Tag, you're it!

[Tomas Hayes]

Holidays. Usually the best part of being a kid, holidays were times where you could go to theme parks and play on the rides, or they could sleep in and stay in their pyjames and play video games the whole day. You could eat ice-cream for breakfast and popcorn for dinner, because no one really cared, there was no school, no homework, no responsibility. But right now Tommy Hayes was not really liking his holiday. He didn't like travelling long distances, whether it was through apparation or not, he didn't like endless hours of shopping, unless it was a candy store. But this ws not a candy store it was a clothes store. Sure it was a nice clothes store, it was very bright and open, the workers were very polite to him and his father and the clothes was okay, he just did not want to bbe here, no at all. He wanted to run about, to hide in the clothes, maybe do a little bit of dressing up. So what if he was nine? It was just an age, Austiin was nearly thirty and he played kid games, so why shouldn't Tommy be allowed to cause some trouble? It was after all, Austiin's fault for brining him here without giving him the chance to bring his teddy bear, so he had to susuffer the consequences of dragging Tommy to a mysterious country.

When Austiin was busy talking to some lady, Tommy boltedbehind some cclothes, smirking when his father didn't seem to notice, he was often a little preoccupied when he was shopping, which was good, because Tommy was in a very playful mood. He wanted tto pplay, but Austiin wanted to shop, so of course Tommy would act out until he got what he wanted, a play mate, though he didn't want a sibling, but it seemed he might be getting one if Austiin had anything to do with it. But he didn't want another child in the house, he liked being the only child to be with his new family, no one was going to replace him. No one. He cleared his head of such thoughts and looked at the means clothes he was now walking through, they were so big compared to his small frame, he pulled at the shirts and held up the pants, it was funny, some of the pants were so long that even if he stood on hhis toes they were still touching the ground, this gave him an idea. He was going to be a business man for a few minutes, he removed a shirt from its hanger and a jacket too, then out them on, they were very large, but he didn't care, he felt professional and important. This made him smile.

 

[Victoria Chase]

This day could not have been better for Victoria Alice Chase, whose drowsy days were beginning to come into an end. Just this morning, Victoria heard from her parents that Hogwarts New Zealand were already releasing its new graduates, resulting for the remaining students to level up into the next stand. Her brother, a first year Snake would definitely become a second year even though she was sure that he did not do that well in his studies. Victoria herself could not help but just let it go, since that really was the personality of her dearest sibling. Her closest friend that she always held to herself only. Giving him away to a Pure Blood girl was something that she couldn't entirely imagine but that was normal for she was only seven. Victoria closed her eyes at the thought, calming herself to just think about another day of shopping with her beautiful mother. "Mum," Victoria tugged her mother's casual outfit, as a sign of impatience that was beginning to grow rapidly. The store that they were going to was one of those places that the witch loved revisiting, over and over again with her beloved mother. Victoria always admired those perfect clothes that hung on mannequins that she wished were real. The seven year old took a deep breath, before they set off for that special place.

Instantly, she opened her sea green eyes that were tightly shut for quite a short period of time that seemed like hours. Victoria knew this shop to well, because of its superabundance within the racks and clothes that was almost seen everywhere she would go. She immediately ran inside the huge doors that held the shop's entrance and exit to search for some clothes. There were not so many people, especially for today was the time of the year wherein people would go out and venture. The Pure Blood looked at the small rack of things that were totally not her size, but more of her mother's. "Love, is this good?" Her mother asked her in a way that was soft and gentle. Victoria scrutinized every inch of her mother's appearance, who now was wearing a coat made out of animal's skin. "Not nice with your eyes" She mumbled softly, as she shrugged and made it out of her mother's zoning area. Mrs. Chase did not mind the child, since Victoria knew every inch of the store.

The shop was huge, but there were only about eight individuals looking for clothes to wear. The seven year old could not believe this, since purchasing items were fun to do. Her girly personality always made her think of this, even though there were some people who disliked the idea of shopping. She suddenly reached the area where the boy's section were, with suits and long formal pants hung on the racket. Victoria shuffled among them, humming some words disappointment when she found something bad looking. The rack that had the perfect clothes were almost five meters away from her, and she trudged towards it, only to see a boy that was wearing clothes, too big for his size. "Don't you think that's to big for you?" She asked curiously and softly, then coming out of the shadows behind the rack where he probably got the clothes that he wore. The Pure Blood smiled, amused at the sight before her sea green eyes.
​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Tommy didn't quite understand why, but he really liked wiggling his body when wearing the jacket, in such a way that made the arms whip from sidetoside, he did quite like to dress-up, though not quite like a little girl would, he just liked wearing grown up jackets and sometimes ties, he liked ties. Bowties were a favourite too, but he didn't like shoes that did not fit him properly and he didn't like hats either. His smile stopped when he heard a voice, he did not especially like speaking to people, unless he absolutely had to. But since the owner had started off with a question, what could he do? His father would kill him if he was rude and since he was in close proximity to Tommy, he would be aable to hear the girl if she yelled and screamed, which would make him search for Tommy, which would lead to him finding Tommy 'being mean, to a little girl and in the end, Tommy would probably be grounded, which meant absolutely no chocolate or ice-cream. He couldn't bare it, so he decided tto defend his dressing. ''I am not wearing the clothes because they fit, I am wearing them because they are soft.'' He explained, holding out the sleeve of the jacket. He was in a foreign country and his English accent was still quite strong, though it sounded a little more New Zealander now, but it wouldn't kill him to play nice with one kid, a kid that he would never see again.

He sighed slightly, now dressing up was not fun, he wanted to do something else, but what? He frowned, there was one thing he could think of, continue to talk tto the sstrange ggirl. Surely it wouldn't kill him. ''I'm Tommy.'' He said quietly, not exactly used to introducing himself, he usually let other people introduce him. ''So, what are you doing here, if not to play with the clothes?"

