Closed Taking the High Road, But I Might Need To Go Low

[Celia Vu]

Celia had a theory: Louis Alcott was avoiding her. Outside of classes, she had barely seen him since the Dueling Tournament, which was strange because he was usually the one badgering her to hang out. The sudden change in behavior bothered Celia, not because she wanted to spend more time with the arrogant Gryffindor, but because people simply didn't cut her out of their lives. She cut people out of her life. And it annoyed her that Louis had taken that choice away from her.

It didn't take a genius to guess why he might be avoiding her. Louis was probably upset that she'd beaten him in their duel. If that was indeed the case, well, Celia couldn't say she thought much of his wounded pride. After all, she had still agreed to spend time with him last year, even after getting disqualified from their first duel. Celia knew she could be a bitter person, but it was rare that she met someone more bitter than her.

Of course, this was all just a theory, one that Celia realized she could test when she saw Louis in the Student Lounge. As nonchalantly as she could, she took a seat in an armchair across from him. "Hey Louis," she said, pretending as if it was completely normal for her to not only approach him, but also to greet him without a trace of sarcasm. She started to rummage through her bag though she kept watch out of the corner of her eye for his reaction.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis was determined to make the fourth year his year. He was going to do it all. Become a Quidditch star, be popular and well-liked, kiss at least two new people, and get loads of friends and admirers. He had already taken the first step by becoming part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, finally, and was pretty sure all the other things wouldn't be far behind.

He felt pretty confident as he headed into the student lounge, looking around before sitting by himself. He had a bouncy ball in his pocket and entertained himself for a moment by bouncing it off the table so it would come right back to him, then catching it again. He lost his focus when someone spoke to him, and the ball rolled under the armchair he was sitting in instead. He frowned slightly as he looked up, his frown deepening momentarily when he saw who it was. Then he forced a quick smile. "Oh, hey." He said, attempting a casual tone. He had been avoiding Celia ever since she had beaten him at the duel, it made her a lot less fun to be around in his opinion. "How are you doing?" He asked lightly, not quite meeting her eyes.

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia did not miss the way Louis frowned at her. It was a strange reversal in their roles since usually she was the one frowning at him. She pretended not to notice, however, as he plastered on a smile. To her surprise, he didn't immediately try to leave, instead asking her question. "I'm good," she said politely as she continued to dig through her bag. Her fingers brushed over a book on dueling strategy, and Celia considered pulling it out and making a quip about the tournament. But Louis had been gracious enough not to rub his win in her face last year, and she could extend the same courtesy to him. For now.

So instead Celia pulled out her tarot deck and pretended to be absorbed in rifling through the cards. "Well, I'm not really looking forward to classes starting again," she corrected herself. "But..." she trailed off and gave a shrug. There wasn't a whole lot she could do about that, though not for lack of trying on her part. "How are you?" She looked up, silently noting the way he seemed to be avoiding eye contact. Celia was tempted to ask outright if he had been avoiding her, but she didn't want to accuse him of that until she was sure of it. And to Louis' credit, he was still here.

((I'm sorry for taking forever with this))

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Now it's me taking forever sorry!!

Louis glanced at Celia warily as she spoke politely. He wasn't sure what to make of this, it felt strange and uncomfortable. He raised his eyebrows slightly at the tarot deck the girl pulled out. "You're into that stuff?" He asked skeptically. He hadn't thought she was the type for divination stuff. He shrugged. "I'm also not looking forward to classes." He said with a shrug. "But I'm like, good otherwise." He hesitated. "Just, busy." He muttered evasively. "You know. Quidditch and stuff." He shrugged again, looking away as he desperately tried to think of an excuse to leave.

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia glanced up, arching an eyebrow at Louis' skepticism. "Who wouldn't want to know their future?" She knew there were some people who didn't believe in divination, but as someone who obsessed over her own future, Celia didn't see any downside in studying the art just in case she did manage to see something useful. The potential rewards were too great.

She listened, unimpressed, as Louis started to hem and haw. "Right," Celia said, a little more dryly than she'd intended. "You've been 'busy.'" Actually, she believed it. He probably had been busy avoiding her. The mention of Quidditch was surprising, and her hands stilled, letting the cards fall into a neat pile. "Wait, did you make the team?" Celia didn't really pay attention to the other teams, other than to keep track of their beaters and seekers — the positions that actually mattered. She assumed that meant he was either a chaser, keeper, or an alternate. As Louis glanced around the room, looking at everything except her, Celia couldn't help but smile, enjoying his obvious discomfort. "Looking for someone?" she asked innocently.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

((and me again, sorry!))


