Catching Up

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber couldn't believe how fast this semester had gone. Her third year was so busy and full that she'd barely had any time to just breathe and relax. She had just finished her last lesson for Ancient Runes which had included a presentation that she had worked very hard on. It had been sort of fun to do, even though it had also made her very nervous. Now that it was behind her, she still couldn't relax. Exams were coming up, and she was not as sure that she would ace them as she had been in her second and first year. They were a lot harder this time around, and it felt like with the addition of Ancient Runes it was starting to get a little bit hard to keep up with the workload.

She wondered if her friend Evelyn felt the same way. She also took Ancient Runes, though Amber didn't know if the girl had dropped any of their old classes. Amber hadn't. She had agreed to meet her in the Student Lounge, as it sort of felt unofficially as their place where they met up and talked. So that's where she waited, sitting on one of the couches and looking around for a flash of familiar blond hair.

 

[Evelyn Manning]

The first semester of the third year was not more special than else. Evelyn was pretty busy with her homework and was focused on making an impression on her Head of House. The blonde was following Ancient Runes and that was the subject of her head of house, but she had the feeling that wasn't the only reason. Since she learned about the fact Noah was the son of Kingsley it was something to think about. Evelyn really liked Noah and started to feel a little more for him than just friends. The feeling Lucas hoped she would have last year was this the blonde thought. And perhaps making an impression was something that seemed important since Evelyn wanted to let Noah know she liked him. It was something new and strange that she felt but also good at the same time. It was a strange period not seeing Lucas everyday anymore and seeing him together with Merrill was in some way painfull. Evelyn still liked Lucas as her friend and not anything more, but she couldn't hide the fact she was a bit jealous of the attention that she missed right now from her best friend. But still the girl was happy with her life and the friends she had made. It was a opportunity to spend more time with other friends than only Lucas.

And one of them was Amber and Evelyn was going to see her at their spot. Recently they were here with Noemie to read fashion magazines and this was also the place where they had meet for the first time. Evelyn saw Amber as one of her best friends and was really in for a talk to let Amber know everything and ask for her advise perhaps. She didn't even knew why she wanted her advise, because Amber was nothing more experianced than she was but she had the feeling Amber would be a great listener and always up for help. When she entered the Student Llounge she scanned the room with her bright blue eyes and saw Amber sitting in one of the couches.
'' Hey Amber!'' The blonde was eager to see her friend and walked over to the girl and gave her a hug like she saw the girl a very long time anymore out of excitement.
'' Omg, I have to tell you so much.'' the blonde started and was also curious off how Amber was doing.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber didn't spot Evelyn right away, but apparently the other girl saw her first as she heard her call her name. Amber smiled as she spotted her friend, noticing that she looked really nice. Evelyn always looked nice, but Amber noticed it more today. She was eager to get caught up and tell Evelyn about this year so far. "Evelyn!" She said with a grin before hugging her. "You do? I have a lot to tell you too." She patted the seat on the couch next to her. "Can you believe it's almost Christmas already? Time is flying by. How are you doing? I loved your presentation in Ancient Runes."

 

[Evelyn Manning]

The blonde was glad to see her friend. She had some stuff to talk about that she wanted to share with her. And she was sure she would be relieved to say things out loud. It was always better to speak the truth out loud than to lie to yourself. Evelyn was glad Amber seemed excited to see her again and she nodded when Amber brought out the topic of Christmas already. The blonde couldn't wait, she got spoiled very much with Christmas by presents so she was always excited. Evelyn would like to see her father again and she wasn't gonna tell him about her feelings for Noah, that wasn't something she wanted to speak about with her father yet. Evelyn took a seat at the couch next to Amber and smiled when she got a compliment of her presentation. She was proud of herself too. '' Time is flying very hard indeed! I've been so busy with my schoolwork, didn't really done anything special yet this year.'' Evelyn had lots of time to go and she wanted to do something for the Hogwarts Monthly. The blonde had lots of idea's inside her mind so that wasn't a problem. She was very ambitious about her future and to make an impression at Hogwarts.
'' Thank you so much! Yours was very interesting too. You put a lot of work into it for sure.'' Evelyn was glad to have friend like Amber, the girl gave her compliments enough and that only made Evelyn more confident and hoped Amber would feel the same.

