Paths entwined

[Mike Gray]

Mike walked swiftly over to the cliffs, making sure he wasn't too close to the edge. Not one to be afraid of heights, Mike did not fancy the drop of the cliffs. Looking around, Mike wanted to be alone. To gather his thoughts, on his new schooling year. He wanted to do well this year... most of the time he did. There was also the responsibility of helping any new Gryffindors get used to the school. His thoughts then travelled to Bella. He hadn't spoke to her in weeks, but then of course with the thought of Bella, Aiden was also brought into the equation, but of course Aiden was back at Durmstrang, which brought some comfort to Mike. He hadn't really seen eye to eye with Aiden before his departure. Taking a deep breath Mike looked around into the horizon looking at the scenery dotted around. Mike walked over to the edge, holding onto some fencing that protected him from falling....hopefully. Looking down at the drop, Mike gulped. He looked around in need of some comfort.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

[Sorry in advance for the long novel, I am just starting Isabella's new plot.]

After a rough summer hopping from Italy to New Zealand to Greece and back to New Zealand, Isabella was slightly thankful to be back at school, but the Slytherin had changed. After having a talk with Tichondrius last year about making her own choices, Isabella had begun doing just that. She wanted to rid herself of the 'goody-two-shoes' image and the first thing she did was get rid of her entire wardrobe and change her style. Her perfect curls and side swept bangs were now replaced with darker, wilder hair and a different style of bangs. Instead of the posh button-up style the Slytherin was known for, she now opted for a grey hooded t-shirt with a patterned coat and the biggest change of all, she was wearing jeans. Anyone who knew Isabella knew that she hated wearing jeans in public, yet here she was out in broad daylight with a completely new attire. She wore a ring of black eyeliner around her brown almond shaped eyes and mascara to complete her new, wilder look. Isabella Chaos was a completely different person on the outside, and was going to make sure she lived up to her surname this year.

The reason for this change was that she had seemed to lose control of her life. Before entering Hogwarts she seemed to have her life in the palm of her hands, controlling everything and everyone she knew, but now her perfect little world was falling apart right before her eyes and she didn't like it. She was brought up being taught that ladies always wore skirts, never jeans, and that they never fought and for what? What good did it bring her? Nothing. Being a goody-two-shoes had lost her the perfect family, it had lost her Aiden, and most importantly, it had lost her Pammy. She was too busy letting others control what she did and how she acted, and worst of all, her emotions and this teenage girl full of angst was sick of it, she was going to make her own decisions whether they were rash and foolish or not. In fact, the more rash they were, the better. She was thirteen, the ripe age of rebellion.

Isabella had left her suitcase back in her room, not bothering with unpacking since none of her roommates were back yet, so she decided to go exploring. Her eyes wandered over to the cliffs, an area that she had always considered off limits because the professors had said so. Well, screw the rules, she thought firmly. With her head held high and the wind blowing her wild hair behind her, Isabella marched right over to the cliffs, wondering what the big deal about them was anyway. She saw someone standing there against the fencing that protected the students from falling right off and was about to roll her eyes and walk away before she realized who it was.

"Mike?" she said aloud, her tough girl attitude quickly diminished. Mike. The boy she had started crushing on after the break up between her and Aiden though she had been too insecure to admit it to anyone but Harri, before she left that is. Bella hadn't spoken to Mike in so long, not since the Prefect's play last year. She felt like the Gryffindor boy had been avoiding her, which caused her to think that yet another person in her life had abandoned her. Over the summer she had lost hope in him, thinking that he didn't like her, why should he after the whole mess with Aiden? But standing here before him caused the hidden feelings for him to return.

 

[Mike Gray]

Mike turned around when someone called his name, seeing that it was Bella. "Wow erm... you look different Mike said, not entirely sure what to make of it. It seemed her little goody-two-shoes look had gone and she was back with a bang. Mike didn't know what to say or how to feel. It seemed like she was avoiding him, but maybe it was the other way round-that she felt like she was avoiding him. Mike was glad of one thing: that Aiden was not there to interrupt anymore, not there to confuse the situation. "Good summer?" Mike asked attempting to patch up their relationship. Mike's heart was in his mouth. He wanted to like her, but her new look didn't exatly suit her in Mike's opinion. "I thought you were gunning for Prefect?" Mike asked unsure whether her ambition was still alive.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella had planned out her new act of rebellion perfectly, but every time she thought of Mike and where he fit into the picture, assuming he even liked her, she always hit a snag in her perfect scheme. The response she got from him would've been perfect, because it showed that people were quick to notice she was different this year, if only it hadn't come from him. She simply smiled at him in return, the only thing that seemed familiar, her smile.

She purposely ignored the question on whether her summer was good or not, because frankly it wasn't and she didn't feel like going into detail, especially since it involved Aiden, the last person she wanted to even think about, especially around Mike. When he brought up the Prefect's position, a small string in her heart tugged at her with longing. For the last two years that's all she had been gunning for, it was the main reason she had refrained from ever fighting with the many enemies she had. Still, that was a time when she followed rules, and now she was different. She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly acting like she didn't care as she replied, "I was, but things change," she lied right through her sweet smile. "How was your summer?" she asked him in return, feeling like the two were strangers to each other.

