Party Hard

Phoebe wasn't entirely sure what she was doing here. The ski lodge was nice, and most people seemed to be having fun, but somehow the party wasn't what she had expected of it. Going to a party seemed like the sort of thing teenagers should do, and Rose was going so why wouldn't she join? It had been worth it just to see the anger and jealousy on Diana's face, as she was too young to come too. But truthfully, Phoebe didn't find it all that thrilling so far. The lodge was full of people standing around and talking, and she was standing here by herself with a drink in her hand. She had seen a few people from her year, but they seemed to be darting in and out of the house and all seemed extremely occupied with one thing or another. So far, Phoebe hadn't found anyone to talk to. It wasn't like she was shy, she just felt like everyone else was occupied with something. She saw an older guy she recognized vaguely standing at the snack table and eating some chips. She had half a mind to go talk to him just because there was nothing else to do, but she really didn't know him all that well. Her sister caught her eye in the crowd. She was very excited about something, jumping up and down. Phoebe snorted and took a sip of her drink. Surely, she would hear about whatever it was later.
 
Jess and Leila were best friends. Anyone could see that. They spent more time together than they did with anyone else and it made sense that they'd both choose one another over her, but that didn't make the reality of the situation any less easier to take in. She'd obviously been kidding herself to feel as an equal to others, to want to fit in with what was normal and have friends that would have her back too. Her tears were becoming more angry, feeling as though she was betrayed by everyone she came to meet, eventually everyone in her life was walking away and regardless as to whether she gave it her everything they had other people they'd rather turn to. Joining Hogwarts had been a turning point for her, but she hadn't expected to need to raise her walls in order to protect herself even more than she had as a child.

The next thing she became aware of was someone or something, touching her shoulders, the sensation causing her to shiver and turn with a startle at what had caused it. The young redhead from the fashion stood behind her, and looking down she noticed the thin black cardigan resting on her skin. She did her best to quickly dry her eyes, embarrassed that she'd been caught out crying by herself. Geo wasn't even sure where to begin to answer Elt's question, and so she simply nodded between her heavy breaths. She wanted to go home. But home was the school and somewhere she wouldn't be able to set foot for another couple of months. The Hufflepuff was due to stay with Vil but had a few days until her departure, and the girl had managed to book a space at the airport Inn for a few night as she made the most of her holidays. She didn't want to be alone but she wasn't going to stay here any longer than she had to.

Alienated from those around her, she was about to ask the Ravenclaw whether she'd seen the Gryffindors inside, to see whether the coast was clear for her to fetch her belongings, when she spotted another student in the corner of her eye. She looked away again sharply, swiping at her cheeks again more viciously as she tried to pull herself together, feeling stupid for being seen like this by him of all people. At the realisation that he had her jacket, she shrugged off Elt's cardigan, handing it back to the girl with a grateful smile, and pulled on her own closely with arms wrapped tightly around her torso. "Thanks," she said eventually, though still not able to look up at Austin, his hands on her shoulders only causing her eyes to begin watering once again. She gave a light shrug at his comment, unsure whether she was even going to be able to get the words out without crying again. "I need to go." she whispered, blue eyes looking out across to the side as tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks again.
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Leila ran straight back into the house and fought her way through the crowd back to her brother. She couldn't believe what had just happened and how she had just acted towards to her two best friends. She felt embarrassed and all she wanted to do was to leave the party and be on her own, she had already done enough damage. She tried to shake the image of Jess and Geo embraced from her mind but it just didn't seem to budge. She blinked back her tears as she looked for Aaron, he was the only one who could take her home right now. But it was all so busy and there were so many people about and she couldn't see Aaron anywhere.

The last thing Leila had expected was to find Jess grabbing her arm in the midst of all the people. She immediately turned around and saw the tear stained face of her best friend and she hated knowing that she was the reason for it. "I have to go Jess, this night, its... it's not what I thought... it's all ruined" she cried, trying to pull her arm out of her best friend's grip. "I don't... You weren't being selfish Jess. Everything is just so confused! I didn't mean what I said, any of it. I didn't know what to say. I still don't. I don't want you to hate me" she wept, wiping her eyes with her free hand while the other reached for Jess. "I love you too, I can't bear the thought of being without you" she sniffed throwing her arms around her best friend "of course I forgive you, I hope you can forgive me too. I was so stupid" she whispered into her ear as she hugged her tightly "and I don't want you to choose between us. I'm sorry I made you feel that way" she admitted hugging her even tighter. She didn't want to come between Jess and Geo especially after the year they had. Leila would have to keep her feelings to herself from now on because it wasn't worth the fall out and it wasn't worth the divisions in their group that she had created herself.
 
