Another Creative Rampage

[Sam Prince]

Sam Prince sat on the green grass under the cool shading of a large oak tree. He always used this tree to sit and relax under. It was close enough to the lake to feel the cool breeze which floated over it but far enough to be bothered by any annoying 'lake dwellers'. Sam stretched over the body of his worn guitar as he searched through the many sheets of parchment which surrounded him, full of small notes and scribbles. Recently, Sam was having a creative splurge in writing music. As a young boy Sam had always thrown a few chords together to maybe form some sort of tune but now he was writing songs, not so much lyrics, but he figured they didn't need lyrics. These songs were written for himself, for fun. He wouldn't show these to anyone else.

It was his way of expressing himself, expressing his feelings, his thoughts. He was slowly getting over the break up with Toni and he didn't feel the empty void in his chest anymore, which Sam could only guess was a good thing. Sam also guessed that this release of emotions through his music, had something to do with it. Using a muggle pencil, Sam made a few adjustments to some of his notes that he had written earlier. His fingers spread the sheets of parchment out in a line on the grass in front of him and Sam studied them briefly. His bright blue eyes looked through his sunglasses out onto the lake and then he began to play. His fingers plucked the strings delicately in quick rhythm, his hand formed the chords with great ease and the fifteen year old Hufflepuff was soon obsorbed in his own thoughts.

That was the great thing about the lakefront. It was so full of people, that no one paid attention to each other, everyone just minded their own business. Once upon a time, Sam would have liked some attention when he played his guitar, but he was a child then. Now, his music was more personal, he was a little more self conscious and so, the fact that no one paid any sort of notice to him, worked just fine. As he strummed through his second verse Sam stopped suddenly, he quickly reached over to a sheet of his notes, and frantically made some more adjustments. He found that when he had some sort of brainwave he had to get it down on paper before it left his head completely. That was a frequent problem for this Hufflepuff. He then gathered, his sheets together into one pile and read through them once more, just to see if that last musical splurge had made any sort of sense.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor cracked open the window in the Gryffindor dormitory. It was a nice day, sunny with a slight breeze. Taylor glanced down at her PJ's and wondered what to do with her day. Taylor had been such a hermit lately, so she decided she had to get outdoors and do something productive. Changing into jeans and a loose pink top, appropriate for the weather, Taylor's eyes caught the letter on her bedside table that she had started writing to her Dad the night before. Snatching it up, she put her quill, ink and parchment into her brown leather bag. Next to the bedside table was her owl post, but knowing her owl, Albus wasn't there. Instead he was resting amongst the blankets of her bed. Poking Albus in the chest to wake him up, she gave him a warning glare. He knew he wasn't allowed on her bed, but that didn't stop him from sneaking onto it when Taylor wasn't around. The owl ruffled its feathers in annoyance from being woken up, but flew onto her shoulder regardless.

About to head out of the dormitory, Taylor groaned at the thought of all the stairs she would have to take to reach the grounds. Turning back, she glanced to the window that was letting a soothing breeze roll through the girls dorm. Without a second thought Taylor grabbed her Nimbus 2001 from under her bed and then climbed up on the window sill. Her broom out in front of her, she jumped from the window and onto her broom, Albus jumping from her shoulder and taking flight next to her. She headed for the old oak tree by the lake front. Her favourite spot.

Touching the ground a few metres before the tree, she heard a guitar. Propping her broom on her shoulder, Albus coming to rest on the broom handle, Taylor walked up to the tree, only to hear the music stop and see her best friend scribble something furiously on some paper. Taylor smiled, watching Sam read through his pile after he'd stopped writing. Stepping in front of the Hufflepuff, she leant over him, one hand on her broom and one hand supporting herself on the tree. "Whatcha writing?" Taylor asked curiously, trying to catch a glimpse of what was on the paper.

 

[Sam Prince]

Sam jumped slightly when he heard a voice come from directly above him. He didn't have to look up to know who it was though, "Taylor, hey!" He smiled while looking at her through his glasses. It had been a while since he had talked to Taylor. It had been a while since he had talked to anyone. He then looked down at the pile of papers to acknowledge her question, "Oh nothing.." Sam laughed modestly before putting his guitar next to him on the grass and placing the parchment on top of it. Sam wasn't one of these people who said that their work was horrible when in fact they knew that it was bloody fantastic, he genuinely believed that the songs he wrote weren't fit for other people to listen to, even if this person happened to be his best friend. His gaze then focused back on Taylor, "Hey are you busy or can you hang for awhile?" He asked her with his signature smile flashing across his lips.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor grinned, pushing back from the tree as Sam placed his guitar and notes beside him. She guessed he was writing music, which in that case she wouldn't press him for further information. After knowing Charlie for a while, she knew that some people liked to keep their music to themselves. Maybe she'd pester Sam to play something for her in the future, given that she'd never heard him before. For now though, Taylor matched Sam's grin. "Of course I can!" Taylor said cheerfully, throwing her broom on the grass and watching Albus hoot irritably and fly away. "I just came down to the lake to write a letter." She placed her bag with all her writing equipment down next to her broom and took a seat against the tree next to Sam.

Taylor stretched her legs out, watching Albus find a place in the tree above them. Her gaze then turned to Sam. "So, how have you been? What's new?" She asked with a smile and a gentle nudge in Sam's side.

 

[Sam Prince]

Sam turned to face Taylor as she sat down beside him. He looked down at her writing equipment as she told him she was going to write a letter. It had been the longest time since Sam had wrote a letter to someone. He never spoke to his parents anymore and he just about kept in contact with his uncle during the holidays. Sam presumed that Taylor was writing to her parents, he used to never feel guilty about not keeping in contact with his parents because he always believed his parents hated him. Which probably was true, but now as a fifteen year old teenager, he was more mature than he used to be. Maybe it would be the right thing to do? Sam mentally pushed the thought out of his mind, he would mull over it later.

Sam stared at Taylor's owl as it sat comfrotable on a branch above them, the corner of his lips turned upwards into a slight smile before his gaze returned to Taylor. "I've been okay." Sam replied and began to think of anything that had happened recently. Since his break up with Toni, time seemed to come to a standstill. Days passed him by sometimes and he wouldn't have left his dorm once. Or he would have taken a trip to the Quidditch pitch, but that was it. Sam literally did nothing with his life since the breakup. Then it occured to him, did Taylor even know about their split? He had pressumed Toni would tell her, they always seemed pretty tight. Sam lifted his sunglasses from his eyes and allowed them to rest on top of his head, "I mean...you've heard about me and Toni right..?" His voice trailed off, he was never really sure how to tell people about the split. Whatever way he mentioned it, it always came out awkwardly.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor's smile somewhat faltered when Sam confessed he was only 'okay'. Taylor sincerely hoped it was a good okay, not a bad okay. She hated that her group of friends wasn't as strong as it once was. They used to catch up frequently. Sam, Scorpius, Toni, Hoshi, Jenna and Taylor. But now the friends had drifted apart, whether it be Hoshi having her own group or Taylor and Scorp's breakup or Toni being really busy, not to mention the fact that Taylor had attacked two of them. Damn, she had almost forgotten about her aggressive outburst a few months back. She was glad she was in a better place now, but disappointed that the group had been tearing little by little every day.

The next statement had Taylor's eyes widening. Surely he didn't mean they had broken up?! Sam and Toni... Not together any more? "No?" She said slowly, giving Sam a gentle questioning look. "You guys broke up?" She prompted. If it was true, then the friendship group really didn't have any hope at all for the future.