The Side Party is Better

[Bisera Orlova]

Bisera had spent a good hour in the great hall for the yuleball celebrations, but she had decided it was dull and unfit for her. It was nice and it had some good decorations but it was ultimately super dull. She hadn't been able to find any person to dance with or annoy. She had decided to go to the courtyard, where the night was young and the summer was high. She had no plans to head back home for the holidays, and was just hoping for a good time now that she had all of the space. The girl twirled in her dress and ran a hand through her hair to mess it all up, she'd put in a fair amount of effort, not sure of how others would be dressed but realising once she'd gotten to the hall that she hadn't read it right. She could've tried harder and therefore impressing in her outfit was a little more difficult than she had first believed. The girl knew for next time. She had a drink and a snack and sat upon one of the benches, the music filtered into this empty space, echo-y and quiet. It was nicer out here, she needed to figure out a better game plan for the next semester.
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[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore was fuming, and he didn't know what to do about it. He couldn't believe Edmund had gone to the party. Gone with a girl as his date. Gone without HIM. Never before had the two not gone to something together for the first time. And now he was with some stupid Slytherin, a stupid girl who wasn't even pretty. Had he gone just because she was the first girl to show interest in him? Or had he gone because he had wanted a break from Theodore? He didn't know. For the first time ever, he simply didn't understand his brother.

Once the party had begun, Theodore had stayed in the dormitory. But he had quickly grown restless as he imagined the fun Edmund was having without him. Or maybe he was miserable and needed Theodore to rescue him? Either way, the Ravenclaw had decided to go check on him. Either to help him or yell at him, he hadn't decided yet. But on his way to the Great Hall, the boy's anger had lost some steam. He had passed a few party goers in their ugly dresses and suits and realized how out of place he would look. Not to mention the amount of strangers he would have to navigate through to find his brother. In the end, he had stopped in front of the Great Hall, hesitating for a long moment before turning away again in a way he could only describe as fleeing. He had no idea why his brother put himself through something like this. How was it fun to be crammed into a space with so many others? In need for some quiet, Theodore decided to head outside to gather his thoughts before he returned to the common room. Maybe he would even find the courage to find Edmund. Or maybe, just maybe, his brother needed a break as well and would be outside without his date. That hope quickly left him as he looked around the courtyard, it was almost empty. He could only spot a girl who had clearly come from the party. She was wearing a dress and had some food she must have gotten there. Disappointed, hurt, and a little bit lonely, Theodore made his way over and frowned at her. "Why aren't you at the stupid ball if it's so special. With all the other fake people." He muttered, knowing full well his bitterness wasn't aimed at this stranger but at his brother. But he wasn't here.

 

[Bisera Orlova]

Bee looked up as an older student began speaking at her, she frowned at him, well his tone was just uncalled for, especially towards a girl like her. She glared at him, why was he even near the event if he thought so bitterly about it? Why was he opting to talk to her when he could seek out someone who was his age. ”Why are you basically at it then?” she retorted with a scoff in her tone, ”If you think so poorly of it,” she didn’t care about why this boy did anything, he was just another boy who was not worth her time. She sipped her drink, ”And, not that it matters, but that event just was not good enough for a girl like me!” she puffed out her chest and sat up, clearly only interested in herself and uninterested in anything he was saying to her. She did think the ball wasn’t good enough for her, but that was much in the same way she hadn’t been dressed appropriately for it, ”I’m calling this area the better, more exciting, less smooching side party,” Bee told him proudly, since additional to the fact she’d not been dressed too correctly she hadn’t had a date which was even worse, watching others be in love and kiss-y was not as fun when she couldn’t do the same.
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[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore could see he had annoyed the girl, which he enjoyed. Why should he be the only one feeling bad? Spreading the feeling around a little would distract him from the hurt he felt at his brother. Besides, she really was kind of stupid sitting here all by herself. He looked at her scornfully. "I'm not basically at it. This isn't the ball." He said, frowning. Was she blind? Clearly he wasn't dressed to go there. "It's beneath me," he said. In his mind, the only event worth going to was Halloween. And even that was often a disappointment. He snorted as she said it wasn't good enough for a girl like her, despite the fact that he had just said something very similar. Clearly, she was simply a brat who hadn't gotten what she wanted at the ball and was trying to get people to follow her. Apparently with little success. Theodore raised his eyebrows. "Is it a party if it's just you? It seems like the only accurate statement in that sentence is the lack of 'smooching'." He said dryly. "It's not better, and that's saying something because the ball is already awful. This is just sad."

