Contemplating the Future

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera was curious to explore this new student lounge. Being a prefect and Head Girl, she had two other, more secluded lounges to go to but curiosity pulled her towards this other, public lounge. It had been several weeks since the article ran and gradually things were starting to get back to normal. For now at least. Kiera walked into the new student lounge with a smile on her face.

The room was not too different than the prefects common room. It was nice with several large, comfy looking couches. Kiera sat down and sighed. They really were quite relaxing. Her muscles were sore from the previous Brightstone weekend for obvious reasons. She still couldn't get over the fact that she was engaged! This was crazy. She was only seventeen years old, and she still had a boyfriend, to whom she was dreading breaking the news.

Kiera held out her left hand in front of her. It was hard to imagine a ring on her finger. James hadn't bought her a ring; Kiera thought he might buy her one for Christmas but there wasn't a rush on it. She was secretly glad. It meant she wouldn't have to tell Alex quite yet. Kiera smiled happily as she looked down at her finger.

 

[Nina Patrokov]

Nina walked into the student lounge curiously, it was a new thing here and she didn't know when it had been added but she figured that another place to be with her friends, those that she had anyway, would be perfect. She hadn't seen much of anyone lately, well except for Alex so she knew she didn't have a date for the Yule Ball, not that she cared. Such things didn't matter to her, she just knew that it was one of the last hurrays, the seventh years would have together before graduation, not that Nina knew most of her peers.

In fact Nina had always spent time with Noah or Alex and Noah was graduated and Alex was spending time with a girl whose relationship seemed to be breaking faster and faster. She could sympathy with him, her own relationship was faltering, Zach had not written her and now she would have to leave Hogwarts without a place to go that was welcoming to her.

However as Nina entered the room, her thoughts were on a novel she was reading. It was quite captivating and lately, the Prefect had gotten into older East Asian books, aside from her poetry which was constant. The book was entitled The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and she was so enrapt in the world constructed for her by the author that she accidentally sat on the Head Girl. She let out a gasp and stood up quickly, looking down at the brunette as her cheeks began burning with embarrassment. "Oh gosh, sorry Kiera," she said as she tucked her finger into the page she was on and while hugging the novel to her chest she closed it.

Nina's hair was curled nicely* and she was wearing white v-neck tee shirt and a pair of skinny jeans that with the help of a pair of black ankle boots made her legs appear longer then they actually were, which she was thankful for. When Nina was younger she would have dressed more conservatively and formally but lately she was relaxed and more comfortable in her own skin and with the earth. She was cultivating regularly and it was rare for her to be seen without some dirt on her cheeks from planting both muggle and wizarding plants in the garden and in the Forbidden Forest but today there was none, because she had yet to go outside.

* = See Nina's avatar for example

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera was so wrapped up in her thoughts about James and their futures together that she didn't see Nina walk into the room. Kiera was startled as the other girl sat on her. A shocked look crossed her face before seeing that Nina was distracted by a book. Kiera quickly lowered her hand and stopped imagining. This was one of Alex's best friends, and ex-girlfriends.

Kiera shook her head. "It's alright." she said kindly to her fellow year mate. Kiera hadn't seen much of Nina since that day on the Cliffs when the two had decided to put their differences aside and try to be friends. Kiera moved over on the couch so that Nina could have a place to sit.

Kiera wasn't sure how much Nina knew about her relationship with Alex. It was pretty clear to the entire school that the Head Girl and Head Boy would soon have to end their relationship. It caused Kiera pain to think about it but with her engagement to James, Kiera couldn't keep Alex. She was suddenly sympathetic to a character in a book, Isabella Swann. Alex was like her Jacob with James being her Edward. In the end, it was Edward that got Bella.

Kiera pulled herself out of her thoughts as she smiled at Nina. "How have you been Nina?" she asked in a friendly manner. "I don't believe I have see you around lately." she said trying to make conversation.

 

[Nina Patrokov]

Nina sat down across from Kiera and pulled her legs to her chest, letting the heals of her boots dig into the crack between sofa cushions. She felt awfully over protective over Alex right now but couldn't say a word should what she had hurt her pride to say would be taken back. Nina was not apologizing again, it was something she hated doing, especially to people who were unworthy of it, like this Gryffindor.