Elt was a little disappointed by the lack of response. Nobody ever seemed to want to talk to her. Some outright ignored her - whether intentionally or not, she couldn't always tell, but her feelings were always hurt. Austin was one of those people. The part-goblin stared, her heart crushed for the second time that evening, as Geo returned her cardigan without so much as a simple thank-you. Was she completely invisible? She felt like jumping up and down under the boy's nose to test the theory. There was only one explanation for it: humans really were the horrible, untrustworthy creatures her family had always told her. One or two of them were all right, but even Professor Pendleton had let her down by being too busy and sick to help her with her revision. Everyone would let her down in the end; the only person she could rely on any more was herself.

Head drooping, Elt pulled her cardigan back around her shoulders and wandered back towards the lodge, fairly certain neither Geo nor Austin would notice her leave. Suddenly she frowned. Why was she feeling sorry for herself when all she'd ever tried to do was help?! It was the meanies who always ignored her who ought to be feeling miserable. She balled her hands into fists, a sense of bitter determination heating her chest. This was a party - she was here to have fun! Stomping up to the front door, she elbowed past the people milling in the lobby and looked around for a chair. When she'd found one, she dragged it backwards across the room, stopping next to a girl who also seemed to be on her own. She climbed atop the chair, grabbed Phoebe by the collar of her shirt, and kissed her firmly on the lips.
 
Phoebe was just deciding that maybe she really would be better off talking to the older boy, when she saw a small girl approach her. The girl was short, but didn't appear to be younger than her. As she came closer, Phoebe recognized her from Ravenclaw. She was in one of the upper year to her and part-goblin, which at least explained why she was so short. It was actually something that had interested Phoebe before and she had been tempted to ask about it, but she had been raised by her mother not to ask questions like that out of the blue. It could be considered rude. She watched in some confusion as the girl grabbed a chair and dragged it to her. She opened her mouth to ask what she was doing, but was cut off when the girl climbed onto the chair and kissed her out of the blue. Phoebe's heart did a somersault in her chest, and she froze in place. For a few heartbeats, she let the girl kiss her while her brain was trying to comprehend what was happening, then she broke it. Baffled, she looked up at the girl who was slightly taller than her now with the chair's help. "Uh." She said, blinking. "Do you usually kiss random girls?" The words came out fairly smoothly, but her cheeks heated up. She had just had her first kiss, and it was with a virtual stranger. Sure, she was cute, and at least it had been a girl, but Phoebe needed to know what had prompted this. "Tell me this wasn't some sort of bet."
 
Austin felt guilty as he watched the other girl take back her cardigan and walk back into the house. Geo might have preferred the girls company but he didn't feel he could leave her after what they had just gone through. Austin wanted to be in Geo's life and that meant being there for her when she was hurting. Geo didn't seem to want to look him in the eye and he figured it was because she didn't want to see him cry. Austin placed his finger under her chin and lifted her head up so he could look into her eyes and he helped wipe away her tears. "Okay," Austin whispered when Geo told him she needed to go. He didn't want her to leave but he didn't want to keep her there against her will. "I'm here for you Geo, you don't have to be alone,"
 
Jess felt a weight lifted from her as Leila seemed to forgive her. The horror of living her life without her best friend seemed to vanish but Leila still wanted to leave and despite what she had just said Jess didn't feel good about the two of them parting ways like that. "Don't go please," Jess hugged Leila as tight as she could, it felt good to have her in her arms and she didn't want to let go anytime soon. "We can go somewhere quiet, talk, I want us to be okay, I need us to be okay," She sighed leaning her head against Leilas. "I know what you mean, of all the things I thought might happen tonight almost losing you wasn't one of them," Jess almost laughed, it wasn't a funny thought but her emotions were all over the place. "I forgive you too of course I do, I'm so sorry, what I said about Ulrich was wrong, I just, I thought there was something between us, I'm sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion," Jess may have been discovering feelings for Leila she didn't know she had but she didn't want them to get in the way of their friendship. Leila was the most important person in her life and she needed her to know that.
 
Flavio was excited to attend a party away from school, and more so with November by his side, to the point he wanted to show up fashionably late rather than as the party began. This meant he spent too long getting ready, torn between dressing in his normal clothes or dressing up a little to seem 'cool'. Eventually and with November's help, he decided on recycling his leather jacket from Halloween, wearing it over a black t-shirt paired with jeans and sneakers. It definitely made him feel cooler than he was as he arrived to the lodge where the party was being held, hand in hand with his girlfriend. But the feeling did not last long when he realized the mess he was walking into. Geo was outside, talking to someone unfamiliar and seemingly upset, and as Flavio headed to the front door he looked towards her sympathetically. On any other night he would have approached her to ask what was wrong but she seemed occupied with someone else and he would feel like he was intruding if he approached them.