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Just like the Halloween feast, Arvel didn't think much of the Yule Ball. It was fun and exciting for everybody who had a date, but for Arvel, who wouldn't have had the courage to ask Analei even if he'd thought she'd say yes, and who didn't much feel like asking anybody else, it was basically just another opportunity to look like a loser with no friends. After sitting at a table by himself for about an hour, he got up and left, glad at least that he hadn't bumped into Onyx again. Crying in front of people was the last thing he needed, and he was sure he would well up just seeing the Gryffindor in a party environment. Arvel slipped out into the courtyard, stopping as he saw an older boy talking to a younger girl. The Hufflepuff's heart began to hammer in his chest. The boy was being so mean to her. He didn't even really seem to know her. What was the point in that? Using random first years as emotional punching bags was a horrible thing to do. Finally, Arvel stepped into the light. "I think... the only thing that's... sad... is picking on someone younger than you," he said to the boy, with a lot less conviction than he'd imagined having moments earlier in his head. Still, he stood his ground, fists clenched by his sides. No way could he stand by and let someone bully a first year like that.

 

[Bisera Orlova]

Bee shook her head at him, ”You very clearly want to be there, there a hundred other places you could’ve spent your evening, yet here you are, close to it,” she retorted with a frown, her tone dripping with annoyance with him. She’d try to rile him up before he annoyed her, ”OH it’s beneath you!” she exclaimed, which she too could agree, the whole event was beneath most people, ”I don’t think it’s beneath you, I think you are perfectly suited to such an event. It’s as trashy as you are, and it’s beneath someone like me because I am the best person ever,” she declare pompously. Of course she was the greatest person ever, of course it was beneath her, and she explained to him, this party that she was having on her own, ”A Party can be just one person, if you’re as amazing as me,” she replied, but it was the last thing he said that made her pause, was it sad? Maybe a little, but he was just as sad. The girl had been about to say something when another boy interrupted them taking seemingly her side in all of it. She opted to really play into that, and she burst into fake tears, sobbing and crying dramatically, pretending she was struggling to get sentences out. Her gaze momentarily joined with the first boy and there was almost a what-are-you-going-to-do-now expression. Daring him to accuse her of being over dramatic about this. She could have fun with this, if both boys believed something different, if she could just be herself. That would be better than any yuleball.
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[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore felt offended when the girl told him he clearly wanted to be at the ball. He did not. He hated the ball. It was awful, and not even a small part of him wanted to be there. All he had wanted was to get Edmund, as it was strange for his other half to be at an event without him. But how could he put that into words without sounding stupid? He didn't know much about people, but didn't need to be an expert to sense that this girl would mock him for something like that. "I do not want to be at the party. if I did I would be there." He said simply, stating a fact. "And I'm not trashy. If anyone is, it's you in your ugly dress." He said as he was starting to feel a little heated from this conversation. Somehow, he had expected the girl to have some respect for the fact that he was older than her. Wasn't that how it went? Didn't older students have power over younger ones? He had thought that was the case, but this girl seemed to not have gotten the memo.

