Half the world away.

[Willow Autumn]

Willow Autumn was the only student in the Student Lounge, in which she was quite grateful for.
She didn't care much about her studies, nor did she really care about much in general. She hated the world, she hated Hogwarts. She hated magic. She hated herself. She disliked her friends. She hated reality. She hated her sickness. In summary; she hated everything in current terms. Pulling up one of many squishy, comfy armchairs in the student lounge, she pulled it next to a window, sat down and propped her feet up on the window sill and gazed quietly at the passing clouds.
She didn't mind gazing at fluffy white clouds but she much preferred to gaze at the stars at night, the cover of darkness was a good cover, like a security blanket of some sorts when she didn't have to pretend how much she was hurting or even how much she hated everything.

Sub-consciously, she clenched her fists and fumed quietly, she was angry at herself. How could she have released her anger on her friends like the way she did at Hallowe'en, it was un-like her. She remembered running away and although the plan was to run straight to the infirmary to sort something out about the random pains in her head, she ended up running to the Gryffindor Dormitory instead and fell asleep on her bed instead. She gritted her teeth and regretted it, the dull aching in her head started to throb again. She knew she should have done something about it ages ago, especially since the chest pains started to come through - something that wasn't particularly good, especially in Willow's age. She didn't care.

...So, here I go. I'm scratching around in the same old hole, my body feels young but my mind is very old...so what do you say? You can't give me the dreams that are mine anyway. You're half the world away...

 

[Kate Archer]

Out of Character:

I'm not sure what time of the day it is but I'm just going to act like its the next day?If thats okay?

Kate walked down the corridor towards the Student Lounge.A lot had happened yesterday and after her meeting with her friends she had gone straight to bed.But it was a new day today and it was time to think.She would be taking Willow's place as to sorting things out.She hoped if things went wrong that she wouldn't have the same reaction as Willow.Kate sighed as she thought about Willow.She must of been under so much stress and she must of been angry and annoyed at Kate and Stefan.She didn't really blame her either they had been acting very badly lately but that was hopefully all behind her now.

She walked into the Student Room but stopped short when she saw somebody sitting by the window.She didn't know who it was because they were facing the wrong direction.She sat down anyway and took out her books.She didn't have much homework to do so she should have plenty of time to think about her new problem before lunch.She looked over at the other person she looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't place the person.She looked at her books and then the person and then decide she would prefer talking to someone. "Hey"She said politely

 

[Willow Autumn]

Twiddling her thumbs, she closed her eyes and let the scenery take her away.
She didn't care. Time meant nothing to her anymore.
The events of Yesterday drained her physically and mentally. Feeling as if she needed to run away from Hogwarts again. Running was something she can do, Running away was something she couldn't do. Something that seemed so abstract in idea. She felt the feelings why people may take the route of Running away. It seemed ideal at a time like this.
Sighing, Willow let her mind cast back to the conversation of yesterday. She heard shouting after her and the sounds of footsteps following, only to have stopped.

She heard soft steps approaching, she opened her eyes and saw the rushing of clouds going past the window.
Freedom was something she liked, being confined to a space was something she didn't like. She turned around in the arm chair and saw Kate sat down, clutching her books.
Willow gritted her teeth and turn back to gaze outside the window. She knew she had to apologize for her outburst at Kate, it wasn't fair for her to be shouted down like that, no one likes being shouted down at in the first place. "Hey" She heard Kate's polite-voice ring out teamed with her thick accent.

Sitting there in the armchair, Willow clasped her hands together, trying to think if she should reply back or not, whose going to have the first word of the matter in the first place. She turned around and looked at Kate. ...well, you can have the first word, Kate. Willow thought. Feeling the mixture of anger, guilt and regret was starting to seep through. She wished she didn't say the things she said, but that's Willow. Caring before thinking.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate silently cursed when she saw how it was.Why had she opened her gob?Well she hadn't know it was Willow.She wondered did Willow know what happened after she left,she probably didn't care anyway.Kate was a bit annoyed at Willow because of what she had said but to be honest she couldn't really blame her she was half right and Kate was a bad friend for not caring about Willow more.She was going through a difficult time and Kate hadn't exactly been the 'best' of friends towards Willow.She wasn't exactly sure what to say and it looked like Willow was waiting for Kate to say the first word.She was obviously still pissed but she had a right to be and Kate couldn't blame her for it.Sighing she put her books away and looked at Willow. "Hey"She said-it was all she could think of at the moment and she knew it was useless and pathetic but you had to start of somewhere.

 

[Willow Autumn]

Again. "Hey."
Kate's voice rang out in the empty room.
Willow turned her gaze back to the window. Over analyzing what she was going to say, how she was going to speak to Kate.
She admitted, it was probably not the best way to sort things out yesterday. Something that started out as an innocent meeting turn nasty and horrible. It wasn't as if her dull headache was enough. Fighting with her friends for literally the first time here at hogwarts wasn't exactly fun - especially when you live in the same castle, be in the same area and practically be in the same classes. It was hard to avoid them when you didn't want to be found at all.

