A little quiet time

[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee pushed through the crowed hallways, not caring that she was treadding on peoples toes. Now wasn't the time for niceties, she wasn't in the mood. Her whole world had basically turned upside down and she had to get away before she began to cry. Everything she thought she knew was pretty much a lie, she didn't even know who she was anymore. Her commonplace Slytherin sneer that she usually wore with pride was beginning to slip and the fear of bursting into tears in such a populated area began to overwhelm her. Giving one last shove through a gaggle of whispering girls she found herself outside. Moving away from the thundering chatter Aimee glanced quickly over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being followed and fled down the great lawn and slipped into the silence of the forbidden forest.

Sighing with relief as the cool air surrounded her, Aimee threw her bag upon the damp ground and sat herself down beside it burying her head into her hands. Her tears begining to drip into her palms. She hated showing such a weakness, she had detested crying, even if it was in private. She was a Slytherin, she wasn't supposed to cry. 'Damn it Annalie, look what you've done to me.' she thought angrily her shoulders tensing. 'Some siter you turned out to be, oh wait you aren't even my real sister, oh silly me! Ugh, even my thoughts sound crazy!' Aimee punched the ground, causing her to wince in pain at the strength behind it. Examining her dirt clad knuckles she screwed up her nose. "Ugh!" she muttered and wiped it on her unform, she would deal with it later. Sighing she pulled out her journal and began to continue her latest story, it was then that she heard the crunching of hurried footsteps. Trying to act as nonchalant as you can with a tear stained Aimee casually began writing again just in case the person approached her; she wanted to look as though she was sitting in the forest just because she could, not because she was having a private cry. She wasn't at all in the mood to have a conversation with anyone, but if she had to she would. But until that moment arose Aimee threw herself into her story.

Out of Character:

Enter Elspeth stage right
Hope this is ok my muse is some what lacking at the moment....

 

[Elspeth Brookes]

As she watched the obviously distraught student push through the crowd and out the doors, Elspeth considered briefly. She could ignore the incident and carry on as usual, but she wasn't doing anything, and she was curious as to what had made the normally composed Slytherin girl so upset. She shrugged to herself, amazed at her endless curiosity, her major vice. She could never just leave well enough alone. Here she was, walking outside, possibly in for a horribly sappy conversation, walking voluntarily down to the edge of the forest where the Slytherin had disappeared. She knew she knew the forest better than most, having spent a lot of time wandering through it over her years at Hogwarts, and she found the blonde witch easily.

She stood in the shadows for a second, assessing the other girl casually and impersonally, before stepping silently out of the trees. "It's Aimee, right?" she asked, settling herself down on a patch of grass, and plastering an ingratiating smile onto her face. The girl looked like Elspeth had felt when one of her unlucky family members had died. "Family troubles, I'm guessing." Her smile slipped for a moment, and trace of the empathy she felt for the other young girl showed plainly on her face. Of all the people she had met, this Slytherin seemed the most likely to understand the pain Elspeth herself had been through, and she hadn't even spoken a word to the Ravenclaw. All the other said they understood, and cared, but what they really felt was pity. She didn't want that. It made her feel weak and useless, and her room mates were so repetitive that she felt would prefer brusque orders to 'Get over it, no one else cares,' to repeated simpering 'How are you feeling, Elspeth? It must have been horrible!'s. Aimee, however, looked like she could comprehend the riot of emotions Elspeth was hiding behind her cool mask.

Out of Character:

Elspeth enters, stage right. I need to finish my drama homework. It's evil.

 

[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee looked up as a familliar face stepped into view and frowned, her eyes flashing "Yeah, and what's it to you?" she sneered, a light blush gracing her cheeks at being caught crying. She knew the Ravenclaw from classes but their paths had never crossed, they had never spoken until now. Flicking her blond hair out of her eyes she listened to what Elspeth had to say. The Slytherin sighed and looked down to examine her nails, "Yeah, I guess you could say that..." she mumbled "You could also say that it's kinda hard to have family problems if you don't have a real family!" Aimee cried loudly her outburst echoing through the silent forest. Pressing her palms to her eyes she groaned "Sorry"

Aimee hated the moods she was experiencing, the pure hatred to real dispair, jumping between the two with a single comment or thought. She knew Elspeth herself had, had her own fair share of family troubles, she had heard the rumours that swept throughout the Slytherin Common room, not at all sure of what to make of it all. She also knew that if anyone would understand it would be the girl sitting right in front of her, the only problem was the fact that she had no trust in anyone. She was paranoid, it was constantly a matter of 'Who is lying to me? What was the real truth? Are they talking about me?' Aimee bit her lip and shoved her journel back into her bag, she was going to take a leap of faith and talk to Elspeth. She had refused to talk to anyone up until now, they knew nothing, would never truly understand how being lied to for 14 years felt. "It's a long story..." she said finally now meeting Elspeths eyes, wondering if she wanted to know anymore.

