Closed Much To Think About

[Eloise Aster]

Admittedly, life at Hogwarts couldn't be further away from how things had always been for Eloise. At home there was structure. There were rules, there was a schedule to adhere to. There were always people telling her what to do and how to act. But here at school, life wasn't as set out for it as it had been back at home. There was much more freedom. Much less responsibilities and more time to fill outside of class. The biggest problem she faced with that was the uncertainty of what to do with that time. She used it to study, sure, but studying didn't go on forever. If anything, it was slowly starting to make her understand why other students were part of so many things outside of class. Clubs, quidditch, friend groups. They knew how to fill their time. Eloise, not so much. Turns out being hovered over all of her life had created some hesitation in making her own decisions. And her parents wanting to approve anyone she spend time with didn't make things easier either. If anything, it was starting to make her feel like she was simply introducing herself to her classmates and then never speaking to them again. Perhaps she should try harder to keep up with the few connections she had made. The fact that her parents had now actually asked someone else to keep an eye on her made her nervous though. What if Valerius wasn't the only other student keeping an eye on her? She needed to be on her best behaviour, no matter who was in front of her. And yet sometimes she felt like she didn't want to be. Eloise had been taking a stroll along the lake, picking up a stone that seemed perfect for skipping. She turned it over in her hand and glanced at the water, wondering if she should. Funny how even the smallest, most innocent of actions could make her overthink.

 

[Santiago Torres]

Santiago could practically feel the seconds as they past, each taking a lifetime. How was he supposed to live like this for years? Maybe he could run away. He had heard of a magical circus from one of the older students last year. He could join them and get to do something with his life instead of being stuck at this dumb school with people who obviously hated him. From where he sat in the shadow of a tree he saw Eloise walking along the lake. Perfect, just what he needed someone to come judge him. But she didn't seem to see him. For a moment he just sat there and watched as she picked up a rock and held in in her hand. He waited to see her throw it but she didn't. She just stood there as perfect and still as a statue. Something inside him got annoyed just watching her doing nothing. "Are you going to throw it or not?" he called out and got to his feet. With a sigh he took a few steps closer.

So sorry this is so late!

 

[Eloise Aster]

Eloise hadn't noticed anyone around when she had walked up towards the lakefront, so the sudden sound of a voice startled her enough to drop the stone. She quickly picked it back up before turning around to see who had called out to her, flustered by the fact that someone had seen her fumble like that. "I was thinking about it." She stoically replied when she noticed Santiago, not sure why he should care whether she was going to try and skip the rock or not. "I don't think I understand what that has to do with you though.." She added in as polite a tone as she could.

 

[Santiago Torres]

Santiago let out a quiet laugh as Eloise dropped the stone and picked it up quickly. "How much thinking do you have to do to throw a rock?" he asked cynically, and bent down to find a decently flat rock. He snagged one and straightened. He tossed it in the air a couple times and caught it deftly each time. "It has nothing to do with me." he admitted with ease. "But that doesn't mean I can't notice or say something." he said, taking another step closer. Before she could say anything else, he threw his stone and was please to see it skip at least two times before falling under water.

 

[Eloise Aster]

Eloise scrunched her nose at Santiago's cynical tone, yet eventually shrugged in response to his question. "A lot, apparently." She responded almost a little defeated. She couldn't deny his words didn't make her question a lot of different things. Why did she need to think about such a simple action so much? Why was she considering what her mother might think when her mother wasn't even here? If anything, it made her realize she didn't just care what her parents thought. She was scared of what they thought. She had to be perfect in their eyes, so what would happen to her if she wasn't? "I guess that's fair." Eloise replied before tossing the rock towards the water in a tiny burst of defiance. Very unsuccesfully at that. The rock just made a splash and sunk right to the bottom. It was almost symbolic for what she thought would happen to her if she disappointed her parents.

 

[Santiago Torres]

"Apparently." Santiago repeated with mild amusement and watched curiously when Eloise finally threw the rock. He let out a laugh when the rock plopped into the water unceremoniously. But he glanced at her face and saw just how deep in though she seemed and stopped. Obviously there was something going on in her head he couldn't see and he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I could show you how if that's the problem." he offered with a shrug. "There's this lake on the ranch where my mom lives. Lots of rocks and nothing to do. I've had a lot of practice." he was rambling, but she seemed upset and he didn't know what to do.

 

[Eloise Aster]

Eloise didn't know what she had expected from the rock. It was hardly realistic for her to have expected it to skip multiple times on her very first throw and yet she couldn't help but to be a little disappointed by it just stinking straight away. "That sounds nice." She mused when Santiago talked about his mom living on a ranch with a lake. "We have this huge pond on the grounds, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone skipping stones there before." Eloise added with a shrug before deciding to take him up on his offer. If she wasn't allowed to do something as innocent as skipping stones she might as well just never leave her dorm again. "But, yes, please. Teach me your ways."