Willow gave a deep sigh and spoke quietly; "I'm sorry about how...I treated you yesterday." She lowered her gaze again. She hated feeling guilty, she hated hating Kate and everyone else. But she knew she had to have her say and either way she would have told them about she would have felt in the end - hoping that she would have told her feelings when everything blew over. But instead, everything has escalated into something more worse, something that no one knew their positions anymore. Willow gave another sigh, it was all she was doing these days. She lost her spark, her fire. She was just another Second Year, feeling more fatigued and more tired than usual, more stressed and more frustrated than necessary and finally, she was depressed. And now she was feeling more alone than usual.

The conversation yesterday made Willow think about her own life compared to those of her friends. Kate and Sara were loaded and still have living blood-related family members, Willow had no living parents but is living with relations, they weren't exactly rich but they managed to get by. Stefan on the other hand and no other living blood-relatives that Willow knew of apart form his father but also they didn't even have much to live on. Willow thought, all of them come from extremely different backgrounds, different socio-economic statuses but all of them tied together somehow. She gazed at the passing clouds, everlasting fluffy and white; "It was wrong of me...I know...it must have been. harsh."

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate waited nervously for Willow's reply.She could feel the tension in the room and she wasn't the type of person to handle tension very well.It made her want to scream and get whatever was making the tension away from her.Right now that is what she felt like doing running and screaming and getting as far away from Willow at possible but that wouldn't be very good and Willow wold probably think Kate was gone mad in the head.So instead she sat perfectly still her face expressing no emotion.

It was a while before Willow spoke and Kate relaxed a small bit she had been expecting something else and she was glad that did not happen. "Don't worry Willow you had every right to"She said her voice quiet but firm.A lot had happened after Willow left basically everything had fallen apart and even though the little ball of anger in Kate's stomach had died during the conversation she could still feel it ready to come out whenever she was only a small bit annoyed.She felt bad for Willow she hadn't needed to be brought into and yet she was and she was suffering and this hurt Kate a lot.She was supposed to be a good friend and yet she had failed miserably.It was a few minutes before Willow spoke again. "Willow don't worry it knocked some sense in to our heads"She said giving Willow a small smile.She wasn't sure if that was true though it had for her she was now more focused and making even better progress.She was going to forget about Stefan for a while but she would never be completely gone.She would always be there ready to help.But for the moment she was going to focus on herself and her friends and family-especially Willow.she didn't realise what she was doing until she was by Willow's side.sh paused for a second before tenitavly giving her a hug.

 

[Willow Autumn]

Willow felt Kate's arms wrapped around her and Willow felt a small smile forming.
She returned the hug, staying silent for a while, still gazing out the window and watch the clouds rushing by, daintily and beautifully as they always have. "I still feel rather bad about it though." Willow spoke quietly. She was still a bit annoyed and she couldn't help but feel a little more angry than usual, but her outburst yesterday seemed to calm things down.

"How did we get into this mess?" Willow sighed and broke the hug. Getting up she paced the room - something that she did when she was starting to think deeply. Everything was a mess and the annual Yule Ball was coming up, something that was supposed to be special, something you were to spend something with people you love and care about. Willow was planning to skip the Yule Ball altogether. Life was too depressing.

Out of Character:

Lame Reply. Sorryy.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate smiled as she felt Willow return the hug.She had been worried that willow would be alll angry and wouldn't speak to her.She still wasn't sure if she was or not but at the moment it was okay. "Don't worry"She said comfortingly.They had a big problem abd hopefully they would be able to fix it.

Kate sighed "I don't know"She said sadly.She wasn't actually sure what had happen it wass probably Stefan and her fault.But they couldn't do anything about that now.She had an idea "Are you going to the Yule Ball?"She asked.She was kind of looking forward to it.She already had a dress.It was a differnt to the usually type of dresses but she loved it.

Out of Character:

Sorry abouts this post

 

[Willow Autumn]

Willow sat there and didn't say anything for a while - what was she supposed to say when she felt like she betrayed the whole world in order to relieve a little bit of her own anger. Anger that she lashed upon her friends, it wasn't what friends do. Never.
She wondered what would happen from here on, especially since the Yule Ball is fast approaching. She casted her mind back to last years Yule Ball. She remembered meeting all her friends outside the Great Hall, each dressed so wonderfully and gorgeous, each reflecting her own personal style. They were so glam and sparkly and inside was Stefan wearing his Mask. Willow smiled at the memory, she wondered if that was when Stefan had a crush on Kate because of her beauty, she wouldn't know. She didn't even know how the two met up in the first place, all she knew is that deep down, she was sure that they still had feelings for each other but at the moment, it seemed like no one wanted to speak up or even talk about their feelings. Who knew?

