Taking a Chill Pill

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver smiled and felt the sun's warm rays wash over him, instantly feeling free of all his cares. His gaze was trained upwards at the sky, which was as clear and blue that day as the Hufflepuff's eyes. He knew it was a good idea to come out here to get a breather from his studies, and the boy who was normally unable to stay still for long, simply sat there on the grass.

It was just so peaceful and serene, and Oliver watched as the breeze slightly rippled the surface of the lake. He hadn't many worries about the upcoming exams, but the amount of studying necessary prior to taking them was boring and exhausting. This was just the remedy for that situation, and within a few moments the boy's eyelids began to close, his lips still frozen in a pleasant smile.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire knew she should have gone back to the dorm, but she didn't feel like being around that many people right now. Everyone was busy studying for exams, and it had kept her up and busy. Her feet dragged and her eyelids dropped dangerously as she wondered, unaware of where she was going.

It wasn't until she heard the soft sound of water that she looked up. Huh, the lake. She seemed to wonder here a lot. Her eyes moved slowly over the scene, stopping on a still figure in the grass.

It took her tired mind a minute to comprehend there was a person, and a moment longer to figure out who it was. Once she recognized him however, she shuffled over to the Hufflepuff. She didn't bother talking, she was too tired for that.

Within moments she had reached the boy and plopped down next to him. She put her head in his lap and curled up in a ball, too tired to say anything. He would notice her eventually and she didn't think he would kick.

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver lazily fluttered his eyes open at the sound of someone rustling the grass next to him, and he looked up in time to see a groggy looking Sapphire drop her head into his lap. He blinked in confusion, thinking he was stuck in a daydream before realizing it felt all too real, and he looked down at the Slytherin as she curled up. The Hufflepuff had to bite his tongue from saying anything. All he wanted to do was chatter and catch up with her, ask her what was up, but she looked so tired and peaceful.

Once his surprise had faded, the boy smiled warmly and let his hand fall to rest gently on her shoulder, his eyes following the dark swirls of her hair. "Afternoon, Sleepyhead." Oliver finally greeted, his voice a little above a whisper, not wanting to disturb her. He didn't want to tell her in case she took it the wrong way, but all curled up like she was reminded him of how Rocky would sometimes lay in his lap, and he couldn't help but be amused at the thought.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph didn't even have the energy to jump when Oliver put his hand on her shoulder. She had to admit that it felt nice, at least to herself. Sne snuggled into his lap and had started to drift off when he greeted her softly. She groaned a bit in response, and after a moment replied "I hate exams," She yawned.

"Everyone starts acting like they've never seen a book before in their lives and it's stupid." She grumbled. "And most people stay in dorms I can't go in to study. What are you doing out here?" She asked groggily. It really had been a surprise to see him, she just didn't have the energy to act on it.

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver smirked as his friend declared her dislike for exams before yawning. She did look rather tired, he thought, surprised to see her feeling anything other than ready for mischief. At Sapphire's next statement he chuckled, looking down with an amused look on his face. "I thought I was the only one who noticed that." He replied.

"You could say that I'm procrastinating." The Hufflepuff added, answering her question. Oliver grinned impishly at this before stretching his arms out above his head, yawning as she had done mere moments ago. "I wasn't that tired before, but you're contagious." He teased, looking back towards the Slytherin.
He wondered what it was like to have such long hair, as he noticed it up close. It reminded him of licorice it was so dark.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph was surprised with how comfortable she was. Did this count as cuddling? If it was then she liked cuddling. She listened to his answer, and managed a sleepy "I have a harder time studying than other kids. Everyone else, they read a few chapters, go over their notes. Simple. Me? I get through maybe two paragraphs and think of three questions, then I have to answer those so I go through a few more books to find the answers to that, then it happens again and again. It's like taking an extra class," She griped, rubbing her eyes.

Oliver then told her she was contagious. She groaned a bit and pushed herself up. "Fine," She pouted, flopping back the other way, arms above her head. She laid there a moment before water lapped at her outstretched fingers. She pulled her hands back, surprised at the cold.

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver never would have imagined Sapphire would be stressing over her studies, and he suppressed a wince when she likened it to taking an extra class. No wonder she looked so groggy, and the Hufflepuff didn't enjoy seeing her worried. "You know I'm no Ravenclaw, but I'd be glad to look over your work if you want." Oliver responded, smiling softly. He never really took his studies seriously, but he'd always somehow got by with good scores.

