Closed Maybe I Got Mine, But You'll All Get Yours

[Celia Vuong]

It hadn't taken Celia long to decide she wanted revenge for the howler. She didn't care if Seraphina and Jenna were gone; she was perfectly willing to redirect her fury towards more easily accessible targets. In her mind, the entire school had played a part in the destruction of her social standing and subsequent isolation. They had witnessed her humiliation, and for that, she would make them pay.

High up on her list of targets were the former Elite Sisterhood members. Celia saw them as an extension of Jenna, and without the older girl around, she would go after them instead. The irony of the sorority's role in her social life was not lost on Celia. She'd dreamt up the club as a way to find likeminded girls who she could befriend and use to boost her own popularity. But somewhere along the way, her vision for the group had become corrupted by Jenna's inane ideas, and in the end, Celia had found herself cast out from her own sorority, more unpopular than ever before.

So bitter was Celia that she could barely bring herself to even look at the corner of the Student Lounge where the Elite Sisterhood used to hold its meetings. It was a good thing the club was now dead. After taking a seat on the opposite side of the room, Celia pulled out a notebook and pen and began to mull over methods of revenge. The prefect pairings had been a good start, but she was sure she could do so much worse.

 

[Gwen Goodwin]

Losing thirty points had been a bit of a hit, but Gwen was pretty sure it had hurt Celia's reputation more than her own. She looked slightly insane for taking that many after just a few insults, and Gwen made sure to play up her own innocence in the whole thing. Yes, she had lost her temper, but it hadn't really been her fault had it? Celia was just so unreasonable. It was an easy narrative to spin. Partly, because a large part of it was just the truth. Celia was unreasonable and slightly mad with power. Gwen knew better than to say so directly to anyone, but she had a fun time subtly nudging conversations in that direction until someone else suggested it. Gwen was sure it wouldn't be all that difficult to destroy Celia's reign of terror. She just didn't have the social support to back it up, just a flimsy badge that could be taken away. Gwen was pretty sure that would be a first in Hogwarts history. It was a fun thought.

The girl had been trying to do some homework in the student lounge, but it was boring. She had started going over Heta Omega ideas instead, hoping Renata might be around somewhere. Instead, she spotted her new nemesis. She had never liked Celia, but the loathing she felt as she looked at the older girl was new. She wondered if Celia had any idea of what she looked like. She looked like she was some cartoon villain, trying to plot others' downfall. Gwen allowed herself to giggle a little, stifling it with her hand, but still making sure Celia could hear it.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia had barely touched pen to paper when she heard some obnoxious giggling. She assumed it was just the group of third year girls sitting nearby. There was admittedly one downside to being head girl (and prefect), and it was that she couldn't just silencio people who annoyed her. Her life would've been so much easier if she could just jinx the younger kids, but she was pretty sure that wasn't allowed, no matter how many stupid jokes Professor Haden cracked about doing just that.

The giggling continued, and Celia glanced up, her gaze immediately landing on Gwen. Her first instinct was to roll her eyes. The girl was so transparent, especially now, in the aftermath of the prefects meeting, when she'd shown everyone her true colors. Gwen might have thought she could make her feel insecure with her giggling, but really all she was doing was annoying everyone within earshot. So Celia smiled brightly. "Hi Gwen, you're in a good mood. I take it that the patrols with Akihiro are going well?" Some of the prefect pairings hadn't gone over the way she wanted, but Gwen had been just as upset as Celia had hoped.

 

[Gwen Goodwin]

Giggling to make someone else insecure worked a lot better in a group, Gwen had to admit. Still, she was glad she had gotten Celia's attention. She wasn't done with this girl, and she was confident she could make her feel absolutely horrible about herself. It wasn't like she cared if she lost more points. In fact, if Celia kept taking large amounts of points from her, a professor might notice her weird power trip. Gwen smiled at Celia, pretty sure it looked entirely real to anyone looking their way. Gwen had mastered the fake smile years ago. "Oh, it's alright." She said lightly, as if entirely unbothered. "I was upset, yes, but it turns out we're both reasonable and mature people who have moved on from their relationship." She tucked some hair behind her ear. "Seeing as we're both seeing other people." She explained. "Not that you'd understand, I don't think you've ever really dated anyone, right?" She asked innocently.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia didn't understand why Gwen was bothering with the fake smile (unless she thought it would be irritating). After the prefects meeting, everyone knew it was an act. But two could play that game, and Celia just matched her expression, resisting the urge to outright laugh at the "reasonable and mature" claim. "Yes, I'm sure 'reasonable and mature' was the impression everyone else got during the meeting. But you're right. It's pretty obvious that Akihiro has moved on." For one, he hadn't pitched a fit in front of everyone. But also, he was dating Giulia. Now, one could argue that was just a really desperate rebound, but Celia had a hard time believing anyone would stoop that low and risk social suicide without actually liking the person.

