Sleepover - Finally!

[Saveli Pendleton]

This night was bound to be perfect. In front of Saveli was the second bowl of popcorn she'd made for the evening. The first one had mysteriously disappeared (into her stomach), and this second one was smelling even better to the blonde. Saveli hadn't had a sleep over of any sort in years. She was ready to talk about everyone at school that annoyed them, who was going to look terrible at the yule ball, how she did her makeup - or what boys she was seeing. Saveli wasn't keen to share about her and Reuben yet - but perhaps sometimes she would be. Saveli could hear Monty doing something above her head, but she had no idea what it was he was up to. He'd told her he'd make himself scarce for the night - and for that she was thankful. Not that she was embarrassed by Monty, more that she couldn't talk to Alana about certain things without being secretive and cryptic around Monty.

Saveli had just finished setting up some blankets and such in the living room in case they wanted to watch movies when she heard knocking. Hoping it was Alana considering she was in her night shorts and a tank top, Saveli skipped over to the door and opened with with the cheesiest grin she could manage.

 

[Alana Finch]

When the door opened, Alana was standing there with a huge grin on her face. "Saveli!" she yelled, happy to see her friend and wrapping her into a quick hug to prove the point. The seventeen year was so excited for this day. It had been marked on her calendar from the moment the offer had been made before they'd left school. With a duffel bag full of all the things a witch might need for a sleepover, Alana glided into the room behind Saveli, disappearing into a nearby bathroom and quickly reappearing in an outfit nearly identical to her friend's aside from the colors, chattering about her travels all the while.

"...my dad to not even bother me about this since he was fine with me sleeping at Chaos' house next week. And then I left" she finished smugly, dropping herself onto the floor beside the bowl of popcorn. Alana reached for a handful, stopping just short of stuffing it into her mouth. "So...what have you been up to? Doing anything exciting?" she asked, her legs stretched out in front of her as she waited for the reply.

 

[Saveli Pendleton]

Saveil earnestly returned the hug with a grin. It felt good to know that there was more than Viv and Monty who were happy to see her - though she supposed Reuben seemed to be the last time they saw each other. The girl listened to Alana, following her just outside of the door where she was changing, intrigued by the fact that things were easy for Alana with her dad. Then again the only reason Sav had been on house arrest by Monty was because she'd decided to throw a party without his permission. So she was a little at fault for that, and she wasn't too proud to admit it. "Sleeping at Chaos'?" Saveli gave a little wink and nudge at Alana, sitting down across from her after.

Saveli had only met Chaos once, and then heard about him through the grape vine. He seemed nice enough now. However Sav wasn't a good judge of character, as evidenced by her last friendship with Gabe. "I guess, maybe. I had someone over a few weeks ago to maybe test out some Tattoo designs!" Though her voice was excited she wasn't going to be too loud, after all if Monty heard he'd most likely freak. "He was nice... i mean nothing serious happened, but I think I might need to switch artists." She joked. "What about for you. Tell me all the exciting things you've done."

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana rolled her eyes and continued to eat popcorn, slightly annoyed with herself for how nonchalantly she’d just spoken about Chaos. She was glad that Saveli continued, far more eager to speak of tattoos and other things. As her friend’s voice lowered, Alana smirked, knowing that had to mean that Professor Pendleton either wasn’t a fan of the idea or had no clue. “So, from a scale of 1 to he’s gonna need a Calming Draught, where will Professor Pendleton be when he sees it?” she giggled. It didn’t seem to take much to upset the man, but seeing a tattoo on his darling daughter was probably going to do it easily. Alana already had a tattoo, one she’d shown Saveli before, on her shoulder, and she wasn’t eager to get another.

Reaching for another handful of popcorn, Alana wondered how to begin her reply. Finally, she settled on nodding towards her bag which she’d left on the floor. “Check out the small zipper. I got that today” she grinned madly, beaming with pride as she bit her lip while she watched Saveli do it. She’d tossed the Head Girl badge in there, eager to show it off. Alana had expected it to go to Lydia Archer, and the fact that she’d been the one to get it had left her in a euphoric mood until her father had begun discussing her perhaps not coming to this sleepover. The zipper also held her engagement ring, which she was still only wearing in Chaos’ presence so she wouldn’t hurt his feelings.

