Lesson I: Sixth and Seventh Years on Defense Against the Dark Arts

Professor O'Leary

April 24, 2008 10:47 PM

Lesson I: Sixth and Seventh Years by Professor O'Leary

In the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Drake sat behind his desk, feet propped on the edge. His arms were folded behind his head, but his eyes were open, waiting to gauge the reaction of the sixth and seventh years when they entered the room. The desks were lined up on the sides so that there was a significant amount of room in the center in which stood a werewolf. Not a real one, of course, as that would have been incredibly dangerous, even for a fully trained wizard, such as himself. This one was a dummy one, but somewhat realistic looking in that it had white fur. He preferred this to any other color for the lesson.

Lest any of the students go running from the room, and he hoped by this point, they would know not to, he called out, “No one should pay any mind to the werewolf. It’s not real.” Indeed, the creature that stood there did nothing. It didn’t move or growl. It didn’t even blink. It did none of the things that one might expect. Once everyone was settled, Drake strode from his desk to where the imitation animal was. “Welcome back. This is Sebastian and he’s merely a replica of a werewolf for today’s lesson. Now that you are all at the RATS level, we will be working with more difficult spells. The one that you will be learning today is the Homorphus Charm, which means to Transform Man. As suggested by the meaning, this spell will transform the werewolf to his human form. However, the effects are temporary and will only last as long as the strength of the spell, so it is incredibly important to have the person drink Wolfsbane potion immediately. Otherwise, you may find yourself in an even worse situation.”

His eyes drifted around the room, glancing at the students. Only those serious about Defense Against the Dark Arts took it at this level, which is one of the reasons he taught the spell since it was rather difficult to perform. “Once you have finished your notes, I would like everyone to form a circle around Sebastian.” He waited for the few minutes it took everyone. After they did, he went up to his desk to gather the vials that he had prepared. Walking around the circle, he handed each student three of them. “In each of these vials is a blue dye. In a real situation, it would be the Wolfsbane potion. Your goal is to take turns casting the Homorphus Charm. You will know that it worked, because Sebastian will turn into a human dummy. At this point, you must provide him with a vial of the liquid. If everything worked appropriately, then when he changes back, he will be a regular wolf with a blue tint.”

He waited a moment to allow everyone to process what he had said, before going on, “Now, don’t worry if it doesn’t. While Sebastian is designed to act a bit wild, making it hard to get near him, he won’t harm anyone.” Drake pointed at one of the students. “We’ll begin with you. You will have three chances to perform the task, before we move onto the next person. With each new person, Sebastian will be reset to give everyone a chance to try out the charm. Once that happens, anyone that wants to try again will be able to. You may start.” He moved away from the dummy werewolf and with a flick of his wand activated a snarling Sebastian.

OOC: Please remember that posts should be a minimum of ten sentences. Be creative and have fun!

0 Professor O'Leary Lesson I: Sixth and Seventh Years 0 Professor O'Leary 1 5

Lexi Stafford

May 05, 2008 12:21 AM

Wolves are always fun by Lexi Stafford

Defense against the Dark Arts had always been one of the most entertaining classes. Granted, Lexi may or may not have had a somewhat warped sense of what constituted entertainment, but so be it. DADA satisfied it, at least, and that was all that mattered.

From the looks of it, today wasn’t going to be an exception. Honestly, when one walks into a classroom and finds a wolf present, mundane was almost impossible to achieve. Though a small part of her (the much sillier and less practical section) was a bit disappointed when O’Leary called out that the creature wasn’t real, at that pronouncement she simply took her seat near the front (this was the only class where that was consistently true) and began examining the fake even more intently until the rest of the class had arrived.

Doodling a few notes, with references to page numbers where, if homework necessitated it, she could look things up later, Lexi finished before most of her more diligent classmates. However, she stayed in her seat until the majority had already gotten up. After her conversation with the youngest Dupree, she had a few things she wanted to say to Lucie’s elder cousin. (The sort of nice, friendly things casual acquaintances said to each other of course, and nothing more).

