Closed Exhaling

[Eric Holland]

The prank Sully had pulled on Eric was still making him angry, and he couldn't let it go. It had just taken him by complete surprise, and he hated how vulnerable he had been in his reaction. He vowed to just stay up later than the other boys now, so at least they could no longer ambush him in his sleep. Eric had the dark circles under his eyes to prove it. Stupid Noel had gone along with it too, with all his talk of being noble. Eric had known he was full of crap. He needed to talk about all of it, but only knew one person he trusted with that. He went to seek out Nova, and was glad when he spotted her light hair as he approached the lake. He nudged her as he came to stand next to her. "Hey." He muttered.

 

[Nova Valtoria]

Spending time by the lake, with a book, was definitely Nova's favourite past time. April was getting a bit colder, but she had managed to sneak a throw and cushion from the common room and bring it with her. With the cushion behind her head, Nova leaned against the tree, reading a book about curse breakers. They sounded really cool, and well up her alley. She wasn't too anxious about what she wanted to do once she left Hogwarts, she still had plenty of time to think about it, but this was definitely something to think about. A nudge on her arm made Nova jump and she swung around with her book, about to hit the person that attacked her before she saw it was Eric. "Oh hey Eric! I thought you were Molly or something." She said, rolling her eyes. Nova put a bookmark in her place and sat up a bit straighter. "What's up?"

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric winced as he saw the book swing at him, and he pushed it away impatiently. "Don't be ridiculous." He said, scowling. "Also, that's an offensive comparison." He told her, as he knew Nova didn't like Molly and neither did he. He sighed when she asked what was up. "I want to tell you something, but only if you promise not to laugh." He didn't doubt Sully would spread the story around the school anyway, but he guessed Nova wouldn't have heard about it, as she didn't seem to talk to many people.

 

[Nova Valtoria]

Nova chuckled at Eric's scowl, pulling her tongue when he said it was an offensive comparison. It was a fair comment though, she wouldn't want anyone to mistake her for Lamb. Her curiosity peaked when Eric asked her not to laugh, and she scooted over so Eric could sit by her. "When have you ever known me to laugh at anything?" That wasn't entirely true. While she knew she could be quite stoic, she definitely laughed at Sydney's howler.

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric took a seat net to Nova and snorted at her words. "Just whenever someone in your general vicinity gets upset?" He asked her, raising his eyebrow a little. "Listen, you know Sully right, my annoying roommate?" He asked, wondering even as he did if Nova maybe liked Sully, he seemed annoyingly popular. But then he remembered who he was talking to, she would never respect someone so stupid. "He and a few other guys from my dorm stole flobberworms and threw them on me while I was asleep." He said, mumbling it quickly. He really hoped Nova wouldn't laugh, though he wasn't sure if he wouldn't if she had said something similar.

 

[Nova Valtoria]

Nova laughed lightly at Eric's truthful response. "Not just anyone." Nova said back, rolling her eyes, though she couldn't really think of a good example. She pulled her throw closer around her as a chill picked up in the air, but she listened attentively as Eric started to speak, nodding her head at his question about Sully. Nova didn't know too much about him, just that he was loud and apparently didn't take too well towards Eric. Her eyebrows raised at what he said, shaking her head. It sucked that it happened to Eric, and she definitely wasn't going to laugh at him. If it had happened to Molly or Sydney, she may have laughed, but Eric just seemed to be on the raw deal of everything. Nova huffed, looking straight ahead, feeling an anger burn inside of her. "Want me to do something?"

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric snorted. "Right, sorry. Someone who you don't like, which is nearly everyone?" He corrected, raising his eyebrow slightly. He tensed up a little as he awaited Nova's reaction, but relaxed again as it became clear she wasn't going to laugh at him. He felt new appreciation for her, even if he'd be unlikely to ever tell her that. He saw that Nova was angry, even if she wasn't showing it the way Eric would have done. At her offer, Eric hesitated before shaking his head. "No. I have to deal with it myself." He told her. "If someone else fixes it for me, I'll just look weak. Weaker." He grit his teeth. "It was just... so unfair. I was asleep, it's not like I knew what was happening. So I freaked out, and now they can all laugh about it." He ground his fist into the grass angrily, leaving green stains on his knuckles. "I hate them."

 

[Nova Valtoria]

Nova smirked at Eric's response, it wasn't that she disliked everyone, she just couldn't be bothered with most people. Most people sucked, and just weren't worth her time. Of course, there were definitely some people who were the worst, like Sully, as Eric just explained. She gritted her teeth as Eric continued, finding it incredibly unfair that the boys were allowed to gang up on him, but if she helped Eric, he would look weak. Stupid, stupid boys. "They're the ones who are weak. Ganging up on someone. And while they're asleep? Unbelievable." Nova ranted. "Whatever I can do. However I can help. You just tell me."

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric nodded as Nova said they were the ones who were weak, glad she was validating his feelings. It actually felt really nice to be able to tell her and know she had his back. Eric smiled slightly and nudged her shoulder. "Thanks." He simply said. "I'll let you know You have brilliant ideas sometimes." He smirked. "Remember that howler we sent Sydney? We were never even caught for that." He said, feeling better as he remembered that. "Maybe we can do something like that to my awful roommates. You're lucky with your roommates, you know." He added thoughtlessly, mostly thinking of Minnie who didn't seem al that bad.

 

[Nova Valtoria]

Nova gave Eric a smile, nudging his shoulder back, before scoffing at his words. "I have brilliant ideas all the time." Nova replied, before laughing at when he spoke about the howler sent to Sydney. She couldn't believe they had actually gotten away with it, she was sure the Slytherin girl would have kicked up an almighty fuss, but Nova hadn't heard a peep out of her, so she assumed that they had shut her up for good. Eric's roommates were a difficult one though, as they were people he was going to have to continue to put up with until they left the school. Nova nodded her head when he suggested doing something similar to his roommates, but Nova knew she was going to have to think on it a bit more. They needed to do something to make Sully never want to show his face again. Nova wrinkled her nose when Eric said she was lucky with her roommates. "None of them are interesting. But I suppose they at least let me alone." She replied, struggling to remember many of their names. She hadn't had much to do with them, but that suited her fine. Nova looked over at Eric. "Do you even know any of them?"