It was interesting what Gwen thought would make her feel insecure (and Celia had no doubt that was what the younger girl was trying to do right now). "You're right, dating at Hogwarts is just so difficult," she said with a sigh. "Especially when you have standards and aren't desperate enough to throw yourself at the first person who will look your way." Celia paused before giving Gwen the same innocent smile. "Not that you'd understand." Yes, she did occasionally think it'd be nice to have a date to the dances. But she would much rather be single than be with someone like René. Celia still could not understand what had possessed both Jenna and Gwen to go for him, and she had to assume it was just a desperate desire to have a boyfriend (or maybe a desire to hurt Jenna, on Gwen's part).

 

[Gwen Goodwin]

sorry for taking so long!

Gwen felt frustrated with Celia’s words, but she knew it wasn’t showing on her face. She kept on smiling like Celia wasn’t infuriating. Of course, Akihiro had moved on, but so had she. But she knew that if she insisted on that, it would seem like she hadn’t. “I guess so.” She said instead like it didn’t bother her ,and she had barely noticed he now had a girlfriend. Celia turning around what Gwen had said to make her seem desperate wasn’t a big surprise, but it was annoying. Gwen blinked at the older girl, tilting her head slightly. “I suppose... your standards have gotten higher then?” She said, sounding puzzled. “Louis moved on to the next thing, I take it?” She asked, a pitying expression on her face. At Celia’s next words, Gwen shrugged. “I wouldn’t understand, no. I’ve never thrown myself at anyone.” She said confidently, smiling sweetly. “René made the first move, he’s such a darling. Same with Akihiro actually, back in the day. It’s nice to be liked sometimes.” She paused. “Not that you’d[ understand. All the boys are probably way too intimidated by you to even think about you that way” She laughed.

 

[Celia Vuong]

you're all good!

Gwen seemed to be deliberately ignoring her earlier sarcasm, which Celia found telling. "Isn't it interesting how he's now dating Giulia?" she asked, her eyes bright. "Wonder what that says about you," she commented, almost as an afterthought. Their conversation turned to the other Alcott, and Celia once again had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She couldn't tell if Gwen genuinely thought she was interested in Louis or if this was just an attempt to annoy her. "We've literally never dated," she said. There had been that one Yule Ball date years ago, but that didn't count.

Celia was admittedly a little surprised to hear that René had made the first move. No doubt it had involved a lot of awkward stuttering and fidgeting. She hid her surprise though and simply raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, it kind of sounds like you say yes to anyone who asks." At Gwen's next comment, Celia gave her an amused smile. "Your point...?" She liked that people found her intimidating. It was a type of power, and she'd much rather have power than a date. "If they're intimidated by me, then that's on them," she said with a shrug. "I'm not interested in dating cowards."

 

[Gwen Goodwin]

well I'm definitely not good anymore RIP sorry for taking even longer. I'm fine if you want to drop this thread at this point but I felt like I owed a reply anyway
Gwen decided to ignore Celia's question about Giulia. She didn't think it said anything about her and everything about Akihiro being an idiot, but she knew Celia could turn that around on her easily. Gwen let out a small noise of scornful disbelief when Celia said they had never dated. "I mean, I don't think Louis dates." She said with a roll of her eyes. "But I doubt he'd hang around you without any benefits." She said mildly.

Gwen laughed slightly and tilted her head a bit, amused. "You think they're the only two who asked? That's funny." She said, her voice gentle and mocking at the same time. Gwen rolled her eyes upward when Celia went on. "Yeah, yeah, you're too cool for anyone." She said in a tired voice. "I love that whole... prickly thing to seem less lonely you have going on, but it is easy to see through. Yes, of course you're all alone by choice. We'll all pretend to believe that for your sake." She said with another light laugh.

 

[Celia Vuong]

Any satisfaction Celia felt from Gwen ignoring her question quickly curdled into revulsion. She wasn't sure if she should be more offended for herself or on Louis' behalf. "Louis knows I'm not interested," Celia said bluntly. She wondered if he was aware of what people like Gwen were saying behind his back. At Gwen's question, Celia raised her eyebrows. "So you're telling me that you had other options, but you chose to date Jenna's leftovers and the human equivalent of cardboard?" Either the younger Slytherin had terrible taste or she was desperate.

There were a lot of things that annoyed Celia, but one of the most infuriating was other people trying to psychoanalyze her. "Jesus Christ, I'm not lonely because I'm not dating anyone," she said, rolling her eyes. It was 2059. Surely they were past the idea that a girl who was single had to be lonely. If she was currently lonely, it was because she was trapped in an anachronistic castle in the middle of nowhere, completely cut off from civilization. "Just because you're so insecure that you need a boyfriend to feel like you have any sort of status or self-worth doesn't mean the rest of us are the same," Celia said scornfully. She didn't even know if Gwen had any sort of insecurity around this, but she did strongly suspect that the younger Slytherin was dating René as some sort of weird wanting-to-be-Jenna thing.

 

[Gwen Goodwin]

Gwen couldn't help smiling slightly as Celia said she wasn't interested in Louis. That was a funny mental image, and one Gwen could accept. The idea of Louis hopefully trailing after an uninterested Celia was a funny one. "I'm not sure he knows, why else would he follow you around?" She asked. Gwen snorted when Celia mentioned Jenna. "Who? Oh right, she hasn't been relevant in ages." Gwen said with a fake yawn. "René liked me before he even dated her." She added with a shrug. "And I happen to like him. Enough."