It was all too easy to slide into a spot next to him on the circle without making it look like she had done it intentionally, and Lexi didn’t look at him for the next several minutes as O’Leary demonstrated. While the spell looked merely difficult, not impossible, she still didn’t want to be one of the ones that started, and she breathed a sigh of relief when the professor pointed to a student at the opposite side of the circle. From her experience, it was always better to go near the middle for things like this. Plenty of people should have already screwed up by the time the line got to her, and nobody remembered the people who went neither first nor last, on the off chance that she did completely flub it up, which she didn’t think would happen. Just precautions. Funny how those seemed to be slipping into her life.

There were enough students in the circle that it would take several minutes at the least to get around to this end. Banking on that, Lexi spoke quietly. “Hey, Chris.” She began, as though they had never fought in the first place, and she had never been avoiding him. “I…” God, why did this have to be so much more difficult in reality? “I heard about your father. I was sorry to hear that. It must be awful.” Alright, so not tactful, and not eloquent. Ben probably could have done loads better. Still, Ben wasn’t in this situation, and she was. Chris would just have to deal.

0 Lexi Stafford Wolves are always fun 0 Lexi Stafford 0 5

Chris Dupree

May 05, 2008 11:03 PM

I would rather learn about vixens by Chris Dupree

Arriving early to Defense Against the Dark Arts had one major advantage, which was getting to choose where he sat instead of leaving it to fate that he would end up having to sit next to his ex. Of course, if she had to sit next to him, this was entirely another matter all together. As luck would have it, he got half of what he wished for. He was nowhere near her, but then she was nowhere near him. She was near the front of the room and he was near the middle. He did have an excellent view of her, though, and as he jotted down his notes, he glanced at her every so often.

He wished things had been able to be different between the two of them. He also wished that at the very least they were on friendly terms, but it appeared not. The couple times that he had seen her in the hall, it appeared that she was suddenly heading in the opposite direction from him. He had considered seeking her out, but thought better of it for the time being. He didn’t know what to say. He was worried that he would only aggravate the situation. As they now formed a circle around the dummy werewolf, it appeared that she had sot him out, but for what? The surprise that had initially been on his face quickly turned to a frown, as he managed a muttered, “Hey.”

So, that’s why she was near him. She was trying to be sympathetic. He shifted his weight to the foot further from her, trying to think of how to respond. How many people had said the same things to him? Plenty. The same generic answers were given, such as thank-yous and the like, but this was Lexi. His initial reaction was to tell her what was going on, but he bit it back. It hurt to think about, but she was no longer a part of his life. He had hope that one day she would be. He still loved her, yet now was not the time to admit such a thing.

“Yeah, it is. My mom was pretty upset about the whole thing and I haven’t told Nicoletta yet.” He paused for a moment, realizing what he had said. His head tilted slightly. Who told her what had happened? Everything that was going on was confined to their family minus a couple people, one of which was Bella, his best friend. She hadn’t told Lexi, had she? He didn’t think she would. It was a pretty private family matter and she knew how important family was. Was it Devian? That seemed more likely, but he had to be sure, before he did anything stupid. “How did you find out?”

0 Chris Dupree I would rather learn about vixens 0 Chris Dupree 0 5

Lexi

May 05, 2008 11:11 PM

I'd offer to teach, but Bella might hurt me by Lexi

Chris’s confusion over how she had figured out made sense, though it puzzled her at first. After all, for something that would have been a pretty big deal for certain crowds, it hadn’t made the rumor mills yet (though Lexi liked to think she was above that sort of thing most of the time, she and Dalila did spend an awful lot of time discussing the latest gossip, and something like this would have definitely been brought up). If Nicoletta didn’t know, then there really was no plausible reason she should.

“Your cousin told me,” she said simply, staring at the current spell performer intently. Then, after further consideration, she remembered that Chris did have multiple cousins, and that the only one he knew she had met was the one he’d warned her to stay away from. “Lucie, I mean, mixed in with a story about cucumbers and puppies, I believe. She’s an adorable girl, Lucie. Makes me wonder what happened to the rest of you.”

