Feeling Like A Third Wheel

[Jeremy Thorne]

Although the student lounge wasn't an area that Jeremy usually hung out in, he had been settled inside the room for close to an hour. He'd grown tired of being in the common room doing schoolwork, so he'd come to the student lounge for a bit of complany. Once he'd arrived, he had quickly grown bored. For the first time in his memory, the room was fairly empty. There was no one that he knew inside, and he wasn't in the mood to make a new friend or anything. Jeremy was still much too shy and quiet to approach someone he didn't know and speak to them.

Laying with his back where one would normally sit and his legs up against where a normal person would place their back, Jeremy began throwing a ball against one of the walls. If he did it correctly, the ball would bounce right back to him and he would do it again. And if it didn't...that's what he had a wand for. Jeremy was finding the continuous motion and the noise of the ball hitting the wall oddly relaxing. That was a good thing because he'd been a little short-tempered as of late and finding any means of relaxing was a good thing. Quidditch did that as well, but there was no practice today.

 

[Georgiana Night-Carter]

Georgiana walked into the Student Lounge looking for her twin brother, she hadn't seen him in a few weeks and wondered what was up with him. Instead she found Logan's best friend Jeremy. Walking over she took her time trying to figure out what he was doing. Watching as the ball came back down towards him she quickly reached out and grabbed it, smiling down at him. "Hi there. What're you doing?" She asked finding it odd he came to the one place it'd be impossible to be alone and acted like he wanted to be left alone, that or he was just very bored. She plopped herself down next to him but sitting the way they were suppose to on the couch.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy sat up a bit when someone snatched the ball on its way back to his palm. He turned angry eyes on the person, thinking it was some older or annoying student bent on messing with him. When he discovered it was Georgiana, Jeremy was a bit shocked. As she settled herself into another seat, Jeremy twisted his body slightly so that he was sitting with his head resting on the arm. "I was bouncing the ball against the wall" Jeremy said, stating the obvious.

"I don't know where Logan is." He figured that she'd only come up to speak to him to find out that information. "Can I get my ball back?" he added, holding out his hand. Jeremy had only met Georgiana for the first time at the Halloween Feast a few weeks ago, and they still weren't particularly close.

 

[Logan Stone]

It had been a rather quiet day for Logan as it was his only and only day off from lessons and seeing as he had already finished all of his homework he had the rest of the day to do what he wished. Although what he wished to do was not available to do right now. He wanted to be out of school at home with his family but he couldn't be. So as a plan b he was heading to the student lounge, may as well do some extra studying as he didn't know where Georgie was so he couldn't see her at the moment.

As he entered the room he looked around and notcied both his girl friend and best friend together. He smiled slightly and headed over to the two. "Hey guys, and girls." He said with a smile at Georgie as he said girls. The two had only met at the Halloween feast and they had not really talked much to each other and Logan was still not too certain about how Jeremy felt towards her. "What are we all doing?" He asked them.

 

[Georgiana Night-Carter]

Georgiana smiled at Jeremy doing her best to get along with him, though he didn't seem like he wanted to be bothered. "I meant, here in the lounge not talking to anyone," she said a frown forming on her face. He was making it hard for her to want to get to know him. "I was actually in here looking for my brother, then I saw you and thought it'd be nice to talk with you since we hadn't really gotten a chance at Halloween," she said her voice becoming shy, for the first time she felt like walking away instead of helping someone and it was strange for her. Sighing she handed the ball back over to him, she felt awkward sitting there now she didn't have a reason to be there.

As she was about to collect herself and say goodbye Logan came strolling over to them. A smile appeared on her face and she moved over so Logan could sit in between her and Jeremy where he basically belonged. "Hi Logan," Georgiana said to him patting the place she had been occupying before she moved over indicating her wish for him to sit there. "I was looking for Kayden but he seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth," she told him glancing over at Jeremy. "He was just bouncing a ball on the wall," she said looking back at Logan. Georgiana didn't know how to handle Jeremy and wondered how Logan managed to deal with him for the past four years, they obivously had to share something in common besides being Ravenclaw.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy stared blankly at Georgiana as she spoke again. He was keeping himself entertained with the ball. Wasn't it obvious? At the feast, Jeremy had realized that she was a Gryffindor which sort of explained her question. Most of the people he knew from that house were hyper and overly friendly. He shrugged, taking his ball back. "I don't talk much and I don't really know anyone here" he said, sitting back in his seat and looking decidely bored. Jeremy knew Georgiana's effort was probably because Logan had suggested it.