 

[Victoria Chase]

Particularly, the problem was the size of the clothes that the boy was wearing. Victoria stepped forward, inspecting him by moving her head to one side as she let her green eyes flow over him. He did not seem bad at all. His looks were fine, his clothes though did not suit him. He had smooth skin and hair that looked almost exactly like hers, except for that hers was pretty darker than his. She surveyed him before she looked at him in the eye again opened her mouth to speak softly just as always. The observant child looked at him with an emotion of nothingness. The words that she thought of being released were quickly held back, since she thought that she would speak first. A good piece of advice is what he needed for his clothing sense. Victoria knew it well and she simply was going to say something about following the correct size of his body frame and build. His skin suited the dark material but seriously, it was too big. A small laugh escaped her lips as she looked at the material before she spoke, this time, ready with her words. "Yeah, I know that feeling. Especially when it's soft and cold." She giggled softly, her green eyes showing that she really was amused with her fellow company that seemed older. Victoria stepped back once again and settled herself beside the rack of the clothes wherein he changed into those loose clothes. She carefully chose her words, making sure that she surely would not offend him. The sight of the boy made her want to laugh, but she bit it back with easiness. Victoria said softly, "Someone might see you in that clothes, you know." It was embarrassing to have someone who you are willing to talk to you wear those kinds of garments, those that are two big for your own good. Victoria bit her lip, hoping that he would agree with her and wouldn't mind her sensitivity towards her statement and request.

"Victoria Chase," She told him as she looked away to inspect the clothes surrounding her. Victoria wrinkled her nose in disgust, perfectly imitating her mother whenever she was not impressed with the pack of clothes that were in front of her. The Pure Blood witch held the fabric in her small fingers, carefully stroking it. It looked and smelled brand new but still, it wasn't her type. Merlin, her clothes were in the other section of the store. It would probably take her two minutes just to get there, including the times wherein she would play within the racks of clothes that would block her way. "Visiting. I come here almost every month with mum." The little girl said it as she turned to face him again, with a bored expression on her face.
​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Tommy smirked slightly. The girl did not seem to know how to dress up, which was odd, most of the little girls Tommy knew loved to dress up in clothes that were far too big for them, sure they were women's clothes, but Tommy was not a girl, he was a boy and so was going to dress up in men's clothes, not women's. Though she might not approve of him dressing upin the middle of a store, and might like dressing up, in the privacy of her own home. He nodded at the girls agreement, though he was curious as to what she was going to say beforehand, but shrugged it off, why should he care what she was going to say? Is wasn't like it was going to be some amazing secret to the universe or anything, so he had no reason to care and no need to ask, he had other things to attend to, like finding a lovely tie to match this jacket and shirt. Sure Tommy was a little boy and rode bicycles and played in mud, but he wasn’t colour-blind, he knew how to mix and match fabrics and colours to make an outfit, he did like to look nice, or at least liked to see how many snazzy suit pieces he could make before the shop workers realised that he was playing with their clothes. It would always be funny, they would rush over and frown at him, then he would tear up. He didn't exactly look nine, sometimes, it he tried hard enough, he could pass as six or seven, so the shop workers would feel guilty and try to make him happy again. Yep, it was good to look younger than you were, you could get away with anything when it came to strange grown-ups. Tommy sighed inwardly and let the jacket and shirt fall to the ground, he then hopped out of the pile and laid them across the ground, the shirt inside the jacket and the pants lying further down from the jacket, like an invisible man was lying on the ground. ''Would you prefer me lay them out like this?'' He asked, deciding that it would be best for his fun metre, if he tried his best not to annoy the girl too much, just in case she started screaming.

Tommy nodded slightly. He didn't need her last name, but she felt the need to give it so he didn't question it. He personally was not one to give out his last name; he did not like people knowing anything more than his first name, if they knew more than that, it made him uncomfortable. But a thought came to Tommy's head, he had no idea why Victoria was in the men's section, he had an excuse, he was with his father, who contrary to popular belief, was a genetic male, as was Tommy, so naturally they went to the men's section to buy clothes. But Tommy could safely assume that Victoria and her mother were both genetically female and so would shop in the female section of the department store. ''May I ask why you’re here, I mean... in this section?'' He clarified, so she would not think that he was asking the same question twice, that would just be downright annoying.
​

 

[Victoria Chase]

The silence that he replied puzzled Victoria, whether he was going to answer back or not. Victoria shrugged it off, as she looked around him and the clothes that were behind him. All were surely not his size, neither were hers for all were for men. Big, grown up men were supposed to be looking this section, not kids that were below the age of thirteen. Victoria knew well, where she was supposed to look for her own clothes in the store. The walls in her section were coloured bright pink for attraction. She loved the feeling when she went there, especially when she spotted something that suited her body frame and eye colour. It was usually her mother who spotted things for her and made her think about it, but it Victoria knew that one day, it would be her choosing the correct garments that would be perfect for her own self. The future, perhaps, was a bright one. Especially considering that she loved fashion, the idea of being someone involved in that type of branch was fun and exciting. "No. Just put them on the chair." Victoria motioned her head to the direction of the peach coloured immobile thing that was laying there, not farther than five meters. As far as she recalled, she never ever wanted anything that was dirtily left on the floor as a sign of disgust. Still, she had manners whenever she did not want the type of clothes when she disregarded them. Victoria knew that it probably was not the same with the boy but she ignored it. "Do you have your mum with you? You seem all alone." She spoke again in a tone of boredom, trying to pick up the courage to speak for herself. The boy's statements and questions were quite stupid and retarded and so a little dialogue would definitely not hurt. Victoria briefly looked around, to see if ever her mother was looking for her. No feminine voice was calling her own name, and so she turned to face the boy again.