 

[Mike Gray]

"It was fine" Mike told her eventhough it was not entirely true". He didn't know how to feel. Mike himself was not a rebel as such. He was always one to keep his nose clean, and he thought that they suited each other... both goody-two-shoes. Now Mike didn't know what to think. Awkwardly, Mike decided to make another brave attempt at reviving some conversation. "Looking forward to the new quidditch season?" Mike asked her smiling sheepishly, averting her eyes when he asked the question. Her rebel looks somewhat reminded her of Aiden's behaviour. Maybe she liked Aiden and not Mike? Maybe she was trying to insinuate something... that she longed for Aiden and not Mike? Maybe she wanted to impress him if he ever returned. Mike was slightly crestfallen with this wave of thought. He had never been truly good with relationships, and just when things were going alright, they changed dramatically.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella could sense that Mike didn't like her new look, but she was too far invested in her new attitude already. She had spent so many nights this past summer crying over her life that had fallen apart and how she'd become so weak. Now she was channeling all that weakness into angst. He'd have to prove to her that being a goody-two-shoes was worth it, and not a waste of her time, like the last few years had been. Perhaps this was asking too much of him though. A sinking feeling in her stomach made her realize that her new look might actually drive Mike away from her, something she didn't want.

She brought her attention back to Mike as he spoke again, of Quidditch no less. Could it be that he was asking just to see if she were even the same girl inside? "Yes I am," she replied with a small smile, answering both the his question and the question she had asked herself. Part of her wished to just drop her act and wipe the make up off her face just to prove it was still her beneath the look, but she couldn't ruin her plan already just for some guy she didn't even think liked her anymore. "This is Bruin's last year of school isn't it?" she asked aloud. "Are you hoping to get captain next year when he's gone?" she continued the conversation forcefully.

 

[Mike Gray]

"To be honest I've never really given it much thought to be honest" Mike told her truthfully. "Although I'm pretty sure t will be someone like Kat or Keira" Mike replied to her honestly. "They have more experience in the field" Mike said shrugging his shoulders. Mike was tempted to say to her he didn't like her new look, but he restrained himself from doing so, because it was quite cold to do so and it wouldn't make her feel good about herself. "Reckon you'll win the Quidditch Cup?" Mike asked her glad the conversation started to flow more fluently. "If you don't mind me asking why the sudden change?" Mike asked pushing her for the reason of the change. Mike hoped the answer wasn't Aiden orientated.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

"Well you never know it could be you, you seem like the kind of person who can lead a group, an authoritative figure," she said with a playful eye roll. Great, she had vowed to be rebellious this year and the guy she liked was a Prefect, perfect match. "Hmmm, I think we have a shot," she said with a smug look as she thought of the Slytherin team, they all were really good players. When he asked why the sudden change Isabella bit her lip unsurely. and tugged on the strings of her hoodie. "This past summer was rough," she began with a shrug of her small shoulders. "Nothing is going right by acting the way I was so if I want to get things done my way I knew I'd have to do something about it," she said, trying her best to keep things vague yet still truthful.

 

[Mike Gray]

Mike noticed that Bella was being slightly off with him, and noticed that she tried to explain the change off herself both physically and her attitude in as little detail as possible. Mike could tell this year was going to be a very slow one and this would not help matters. He couldn't explain why he was not liking the new change. Maybe it was because he thought it was Aiden orientated or that they didn't suit each other any more, now that her goal had changed. Mustering up the courage, Mike opened his mouth to speak. "Bella, this whole change, its not Aiden orientated is it?" Mike asked thinking it was better to grab the bull by its horns than to be constantly asking himself the same question time after time. Mike waited impatiently for Bella to reply. Mike hoped she wasn't doing it for Aiden, but he had to wait and see.

 

[Isabella Chaos]

Isabella was busy pulling on the strings of her hoodie to notice the concern or worry in Mike's face. When he asked her if her change was Aiden oriented Bella snapped back up to look at him with incredulous eyes. Aiden? No, after the run in this summer and what she'd heard, she was done with him, there was no use, no hope. Bella had heard from Wendy who heard from Joceline who was Aiden's half-sister that Steph, her former friend, was going to be attending Durmstrang this year and even worse, living with Aiden's family. If their unexpected meeting in Brightstone hadn't confirmed Bella's choice on giving up on Aiden, hearing that definitely made her say a big, fat, "No!"

How could he think that? she thought bitterly, but then again, she shouldn't be surprised. The entire reason why she hadn't decided to be with Mike last year was because she was so hung up on that stupid boy and Mike knew it. Of course it was likely that he think that such a drastic change was because of him, but even though he may have had some influence on her, that was definitely not the reason why she did change. "No," she repeated again, shaking her head vigorously. She knew it was going to be hard to convince Mike of that truth, and even harder to convince him that she liked him. So Isabella did the one thing she knew, or at least hoped, would convince him that she was definitely over Aiden. She went over to him, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him.

If she had still had the same mentality as last year she would've been so afraid to do something like that, and would've waited for Mike to make the first move but she was tired of the stereotype that guys had to make the same move. Isabella was making her own choices, forget the rules, she thought again firmly. When she pulled away she looked at Mike as if to say 'There, no thoughts about Aiden' and took a few steps back. She didn't know how Mike would react or if he even wanted to kiss her anymore because of her change, but she thought if she wanted to kiss him, then she would. She gave Mike a smile as a form of goodbye and began to walk away, not wanting to see the look on his face if he realized he didn't like her after all.

 

[Mike Gray]

Mike was not entirely convinced that she was being honest. He let it pass, thinking that he could pick it up another day. He was not in the mood to argue and was taken back when Bella kissed him. Turing bright red, Mike did not know what to do or say. He watched as Bella turned away. He wanted to call her back, but when he tried to call her back, no words emmitted from his mouth. He wanted to run after her, he needed to, but certain factors clouded this from happening. Slumping down on the floor, defeated, Mike sighed heavily wishing the Earth would just swallow him up. Certainty still boggled his mind, he was sure that the sudden change was Aiden related but he couldn't prove it, he had to believe Bella but he was unsure not to.