As Logan entered the room, Jeremy looked over at his girlfriend. Now, she'd surely have a better source of entertainment. "Hey Logan" he said as he began to toss the ball from hand to hand. He shrugged in response to his friend's question. "Not much" he responded as Georgiana began to respond as well. Her answer was much longer than his of course and as she moved over to let Logan sit between them, Jeremy wondered whether had moved because she felt uncomfortable next to him. He found that he kind of liked that idea, especially since that wasn't how people typically felt around him.

 

[Georgiana Night-Carter]

Georgiana glanced away as he stared back at her, she realized it was really uncomfortable. She never found someone who'd rather do nothing then talk with her, but then again she was the most friendly and motherly type of her friends everyone came to her it seemed. That was why she was glad she had Logan, she could always go to him when there wasn't anyone else to listen to her; which most times seemed to be the case. "Right, well there isn't any harm in getting to know people. Like me for instance. I don't want you not to like me, and then there be a problem with you and Logan. You two are friends and if you need guy time that's fine with me you know, I'm not here to steal Logan from you," she told him as she was forced to look down at him. Georgiana didn't like having to talk down at people it always made her feel small and she hated when people made her do it to them; everything was better when equal in her world.

 

[Logan Stone]

As Logan sat down he felt a slight bit of tension in the room, well it was that or he was feeling awkward for some reason. Why was he slowly regretting leaving the common room to come here. "I take it you were a little bored then." He said smiling at Jeremy, he didn't want to feel awkward right now he wanted to have a bit of a laugh with his friend and girl friend without them trying to kill each other with the venom in their voices. "You know we have a match soon. You ready." He asked Jeremy again before Georgie spoke to him. Again making Logan feel very awkward, he began to drum his fingers on the table top. "Is there something going on here that im missing. Why are we talking about stealing me away?" He asked very confused by what she had said. He wondered how much of a previous conversation he had missed.

 

[Georgiana Night-Carter]

Georgiana glanced as Logan mentioned a quidditch match coming up, so they shared quidditch but as far as that she couldn't see anymore similarites that she hadn't already come too. "Nothing Logan, he was just giving me...being...just sitting here and yeah nevermind," she said waving it off. She couldn't explain without seeming harsh and picking on Jeremy, afterall Georgiana didn't want to give him a hard time trying to get the two to be friends. "Who is your match against?" She asked the two remembering she still had yet to tell Logan about her position on the quidditch team, something she was very proud of.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy glanced away as Georgiana began speaking. He had no idea what she was on about. Stealing Logan? What did that even mean? It wasn't as if Jeremy and Logan were an item or something. They were simply best buds, and if his best friend decided he would rather spend his time with a girl, Jeremy could care less. He wasn't going to dignify her by commenting on what she'd just said so he intently stared at a bookcase across the way, trying to make out the titles without turning his head sideways.

It wasn't until Logan spoke, asking what was going on, that Jeremy turned again. He smiled briefly, happy to ignore the Gryffindor for a moment. "Yup. It just stinks that I won't have my broom until after Christmas though. That won't give me much time to break it in." When Logan began to wonder what was going on between him and Georgiana, Jeremy shifted uneasily. There was no way that he was planning on telling Logan. It was between him and her anyway. Georgiana obviously didn't feel the same way and he felt himself becoming more upset as she spoke. "I was just what exactly, Georgiana? Minding my own business before you came and snatched my ball? Oh right...that was it" Jeremy finally said in a bit of a snarky tone. There was no way he was going to be the bad guy here. He heard her question but didn't answer, choosing to begin bouncing the ball against the floor instead.