The small spot in her mind asked her the exact same thing about why in the world, a female seven year old would come to a place where the grown up men would purchase and browse for new suits and long pants. She perched herself on the chair where she previously told Tommy to put his clothes on. Victoria sighed softly and stated her answer with full honesty, "I don't go to this side of the store all the time. My dad does, and going here would remind me about him." Victoria's voice became more confident as she said this. This time, Arthur Chase, the head of their family was in another business trip, probably spending a small amount of their fortune with the things that he clearly needed to use to manage their business. The father of Victoria was one busy man, and left almost every month for a week to go and socialize with other business men. It was damn, a difficult job that will soon be headed by her sibling. "Wanna play? I'm bored." She asked, a small hope of joy leaping forward and taking her expression by a small grin on her petite features. At first, she really was going to walk away from him, but maybe to play with him was like the best thing to do. It was a nice thing, especially with this boy who she would only meet once or twice. Victoria swung her legs, back and forth as she waited for the boy's answer with a small developing grin on her pink lips.
​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Tommy rolled his eyes slightly, not really caring if the girl saw or not, he was just rolling his eyes, it wasn't too bad. It was a free country and he could do what he liked, within reason, and he was quite sure that rolling of the eyes wasn't illegal or anything. He decided to hang the clothes back up though, since he had grown bored of them. There was no need for them to sit on a chair now, Tommy was most likely never going to touch them again, once he grew bored of something, it no-longer seemed to exist to him, he would never acknowledge its existence. Tommy frowned slightly. 'Mum'. To him it was an evil word that should never be uttered, 'dad' was different, Austiin was dad, or father, but there was no mother figure in Tommy's life now, which meant that at the mention of a mother figure, his brain went straight to his birth mother, a subject Tommy hated and feared with all his being. "No, I am here with my dad." He corrected, looking down slightly at the thought of his mother. How wonderful it must be to do things with ones mother, he had to admit, he was slightly jealous of the small girl that stood in front of him, though it did not show, Tommy was very good at hiding his true emotions, they only ever got him into trouble since he rarely thought positively.

Tommy nodded slightly. Her explaination was not exactly the expected answer, but he shrugged it off. Though her explaination was good, though in all honesty, if this part of the store had of reminded him of Austiin, he would have left since Austiin had been bugging him slightly, and if it had have reminded him of his birth father, he would have ran away as fast of his little legs would carry him, possibly screaming whilst doing it. But this part of the store did not remind him of anyone, he didn't really have a male influence in his life that wore suits on a regular basis, since he lived with two women, and three men that had no interest in suits. Tommy only liked it here because it reminded him of other childrens fathers, the fathers that wore black suits and smart shoes, that smelled like paper and ink and came home after a long day of working to have dinner with their families and talk about their day. A father like that seemed cool to Tommy, who had no such father, not that he wasn't happy with his adoptive father, but it didn't stop the curiousity and want for what he didn't have.

Victoria's next question was shocking to him, never had he been asked to play, not by a child, he did not know many children around his age, sure he had to be a few years older than Victoria, but he played with Speed, who was eighteen and Stephanie, who was eighteen also, and occasionally Austiin, who was twenty seven, so it was strange to be asked to play by someone that was just a few years off his age. It made him smile slightly, though he wasn't sure what they should play, hide and go seek? Tag? He wasn't sure, but he did want to play, just a little bit. "What would you like to play?" He asked, he decided that since Victoria asked, she should choose, surely she had some sort of idea as to what they should play.
​

 

[Victoria Chase]

As usual, the small girl looked away from his direction because of his eye rolling. She was not as shy as other people would think about her. Though some would presume that she really was one observant one which was true. Victoria would also spend her days with her mother or with the company of a book, to entertain herself without anything else bothering her. Being the only child in the manor for an entire school year (excluding breaks) totally sucked with absolutely no playmates. Victoria just hoped that Benjamin did not entirely blow the exams to what she expected. Victoria in the meanwhile, planned to make her own school life the best that it can be. The seven year old leaned forward as she looked at the other clothes nearby, hanging on the racks that were filled with slacks that did not look eye catching. Victoria jumped off the chair and made the boy did his own business. She went to the suits that had different styles and looked among them, and found a beautiful and classy suit, fit for a man that would definitely be her father. She touched its soft fabric with her small fingers. The moment she got distracted was almost the best thing that ever happened to her. Good memories of her with her father flashed back, but was just suddenly interrupted by boy. "Oh? Good thing you have your dad. I'm always with mummy." She told him with her innocent green eyes flashing at him. Her voice was calm as she spoke with her eyes looking at him briefly, before turning back her attention at the garments in front of her. Victoria always had the feeling that the good genes of fashion was given to her when she was still stored in her mother's womb for development. The thought would possibly be funny to other children like her, but Victoria took this as a serious development.

As a reply, Victoria offered him the same nod that he just did with a smirk as she understood his reply. Victoria never seemed to envy those who had perfect families. Her family was not exactly perfect, since her mother and father argued about things that could have affect their business greatly. She was still in a very young age, and things that she heard weren't still understandable to her. The Pure Blood witch settled down her looking at the suits, even though the hangers were a little higher than her. It was only a few inches though, since she could still reach the tip of it. Victoria never thought of keeping the silence and pushed it aside to speak. "Why are you here when everything does not fit you?" Victoria spoke curiously, interested on hearing his answer. If he was going to ask a question, then maybe the same question for him was most likely she would do. The black haired girl looked at him with her green eyes occasionally narrowing slightly. She too cocked her head to the side, to tell him what she wanted to know. Victoria gave way to a person who passed by them, which was undoubtedly a man and smirked when he left. She advanced to him like a snake watching out for any predators. "I hide, then you look for me!" She announced with a playful grin on her lovely features. Victoria watched as Tommy replied and what he was going to say, hoping that he would agree or not. Victoria herself was a good hider and she spoke after he replied to her suggestion. "I'll hide around. Not on the floor upstairs." She told him reassuringly.

Out of Character:

Let's just say this is the store.

​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Tommy nodded slowly, sure it was nice to be out of that dam orphanage, but that didn't make Austiin any less insufferable, but he shrugged it off and decided tto nnot talk about it. He was not going to talk to a strange young girl about his mixed feelings ffor his family, that was just stupid.But her next question is slightly interesting, he didn't really have a reason to be here, unlike Victoria he had no excuse to be here, this section reminded him of no-onewhich which was probably why he same here, to be in a strange place, just for the sake oof being there, though it was strange, Tommy was quite sure it was true, there was no other real explaination, except that he wanted to run around a llittle and get into everything he could get his pale hands on. But he had to say something, so he sshruggeed. ''I don't have a reason tto be here, I just am.'' He explained simply.

