🌹 Rose Giving Rose with an essay

[Ares Zephyr]

Ares knew all too well who the first name on the top of his list for rose deliveries belonged to. It was his best friends sister! He didn't really know where to find her though, only that she was a Hufflepuff. There were so many others milling about in the Great Hall today, but since he hadn't seen Susie he presumed she was delivering roses of her own, too. It was only when he saw the flash of fabric that looked as though it had been handsewn by elves that had been eating something they shouldn't, that Ares knew he was headed in the right direction. "Susie.. is that short for Susanne or something?" he called out to her.

@Susie Lagowski

 

[Susie Lagowski]

Susie turned around, basket in hand. Ares. She forced a smile, hoping he didn't know she was the big sister of the boy who'd hit him... twice. Then again, her full name was on his list, so he probably had a clue. "It's short for Susan," she said. She didn't really want to tell him, but she couldn't think of a witty response fast enough. Stand up straight. She was bigger than him. She didn't need to be so anxious. "Do you need something?"​

 

[Ares Zephyr]

Ares couldn't stop the snigger that shot out of him upon hearing the girl's proper name. It was no wonder she went by Susie instead. Perhaps she'd grown up around a boring family, and that was why she was so keen on turning herself into a human artwork. "I don't need something, but you might," he said, waving the yellow rose back and forth in his hand, just out of her reach.

 

[Susie Lagowski]

Susie flinched. He was laughing at her name? It wasn't a bad name. Some people thought it was old-fashioned, but she liked it. Maybe he'd laughed at Freddie's name, too. Maybe that's why he'd hit him. Susie put a hand on her hip, refusing to embarrass herself by making a grab for the rose. "Well, you can give it to me, or I'll tell Hinata and Eli you refused, and you won't be allowed to deliver again. I don't care. You choose."​

 

[Ares Zephyr]

Ares raised his eyebrows. He doubted that this girl would tell on him in the first place, and he also doubted he wouldn't be allowed to deliver again. They needed him, there were so many roses to hand out. Ares placed the rose down on the floor before taking a few steps back, "There, now you can't say I didn't deliver it," he grinned.

Spoiler: Note for Susie Lagowski

Thank you for being my friend, I appreciate you Susie and I have thought on this for a bit and I wanted to give you a nickname. I give nicknames those around me but unlike regular nicknames I use star names, because I have a particular fixation with astronomy. Anyways yours is 'Libertas' I can explain it further to you sometime but it means Liberty and I think there's something very liberating whenever we hang out. <3- Lilith

 

[Susie Lagowski]

Dude. Susie felt herself flushing. She was not picking it up off the floor. Why would he even do that? That was so rude. She pulled out her wand, aiming without looking. "Accio yellow rose," she said. She took a few steps toward him, closing the gap again. All this time, she'd been blaming Freddie for hitting Ares, but Lili had been right all along. "Do you think that's funny? Because I know something funny, too. My cousin? Professor Cade's best friend. So you better be nice - to me and my brother. Or I'll tell them how you made me pick my rose up off the floor." Her hands were shaking, but her voice didn't falter. He was just a little kid. She wasn't going to let him make her feel small. "You want me to do that?"​

 

[Ares Zephyr]

See, Susan didn't need him to give it to her, she was perfectly capable of getting the rose for herself. "So what? My dad is Professor Cade's friend, but I don't get why that's important." It was a stretch that Aion even spoke to James, but Ares could pretend. "I dropped your rose, it's not a big deal, don't make it out to be worse that it is." he shrugged, "Thanks for picking it up Susan," he smiled at the Hufflepuff, well aware he was getting under her skin.

 

[Susie Lagowski]

Susie hesitated. He had to be bluffing - his dad wasn't friends with Professor Cade - but she couldn't really be sure about that. The only thing she knew for sure was that he'd upset her brother. This was way worse than she'd thought. Freddie wasn't like her. He didn't think, didn't talk - he just got mad and hit people. Ares was going to be the reason he got expelled; and Susie realised then, with a stab of guilt, that she'd done nothing to try to help him. She'd told herself it was all Freddie's fault, because she didn't want to deal with him any more. That was so unkind.

"I'm not saying it again," she said, still bristling a little. His stupid comments weren't going to get to her. "Now go." She wasn't reading her note until he went away. His face in the background would ruin the moment.​

 

[Ares Zephyr]

Ares didn't like the way that Susan was trying to get one up on him. To make him feel small and treat him as though he wasn't perfectly entitled to be here. "No thank you," he didn't want to leave, not if Susan told him to. "I think I need a rest, my legs are starting to ache," he had half a mind to sit on the floor, but he needed to be prepared incase this girl was as violent as her little brother, "You're free to go though!"

 

[Susie Lagowski]

Was that a jab at her brother? Was that a jab at his leg? Even Susie wanted to smack him then, or at least shake him, but she couldn't - she had to set an example. "Did you seriously just make fun of-?" She stopped herself. Freddie had made her promise not to say anything. Ares might've known already, but even if he did, she couldn't break her promise. So she shook her head, rolling her eyes. There was no point arguing, anyway. He was just going to say 'no, you' again, like a five-year-old.

She turned and walked the other way, toward the stairs. The moment was ruined now. He ruined a whole rose for her. She unfolded the note anyway, and read.

It was from Lili. Susie stopped, so that she could read it properly. Never mind. Ares didn't ruin anything. This was so, so nice. Nobody had given her a special nickname before - one that wasn't just a shorter version of her name. She'd already known she was Lili's friend, but suddenly, she felt it too. Lili and Eoghan didn't just hang out with her because they felt bad. They liked her. They really did. Susie folded the note very carefully and put it in her pocket. She had to do something. Lili was right all along. And she, Eoghan, and Tori were the best friends in the whole world.​