Open Boiling Over

[Nicole Fisk]

Open after Daphne posts with Emma and Iris

"Boys are so stupid," Nicole said in a huff, slapping her books down onto the Gryffindor table to emphasize the sheer size of said boy's stupidity. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about Eric and the Valentine's dance since the night ended and it had finally reached boiling point. Having spotted the twins sitting together for lunch, Nicole had wasted no time joining them, ready to bubble over. "Like, what is even going on in his head? He takes me to the dance, we're dating, but he doesn't want to do anything. No kissing, no dancing, nothing!" She said hotly, crossing her arms and slumping onto her books in front of her. "Does he even know what dating means? Ugh," Nicole gave the twins a sorrowful, frustrated look before dropping her forehead into arms, adding one final angry sigh for good measure.

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma had been sitting and chatting with Iris at the Gryffindor table. They often sat with each other, but also occasionally ate at the Hufflepuff or Slytherin table with Jenna or Nicole. It was great to have someone close in every house, though Emma still thought the Gryffindor table was definitely the best one. Nicole joined them and announced her presence by saying boys were stupid. Emma thought about Issac and how he'd had another date to the ball already when she had asked him, and was tempted to agree. But it seemed a strange thing for Nicole to say. She ate and listened as Nicole complained about her boyfriend, then sighed. She decided to be honest with her friend. "Look, you chose to date Eric Holland." She told Nicole with a shrug. "Who looks at that guy and expects romance and flowers?" She paused. "But he really wouldn't even dance with you?" She then asked, frowning. What was the point of going to a dance without dancing? "That's lame."

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris had seen Nicole with Eric at the Valentine's Dance, and had noticed how they had stayed at the sidelines. She hadn't known how Nicole had felt about that, but now she did. She turned towards Nicole to listen to her story with a sympathetic expression on her face, though Emma beat her to actually responding. Iris shot her twin a look. It wasn't like Emma was wrong, but this was clearly a sensitive topic. She should have been a bit more delicate with her words. "Emma, that's a bit harsh." She told her twin. "Nicole... I'm sure that's something you could talk to him about? Maybe he feels awkward or shy?" She ignored Emma's snort at that. Truthfully, the idea of Eric being shy did feel a little unlikely. "Or maybe he really doesn't know what to do when dating." Iris definitely wasn't very knowledgeable on the subject herself. "I don't think I've seen him with girls before. You're probably his first girlfriend."

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole just let out a muffled groan at Emma's comment, not wanting to dignify that she was totally right. "I shouldn't have to spell everything out for him, though," She said eventually, emerging from where she'd buried her face in her arms to look up ruefully at Iris and her measured advice. "I only started dating him because I thought everyone would think I was cool and edgy for doing it, but I don't think anyone even cares," She added, dropping her cheek to rest in her palm and crinkling her nose. "Turns out he's just kind of boring when he's not picking fights with everyone." Nicole blew some of her hair out of her face sourly. Eric had seemed nice that night outside of the Valentine's dance last year, but most of the time he was just awkward and prickly. She did warm some at the idea of being his first ever girlfriend though, chewing on her lip and giving Emma a considering tilt of her head when she brought it up. "I bet you're right, maybe that's why he's so hopeless all the time," She said with a dramatic sigh.

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma shrugged when Nicole said she shouldn't have to spell everything out for him, still thinking she had been a bit optimistic when picking someone like Eric Holland to date. "I'm surprised he even agreed to go out with you, he just seems so grumpy. Like he'd rather not be around anyone." Emma paused. "Though I also think most people just don't want to be around him." She said rather bluntly. She giggled a bit as Nicole called him boring, it was funny to see a side of her that was a bit more mean. Especially when she called him hopeless. "If he's so hopeless, why don't you just break up with him? I think you deserve someone better." Emma said with a shrug.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric had been prodding at his food at the Gryffindor table, deep in thought. He was thinking about a lot of things, mostly about how much he wished he could graduate already. His cousin was graduating, good riddance, and it was making him think about his own future. But the idea of graduating was also kind of scary, as Eric had absolutely no idea what to do after Hogwarts. He just knew this place was miserable, and if it wasn't for his brother he would be a lot more tempted to just leave. Eric wasn't paying a lot of attention to his surroundings, until his head automatically jerked up at the mention of his name. Eric frowned, realizing no one was talking to him. But he soon located the person he'd heard, it was one of the redheaded twins Nicole often spend time with. They were sitting pretty close, but at the crowded table, it had been easy to miss them at first glance. Even Nicole was there, at the wrong table. Eric ducked his head a bit, not really wanting Nicole to spot him and be all clingy again.

