Closed Never Quite Buried

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope had been surprised by how busy the library was and had decided to head to the student lounge to do her homework instead. Unfortunately, it seemed to be just as busy. She grimaced, wondering if she should head back to the library or maybe to the common room, but she was wasting a lot of time walking around. She smiled when she spotted an empty seat at a table, though another student was sitting there. She was sure they wouldn't mind sharing the table. It wasn't until she got closer that she realized who the other student was, it was Daria. Penelope hadn't spoken to her since their big falling out a few years ago, though she had received the other girl's rose with an apology message. It hadn't quite been enough for Penelope to actually... forgive her, though it had made her start considering it. It was... kind of silly to hold a grudge when it had been about a boy she hadn't even liked in ages. She hesitated, then cleared her throat. "Hi... can I sit here?"

 

[Daria Bright-Root]

Daria hadn't ever felt as seen as she did this year, and she was struggling with it a lot more than she had expected. Part of her had always yearned to be seen; not to be the girl in the shadows anymore, overlooked, never cool or pretty or fun enough. But now she had a job, sort of. She had a whole club to look after, which meant that when people wanted to talk about that club they had to talk to her. She was being looked at - Yuelia had looked at her - and she couldn't get it out of her head. It was terrifying, the thought that she was that much more visible to people who wouldn't like her now, but... maybe it was worth it if someone like Yuelia could see her too. Maybe.

But at the end of the day, she was still alone. There was something relieving about it after so much chaos, being able to go somewhere as busy as the lounge and still fade into the background - wind up at a table all by herself despite the many people around, because nobody wanted to be near her. Her head was down as she skimmed through her book, not entirely convinced by everything it said. So many books viewed magic in such clear black and white terms, and the more she studied, the greyer the middle grounds were starting to look to Daria. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a voice though; one of the last ones she would have expected to hear. She looked up in shock, blinking for a moment at her former best friend. She had tried to reach out, albeit in a cowardly way, but after not hearing anything from Penny Daria had figured she needed to close the book on that friendship for good. But now.... "Of course." She mumbled, gesturing to the open seat nervously.

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penny gave Daria a hesitant smile as she agreed to let Penny sit with her, feeling oddly nervous. She sat down, tucking some of her hair behind her ear as she grabbed her notebook out of her bag. She glanced at the Ravenclaw. "I heard you're running the Wild Patch now, congratulations." She said quietly, offering her another nervous smile. She had also heard there had been sort of commotion at the club fair, Marnie had told her about it though Penny hadn't been able to follow it entirely, she had been so busy at the Heta Omega stand that she hadn't noticed. That felt a bit too personal to ask about though.

 

[Daria Bright-Root]

The moment felt fragile around Daria, as though a single wrong breath would shatter... whatever this delicate truce was. She gave a tiny nervous smile in return, nodding gently. "Thank you." She said softly. "Has, um, has... has Heta Omega been going well?" She asked quietly. She knew Penny had been running the club for the past couple of years, but their friendship had long since been ruined when Penny took over. She was sure the club was doing well, of course, but this seemed a safe topic of conversation, since it was a line Penny had begun.

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope nodded at Daria's question, glad the conversation seemed relatively normal so far. "It's alright, I think it'll be easier now that I'm used to it." She admitted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She hesitated, aware she should probably bring up the elephant in the room. She cleared her throat. "Thanks for your rose last year," she said, a little stiffly. "It was... nice of you to apologize." She very nearly apologized herself for waiting so long to thank her, but she held it back. Daria had really hurt her, and she hadn't been sure about accepting the apology at all if she was honest. It was a little easier to do now that she was here, looking at the Ravenclaw directly and talking to her.

 

[Daria Bright-Root]

Daria nodded, a little jealous. If she was going to have to run a club, it would have been nice to get that time to get used to it. All Daria was going to do was fumble through, and then graduate. She was quickly distracted though, looking up as Penny brought up the elephant in the room. At this point she hadn't been sure if they were going to discuss it at all, and her face flushed at the memory. She nodded nervously, eyes flicking back down to the table. "I... I really am sorry." She said quietly. "I... the... the way I acted was so a-awful, I never should have t-treated you like that..."

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope wasn't sure if she should have brought up what happened, but it was probably better than leaving it up in the air. She glanced at Daria, noting how red her face turned. She decided to pretend not to notice. "We were both a bit silly about a boy. A boy who wasn't that interested in me either, in the end." Penelope said with a wry smile. "So... let's just be friends again, if you want?" She asked hopefully.