Glad You Came

[Azolla Loncar]

Winter had been, simply put, too long. Azolla missed Hogwarts and her best friend that was placed in it. Now that she was back, however, the Slytherin had written him a letter requesting his presence in the kitchens so they could catch up over food because what living creature did not like food?

Dear Michael Hey Mike
You + Me + Kitchen = Awesome times. Meet me in twenty minutes?
Zo.

She hoped that her friend would be fine with this because she did miss him an awful lot and thought that making something would give them an opportunity to talk about their vacations and to ask about something that had been plaguing her since the magazine that had turned Karah and Michael's relationship upside down. The Slytherin didn't know why but it sort of made her happy because she thought that they weren't very good together anyway... she was too prim for her friend but it wasn't something she was going to make known. She would have tact and remove herself from her jealousy even if he asked her for her help because above all else, even the strange anxiety in the pit of her stomach whenever he was around, they were friends.

Azolla pushed her curled hair out of her face as she changed out of her school uniform into something a bit more comfortable and then walked out of her dorm room with a small grin dancing on her pink lips as she made her way to the kitchen. The girl hoped that Karah wouldn't tag along if Michael had been with her at the time because she had heard through word of mouth that the red head was none too pleased with her and it was hardly Azolla's fault for anything said in it. She just hoped nothing malicious would be said about Michael any more.​

 

[Michael Harper]

The rumour mill had been churning faster than ever at Hogwarts and Michael seemed to have gotten himself caught up in it. Laying low and keeping quiet seemed to have done the opposite of what he had expected and now it seemed all his secrets and more were in black and white for all his classmates to see. The problem was how could anybody know these things were true, when even he didn't? Azolla was one of his closest friends though it seemed his feelings for her had grown confused and messy as of late, he was not sure he felt anything for her but he could see the way she looked at him, how could he not? But what was this that was written about Karah wanting somebody to love her? Had the Ravenclaw not been an attentive boyfriend? Though he had tried his hardest, he could not see what could have gone wrong, though running off after Azolla after the wheelbarrow race could have been an unwise move. These thoughts had churned through the young man's mind over the break, and now that he was back inside Hogwarts' walls it seemed as though the feelings and thoughts had not disappeared, rather they became solidified, back stronger than ever. With his girlfriend Karah crowned prefect the couple had been attracting more attention than usual, something Michael was unsure how to deal with. The kind of attention his girlfriend seemed to be attracting was obviously not toward her sterling new prefect badge though, over the holiday it seemed Karah had bloomed, the already beautiful red head had grown more so, setting Michael's desires a flutter with a stronger physical attraction than ever but it seemed many other students felt the same way. Her beauty held some power over them and Michael couldn't help but feel overwhelmed if not a little protective.

With these frustrations in mind Michael was somewhat relieved to receive the letter from Zo, and looking past the harshly crossed out scrawl at the top the Ravenclaw smiled, dropping his robes off in his dorm and making his way to the kitchen. He saw no need to inform his girlfriend of such a meeting, though he knew of the hostile feelings between the girls he honestly didn't see the harm in hanging out with a friend, even if it was alone, and he wasn't certain of the friend's true feelings toward him. Meeting up with Zo would give him a chance to air his feelings, and she could help him, right? After all she was a female, so she had to know something about her kind? With a little jump Michael arrived in the kitchens and spotted the brown headed Slytherin immediately, moving towards her he smiled, though as she leant in to hug him he thrust his right hand forward, taking hers and shaking it. Looking down at the floor he smiled then looked up at Azolla, blushing a little before scratching the back of his head, boy that had been awkward. Even if dodging the hug seemed like the right thing to do at the time, he had a feeling it was going to effect their evening. In an effort to move past it however, Michael pushed himself up onto a bench and nodded for Zo to join him. He ran his hand through his shaggy hair and looked straight ahead of him, eye contact seemed daunting with the air hanging between the two friends. "Zo, what do girls want?" he asked desperately and rather ambiguously.

 

[Azolla Loncar]

In the moments between Azolla sending the letter and Michael arriving in the kitchens she had dazed off, imagining things she shouldn't because she knew that they would not happen. Her friend was intelligent as could be but he was not perceptive and certainly not going to hurt Karah Love as much as the Slytherin wished he would. She wanted him to walk up behind her quietly and hold her tightly in his arms while he said that he'd missed her during the break before kissing her cheek gently. This vision sent her skin ablaze and a shiver run down her spine as she felt another presence in the room. For a moment she was worried that the other person would be able to see what she was in her mind's eye but was glad to see he couldn't when she turned on her heals. She flashed a smile and went to give him a hug as they'd done many times before but was disheartened to see that he offered her a shake of his hand. Perhaps Karah had told him what Michael was unable to see and feared that they hugged she would make him into some sort of cheater so she scowled at her shoes while shaking his hand. She wasn't a dainty person and neither was her handshake normally but Zo felt defeated, especially after the break she had been through. It was down right rude of Michael to not hug her after she had been made to spend time with what was left of her broken family and deal with her little sister who didn't understand that the promise to see her grandmother had to be broken. Even so Azolla smiled up at him and watched as he walked over to a bench and beckoned her.

