Closed Companionable Working

[Vader Hume]

Vader enjoyed this little pocket of calm that he was feeling. They were all back at school but things had not yet really intensified in a manner that he was sure it would. Vader was better rested than he had been towards the end of the last semester, getting less sleep than he would’ve normally but he was rest and feeling pretty nice. He’d gotten together some of his accio work and a few of his own recently developed pictures and a little notebooks, but rather than staying by himself up in the accio room, he was in the arts room with Ava. He had sat at one of the few tables in this room and was slowly laying out some of the pictures he’d brought, he wanted to go through the accio ones and select a few that might get used and use his own pictures to figure out areas of his photography that he needed to improve. Vader enjoyed Helene’s easy company, feeling always more relaxed and at ease with himself when he was around her. More so than he had ever felt around anyone else, he was always appreciative of her friendship. Vader looked up at her and gave a little smile, before taking the picture he was looking at and showing it to her, ”Remember when we made cupcakes at my parents house?” They were both smiling at the camera, it held a little awkwardly to get them both in it and the cupcakes. It had been nice. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava was feeling a lot better this semester. Talking with her dad had really made things better. She was glad she had still made time for Vader over the break. She was looking through his pictures now, setting aside a few of his favorites and roughly sketching them in her notebook. He hadn't caught on to what she was doing yet. That was good, she wanted to surprise him. He was a good friend. Her pencil stilled as she thought about Philip again. Her mind flashed back to that night last semester.

She blinked and came back to herself as he held out a picture. She leaned forward and looked at it with a warm smile. "Of course," She told him brightly. "I believe your sisters ate most of them," She teased lightly. She'd taken a few home for her papa and her sister. She turned back to her notebook before pausing. "Hey, Timmy?" She fiddled with her pencil a moment. "Can I... talk to you about something?"

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader smiled happily at the memory, thinking of how much fun they had had, and of course how his little sisters had thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of their labour. He just smiled softly, he had definitely enjoyed Helene staying with them even if it hadn’t been under great circumstances. He put the picture down and continue to sort through some of the other pictures that he had in front of him, he was able to work calmly and carefully, with the semester only at the beginning and able to concentrate much better on what he was doing. The pictures he had were a mixture of his own and the ones for accio, given that currently he had the time to sort through them and make his own notes about areas to improve, sections that needed work. He was always able to work calmly when he was around Helene, he was most comfortable around his best friend. ”Hmmm?” he hummed looking up at her when she said his name, and then nodded when she asked if she could talk about something, ”Sure,” he put down the pictures he had in his hands to give her his full attention. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava bit her lip as of course he agreed. She sighed and set her pencil down. "So, um... Do you remember me talking about Philip Maxwell before?" She tucked her hair behind her ear. "We met before starting school. We... We used to be best friends. Then he just... Stopped talking to me for a while." She looked away from Vader. "Something... Something happened." She looked up at him from under her lashes.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader smiled at Helene as she began. He vaguely remembered a Philip Maxwell, someone who he had only really known because of Helene. He wasn’t sure if he had met the other boy. He knew that Helene was telling him this for a reason and he raised his eyebrow a little when she said something happened, ”What happened?” he asked a little tentatively, he knew that if he did something to hurt Helene, then there would be hell to pay, because no one was allowed to pick on Helene. No one was allowed to hurt her. He would wait until he told her what was going on before he did anything, perhaps he was just overreacting and the something had been good. He hoped it was something good, Helene deserved the best!​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava hesitated a moment before rushing into an explanation. "Okay I was upset about my dad and this girl, Kira, she found me and didn't want to leave me alone so she took me with her to see her boyfriend who I guess is Philips cousin or something because there were like, four people there setting up this prom-posal kind of thing and I felt bad for barging in so I kinda maybe ran away and may or may not have been crying and Philip followed me and we talked and-" Ava took a deep breath, turning bright red and burying her face in her arms.