"Yeah, I'm going to the Yule Ball, I guess. It'll be a waste not to go and it'll take our minds off things, are you going?" She replied to Kate. Deep down, she was somewhat looking forward to the Yule ball as it'll be the first time in her second year that she'll see Chris again. It was weird - to have a best friend that you grew up with and go to the same schools and hardly ever be in contact with each other, even though the two are in the same classes and in the same house. She smiled, maybe she could introduce him to her friends and then it'll be such a somewhat bittersweet happy occasion. She was hoping Stefan was going to come along, she still wanted to apologize to him for her words but she knew he'd probably just push her away.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate smiled "Thats great so am I"She said smiling glad that Willow was going.She remembered the last Yule Ball.It had been a fun night.She had made some new friends that night and she was looking forward to another night out.She wondered would Stefan be going,he probably wouldn't be knowing him but that was his loss.She was excited to have a girl her age other than Sara that would be going."What are you going to wear?"She asked suddenly excited.She sat in a more comfortable position beside Willow.She wasn't sure what she was wearing but the dress she had in mind was definatly different to most dresses and it wasn't exactly what she was used to but she loved the dress.

Out of Character:

So sorry

 

[Willow Autumn]

Willow gave a small smile the topic was cheering her up somewhat, but it was nice to talk about dresses and fun things instead of gloom and doom. She shrugged; "Well. I don't know really, I have this blue dress and these silver shoes. I don't know.".
In all honesty she didn't even feel like making an effort this year, she was so depressed that she didn't even think about writing an owl to her aunt to find a nice dress back home. It didn't really matter to Willow what she looked liked in the end of the day, she was too hurt and insecure to do anything about it. She knew that the Moon Sister's could afford designer fashion and perhaps even get any of the world designers to make something unique for them both. But Willow couldn't do that and she didn't want to be a financial burden on her family. A thought came to her - what happened with her Parent's house and their belongings and the money? Willow shook the thought out of her head. Greed and Money weren't things to play around with - she knew they were just dangerous concepts.

"Nevertheless, I'm actually looking forward to it, it'll be a nice thing to look forward to" Willow gave Kate another smile, a genuine one. She was actually looking forward to the Yule Ball - even though she was still a little un-sure about it, but she knew Chris would be coming along; "Hey, you haven't met Chris properly yet have you?" She asked and laughed; "He's always adventuring somewhere around Hogwarts, the last time I saw him was at the Wheelbarrow Race. Go Figures." She rolled her eyes at the thought. "Anyway, he's really nice" Willow smiled again. Talking about him gave Willow butterflies, she liked him. But she didn't want to tell her friends that, not with everything up in the air.
Resuming the conversation she asked Kate; "What are you going to wear?"

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate smiled and felt a smile bit relieved when Willow smiled.It was a small one but it meant they were on the right track."That sounds lovely"She said smiling.She couldn't wait to see it.Even though she would kill herself then admit it but she really liked dressing up and getting her hair and nails done but she didn't show that side of herself often.She didn't like people to think as a girly girly person who would nearly keel over if one of her nails broke.So she kept quiet about that side of herself except she loosened up a bit when it came to things like this.She had been looking forward to the Yule Ball for ages even when she was ill.It had kind of been a little light at the end of tunnel that she had finally come to.

"Your right there"She said smiling.This was turning out to be a pleasant conversation.It was pretty much the opposite of what she had thought earlier but she was glad it was this way.Kate smiled as Willow mentioned her friend Chris.She remembered seeing them at the wheelbarrow race bikkering like an old married couple over who would be the wheelbarrow.It had been quite amusing actually but Kate didn't say anything though a small smile crept up. "I just can't wait to see him"She said smiling looking forward to the meeting."Well the dress I'm wearing is a bit different"she began wondering how on earth she was supposed to explain her dress.It wasn't Kate's usually type of clothing.It was a bit out of her comfort zone but Kate didn't mind.It had been one of the reasons she had bought it.It was new and fresh.Kate wanted people to see that she had changed in a good way.But there were also other reasons. "Well its black with flowers kind of sticking out of it"She said stopping when realising that whatever she was saying wasn't making an sense. "I'll show it to you later or if I don't get a chance you'll see it at the ball"She said. She half wished Stefan was going.Even after all that had happened she still had feelings for him and she wanted to go with him but she knew he wouldn't go.Sh had to leave him alone and let himself sort himself out.She had only realised that while she had been up in bed crying.It had been a little late but there was nothing she could do about it now. "Do you have anyone in paticular you would like to go with"She asked absentmindedly

 

[Willow Autumn]

Willow shook her head; "Mmm..no, no one in particular really, just want to have a good night out with friends really." Even though Willow absently lied through her teeth there was some truth to the statement. Even though she wanted to spend the night with Chris and how he made her heart swoon all over for him she knew that it wasn't going to happen and so friends was the other option in the end - and this didn't bother Willow for a moment. To know that she'll be surrounded by friends (or the little friends that she had) and having a good time partying and eating copious amounts of food was satisfactory enough. Willow smiled a bit wider when Kate mentioned that she was looking forward to meet Chris, not only did it make her happy but it was something that relieved Willow a little - Chris never really stood out within Hogwarts, even as a second year and it made her happy that he'll have another person to talk to and perhaps even make a new friend out of the Yule Ball experience.

