Street Spirit

[Archie Renner]

When paired with a skateboard and an inability to stay in one place for too long, Brightstone was a very confusing place for Archie. He often avoided visiting the town like he would the plague or anything related to academia because every single time he had left the castle on an adventure to Brightstone he found himself lost and especially so without Brock to hold his hand around the maze of cobblestone streets lined with seemingly identical shops and restaurants. Archie had no patience to read the signs and find his bearings; he never did. That task was always left up to Brock while Archie ignored all the signs that weren't labelled with the name 'Honeydukes' so he could revel in his excitement for a sickly-sweet treat to satisfy his sweet tooth and complete his day.

Even now, without Orwell by his side, Archie still could not gather enough patience to pay attention to the signs that did not promise him something delicious. So he instead spent his time skateboarding around the town with a rainbow swirl lollipop in his mouth and a small bag of pick n' mix in his pocket saved for later which he promised to share with Brock as a pre-dinner snack while they retold the events of their days to each other in the most excited of fashions. The bumpy stones of the street were a challenge for Archie to navigate along. Smooth, concrete roads or castle floors were what he was used to when skateboarding at home or within the Hogwarts walls, and the roughness of the Brightstone streets was unfamiliar although welcomed because Archie was never one to refuse a challenge, not with his housemates or even with himself so as he skateboarded along the street he began swerving intentionally. Dodging between people walking along the street and enjoying the fact that he hadn't yet wiped out or even stumbled, his ego inflating and his skating growing to be more ambitious as he continued. Ambitious to the point where he began speeding around corners while failing to look ahead for anyone in his way. Too caught up in his inflated ego and his ever increasing speed, Archie failed to realize he had crashed into someone until his lollipop had flown out of his mouth and his body hit the ground in a resounding thud. "Ooof!" He exclaimed as his body made impact with the street.
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[Kei Kanas-Arai]

Today was different than the other days that a young boy managed to get away from his parents. Kei Arai flooed to a place that he heard about by some people in the neighborhood. Brightstone Village. It was close to a school in New Zealand, and he was desperate to get away from his own place for a while. All these doctor visits when he wasn't even sick was beyond ridiculous. Currently, Kei wore a black tank top with a band that he appreciated back in the magical world of Japan, with a pair of baggy white pants. In his bag, he packed some snacks, his roller-blades, and some clothing. It would only be a matter of time before Kentaro or Ichiro would have to bring him back, so he might as well have a little fun. Kei found a bench, where he slipped his shoes off and put his blades on. He stuffed his shoes into his bag, and tossed the heavy load over his back. His straight, lilac hair moved ever so slightly in the breeze, which he welcomed with open arms. If it was something normal that Kei did, it was try to dye his hair many different colors to render himself basically unfamiliar, but his family seemed to be able to locate him no matter what. He even got his lip pierced, and nose, without their permission, but they did not boot him out of the house like he had hoped. Just two more years and he would be able to escape. He planned to take his younger siblings with him, so they don't endure the same hell that he did.

Standing up, the home schooled kid started to skate down the cobblestone. 'This place is really nice,' thought Kei as he looked toward the shops. This place must have done business well due to the location. He noticed that there were some kids his age present, and he wondered if he came at a good time. He bladed into the ice cream store (and proceeded to be told to take off his blades, which he swiftly replaced with his shoes). He walked out with an ice cream in his hand. He rarely got treats like this, so he had to savor it. However, before he could even taste the delightful treat, he felt a body crash into him, which caused Kei to stumble and hit the ground. His bag managed to cushion his fall, for the most part. However, his ice cream was on the ground, covered in dirt. Moving his hair out of his eyes, he noticed who managed to hit him with that impact. Breathing a sigh of relief when the person was not someone he recognized. "You okay?" asked Kei.​

 

[Archie Renner]

Archie groaned and rubbed his forehead with his hand as he turned his body to face the sky. "I'm okay." He said in response to the unfamiliar voice. He was no stranger to wiping out. In fact, he had fallen off his skateboard countless times in the past and had walked off the fall without hesitating. Most, if not all of the time Archie immediately picked himself up from the ground and continued skating like nothing had happened because he knew falling was part of the learning process and he could not improve without falling face first into the ground enough to learn never to be so clumsy ever again. However this particular wipe out, on this particular day had given Archie a sense of dread that kept him from standing up all because the person he had crashed into could have been anyone. Although the momentary flash of lilac hair Archie caught in the corner of his eye might have been Brock and it might have been pointless to worry over something he knew he would be forgiven for, the Gryffindor knew his best friend was too busy to follow him to brightstone today and it would be impossible for him to leave the castle and join Archie on his quest for sweet treats in spite of the amount of nagging Archie had given him prior to leaving with his skateboard in tow.