Walking inside, the party was not any less dramatic as the first thing Flavio noticed was Elt kissing someone across the room. Flavio only knew Lizzie from quidditch but he could admit that what he walked into was not what he expected when he heard she was hosting a party. He thought it would involve students catching up over their holidays so far over butter beers, not people crying and kissing each other left, right and center. Flavio could only hope his other friends that were there were alright, as he looked down to November, asking "Should I get us some drinks?" and ignoring the multiple elephants in the room. As he waited for her to respond he smiled, moving his attention to the room around them again as he tried to spot some of his friends.​
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Geo was half convinced that Austin was going to leave her out there too. It was cold after all. Instead she was surprised that she found herself looking up to meet his eyes, his actions only causing the tears she'd manage to hold up until now to fall. She didn't know what was going to happen to them, especially after that evening, but at his words she moved across to hug him tightly around his neck, not even aware that Flavio had passed them by. "I'll see you at school," she said eventually, hoping that Lizzie wasn't going to mind if she took off early, but not able to face the sight of the girls again she knew it was for the best. It hadn't been the evening she'd been expecting, but breaking away from the Hufflepuff it was clear that by the time she returned back to Hogwarts in September, things were definitely going to be different.
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November hadn't ever been to a party like this before, she wasn't even that sure she knew what to expect. Flavio knew the person holding the party, at least it seemed like he knew the person. She felt bad when they entered to see a fellow Hufflepuff in what seemed to be a bad spot in her life outside. Her eyes were wide like a deer being caught and dragged in front of multiple cars all around her. She could see people looking over at them and so far she couldn't find a familiar face other than her boyfriend's. "Can I go with you?" She asked when Flavio asked if he could get them drinks. She wasn't sure if he meant it as a moment for him to maybe catch up with one of his friends that she wasn't friends with but she'd rather be glued to his side than alone in all the confusion going on around her. She was at a complete lost hearing people saying things about kissing and others crying.
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There was a party and of course Fleur Worth was going to be there. The more annoying part was that she had to stay with her eldest sister her in New Zealand now for the break in order to go to the party. Her parents thought the two of them sharing an apartment for the summer would be a grand idea, with Fleur working still at the Quill shop of course. She hadn't really planned on keeping the job this long, but the uniform was better than any other place, her boss having fashion sense that was good. Walking in she took a look at those around her and moved around the place. She gave a smile towards the girl Lizzie who was throwing the party, she didn't know her but she knew it was best to acknowledge the host. She saw some people from her grade, her fellow Prefects Hayden and Amber were around, seemingly with their significant others. She spotted Elt kissing a girl, which didn't honestly surprise her that much, although she hadn't really know the Ravenclaw for very long, the girl was into fashion and that made her higher up on Fleur's list for that alone though. She spotted Flavio and his girlfriend looking lost in the crowd. She wanted to have fun but she wasn't sure where to start, or if she'd rather be a fly on the wall and pick up the juicy gossip for next semester, this party would surely be the talk of the few first weeks at school with the way it already seemed to be going. With girls kissing and crying, it everyone who didn't come would want to know what happened. She only wished their was a better gossip article in the school paper, but she was sure the Headmistress wouldn't want something like that in the monthly. Finally going around she found Evelyn and Annabelle with each other and a larger group of people as well. The girl and Rory had ended their relationship and last she knew he was still on the market, she had to admit Rory would be a tempting suitor even if it might be more for his name than his romantics. Moving over to her best friend and roommate she put a smile on her face. "Hello everyone," she said with a small wave of her hand flashing her beautiful smile to the group as she came up and gave Evelyn a small hug.
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Flavio nodded when November asked if she could go with him to get drinks. It was smarter than him leaving her alone given how out of place he felt in what looked like a mad house, that was for sure. He had a feeling November felt similarly given she had seen the same dramatics upon arriving. Parties weren't familiar to either of them and being alone while feeling so lost was not something he wanted to do. "Sure, yeah, sorry." He said, beginning to head to where the drinks were and picking up two small bottles of butter beer. After handing one of them to November he opened the other and looked around as he sipped, trying to spot someone he recognized enough to speak to. With all that was happening in the crowd he could only see a few of the other prefects and a bunch of students he did not know, none of which he felt confident speaking to. He looked back to November and joked "I think we are in over our heads here." He truly felt out of place from arriving late and not being clued into all that was happening, but was at least glad November was by his side so he would not have to face the party alone. It was nice to have her stay with him during the holidays for a little bit of time, even if attending that party together was a little stressful in the moment.​
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Corrine saw Tristan smile at her again. The old Corrine would have been all sweaty palms and nervous giggle, but she felt more like grimacing and hoped she actually wasn't. Corrine turned to face him as he offered to stay with her and then furthered it by offering to dance with her, and it suddenly hit her that this all smelled of pity. She got the sense that he expected her to be grateful or honored because he'd stay talking to her for an extra minute. And in the past, she would have been. She would have written about it in her journal and told Xena about it until her friend finally told her to shut up. But, not now. Yes, she was standing alone but it was by choice! She took a sip of her drink. Half of her wanted to say something to Tristan, to hint that she'd seen him at his worst but the other half thought it was a bad idea. "I didn't come alone, but I'm fine" she said, her words clipped, "I don't need you to dance with me." Corrine shifted slightly away, hoping that whoever it was he was looking for would show up so he could leave her alone, or that some other distraction would happen. Something was going on in the other side of the room, but she couldn't really tell what with the people dancing in the middle.
 
