Closed Pride Comes Before a Fall

[Aisa Hunter]

Aisa had borrowed Pride and Prejudice from Adorah before break, and had finished it by now. She was planning to give it back to the girl soon, and was flipping through the book to see if there was anything she could have a conversation with Adorah about. She felt eager to talk to the girl again, and was hoping talking about the book would make the conversation a little longer. She was sitting down for lunch by herself, a little early. The table was relatively empty, and Aisa was happy to focus on the book while she ate. She hadn't disliked it as much as she had expected, but maybe hearing Adorah hadn't liked it much had made her expectations a bit too low. She had been surprised to actually like the main character a bit, and wondered if Adorah would want to talk about that a little. Aisa cast a glance at the Ravenclaw table, but didn't spot her classmate. She took a sip of her pumpkin juice, then looked down at the book again.

 

[Simon Thorne]

Simon wandered into the Great Hall with then intention of trying to do some homework. They year had barely begun and he already felt he was drowning in lessons and was bracing to be a disappointment yet again. Only this time it would hurt worse knowing Delilah was here and was bound to do brilliantly in her classes like always. He scanned the room looking for Tyler or any other familiar face without much luck. Until he spotted Aisa sitting by herself reading a book. He grinned and picked up an apple off one of the tables and took a bite before approaching where she sat by herself. "Oy, what's this?" he asked cheerfully and plucked the book from her hands so he could see the cover. "Pride and Prejudice?" he asked with a laugh. "Didn't expect you to be a romantic." he teased, continuing to chuckle as he set the book back down on the table not bothering to keep the page. "Where's your boy?" he asked, looking around the Gryffindor table for Sully. He seemed to be the only person he ever saw her with.

 

[Aisa Hunter]

Aisa was reading a paragraph she wanted to bring up with Adorah later, reaching over for some parchment to take note. But before she could, the book was pulled from her hands abruptly. Aisa looked up with a frown, which turned into something close to a glare as she saw who it was. "I was reading that." She said shortly, reaching out a hand for the book. But Simon placed it back on the table, and Aisa sighed as she grabbed it. "I'm not. Perhaps I'm using it as a guide on how to avoid the fate of getting stuck with an insufferable guy." She told him pointedly. Her frown deepened. "I don't have a boy. What do you mean?" She asked him, though she could guess he meant Sully. He was the one person she consistently spent time with.

 

[Simon Thorne]

Simon laughed at her protest and leaned against the table with one arm and took another bite of the apple he had snagged as he walked in. He nodded along as Aisa spoke with a helplessly smug expression. “I... don’t think that’s what the book is about.” he said curiously. “Wait, you can read can’t you?” he asked, feigning concern. Simon frowned when she acted like she didn't know what he was talking about. It made him even more irritated then he expected but he tried to keep his expression neutral. “You know who I’m talking about, the loud one who always seems to be around.” Simon said with a dismissive wave. “Or is there trouble in paradise?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

 

[Aisa Hunter]

The smug expression on Simon's face was getting to Aisa, and she couldn't hide her irritation. "How do you know? Don't tell me you've read it." She said when he told her that wasn't what the book was about. She scowled at him as he asked if she could read. "Simon, what are you trying to accomplish here?" She asked him in exasperation. "Are you hoping insulting me will make me like you? It's having the opposite effect." But she remembered their encounter in the library, and how upset she had made him. Maybe this was revenge? She blushed slightly as he confirmed he was talking about Sully, her expression tense. "He's my friend." She said firmly. "You get the concept of friends, right? We're not-" She stopped herself, scowling. "It's none of your business anyway."

 

[Simon Thorne]

Simon acted mock offended when Aisa asked if he had read Pride and Prejudice. “Of course not.” he answered seriously, before looking up thoughtful. “Unless you count the back cover at a shop once?” he asked. But failed to mention how is cousin had read it a couple years ago and wouldn't stop talking about it when she had come to visit. She was getting annoyed with him now and he tried to look innocent. It was just too easy and he almost felt bad. “What? I’m just trying to have a friendly chat.” he insisted. “Don’t be like that. I’m just joking. God, can’t you take a joke?” he asked as he rolled his eyes. Simon's face lit up as Aisa cut off what she was about to say about Sully. So he was onto something. He smirked as he thought about the rose he sent to her on Valentine's day. He had wanted to confuse her and he wondered if her uncertainty was because of that. "Just a friend?" he asked, suspiciously.

 

[Aisa Hunter]

Aisa sighed and shook her head, grabbing the book and putting it in her bag. She made a point of rummaging through it, not wanting to encourage the boy by looking at him. She frowned when he insisted he was just joking, trying to turn it around so she was the one who was being rude by not laughing at his joke? She didn't get him at all, but she knew he was frustrating. "You're not very friendly." She said coolly. "And jokes are supposed to be funny." She finally looked at him again with a sigh as he asked her about Sully again. "Yes, just a friend." She told him. "Not that it is any of your business. Why do you care?" She asked him sharply.