The boy regretted his tease when the Slytherin moved. It felt oddly lonely without her curled up near him even though she was still close by, and he was unusually quiet for a moment. "So. Did you hear about the Yule Ball?" Oliver asked after awhile, his normally confident grin looking almost nervous.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph wasn't sure if she should thank Oliver for offering to help her with her studies or groan at the thought of studying more. Her tired mind went with the latter. There was a soft silence for a bit, and the water lapping gently at her fingers was giving her an idea.

Before she could act on it, though, Oliver asked her if she'd heard about the Yule Ball. She opened an eye to peak at him, and noticed he looked... Nervous, for some reason.

"It's like a school dance or something isn't it?"

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver nodded his head at Sapphire's response, trying to work himself up. He normally didn't have to do anything of the sort when talking to people, so the Hufflepuff wondered why he felt this way. "Exactly. That's, yep, the something thing that it is." Oliver replied with another oddly nervous smile, wanting to slap himself when he heard how jumbled the words came out. He suppressed a sigh, passing up the opportunity to ask the Slytherin if she wanted to attend with him. The boy had never felt this awkward, and he wished the feeling would leave and never come back.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph snickered a little at Oliver's jumbled response. He was definitely just as tired as she was, and she had a feeling that she could fix it and figure out what he had meant to say instead. She rolled so that she was on her belly, facing the water.

"Hey," she muttered groggily. "Help me up. I don't think I can stand by myself." She didn't have to try to look tired to cover her ulterior motives, since it was her dominant emotion right now anyways.

She waited patiently for Oliver to get up and come over to her.

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver felt his cheeks warm up at Sapphire's snicker, and he momentarily looked towards the sky. The Hufflepuff opened his mouth to speak, but lost what he was about to say when he heard the Slytherin ask for help getting up. That was unlike Sapphire, and he eyed her suspiciously before remembering how tired she was.

Oliver walked her way, cheerfully extending an arm out to her. It made the young boy almost proud that she was actually asking for his help, and he smiled warmly at her. "You really must be tired." He stated, ignoring how closely they were to the water.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph yawned unintentionally, almost proving Oliver's point. She grabbed his hand and pulled herself up, flashing him a soft half smile as she stood. "Yeah, it's okay, but I know how to fix it." Before he could respond she grabbed his arm and pushed them both into the water. It was shallow, but still enough to briefly submerge her face.

She sat up, invigorated. "Whoo! That's cold!" She shook her hair and stood, pushing the wet locks out of her eyes. She turned to the Hufflepuff next to her, extending a hand. "That sure gets the blood pumping, huh?"

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver went frigid as his body met the water unexpectedly, and the color seemed to drain from his face, which was in an unusual, unreadable expression before it dipped into the lake. The Hufflepuff shot up, sputtering and coughing after having accidentally inhaled the water into his lungs. The boy didn't even hear Sapphire's comments as he staggered his way back to the grass, his eyes wide with fear.

Falling back onto the ground, Oliver wriggled his hooded jacket off, and ran his hands through his dripping hair, unable to look the Slytherin in the eye. He felt so weak in the moment, and he was angry with himself for letting her see his react that way. Ever since he'd fallen into river rapids on a family vacation and nearly been swept away to his death, the Hufflepuff had always been afraid of being submerged into water. He knew it was stupid, but that made him feel even worse right now.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph's eyes went wide as Oliver scurried past her and back to the shore. He was obviously afraid, and ice shot through her veins at the sight of it. She clenched her fists as fury washed through her. You bloody idiot.

She bit her lip and sloshed quickly to the shore. She stopped by Oliver a moment, torn. She desperately wanted to make sure he was alright, but after a few painful seconds, she swept past him.

Arms crossed across her chest to keep her hands from shaking, she straightened her spine and walked pridefully back to the castle.

She went straight to the Slytherin dorms and crawled into her bed, half soaked. She shut the curtains before crumpling onto her pillow. Hot, silent tears streaked her face. The old hags right... She thought miserably. I'm a danger to everyone.

 

[Oliver Foy]

Oliver felt his stomach lurch as Sapphire passed him by and the boy turned his head, a look of pure hurt on his face as he watched the Slytherin's back moving away from where he slumped. The Hufflepuff balled his fists up, and his eyes almost grew misty before he blinked furiously. She'd been the only real friend he had, and he'd gone and ruined it all.

His head wouldn't stop replaying her striding off over and over again, and he jumped to his feet, wanting to run after her and apologize. Oliver didn't know if Sapphire would ever want to see his face again, and he sighed, hating himself for being this pathetic. Eventually, the Hufflepuff began a slow trudge up the hill, hoping to change out of his soaking clothes, not knowing what else to do or think.