She was quiet a second. "I... I kinda... Kissed him." She admitted quietly. "And... I kinda immediately ran away after." She groaned, afraid to look at her best friend. "I'm a terrible person." She muttered.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader listened as she spoke, he didn’t know who Kira was or who she was related to but nodded along with the story. The idea of a prom-posal was weird to him, wasn’t that an american thing? Certain neither a magical thing or had the event been whatever prom was, but he could figure out what it was used for. He nodded as she told him that she’d run away, that this boy Philip had followed her and the two had kissed. He was a little surprised by it, and a little surprised that she had run away from it. She hadn’t run away when she’d kissed him. Nor had he even though it hadn’t been anything Vader wanted. ”Why are you a terrible person?” Vader asked, ”You aren’t. Do you know why you ran away?” Vader asked her. He knew that the older they got the more people around them would settle into relationships, he didn’t want to think about it for him. He didn’t have time for any relationship, kissing people or anything of the sort. Especially not if he…...Vader shook his head, willing the thoughts away before things got overwhelming in his head, he just needed to listen and pay attention to Helene. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava knew Vader wouldn't let her say she was terrible. But she still thought it. She turned her head, laying her cheek on her arm as she looked at him. "I... I think so." She admitted softly. "It wasn't that I regretted it, or didn't like it." She smiled a little. "It was actually... Really nice. Timmy, I... I think I have a crush on Philip." She told him, but her face fell almost as soon as she said it. "It's just... It was too much. I'm still so... Angry all the time with my papa... I couldn't handle everything I was feeling, so I just..." She groaned and sat back in her chair, scrubbing her hands over her face. "We haven't talked since." She winced as she said it.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader watched Ava’s expression carefully, trying to discern any extra information that she was not sharing in her words. He wasn’t sure why she’d think herself a terrible but he listened regardless of his own thoughts so far since without more information he didn’t know how to react. He was a little surprised when she said that she did have a crush on Philip, that she maybe liked him and though she smiled a little about it, it quickly fell away as it was clear that the emotions surrounding it and everything else had been rather overwhelming. Vader sighed a little and reached out to her, holding out his hand to her in support. Seeing that even Ava was crushing on someone made him feel like he should too and though surrounded by girls he didn’t like any of them like that, he was too busy anyway, that was why, there was too much else on her mind. ”Maybe you should reach out to him? Talk to him about what’s going on? If he likes you too, he’ll understand and be okay giving you time?” the boy said with a soft tone, he knew that if Philip hurt Ava he’d definitely not react well to it, but he trusted Ava and was sure she wouldn’t let that happen, ”Just take it one step at a time?” Vader gave her a little smile, he wasn’t sure his advice would help but he was willing to give her a little to help.​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava blushed furiously as Vader suggested she talk to Philip. He was probably right. There were so many people she was supposed to be talking to anymore. She turned her head away, but took his hand. Timmy was always there when she needed him. She sat up and scooted her chair, scooting closer to him. She took one of his hands in both of hers and laid her head on his shoulder, sniffling. "I love you, Vader." She told him softly, taking comfort in his warmth. "You always seem to know what to say." She chuckled weakly.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader was pretty certain he’d said the right thing. It was the sort of advice that he himself was unlikely to follow, talking to someone about feelings, about what was going on in his head was daunting, but Ava despite being the ravenclaw was certainly braver than he was. She was certainly more capable than he was. The boy smiled and watched her carefully she took his hands in hers and put her head on his shoulder. Their friendship meant a great deal to Vader, so helping her was always what he wanted to do. At her words he felt a light blush appear on his cheeks and he smiled, ”I love you too,” the words slipped out easily, after all, he did love her, she was his closest friend, more family than anything. He chuckled lightly, ”I’m only telling you what you know already,” the boy said, knowing that though he might’ve spell it out for her, he was more than certain that without him she would’ve managed to come to the same points as he had. ”How did you know you liked him?” Vader’s voice filled with an odd nervousness as he asked, he hadn’t crushed on anyone yet, but he’d had some feelings during the last yuleball that he wasn’t willing to admit to anyone or himself. If he knew how she knew that she liked someone, maybe he could figure it out too. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava smiled, closing her eyes contently and snuggling closer. "It helps when you say it though," She told him softly. She opened her eyes and sat back a little bit. She blinked at his question and thought about it. "I... don't know." She answered honestly. "I guess... I'm not sure. I... noticed he was suddenly... prettier?" She winced a little at the wording. "And... I wanted to be close to him. I just... wanted more. I... I wanted to kiss him." She admitted, a soft blush coloring her cheeks. "I still do," She murmured softly. She had a feeling Vader wanted more detail so she continued. "It's different than when I want to be with you. My heart beats harder. Faster." She bit her lip. "And... I think about him a lot." She groaned and rubbed her hands over her face. "Is that bad?"

