Let's Tackle this Head On

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol hated to admit that she hadn't seen her best friends as much as she wanted to, which was a major problem considering they had been banned from hanging out together last semester so they should be making up for lost time. But given that they also hadn't been allowed to attend school events, she figured there was no better place to hang out than here. She had some news to tell them and she figured it might come as a shock to them so doing it publicly where maybe they couldn't freak out was smart to her. She couldn't wait for them to meet Noelle since she had been talking about her to them a lot, she just hoped her treatment of Amber in the past wouldn't make Wyatt surlier than usual for today. The latina adjusted the cape of her costume to cover her shoulder and looked around for her friends, giggling a little at the swoosh sound her cape made. People might mistake her for a superhero in the cape, but the wrestling belt she'd made around her waist said she was a lucha libre champion which was a form of Mexican wrestling. If her mom could see her now she'd probably be laughing her head off.
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[Asaiah Murphy]

He thought the three of them would be pretty much inseparable now that their punishment was revoked but unfortunately that was not the case. So when Marisol told him that she wanted to meet up with them later, he couldn't be more excited to attend the feast. Asaiah hurriedly made his way towards the great hall once he was done changing into his Halloween costume, though not before he had taken a picture of him wearing the costume so he could send it to Jessica with his next letter - he was sure that she was going to like it. It was a little chilly on the way up but he didn't mind it, as long as he could make his friends laugh and have a great time with them tonight, being chilly was totally worth it. He smiled when he walked into the great hall, complimenting whoever had done the decorations this year because everything looked fantastic. It didn't take him long to spot his best friend, and when he did chuckled slightly when seeing what she was wearing. ''So, what are you supposed to be then?'' he asked as he approached Marisol with a grin on his face, eagerly waiting for her reaction to his costume.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Just as Marisol turned around she saw what she thought might be Asaiah approaching, but surely he wouldn't be wearing something like that? She began laughing before he even reached her, throwing her head back and holding her stomach as she let out even more laughter when he asked her what she was. "You really wanna talk when you're dressed like that?" she said jokingly, still laughing and wiping under her eyes so any tears from laughing so hard wouldn't mess up the mascara she'd began wearing this year. "You could blind someone with how reflective you are, Murphy," she teased, still chuckling. Then she looked down at her own costume and then put her hands on her sides in fists, like a superhero pose. "I'm a luchador!" she said, rolling the R very long at the end in her Spanish tongue. "It's a type of Mexican wrestler and they usually wear these crazy masks but I didn't feel like wearing one, but look at my cape! Cool huh?" she gushed. She was in much better spirits this year than she had been last year, for so many reasons.
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[Noelle Seung]

It wasn't so much a revelation for Noelle to realize she wanted to date women. In fact it wasn't even a realization, more a confirmation of what she had always thought about herself more than anything else. But that confirmation had given her the kind of peace of mind she did not realize she had needed to be fully happy. But now she knew what this previously unconfirmed part of her identity was, she had told her family who were accepting of it, she was openly dating one of her friends, and she couldn't be happier. All that was left was for Marisol to introduce her to her friends. Everything had been smooth sailing from the beginning and Noelle was in high spirits, feeling fully confident to meet the friends she had heard so much about during the years. And even if in theory she was supposed to hate the two boys that had broken into her houses' common room alongside her now girlfriend, she wasn't ashamed to be meeting them. In all honesty she felt proud that Marisol thought highly enough of her to introduce her to her friends, in spite of everything else that had happened. Noelle's confidence did not falter as she skipped down towards the great hall, dressed in a simple beatnik costume. She soon spotted Marisol talking with who she assumed was one of these infamous friends and bounded over to them. "Hey!" She exclaimed, quickly pulling Marisol into a hug. As she pulled away she said a polite "Happy Halloween!" to the friend Marisol was talking to, hoping it would make a good impression from the get go.​

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[Wyatt Finch]

After the last Quidditch game, Wyatt had seen more seekers than he'd expected at the hospital wing and not exactly having had time to plan for Halloween he decided to use that to his advantage by putting face blood on his face and claiming to be none other than a Hufflepuff seeker. He'd expect Asaiah would get a kick out of it. He had heard how brutal of a game it had been despite the loss from Slytherin. He hadn't actually asked what Marisol or Asaiah were going as but they were both very easy to spot. He just followed the awfully short shorts on his bro. The teen approached them and looked over at the other girl, arching a brow at her. He knew her. She had seen him in anger before and rather than feeling embarrassment like he normally would have - he just didn't care. Instead he turned to his two friends and said, "Hey."

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol was still giggling at Asaiah's costume when she saw Noelle approaching them and the Gryffindor grinned. "Hi!" she said, hugging the girl back tightly before letting go. "You look great!" she said looking over Noelle's costume and wishing she could pull off something so effortlessly. She beamed as Noelle interacted with Asaiah, however brief, because she loved the idea of her favorite people knowing each other. It was perfect timing that Wyatt arrived too so now she could introduce them all to each other. "Hey!" Marisol greeted him brightly, looking him over once to try and guess his costume. "Uhh zombie? Vampire?" she tried to guess from all the fake blood on his face.

