Open Sunshine and Stormclouds

[Teddy Pirrip]

Open after Sarah posts with @Lucy Montague

Teddy woke up this morning feeling inexplicably fantastic. Running his fingers through his hair, he noticed his hair had settled into perfect tousled waves without any effort. Grinning at his reflection, he grabbed his robes and made his way down to breakfast. On the way, every staircase along the way aligned perfectly, creating a smooth and uninterrupted descent to the Great Hall.

As he approached the Gryffindor table, his attention was drawn to the Ravenclaw table where Lucy sat, looking not quite herself. Deciding she might need a bit of cheering up, Teddy veered off course and headed her way instead. "Morning, Lucy!" he said brightly, sliding into the bench across from her and hoping to share some of his cheeriness. "You okay? You look a bit..." He trailed off as didn't quite have the right words to describe how she looked.

 

[Lucy Montague]

Lucy was far from her best self. Usually she could put up a front, give people the Lucy she knew they wanted. But not today. It felt like everything had caught up with her, from the very moment she had woken up. Probably just a bad day, she tried to tell herself as she got ready. But it hung heavier on her than usual, almost like a physical weight in her chest pulling her down. She had to shake this off, she thought. People didn't want sad Lucy. They wanted happy, go-lucky Lucy. She knew this.

She managed to make it to the Ravenclaw table without much hassle. No one bothered her, or asked what was wrong (god forbid). If everything could continue that way -

Lucy was jolted from her thoughts when Teddy greeted her, looking perfectly happy. She wasn't a resentful person, but she resented him in that moment. She tried to perk up, giving him a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. "I'm fine," she said, a little tersely. "Just...not having the best day." She hoped he'd leave it there. She really, really did.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy, oblivious to the depth of Lucy's struggle, started picking a couple of slices of toast from the offering in front of him and leaned in with his usual enthusiasm. "It's just a bad day, not a bad life. Right?" he said, his voice full of misplaced cheer as he spread butter on the toast. "Everyone has days like this. Just think about something that makes you happy."

He smiled broadly, clearly thinking he'd just offered the perfect pep talk this morning. He filled the toast with bacon and ketchup and took a huge bite, then added with his mouth full of bacon, "Like, imagine Quidditch. That always perks me up."

 

[Lucy Montague]

Lucy watched Teddy, half-wishing he'd be quiet, half-wishing he'd just go away. No, she liked Teddy, she shouldn't think like that. But she couldn't help it. His relentless cheer wasn't infectious, it was irritating. "I suppose," she said non-committally, but felt a stab of annoyance at the idea of just think of something happy. Like that was going to make a difference. Her hand clenched under the table. "I'm glad that works for you," she said somewhat stiffly. "But maybe that doesn't quite work for everyone." She was trying to be polite.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy noticed that Lucy wasn’t her usual bubbly self but otherwise she seemed polite enough that he didn't feel unwelcome or as if he should slip back to the Gryffindor table any time soon. She appeared no different from the other times he'd found her glum and managed to cheer her up, and he was confident that he could do it again. He didn't immediately reply to her while he chewing his bacon sandwich and plotting his next move. Then he asked, "What's the matter anyway? Have you and Audrey had a fight?" That would explain her absence this morning and Lucy's bad mood.

 

[Lucy Montague]

Lucy sighed, deflating slightly. "No, Audrey and I aren't fighting," she said in a somewhat snappish tone. "Not that it's any of your business if we were," she added lowly, almost too low to be heard. She hadn't meant to say that - it had just come out. She didn't quite regret it either. Lucy was finding Teddy's company irksome and was starting to actively wonder the best way to get rid of him - consequences be damned. It was a dangerous way to think but Lucy was approaching her wit's end. It was just a bad day - she thought to herself, trying to calm herself - and she'd get through it. But it didn't feel like it.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy dropped his sandwich and raised his hands in surrender, a smirk playing on his lips, "Okay, I get it, I know why you're cranky. And you're right, it is none of my business so say no more." he said with an exaggerated wink, thinking he had it all figured out. Teddy had learned that sometimes girls were moody for no apparent reason, and he'd heard it had something to do with the time of the month. Though he didn't fully understand it, he found comfort in attributing their moodiness to this mysterious phenomenon that he wasn't to blame for. He gave her a knowing nod, as if now that he understood the problem then returned to his sandwich.

 

[Lucy Montague]

Now Lucy was confused. Irritated, but confused. "What do you mean you 'get it'?" she questioned, sounding suspicious. He couldn't possibly know what was bothering her. She hadn't told anyone, so it sounded like maybe he was making some sort of assumption but as to what Lucy couldn't quite connect the dots. She'd never been good at reading between the lines. She probably should have left it, seeing as he was now backing off, but she couldn't help herself. Curiosity was in her nature. "Just what are you implying?"

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy had a sinking feeling in his stomach as he started to explain what he meant, "You know, I just meant people have off days, right? Like, maybe it’s that time of the month or something.” As soon as the words tumbled out, he wanted to rewind time, or better yet, stop talking. But instead, he found himself digging deeper. “I mean, not that I’m saying that’s definitely it! It’s just if it was, well, you know, no big deal." His voice trailed off as he realised how hopelessly tangled he was in his own awkward chat. He tried to muster a casual shrug, but it came out more like a flinch. "I should go back to the Gryffindor table, shouldn't I?" Teddy pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, towards the Gryffindor table, praying that Lucy would either laugh it off or better yet, forget this conversation ever happened.