Dusk and Dawn

[Sophie Wilson]

After the events of the yule ball, Sophie had a lot of things to think about. The entire situation with Isaac was fresh and new, and scary in its own way, but it wasn't the only big thing that had happened. Amber had kissed Ainsley in the middle of the ball, something that had startled Sophie quite a bit. Knowing that her sister liked her best friend, who was a girl, was a surprise. She could only imagine how Amber had felt as she figured it out, and now she knew what her older sister had been trying to talk to her about a few days before the ball. Remembering how she had acted made her feel ashamed now, and she had spent the holidays thinking of a way to make it up to her. Unfortunately, it seemed like Amber had been avoiding her during the holidays. Her older sister had been working a lot, and whenever she had a day off she tended to be out anyway. Sophie couldn't really blame her, she didn't know if she would have sought herself out if she were in Amber's shoes. The older girl had told her she had been acting immaturely, and after thinking over her words for a few days she had to conclude she was right. Usually, she blamed Amber for the strained relationship between them. But she had never considered that her sister might be struggling with her own stuff, that she had problems too. Everything always just seemed to come so easily to her, which made Sophie's own achievements look less impressive in comparison. But in this case, it seemed like Amber did have her own struggles, something Sophie should have considered.

Because she had barely had the chance to see her sister over the holidays, she decided to seek her out at school. In the two and a half years they had spent at Hogwarts together, she had never looked for Amber before. After trying the gardens and the student lounge, she peeked into the library where she spotted her older sister almost instantly. Hopefully she wouldn't mind the interruption too much. With a sigh, she approached her sister and tapped her shoulder. "Amber?" She asked, keeping her voice quiet because they were in the library. "Can we talk for a moment?"

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Being back at school for the final semester of her fifth year, Amber felt good about herself. Coming out the way she had had somehow made her more confident, which she hadn't really expected. No longer did she feel like other's opinions defined her quite as much, though they were still a nagging worry in the back of her mind. As big as the event had been for her, it hadn't changed everything. But for the most part she felt more at ease than she could remember feeling before. But all the nice things in the world didn't erase the fact that the OWLs were waiting for her at the end of the year. So even though she had only recently arrived back at the castle, she was already revising. Though a huge weight had lifted off her shoulders by the fact that she was taking fewer classes. The added Prefect duties made her busier, but she liked it better this way. Less studying and more time to be out and about and social with others. Though sometimes studying was still necessary. She was just going over some of her old notes from the previous year, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. For a moment, she thought it was Ainsley and her heart skipped a beat as she turned. Only to be face to face with her sister. Amber sighed. The last conversation she'd had with the younger girl hadn't been good at all, and she had tried to avoid her since. But when Sophie asked her if they could talk for a moment, she nodded and gestured to another chair at the table. "Sure." She said, wondering what her younger sister could possibly say.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie hadn't expected to be nervous as she talked to her sister, but she did feel that way. Amber was less overly friendly than usual, which showed Sophie that her older sister was still not over her anger with her. It wasn't unearned, but it did make it harder to take this next step. Sophie sighed and took the seat Amber had pointed out, looking at her hands splayed on the table. "I'm sorry." She said eventually, ending the silence that had grown the moment she sat down. "I shouldn't have pushed you away. I guess I just thought you were coming to nag me about something." She winced the moment the words left her mouth. It sounded mean, but it was true. "I guess I haven't been fair." She added with a shrug, glancing at Amber uncertainly. "I didn't know what you were going through."

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Even though it was in Amber's nature to give second or even third chances, she was apprehensive about this. If Sophie said something to anger or upset her once again, Amber wasn't sure if she would forgive her sister. At some point, there was a limit. If she allowed her to behave like this forever, nothing would really ever change between them. At some point, it would be too late to bridge the gap. But she was surprised when her sister started with an apology. It was very unxpected, as were the rest of her words. It warmed Amber's heart to hear them, and she knew this was Sophie's way of letting her know she was on her side. Surely, she had seen Amber with Ainsley, though she wasn't mentioning that by name. Amber smiled. "Thank you, Sophie. I think we should work harder to understand each other. From both sides." She admitted, knowing she could dismiss her younger sister sometimes without meaning to. "I was going through stuff, but I'm happy now. I'm really glad to be dating Ainsley." She said with a blush, deciding to address the elephant in the room. "It probably surprised you, didn't it?" She asked, looking at Sophie for her reaction.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

There was a part of Sophie that wanted to take back her words, to end this conversation now that it was too open. But she had to admit this was nice, and she knew it was her turn to say something like this. She nodded when Amber said they should work harder to understand each other, appreciating that she also mentioned that was something she herself had to work on. She smiled slightly and pushed her hair behind her ear as she looked at the table. "Yeah, you did. I didn't think there was much I didn't know about you. Guess I was wrong." She glanced at her, then decided to risk a joke. "I never thought you would date someone so averse to wearing shoes, though." She said, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Or with such messy hair." She hoped Amber could tell she was joking, but knew there was a risk this would turn into an argument again. It just wasn't easy for Sophie to hold a serious conversation for very long.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Even though Sophie had apologized and the conversation went well, Amber felt a little uneasy. She always did when talking to her sister, as a single word taken the wrong way by her could completely change the conversation. But Sophie didn't put up her walls as much today, admitting she was wrong and talking about emotions. It wasn't surprising that she soon defaulted to teasing and jokes. But it had a much nicer tone than it usually did when directed at her. Amber smiled and tilted her head slightly. "Don't think I didn't notice I wasn't the only one there with a date." She said, her smile widening slightly. Two could play at that game. "I somehow never imagined you with a blond boy." She teased back. Amber wasn't really sure if the boy had been Sophie's date, but they had seemed close. Sophie's reaction to this statement would probably confirm or deny it. Amber knew her sister well enough to read her in situations like this.

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie hadn't really expected Amber to have noticed her and Isaac, so she groaned softly once Amber brought it up. Her cheeks heated up slightly and she rolled hier eyes. "You can't even know if we were on a date, we were just talking." She said, but she decided not to keep up the pretense. "I guess you're right, though... We're dating now." She muttered, embarrassed to even admit that and say it out loud. "But you need to get better at teasing. Blond is hardly an insult." She smirked slightly, shaking her head. "He's ... different. He gets me." She said, for the first time realizing she actually cared about Amber's opinion about this a little bit. "But it's not a big deal..." She added, not even sure why she said it. She mostly just wanted the subject to change already.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Amber wasn't usually big on teasing, but the way Sophie's cheeks grew pink did make her smile. It was nice to talk like this, without it being serious or mean-spirited. "I'm happy for you, Sophie." She said with a smile. "I guess we both had a good night, hm?" A small laugh escaped her as she played with her hair, still a little embarrassed about the subject too. "It's nice to have someone that understands you. I feel the same way about Ainsley." She glanced at Sophie and gave her a reassuring smile. "And you don't have to downplay it, it's okay to be happy with him. I won't insist on meeting him or anything." She grinned slightly as an idea struck her. "Unless I should give him a little protective older sister speech."