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader smiled at her softly as she seemed to press herself in closer to him. Vader was a little surprised by the reaction that she gave to his question and he’d been about to nervously take it back when she answered. Giving a somewhat muddled explanation of how it had felt. She had realised he was prettier, she had wanted to be close, had wanted to kiss him. Vader hadn’t felt any of the latter, but he’d certainly noticed people who were suddenly prettier than before. But he didn’t want to think about what that could mean when he certainly had noticed a few more boys being suddenly prettier verses the girls. He shook his head lightly, brushing the thoughts aside. He couldn’t, the taunts from his childhood seemed to ring louder in his head. The boy just focused on her and what she was saying. At the last part Vader was quick to shake his head, ”No, it’s not bad, I guess it’s probably a normal thing to happen to most people,” he replied with a small smile. ”I think I find Isabelle prettier, she’s in your house, she’s nice and she’s pretty,” the boy lied, not really holding Ava’s gaze but, he couldn’t. Vader loved Helene, but he couldn’t think about that being true about him. He could like Isabelle, he could find Isabelle prettier. ​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava furrowed her brow as she took in Vader's response. "Isabelle? She's... nice." She leaned forward and placed a hand on Vader's knee, trying to catch his eye. "You know... you've been there for me through all of this, Vader," She reached up and brushed his hair from his eyes. "If you ever need anything from me... to talk, or a favor, or whatever," She hinted lightly, "You know I'll always be here for you." She gave him a warm smile, trailing her fingers down and brushing his cheek lightly. "You're everything to me," She told him. "Papa might be surprising me with a sister but I found the best brother in the world all on my own." She giggled. "It's weird thinking we met because I got curious about your spider-man comic."

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader didn’t meet at gaze as she took in his words. He nodded in agreement, at the very least she was nice, that much he could agree with. He didn’t like her in the way that Ava liked Philip but everyone else was pairing up, why wouldn’t he? He couldn’t be the only one without. Vader looked at her hand on his knee, and then listened to her words. He looked up a little as she brushed the hair from his eyes and he met her gaze as she spoke. He nodded lightly and smiled softly. ”I know Helene,” he leaned into her touch slightly. Vader didn’t know what brought this on, her saying this, he knew he could talk to her, could rely on her. Maybe it was a bit hard and there were so many thoughts on his mind but he knew he could go to him if necessary. He definitely was pleased for their friendship, she meant a great deal to him. ”I never wanted another sister, but I’m really glad I have you, my third sister,” The boy knew that there was a heaviness with the words but he meant them. Ava was the third sister in his life. When he had thought he didn’t need any more she’d cannonballed into his life. He smiled at her words, ”Weird but I wouldn’t have it any other way,” the gryffindor agreed.​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled and leaned back in her seat. "Okay, you big oaf. I see you've got something rattling around in that head of yours." She gave him a warm smile. "When you figure it out you know where to find me." She returned to her sketching. "Timmy, what do you think of this one?" She asked, pulling out a photo of her own of a pair of Ravens in a tree overlooking the lake. She wasn't as avid a photographer as Vader, but she did still take a picture once in awhile of things she wanted to paint.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader seemed to freeze a little when she spoke, he wanted to assure her that there was nothing going on in his head, that there was nothing he’d seek her out for, but Vader could do no such thing. Instead he just nodded sharply and forced a little smile, ”Okay,” he spoke quietly, hopefully she would just forget about it and let it go. He was especially glad when she moved on, instead showing him a picture that she had taken, showing two ravens overlooking a lake. He smiled at the picture it was good, ”It’s good Helene!” he complimented easily, looking at the picture, ”With more practice you’ll end taking my spot in accio,” Vader joked with her, ”But if you ever want to out and take photos together so I can give you pointers or whatever, it would be fun!” the Gryffindor told her with a sincere expression, if she wanted to take up photography and was keen to improve he could certainly offer his help to her.​

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled as Vader teased her. "Now don't be ridiculous, Timmy," She told him. "I'm too busy refilling your bad caffeine addiction to take over your job," She teased him. She nodded as he offered to take her out. "Sure! We should do that soon. I only ever take pictures of things I think I might like to paint," She told him easily, "But it would be nice to be able to take them better." She decided, finishing the last touches on the sketch she was doing and flipping the page. She turned to Vader's pictures. "Hey," She picked up one of a smaller blond. "Looks like you got one of Lily," She smiled at the picture of her cousin.