 

[Elspeth Brookes]

Elspeth raised an eyebrow at Aimee's aggression, but said nothing. "You could also say that having no family is a family problem in itself,"" Elspeth said, laughing humourlessly. Flatly she spoke. "Don't apologise. I get it. What happened?" The Ravenclaw watched with interest as Aimee struggled with the question of whether or not to trust Elspeth. She knew nothing she said could influence the Slytherin girl's decision, so she kept her silence as she waited patiently. Finally, Aimee met Elspeth's eyes, and spoke. Elspeth was startled that Aimee had chosen to trust her; she herself hadn't trusted anyone since Emily's death. Silently, she admired the girl's courage.

"I haven't got anything planned," The Ravenclaw said coolly, meeting the other girl's eyes easily. "I'm sure you know that I'm probably the only person who'd understand." Elspeth knew her story was all over the school, everyone whispering about the poor little Ravenclaw, her whole family died, and one was murdered! She found it amusing, now, how people found it awkward to talk with her. Asking how her parents were wasn't exactly a great conversation starter, and telling her to get over herself and cheer up was apparently too insensitive, as no one had dared to even imply she was being melodramatic or milking it. Which she was doing, she knew. She was long over her families deaths, and now merely carried the charade along to watch people squirm with discomfort. The only way she'd changed was the anger churning within.

 

[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee smiled weakly at Elspeth's comment "That sounds about right. Even though they aren't your real family they say they love you, but still have the heart to screw you over and carelessly turn your whole world upside, causing you to question everything you once knew to be the solid truth! she muttered angrily, reffering to all the pathetic lies. Aimee had to nod mutely at Elspeth statement, of course she would be able to understand, she had heard the whispered rumors, "Of course I know...I've heard the stories, I'm suprised you haven't heard mine. They're sweeping throught the Slytherin common room like wild fire and if Annalie has anything to do with it, they will reach the Ravenclaw common room soon enough." she sighed. Trust her sister to start screaming in the middle of a crowded hallway.

Aimee exhaled deeply and scratched her head, her fingers running over the scar that was concealed beneath her hair. "I... well...uh... ok well, during one of many fights with Annalie my "sister" shes in Ravenclaw do you know her? Black hair thinks shes the smartest person ever. Anyway, I kind of yelled at her, calling her the worst sister in the world! She of course beign her horrible self screamed out that 'there was no way that she could be the worst sister in the world because she doesn't have a sister, that I was just some poor child her parents took pity on. That my real mother took one look at me and ran for the hills.'" Aimee cried a single tear rolling down her cheek. Taking a deep breath Aimee continued "To put the icing on the cake my "parents" tried to deny the whole thing, saying that Annalie was just angry and was trying to hurt me, thinking I was stupid enough to believe them. They lied straight to my face!" She was openly crying now her shoulders shaking, "I guess I always knew, all the tell tale signs were there I guess I just didn't want to believe it, not the first time I guess..." She sniffed and look carefully at Elspeth, her face gave nothing away and immediately Aimee was unsure if she should of opened her mouth, 'What have I done?'

Aimee hasitly wiped away her tears. She was sick of crying, sick of feeling sorry for herself, it wasn't going to make it any better for her. 'Oh God, what is she thinking? Is she thinking I'm mental? Milking the situation? Does she think I need to get over myself?' she thought hysterically the paranoia closing in around her. Her heart beat quickened as Elspeth said nothing for a few painstakingly long moments.

Out of Character:

Ok a lot of waffle on my part have fun

 

[Elspeth Brookes]

Elspeth was quietly glad to see Aimee smile, no matter how tremulously. She listened to the Slytherin's cries, sympathy painting her face, still unaware of what had happened to hurt the girl, but knowing she would try to help, if only to prevent her from ending up like Elspeth herself. The girl's situation was eerily similar to her own, from what she had heard of it so far, right down to the rumours spreading through the school like a disease. Of course, her family had not lied to her, at least, not deliberately, but she still felt betrayed and abandoned. She knew it wasn't her mother's fault she had had a heart attack, nor her aunt's that she had been killed, nor even her father's, that he had crashed the car, but it was hard to view it without emotion clouding her Ravenclaw logic, even if that emotion was no longer the crippling grief it had once been.