Irritated, he looked up when he heard a voice. A fairly pathetic voice at that. Theodore wasn't the most confident around strangers, but even he could see the boy standing there wasn't all that intimidating. He was glad about that too, as he didn't know what he would have done if he had been. He scoffed at his words, rolling his eyes coldly. "I think we can all agree the saddest thing here is you trying to play white knight. There's easier ways to get a girlfriend." He taunted, though he wasn't sure if that was true. Theodore had never had a girlfriend, nor did he want one. Apparently, Edmund had simply had a different idea. That was probably what made him the most angry about the situation. But before he could say more, the girl suddenly started to cry. Hard. Alarmed, Theodore took a step back as if her tears could harm him. He stared at her in shock for a moment, his eyes wide. What was she doing? She hadn't been upset a moment ago, she had even laughed at him. Why was she crying now? Had he upset her? Had the presence of the other boy upset her? Or... was she trying to look more pathetic? But who would do that? He spotted the look she gave him, but really couldn't react in any way but completely baffled. "What are you doing?!" He asked her, shaking his head slightly. "You weren't sad- hey! Stop that! Stop crying right now." The display of tears made Theodore deeply uncomfortable, and he took another step back from the girl.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

The heat started in Arvel's cheeks and spread quickly to his neck. He wasn't trying to get a girlfriend. But if he tried to deny it, he knew he would only look more guilty. The boy had rendered him completely defenceless. Arvel looked back at the girl in shock and horror as she burst into tears. He'd seen Analei cry before, but this was much, much different. This girl was sobbing, hardly able to speak for how spontaneously upset she had become. It was a little... odd, and not particularly realistic, though the Ravenclaw seemed to think differently. Arvel had no idea what to do. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and go and comfort her, figuring that even if she was faking it, the horrible bully might learn his lesson and think twice in future before being so rude. But with his remark about Arvel's intentions still hanging over their heads, he couldn't bring himself to give the bully more ammunition. In the end, he said to the girl, "Do you want me to get a professor?"

 

[Bisera Orlova]

Bisera was certainly glad that her crying had affected both boys in the way it did, almost entirely because he wanted to annoy the older boy. He'd said he didn't like her dress, he'd been rude, this was just pay back. Certainly between her fake tears she couldn't help but be pleased at the near visceral reaction of the elder boy. Stepping away, standing back, shocked at her outburst. She maintained the tears, the fake sobbing as the other boy asked if she wanted a professor. Now, it was the moment to decide whether or not to commit to what she was doing, to try to get the boy in trouble for what this other boy believed was bullying. She knew that at worse she could get into trouble for wasting a professor's time, but she didn't particularly want to risk it. Bisera didn't want it to entirely backfire on to her, and she knew that if it got taken up with Professor Styx he was likely to see through her entirely. He just had that way from what she could tell, which might make this just end up being bad for her.

Bee decided to shake her head, and utter the word, "Professor Styx," she sobbed heavily, really laying it on thick, "wouldn't care," she added, pausing between words to let out more sobs, heavy and exaggerated. She was almost trying to indicate that should the boy get a professor like her head of house that he would be unsympathetic to her tears. If they were to get a professor she'd rather it was someone kinder, who might just take her side on it. However, Bisera didn't say anything more, just covered her face with her hands and continued to cry, continuing to pretend to be upset about something that hadn't even happened. Being as overly dramatic in her crying as she could. She might just scare the older boy away. Largely she now hid her face, to hide the little smile forming on her lips.
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[Theodore Westwick]

Theodore had been glad to shut the other guy up, but now that the girl was crying and behaving very strangely, he wished the kid would step up and deal with it so he didn't have to. His gaze moved between her and the boy, unsure of what to do. How he wished he had never left the common room. He glared at the boy as he suggested getting a professor. "Why?! She's not HURT." He said, gesturing to her angrily. "What's a professor going to do, dry her tears? She's just being... well, weird!" He stared at her again, baffled by her behavior. "Of course he wouldn't care, you're crying for no reason!" He added as she rather dramatically made a statement about her head of house. "Stop it-" But even as he said it, he knew his words would have no effect. Stepping back to create even more distance between him and the girl, Theodore glanced at the entrance to the courtyard. He couldn't tell if the girl was faking it or just really dramatic, but he wasn't going to stick around and find out. "I'm going to leave." He stated, unsure why he was even bothering to tell these strangers this much. With that, he turned on his heel. He would be glad to get away from this bizarre experience. Maybe he could tell Edmund about it later, but then he would have to explain why he had been here in the courtyard in the first place.