Tommy nodded at hher ssuggestion. The store was large aand he knew that it wouldn't be extremely easy to find her if she was any good at hiding that was, but if she was bbad, the sunlight would reveal her lolocation fast. ''Okay, let's begin.'' He announced, turning to on his heel and wwalking towards a wall. ''Get ready.' He said turning around oone last time, before turning back and beginning to count.

 

[Victoria Chase]

Goodness, he stressed her out just for a single answer, and now, he gave her this?! Victoria knew that some people had these kinds of personalities, demanding for an answer even though there were truthful times that her answer was quite peculiar compared to their expectations. Victoria did not really care if ever someone replied to her or not. Nor did she even expect company at all times. The lonely life in the Chase Manor was nothing but a daily thing that Victoria was used too. Even though she had numerous toys and books, they still did not satisfy her want of human interaction. What was more better when she interacted with a person almost as the same age as her? An eleven year old person would just have thought of her as a little pest, and Victoria looked over to the boy again. He wasn't supposed to be eleven wasn't he? Hogwarts still had their exams ongoing and it was impossible for a student to be out of the castle. Regardless, she looked at him blankly, "Okay, whatever." She likewise shrugged her own shoulders as the same fashion as his. Victoria never expected an answer that was truthful nor lying. It was just fun, for a small challenge to be perked up once in a while. Victoria touched the fabric once more, tempted to even run back to her mother and tell her that they should purchase it for Mr. Chase. The idea was ridiculous since Arthur had a lot of suits in his wardrobe. Victoria never learned that it was abundant in choice though. "How are you old you?" Victoria asked him suddenly, before even starting the instruction of the game. She eyed his curly blonde hair that was short, as she drifted to his blue eyes. Blue was really not a nice colour for her, especially with the eyes. What she loved were lavender, emerald green, and hot pink.

Victoria smirked, when Tommy announced that he was ready. Now, she was going to give him a hell of a try, just to look for her. She knew a secluded corner, where only employees came around. Just the second after Tommy turned his back on her, Victoria swept away, blending in the clothes that hung on racks that were soft and smelled good. Her feet carried her fast. Instantly, she remembered the time where she met a boy, named Perseus frost a few days ago. When was that, seven or ten days? It was a long time ago for Victoria since she did not keep up with time. She was fast, but not as strong as males. Her legs brought her to a spot, that was at the middle of the other end of the store. She bit her lip, as she went to a spot that was only for the grown up girls section. Gowns were everywhere, all were stunning and breathtaking. Victoria took her eyes away from them, as she waited if ever Tommy would find her or not.
​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

When Tommy finished counting and turned around, she was gone. He nodded and started to wonder about the store, he couldn't see the small girl anywhere, but an idea hit him. She was a little girl, little girls lliked dolls and pink, while little boys liked blue and dinosaurs. Tommy would be more willing tto go for dinosaurs and bblue, basically the boys section, whether it be the mens, teens or young boys section, he would naturally gravitate towards it, so it was safe to say that Victoria, being a little girl, would gravitate towards pink. First stop: baby clothes section. It was full of girlie things, like baby booties and little baby dresses, it was a ggood guess, surely.

Tommy looked everywhere, he even took a ffew seconds to look in shoe boxes, just in case. But he soon started to realize that she was not here and moved on, to the little girls section. It was all pink, purple and shiny, it was all very bright and girlie, he looked through tthe clothes and checked under chairs, he looked through the shoe section and the aaccessories, there were so many, he frowned slightly and ccontinued to tthe other part, more dresses, it was endless, there were so many pink, white and yellow dresses! They were all about Victoria's size, but it appeared that she was nnot there. He looked around and saw a woman looking at him curiously. He didn't understand the face she pulled, he was only looking through pink, filly dresses and glittery accessories, what was her problem? Tommy rolled his eyesand walked on, to the bigger girls ssection.

This time he saw a lot less pink, but something caught his eyes, he had never seen it before. He read the label. bra since Tommy lived mainly with men, and did not talk to Abby and Stephanie about what clothes they wore, he had no idea what a bra was, only that it appeared to look very sstrange indeed, he shook his head and continued through the store, that strange thing was not going to help him. He looked around and saw some other very strange things. Like the shoes. He looked at what he thought were weird shoes, they sort of looked like sandles, but the flat heel he was expecting, never showed itself, instead it was replaced with a huge' tall heel, it had to be four, maybe five inches! He had never seen abby wear these before, nor Stephanie. He put the strange shoe ddown aand cocontinued on his mission.

He came now to dresses, they were so big and pretty, he had to admit, they looked really magical, they were definately things Stephanie would wear, she liked all the glamourous stuff and that, so did Cameron, but Tommy was sure he would wear any of the dresses. He looked through the dresses and then moved on, he came to a quiet area of the store and tilted his head, this seemed like a good place to hide, he smirked slightly as he saw shoes, shoes that did not bbelong to this section, he walked slowly up to them. ''Boo!" He called, jumping oout. ''I found you.'' He announced happily.

 

[Victoria Chase]

It seemed like ages as Victoria fumbled through the dresses. She bit her lip in anticipation, and went back to her hiding place occasionally when she heard approaching footsteps. All of them were unsuccessful, and Victoria knew that it was going to be a long time for her to be found. Vicky stepped up once again, dusting off the invisible dirt on her attire as she approached a stunning light pink dress. They were like cocktail dresses, though Victoria was not so sure about it. The Pure Blood looked at the back, hoping that her mother was not far away. Sure enough, Isabela Chase was there, not far away from her, looking at various coats for the Winter season. Victoria smiled at the sight of her lovely mother. One day, she wanted to be like her mother. She was almost perfect, except for the weaknesses that her mother possessed. Victoria turned away from the beautiful sight, and went back to her hiding place, sighing as she ran her fingers through various fabrics that she passed. Where was Tommy? Did he get lost? Questions ran through her mind, but all she did was wait in silence as she looked through the dresses. Victoria shushed her thoughts, and silently made her way back to her hiding place to sit and wait.