As Celia talked about not being lonely, Gwen watched her carefully. Celia knew just how to turn things around and make Gwen sound idiotic for suggesting it, but Gwen knew she was onto something. She smiled slightly as Celia continued to talk, painting Gwen as some desperate girl in need of a boyfriend. She let her ramble on for a moment before speaking. "No, you're not lonely because you're not dating anyone." She conceded with an amused expression. "You're lonely because you're not dating anyone and you have no friends or anyone else who will put up with you. Since you're insufferable." She said with a sweet smile. "You might not even realize it yet, but it's pretty easy to see from over here."

 

[Celia Vuong]

"Oh, I don't know," Celia said sarcastically, "maybe because we're friends?" This was getting exhausting. When she'd made up with Louis last year, she couldn't have anticipated that his reputation would be used against her. She'd always assumed it might be the other way around. Celia snorted at Gwen's over-the-top yawn. "Please. Don't pretend like you didn't spend the past five years desperately fawning over her in the hopes that some of her popularity would rub off on you. It was painful to watch." That was one upside of the implosion of her social life, she supposed. She no longer had to listen to Gwen ply Jenna with obsequious compliments. Celia raised an eyebrow at Gwen's wording. "Enough? Well, that's convincing," she said with a laugh. "You're definitely not dating him because he's the only option available."

It was rich of Gwen to try and claim that she didn't have any friends because she was insufferable, when it was because Jenna and the whole Elite Sisterhood had cast her out after the howler incident — something she was sure Gwen knew very well. "You've spent half this conversation talking about Louis. So, what, do I have friends or not?" she asked before going back on the attack. "What about you? Who are your friends, Gwen? Older girls who can barely stand you even though you keep sucking up to them?" She couldn't speak for Jenna, but she could definitely speak for her sixth year self. "Hufflepuffs who have fallen for the whole innocent act? How many of them would like you if they knew what you're really like? Do you think Renata's going to stick by you after your tantrum at the meeting?" Celia knew she'd hidden her background around Jenna and her darkest impulses around Louis, but at least she hadn't had to invent herself a new personality to be their friend (or former friend in Jenna's case).

 

[Gwen Goodwin]

The idea of someone as stupid and silly as Louis being actually friends with Celia was almost enough to make Gwen laugh again. It was so silly. Annoying as Celia was, she was too smart to waste her time with someone like that. "I guess my earlier point stands, you're friends because he has no standards." She said, even though she thought the other way around as more appropriate. She wasn't going to let on that she thought Celia was too good for him. Gwen tilted her head slightly. "Right, and you weren't?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "I remember the elite sisterhood, you must have been delighted she let you pretend to run it with her." Everyone had known Jenna had been the one calling the shots. Gwen shrugged slightly as Celia made fun of her word choice. "Enough for now." She said calmly, not bothered in the slightest by her words. René was fun, but Gwen knew he wasn't forever material.

Gwen faked a yawn to show how uninteresting this conversation was. "Louis barely counts. I still think he's just trying to add you to his list of conquests. Either way, he's not doing you any favors by hanging around you." Gwen snorted delicately when Celia started questioning her friends. "I know you think you're too good to pay attention to anyone else, but I have plenty of friends." She said, though the Hufflepuff comment hit a bit close to home. "Renata already told me she understands. Such a shame that you think my friends would drop me so easily, though I guess you speak from experience."

 

[Celia Vuong]

Celia knew Louis' standards were almost non-existent, but she also knew that wasn't why they were friends. "Yeah, that's not why," she said, rolling her eyes. She was beyond tired of this line of conversation. Celia automatically bristled at the mention of the Elite Sisterhood — her own club turned against her. It still frustrated her that everyone thought it was solely Jenna's idea when she was the one who had come up with a lot of the club's structure, drawing from her own knowledge of American sororities. "That was a joint project," she said calmly. "We made every decision together." Or at least, it had started that way. "I never had to shower her in obnoxious compliments about her hair or her outfit," she said pointedly. Gwen was really not doing anything to debunk Celia's theory, and she raised an eyebrow. "Does René know you settled for him and like him just 'enough'?"

If it weren't for her conversation with Louis last year, Celia could probably be persuaded into believing he was just biding his time until she agreed to hook up with him. But their conversation had been intensely personal, and she wanted to think Louis and his intentions had been sincere. (And if she was mistaken, well, he had very helpfully given her more than enough ammunition to destroy him with). "And what is that supposed to mean?" she asked, amused by Gwen's comment about Louis' presence not doing her any favors. Her reputation had already been destroyed. It wasn't like Louis (or anyone else) could do much more damage to it. She snorted in disbelief as Gwen tried to claim that she had "plenty of friends." She didn't entirely believe the claim about Renata either. "Then she's a bigger pushover than I thought," Celia commented mildly. "Yes, turns out they weren't my friends after all, just a bunch of fake, superficial, backstabbing cowards," she said, looking Gwen directly in the eye.