Knight to H3

[Isaac Kain]

"You're telling me I can't just stick this knight over here?" Isaac complained for the eighth time that afternoon. He had reluctantly decided to let Sophie teach him how to play chess, but the more they were going through the rules the more he was becoming confused. "Okay fine, I could put him here" he continued, moving his little model figure onto a spot that contained one of her pieces "Then I could out it, right?" he asked, eyes glancing up in her direction for clarification. The Ravenclaw shifted in his position, trying to get more comfortable on the floor of the student lounge, deciding the best option would be to lie on his front, propped up on his elbows. He had nothing else to be doing asides from homework, which seemed to be piling up but he was putting that at the back of his mind, and if anyone were to have asked him, he would probably declare Sophie to be his first proper friend at the castle. His first two years had been quiet, and he was secretly enjoying having someone around that he could talk to, even if he did very little to show it. Once he'd made his move, he waited for Sophie's turn, wondering if she was going easy on him given it was his first time. "Okay Wilson, do your worst," he grinned. He knew he wasn't going to win but he was having fun.
​

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie rolled her eyes as Isaac once again questioned the rules of chess. "I thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart." She told him dryly. "No, you cannot put your knight over there. That makes no sense." But he soon proved he wasn't completely brainless by taking one of her pieces. "That's right," she said with an approving nod. She watched him as he lied down on his front, smiling slightly. Sitting on the ground seemed to become sort of their thing. She was sitting with her legs crossed, tapping her fingers on her knee as she watched the chess board. She wouldn't let him win, even if she liked hanging out with him a lot. She smirked, and used one of her pieces to take the knight he had just moved. "Gotta watch out for danger." Sophie told him with a grin. "Speaking of danger, are you planning to go to the yule ball?" It wasn't the most subtle question, but she didn't know how else to get the conversation to go where she wanted it to. "I might have to go. You know, for the paper." She shrugged, pretending not to really care. Even if she kind of wanted to go with him, he wouldn't need to know that. If he said he would go too, she may suggest hanging out at the party with him.

 

[Isaac Kain]

Isaac flashed her a glare when she suggested he was being stupid. If it had been anyone else he would have upped and left there and then, but he'd been around Sophie long enough to tell when she wasn't being completely sincere, and even when she was, he could reflect it off himself. Thinking he'd done a perfectly safe move, he shot out when she managed to take one of his pieces "Hey! You couldn't told me." he said, flicking his pathetic little model off the board. It had disappointed him greatly. Now he had even less options to choose from, but before he could think about what he was meant to do next, Sophie asked a question that made his stomach sink a little. He'd attended the Yule Ball last year but he had felt as though it had been a waste of time, although once Sophie clarified why she wanted to attend he had to shrug in agreement. "I.. don't know. Hadn't really thought about it." He lied, not looking up to see if she was scanning his reaction. Truth was he'd considered it multiple times, but only because he'd enjoyed the time he'd spent at the recent Halloween Feast. Isaac was becoming increasingly aware of how much he'd been seen around with Sophie recently, and as he thought about how couples would typically attend the ball together, Isaac hoped more than anything that she wasn't going to ask him to go with her. It wasn't that he didn't like the Ravenclaw, but that he did, perhaps a little more than he was comfortable to let on. "Seems a bit pointless for me to go, since I'm not on the team." he said, pulling out the only excuse he could think of in that moment.
​

 

[Sophie Wilson]

A smirk appeared on Sohpie's face at Isaac's expression when his piece was taken. "If you wanted someone to go easy on you, you should have asked someone else." She said pleasantly. It wasn't like he knew what kind of person she was, and she was sure he wasn't stupid enough to expect her to let him win. Isaac was smart, he'd pick it up and perhaps even beat her. Or not, which would allow her to tease him more. A knot formed in her stomach when she realized he didn't seem very pleased at her question. It made her glad she hadn't just asked him to go with her, as it seemed fairly obvious to her that he would have said no. Immediately, her walls went up and she knew she didn't want to seem like she wanted him to go. She tensed, but tried to look casual. With some effort, she forced a neutral expression on her face as she shrugged and blew a strand of hair out of her face. Trying not to wince at his choice of the word 'pointless', she shrugged again. "I guess so. I just wondered since it wasn't bad to hang out with you at Halloween." she said with her gaze on the chessboard. He had wanted to leave then too, and Sophie felt a little stupid for even bringing it up. Clearly she had overestimated how much he liked to hang out with her. "I'll live without your company." She joked, though there was an edge of sharpness to her words.