Unconsciously, she stretched her legs that needed to feel the blood run through her body. Victoria leaned her head on the shelf that had a soft fabric on it, and sighed contentedly. Before she knew it, a voice surprised her so much, that she jumped from her place. "HEY! Where were you? I was going to fall asleep already..." She mumbled, with a small smirk on her features as she looked at Tommy's blue eyes that declared the happiness of his achievement. Victoria always wanted this kind of playing ever since her brother left for Hogwarts New Zealand. Vicky made a little applause for Tommy and before she could even tell him that it was her turn, she asked him her question. "How old are you, Tommy?" She asked him curiously, hoping that he was at least her age even though he surely looked a lot older than her. The seven year old witch frowned in thought as she recalculated, hoping that she was correct. At least eight years old was good, but hopefully not ten years old. Definitely, too old for Victoria. "My turn, my turn!" She said excitedly, and got ready to face her own back at Tommy.
​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Tommy smirked as she repeated hher question. "I turned nine last month.'' He explained, before running off as she turned hher back on him. He did not know that store extremely wwell, so Victoria had an advantage, but that didn't stop him from running around. He looked around the store and somehow ended up in the means section again, he shrugged and wondering through the suits, this would be a great hidden sspot, but he decided he would lelet it past, he moved instead, to the coats. The coats would bebe easy to hide in and ththere were so many oof ththem, it would be difficult to find him. He walked deep into the coats, wiggling through the coats and sitting near the corner oof them, it would be difficult to see him, but he had a feeling that Victoria would manage it, she knew the store very well and kknew all the good hidding spots, most likely.

He sighed slightly, the coats were very fluffy and were annoying hhim, so he quickly ran out and ddecided to find anoything psot to hide. He decided to hide in the other side of the store, nenear the stairs, there wwas a small indent where he could hide, iit was just big enough for him and he slipped in and curled himself up, he made sure hhe wasn't sticking out anywhere and ththen ppatciently waited, he hoped that his dad wouldn't finfind him, that would just ruin the game.

 

[Victoria Chase]

Instantly, Victoria turned downcast. She had been wrong, after all this time. It was like her chances of having a playmate near her age was far away. The only person she knew was Perseus Frost who, in a way, almost made her cry because of her rude attitude. Tommy was a better person after all. Maybe one day, they can play again like this! That would be definitely fun, Victoria thought, as her young face lit up with eagerness and enthusiasm. Victoria nodded to tell him that she understood, trying to hide her disappointment. So, she was almost two years younger than him, wasn't it? Vicky gave him a last downcast look with her big green eyes that sparkled once more with excitement as she bounced of to the wall that was just near them. She counted, up to ten, but her counting was incredibly slow. It took her almost fifteen seconds just to get out of her counting area as she took a step forward, making sure that she would not be surrprised again by Tommy. Victoria knew that he was not there anymore, and she went around the are of the gowns, looking at every side that she knew was there. She knew that she memorized every spot that was in the store, and so she knew where to go whenever someone told her. The game was hide and seek though, so nobody would really tell her where Tommy was hiding. For no reason, she went back to the place where they met and saw nothing, but momentarily caught herself off guard as she heard a shuffle near the are of the coats then after a second, silence once again. Victoria sighed and foresaw that in the future, she never will be good with this game.

As she was walking, Victoria bumped into a woman who had a familiar perfume that was resting on her wonderful build. She looked up, only to see the familiar green eyes that belonged to her mother. "Mummy! Did you see a boy with curly hair go here?" She asked her, smirking to herself inwardly for such a victorious question. Her mother had the answer and truly, this was like the moment of truth to her. "If I'm not mistaken, he went there," Isabela Chase pointed to the direction of the stairs that led to the upper floor. Victoria frowned at her mother and Isabela just stroked her daughter's cheek before returning to her browsing between various designs of coats for the Winter season. Victoria frowned even heavier, knowing that she had clarified the rules earlier. No one should go upstairs and certainly, Tommy would have known that by now. He was older than her! Hesitantly, she approached the area which almost leaded to the second store of the exclusive store. She went to a corner that was very near the hiding place of Tommy, now knowing that he was just behind her. Victoria tapped her foot, looking at the corners that were near Tommy's hiding place. Where was that nine year old?
​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Tommy wondered how long it would take Victoria to find him, he was quite sure she knew her way around the store, it certainly loked like she did, so he was quite sure she woud utilize all her sources to find him. He wouldn't put it past her to ask the other shoppers that she would surely pass. Tommy was a child that could be dificult to forget, especialy since he was zooming around the store st the speed of light. Unti he found this nice little place, though once she found him, it could nver be used again.

Tommy smirked when he saw those little girls shoes. Victoria was right in front oof him, he could see her dress and the back oof heher head come into view, he crept out of his hiding place and tapped her on the shoulder, deciding that it could now be her turn to hide, hiding was not something he enjoyed in particular, it reminded him of times wwhere hhe had to hide for his own safety, they were not memories he wanted to relive often. ''Okay, Victoria, it's your turn to hide.'' He announced, tturning around to the wall and getting ready to find her once she ran off aand hhe ffinished ccounting.

 

[Victoria Chase]

Victoria tugged on her dress to show her impatience on finding the boy. Oh, how she truly did not like looking for her playmate. She was never fond of being the it since it took her almost a quite a long age before she could even spot her the person with her own green eyes. Victoria was not really a good finder, since she was actually impatient but quiet about it anyways. Around her were more coats that had a variety in colour. Victoria stationed herself just next to a soft and white coat, that did not interest her at all. The seven year old scratched her head for a while, to give it a little amount of some dramatic effect. Never did she want to be the It, and this was really bothering her. Hiding was better, since she had a full advantage on where to go, and her legs were fast enough. The people that were around came in and out, but the amount still stayed at the same level. There were approximately an amount of fifteen people by now, that included the ones upstairs. This anyhow, did not ruin their game. Victoria knew that they would not even bother them, and with this thought, she shuffled to her side before she felt a brush of warm fingers on her shoulder and turned to look at her back, hoping that it was not the face of her mother again.