She listened with a growing sense of deja vu. Her mind's eye watched as Justine died again, on the crowded streets of Brightstone. An argument, shouting something she'd regret. Her hands had twisted into fists as she heard what her House mate had done to Aimee, and she tried to put a face to the name. She couldn't recall any 'Annalie's, but she didn't spend much time talking to her fellow Ravenclaws anymore, so the girl remained a faceless figure in her imagination. She was pulled from her musing by the silence. Her eyes refocussed, and she saw Aimee staring at her uncertainly. Running through the last minute in her mind, she was relieved she hadn't missed anything. "Your situation seems remarkably similar to mine," the slight witch said, leaning back casually. She had seen how nervous the Slytherin was about telling her, and she was trying to defuse the tension with a light tone of voice. She turned serious again quickly, though. "There's not much I can say, really. I always got annoyed when people said they were sorry, because it's not like they caused it. I always preferred it when people pretended nothing had happened. It stopped me having to think about it. It probably wasn't the best way of dealing, but it stopped-" She paused. "Well, no, it didn't stop me going crazy. But it helped me cope. But if you want to talk, I'll listen, and I won't tell anyone. I don't talk to anyone, so you know I'll keep that promise."

Out of Character:

My muse went on holiday. It'll be back soon.

 

[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee watched as Elspeth snapped back into focus. She could sense that the Ravenclaw had been reminded of her own situation, and she hated herself for bringing it all back up. She tried to give her a small smile in appolgy, but she couldn't help but feel oddly relieved as Elspeth began to talk, her voice calm and she let out the breath she didn't realise she was holding. She had to admire Elspeth, at how collected she was, Aimee could hardly string two sentences together with out bursting into tears these days.

Aimee chuckled weakly "I would also hate it if people kept saying sorry, but no one does. They just like to tease me, not caring how the comments affect me. Some Slytherins have no heart, and I do mean some, I have heart but sometimes I wish I didn't." Aimee smiled at Elspeth, "I guess there is someone I can trust after all." she whispered, crossing her legs and rested her head in her hands her finger tips on her scar. "I'm also suprised Annalie hasn't told everyone about when I was bald." She laughed humourlessly, "Although I guess that would be just creul, even for her..." Sighing she turned profile to Elspeth and pulled away the top layer of hair, reveling her thin white scar to her. "You're one of only two people outside of me 'family' who know about this. I guess this just shows much I seem to trust you even though I hardly even know you." Lowering her hair she turned, her eyes meeting Elspeths, "Brain Tumor" she muttered, the days of the hospital flashing before her eyes, Chemo, Alaina, it all making her eyes mist once more.

Out of Character:

Sorry muse is bad it'll come back soon I hope...
Oooh ooh idea forming...
An Annalie/Elspeth post?

 

[Elspeth Brookes]

"I guess Ravenclaws are a bit more 'kind' than Slytherins." Elspeth rolled her eyes expressively, showing what she thought of 'kind'. Reflecting that Aimee sounded just like the Tin Man, with her talk of having hearts, she decided not to voice this observation. The other girl probably wouldn't get it anyway. When Aimee started talking about being bald, Elspeth's brows furrowed quizzically, but she remained silent, hoping Aimee would clarify. The scar on the other girl's head made her wince in sympathy, but she felt her eyes widen comically when she was told Aimee trusted her. No one had properly trusted her since the first accident. She hadn't exactly invited confidences, but no one had even told her a girly secret, or shared the details of a crush or scandal. Now this girl, who she'd known for only a few minutes, was trusting her with an actual secret.

"Brain tumour?" Elspeth repeated like an idiot. Seeing immediately the pain the words caused in her new friend, she hurried to placate her. "Sorry. It just took me a moment to realise what you meant." Looking up, Elspeth saw the sky getting darker. We'll have to leave soon... she thought, not wanting to get caught in the Forbidden Forest after dark. "I assume...chemotherapy is the reason for the 'bald' comment before?" She asked hesitantly. Great, now I'm just like all those Ravenclaws I despise. Terrified of offending them, or bringing back bad memories. Her lips twisted disgustedly at the thought of any similarities with her and those simpering idiots.

Out of Character:

That...was slightly hurried and weird. Excuse any oddities.

 

[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee smiled "Well just about anyone is nicer than some Slytherins, Annalie is an exception to that rule though." She couldn't wait to give her 'sister' a piece of her mind. It would some sweet revenge. Aimee stiffled a giggle at Elspeths shocked expression to her saying that she trusted the Ravenclaw, it was that or the scar that made her eyes widen. Under normal circumstances Aimee would of preferred not to tell anyone about the cancer that had ripped her life apart, causing her to loose her best friend, hoping that it wouldn't come back any time soon, but she had learnt from experience that it you wanted to be a good friend you had to be honest. But it was usually after a few days that she finally confinded anyone about it, not mere minutes, but Aimee felt a kind of connection between them, whether it was the alike circumstances or something else the Slytherin didn't know, but she didn't care.

