Closed The Foregone Conclusion

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole's entire body felt hot, like she'd just downed too big a mouthful of pepper up potion. She had the same lump in her throat as well, swallowing quickly several times as she made her way from the hall. Nicole didn't know if she wanted to cry or scream, infuriated and heartbroken at the things Eric had said, and said in front of everyone as well. "I'm so stupid," She said thickly, dumping herself down on a nearby bench. The cool air of the courtyard was a relief on her puffy face and Nicole moved her hands away from where she'd pressed them over her eyes to feel the breeze, resisting the urge to tug her own hair out or something.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio had of course heard about the recent and apparently very public break up between Nicole and Eric, and while he had thought he’d be happy about it, it had left a bitter taste in his mouth and really he just hoped Nicole was okay. It was difficult to be broken up with he was sure, but more difficult to do it in public. Ajaccio had never been in a break up, the closest had been Andy and that hadn’t really been a break up because they had never been dating. But Ajaccio was glad that had at least all been privately handled. He had been coming in from a walk outside when he’d spotted Nicole sitting on a bench, looking exactly how he might imagine someone would look. ”Bonjour Nicole,” he greeted in simple french as he stood in front of her, ”Can I join you?” Ajaccio asked, he didn’t want to impose himself upon her, if she wanted the time alone he wouldn’t force her to enjoy his company. ​

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole looked up quickly, scrubbing at her face when she heard Ajax speak, giving him a weak smile. "Uh, yeah sure. I mean, oui," She said, awkwardly half scooting to make a little room. "I suppose you've heard the new then? I feel like half the school probably knows by now," She said after a short pause. Nicole didn't exactly want to talk about what had happened with her and Eric, but she also didn't want to not talk about it.

She felt miserable and it was getting tiring feeling like there was this cloud hanging over her head. "I can't believe some of the things he said to me," She said in a huff. "You would never treat someone you're dating like that, right?" She said, turning quickly to face Ajax. Nicole couldn't imagine Ajax ever doing that to any of the people she'd seen him take to dances and such, but she'd also not imagined Eric would do what he did, so maybe she just had a crappy imagination when it came to teenage boys.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio gave her a little smile and sat down next to her on the stone bench. He sat on crossed legs and heard what she said. He gave a little half shrug, he had of course heard, even if he hadn’t been there, he’d heard. Bad gas travels fast, especially in a school. He shook his head at the question, he wouldn’t treat anyone like that, he’d hope to always keep his temper in check and never make the other person feel bad or uncomfortable. He hoped that when he was with someone they’d always feel respected and loved. ”No, but you know, I’m so well travelled, I’m an expert in all love languages of course,” he joked with her. He hoped that his lame attempts at being funny might help her feel a bit better but he was unsure if they really would. ”What happened? You guys seemed to be going well?” he didn’t mention and didn’t want to bring up what had happened at the Yuleball when he’d been taking their picture. He wanted to hear what had happened from Nicole and not the rumour mill. But really only if she wanted to tell him. ”if you wanna tell me, if not, I dunno you can braid my hair or something while I tell you about my love life?” ​

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole gave Ajax a weak smile at his joke, sighing dramatically. Why couldn't she have just dated someone like Ajax instead of convincing herself this thing with Eric would work out. Ajax was much sweeter and funnier and smarter than Eric. "I don't even know, I was annoyed cause he basically spent all of the Valentine's dance just standing there like a lump and next thing I know he's screaming at me in front of everyone," She lamented, dropping her face into hands as she propped her elbows on her legs.

At Ajax's next offer though Nicole had to side-eye him a bit, wondering if he was joking but not entirely sure she cared. "Does that mean there's things to tell?" She asked him, hoping she came off more joking than pathetic or jealous or something dumb like that. "I wouldn't mind the distraction," She added slowly, turning on the bench and raising her hands questioning towards Ajax's hair. It was a mess, and probably impossible to braid, but even if it had been a joke, Nicole was sort of looking forward to trying now. It'd be a nice change to have someone else looking ridiculous for a few minutes.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio gave her a little smile and had to admit it seemed like a bit of an overreaction on Eric’s part, but some people didn’t like dancing and perhaps it was just a relationship not meant to be. ”He shouldn’t have yelled at you at all. He shouldn’t have broken up with you in public like that,” he hoped the Nicole knew that if he’d yelled at her in private that too would’ve wrong. He let himself grin a little more as she asked about his and laughed lightly, ”For once there is!” he would’ve maybe added more but he felt he should be careful about what he said not wanting to upset Nicole further or make her feel bad. ”Don’t be afraid to tug the strands, they’re particularly messy today, which is what happens when I fall asleep before it dries properly.” He didn’t mind if she didn’t want to do it, tugged at it or made it worse. ”I mean, my love life is still pretty non-existent because I like that exchange student whose in your house, but I don’t think she likes me like that. Though I think we’re friends and she did go to the valentines dance with me, and I like want to make a bit of a move but also, she’s leaving so, like is it worth it?” He said, he was happy to distract her with his own tales and make her feel distracted for a moment, like her whole life wasn’t just currently what had happened. ​

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole felt something in her chest shift when Ajax defended her, giving him a grateful smile. He was right, of course, and Nicole knew as much, but it meant so much more to hear someone say it out loud. Her budding good mood was punctured somewhat though when Ajax announced he did in fact have some sort of love life news to talk about. Not that Nicole should have any reason to be upset about whatever Ajax was doing dating-wise, she resolutely reminded herself, newly single or not.