"I'm a loser in finding you, I know." Victoria admitted it even before she got the chance to hear Tommy. After with what she said, she blushed slight pink and bowed her head slightly, just to hide that small forbidden shade that nobody was actually supposed to say. Vicky looked up again at him, now certain that she was fine too look at already. She could not help but grin at his expression, which looked bored with all the hiding. Victoria loved hiding though, and she thought of suggesting that maybe she would be the one to hide for the entire game, but not following the rules would surely spoil the fun. Merlin's pants, she beamed when it was her turn again to hide and looked at those things and jumped into one of the coats and blended herself with those pink things. Victoria just adored pink, and she smiled when she saw them. But after, Vicky ran to the counter that was pretty much faraway.

The counter was quite close to those slacks that men wore whenever they needed to get moving for a business thing. Victoria sighed in memory of her dear father who yet again, went away for another trip. Victoria crouched down below, and grinned, as she lifted her head a bit to see if ever Tommy was there. The counter was pretty near their location, but it was surprisingly not the place where a small girl would hide for a game. Victoria squatted down, and waited in peace as she thought of where Tommy had been just to find her.
​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Tommy laughed inwardly when he saw Victoria's happy face, obviously she liked to hide, it was interesting because Tommy liked to seek. So they were both enjoying certain parts of the game, and disliking the other part, though this did not happen, if there was not a time where they were bored, the game would soon turn boring as a whole and niether would want to play, which meant that Tommy would probably have to return to Austiin, who he could see was shopping for even more clothes, like either of them needed clothes, in fact, everyone in Tommy's house had far too much clothes, everyone had walk-in-wardrobes, courtecy of Cameron, though the spare room was also used a partcial storage for shoes, but that was mainly Stephanie, Cameron and once again, Austiin. Though Tommy liked clothes, he didn't like shopping for them, nor did he liked having to dig through them until he found something he liked, it was a drag.

When he finished counting, he looked around. From experience, he knew that Victoria was probably not in the big girls section, why would she hide in the same place twice? So he set off towards the younger section first, having a quick peek through all the things in there first. Nothing. The problem was, this part of the store, being mainly female orientated, was mostly pink, and what was Victoria wearing? Pink, of course, so if he didn't look carefully, he might miss a clue that could tell him where she was. He passed several people, mostly woman, since he was in the female section of the store. He looked under stands, around columns and above counters. Nothing. He frowned in concentration, where could she be? He had checked the female parts of the store, and he doubted that she would hide in the male section, namingly the young boys with all that blue, it would probably clash too much with her dress for her to allow herself to stay there for too long. He smiled slightly at his thought and decided that he would ask someone if they had seen her. Tommy stood behind a pretty lady that he had never seen before and politely tapped her arm. "Excuse me, have you seen a little girl come here?" He asked, still scanning the store.

"Over there, by that counter." Came the reply and as soon as the woman finished, Tommy nodded and bolted away towards the counter, he looked around, soon realising that it was very close to where they once were, he rolled his eyes and shook his head, he must have walked striaght past her, how could he have missed her? He turned his head and looked around the counter, smiling when he met Victoria's face. "I found you." He announced proudly.

 

[Victoria Chase]

Squatting was more difficult than just sitting down and Victoria's muscles were already strained from all the effort that it was exerting just to lift her up. The cold white wall of the counter supported her back so she was just half exhausted regarding the muscles on her back. Everywhere she saw were coats and her mother was also nearby not even tired of looking for some more clothes to purchase. Victoria did not even look back and waited in a tensed position with her shoulders a little upwards. For several minutes, her small legs would have held her longer enough to wait for Tommy but her waiting was actually longer than she expected. It was too much for Victoria and her weak legs eventually gave up on the pressure that it was holding for to long. "Oooh, better," Hummed the little girl jovially as she sat herself down on the cold floor that made contact with her soft skin. Victoria looked around to see if ever Tommy was already nearby but her request was declined in seeking for that curly haired boy but this did not drown Vicky's high spirits. She giggled, barely audible to anyone around her, and laid her head on the wall of the counter glad that the cashier person was not even minding them.

Victoria smiled when Tommy finally found her and stood up, making sure that Tommy would not see anything that was beneath her lovely layered dress. She dusted of the part of her butt and looked at him, grinning at him in a way that made him knew that Vicky was far too enjoying this game. Victoria knew that it was actually impossible for him to think that she was hiding, stationed near one of the counters that had no customers to serve. "How did you know I was here?" Questioned the witch, with a slight cock of her pretty head. Victoria hoped that it was not the cashier lady who told him that she was there. Dark sea green eyes questioned him, beckoning him to answer with honesty. She awaited his answer, feeling excited about where to look when Tommy would hide. Victoria heard him reply and went on with the game to keep it from stopping. "You hide! I look!" Victoria exclaimed at him, only for him to hear. Tommy was someone that was damn older than her yet this fact did not stop the little girl to search whether she needed the whole day to do it or her whole lifetime.

Out of Character:

Tenileee, you better answer Victoria's question.

​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Out of Character:

Make me

Tommy smiled back at Victoria, maybe other children were not so bad, though he wouldn't want Victoria to be his sister, being a one-time hide-and-seek buddy would be fine, he would probably never see her again, which he had to admit, was a little bit of a shame, but he had to live with disappointment in his life, it was always going to happen and he had to learn that life move on. He then smiled and shook his head, he was not going to tell her, she didn't have to know how he found her, it wouldn't kill her and he was sure that she wouldn't stop at asking people in the store to tell her where he was hiding. Instead, he simply ran away with his little arms infront of his small frame, dodging behind shelves and under coats, he had a feeling that his reaction to Victoria's questions was going to annoy her, but he didn't feel like telling her and he was quite sure she'd see the humour, if not, it was no skin off his nose.