He waited for another moment before mustering the courage to stand, checking that the bag of pick n' mix in his pocket had not been destroyed and later glancing towards the cobblestones for the rainbow swirl lollipop that went missing from his mouth before he moved his eyes towards the stranger he had crashed into. They definitely weren't Brock, he realized. Archie continued to rub his face with his hand, trying to make sense of what happened because the fall still definitely passed as a shock while also trying to think of what to say to the lilac-haired stranger he had bulldozed over with his skateboard. He glanced towards the ground again in search of his lollipop, instead noticing an ice cream covered in dirt which could only belong to the lilac haired boy he was standing near. "Uh. Sorry?" He queried to himself, failing to notice he had said the words aloud until he made eye contact with the stranger a second time and he realized he needed to apologize. If not for crashing into him, for the ruined ice cream on the ground. "Oh crap. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your ice cream, honest! I was skating so fast I didn't have control!" Archie pleaded.​

 

[Kei Kanas-Arai]

Kei heard that the boy was okay. He breathed a sigh of relief, before he slowly stood to his feet. That really knocked the wind out of him. Who would have thought that Kei would be crashing to his feet within an hour of being in this village. Dusting off his shoulders, the teenager slowly stood to his feet. He dusted off his outfit as well. Well, this was just embarrassing. At least from this angle he got a good look at the boy. He looked to be Kei's age. As long as he was not any of his brothers that sought after him every time he attempted to run away, that would suit him just fine. The Japanese orient brushed his long hair behind his ears so that he could see clearly. This might be a student from one of the schools that was here. Hogwarts, wasn't it? New Zealand. He knew that he definitely was not in Scotland. The accents there, he barely understood without having them repeat themselves five or six times. The boy apologized, which Kei reached around and rubbed his neck, "It is no trouble." Kei sounded as sincere as he could possible.

Swiftly, Kei bent down and picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder. This was going to be his way out one way or another. Not bumping into the boy, but just the thought of running away. Wait, why was he still thinking about that when he managed to knock someone on their butt? Kei looked down at the ice cream that the boy was apologizing for. The boy proclaimed that he was skating so fast, he did not have control. Kei's interest peaked when he mentioned skating. But to his disappointment, he looked at the skateboard and not what Kei did when he skated. Perhaps bladed was the better word. "Really, it isn't a big deal. People can get ice cream all the time, right?" Kei shrugged his shoulders, before a smile finally touched his lips. Sure, it was rare for him, but that was because he could never get out of the house. And now that he was out, he could just go inside and get another. Deciding that maybe things would be less awkward if he at least said his name. "I am Arai, Kei Arai. I would suggest that you practice stopping from now on. My blades have brakes on them so, you should think about applying brakes to your board."​

 

[Archie Renner]

Archie bit his lip as he moved his eyes back towards the dirt covered ice cream on the ground. Knowing the ice cream belonged to the other boy only worsened Archie's sense of dread because he had not only crashed into a complete stranger, halting their plans for the day, but he had also essentially wasted the money they spent buying the ice cream in the first place. "But it is my trouble." Archie whispered to himself. If he had crashed into anybody else, an adult or one of his peers from school he would have apologized and gone alone with his day, brushing the crash off like it was nothing but for reasons he could not decipher, Archie felt obliged to make it up to the lilac haired boy. He shook his head as the other boy spoke, claiming that the ice cream wasn't a big deal but it did nothing to change Archie's mind. "But, ice cream is delicious! It would be a shame for me not to make it up to you." He said, attempting to get his point across while also attempting to sound nonchalant about the whole ordeal. The feeling of dread was still taking over his mind and he hoped paying this person back would cause the feeling to go away.

Archie moved his gaze back towards the other boy, relieved to notice a small smile on their lips instead of any signs of aggression he expected to see. If things were the other way around and Archie had been the one to lose his precious ice cream he would be doing anything but smiling. He immediately began to relax and act like his regular, playful self at the sight of Kei's smile and quickly matched it with a wider one of his own, not hesitating to introduce himself back to the boy. "Nice to meet ya, Kei. I'm Archie." He bent down to pick his skateboard from the ground and held it under his arm. "What's the point of adding breaks to my board if I get to buy ice cream for cute boys every time I crash?" He asked playfully, the question slipping off of his tongue with ease now that he had begun to feel more confident. "It's the least I could do after ruining the ice cream you bought." He shrugged, explaining himself. Hoping Kei would accept his offer instead of rejecting it so he could play the crash off and pretend like it never happened.

so glad that the holiday forums are open again! & this is rubbish i'm so sorry​

 

[Kei Kanas-Arai]

Kei looked up at the boy when he said that it was his trouble. It might have been a whisper, but Kei could hear it. Perhaps he did not want Kei to hear it so, he pretended that he didn't. He brushed his blue hair behind his ear and smiled a little bit. This boy had a way of making him smile a little bit, but maybe that was because he had no other choice but to. He was not used to talking to others that were outside his group. Outside of his family. His one best friend was Tamsin, and he was thankful for her. But, making new friends were normally out of the question. 'Maybe I need to think more like Rei,' thought Kei as he decided to stick around for a moment or two. Kei heard him say that it would be a shame not to make it up to him. Kei forced a smile on his lips, and murmured, "I suppose so." He was never this awkward around people, but somehow, this was making him a little uncomfortable. But his name was Archie, and Kei watched him bend down to get the skateboard up. From his next comment, there was no mistaking it. This boy was definitely into boys. Kei did not have a problem with that at all. Smiling lightly, Kei replied, "Pleasure it all mine, actually. But, since you are insisting, we can talk or something over ice cream inside." Kei held the door open for them, to the ice cream parlor.

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Fin​

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