 

[Logan Stone]

Logan pursed his lips slightly as he continued to dum his finger tips lightly on the table top. "Well good thing you get given one to use by the team while you wait for your new one to come. Give you something to look forward to." He said with a smile, although it was a little awkward Logan was still in a up beat mood and he was not about to let what ever was happening between these two get in the way. He did have a strange feeling that it would get in the way any way whether he wanted it to or not. "Well you have your ball and you have, well something else so its all good now. Is any one nerous about exams next week?" He asked talking to Jeremy and Georgie, he didn't want the two to hate each other and not want to be around each other because that could mean he would have to choose between tehm sometimes and he really didn't want to be put in that position.

 

[Georgiana Night-Carter]

Georgiana watched as her boyfriend and his best friend spoke. The two ignored her question about who they werenplaying which made her slightly upset, though she was more upset over Jeremy not liking her. He was giving her a hard time and she didn't understand why. She didn't see the big deal he was making over catching his ball either, she had given it back. She wanted to make conversation with him, and for her it would have been annoying if he was bouncing the ball on the wall at the same time. Georgiana wasn't quite sure what Logan meant by her having something, she didn't have anything with her. Leaning back on the seat she stared across the room, she was begining to feel like the third wheel here. Georgiana had nothing to say to either of them in that moment, she just shook her head at Logan's question the smile that was usually on her face was gone.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

When Logan spoke and hinted that the matter should be dropped, Jeremy decided to take the hint. He'd been trying to drop it earlier and would have if Georgiana hadn't spoken. "Yea, I am. We just have so much to study. I don't even want to know what OWLs are gonna be like next year" he grumbled.

Looking up at Georgiana, Jeremy noticed that she was no longer smiling. He didn't much care and in fact he was enjoying it. He decided to have a bit more fun with it by teasing her as he replied to her question. "I think we're playing Gryffindor. So, you're going to have to choose who you want to cheer on from the stands huh?" he began. "Will you choose your boyfriend or your house?" Jeremy knew that he was being a bit of a jerk but he was rather annoyed with her at the moment. He still couldn't believe she'd practically called him out on being jealous. He wondered how she had come to that conclusion anyway.

 

[Georgiana Night-Carter]

Georgiana zoned out as Jeremy talked about the OWLs, she still had a few years before she needed to worry. Plus there was the fact she wasn't a Ravenclaw she wasn't bound to worry to much, though thinking on it that year was going to be tough on both Logan and her. Relaxing back into the seat more, she was suprised to see Jeremy talking to her again, she figured he was going to ignore her for the rest of the time they were there. Hearing him mention that they were playing Gryffindor she felt her eyebrows raise on her head. She hadn't heard Damian mention a game coming up and hadn't seen it on the board in their private room about it. "Really? Well you know I actually won't be able to cheer from the stands this year, I'm needed somewhere else, and Logan and I agreed I'd cheer for Ravenclaw as long as Gryffindor isn't playing, and that I'd get his sweater to wear for team colors," she told him a smile back on her face. She figured he would guess cheerleader or something but Logan knew about her auditioning for the team. Georgie turned her body to face the two boys her leg coming up onto the couch infront of her and she tucked it under in a half criss cross style. She was excited to finally be able to tell Logan about her position, afterall they never had to go head to head on the field. She knew beaters were suppose to go after everyone but the other Ravenclaw beater could always go after her while Logan went for other players on Gryffindor, plus if he 'accidentaly' missed her and Ravenclaw lost he could be one people blamed.