And again with the speaking without thinking. Lexi could have hit herself if it wouldn’t have looked like she was completely insane. Jokes of any sort could be misconstrued as flirting, and flirtations were not where this needed to go. In fact, whatever the opposite of flirtation was, that was what she should be doing. Not making comments like that or, she balled her fist, reaching out and stroking his hand because he looked unhappy. Nope. They’d been there one (twice, really) and they definitely weren’t going back.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him once more, though that only lasted a few seconds before she had to avert her eyes. What were they supposed to talk about now? Their summers? That would sure go over well. He could talk about his family’s problems and she could talk about dating around and watching Ben and Bella be all cute and couply. And now, just to spite her, the line seemed to be moving not at all. Damn. If it wouldn’t have created more commotion, Lexi might have asked the person on her other side if they could switch, but that would both be rude and impractical. So all she could do was wait.

0 Lexi I'd offer to teach, but Bella might hurt me 0 Lexi 0 5

Chris

May 06, 2008 2:22 AM

I think you've taught enough by Chris

The grimace on Chris’ face cleared when Lucie’s name was mentioned and was replaced with a smile. Yes, his adorable twelve-year old cousin that was a paradox in their family. She was sweet and innocent, definitely not a fit for their family, yet she did. She was one of the reasons why he wanted to change the system, why he had to make sacrifices. He could never just think about himself. He supposed that was a positive trait towards the leadership role he would be taking in the future.

“You know, I think she was dropped on her head,” Chris replied with a smirk on his face. It seemed natural to retort with a joke, though, he couldn’t remember having done so before. He was normally so serious, especially around her. He had danced with her once in the Gardens for fun, but he seemed to have such a hard time letting go. He supposed it had something to do with the burdens that weighed him down.

But he had let go this summer, at least, until everything that happened with his father. He had Andi to thank for that. He had met her on the basis that she had thrown acorns at him when he was taking one of the walks that had become routine. When he had looked for where they had come from, he saw her sitting on a wall with a silly grin on her face. She had been wearing the oddest dress that he had ever seen, but he soon learned that it was a form of muggle fashion, which made sense given that she was one.

He had ended up telling her everything that he was dealing with, about his father, about Lexi. Of course, he had to do so without revealing that he was a wizard, but it had been easy enough to do. She understood where he was coming from with his family. She was from a well-to-do family. The look was a form of rebellion for her. She told him that he should try it, or at the very least, cut loose a bit, to quit acting like the world would collapse at any minute. He hadn’t gotten quite that far, but he was certainly taking baby steps, being able to joke with Lexi was one of them.

He looked over to the redhead. A silence had fallen between them. He wasn’t sure what to ask. Anything that he could think of seemed to be out of the question. There was summer, which was what most people asked, but one he didn’t want to fully discuss. Where they stood right now was way too much for light conversation. Racking his brain, he failed miserably to come up with anything acceptable, but didn’t want the conversation to end right there. He settled for the safest thing he could think of, “How are classes going?” Lame. It was very lame.

0 Chris I think you've taught enough 0 Chris 0 5

Lexi

May 10, 2008 6:30 PM

So you want a new one, then? by Lexi

Chris seemed to be having as much difficulty as she was, which made her feel a little better. Not much, mind, but anything was better than nothing. “They’ve been fine, I suppose,” she began hesitantly. “Glad to be finally done with astronomy. Having a smaller course load’s nice to, though my dad’s not entirely thrilled with my choices, I think. Or just what he perceives to be my lack of serious effort.”

She supposed it would have been appropriate to ask how his were going as well, but she didn’t. Perhaps it was slightly rude of her, but the awkward silence was actually easier than a conversation might be. So she was weak. She could live with it. In fact, she could take it to a whole new level. “You know, Chris, you really don’t have to do the whole ‘post-break-up check-in,’ really. Like, when we talk about where life’s taken us since we broke up, and you discuss your new hobbies and I tell you about my recent romantic interests, or whatever. Not that that’s where this discussion was going, but you know what I mean. Unless you really want to be masochistic like that, we can just let everything lie.” she added hastily, her voice remaining low. And, thankfully, before Chris had time to respond it was her turn with Sebastian.