Azolla brushed her slim fingers through her hair as she turned to sit beside him but not close. In fact, Zo made a point to sit on the edge because if he felt uncomfortable hugging her who was to say what else he would feel similarly about? Her frustration did not allow her to dare a glance in his direction, instead she looked down at her finger nails as if she was debating on painting them. That concentration faltered for a split second when Michael asked her what girls wanted and her eyes narrowed at her nailbuds as she said, "I don't know about the rest of them but I am hankering for a sandwich." She smiled weakly before heaving a great sigh, knowing that he was asking for any sort of advice even if she did not want to give any to improve his relationship. "It depends on the girl, Michael. You should know that," she stated, pointing out that he knew Karah better than most people as her best friend and boyfriend so he should instinctively know what she wanted from him, the same way Karah should know this about him. Zo sincerely doubted she did, though.

The Slytherin wasn't the best with giving advice because she was always on the unwilling receiving end of it when a relative died or was hurt beyond repair. Azolla knew very little about the world except the fact that people died and that she wanted to immerse herself in people who would make her happy while she was alive. Michael wasn't doing this lately but normally he did so she stayed around him, hoping he would improve himself to her silent standards. "I, for example, think that I would want someone I could be who I am when I am alone.... Does that make sense?" she asked only now glancing up at Michael before shrugging her tan shoulders. "I'm hardly the best example though... You probably want to ask someone girly for advice about Karah," Azolla said, keeping the bitterness out of her tongue for Micahel's sake but speaking as plainly as ever. It wasn't a great secret that she was a tomboy, after all.​

 

[Michael Harper]

Growing up in a household with only his father had been tough on Michael, though he hadn't seemed to notice the effect it had had on him until now. Although he was shy and kind to girls, he often now got himself into predicaments which were less than comfortable with him. It seemed to be that since he had been with Karah things had grown more complicated, he didn't know how to deal with them and since he lacked in a maternal figure he had not been taught well the way to approach or maintain relationships and friendships with the fairer sex. Such subjects seemed to be taboo with his father, all he knew he had learnt from his older male cousins, and they had not proven a reliable source of information, in the past having led him to believe he had caught cooties from Karah during their first kiss. Now it seemed that Michael was doing what part of him knew that he shouldn't, asking Zo for advice on his girlfriend. Though he hadn't specified it was obvious Azolla knew what he was talking about and he felt ever so bad for it, but she really was the only person he could trust to help him make a sensible decision. The decision he had to make was whether he and Karah were to stay together, though they had been so happy it seemed now that they were drifting apart, and that they wanted different things. And Michael was growing jealous of this Ezra fellow, though he hadn't thought of how jealous Karah could have been of Azolla for he was still denying there was anything going on between them. Shifting back a little, the Ravenclaw nodded towards Azolla, she really was very bright, one of the things he most admired about her. That, and just how naturally beautiful she was. With Karah for some reason Michael felt her beauty held a certain power over him, it had to be her veela blood which he still could not understand beyond what he read in text books. But when he was with Zo he beauty could be admired, but not feared.

Noticing he had stared just a little too long, Michael quickly tried to replace the brunette image in his mind with the red hair of his girlfriend's, it was all right to fantasize about her, right? When Azolla spoke his girlfriend's name Michael seemed to jump a little, as though she frightened him that she knew he was talking about her. "I have to admit to being guilty of asking you advice on my girlfriend" he admitted, his palms growing a little sweaty as he did so. "Its just that I don't know what she wants from me, things are difficult, you know?" as soon as the words had tumbled from his lips he knew he never should have uttered a word, but with them lingering out in the open it seemed the Ravenclaw felt a sense of relief. Michael found himself knowing Azolla would be able to be herself around him, and wondered if she was trying to get at something, but it was most likely going right over the top of his head. "How about the sandwich then? I make a great tuna one" he said as he leapt down from the counter and began to hunt out the ingredients. Tuna sandwiches were in fact all he knew how to make, it was also all his father knew how to make so he had eaten them often as a child. As he searched through a cupboard the fifteen year old seemed to find some of his courage, "Zo, do you know this Ezra guy? The one the magazine talks about?" he tried to sound ever so casual, but it was hard when he felt so much pressure to be as good as another boy he didn't even know. He and Karah were in love, and even though it seemed she was not the only object of his desire, he figured it was his duty to try and make their relationship work, whatever it took. Finding the bread, Michael removed four slices from the bag and placed them on the counter top, trying to keep himself busy so that he would not have to face Azolla after asking her such an awkward question. He would understand if she didn't want to answer, really it was none of her problem, but part of him wished she would, even if only because her friend was in need of her help.