Closed Sleepover Surprises

[Alice Holland]

Sleepovers with Ava were nothing new, but Alice was glad to be here. She felt more relaxed than she had at Hogwarts, and it was just nice to have Ava all to herself for a little while. She lightly ran a hand through her hair, still not used to how much shorter it was. After the previous year, Alice had wanted a change. It felt pretty nice, and she liked how it looked too. The girl leaned down to paint her toenails pink, smiling a little. "Thanks for inviting me, Ava... I needed this." She said quietly, glancing up at her friend to give her a smile. "How is your break so far?"

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava was nervous when Alice agreed to come over. "It's... okay." She fidgeted. "Vader is working for EVELYN a lot, which is good." She glanced up at Alice. It had been an easy decision to make when she just needed to convince her dad. But telling all her friends... was torture. She took a breath, turning and catching Alice's hands in hers. "Allie... There's something I gotta tell you," She gave her friend her best smile, though it was shaky.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice was surprised to hear Vader worked for EVELYN now. "Oh, that's amazing for him." She said with a smile. "That's so cool!" She said brightly, feeling happy for Vader. But before she could ask more about this, Ava grabbed her hands and Alice knew something serious was happening. Her smile faltered as the girl said there was something she had to tell her. Alice frowned in confusion. "What... is it?" She asked softly.

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava faltered, swallowing nervously. "Um... you know my dad left when I was really little, and he didn't come back until after my mom died, and that right after he came back I had to go to school?" She tried to explain, dreading actually saying it. "And after school Vader and I are going to get an apartment, we're already saving up for it, but that means I won't have any time to know my dad once school is over either, so..." She bit her lip, scooting closer. "I... I don't want to spend my entire childhood without my dad at all just to move on to trying to be an adult and fitting this strange man into my life so, um, so... I... I won't be coming back to school for sixth year..." She rushed forward, squeezing Alice's hands in her own. "But I'll be back for seventh year and I can write to you every night!" She promised quickly.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice listened as Ava started talking about her dad, nodding slowly. She tried to ignore the sharp stab of jealousy as Ava said she was moving in with Vader after hogwarts. The thought that they had decided this together was surprisingly hurtful, even if she knew deep down that Ava and Vader were closer than she was with either of them. "What?" She asked as Ava said she wouldn't be coming back to school. "How will you learn?" She asked her, shaking her head. "Can't you... can't you just delay moving in with Vader for a year to get to know your dad?" She asked her, pulling her hands back out of Avaria's grasp.

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava bit her lip. "I'm going to be homeschooled," She answered softly, letting her hands fall into her lap and looking away sadly. "I already thought of that," She told her friend. "I just.... don't want to wait until I'm grown up before I get to know my dad." She sighed. "I don't... I don't want to grow up alone and then try to build a relationship with him when we're both adults. Once we graduate we need to learn how to be on our own, how to take care of ourselves. I've been struggling to learn that ever since my mom died, I just... I just want one year to be a kid," She admitted sadly, worried Alice would be even more upset with her.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice frowned, shaking her head. "But your dad works at the ministry, he's super busy right? How will he have time to teach you properly?" She asked her, increasingly desperate to make her see sense. "Who knows how behind you'll be for seventh year!" She said, trying to meet Ava's eye now. "And what about your position as prefect? Don't you realize you're basically throwing that away?" She asked her, her voice wavering a little. "Why do you have to be an adult immediately after you graduate? We'll only be seventeen... you can be with your dad then too." She added quietly. "Don't you care that you're missing out on a year with your friends? With me?" She added sadly.

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava bit her lip, she hadn't expected Alice to be this upset. "He's already taken care of all my schooling, I think he said something about a tutor?" She sighed, scooting a little closer to Alice. "Allie... of course I care, I'm going to really miss you," she looked to Alice with pleading eyes. "I'm scared, Alice. I have to take the chance to know him, now, while I still can. I can't wait for what I want," She bit her lip, looking away. "Mother was sick. I knew she would die, so I was... sorta prepared, but I never expected to lose my grandmother, too. Nothing is guaranteed, I know how quickly you can lose everything,"

She shook her head, reaching for one of Alice's hands. "I've lost my dad before. I've had my entire world taken from me without any warning, I can't... I can't wait until we graduate, because there are no promises he'll still be with me when I do." She tried to explain, looking up to Alice, her blue eyes shimmering with tears. "Staying home is going to be really hard, and I'm going to miss you so much, I love you," She tried to reassure Alice, willing her to understand.