Open No More Kissing Strangers

[Shane Ackley]

Shane had been quite impressed with this school, it had a lot of quirks, but the kissing at the spin the bottle game had been very interesting to him. The hufflepuff had never experienced or even heard about such games at his last school. It was clear that a lot of the other students knew each other at this event, or at least were a little aware of who everyone was, but Shane had been knew and he'd certainly seen more people that game and interacted with more people than he had since arriving at the school, certainly in as personal a setting as it had been. Flirting had increasingly come to him quite easily. The first few times he was accused of it in his last school, he'd been too young to understand what he was doing, but he knew better now. It was easier, like lying but everyone was kind of okay with it. It had put in a good mood, kept him happy about the choice he'd made about this school, Shane might not have gotten the chance to get to know any of them, but they were more aware of him, and the hufflepuff had been sure that both the girl who'd organised it at least had been a little interested in him. He was sat with his feet on a table, swing back on a chair with a book rest on his thighs, chewing a stick of gum as he read. He'd gotten back from the potions class of the day and decided to read a little in the student lounge, close enough to the library but with less of the oppressive non-noise of the place. This school was far more fun, and he was exceedingly happy with his choice to force his family into sending him here. This was a school he belonged at with fun people he could spend the time with. ​

 

[Nixon Mercury]

Nixon's semester felt like nothing short of being in the front of a roller coaster with its shares of highs and lows. Just as he thought he was climbing higher again he plummeted lower, feeling his stomach flip at the unexpected change in gravity. If it wasn't receiving a rose he believed to be from Liam and the hope his feelings were returned, just to be met with the realization it was from an admirer he didn't know, it was gathering the courage to apologize to Arvel just to experience rejection of his effort in every fiber of his being. He felt as if he were fighting a losing battle, hoping and wishing for someone to care about him in return, but realizing he was undeserving and delusional for thinking it was a possibility in the first place. Valentine's day had been the final straw, the last nail in the coffin when it held one rejection after another and it was then Nixon had resolved simply not to care at all, knowing his effort was pointless if no one else cared in return. Since that day things grew to be easier, and his regular woes were ignored with an attitude of nonchalance. Nixon noticed he was having fun and living in the moment for the first time in a while instead of finding ways to escape or avoid his feelings when they grew to be overwhelming. The spin the bottle game was proof he was on the right path when the experience had been entirely thrilling, and that the thrill was playing on his mind ever since.​

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If it weren't for the game continually returning to Nixon's thoughts, he was sure he would have arrived to the student lounge and avoided Shane when he noticed the other boy was nearby, but when he did see his dorm mate sitting at an otherwise empty table he felt compelled to start a conversation. Still caught in the thrill of everything, it felt easier to just throw caution to the wind and talk to someone without worrying how it could go wrong. "Hey, got some extra gum to share?" Nixon said as he walked over, uncaring that Shane seemed to be distracted by reading.​

 

[Shane Ackley]

Shane glanced up at the somewhat familiar voice, giving a little nod at the boy. He didn’t know Nixon all that well, but since they were in the same house and year and therefore shared a dorm he was a little more familiar with him than he was with some of the others. However, it didn’t particularly mean that he knew him any better than Shane knew anyone else at the school. The boy had of course seen him at the spin the bottle game, and the boy was cute, though so many people at this school were. Shane stretched, reaching down to his bag and from it pulling out a pack of magical gum where the flavour never died before he chucked it at the boy, ”Of course,” the hufflepuff gave a little smile, forcing himself to be nice and polite to the other boy, with perhaps just a hint of flirting in the smile. He hadn’t moved the book from his lap or really adjusted his position much, so he didn’t have to do much to get readjusted into the comfortable position he’d been in before. He wasn’t sure what to talk about but since they’d both experienced the spin the bottle game, perhaps they could mention that, ”So, that spin the bottle game, does that happen often?” the boy had to figure that it didn’t happen too often, but he was new to the school and perhaps it was a little more common. He didn’t even know who he’d kissed, but that was half the thrill of it. He’d kissed a boy and a girl, who’d been sitting close to one another but he didn’t know who they were. That was the thrill of it, and perhaps why it had been so easy for him to do, though it had already been very easy, he’d never had any qualms about kissing both boys and girls.​