The girl could use some confidence, with that she would be even more succesfull in life. And Evelyn would gladly help the girl. She was gonna explain all the stuff that was inside of her mind. '' So maybe you have or not noticed. But I don't speak to Lucas much anymore. He has a girlfriend.. Merrill from Gryffindor too. I've helped her in the summer with shopping and well it worked for her I guess. But she is a nice girl and good at Quidditch so I can understand. But Lucas and I were always together just as friends. He liked me more than a friend he told me last year and I've been honest to him for not liking him that way. And it was hard, but I didn't want to lie to him. I guess that had a reason but now it is clear for me. I've met Noah Kingsley a Slytherin student and I guess I like him more as a friend.. '' The blonde took a moment to catch her breath and looked around the room for a moment before looking at Amber again. '' But I do feel bad about Lucas being with Merrill all the time, it is like I'm not even there anymore. I hoped we could be good friends again after a letter we exchanged in the holiday, but everything is different.'' The blonde sighted for a moment, a bit sad when she thought about it. She never wanted to hurt Lucas or things to be different but still they were. Evelyn wasn't sure what Amber would have to say about it, because it was a feeling but Evelyn felt good of expressing it now. It was a whole story and Evelyn hoped Amber could understand all what she had to say. And if she didn't that wasn't bad either, she just wanted Amber to be honest with her.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber felt happy when Evelyn returned the compliment about her presentation. She really had worked hard on it, and getting the amulet from Professor Kingsley afterwards had made her feel very good about Ancient Runes as a subject.

But then Evelyn started talking about what was happening in her life, and Amber's eyes widened as she listened. It sounded so complicated and honestly a bit dramatic, and she'd had no idea it was all happening. "Oh wow, I can't believe I missed all that." She said when Evelyn was done. "So Lucas has a girlfriend, I think I know Merril. She's blond, right?" She wondered if it was the friend thing to do to add that Evelyn was prettier, but she didn't feel like saying anything mean about a girl she didn't even really know. "Wait, if he said he liked you more than as a friend, why is he dating someone else?" She wondered if he had stopped liking Evelyn that quickly, or did he like two girls at once? "I don't think you did anything wrong with Lucas, but if he has a girlfriend now I think it makes sense that he has less time for you. That's just what happens if you date someone, right? They become the number one priority. It would be weird if he spent more time with you than with his girlfriend. I think she wouldn't like that..." Amber was rambling a little and acutely aware of her own lack of experience on this front. "I don't think I've met Noah, what is he like? Is he related to Professor Kingsley?" She was honestly surprised that Evelyn didn't like Lucas. After they had gone to the Yule Ball together in their first year, she had expected them to get together eventually. But maybe that was silly. She herself had gone with Ainsley, and they were just friends. Though, that was different since they were both girls.

 

[Evelyn Manning]

Evelyn was curious what Amber had to say but was just glad she was able to listen to her story, that helped the blonde already a lot. When she was done with her story she looked at Amber her reaction and she made a point. She didn't had a change to tell Amber this yet, she wanted to be honest to her friend but didn't want to put it into a letter. '' She is blonde yes and plays as keeper for Gryffindor..'' Evelyn said a bit annoying. And the next thing Amber said made sense and Evelyn still didn't got it either, it was like he just moved on and pushed away his feelings. And ofcourse he had to do something, but so fast?'' You are so right Amber. I don't know...he ignores me so I've been trying to get some answers. I didn't spoke to him at all, how weird is that?'' It was so strange to not talk to a good friend, and exchange stories of what happend yet. Evelyn was suprised by all this good advice from Amber, ofcourse she was right but it was stupid that she didn't got what she wanted. The blonde still found it difficult to deal with the fact when she didn't got what she wanted, and that was to have her friend Lucas back and spend some time together like always. She didn't cared about Merrill, how harsh it sounded. '' You have good advise, but I just want Lucas to spend some time with me, now it is nothing! And I can't stand that and I become angry at Merrill. I guess I blame her or something.'' As always the blonde spoke honest about her thoughts and she hoped Amber could deal with that. By now her friends should now that she was honest about almost everything and some wouldn't like the fact she was so direct but what was worse than people lying to you?

As she responded at Noah the blonde had to laugh. Ofcourse it was obvious that his last name was Kingsley the same as her head of house. '' Noah is the son of Professor Kingsley indeed and Professor Kingsley is the wife of The Minister of Magic so that makes him the son of.'' The blonde added proud, she was happy with Noah and she was going to tell him about her feelings. It felt good and that was how it should be right? '' He is just so grown up and charming. And very sweet, I'm gonna tell him about my feelings for him.'' The blonde said to her friend. She was wondering if Amber liked some boys and which one that would be. She didn't had any idea which types Amber had so just asked the girl. '' Are you liking someone right now? Or met some nice boys?'' The blonde never really talked about this with Amber before. But she felt like the girl was ready to talk about this.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber listened to Evelyn's description of Merrill and managed to picture the girl in her mind pretty clearly. She thought deeply about this situation, wondering what advice to give Evelyn. "I get that it's painful for you to be ignored, but maybe... maybe it hurts him to be around you?" She asked carefully. "He said he liked you and you said you didn't like him, that would hurt. Wouldn't it? Maybe that's why he's keeping his distance and trying to be happy with Merrill. Seeing you around could be painful for him and maybe if you want to be a good friend it could mean taking some distance." She said softly, hoping it wouldn't offend Evelyn. "And I don't think it's Merrill's fault. Though I don't know her." Amber could understand being angry at someone, but not when they hadn't done anything wrong. It did almost sound like Evelyn was jealous, but maybe just of the attention Merrill got and not of the relationship between her and Lucas. This was complicated.

