Finger & A Thumb

[Jacob Kingsley]

Supper had been a raucous affair at the Gryffindor table after their win. At least it seemed that way to Jacob who was used to the table being varying degrees of loud. With a full belly and a head replaying the best parts of the match, Jacob headed out of the Great Hall with a little more swagger than usual. It was nice to get his mind off of his brother and his parents and all the problems at home.

High fiving a fellow Gryffindor, Jacob walked slowly, thoroughly content. There was nothing that could bring him down. He stopped to let a group of students pass by since he was in no rush to get to his homework.

 

[Analei Westwick]

Having the rowdy Gryffindors only shoving in everyone's faces that they had won at dinner, did not make for a happy meal. There weren't many Puffs around her as Analei ate alone, and quickly, desperate to get out of the Great Hall and away from the pride of lions, clearly thinking better of themselves than anyone else did. Shoveling down her food was never fun, but as soon as the young Puff was done, she grabbed her bag and headed for her Common Room; if Arvel or anyone else weren't there, she could just do her homework there instead of the library. However, as a group of students passed, she realized she was standing next to none other than Jacob Kingsley. She internally groaned, but swallowed her pride, knowing that Zennon would appreciate if they tried harder with each other. "Congrats." Analei said, through half gritted teeth, her eyes still planted firmly on the wall in front of her.
​

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob turned to accept the thank you from the person, a huge grin on his face. It was only when he saw who it belonged to that his smile dimmed slightly. But her words had been friendly even if she wasn't looking at him, he realized. Hoping she'd been congratulating him and not one of the school paintings or statues, Jacob hesitantly spoke. "Thanks" he began, and that was probably where he should have left things. But, he continued. "We were really good out there" he added, pretty proud of how it had all come together. Jacob had never been part of a team, so he was still surprised at how it all came together for the games.

 

[Analei Westwick]

After the thanks, his next few words did not help Analei's mood. She couldn't help the eyebrow raise as she shook her head slightly, disbelief in his lack of tact. Analei wondered, and not for the first time, how anyone could like this kid, how no one could see how rude and mean he actually was. But, instead, it was her with the lack of friends, and he seemed to be the most popular Second Year. It wasn't like Analei was unhappy with her friends, or even that she wanted to be popular, she just wished that the most popular kid was a more friendly one. "We were really good too, you know. Just because one person caught the snitch before the other doesn't mean we were bad."
​

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

"What?" Jacob said innocently. He had no idea why she gave him a headshake, not that he was surprised. She always seemed to think she was smarter and knew better than he did. He couldn't stop himself from laughing even though he knew it wasn't going to help matters. But really, did it matter? This seemed to be how it went whenever they talked. "But I mean one team definitely won and the other definitely lost." That's what the snitch catch did, determined the winners and the losers. And on this day, the Hufflepuffs were the losers. "You say we like you had anything to do with it" he added, with another laugh. He had no idea she'd tried out for the team, but he knew she wasn't currently on it.

 

[Analei Westwick]

Analei was sure he had chosen his next words specifically to wind her up. Though he normally irritated her just by being alive, sometimes the things he did made her angrier than normal. Even his laugh made her scowl. Analei felt her face grow red when he made his last comment, and she wondered if he had watched the Hufflepuff team try outs, or if someone had told him she didn't make it into the team. She didn't think any of her friends would do that to her; definitely not on purpose. "We feel every win and loss as a whole House, we're a team. Just because your loyalty is a strong as a single blade of grass Kingsley, doesn't mean that we all have our heads stuck up our own asses."
​

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Up until Analei spoke again, Jacob thought they were sort of joking with each other. He should have known better though. Analei obviously had no sense of humor. The smile that had been on his face swiftly transformed into a frown. He was a Gryffindor! They were the most loyal house of them all. "You know Gryffindor is like known for loyalty, right? You guys aren't the best at that either." Jacob was angry at himself for falling into the trap of thinking Analei would try to be nice to him. He should have known better. And he really wanted to say more, but the truth was that he liked most Hufflepuffs, just not her. So there was no need to insult them all. "Anyway, you're not even on the team. Talk to me when you are" he stated arrogantly. If she wanted to think he was full of himself, he might as well go all in. It wasn't like he wanted to save a friendship. They didn't have one.

 

[Analei Westwick]

[AdminApproval= 30486682]

Analei had to roll her eyes when Jacob mentioned Gryffindor being the house of loyalty. That didn't mean that every single Gryffindor was loyal, or that nobody else was allowed to be. The young Hufflepuff didn't even know why she had congratulated him to begin with, it was stupid to think they could be kind to one another. Analei could feel herself getting more and more worked up, and though her mother had talked to her about hormonal teenagers, it wasn't the thought that was on her mind. Her jaw dropped slightly at his next statement. How dare he!
Analei saw red. She was so angry, she hadn't felt so angry in such a long time. Though she had been working on controlling herself, every voice and saying that she had been taught went out of her head and all she felt was rage. Analei felt her body tense up, from her toes all the way up to her head, until she felt like her head was going to explode. She was so angry. Analei felt a yell come from her mouth - her yell of anger, as she felt as if her anger was bursting out of her - and it was.
She exploded - her anger exploded - her magic exploded as at once the lanterns and torches around her extinguished. It took a moment for Analei's eyes to adjust, but once they did, she realized what she had done. She had lost control again. Her rage turned to anger at herself as she realized that one and a half years at magic school, and she still couldn't control herself. Tears sprang to her eyes, as she tore her eyes away from Jacob, and started walking quickly to her Common Room; but the walk quickly turned into a run as she raced to get away from the mess she had made.
​