Now that they were all here Marisol could introduce her best friends to her girlfriend and vice versa. The idea of calling Noelle her girlfriend sent a nervous thrill down her spine. Her growing feelings for the girl were definitely something she'd thought a lot about over the past year and she had finally realized they were more than just platonic feelings. She had expected to feel a sort of panic over this revelation, wondering if she really liked boys, or girls, but in the end what mattered was Noelle. She liked Noelle now, and that's all that mattered, it was as simple as that. She hoped her friends could accept it as easily as she had though. This couldn't be as bad as the time she'd revealed to them she was a werewolf. Now that she had essentially come out to them once, the second time should be a little easier for her. Marisol turned to Noelle and gestured to her friends. "This is Wyatt, and booty shorts over here is Asaiah," she introduced them to her, chuckling a little. "Guys this is my friend Noelle," she said, knowing they had probably heard her name once or a billion times in the past. "Um, my girlfriend actually," she cleared her throat as she clarified with a nervous smile.
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[Asaiah Murphy]

When he saw himself in the costume for the first time Asaiah hadn't been able to stop laughing as he could imagine the funny reactions he was going to get from his friends for wearing something so silly as this so when his best friend started laughing he laughed too. Marisol's reaction had been exactly the one he'd been going for when choosing his costume so hoped that his best pal would find it just as funny as she did. ''What? This is not what Muggle's wear?'' he joked. Of course, the Slytherin boy knew that this wasn't what a Sheriff's Deputy would actually wear out on the streets but figured that since he knew less about that world than his friends did, a couple of jokes about his costume here and there would probably be appreciated by them. He chuckled at her comment and shook his head. ''I know, that's why I'm wearing shades, so I don't blind myself.'' the sixteen-year-old said with a wide grin. He listened when she told him what she was dressed as and touched the cape to feel the fabric it was made of. ''It's a nice touch, yes, but so is the belt,'' Asaiah replied whilst reading what was written on it.

He watched as an unfamiliar girl hugged his best friend and frowned. He had hoped that it would just be the three of them tonight, especially since they hadn't seen much of each other lately so gave his friend a look that said, 'you invited someone?' before smiling at the girl when she wished him a happy Halloween. ''Happy Halloween to you too,'' he replied. Not long after that, his other best friend approached them as well. Asaiah was glad that he showed up because he missed him and was worried about him - something was off and naturally, Asaiah wanted to know what so he could maybe help his bro with whatever was going on. ''Nah, I think he walked into a wall for sure,'' Asaiah said with a grin, shaking his head when Marisol tried to guess their friend's costume. He chuckled again when she introduced him to her friend. ''Oh, so you are Noelle!'' the boy said excitedly. Marisol hadn't been able to stop talking about her so Asaiah had been very excited to meet her. His eyes widened when she said that Noelle was her girlfriend and turned to look at Wyatt, hoping that he was just as taken aback as he was by the news that Mari apparently also liked girls now. ''Okay,'' he said when turning back to the girls, not really sure as to what she wanted him to say next.

 

[Noelle Seung]

Noelle recognized the other boy that arrived immediately, she also noticed that he turned to Marisol and Asaiah before greeting them rather than her though she did not take it personally. It made sense given she wasn't good friends with either of Marisol's friends so she simply continued to smile as they talked about his costume, and said "Hey!" to Wyatt and then "Nice to meet you, bootyshorts!" to Asaiah as Marisol introduced them. It was after that when Marisol introduced Noelle as her friend, soon clarifying that she was a girlfriend and it turned her smile sheepish as she gauged the boys' reactions. This was the first time Noelle had been introduced as Marisol's girlfriend since arriving at school and she was admittedly nervous about the reaction it would cause. Though Wyatt and Asaiah were Marisol's best friends and she was sure they would support Marisol's happiness, she did worry momentarily the shock of it all might be too much to handle at once. However she hoped for the best as she opened her mouth to speak and clear the air if there was any tension. "Marisol has said a lot of good things about you guys, it's nice to finally meet you!" She exclaimed, still smiling at Marisol's best friends.
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[Wyatt Finch]

Wyatt smiled in amusement as Marisol guessed his costume incorrectly. He was neither a zombie nor a vampire and so the boy try to contain his pleasure with himself as he said, "I'm a Hufflepuff seeker, actually." He was sure they would find that funny and excuse his laziness in the matter as it was so topical. He let Marisol introduce them to the girl, pretending they hadn't met as it was not exactly a great moment for him when they had as he had been angry and utterly alone but felt taken aback by Marisol calling Noelle her girlfriend. He was not exactly the best at hiding his true emotions so the boy looked surprised and perhaps a bit disappointed for a reason he wasn't certain of but he couldn't stop thinking about how he and Marisol had kissed. While it had been to calm his nerves about Amber he had thought about it a fair few times. But at the same time the thought of both girls kissing wasn't exactly awful either so he said, "Cool."

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol laughed as Wyatt explained his costume and shook her head in amusement. She'd watched the brutal game and was very proud of Asaiah's talents in even after a semester off whereas she needed more practice. Though since Asaiah grew up as a Quidditch fanatic it made sense for her not to be as good as he was since she'd only learned about the sport when she came to Hogwarts. Seeing that game and Wyatt's costume now made her glad she didn't play the position she had originally wanted after all because she'd surely look the same way regularly and she didn't want that.

She laughed when Noelle also called Asaiah booty shorts and looked over at the girl with a bright smile. She was doing great so far, if Marisol said so herself, but she was clearly biased. Then she waited with baited breath after she told them Noelle was her girlfriend to see if her friends would react badly. But if they thought anything unkind they didn't say or show anything, which made her feel much better. If they thought it was weird she would put up with some resistance at another time, but she was glad they hadn't said anything to make Noelle feel uncomfortable yet. She grinned at them brightly and said, "Okay so that's settled!" She was half amused and grateful that she could treat her coming out as simply as she did because she knew some people did not have it that easy and she wanted to make it a non-issue. To her, being a werewolf was worse than liking a girl so it had taken her a lot longer to tell them that. Marisol reached for Noelle's hand to link their fingers together and smiled at her again. As far as she knew Noelle did not have some secret fiancee and she was a great person to be around so there was no reason for her friends not to like her dating Noelle. Marisol turned back to the group and said, "I think it's safe to say Wyatt's probably got this costume contest in the bag," she laughed.
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