 

[Logan Stone]

Logan laughed and nodded. He knew that the O.W.Ls next year were going to be tough on most students because everyone knew that they were important if you wanted to progress but Logan was probably one of the people who was not worried at all. His grades were constantly good and he studied a lot anyway so there would be no major change in that area. He had nothing to be worried about really if he thought about it. "I know right. Good thing i study a lot now though right, shouldn't be too much work load for me. i hear the DADA once is easy though. You think they are all easier than we think. Maybe they just seem hard." He said pursing his lips as he pondered on that thought. Of course he would not know this information first hand and he was just going off what he had been told from other student but there was always some sort of truth in a rumour. As his dad had once told him, rumours true or false are often revealing. As Jeremy spoke to Georgie again he scowled, he knew there was obvious distaste in his words and Logan knew she had not even said anything to him really to warrant such a reply. "Jeremy can you stop that please. As far as im aware all she has done was take your ball which she has now given back. To me that is not enough to credit the torrent of abuse your giving her." He said seriously deciding that he should take action now rather than later. Even if he did suspect that he would now probably get abuse back himself but he didn't exactly care, he had this strange thing about him that made him not care what others thought. Well most of the time anyway

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy sat back casually, slipping the ball into his pocket as he listened to Georgiana's reply. What she said was interesting. It seemed that she and Logan had already spoken about who she would cheer on, and Jeremy couldn't help but be a bit miffed that they'd already settled on something there. The other thing that she had mentioned about not being able to cheer was interesting as well. Where else would she be but in the stands cheering for the teams. It suddenly dawned on Jeremy that perhaps Georgiana had tried out for that cheerleading team, but as he dismissed that thought a second later. Georgiana didn't seem the cheerleading type. "Glad you've thought about it" he said with a shrug as if he didn't really care.

When Logan turned on him and scolded him in front of Georgiana, it was Jeremy's turn for the smile to be wiped off of his face. "What?" he said innocently, his voice pitching slightly higher as if he had no idea what he'd been up to. Not enough to warrant... Jeremy thought grumpily. He could count the ways she'd warranted his abuse. Not only had she taken his ball, but she'd accused him of being jealous, and...she'd taken his best friend away. Maybe he was jealous, but what else was he supposed to feel? This had been the most difficult semester of his life and he had no one to turn to because every time he went to speak to Logan, he was on his way to hang out with Georgiana. And, the few times he'd been with both of them, Jeremy had felt like the squeaky third wheel. "Whatever...I have to head to the library anyway. I've got to pick up a book" he lied, standing up so he could leave.

 

[Georgiana Night-Carter]

Georgiana bit her lip as Logan went off on his best friend about picking on her. She knew that Jeremy was most likely just jealous and she tried to explain to him before that she wasn't there to take Logan from him and that they could have their guy time whenever. She felt bad that the two were agrueing about something that had to do with her. "Logan, it's fine. I can handle it, there's been worse bullies I've dealt with before, not that Jeremy is a bully," she told him placing her hand on his arm trying to keep him calm about the situation. Georgiana wasn't a big fan of people argueing and fighting over stupid little things. Watching Jeremy stand up she knew the day wouldn't end very well if he left now instead of talking things out, but she didn't know what to say so she stood up quickly and blurted out her big news. "I made Keeper," she said knowing it wasn't going to be taken as such big news now that Jeremy wanted to leave and Logan was sticking up for her. She looked between the two and wondered if they weren't going to be able to talk to each other for awhile or if they'd be like her and her brother, always making up next time they saw each other. Georgiana hoped it would be the latter for Logan and Jeremy.

 

[Logan Stone]

Logan half ignored Georgie's comment about bullies. He knew that Jeremy was no bully, just a hormonal teenager going through a rough patch and venting. "I don't care i dont want people talking to you like that." He said to her before quickly looking at his best friend wondering what their relationship was going to be like the next time they saw each other. He hoped that this would not come between them. He didn't want to loose him as a friend because of what was going on outside of the castle walls. "You know what. Il talk to you later in that case." He said watching him stand up. Again Georgies next comment nearly went unnoticed but Logan heard the word keeper so he put two and two together and turned to face her again. "Oh thats great news, i wont have to worry about hitting you as much not will i." He joked, not wanting this argument between him and Jeremy spoil the mood. He did not want them to argue as well.