Louis snorted at Celia's words. "C'mon, you don't think you'll really learn how to see the future, right?" He asked her skeptically. "It's all vague stuff that can mean anything." He winced a bit when Celia pointedly repeated that he had been busy, it was clear that she didn't buy it. He perked up slightly when Celia mentioned the team, though he was a little offended she didn't already know. "Yeah, I did. Starting position." He said quickly, before remembering he was trying to leave the conversation. He wasn't sure what Celia was doing. Was she mad at him or not? He shook his head at her question. "Uh, no, just thinking I should probably go soon." He said evasively. "To do more stuff."

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia set the deck of cards down with a small thump. "Really?" she asked, widening her eyes in mock surprise. "I had no idea. I can't believe this whole time, I've put my trust in thousands of years of magical knowledge when instead, I could have been listening to you, a random boy who's never even taken a Divination class." Celia scoffed and rolled her eyes. She couldn't imagine thinking she knew better than an actual seer.

She was a little surprised to hear that Louis had gotten a starting position though she supposed the graduation of half Gryffindor's team had helped. "So you're a starting chaser?" Celia was pretty sure he already knew her view of the position. Once again, Louis gave another pathetic excuse, and it took all of Celia's willpower not to roll her eyes. As fun as it would be to continue to torment him and ask him to elaborate on all this "stuff" he allegedly had to do, Celia didn't feel like wasting any more of her time. Unlike Louis, she actually had things to do and places to be. It was better to just cut to the chase. "Stuff like... avoiding me?"

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis scoffed at the sarcasm in Celia's voice, crossing his arms defensively. "It's just what I heard." He snapped. "Don't come crying to me when you're disappointed by some stupid reading." He muttered under his breath. This was why he didn't want to talk to Celia, she was so rude sometimes. "It's useless." He added, just to be clear.

He frowned at her tone of voice as she asked about his Quidditch position. "Yes, so what?" He asked defensively. "Some of us actually want to play the game, not just hurt other players." He snapped. Leave it to Celia to make a thing he had been proud of seem stupid. His head snapped up when Celia accused him of avoiding her. He looked at her, then looked away, feeling slightly guilty. "I'm not avoiding you." He said, but it sounded unconvincing even to himself.

 

[Celia Vu]

For as long as Celia had known Louis, he had always come across as cool and unbothered, even when she was trying to get under his skin. She'd found this irritating as it always felt like he didn't take her seriously. So when Louis finally snapped, Celia was surprised — and strangely thrilled. "Trust me, I won't," she said with another eyeroll.

Celia had entered this conversation hoping to be (relatively) cordial, but she couldn't help but antagonize Louis further as he got even more defensive. "So defensive..." she observed, amused. She hadn't even said anything about the chaser position, and yet she'd managed to make him upset. "If you knew anything about Quidditch, then you'd know that beaters are a part of the game." They were more important to the game than the chasers, who were just a sideshow.

It was almost laughable how bad Louis was at lying. "Right," she said, dragging out the word. "I guess it's just a coincidence that you've barely said anything to me since the Dueling Tournament." This was by far the longest conversation they'd had in months, and Louis had spent half of it searching the room for ways to get out.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis shrugged when Celia mentioned beaters were a part of the game. "Ruining it for everyone else, maybe." He muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. He wasn't sure what about her today got under his skin so bad, but he couldn't help it. She was being infuriating. He flushed when she called him out explicitly for avoiding her since the duelling tournament. He hadn't been sure if she had noticed, but clearly she had. "Did you want me to... what, congratulate you on your fluke?"

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia scoffed. "If you're not tough enough to deal with bludgers, then maybe you should find an easier sport." Quidditch definitely had its flaws, but instead of complaining about the rules, she'd found a position for herself where she could excel. She noted the way he turned red at the mention of the Dueling Tournament. That was pretty much all the proof she needed. "Fluke? Seriously?" she asked, giving him a disbelieving look. "So let me get this straight. When I beat you fair and square, it's a 'fluke.' But when the headmistress basically gives you a win by unfairly disqualifying me, it's not?" Any goodwill she'd had toward Louis instantly evaporated. "God, you're pathetic."