The kiss was brief, and not particularly romantic, but Elt was satisfied as she pulled away. Her smile vanished, however, when Phoebe seemed to imply that she was just one of many random girls Elt kissed. Who did Phoebe take her for?! Things were about to get worse still. "A bet?!" she repeated, fists clenched in an effort to keep herself from crying. "I kissed you because I wanted to!" Couldn't anybody ever take her feelings seriously? Jumping down from the chair, Elt bolted between two sets of legs and out of the front door. She didn't want to be here. She didn't ever want to see any of these people again.
 
Xena smirked back at Hayden at his comment about noticing him. "Well, it is hard to not notice someone with your...talent." She replied, the smirk still playing across her lips. She raised an eyebrow at the fact that she seemingly met his high standards, though she wasn't upset or put off by the comment. Rather, she was happy that someone was finally able to see how magnificent she actually was. As Hayden took her hand and told her to dance, Xena let out a small giggle, before letting herself be led away to somewhere that wasn't right next to the drinks table, placing her hands around Hayden's neck, moving her body to the music. "Hmm, I think you're right." She said, commenting on his decision to dance. "Who cares if it's bad music, as long as you have good company, right?"
 
Anabelle felt her cheeks blush as Aaron stated that the party was better with her there. She nudged his arm slightly with her arm in response, her awkward hands stopping moving. Just speaking to him in person, knowing he did still somewhat like her made her feel better, and she figured it was time to stop playing around. When he asked her if she wanted a drink, Anabelle smiled at him. "That'd be great." She said, before plucking up every ounce of her courage and holding his hand with hers and leading the way towards the drinks table that he had pointed out, not looking at him on the way. Once they arrived, Anabelle let go, and spun to look at Aaron. "Any drink in particular you want?" She asked, not really knowing what was there, but trying to remain cool, and not totally freak out at what she just did.
 
Despite feeling a hundred times better since Leila had made up with Jess she still didn't feel like staying for the party much longer. Too much had happened and she didn't want to run into Geo after everything that she had said to the Hufflepuff. She hugged her arms and shook her head at her best friend "I don't know Jess, after everything has happened tonight I think it's best that I don't hang around. I'm not in that much of a party mood anymore" she explained as she gazed around the room. She turned to look at Jess and she grabbed hold of her arms "we will be okay. We are okay" Leila replied, leaning her head on Jess's. Despite everything the only thing she was concerned about was making sure that they parted on good terms.

She bit her lip when her best friend mentioned thinking there was more between them. Was there? Leila was so confused and she couldn't do anything while she was with Ulrich. She really liked him but she really liked Jess too but did she like them in the same way? Did she like Jess the way she liked her? Her brain was fried, her feelings were exhausted and all she wanted was to sleep and to forget it all had happened. She reached out and pulled Jess into another hug hoping that everything she had wanted to say and everything that she didn't have the courage to say came out in her embrace. "Come with me" she whispered to her best friend "we'll go home and chill out instead. I think it's what we need" she suggested.
 