 

[Isaac Kain]

Isaac had spent his entire life being told what to do, how to act, and what he should be thinking, and now that he was faced with choices he had to make by himself his guard had increased. Regardless of his feelings towards Sophie, the youngest Kain didn't know how to express himself asides from acting defensively. Somewhere deep down he was secretly pleased that she'd enjoyed Halloween, he knew he had too, but it was far from something he ever going to admit freely, even to a friend. Trying to ignore the flushed his cheeks, he glanced at Sophie, noticing that she wasn't looking at him anymore. Perhaps she never had been, but as he swallowed nervously he realized that he'd managed to nip that concept in the bud before it became something he'd actually have to deal with. "Good," he said before he could stop himself. His tone was more angry than he'd anticipated, heightened by the emotions he was trying to suppress. He didn't want to be relied on, or for anyone to think that he needed to be with them to enjoy themselves. He had the chance now to break away from who'd he been before he'd come to Hogwarts, and he was happy to do his own thing. He focused back on the chess board, but something had switched in the atmosphere between the Ravenclaw's, and no longer feeling as though he should be playing he switched positions to sit on the carpet instead, one leg bent for his arm to lounge across. He would be have lying though to say that Sophie's word hadn't hurt just a little, and refusing to meet her gaze he fidgeted with a few of the pieces that had been earlier ousted, trying to remain calm. ​

 

[Sophie Wilson]

The atmosphere between them had changed after Sophie's question, and she silently cursed herself for asking it. Had he seen through her? Probably. A girl asking a boy if he was going to the dance was about as transparent as it could get. A few years ago, Sophie would never have allowed her intentions to show that clearly. But her guard had been lowered slowly by her friends at school. Now she resented that. Isaac seemed annoyed, and Sophie felt annoyed in turn. It wasn't like she had proposed to him. He had no right to be angry about a single simple question. His single word answer only made her more annoyed, as did the fact that he now wouldn't look at her. She exhaled. "Actually, I just remembered I have to finish an article for the paper." She said, taking her pieces off the board without waiting for a reply. "I'll have to cut this lesson short." She said pointedly. "It was getting kind of boring to kick your ass so much anyway." she couldn't help adding. It was all a lie, as she had already finished her only assignment for the paper. She just didn't want to stay in this awkward and unpleasant situation. It had been so fun only a few minutes earlier, and she had ruined it all. She quietly started packing up the pieces, not looking at Isaac anymore.

 

[Isaac Kain]

Of course she had places to be. It didn't take a Ravenclaw to realise that either she wanted out of their current situation or she'd legitimately put Isaac before something important. Either way Isaac didn't care at that point, he was pushing down the thoughts of feelings of guilt and anger and his calm demeanour have nothing away about what was really going through his mind. Should he have just said yes? What would happen if everyone thought they were dating, or if Sophie thought they were? He liked Sophie a lot but he wasn't ready to accept that yet, too afraid of what would happen when he entered through a door of the unknown. "Maybe you should find someone better to play with then," he jabbed back, jumping up from his spot on the carpet as he saw her clearing away the game. Hed managed to ruin a perfectly good afternoon, but not wanting to think about his actions Isaac turned and headed quickly out the lounge, knowing that only if he were to lock himself away in his dorm with his books would he be able to feel more normal. No one really cares about what he was doing, and the third year realised that even when they did, he was going to push them away anyway. It was probably best he was alone and followed the guidelines his parents had told him, as stepping out of line only caused more problems.
​

 

[Sophie Wilson]

Sophie saw nothing in Isaac's body language or expression to know what he was thinking, but his words were as sharp as her own and conveyed enough. What said even more was the fact that he got to his feet and practically ran out of there, and he didn't bother to come up with a fake excuse like she had. Her cheeks flushed and she stared at the half-empty chess field in front of her. For the first time, she wished she hadn't pushed Amber away so many times. Having an older sister with experience with boys to talk to would have been helpful, but she couldn't imagine approaching her with this now. Sophie got to her feet as well, leaving the chess board on the floor. The house elves would clean it up. Or not. At the moment, Sophie couldn't bring herself to care.