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis sighed and scowled, looking away. "Not what I meant." He muttered, feeling chastened by her words. This was why he had been avoiding Celia, she was way too good at making him feel small and stupid. He flushed at her next words, shoulders hunching a bit as he looked at her. "I would have rather beaten you fair and square, not my fault you broke the rules." He deflated as she called him pathetic. What was it about her that made him really feel it? "Fine, maybe it wasn't a fluke. But maybe I'm not good at losing." He admitted reluctantly. "Maybe I avoided you because I didn't like getting the reminders. Okay? I admit it." He finally said, moving a bit closer to her. "I didn't think you'd notice, honestly."

 

[Celia Vu]

Celia opened her mouth, ready to launch into an explanation of why the rules were messed up, when Louis admitted to everything. For a moment, she could just stare at him, clearly taken aback. She'd been expecting him to deny it, to fight back — anything but this. Maybe that was a reflection of her character. The concept of admitting fault was entirely foreign to Celia; it just simply wasn't something she ever did. And she expected the rest of the world to behave the same way.

Her expression hardened. "So you've been avoiding me because you're a sore loser," she summed up. Somehow, this accusation was a lot less satisfying now that he'd already admitted to it. It was much easier to concentrate on the last thing Louis said. "How could I not? You literally gave me a rose and then asked me to hang out during our duel. And then you just disappeared." She hadn't thought much of his absence for the first few weeks, assuming he'd eventually come around to bother her. But then the weeks and turned into months, and it had become clear that the silence was deliberate.

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis didn't like admitting Celia had been right, but he had liked her yelling at him even less, and at least admitting it seemed to have stopped her anger, at least a little. He scowled at the way she summarized his words but shrugged. He couldn't exactly say she was wrong. "Kind of harsh, no?" He muttered, though then he sighed. "I'm sorry, Celia." He said a bit surprised and flattered she seemed to be so bothered by him ignoring her. He had always had the feeling she wasn't all that impressed by him, but she remembered he had sent her a rose. Even he had forgotten that. "I guess I was a little... what's the word." He searched his brain for the right term for a moment. "Intimidated? I suppose?" He paused and let a slight grin spread over his face. "Didn't think you'd miss me, but I suppose I was wrong about that."

 

[Celia Vu]

"Am I wrong?" Celia challenged. Her frown deepened when Louis went a step further and apologized, even managing to sound sincere about it. Was this what she wanted? An apology? Suddenly she couldn't remember why she'd wanted to confront him in the first place. Celia stared at Louis, and it took her a moment to realize that the strange emotion swimming in her chest was disappointment — disappointment that her theory had been right, that he really was every bit as pathetic as she'd thought.

The apology had been surprising, and Louis' next comment was even more so. "Intimidated? By what?" By her? Once again, Celia wasn't sure what she wanted from Louis — or this conversation. She didn't have much time to dissect her feelings because like clockwork, he was back to being his usual arrogant self. Celia scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself. I did not miss you."

 

[Professor Louis Alcott]

Louis shrugged. "I just said you were harsh." He said, sighing. Celia really was going to make him grovel for this, wasn't she? But as frustrating as she was, Louis thought she was intriguing as well. The initial anger at her beating him had faded, though he still felt a bit embarrassed about it. He raised his eyebrows. "Celia, you're a pretty girl who could probably kill me with a few well-aimed spells if she really wanted to. Intimidating isn't that surprising, yes?" He said, then he grinned. "You so did. You missed me because you noticed I wasn't talking to you and you didn't like it. That's missing me." He teased.

 

[Celia Vu]

Under normal circumstances, the compliment would mollify Celia and maybe even endear Louis to her. But right now it just confused her, and because she did not do well with confusion, she decided to be suspicious instead. "It's surprising you would admit it." Seriously, where was this coming from? He'd avoided her for months simply because he couldn't face the fact that he'd lost to her. And now he suddenly had enough humility to admit that she could "kill him with a few well-aimed spells if she really wanted to"? Celia frowned. "First of all, I never said I didn't like it. Second of all, you would notice too if someone suddenly stopped bothering you," she countered.