But now that he knew they were discussing him, it was impossible not to listen. But he soon realized that they weren't discussing him just casually as Nicole's boyfriend, they were criticizing him. The twin who had been talking seemed to find it strange Nicole would want to date him, and her sister questioned if he even knew what to do when dating. Eric frowned, glaring down at his eggs. Didn't they realize there were other people at the table? It couldn't just be him hearing this. But it hurt most when he heard Nicole speak. He had expected her to defend him to her friends, but instead she told them the only reason she even dated him was so everyone would think she was edgy. It had all just been some ploy to be relevant. Suddenly it made sense how much Nicole had wanted to dance with him, and how everyone seemed to know about their relationship before Eric had told anyone. To his horror, he felt a stinging in his eyes. No. He was NOT going to cry about this. It just hurt, knowing Nicole didn't see him any differently than anyone else did.

But when Nicole called him boring and he could hear the first redhead giggling about it, Eric had had enough. He got up noisily, flipping over his plate in the process. He rounded on Nicole angrily, it was easy to see her from his new standing position.
"Maybe I'm boring, but at least I'm not f***ing stupid." He snapped at her, only vaguely aware of the sudden silence that had fallen at the table. "You realize you're sitting at MY table? Did you even check who was around before you started talking crap?" He sneered at her. "I knew you were kind of desperate, but I had no idea you were that desperate for attention." He laughed bitterly, then gestured around them. "Congratulations. You got it." He said, realizing most of the table, if not most of the hall, was now focused on them. Eric hardly cared, he never cared about drawing an audience when he was this mad. Shame always came later, when he realized just how many people were gossiping about him. Right now, blood was rushing in his ears and blocking out most of the murmuring. Eric realized he was still holding his fork, and he threw it down onto the table harshly, maybe just a bit in Nicole's direction. "In case you're too dim to get this too, we're over." He said, then he glared at the two girls with her as well.

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole was glad Emma seemed to be on her side, mostly with this, agreeing that Eric was being lame and weird about their dating. "No, I can't just break up with him-" She started, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Eric could be crass and stubborn and Nicole wondered if he even really liked her, but he was also her first real boyfriend, and even if she wasn't exactly getting all the attention she wanted, she wasn't ready to completely just give up yet. A crappy boyfriend was better than no boyfriend.

Her blood ran cold though when Eric suddenly spoke up. Nicole had been so busy being angry she hadn't even thought about who was sitting nearby. Or what they could hear. She snapped her mouth shut as Eric started in on her, feeling her stomach roil as he swore and insulted her. Desperate. He thought she was desperate. Stupid and desperate. "I- I must have been stupid to have thought dating you was a good idea!" She choked out, hands curled into useless fists in her lap, but Nicole could already feel tears pricking in her eyes. Everyone had to be looking at her, and Eric had just dumped her in front of half the school. She wanted to be mad, she was mad, but her face felt hot and her stomach felt as if it had curdled. "We're only over because I'm breaking up with you!" She threw out again, starting to desperately search around for her bag before she did something even more embarrassing. She needed to get out of here and hide her face until everyone forgot about what just happened. It would probably only take a few thousand years.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris understood Nicole was frustrated, but she still disapproved of the way she was talking about Eric. It wasn't entirely fair, even if he wasn't the perfect boyfriend. Of course Emma gleefully went along with it, and befoer Iris could protest, everything fell apart when Eric Holland suddenly stood up and startd shouting. Iris' eyes widened, she hadn't had any idea he was this nearby, but it made sense in hindsight. She should have warned Nicole not to talk about him in such a public place. Eric had clearly heard everything and was very angry. Iris placed her hand on Nicole's arm, frowning at the yelling boy. She understood he was hurt, but this was uncalled for. When he was done ranting, Nicole tried to turn it around like she was breaking up with him. Iris rather thought that was a bit of a lost cause, but it didn't really matter. "Perhaps you should go." She told Eric coolly. "I think we all understand where things stand." Iris shot Emma a warning look, as it seemed like her sister was about ready to jump up and fight Eric herself.

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma had been enjoying talking about Nicole's boyfriend with her, especially now that it seemed like they weren't so perfect and happy as Nicole had pretended until that point. Itw as nice to see her friend honest, and it was funny to make fun of Eric. At least, until he made it very clear he had heard everything. Emma was stunned for a moment as he yelled at them all, remembering at once how much he was known for fighting. But as he called Nicole stupid for the second time, Emma balled her fists. "Hey! Don't talk to her like that!" She said, though she was largely ignored in the shuffle. She ignored Iris' look and hissed to Nicole from the corner of her mouth. "I can hit him if you need me to. " Without taking her eyes of him as she glared. She had known he was no good, and now he was confirming it in her eyes.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric wasn't surprised that Nicole's annoying friends jumped in to defend her, but he was focused only on her. He could see the shock on her face and felt a bitter satisfaction. At least he wasn't the only one who had been hurt out of nowhere. Eric watched her as she sputtered out something about being stupid for dating him, and actually managed a laugh when she said she was breaking up with him. "Yeah, right. After I dumped you." He told her loudly. "I'm out of here." He then said, glancing at the twins for a brief moment before turning and walking away. He was aware of all the eyes on him, but at the moment, he didn't care.