Amber was surprised to hear that Noah was the son of Professor Kingsley and of the Minster of Magic. Evelyn seemed pretty proud of that fact. Her telling him about her feelings sounded exciting and Amber grinned. "Oh! You'll be dating before I know it, that's so great!" When the question turned on her, however she felt a bit awkward. She still really wasn't sure about how it worked to have feelings for boys, though the way she liked Wyatt seemed to be close. He was funny, sweet and had a nickname for her. He had also asked her to the ball, something she was still surprised about. "Well... I have a friend in your house but a year above. His name is Wyatt. He took me flying even though I'm not very good. He's really good at it and he's on the Quidditch team. He also asked me to the ball the other day." She blushed, pleased and nervous at the same time.

 

[Evelyn Manning]

In some way Amber seem to say the right things. And she was right, ofcourse Evelyn knew that it had be hard for Lucas to be around her but she didn't want this. She just wanted her friend or at least that he explained his behavior. That was all she asked that he would be honest with her, and if he said e didn't want to be friends anymore that would break her heart but at least he would be honest. And Amber just touched the right place Evelyn felt tears inside of the corner of her eye burning.
'' Hmm it is.. I guess it does but it hurts me too. I just want him to explain to me what is happening. Just he being honest.'' As a fact Evelyn didn't want her friend to say he was done with her. They would never get a relationship since Evelyn liked Noah but she just want the attention from Lucas that she always got. Just him being there for her and have fun times together. The blonde smiled to Amber, she was so honest right now and she could respect that. It was fine to have a friend like her, who just asked stuff and suggested things and not saying things like he doesn't deserve you and that kinda stuff. '' I guess you are right, but I hate this thing could cost our friendship. I keep my distance since it is no point in trying to get some attention from him. It makes me tired and irritated.'' The blonde sighted deeply and felt really bad about this. Though this was a talk she needed, now she could think about everything and Amber was the perfect person to help her right now. In earlier years Evelyn could be really stubborn and still could be about some things, but she accepted help from others now and if they said the right stuff she could take their advise.

And yet again Amber was right. But it didn't felt that way, Merrill was just annoying and something that stood in the middle of them. The blonde just couldn't stand her right now, because she didn't got what she wanted. Not even a little attention from Lucas, just nothing! It made her angry and sad, but she also understood a part of his actions now Amber spoke about this. '' It is just so confusing, this is something that is new for me. These feelings and people liking me more than a friend.'' And when the blonde said it she knew it would be for everyone. But Amber seemed to understand those feelings good, and tried to place herself into Lucas. After a moment when Amber responded at Noah and his status the blonde tried to focus on that. '' We will see. Maybe it will end just the same as Lucas and me, but I'm confident he likes me too I just know. He asked me to the Yule Ball that is a start.'' Lucas also did previous years and perhaps if someone asked you that ment they liked you? Why didn't she saw it before, but she knew people were also just going as friends. It was so confusing all. The blonde liked to talk about herself and stuff but was glad Amber responded so she could ask more about her. She wanted to help her friend if she needed it, Amber was just a very good friend of listening to her right now she wanted to return something to her. And when she heared about Wyatt she started to smile. '' Omg Amber! Why do I hear this only now. I know who he is, but never spoke to him before. So sweet!! Do you like him?'' The blonde became excited of hearing this, she was so gonna hear out her friend of all details.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber was scared she had said the wrong thing and seeing tears in Evelyn's eyes seemed to confirm that. Once, she wouldn't have said things like this at all, but she felt confident enough around Evelyn to give her opinion more. She bit her lip. "I'm sorry Evelyn, I know that it is painful for you as well." She said softly. "I think you won't lose your friendship, but maybe you should give him some time." She had no idea if she was giving good advice or not, but she wanted to help. She didn't really know Lucas or Merrill very well. "I don't know him very well, though. I just could imagine that he might be sad." She said softly. She could completely relate to these feelings being new to Evelyn. She felt the same way, even more lost and clueless than her blonde friend even. She nodded and smiled."You'll have to let me know how it goes when you tell Noah about your feelings." She told Evelyn. "I'm curious. I want to meet him."

Evelyn's own interest in Wyatt made Amber feel a bit embarrassed, and for a moment she wished she hadn't said anything. She didn't know if it was as big a deal as it had been when for Noah and Evelyn, did Wyatt like her? Did she like him? She didn't really know. Which was why Evelyn's enthusiasm and her question made her uncertain. "It wasn't that long ago, and he's really nice. But... I don't know if I like him." She said with a blush. "Maybe? I think he's... he's nice and funny. He calls me Am."