Facing It

[Charlie Linus]

Charlie was sitting on his bed in his dorm. It had been months. He had once again become accustom to the feeling of loneliness. It was second nature to him, it always had been. But he would be lying if he said he didn't miss the presence of Carmen. She was off in the arms of Kaleb and Charlie was left to hide away in his dorm, not even able to venture down into the Common Room in case he saw them together. Charlie tried to hate her with every fibre of his being for treating him in such a way, but it was hard for him to do so. He still cared for her even if he wouldn't admit the fact to himself. In his mind she was the enemy, but in his heart she wasn't that person.

Feeling a sudden urge of determination to dislike the blonde girl, he got up off his bed and stormed down to the Quidditch Pitch. He hadn't been there since the accident. The day he met Kaleb and the day their rivalry had formed. He looked up at the hoops in which he had seen Carmen dangling from and scowled. Ignoring the pang in his chest, he grabbed a broom and mounted furiously, kicking off the ground and surging into the air, hoping that the more aggressive he flew, the easier it would be to deny how hurt he really was. Even after all this time...

 

[Ava Prince]

Ava had been feeling rather bored these past few days. She never really was one to have lots of company, although she was hoping that would all change in time. She was still in preparation fro her attack on the Goth Gang. It was a task Isabella had choosen for her to prove that she was not on their side. Ava still cringed the fact that she had fallen for Hoshi's stupid trick. She would make sure that her attack on their room would be good. Sweet, sweet revenge.

She didn't know what had brought her down to the Quidditch Pitch that afternoon, was it the blaring sun? Or just the need to have company? She didn't know. There was always at least one person at the Quidditch Pitch. She had never seen it empty. Ava was wearing a casual outfit that suited the beautiful weather perfectly. Ava didn't own a broom yet and she was almost embarassed that she had to borrow one from the broom closet. They were all so dirty and worn. It wasn't as if she couldn't afford a broom, she just wasn't a regular flyer. A borrowed broom would have to do for today.

Taking at one that was less of a wreck, she swung her leg ever and flew into the air. Wow, did she miss this feeling. The warm air caressing her rosy cheeks softly. Ava noticed a boy at the opposite end of the pitch. She stared at him through her sunglasses, she was sure she recognised him. She subtley flew a bit closer to realize that she did in fact know. She had met him once before. Chris? Charles..? It wasn't worth embarassing herself over, she decided a simple greeting would suffice. "Hey." She said over the quiet breeze. The empty stadium enchanced her voice. She smiled softly, it was weird to think that she was almost glad to see this boy again. It was rare that she would find someone who she deemed worthy of her time. There was something about this boy that was just....normal.

 

[Charlie Linus]

Charlie flew around a hoop at a fast speed, wanting to feel the adrenaline pump through his veins and know that Carmen hadn't been able to do it. Almost halting in mid air at his own horribly awful thoughts, he slowed and furrowed his brow. What was the matter with him. She could have been seriously injured that day. Heaving a sigh that was borderline frustrated, he looked up again to notice a girl flying over to this end of the pitch, as she came closer, Charlie recognised her from the kitchens. He remembered finding her pretty back in first year. The thought almost made him want to laugh out loud, what was the point of even bothering with girls? They were just a nuisance. Although Charlie thought that about most people in general.

Charlie was somewhat surprised when the girl greeted him. Ava was her name, if he remembered correctly, which he usually did. "Hi." He said, completely stopping his broom to a hover near where the girl was. He averted his eyes, feeling as thought he should say something, but not having the first clue as to what he should converse upon. He didn't exactly talk to people often.

 

[Ava Prince]

That was it? A 'Hi'? Ava thought to herself as she watched the boy struggling to find something to say. A small smile slid onto her thin lips. She found his awkwardness quite amusing. Although, it made her think that maybe she had not met this boy before? Prehaps she just seen him around a couple of times and just thought she met him. No way. No, I met him before, Ava began to think furiously in her head for a name. Nothing was coming although she remembered she had met him in the kitchens late at night. It was last year. How would she ask fro his name without seeming like a total ditz? "Eh..you're kitchens boy right?" She asked with a small giggle, it was a subtle way of asking him what his name was but was also a slight joke. She didn't really know why she was still talking to him, or why she was so intrigued to know his name. From what she remembered this boy was a bit of a loser.

 

[Charlie Linus]

Charlie hadn't expected her to remember him at all, so he was once more surprised that she recognised him as the boy from the kitchens. "Yeah, Charlie." He said, managing a small smile. It foreign on his face, but not unpleasant. His mind was gone from Carmen, concentrated only at the conversation at hand. "Ava right?" He asked, wanting to make sure he was right before he continued the conversation. He strangely didn't want her to leave him alone, her presence somewhat comforting. He hadn't realised how much he had missed interacting with people until Ava arrived. "So um, how have you been since then?" He questioned, feeling a genuine curiosity develop after asking. Feeling his voice a little scratchy. When was the last time he had spoke?

 

[Ava Prince]

Charlie. Ava nodded as she made a mental note to remember his name. She would make sure she would this time, especially since he remembered hers. She was slightly touched that he had remembered, it was last year when they met. Although she also realized they were in the same house and classes, but then again Ava never really paid too much attention in class. When he asked a question, Ava turned her eyes away from him as she thought. She didn't really know how to answer that question. "Okay, I guess." She said slowly, nothing really happened to Ava all that much. She had taken a large portion of the year hiding from Sterling (she was playing hard to get) but this year she didn't seem to have to do that. It was like he disappeared off the face of the eath. She was over him anyway, he was definitely not worth her time. "What about you?" She asked in return with a simple smile on her pretty face.

 

[Charlie Linus]

Clearing his throat absently Charlie took in Ava's response and nodded his head once. "I guess you could say the same." He said softly, but still loud enough for Ava to hear, there was really no chance of him spilling anything about what happened between Carmen, Kaleb and him, but it would be fairly obvious that Carmen no longer hung out with Charlie and spent a ridiculous amount of time with the other boy. Charlie just wished she hadn't been so harsh about it. Realising a small frown had reached his face, Charlie removed it, letting his features fall back to normal. Looking up at Ava's small smile, Charlie smiled weakly back.

Looking back down at his broom shyly, the Slytherin boy realised he was lightly moving his broom from side to side as a distraction. "So do you come flying often?" Charlie struggled for conversation, but didn't think he was doing too bad.

 

[Ava Prince]

Ava shrugged quickly at his question, "Not really." She began to fly a circle around Charlie, "I like flying. But I'm no expert. I can't to cool tricks so don't expect any." She said with a small giggle. Although she hated him, Sam was pretty good at quidditch and she was always envious of that fact, she never let him know it of course. Ava made a small dip in the air to bring her lower and looked up at Charlie with a playful smile on her face. "However, I would like to see how I'd match with you though..?" She trailed off, subltly asking him for a quick race. She didn't know where all this playfulness was coming from, she never did this. She usually looked down on people who acted like children, then again, she was only twelve.