He looked at the little boy section, there was a large, gigantic glass box that was filled with stuffed toys, dinosaur, stuffed toys. He smiled, admittedly, he never liked dinosaurs, but they looked comfy and soft, he looked around, he could see his father nearby, looking at suits and such. He laughed sliightly, Austiin looked so odd in the section, he rarely bought suits, he usually bought jeans and feminine shirts, but not suits. His eyes widened when Austiin turned around and saw him, flashing his son a smile, he turned back around and Tommy sighed with relief and dived into the dinosaur pillows, it was very comfortable in there, in fact, he felt like sleeping.

 

[Victoria Chase]

It took almost a while before Victoria could register that Tommy did not answer her question for the girl was always answered whenever she questioned. She was not a stereotypical girl who just ran away and frowned with bad vibes pumping inside her rib cage. Vicky shoved that little bothering action without even looking at the boy when he ran away from her. The game needed to continue on and she went to the wall and turned her back away from the world. Her mid back hair length swayed as she shifted her weight from foot to foot and counted from one up to thirteen. She stopped at thirteen with no fair reason and just looked around again to see nothing but immobile air that was around her. Her mother, who was not afar, did not even look at her direction. Isabela Chase knew that Vicky was extremely familiar with the shop so leaving her one and only daughter was definitely fine. The Pure Blood looked around and thought of the places that she could even go to just to look for that boy. There were still unexplored places upstairs but mainly it was just an extension for the stock located downstairs. Tentatively, Victoria walked slowly with her index finger just near her lips as she thought of these things.

As she reached the sections that were almost appropriate for her age, Victoria stopped for a moment to admire the things that were perched on the shelves. There were numerous shoes that was in her favorite colour. For a person whose family was always stuck in Slytherin and Ravenclaw, Victoria always admired the colour red. For her, it was just wonderful and pretty. The Pure Blood also liked silver for it was shiny and for her, contained a lot of glitters. "That's so plain." She mumbled quietly to herself and looked at stupidly. Victoria took off her big green eyes and walked absentmindedly in the section of the small boys. She really did not know that she was in there. Her only goal was just to locate where her playmate was hiding. The witch walked past some clerks and even adults who looked at her with affection. Victoria walked to one of the deepest parts of the section, before she can even see that Tommy's body was there and she silently crept up to him. With her outstretched hands, she placed them on his shoulder unexpectedly and giggled. "Found you! Did I take long?" She asked him, hoping that she improved at least even a bit. The fast runner looked at him, eager to hear his answer with her green eyes slightly sparkling with delight with the fact that she found him near the pillows of the baby boys. That was just completely funny.
​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Tommy had to admit, he was quite sleepy, and this massive toy pile was very soft, so sleepable. He yawned slighttly and curled himself up into a little ball. Victoria was no where tto do seen, it had been a few minutes, so he decided tthat a small nap wwouldn't kill him. Besides, Austiin was just a fefew feet away, and knew where he was, ifif they were going to leave, he'd be woken by Austiiñ, ad if Victoria foundfound him, he'd be woken by her, he he did not have to worry about anything, which meant that he couldhave a nap without having to worry about aanything. He yawned once again and closed his eyes, snuggling into the stuffed animals quietly and drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

It felt like he had just closed his eyes when he was awoken by non-oother than Victoria, he smiled slightly, she had done well, she had found him quicker than she had done lastlast time, she was ggetting better, but now Tommy felt like sleeping. Maybe Victoria was sleepy? Maybe they could share this pit of stuff goodness together? That was, until Austiin decided that he had had enough shopping and wanted toto go ssomewhere else, but ththat didn't look too soon, then Tommy shook his headhead at himself, he wanted to continue playing, unless Victoria wanted to do otherwise. ''you did really good, do you want to keep playing?" He asked, starting to make his way out of the large pit of toys.

 

[Victoria Chase]

Just looking at where Tommy was on made Victoria giggle a bit looking down at him as he awoke from his beauty sleep. He looked peaceful with his shoulders hunched down with only rest flowing through his small frame for a nine year old boy. Victoria was smaller though and she had to admit that he had a bigger brain than her own. He definitely was a magical person since the store that they were on only had magical folk in them. Victoria looked at him with her green eyes glinting with surprise. "Oh! Sorry to wake you up. The toys are here are just so cuddly!" Exclaimed the little girl as she looked around the area that they were in. Actually, there were no other people but them in the area. The toys were all for them, that was the meaning! Green eyes took in the sight in front of her before nodding to confirm that what she was seeing was indeed familiar. This was her favorite section before. Long way back when she was still a toddler. Now, she would just stay at the section where shoes are perched on shelves. Those shoes that were coloured red, she was just fond of those things. Such pretty things, as quoted from Victoria. Victoria poked him jokingly with her index finger as she grinned. As far as she knew, the only tooth that was missing right now was the one at the back, so all the teeth in front were good. A toothless grin was never going to happen for the young Pure Blood.

