Rattle This Ghost Town

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley had never enjoyed a school holiday before. Usually they were torturous periods of nothing, where all there was to do was miss her friends and avoid her parents. This year was different though. Living near Odette had changed from something Harley tried not to think about, to a blessing. Neither of them were especially keen on time spent with their parents, so there was plenty of opportunity to sneak away together, go on their own adventures and enjoy their time together.

The sky was grey and cold above, and Harley had a hoodie under the leather jacket she had been very excited to find at a thrift store on another of their outings. Her hands were shoved in her pockets as she walked alongside Odette, kicking a pebble down the street. They had nowhere to go, nothing they had to be, no prying classmates to avoid, just each other's company. It was perfect. "Where do you wanna go?" Harley spoke up, glancing at Odette. "Mall? Walk along the harbour? Check out the park?" Wherever they went, they would find something to do. That was the point of looking for adventures. You made them wherever you went.

 

[Odette Madison]

During the holidays, the house felt oppressive and small. This sensation seemed to become worse each year. Odette was glad for any excuse to leave the house and stay out, stay away from her mother who never failed to make her feel insignificant. The fact that Harley lived nearby had never been a cause for celebration before, but now she was very happy with that fact. It was nice to spend time with the other girl, filling up the hours they would otherwise have spent on their own.

Her pink pea coat buttoned up to her throat, Odette hunched her shoulders as she walked next to Harley. Occasionally, she glanced at the Gryffindor. Her blond hair was quite a change. The girl had been changing it up for the past few years, but this was different. It suited her, but it took some getting used to. Odette had gone back to her own hair color, so they unexpectedly matched now. Watching as Harley kicked a pebble, she smiled slightly and kicked it herself when they caught up with it. "I don't really mind. The mall would be warm, at least." She said, but she honestly didn't care too much. Spending time with Harley was fun, no matter where they hung out. "Do you have some sort of plan?" She glanced at her sideways. "I seem to remember you're good at finding ways to entertain yourself."

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley pondered Odette's comment about the mall, nodding thoughtfully. "The mall would be warm. And there are plenty of shops to check out." And a few old pieces of Harley's 'public art' she could show Odette. Harley didn't want to mention that though, until they got there. She laughed at Odette's question about a plan, shaking her head. "No plan, that's how it works when you find ways to entertain yourself." Harley grinned, nudging Odette lightly with her elbow. "You just go to a place and do stuff until you find some fun there." Walking closer, she linked her arm with Odette's, grinning brightly at the other girl. "To the mall it is, then, and to whatever adventures we can find there!"

 

[Odette Madison]

Even though they were hanging out more and more, in a romantic and also friendly sense, it still felt odd sometimes to realize she was having such a nice time with Harley Tsuji. The other girl had once been nothing but an enemy to her, and now she was the only person Odette felt like she could consider a friend. It was hard to be open with anyone, but in a way Harley made it easier. They had known each other for a long time, even if they hadn't been friends before. She didn't know if anyone on earth knew her better than Harley did. "The mall it is." She said firmly. It was way colder than she would like it to be. "Fine, no plan? Show me how to do it then." She said with a small smile. "Let's find some fun stuff. I'll be judging the fun-ness on a scale from one to ten."

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley laughed, pleased to be able to make Odette smile. There was something special and wonderful about being on the good side of someone she had only made angry for so long. After knowing and feuding with her for so long, it was blissful to be this relaxed and happy. "I'll be expecting a full report card with comments." She teased, squeezing Odette's arm slightly, pleasantly surprised that the other girl hadn't recoiled from the contact. "If you're gonna grade me go all out."

Harley looked around as they entered the mall, trying to decide what they should do first. There were a lot of tempting options... fizzy drinks at the food court, writing their initials in the bathroom, just hanging out on the seats and people watching... but eventually one shop caught Harley's eye and sparked an idea in her. "Here!" She said excitedly, dragging Odette into the two dollar shop. "You can find some cute accessories and give me a makeover." Harley knew all the accessories in the shop would be cheap and tacky and probably a little cutesy, but the point was for it to be funny.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette scoffed at Harley's joke. "As if, I don't even put that amount effort into my schoolwork." She said with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, you hate report cards. I seem to recall you hiding yours in primary school." It was strange to think of their past. Out of everyone in her life except for her mother, she had known Harley the longest. While most of their history was unpleasant, it was still history. They were big features in each other's lives.

