies across streets or, I suppose, tutoring those likely on the verge of failing on your own time. If you’re not, you’d probably be a wonderful addition to their ranks.” She paused intentionally, with an actor’s precision (her mother and her mother’s colleagues tended to rub off on people). “Unless, of course, there’s something dark and shifty about you you’ve kept hidden, in which case please feel free to share. Dark and shifty people are more interesting than boy scouts, of which Teppenpaw already has its fair share.”

Alright, maybe she was rambling again, or being slightly blunt, but at least it wasn’t any more so than usual this time, unlike during lunch. And if the banter were a little more flirtatious than usual (or, well, ever), so be it. Given the situation, a little meaningless flirting really was only to be expected. Besides, he’d started it (the fact that it was in an entirely different conversation was beside the point).

When Chris actually started demonstrating, though, Lexi put aside any thoughts besides astronomy, even if they were more interesting than the subject matter (not that there was much that wasn’t). What he was doing made sense, even if she’d never thought about things that way before. She’d made a mental note of each place he’d turned, or whatnot, as he was flying, and almost as soon as he’d landed she’d mounted to follow suit.

She had to go slower than she normally went when flying, to make sure she was keeping it straight, but it didn’t take her long, and within a minute or two Lexi had dismounted and was standing next to Chris once more. “That worked, I think,” she said slowly, still concentrating on memorizing the pattern she just flew. “I mean, I still don’t see where how the hell that’s a dragon, but I can picture what the stars are supposed to look like, at least.”

0 Lexi Do or do not, there is no try 0 Lexi 0 5

Chris

June 03, 2007 9:00 PM

Guess, I better do then by Chris

"Now, do you think if there is something dark and shifty that I've kept hidden this long, I would share now?" He teased, a sparkle to his blue eyes.

When the subject turned to Astronomy, he had demonstrated the moves, then it was Lexi's turn. He watched her carefully. The beater picked it up rather quickly. When she landed, Chris had a wide, pleased grin on his face.

"I don't either," he answered. "But as long as you can map it, what does it matter? Unless, you have some secret desire to be an astronomer?"

After some friendly flirting, he helped Lexi with the other constellations. Then, asked, "Want to take a break? I have some sandwiches, if you're hungry."

He smoothed out the blanket and sat down, a sandwich already in hand. He was starving after the semi-workout.

0 Chris Guess, I better do then 0 Chris 0 5

Lexi

June 04, 2007 6:37 PM

Very good by Lexi

“A girl can be hopeful, can’t she?” Lexi replied, playfully batting her eyelashes in caricature of the standard image of brainless teenage girl before sighing dramatically. “Although if you’re going to be mean like that, and not tell me, then I suppose there’s nothing I can do about it.”

By the time Chris suggested taking a break, she was more than ready for it. Not because she was tired from the flying, as it was nowhere near as much of a workout as she usually did, but because trying to keep everything straight was starting to give her an unbelievable headache. That was one of her major problems with astronomy. Individually, she could remember the patterns. There were just so many of them, though, and a lot of the time their actual shape looked nothing like what their name suggested. Most aggravating.

“A break would be excellent,” she agreed, before dropping her broom on the ground. She wasn’t all that hungry, so forwent the sandwiches in favor of a bottle of water. Joining Chris on the blanket, she glanced over at him, then said, “Alright, since you won’t tell me your dark secrets (and you really don’t understand how much that disappoints me), is there anything you would be willing to share?” She grinned. “After all, we need something to talk about besides astronomy, and even if you aren't hiding anything, you'd have to be more interesting than the alternative.”
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0 Lexi Very good 0 Lexi 0 5