Taking a small step in, Lexi pointed her wand at the werewolf-wannabe. The first time she tried the charm, her voice had sounded shaky even to herself, and she knew before it happened that there was no way that Sebastian was going to change anywhere near long enough for her to give it the potion. She tried anyway, for the second or two that the dummy was human again, but stepped back quickly. Damn the boy behind her for affecting her like this (she knew her shakiness was his fault, somehow. This was a class she was good at, after all).

The next time she concentrated solely on the spell, and it seemed to work well enough. She got a humanoid dummy for about a minute, in which time she gave it the potion, and once the wolf returned it was a pale blue. Success, thank Merlin, and without having to resort to the third try. Her pride would remain somewhat intact for at least a little longer. Turning back, she met her fellow prefect’s eyes for hopefully the last time for a while. “Your turn.”

0 Lexi So you want a new one, then? 0 Lexi 0 5

Chris

May 13, 2008 7:52 PM

I'm not sure. I'm a bit worried. by Chris

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…Chris had to count down, as he felt his temper rising. What was her deal? She starts a conversation with him and then just completely shuts him down. Oh, of course, she had to include her recent romantic interests. He wasn’t a masochist, but there was no doubt that she was a bit of a sadist. It was amazing that he had survived in a relationship with her for as long as he had. But then, he supposed the fact that he had let her walk all over him had helped immensely in both cases. Well, not really, as the only thing that had occurred at the end of each time that he gave a bit of himself was that he ended up worse for the wear.

He watched, as Lexi had to take two attempts to perform the spell. There was no choice. He had to do it in one when his turn came. When had he become so competitive? He really wasn’t normally, but it seemed to be coming out with his frustration with the girl. Every time that he was around her, he felt about two inches tall, that he wasn’t worth anything. He felt a need to prove that he was, that anything that she could do, he could do better, because he was worth something. He was good enough. He knew it shouldn’t matter so much, because anything that they had was over, but he had always been the best. At least, within his family, he had to be. There was no other choice when one was going to lead others.

When she turned to him announcing that it was his turn, he clenched his fist around his wand a bit tightly so that the knuckles whitened. Wasn’t it just utterly helpful that she announced that it was his turn? He would have to be sure to thank her. Oh, wait, it was fairly implied that he wasn’t supposed to speak to her any longer. Yeah, that wasn’t going to really work for him. An eyebrow raise and a slightly biting reply, “Gee, thanks. Obviously the fact that the wolf turned blue might have been an indication that you completed the task, but I wouldn’t be aware of that since I always have to wait for you to make a first move.”

Before he could watch her reaction, he moved forward, nearly hitting her shoulder along the way. Immediate regret for his words washed over him, but it didn’t erase the anger over how she had treated him. But if he admitted it, he was angrier at himself than at her. He always reacted to her, always wanted a piece of her, even when it was at his demise. It was one of the things that he had realized over the summer with a bit of help. It was one of the things that he was learning to change. He had to do what was best for him, before thinking about anyone else, especially someone that didn’t want thought of. That was it. He just had to not think about her.

His concentration fell to the dummy wolf. His brow furrowed. There was no room for mistakes and he didn’t intend on making any. His wand out, the spell stated. He didn’t bother to wait to see if it had been performed correctly. He had every confidence in his spell work that it had. A few steps, the imitation potion, and then a wolf turned blue. Goal accomplished. Now, he wished everything came that easily, such as forgetting a certain redhead, but he would have to settle for allowing her to think that he was over her. Back in line, next to her, he made sure to make eye contact, and keeping it steady, said, “Je t'aime, mais oublié vous deviendra, parce qu'il blesse trop.” It was stated in French, so that she didn’t know what he had said. She didn’t need to know. It was enough that he had said it.

Translation:

Je t'aime, mais oublié vous deviendra, parce qu'il blesse trop: I love you, but forgotten you will become, because it hurts too much

0 Chris I'm not sure. I'm a bit worried. 0 Chris 0 5

Lexi

May 13, 2008 9:33 PM

<I>You're</i> worried? by Lexi

Lexi didn’t know what she had wanted from Chris. Maybe for him to tell her that yes, he knew he didn’t have to keep the conversation going, but he wanted to. Maybe for him to tell her that he did want to have the post-break-up check in, and to keep communications going. He didn’t say anything, though, and she really couldn’t be disappointed in him for doing what she had suggested.