 

[Georgiana Night-Carter]

Georgiana couldn't help but roll her eyes at her boyfriend, he wasn't going to make things better between him and Jeremy if he kept it up. At this rate she couldn't ever see being friendly with Jeremy and it was more likely in their matches against each other he would try to hit her with the quaffle when he should be aiming for the rings. "Logan, it's okay. Really. Just let's breathe and calm ourshelves before anything gets to a point we regret here. Jeremy don't walk away from your best friend!" She said to him standing up as well. Georgie never liked to see friends break apart, she would do anything to keep the two best friends in front of her from falling apart. Even if she had to break it off with Logan for awhile and give them space to reconnect again she would. It wasn't going to be any bigger then it had to be she was going to make sure of that.

"Jeremy, please just sit down and talk with Logan. If you don't want me here, I'll go over there, opposite side of the room and wait I don't mind," she told him actually reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder but stopping herself. She didn't know how he would react from even the simplest of gestures, as he hadn't liked it when she caught his ball before him.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

"I've got nothing more to say" Jeremy shrugged, ready to walk out. It wasn't as if he had been looking for company. It had found him, and if Logan wanted to be that way, it was fine. Jeremy would just find another place to relax. He didn't need Logan's company and right now he didn't want it either. As he took a step, he heard the news that Georgiana blurted out. Any other time, Jeremy would have recognized the news as an attempt to defuse the situation, but in his current negative state of mind, he saw it as just another attempt on Georgiana's part to get Logan's attention. Shaking his head slightly, he squared his shoulders and began to walk away.

He turned his head slightly as Georgiana addressed him again. She was obviously trying to be a peacemaker, but Jeremy wasn't seeking peace. Not at the moment anyway. Later on, perhaps he would mumble an apology to Logan to pass on to his girlfriend but now he just needed some space. These days he needed lots of space. Space to breathe, space to think and space to fly when nothing else seemed to be going right. For the first time all day, he listened to what Georgiana said, no running commentary flowing through his head. He noticed her hesitation in touching him and the guilt poured into Jeremy. He didn't want her to be frightened of him. He was just going through things. "No, I don't want to right now" he said, calmly trying to explain to her. "Maybe we'll talk later and maybe we won't. It's none of your concern" he added, unable to stop the realization that this might be the one thing that Logan drew the line on. He had been very patient with Jeremy so far, but Jeremy knew he had been pushing it lately as if he were testing his friend's limits.

 

[Georgiana Night-Carter]

Georgiana frowned at her boyfriend and his best friend who's back was turned to them. She was tempted to let Jeremy walk right out the room and forget, but that wasn't her. Her brother told her once that she was the mother hen of their friends and it was true. Georgie wanted to keep everything from falling apart and it broke her heart right then to see Jeremy so upset and Logan just shrugging it off. She knew from her own experience with her mother that when people walk away the greatest risk you took with letting them was that they weren't going to come running back. She wasn't sure what side Jeremy would fall on but she didn't want to be blamed for anything, of course it would be herself who did the blaming.

Standing up to someone you barely knew was tough and she wasn't sure if she was doing anything right. Georgiana could only hope that she could convince him to stay and work things out. Or atleast stay and leave on a brighter note. "I don't agree with that. I mean I came over here because I wanted to get to know you. Logan has never asked me to do such a thing, so I got this whole thing started so it is my buisness. I don't want you two to suffer any loss of your friendship. But Jeremy if you must then go ahead," she told him still afraid he might lash out at her though his voice did seem much calmer.

 

[Jeremy Thorne]

Jeremy wasn't very surprised when Georgiana got up and came over to him. Although he didn't know much about her yet, he had the feeling that she was one of those people who liked to fix situations. It was a good quality to have, but in order to fix something, it needed to want to be fixed. Jeremy didn't think anything needed to be fixed. Logan knew why he was acting the way he was. He looked down towards the ground as he let her have her moment to speak. It seemed to be important to her to get her opinion out. Jeremy briefly wondered if all Gryffindors were like that. Everything about what she said was fine until the end. Jeremy took her last words as if she were giving him permission to leave. He didn't need permission, especially not from her.

When she had finished, Jeremy looked up, a stony expression on his face. "Good because I was planning on going anyway" he said in a slightly annoyed voice and without another glance back at either her or Logan, Jeremy walked out of the lounge and into the hallway to take a breather