Soundlessly, the little girl managed to position herself next to Tommy and slumped herself just on the wall. Her lips were crammed together as she chewed the bottom lip. Her brain was already overloading with memories, giving her a headache. The energy in her was quite drained and so she sighed contentedly. When Tommy stood up, she remained seated not even planning to move a muscle. But when he talked to her, her green eyes were forced to look at him with the same eagerness but her body was physically beat already. "Let's just stay here. I'm tired of running around." She complained softly and shrugged waiting to see if ever Tommy would insist on or just agree with the dark haired witch. Her green eyes looked down on her own knees that were know settled and outstretched on the floor. It was quite cold, but the cuddly things around them were making her sleepy in the same way that Tommy felt moments ago. As the shop was only for magical beings, Victoria looked at Tommy hesitantly, as if afraid to speak about her own heritage and origin regarding the magic in her. "I wish I can have my own wand already. They're cool." She said monotonously in the air, not caring whether Tommy would reply or not. Her head was beginning to calm down and thinking about wands (which she wanted ever since she was five) made her a little happy again to help her attempt a proper conversation with Tommy.
​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Tommy nodded, Victoria was right, the toys were so soft aand ffluffy, perfect beds. Though he liked his bed back in New Zealand more, though his bed in England was also wonderful, they were both very soft aand always warm, he didn't know how they were warm, but he didn't really care, he liked it. He shook his head. ''Don't worry about it, my dad doesn't like me sleeping so early.'' He said with a shrug. Apparently, if he slept too early, he wouldn't sleep, he just thought that Austiin was being a silly adult, like he always was. Using his age to boss him around and control his life, sure Tommy loved his adoptive father, but sometimes he got on the little nine year olds nerves. ''I agree, the toys are great, I feel like sleeping now'' he said, giggling slightly. He hopped slightly with surprise as Victoria poked him, he was ticklish on his torso, but he didn't like people touching him there because of tthe scars. But he still mmanaged aa smile, the tickling sensation felt funny, he didn't remember the last time he had been tickled, he wasn't sure he ever was... he was glad he could consider Victoria a friend, it was weird, he didn'tt really hhave any friends, he didn't know how to make them, the muggle children at his muggle school annoyed him, a lot. He was just annoyed with their non-magicness, he wasn't racist towards them, he wasn't a pure-blood or anything, but sometimes he wished that he could talk about the amzing things he dad could do, like turn into a horse, that always made him smile.

Tommy smiled and sat down next tto the same girl. He laid down once again and ssettled into thethe toys, so many fluffy toys! They were soso fluffy! ''Okay, let's stay here, I like it here...'' he mused quietly, when he was happy, he was quiet, it was a weird thing, because mmost kids were quite the opposite, but Tommy wasn't like most kids. But Victoria's next statement shocked him. Austiin, when they fifirst met, had explained to Tommy that he was not allowed to talk about his heritage, unless Austiin said he could could. As far as he had known, Victoria was a muggle, he thought that he and his father were in a muggle store, how was he not to know? If they went to magical store, he would see ggiants and goblins and other people waving wands and sucsuch, not 'normal' stuff. But Victoria was seven, so he was sure itit would be qquite all right for him to talk about his want for a wand, wwhat could be the harm? "I can't wait till I have a wand, jjust a few more years...''

 

[Victoria Chase]

The day was so perfect for the young girl and for that, she smiled softly at her choice to go with her mum. Playing hide and seek was one of the things that she’s always wanted to do, ever since Benjamin left for Hogwarts. It seemed like years ever since she has played this game but truthfully, it was only a short period of months. The young girl seemed to get fond of the game every time she would play it with a friend. Her parents were too busy to even accompany her in playing and what was much more to say when she would ask them to play with her? Arthur Chase was a busy man with so many errands to do. Traveling was his duty all the time. Victoria in the other hand spent all her time just wasting it in the Manor with all the luxury going around her. Everything that she wanted was almost in there except for the company of her dearest sibling and father. "Isn't that bad? Mum puts me in bed when it's nine." Victoria said absentmindedly as she stared at the floor before even looking at Tommy with a blank emotion in her green eyes. Victoria never liked the idea of being put in bed at an early time. For her, the fun was always spoiled when it happened. Even at the age of seven, Victoria cries just to stop it. And her mother also carries her sometimes just to bring her to her fuchsia colored room. Her mother was usually cynical with what would happen to Victoria if not put to bed in an early time. "You could sleep. I mean, I'm tired too." Victoria cracked a grin at Tommy as she said this. Looking at him sleep was quite funny just like as she watched her brother sleep. Her small feet were usually quiet as it stepped on anywhere and they were also fast when they ran. Small and fragile but it gave her some pretty awesome advantages.

"Yeah. Wish I could have something like this in the house." Victoria stated quietly as she got one of the stuffed bears that was just near them and fingered its stomach before putting it back in its usual place. She looked around her to notice once more, they were the only ones alone. This place was surely where she loved to take a visit when she was a toddler but now, all of that was gone. Victoria was more interested in shoes nowadays for no particular reason. But behind that, the real reason was because of the colours that it had. It was quite shallow but never mind that anymore. "I still have a long time before I get one. I like how they use it. It's cool." Victoria added, her lips forming into a small smile. Wands were like a wizard’s best friend. They ought to be there all the time.
​

 

[Tomas Hayes]

Tommy laughed. "It isn't bad when you're tired, I hate staying up when I'm super duper tired. But my dad wakes me up all the time..." He explained. Tommy hated being woken up once he got to sleep, he also hated sleeping, that wasn't too great either, but he didn't like feeling tired, so he put up with it and went to sleep anyway. He smiled. "My bed time is ten thirty, if I'm up at any time after, than he yells at me..." He added, a frown growing on his little face this time at memory of last night when he managed to stay up until twelve. Austiin was more than furious, he was pratically foaming at the mouth, he was so angry that he nearly grounded Tommy, but when Tommy started to cry, he got off without any punishment, like he always did. That was the great thing about having Austiin as a father, he was easily manipulated because he was so kind-hearted and easily manipulated, it was simple for the nine year old to get away with anything and everything. He smiled at her, once again. "You don't mind?" He asked, wondering why she wouldn't mind if he just randomly fell asleep during their conversation.

He nodded, he had a lot of toys and a large bed that reminded him of this, but he wouldn't mind having this in his bedroom, it would be tons of fun. "I wish that too, it would be lots and lots of fun..." He said quietly, letting out a big yawn and stretching, he was starting to grow very tired, as did Victoria, she didn't look very bright eyed and bushy tailed, so it must have been contagious. He laughed slightly, he only had two years to wait, but Victoria had about four to wait until she got a wand. Poor her. "I'm just glad I need to wait two years, It's only two and I guess I can wait that long." He said with a small shrug, two years wasn't that long, though in all honesty, he would have wanted it sooner than later. "I think we should get wands at eight or something..." He added.