She could, however, fault him for his other reactions. The quiet announcement of his turn had merely been the polite thing to do, an ‘I’m done, good luck’ sort of thing. His sarcasm caught her by surprise, and not pleasantly. In fact, there may or may not have been a few seconds where she almost wanted to cry, though she’d never admit that to anyone, and she hid it extremely well, if she did say so herself. It wasn’t so much what he said as the way he said it; her Chris had never been intentionally cruel, not that she could remember. It just felt wrong.

There wasn’t time to say anything to him directly, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to; Lexi had a strong suspicion it wouldn’t end well. However, it didn’t seem right either to just let him have the last word. “Choose, not have, idiot,” she muttered under her breath. Perhaps the name-calling was somewhat childish, but it wasn’t like he could hear her. And she was upset. It was totally allowed.

He did do the spell well, she had to grant him that. She didn’t like it (that competitive streak in her was pretty strong), but mentally it was acknowledged. And, in the spirit of being the bigger person, she was even considering congratulating him on a job well done when he came back. Unfortunately, she got interrupted first. And he would have spoken in a language she didn’t speak, one he knew she didn’t understand, though the first part did sound somewhat familiar. It took her a few seconds, but then she placed it. Je t’aime. If she wasn’t mistaken, ‘I love you.’

It wasn’t a new revelation, but it had been a while since he’d told her, and so it jolted her a little. Still, that didn’t mean anything; she was just surprised that it had lasted as long as it had post-dumping. She hadn’t gotten any sort of warm, tingling feeling. Nuh-uh. No way. “Yeah, well, the mutual feelings were never our problem. It was more everything else.” She really should have left it at that. However, if he got to be immature and childish, then damn it, so did she. “So, were you that much of a bastard while we were dating, and I missed it, or is this a new development?” After Lexi said it she regretted it a little, since, relative to most people, he hadn’t been that bad. He just seemed so non-Chris-like that it was weird, and she didn’t approve.

0 Lexi <I>You're</i> worried? 0 Lexi 0 5

Chris

May 17, 2008 6:45 PM

With you? Always. by Chris

After the words had been spoken, Chris wished he could have left, but they were stuck in the classroom until either the designated class time was over, or if they were fortunate enough, the professor dismissed them early. Though, it was often the former rather than the latter in this class and as his luck would have it, it would be a class that he shared with his ex. As it stood, however, she had opted to speak to him again. He would have thought everything he had said would have been enough to deter her from speaking to him again, but obviously not.

In theory, one would have thought that her calling him a bastard would have made him angrier, but instead, it had just the opposite effect, as the heavy feeling washed away. A grin, nearly a smirk, came to play on his features. It felt odd to his face. He hadn’t really smiled since everything that had occurred with his father, not even around Andi. Oh, she had tried her best, tried everything she could. She had tried making jokes, even tried standing on her head, but in the end nothing had worked. Was it strange that being called such a thing by his ex would be just what he needed to help move the corners of his mouth upwards into a real expression, and not one that was just put on show for people?

Perhaps, it was the fact that she was always honest with him, so much to the point that it hurt that it made him smile. It was a bit of a worry to think about. Maybe he really was insane. His uncle had suggested as much. He had even gone so far as to suggest that all of the stress of one day being Head of the family wasn’t good for him, that maybe he should give it up. He had said no. He had said he was fine and would be able to handle it when the time came. He had to. He didn’t voice why, because of whom he was talking to, but the reason was simple. If he didn’t, then the responsibility would fall into the hands of his cousin. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Devian. He merely had suspicions that he shouldn’t. But had he actually ever given a reason to why he shouldn’t? Maybe he should? Maybe he should just let the weight of it all sink onto the shoulders of the younger male.