"Oh, yeah?" She said a little weakly, setting herself properly on the bench so she could starting trying to part Ajax's hair to distract herself instead. "That happens to me all the time, you should really dry it first," She said absent-mindedly, realizing her hands had stilled as she waited for Ajax to continue talking about his love life and moving back to see if she could manage some sort of french plait. "Wangui? She's so beautiful," Nicole said with a sigh as Ajax explained the situation. Of course Ajax would like a girl like Wangui. She was gorgeous, mysterious, well travelled. All the things Nicole wasn't. "I mean, you travel a lot already don't you? I'm sure you could do the long distance thing if you really want to," Nicole said, mentally cursing her mouth for not just telling Ajax to give up. Date someone closer to home.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio nodded in agreement, he really should’ve dried it properly first but he hadn’t and he was definitely now paying for it. His hair was all over the place, in such a mess and probably really difficult for Nicole to work with. ”Yeah Wangui! She’s so beautiful,” he agreed, he wasn’t sure why he had been so instantly taken by her, but hearing someone agree that she was beautiful made him feel a little justified in it. ”I know, I even went to Japan over the last break and spent time with her there,” he said, ”She finds my attempts at Japanese hilarious,” he said with a little smile, ignoring that though it was a weaker language of his he could still manage well, it just was slower and more stilted.

”I don’t think long distance would suit me, at least not right now, sometimes my dad and I are like too remote for things to reach us quickly or in super populated areas where an owl would be noticeable. And then like at school, what if I’m busy. I’ll be running accio next year, I won’t have time to be constantly writing letters,” he crushed on Wangui hard, but clearly didn’t like her enough that he’d be willing to try to have a relationship with her. ”I’ll be okay just goodbye to her once the year is over and maybe keeping some touch but honestly that'll be it. I’d much rather date a girl I could see everyday,” oddly as he said it, his mind briefly conjured an image of him dating Nicole, and a light blush flushed his cheeks, ”But Wangui is just so pretty,” he quickly said, hoping Nicole wouldn’t have noticed or would just assume he was blushing over Wangui.​

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole's heart stuttered as Ajax talked about travelling and speaking Japanese with Wangui. Of course, she kept telling herself, it made perfect sense that was the sort of person Ajax would like. Someone who'd travelled and could speak multiple languages together. Bold and exciting people like Wangui or Emma. Not boring, stupid girls who tried to date awful boys and have it blow up in their faces.

She tried not to yank too hard as she tried to separate some strands of hair out with her fingers, blinking in surprise when, after all that, Ajax still seemed unwilling to actually date Wangui. "Well, that's very grown up of you," Nicole said cautiously. She wondered if she should encourage him to pursue her anyway, in the name of true love and all that, but a quieter part of her trilled with happiness that Ajax seemed to be resigned to dropping the idea. Wangui would have to leave and then maybe he'd forget all about her. "Mm, yeah that makes sense," she added absently, desperately trying not to get hopes up too high. "She is, I wish I could have spoken to her more. I'm glad she had you to show her around all year." Truth be told, Wangui had intimidated Nicole since the day she'd joined their dorm, and had Nicole known Ajax was smitten with her, it would have undoubtably made things worse. Perhaps it was all for the best she was leaving at the end of the year.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio gave a little smile, "You think it's grown up of me?" he said really curious on if it was grown up of him. He wasn't sure if it was, or just that he knew that keeping up relationships when you couldn't see another person was hard, he had always been the sort of person who didn't keep in contact with others when he left, maybe it was just he was so used to saying goodbye to people as he or they moved away that though his feelings for her, he would just continue this. He smiled slightly. "She didn't really need me, honestly, her English was pretty good," He laughed lightly. He was sure that he'd miss her a little but wasn't that sure he wouldn't miss her that much. "So, whats the verdict on my hair? I haven't had it cut in a while so it's probably pretty wild," Ajaccio laughed lightly, "I'm hoping I have time to get it cut before my dad and I head off,"​

 

[Nicole Fisk]

"Well, yeah. It's very mature of you to know your limits," Nicole said thoughtfully, frowning when some of the plait she'd been working on slipped out. It still made her stomach twist to think about the sort of girl that Ajax apparently liked. Smart, beautiful, multi-lingual. No wonder the only people who would date Nicole were awful boys like Eric. She hummed in acknowledgment as Ajax spoke, clicking her tongue as the plait continued to unravel as she kept working on it. "Well, I think it's a lost cause. You're just going to have to shave it all off," she announced, trying to run her fingers through Ajax' hair to loosen up the dreadful job she'd done plaiting it. "Only don't really. Please," she added hastily, though the mental image of Ajax, bald, did make her giggle. "Thanks, by the way," she said, even softer. "I needed a good distraction."

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio laughed lightly as she called his hair a lost cause. He pulled at some of the strands of his hair and pretended to clutch at it. "Oh my god, get rid of this beautiful hair, how dare you Nicole!" he said joking with her and laughing lightly as she was also quick to tell him to not. It did seem that she was perhaps feeling a little better and did even say a little to that effect. "Course," he assured her, with his tone as soft. "I'm glad my hair and I could be a distraction, even though I always thought my eyebrows were the most distracting thing about me," he laughed lightly. "So, what are your plans for the holidays?" ​