Grinning sadly she nodded, "Yup, cancerous brain tumour, size of a 20 cent piece." Following her friends gaze she noticed the darkening sky, 'Damn, just when this was getting good...' she thought. Aimee laughed, "Relax, I don't mind talking about when I was bald, it was quite funny actually, I should show you a picture sometime. I was like a cute newborn baby...It's just if Annalie started talking about it, she blow everything way out of proportion, making me sound like a bald baby eating monster or something." she scowled and rose to her feet, offering her hand to Elspeth, "Need a hand? she asked, "Its getting late..."

 

[Elspeth Brookes]

Elspeth digested the news of Aimee's tumour slowly. "Is there any chance it'll come back?" She asked, eyeing the Slytherin's head with avid curiosity. The slight witch laughed as Aimee described herself. "Annalie sounds like a lovely person," Elspeth said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "I may have a talk with her." Her expression was stony, until she caught Aimee's eye again, and made herself grin cheerfully. "You're right, that does sound cute. And I can just picture you!"

At Aimee's words, Elspeth smiled sheepishly. She had thought the other girl hadn't noticed her skyward glance, but apparently it had been noted. She took the proffered hand and stood, brushing grass and twigs off her muggle jeans. "We'd better hurry if we don't want to get stuck in the Forest in the dark," Elspeth said, starting into the trees. "You ran really far in here." After a few minutes of walking through the eerie forest in companionable silence, Elspeth spoke. "Why were you put in Slytherin? No offence, but you don't seem very cunning or ambitious, at least from what you told me about how you deal with your 'sister'." She knew it was blunt, and could easily offend Aimee, but she couldn't whine about people skirting around delicate topics and then do so herself. Elspeth was many things, but she was never a hypocrite.

 

[Aimee Darkhart]

Aimee glanced at the ground biting her lip. Of course there was a chance of the tumor returning. Sure she was in remission but she had been told that she should prepare for it to come back. The doctors had said that it also could return somewhere else. The whole idea of it coming back made Aimee shudder. It terrified her to think that it could tear her life apart for a second time. "Well...yeah... of course... There is always the chance." she muttered hating herself for sounding so weak and pitiful about the whole thing. Looking up she shrugged, "Annalie, she used to be my best friend in the whole world, apart from Alaina until some how she found out about me being adopted...She was so cute and innocent, now however it seems like she's out to get me." Aimee still had to wonder how she had found out, was she told? Did she evesdrop? That was something else she had to find out, there were so many lies and questions swimming around her mind. "I'll show you a photo when I get one." she laughed winking.

Aimee nodded, "No sense in getting in trouble..." she giggled and pulled Elspeth along with her as she started back towards the castle. She blushed sheepishly she hadn't meant to go in so far. She had wanted no one to follow her... "Yeah...well...I got nothing." she said pathetically. Cocking her head to the side at Elspeths question she frowned. She had never really thought about it. She had just assumed that she was bad enough that the sorting hat had found it fitting to put her in Slytherin. She had been pretty angry and naughty when she had arrived here. Believing that if she was going to die of cancer that she might as well have made an impression on the people she met. Not always a good one of course but thinking now, she didn't really feel like a Slytherin, Annalie was a better Slytherin than she was... "I-I don't know. I was pretty mean when I arrived here, pretty b!tchy but if you want to make friends you kinda have to be kinda nice and not sneer at everyone. I think Annalie is a better Slytherin than I will ever be..." she laughed, maybe the sorting hat got the 'sisters' confused putting them in the house that other was meant to be in. "Who knows." she added quietly.

Out of Character:

sorry muse is lacking...

 

[Elspeth Brookes]

Elspeth watched Aimee's expression as she thought of the chance it could come back. The tremors in her voice, her broken expression; Elspeth made a note not to bring it up again. Instead she chose to ask mildly "Alaina?" Instead of finding herself detachedly curious about the other girl's misfortunes and past, as she'd planned, she was genuinely interested, as she'd only been before with her friends, few as they had been. She thought of her friends, few as they had been. She had stopped talking to them after the latest misfortune, and didn't really want to begin again. She remembered what they had discussed before, and such juvenile chatter would probably drive her insane...again.

At Aimee's words, Elspeth chuckled lightly. "Is the ickle Slytherin afraid of detention, is she?" She grinned, to reassure the other girl she was just joking, and ducked a tree branch that was flicking towards her face. "You don't seem very b!tchy. And I think I really shouldn't be in Ravenclaw anymore. I guess that's how I was when I was eleven, but loads of stuff happened since then, and I'm probably more suited to..." She trailed off, considering, and continued, "Slytherin. Hufflepuffs," Here she smirked, "are just a bunch of duffers, and I'm not hard-working, or particularly loyal, so that's out. And I'm not a Gryffindor; more brawns than brains there. And I'm not exactly best friends with my room mates."