Realizing that he had yet to say anything in response and was just standing around, grinning like an idiot, though, by this point the smile had faded, he ran a hand through his hair to bide him more time to actually think of something to reply with, as the thoughts that had been running through his head did him no good. “New development on the entire talking to one’s ex front to avoid awkward conversations involving new relationships,” he stated, half in jest, but partially true. The idea of her having moved on had sparked an unintended note of jealousy from within him. He should have been better controlled, but at least this time, there was no punching of the wall. It was bad enough that Bella was already worried about him, because of his father. Not that he minded that she worried about him, he rather liked the part that said she cared, but he didn’t want to be the cause of grief for her.

That’s all he ever seemed to be – a source of grief. It really was no wonder that things hadn’t worked out in any of his relationships. They were fairly doomed from the start merely, because they involved him. If he believed in reincarnation, he would have been certain he had done something horrible in a past life. Though, who knew? Maybe it did exist and he should be making amends in this one. Anything was better than what lay ahead.

0 Chris With you? Always. 0 Chris 0 5

Lexi

May 21, 2008 6:21 PM

I'm harmless as a puppy by Lexi

Before Chris had responded, Lexi had had every intention of remaining civil(esque). Tactless though she might be sometimes, she was not an innately cruel person, and she didn’t desire the conversation to become any more uncomfortable for either of them. That was, after all, why she had suggested they could stop in the first place.

However, he changed the tone of the conversation. Maybe he didn’t do it intentionally, but his grin (definitely not what she had anticipated, but, then again, boys were strange) and his joking response were a challenge. If he could make jokes, then she had to be able to. If he chose to keep conversation flowing, then she wasn’t going to be the one to give in. She had always been far too competitive for her own good, and it didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. The fact that things were getting a little flirtatious escaped her entirely.

“Well, you know, you’re not half bad,” she acquiesced gracefully, “Though you might want to reconsider your stance. While, like I said, we don’t have to, it could be fun. After all, a guy’s opinion is always helpful, and Ben’s completely useless even when it’s not his roommate. And, if you want, I could return the favor, I suppose, though you do have Bella for that. Also, just so you know,” here was the coquettish smile he probably knew so well by now, popping out unintentionally, “I’ve got them all beat.”

So, either he’d take it in stride, and they could maybe become semi-friends, or he’d be offended and her problem would be solved. Lexi had no clue what she was doing. She was still angry with him, she was still hurt, and she still didn’t know if she wanted to be around him at all, but here she was jumping feet first back into banter. If Chris was confused, he had every right; she didn’t even understand herself anymore, not when she was around him.

The very small, rational side of her brain that had told her not to reengage contact at all was now futilely warning her that she was going to hell in a hand-basket, and the hell’s name was Chris Dupree.

0 Lexi I'm harmless as a puppy 0 Lexi 0 5

Chris

May 22, 2008 3:46 PM

As harmless as a Doberman by Chris

For a moment, Chris could only blink at her. In everything she had said, the particular points that stuck out in his mind was that she wanted a guy’s opinion and that Ben was useless even when it’s not his roommate. These equated in his mind to her previous statement involving romantic interests, which in turn brought about only one logical explanation. She wanted his opinion on other guys. How could she even ask them that? Didn’t she know? Didn’t she understand? Had she moved on that quickly? Had he meant nothing to her?

Of course, hadn’t he just told her that he would forget her? The difference, on his part, was that while he said it, and he hoped by saying it, it would become true, but that was the entire problem, it wasn’t true. He wouldn’t forget about her. He couldn’t. Even if he avoided her in classes, he always knew she was there, almost within reach, but always out of it. Perhaps, given distance and time, she would become nothing more than a fond memory. However, there was the entirety of sixth year, not to mention seventh, to get through before that could even become a possibility. With that established, what was he to do in the present?

Aside from the blinking, the grin had been pasted to his face. The ability to display one emotion and feel another had been part of his training. It had been the first part of his training over the summer, one that he was not proud to say that he had actually accomplished with relative ease, provided that his jealousy and his anger didn’t get in the way, but for the moment, they hadn’t since he was too flabbergasted internally and still processing what she had said to actually allow them to flare up. Oh, they were certainly creeping up, though. Fortunately, given that stage, he was better able to control them and shove them down into the pit of his stomach. He was going to most certainly end up with ulcers one day.