 

[Santiago Torres]

Santiago felt his face flush when Eloise said what he said about his mom's place sounded nice. He shrugged. "I guess." he said reluctantly. But laughed a moment later. "Grounds? Where did you grow up? A castle?" he asked incredulously. Although he guessed some sprawling estate wasn't that far off from what hew grew up with even though most of it was taken up by horses and probably took a lot more work to keep up with. He was about to tease her some more but she seemed genuine when asking for him to show her. "Right, well-" he started before looking at the ground and kicking around the dirt till he found a flat rock that looked good. "You need to find a flat rock. The flatter the better." he explained and held the rock out to drop in her hand.

 

[Eloise Aster]

Eloise opened her mouth when Santiago asked her where she grew up but then closed it again for a second when laughed about it. "Obviously not a castle." She retorted, crossing her arms but not going into any further detail. She was sure her mother wouldn't mind her bragging about their house but the truth was she had never liked it much. It had always felt a little over the top to her, never felt much like a home. Eloise shifted her attention back to Santiago when he actually started telling her what to do. "Flat rock. Got it." She nodded, holding her hand out when he did so he could drop the rock in it. "Then what?"

 

[Santiago Torres]

Santiago laughed again. "That's not very convincing." he said. "Now I'm just convinced you're lying. You seem like the type of person who grew up in a castle." he teased. "Makes sense why June is always stuck to your side. Or is the other way around?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He knew he was probably pushing his luck but he didn't think Eloise would bail on him quite yet.

He dropped the stone in her hand and looked at the smooth surface of the lake. "Well then...you throw it. But like sideways?" Santiago said awkwardly as he realize he had never actually explained how to do it before. It was just something that felt right and he just did. "Like your aiming for the very surface of the water. As if you just want to slide it across."

 

[Eloise Aster]

Eloise raised her shoulders when Santiago said he thought she was lying. He was also laughing though, so he was probably just joking. For the most part. "Why's that?" She questioned curiously. "Definitely not a castle though. Just a big house with a lot of space around it." She admitted with a soft giggle, refraining from mentioning she had always believed it to be too big. "June's not stuck to my side." Eloise responded, a little surprised by her own defensiveness. June was without a doubt the person she spend the most time with, but she didn't think it would seem like they were joined at the hip. Although perhaps that was the way it seemed for Santiago. "June might be a little complicated, but she's nice to me and I don't really have any other friends so you know.."

When Santiago dropped the stone into her hand Eloise made sure to listen to every word he said. Throwing it sideways. Willing it to slide across. She could do that. She should be able to do that. Pulling all of her focus she looked at the stone in her hand before glancing back at the lake, trying to toss the stone the same was Santiago had done before. Eloise watched as the stone skipped a single time before sinking into the water, throwing her hands up in excitement without a single other thought. "I did it! Did you see that? It skipped!" She turned to Santiago before remembering her composure and quickly lowering her arms. "Sorry, that was perhaps a bit.. over-enthusiastic."

 

[Santiago Torres]

Santiago was a little stumped when Eloise asked why he thought she lived in a castle and he wasn't sure how to answer right away. Because saying 'pretty girls like her lived in castles' was far too embarrassing. "I don't know." he shrugged and waved away the whole idea. He was a little surprised when she mentioned June. It was the most impassioned response he had ever seen from her. Santiago softened a bit when she said the Slytherin was her only friend. "Well..." he started but hesitated. "That's one more than me." he mumbled before looking to the water and waited for her to throw the damn rock. He watched and Eloise brought her arm back and in a smooth motion, threw the rock. He was waiting for it to make a plunk sound as it fell into the water but much to his surprise, and hers it seemed, the rock skipped at least once. "No way." he said with a shaky laugh. Almost as proud of his teaching as he was with her. He laughed as she turned embarrassed by her outburst but he played it off. "Who knew you were a natural?"

 

[Eloise Aster]

Eloise was more than fine with moving on from the subject of her living situation, not too keen on discussing it any further. Perhaps if she had liked the way things were she would've boasted about it but she wasn't sure she did. She was grateful for what she had, sure, she just started to wonder what life would've been like if her family didn't have as much. Maybe then she would've been a whole different person. "I could be your friend." Eloise blurted out without much thought, almost immediately looking away in embarassment. "I mean.. you know.. if you ever need one.." She added softly.

Once she had thrown the rock she couldn't help but to feel like Santiago hadn't expected it to skip. She wouldn't blame him though because neither had she. And even though it had only been a single skip she still felt like she had accomplished something. She had tried something new and sort of succeeded. Plus, she was actually having fun. Which was something she now realized hardly ever happened. Doing something actually fun rather than something her parents thought of as fun, or more so appropriate. "I wouldn't call myself a natural.." Eloise replied with a giggle before looking down to see if she could find another good rock. "That was fun though."