Closed A Last Minute Decision

[Diana Hollis]

Diana hadn't intended to go out to Brightstone this weekend. The village wasn't that amazing, and she still felt very sad and sulky about the thing with Edmund. She had thought that there would probably be a ton of couples going on stupid dates, and she would have to see it. But as the date approached, she had realized that staying behind in the castle on her own was possibly even worse. All she could do was her homework, which was boring and not something anyone should be doing on a weekend. So she had hesitated for a bit at first, but eventually decided to go anyway, telling herself she could always turn back if it really was boring. She hoped to run into her friends there, though she really hoped she wouldn't see Sapphire on some date with Mervyn. She wasn't sure if she could stop herself from being bitter about it, and she didn't want things between her and Sapphire to go bad again. Hopefully Domi and Winnie would be around somewhere.

But as she entered the village, she noticed many students but no one she recognized just yet. She decided she wasn't going to waste the entire day looking for her friends, sure that she would stumble upon them eventually. Shopping was always fun, and she definitely needed something to lift her mood. Diana adjusted her bag on her shoulder and looked around at the different stores, trying to decide where to go first.

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava hummed as she skipped through the village. She always came down to pick up art supplies. With Sapphy's birthday coming up, she had several ideas for new paintings roaming around in her mind. She loved this time of year for just that reason. It was always so inspirational. As she came out of Dervish and Banges (where she may or may not have been subtly spying on Sapph's boyfriend) she spotted a familiar dark head making their way through the crowd.

Ava's eyes lit up. "Dianaaaa!" She called, skipping up to the girl. "Ohhhh I've heard so much about you! Alice just adores you and is always talking about how smart you are, and how pretty, and Sapphy told me you're just so clever and strong and I can't believe neither of them introduced me yet!" She giggled, taking a breath as she chattered happily. "My name is Avaria Lockwood, but everyone calls me Ava!" She introduced herself with a flourish.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana decided that she should go check out Madam Malkin's, at the very least to see what they had on display. She was fairly happy with the dresses and options she had for the yule ball, but it never hurt to take another look. The ball was something else that now felt melancholy, but she knew she wasn't going to skip it even without her date. She loved the event, and wasn't going to sit in her room while others had fun without her. Besides, if word got to Edmund that she was enjoying herself at the party without him, that would be an added bonus.

As she started to head into the direction of the store, Diana heard someone call her name. For a moment, she thought it was Alice. But as she turned around, she saw a blonde girl skip over to her. Before Diana could even start to ask what the girl wanted from her, she started to talk, and talk, and giggle. Diana blinked, staring at her for a moment, nonplussed. "Wait. You're... Alice's friend, right?" She asked after a moment, recognizing the girl. That would at least make sense of some of her words, though Diana wasn't sure if she should believe Alice was always talking about how smart she was. A part of her wanted to believe that, though. It would certainly be nice. And the girl mentioned similar words from Sapphire, which was even harder to imagine. Diana held up a hand to stop the chattering as she tried to make sense of this. "Hold on, you're friends with Sapphire as well?" She took in the girl for a moment, trying to make sense of her and Sapphire being friendly. "I see. Hello Avaria. I would introduce myself, but it seems like that isn't necessary." She said with a slight quirk of her lips. The girl seemed like she could easily be irritating, but the compliments she had indirectly given to Diana made her warm up to her a little. "If you're looking for Alice, I don't know where she is."

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava paused as Diana held up a hand. "Oops! Sorry, I was chattering again, wasn't I?" She giggled. "Yes, and yes," She chirped happily, folding her hands behind her back and rocking on her feet. "I meet Sapphy before we were going to school here! Some boys were being mean to me so she punched them in the face. She tried ignoring me after that but I couldn't just let her be after she saved me like that." She declared dramatically.

She giggled when Dianna asked if she was looking for Alice. "Nope! I'm not looking for Allie. I was just grabbing some paint supplies when I saw you." She smiled widely. "I just wanted to meet you! How's your day going? I bet you're doing something really fun! Sapphy likes you and Allie says such nice things about you I bet you're so much fun to be around, you're already so pretty, I can see- Oh!" She clamped a hand over her mouth before giggling again. "I was talking too much again, wasn't I? Sorry," She apologized happily. "I am getting a little bit better." She reassured her with a grin.

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana shrugged. "You were talking a bit fast." She conceded, but she gave the girl a slight smile. If nothing else, maybe she could keep Diana company until she had found someone else. She was also curious about this girl who had befriended her sister, wondering if Alice really said nice things about her or if she was just saying so. Diana could definitely put up with the girl's chattering if she kept saying nice things. The story about Sapphire was interesting, and she wondered how her friend felt about the fact that this girl now wasn't leaving her alone. "I see. Sapphire's tough like that." She said with a shrug. Punching someone in the face wasn't exactly subtle, but Diana had to admit it was effective and pretty cool. She herself wasn't likely to do something like that, but she'd have her own way to get revenge.

She snorted when Avaria called Alice 'Allie', knowing that Alice wouldn't allow that from Diana which meant she might have to try. It could be fun to annoy Alice, especially because not much actually annoyed her. "Paint supplies? What for?" She asked as she started to walk, assuming the girl would follow. "I'm just going to see if Madam Malkin's has anything new. My day has been fine, not very interesting." She said, not wanting to give any details. She smiled slightly when the girl called her pretty, brushing her dark hair over her shoulder. She was, of course. But it was still nice to hear confirmation. "It's alright, you can talk." She said, waving her hand. Though she wondered how bad the girl had been before if this was better.