Willow sat up a little and listened to Kate's Yule ball dress and Willow instantly visualized a picture - black with flowers sticking out of it. The dress Willow thought of was gorgeous but she knew that whatever dress Kate wore (be it casual or formal) she would look stunning and drop dead gorgeous. It was a small jealousy issue that Willow had towards the Moon Sisters - it wasn't because they could afford such amazing dresses, but the fact that they looked good in whatever items that they wore. Willow's fashion style was more towards the vintage side of things, it wasn't that she didn't have an interest in fashion, it was just because she liked the styles of the glamorous 60s and 70s with all the ruffles but she liked to jazz things up a bit with lace and bows. "That sounds really gorgeous Kate, I can't wait to see it" She gave Kate another smile, her anger slowly disappearing but the bitterness and depression still seeping through her system. She was disappointed that all four of them wouldn't be spending the Yule Ball together (even though Willow was sure she was going to be around Kate and Sara) but it would be a sad affair if Stefan wasn't there, deep down, Willow was sure Kate was longing for him to come.
"Nevertheless, We should meet outside the Hall again right?" Willow gave Kate a genuine smile this time, not the awkward ones before, but this time, Willow was starting to feel like herself - even if it was just for a small conversation.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate eyed Willow suspiciously.It surprised her that Willow didn't have somebody in mind.She was very pretty and she was sure somebody had noticed it. She would talk about that later. "Same"She said but sighing because that wasn't strictly true.Even though she hated to admit it she missed Stefan but she had to leave him alone for now.She had been looking forward to the Yule Ball and even during the summer she had thought about what dress she was going to wear and if Stefan would ask her.But that little dream had been dashed and she would have to wait till hopefully next year to be asked.

Kate saw Willow straighten when she started describing her dress.She wondered why.But then it suddenly struck her why.Willow was a small bit jealous.kate felt bad then she didn't want one of her best friends feeling jealous towards her but there wasn't anything she could do.Kate did a small sigh but then brought herself back to the present situation. "Thanks"She said smiling happy that Willow's attitude had nearly completely changed.They were now to good friends talking about the Yule Ball like any other set of girls in the school even though they had been through so much more."Yes that sound good"She said smiling excited about the ball.She hadn't really thought of it that much in the past few days she had even been that certain if she would be going.There was lots to do.It suddenly hit Kate about how much there was to do. "Oh God I don't even know what 'm doing with my hair"Kate said out loud.She hadn't meant to say it out loud.The Yule Ball was tomorrow and Kate only had her dress and shoes?

 

[Willow Autumn]

Willow glanced at Kate and tilted her head, it must have been an odd sight but Willow smiled afterwards; "You should do some soft curls - you know, ocean hair but...better. And maybe a few sparkles. Everyone loves sparkles." Willow giggled, in honesty it was probably just Willow who liked sparkles - despite her academic and fierce musician outlook, Willow could be a bit of a fairy - something that she wouldn't necessarily admit to people freely; she liked throwing glitter in the air and dressing up, having the odd real-tea-party-with-actual-food-and-tea. She was twelve, she was aloud to enjoy such simple things.

"That should do it I think - but in the end, it's up to you" Willow shrugged, in the end it was up to her to decide how she wanted to look for the Yule Ball. Deep down, Willow thought the Yule Ball was a bit of a fuss for something for one night but she couldn't help remembering that it was their one night in their entire Hogwarts year that they'll feel like a princess or a prince. The one night where either dreams are made or dreams are crushed and Willow felt like Stefan was crushing Kate's dream. But things happen - and miracles happens too. Willow hoped that Stefan would come along - even for an hour, it'll probably make Kate's night.

 

[Kate Archer]

Kate thought about Willow's suggestion and she tried to picture it in her head. "That sounds great"She said before giving Willow a quick hug.That was one of her things crossed off her to do list.She laughed at Willow's suggestion of sparkes."maybe I will"She said.She started picturing the outfit and everything in her head.Whens she had the final picture she had to admit it did look very nice but of course that was in her head.She would fond out tomorrow night or even tonight if she tried everything on."No that sounds great.Thanks Willow"She said smiling. "What about you what are you doing with your hair"She asked wondering if she could help at all.

Out of Character:

sorry its so short and lame