 

[Saveli Pendleton]

Saveli giggled. "He will never, ever see it!" She spoke before pointing at her sternum. "I'm having it here." She motioned across her upper rib cage area, below her bra line. "So unless we go to the beach I can keep it all kinds of hush hush!" Frankly Saveli was more than proud of herself for deciding on a place that could be easily hidden. Her only worry was the fact that it would be uncomfortable while it was healing. However she wasn't too worried about that as she was still determined to go through with it.

The bag that was tossed to Saveli was attention catching and she smiled. She opened it, quite surprised by one of the first things she saw. For a moment, and the blonde wouldn't deny it to herself (though she'd not say anything to Alana) she became jealous. Her heart turned green in her chest she felt, and she hid it well. Of course Alana would get it though, Sav though, she was fairly perfect. "Alana? Oh merlin, holy sh!te!" She exclaimed, looking at the bag. "Congratulations holy cow I'm so freakin' proud of you!" Sav then thought for a moment this was a good chance to ask a favor - however as she was going to she spotted a ring. "What's this?" She inquired, looking at Alana, as if she was already decided that it was not just an innocent piece of jewelry. "It's not a wedding band is it?" Sav had never seen a wedding ring, she didn't exactly know the difference between that and an engagement ring.

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana raised her eyebrows, an amused look on her face as she listened to Saveli. "Good call" she added, finishing the popcorn in her hands and wiping her hands off on her pants. The teenager wasn't sure she'd ever get another tattoo. The first one had been so painful and such a terrible experience.

As Saveli opened the bag, a smug expression crossed the red-eyed girl's face. She laughed. "Thanks" she declared, happy to see that her friend was happy for her. That wasn't always the case with Slytherins who could be jealous and haughty and so many other negative things. That she'd found a few people who actually seemed to care about her wasn't lost on the teenager as she moved closer to her final year in the castle. "What?" she asked, the laughter dying as the word stuck in her throat. She knew what Saveli must have found. She shook her head quickly. "Definitely not. It's an engagement ring" she finished quietly, wondering if she could, whether she should say anything about her plans for next week. Alana couldn't have that information getting out prematurely, but she was desperate to speak with someone about it. "I'm going to... I can't bring myself to wear it yet" she finished, having been about to say something else.

 

[Saveli Pendleton]

Saveli watched Alana's features as she asked about the ring. She'd known that the red-eyed slytherin was with Chaos, engaged for a while even, but she had no idea what kind of relationship they really had. If Saveli found out Chaos was unkind to her friend, well then Azkaban wouldn't seem so bad. The blonde grabbed some popcorn and munched, giving herself a moment to think about what she was going to say. "Alana, remember the first time we like had a full conversation adn I opened up to you about Gabe being a slime ball. Well... if you need to talk to me you can. I'll always be your secret keeper." Saveli reached out and put a hand on her friends shoulder - she meant what she said. Sav didn't have many friends anyways - who would she tell? The Irish girl supposed she'd keep them from Reuben and Viv if needed even. After all, they didn't need to know all about Alana.

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana looked up as she felt Saveli's hand on her shoulder. Her friend's words were comforting, and that was the reassurance she seemingly needed. Alana took a deep breath and then another and then she burst into tears. Quickly, she was apologizing, dabbing at her eyes and feeling embarrassed. It was just so much for a seventeen year old girl. Sure, she was considered an adult to the wizarding world, but sometimes she sure wished that was different. Sometimes, she felt like she still had so very much to learn. "It's just all so overwhelming. I don't even really know Chaos. Is he still the guy who tried to hurt that Gryffindor? Is he the guy who gave me his grandmother's ring? Is he feeling just as confused as I am? He said that he actually likes me so I don't think so, but he barely even knows me. We only spend like a month together a year total. " She let out a bark of a laugh. Now that the dam had broken, she found herself unable to stop. She was still crying too, her words coming out amid the shudder of her shoulders. What would the Zhefaroviches think of her if they saw her like this. "And we're going to get married anyway. Like soon. Because we think it might help stall things since I'll be in school anyway. But what if it's a mistake? We'll be stuck. I'll be stuck, Saveli. I mean it's going to happen anyway, but what if they're mad?" She let out a small moan, realizing just how much she'd revealed to Saveli. Surely, she'd never want to hang out again. "You must think I'm crazy. I'm so sorry to put this all on you. This is supposed to be a fun sleepover, and I've ruined it." Alana used her shirt to wipe her face. "Please don't tell anyone. You can't. I...I can't have everyone know how messed up I am. I'm the Head Girl. I'm supposed to be perfect and have everything figured out."