Aaron grinned when he felt Anabelle nudge him with her elbow. Why was he so nervous about seeing her? It was like they had never been apart. "Great! I think it's over there?" he guessed as he looked around the room but he didn't have to look very long as Anabelle seemed to know where she was going. She took his hand and Aaron blushed a little and smiled when she did so. He gladly followed her to the drinks table, managing to dodge the other students on their way through. He shrugged his shoulders to Ana's question "I don't know?" he scanned the table "erm, pumpkin juice?" he suggested, deciding to pay it safe as he wasn't sure about the range of drinks on offer "what will you be having?"
 
Talking to Corrine was strange, and Tristan couldn't help but feel like the floor was shifting out from under him a little. He thought he had known how she reacted to him, how he could talk to her. But now, apparently, things had changed. Her words to him were short and clipped, and she barely looked at him. "I never said you needed me to." He said, a slightly frown appearing on his face as he tried to figure out what her problem was. Whatever was going on, he didn't like it. His pride felt like it had taken a definite hit. "I thought you might want the company. I don't know what sort of problem you suddenly have with me, but fine." He rolled his eyes, taking a step away from her. "Have fun by yourself, then." He scoffed dismissively.
 
Phoebe was still somewhat baffled by what had just happened, and she stared in surprise as the girl seemed offended by her question. She had just wanted to make sure she wasn't being made fun of. But when she said she had kissed her because she wanted to, Phoebe felt a little guilty for her words. Elt ran off, and Phoebe tried to follow after her. "Hey, wait!" She called after her. "I didn't mind, I was just confused!" But unlike the part-goblin, Phoebe couldn't duck between anyone's legs easily. By the time she got to the front door, she would likely have lost her. Still, Phoebe pushed her way through and looked around. It had been her first kiss, and even though it had been confusing it really hadn't been bad. She sighed as she looked around for her. But she was fairly sure the other girl was gone by now.
 
November took the drink from her boyfriend's hand and looked around the room they were in. Aaron Walden came up with a girl in their year. She didn't really know the girl very well, nor did she know Aaron too well either. But now it seemed to be the four of them at the drinks table and November shifted uncomfortably as the couple seemed to not even noticed their presence there with them. She put her arm around Flavio's not wanting to get pushed away from him in this unfamiliar place. "Maybe it was silly to come," she said back to him admitting that agreeing it sounded like fun might have been a mistake on her part. She never wanted her life to just be all about him but this was their time to spend together during the summer before being separated by thousands of miles. She'd rather stay home and watch movies he had never heard of before but needed to see.
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Lucas liked a good party and he was enjoying seeing everyone outside of school but what he really wanted was to get Evelyn alone so they could talk. The way he saw it they had a lot to discuss and he hoped she felt the same way. "No, no rebounding happening here, I'm not looking to play house bingo," Evelyn seemed to be brushing off the fact he was newly single and he couldn't help but think that she wanted him to work for his chance with her. If she wanted him to fight for her then that was what he could do. "Would everyone excuse us," He announced to the group. Before he left he turned to Aaron and gave him an encouraging nudge before he disappeared off with his girl, Lucas then grabbed Evelyn's hand and led her outside.

Continues here.
 
Hayden couldn't help but smirk as Xena that it was hard not to notice someone like him. She was certainly doing a good job of inflating his ego and he had zero complaints. "Thanks, you're pretty hard to miss yourself, I don't make a habit of knowing who people are in the year below but you're a rare exception," Stopping at what seemed like a good spot for a dance Hayden placed his hands on her waist as she put her arms around his neck. "Exactly and I couldn't imagine any better company than you," Hayden smirked as they moved together in time to the terrible music.
 
While Jess felt a little better about the whole situation she wouldn't completely relax. Leila's words suggest that they were okay but there was still lingering doubt in the back of her mind, Leila had seen a side of her she'd never seen before and Jess worried that her best friend would never look at her the same way again. When Leila pulled Jess into another hug she blushed unseen from her best friend, her thoughts had begun to run wild when she saw Leila bite her but she didn't dwell on it long before Leila whispered to her that she wanted her to go home with her. The fact that Leila still wanted to leave no longer mattered now Jess knew she wanted her to go with her. A weight was truly lifted off her shoulders. "Yes, lets get out of here."
 
Of course Austin didn't want Geo to leave but it was becoming clear that it was the best thing for her. Geo had been through an ordeal and had left her emotionally raw and it wasn't helping that she was still at the source of it all. As Geo moved her arms around his neck to hug him Austin put his arms around her waist and returned the hug, holding onto her tightly. They seemed to be in such a good place before everything happened with her friends and he hoped their conversation would continue at a later date when Geo was in a better place. "I'll see you soon but remember if you need anything I'm just an owl away," Austin added and gently placed a kiss on her forehead.
 
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