 

[Simon Thorne]

Simon frowned, “Your words, they cut.” he said with a pout. “But you may be right.” he admitted with a heavy sigh. “I do need to work on my comedic timing.” he said and tried to keep a straight face but he couldn’t help but crack a smile. But he could tell she was getting really agitated now and tried to back track a bit. “I don’t care.” he insisted “I just happened to hear that you received a red rose last valentines day and I just find that kind of suspicious.” he explained with a shrug, trying to look disinterested.

 

[Aisa Hunter]

Aisa shrugged at Simon's comments, wondering if ignoring him would make him leave her alone, though she doubted it. She was just about ready to leave herself, though it felt a bit like admitting defeat. But then she froze when he brought up the red rose she had gotten last year. She had received it from the head girl last year, and highly doubted Simon would have talked to her. And no one else but Sully knew she had even gotten it. "Who exactly told you that?" She asked him quietly, her mind working to remember the exact note.

 

[Simon Thorne]

Simon froze and looked at her as she asked him quietly about how he knew about the rose. “That doesn’t matter.” he said after a pause and tried to wave her off. It was clear she had no idea he had been behind it and he was incredibly proud he had pulled it off. “I just find it curious. You hang out with someone all the time and you also get a rose.” he said, trying to sound suggestive. He wondered if she had asked Sully about it. She hardly seemed the type to confront people, especially when it came to emotional things. “Who was it from, anyways?” he asked innocently.

 

[Aisa Hunter]

Aisa's eyes narrowed at the boy, her suspicions only seeming to get confirmed when he tried to brush off her question. The specific way he had asked about it, the strange message she had ended up chalking up to a joke, it being signed with the letter S. It was all just too coincidental. She grit her teeth and rounded on him. "You sent it, didn't you?" She asked him, quiet rage clear in her voice as she stared him down. Shes wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of yelling, even if she really wanted to.

 

[Simon Thorne]

Simon let out a surprised laugh at her accusation. He hesitated before saying anything as he took in her expression and tone. She was mad, very mad and he let out another nervous laugh and he wasn’t entirely sure why she was reacting this way. It had been a joke, something to confuse her, maybe embarrass her a bit, but nothing that would cause this kind of reaction. He took a deep breath and composed his expression. “I did.” he said smugly. “Did you like it?“ he asked curiously, refusing apologize or acknowledge whatever she was mad about.

 

[Aisa Hunter]

Aisa hadn't expected Simon to be honest about it, and the fact that he was threw her off, again. It frustrated her that he kept taking her by surprise, and that he was so smug about it. She took a deep breath, then moved back a bit on the bench. He wasn't worth her time, or anger. "If that's your idea of a joke, it's not very funny." She said, forcing her voice to be flat as usual. "I don't know why you're wasting your time making fun of me. Don't you have anything better to do?" She shook her head. "Actually, I have better things to do." She said, getting to her feet and turning away from him.

 

[Simon Thorne]

“I thought it was.” Simon said with a grin. He was still refusing to apologize. Aisa was making it out to be much bigger of a deal then it actually was. He thought it could be something they could laugh at but apparently he had been way off. But that wasn’t his fault. “Oh, don’t be so dramatic!” he whined and looked up in exasperation. “I was not making fun of you. I was being nice.” he insisted, but that was a bit of a weak excuse. Simon tried to remember exactly what the note had said and he couldn’t really remember. But the rose had been red and it was enough to make it seem intentionally mocking. “I thought you would have appreciated getting a rose.” he said as he got to his feet too. Simon felt frozen in place and tried to weigh his options and sense if it would be worth it to chase after her or not.

 

[Aisa Hunter]

Aisa sighed. "You can't first say you thought it was funny, then say you weren't making fun of me." She told him coldly, frustrated that she was still reacting to him. She shook her head. "Don't try it again." She told him, then walked off. She didn't look over her shoulder to see if he would follow her, determined to ignore him from now on. Hopefully he would find someone else to torment, or better yet, start minding his own business.

 

[Simon Thorne]

Simon was stunned into silence, but only for a moment as his annoyance flared. "That's not what I meant! I wasn't laughing at you!" he said as he stood up, his voice much louder then he intended as he heard it carry through the hall. He felt heat rush to his checks as he glanced around to see if anyone had noticed their argument. There was a difference between joking with someone and laughing at them. Simon balled his hands into fist and sat down. He was frustrated and wanted to scream as he looked at his half eaten apple, his appetite was completely gone now. He would not chase after her. If she wanted to take it personally that was her fault, not his.