 

[Saveli Pendleton]

Saveli was shocked when her friend burst into tears and for a moment pulled a face that suggested just how uncomfortable tears made her, however she decided it was best to keep a stone face as she listened to the whole story. Once Alana had finished Saveli sat there for a moment processing everything. What was she supposed to say? "Alana..." She started softly. "No one is perfect, and no one has to be perfect. You are the head girl, which means you're a leader and everyone deserves to see a little human in their leader." Saveli scooted over to the blondes side and put an arm around her shoulder. "You are perfect for your in perfections, not in spite of or not from hiding them. As far as the wedding goes ask yourself, are you happy? Those few weeks you spend with Chaos are they happy? Do you feel natural? Because if you don't then I'll cut your hair, give you contacts, and we'll move to America to start anew." Saveli laughed slightly, before running to fetch some tissues for her. "Here. They're softer than your shirt and hands." Saveli sat back down. "You're a beautiful and intelligent girl, just remember that sometimes your heart is more important than your brain." Saveli was good at giving advice, though wondered why she was so poor at following it.

 

[Alana Finch]

Flooded with embarassment, Alana had half a mind to apparate herself out of Professor Pendleton's, but she knew that she couldn't. At the very least, she owed Saveli an apology. As her fellow Slytherin spoke and passed her some tissues, Alana felt herself calming down slightly. The panic was still there, threatening to blow over, but for the moment she felt in control. "Thanks" she added, glad that she hadn't worn any make-up since it would be all over her face by this point. "You're a good friend, Saveli" Alana smiled through watery eyes, nearly laughing at the thought of the two of them in America, dark hair and roaming around in sunglasses as they attempted to hide from the Zhefaroviches. She knew she couldn't do that, but it was fun to think about for a moment. Alana knew that she'd never involve Saveli in this though. "Can we pretend these last five minutes didn't happen?" she said sheepishly. "Tell me about that guy you were with at your party" she added, a sly smile crossing her face as she crushed the tissue in her hand.

 

[Saveli Pendleton]

Saveli laughed with her friend and shook her head. "Never." She teased, though she'd also never tell anyone. After all she was sure while she could brew a draught to knock Alana out, she was sure Alana could hex her faster and better. Then Alana shocked Saveli. Felix. The blonde felt her face heat up. "Oh, Felix... he uhm. I don't know he and i had some awkward issues. Gabriel told me he'd only wanted to go to the ball with me because I looked easy. I don't know. I just... struggle to feel not awkward around him. We've not really talked since the party. I do.. I mean i have started seeing someone else..." Saveli didn't know if she was ready to open this door, but Alana had opened up to her so she might as well return it. "i actually, now that i know you're head girl had a favor. My boyfriend is another prefect..." She spoke softly. "Uhm I'm seeing Reuben Lagowski. Do you think you could put us together?" Sav would love patrolling with Reuben and though she was sure it would be fun she also knew less work would be done.

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana was pretty sure that she was under control now, though she quickly shook her head at Saveli at the mention of Gabriel. The Slytherin had thought he was a friend at first, but she was glad that he wasn't at the school anymore. The more she'd gotten to know him, the more he came across as a creep. "No, I meant the olde- wait, you went upstairs with Felix?" Alana exclaimed. She had seen Saveli with an older guy and then had lost track of everyone as she'd gotten into an argument with Chaos. Alana knew that Felix had once asked Saveli to the Yule Ball, but it hadn't worked out. As Saveli spoke about seeing someone else, Alana raised an eyebrow, eager to hear the gossip especially since it seemed to involve her helping with a favor. Alana knew the surname easily enough but wasn't sure which one Reuben was. "Is he the Puff or the Gryffindor?" she asked, curious.

As she heard the request, Alana didn't hesitate to nod. "I mean I'll do my best, but Felix will have a say as well. He's a nice enough guy though, so I don't think he'd be like vindictive and try to keep you guys apart if I ask." Felix had always struck Alana as fair and pleasant enough.