The advantage to being able to better control his emotions was that he was able to think over what she had asked of him and he was able to weigh the pros and cons of the situation. By being a male friend and giving her the guy opinion, he would be able to stay close to her. The con to that was that he would be just that – a friend, something he didn’t want to be, but he supposed the alternative of nothing was worse. Another pro was that he would be able to somewhat protect her (under the intentions of a good friend) from guys that would be jerks to her. The con being that she maybe she would find a nice guy that he would have to grudgingly be friends with. Though, this brought about a larger pro, which was that there was the possibility that he could talk her out of whatever guy that she was interested in and while it wasn’t a trait that he wanted to admit to, it would certainly help him in what he wanted. Maybe, which brings about the larger con of her finding out and truly hating him. But weren’t some things worth the risk?

His mind (which undoubtedly needed a serious examination) was made up. He would change his stance as suggested, but he had an ulterior motive, one that brought about that nagging voice that it probably wasn’t the best idea. Yet, he wanted to build that foundation that they had missed so many times before. Maybe, just maybe, if that could be built, more could be built, and it would be solid, instead of crumbling the way it did the last two times. Merlin, why couldn’t he ever just completely walk away? He knew that he would be getting an earful from Bella, especially when he told what an idiot he was. He had promised no more secrets though. Oh, well, he would deal with it when he crossed that bridge. For now, he had another bridge to cross. “Perhaps, I should change my stance. I mean, you know, providing that I can be of some use. After all, we wouldn’t want you to get in over your head.” He leaned forward a bit at the last part so that their noses were mere inches apart, a reasonable distance to close a gap for a kiss, his eyes locked with hers, and just as quickly he was gone. It was a teasing gesture, one that he knew was risky, but he was hoping to catch her off guard just slightly, just wanting to know if there was any hope left. If there wasn’t, he knew he would have to walk away right now, even if it meant at the wraith of the professor.

0 Chris As harmless as a Doberman 0 Chris 0 5

Lexi

May 22, 2008 6:49 PM

Now that's just rude by Lexi

Over the summer, Lexi had spent a lot of time doing routine post-break-up activities. She’d been on (admittedly rebound) dates with a few of her brother and her mutual friends, had a few girls’ night outs with some of the daughters of her mother’s coworkers, and more than a little ranting about guys to Ben, whom she believed had tuned out as much of it as possible. After three months, she’d come to the happy conclusion that she was safely over her ex for good this time.

She hadn’t expected him to take her offer seriously. After all, that situation definitely constituted cruel and unusual punishment for at least one of them (she couldn’t really say which). However, from his silence it appeared that he was, though he was grinning so she could just be overreacting. Seeing things that weren’t there, maybe. Yeah, that made perfect sense.

“Perhaps, I should change my stance. I mean, you know, providing that I can be of some use. After all, we wouldn’t want you to get in over your head.”

Before he leaned toward her, there was a wonderfully snappy comment on the tip of her tongue. That, she told herself, was why her lips had parted slightly when his face was so close to hers, and not any lingering attraction. And, naturally, the only reason she went slightly weak at the knees and started to lean toward him was because they’d been standing all period long. There was nothing more to it than that.

His moving away, though, had reminded her where they were, and how this might look to others, should they be watching. She’d already gotten lectures from enough people (though particularly Dalila) with regards to Chris, and she didn’t need any more. It didn’t matter that her roommate wasn’t even here; the other girl would find out somehow. However, that might be the least of her problems. Since it was she who had made the (joking) offer in the first place, she couldn’t very well back down now if he was going to take her seriously. It might look weak, or give the impression that she was worried about spending time with him. And she wasn’t. Of course.

However, right now Lexi didn’t trust how much longer she was going to be able to continue this particular conversation. This time, at least, she lucked out; O’Leary called an end to lesson within minutes, and escape was possible. “I’ll keep it in mind,” she promised more confidently than she felt, though perhaps a touch fast. “However, fun though this has been, I have things I have to do. See you around, I suppose.” Hoisting her bag onto her shoulder, she hurried out of the classroom and toward the relative safety of her dorm, refusing to look back.

OOC: Permission to end the lesson had been granted by professor. \r\n\r\n

0 Lexi Now that's just rude 0 Lexi 0 5