The mall was a place Odette associated most with shopping. Her mother dragging her along, making her try on clothes that she didn't really like and subtly berating her for every little flaw she happened to notice in the moment. She tried to push away those thoughts and focus on Harley. This wasn't going to be anything like those times, she was sure of that. Following Harley, Odette raised her eyebrows as she saw their destination. "What?" She asked, glancing at Harley. But the girl's plan soon became clear, bringing a smile to her face. "Oh. Are you sure you trust me with that?" She asked teasingly. "It won't be anywhere near punk enough for your look," she paused. "If I do this, you can do it for me too," she then added with a slight smile. "But I want the right to say no if you pick anything too ridiculous."

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley laughed, a little surprised that Odette wasn't keeping up with her schoolwork. "Really? Doesn't miss perfect get perfect marks anymore?" She teased, elbowing Odette lightly. "I'll make a bad girl outta you yet." She laughed at Odette's comment about her report cards, shrugging with a cheeky grin. "I don't mind so much anymore. If it stops their phony praise I'll stick all my P-s on the fridge next to Jason's excellence from high school." Harley glanced at Odette, suddenly a little concerned. Odette knew Jason was a squib, of course, but she didn't know much else about Harley's home situation, other than that Harley hated to be there. She didn't mind sharing with the other girl, Odette had known her for most of her life, if anyone deserved more detail it was Odette, but broaching a serious topic with her always felt strange, even after all the conversations they had had over the last few months.

Harley watched Odette's expression change as she began to comprehend exactly what Harley wanted to do, grinning mischeviously in response. "Oh nooo, it would be terrible if you picked things that didn't, like, match my outfit." She teased, heading into the two dollar shop with Odette and looking around for the accessories. "Oh, I'll make sure I pick something super stylish for you." She grinned. "But we both have to wear the stupid makeovers, deal?"

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette raised her eyebrows slightly at Harley's comment. She supposed the girl saw her that way, even if it wasn't entirely accurate. "My grades have never been that good, honestly. My mother had other priorities. Other ways to measure my success." She said, a little bitterly. "But yeah, they've been worse lately. Kind of hard to focus on school when you're just angry at everyone and everything." But now things were getting too personal, and she quickly shut herself up. Harley shared something personal as well, though. Odette knew her brother was a squib, but she had never really thought much about how that must be. Or about why Harley seemed to hate being at home even though she had siblings she loved. She wasn't really sure what to say to this. "Uh, how are your siblings?" She asked instead, steering the conversation to something a little less deep, but still showing interest in Harley's life.

Harley's teasing impression of what Odette assumed was her, made her laugh. She stuck out her tongue at the girl. "Just for that, you're going to look silly." She said, nudging her. "Deal. How about we split up and come back with some stuff in a few minutes?" She offered. Already she saw a few things she really wanted to make Harley wear. Things the girl would never in her life put on voluntarily.

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley was a little surprised to hear that Odette's grades weren't great. She had always... well, assumed the other girl was good in school. She supposed she shouldn't have assumed, but it still felt a little strange. "Hey, I feel that." She said with a shrug. "Don't think I've gotten an O in my life." Odette's question about her siblings surprised Harley and she glanced at the other girl uncertainly. Sure, Harley had brought Jason up, but she and Odette had never really talked about family. The question caught her off guard, but she managed to answer after a moment, shrugging. "You know, same old. Jason's doing really well at university, and Zoe's... I dunno, I don't see her a ton, she's in Ravenclaw and she's busy with her own group of weirdos. She's too busy to hang out with me." Harley laughed awkwardly, wondering when the last time she had spent time with her sister at school had even been.

Harley laughed, pleased to see Odette getting into the spirit of the game. "Not as silly as you're gonna look." She teased back, already picturing how silly she wanted to make Odette look. "Alright. Ready? One, two, three, go!" Harley dropped Odette's arm as soon as she finished her countdown, dashing off to find the perfect accessories.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette grinned at Harley’s proclamation that she had never had an O in her life. “I had one, for flying.” She said, still proud of that despite it now being several years ago. Flying and Quidditch were things she was good at, and it was nice to be acknowledged for it. Even if it was with a simple grade. The sibling talk was a little strange, and she was glad she had moved it to a more casual conversation on the topic. Harley’s little sister wasn’t really on Odette’s radar, though she was vaguely aware of her. It occurred to her that she was probably in the same year as Odette’s own sister. That thought jolted her. She opened her mouth to say something about it but then stopped herself. That felt too personal to discuss, especially when they were here to do something silly and fun. She stuck out her tongue at Harley as she said she would make her look sillier. “That's gonna be difficult, your face is naturally silly.” She said, then dashed off after she counted down. She had a few things in mind she wanted to get for sure.