As Kiera said that they hadn't seen each other in a while, Nina's brown eyes flashed with hatred momentarily and she was tempted to respond, That's because you have been cheating on my Alex with every boy who doesn't see you as tired and filthy as you truly are. But she feigned a smile and answered sweetly, "I've been just fine. Busy though, planting and reading.. reading certain articles."

Nina bit her tongue the second that came out, the burning in her stomach caused her free hand to shake with furiousness but she hid it all with a calm and collected grin. It isn't my battle. It isn't my battle. It isn't my battle, she repeated mentally.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Nina's words lashed out at Kiera. Kiera's eyes turned sharply on the other girl. She had enough of these assumptions. At the time the article was written, none of the words had been true. Now was a different story but like hell if she was going to admit that here to a girl that seemed to barely tolerate her.

"For your information, that article was nothing but lies." Kiera snapped back at Nina. "I wasn't doing anything wrong that day in Madam Puddifoots. Cynthia Vandervoort was just looking for a story. I told her James was just my friend and that I had Alex." she said, her eyes flashing.

Kiera's words were no longer true. James was way more than her friend. He was her fiance and lover. However, she didn't need to tell Nina that. It wasn't any of her business. Nina had started this, not her. Like hell if she was backing down though. Kiera was fed up with the dirty looks and whispers behind her back.

 

[Nina Patrokov]

"If you have Alex, why did I see him yesterday, looking like his heart was shattered in two, hmm?" Nina asked angrily, still trying to calm her anger but every word that this little b*tch said just countered every attempt at staying calm. It wasn't as if what she was saying was a lie, she just said she had read an article, it wasn't her problem that the Head Girl was touchy or that she was a sl*t. Nina was just looking out for her best friend as she always would and since day one, Nina hadn't trusted or liked Kiera. It showed how good her instincts were and she was no longer going to hide them or lie to herself about them.

"You don't have to prove anything to me Kiera. I'm not the one that has to go to sleep at night knowing that they have been around the block so many times that they could get an astronaut dizzy," Nina smirked. "Now, if you'd excuse me," she said lifting her book to indicate that this novel was far more interesting with the girl who wished to be the center of attention with absolutely everything, that had to sleep around to get her kicks and had to hurt the sweetest boy just for her own gain.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera was surprised to hear that Nina had seen Alex yesterday. The way Nina described him hurt her. She shook her head. "Alex doesn't love me. I can't break a heart that doesn't belong to me." she said back to the girl. "Plus I'm pretty sure he is cheating on me. He won't hardly speak or look at me. He doesn't want to be with me." Kiera fumed back at Nina. It hurt her to admit all this to a girl who thought she was just some sl*t.

Kiera glared at the other girl. She was far from being anything remotely close to a sl8t. Kiera had only slept with one boy and that had been in Brightstone that past weekend. A boy that just happened to be her fiance. "I don't know what you assume I have been doing but I haven't been doing anything of the sort." she said, her voice laced with venom.

 

[Nina Patrokov]

Nina's eyes flashed with hatred and overall protectiveness of her best friend. "Cullen hides his hurt from people, he always has. One of the things that has always frustrated me about him. But he does it. And secondly, do you blame him? You have probably been the worst thing to happen to him since his brother died," she snapped, guilt coming into her voice as she mentioned Haden. The death of Alex's brother was something she would carry with her forever, she was the reason Haden was dead, Alex didn't have to travel around Europe with her but she insisted that Haden would be fine.

"I know you hurt my best friend. And I know that he didn't deserve it at all," Nina said with anger at Kiera. Sure, it wasn't her battle but Cullen wouldn't do anything about it. He was too passive and good hearted for his own good and Nina wouldn't handle it.

 

[Kiera Kaster]

Kiera glared at Nina. They had taken a few steps towards friendship but now it appeared that was all down the drain. Nina didn't know what she was talking about. Kiera stood up. "I loved Alex. He didn't love me. He didn't want me. If he had, he would have fought for me instead of avoiding me and ignoring me." she said, her voice showing her rage. "You know nothing." Kiera said spitefully before turning on her heels and heading for the door. She didn't have to listen to this girl and her lies.