Uncertain Expectations

[Odette Madison]

Odette Harper really wasn't sure what she was doing here. Why had she come to the ball after saying no to Harley? At least she hadn't told the Gryffindor she didn't want to go at all, just not as dates. She felt a little bad about it because she was pretty sure it had hurt Harley's feelings, but she really didn't want to be some sort of spectacle. But in the end, she had decided to go. Odette wanted to get out there more, maybe she could even make a few friends. Much like at the party before the school year began, Odette was now planning to make some new connections with her classmates. Maybe Xena and Corrine would be around again? Though she didn't think they would really want to talk to her. Odette stood near one of the food tables and looked around awkwardly for anyone she recognized. Hopefully she would be able to avoid people she disliked, like Lizzie Taylor. She hoped even more she would be able to avoid Harley. That was something she really dreaded, and she hoped the other girl just wasn't coming.

It seemed like that hope was in vain, because Odette spotted her almost as soon as that thought entered her head. She looked really pretty in a blue dress, but Odette only felt dismay at the sight of her. Cursing slightly,s he turned around so her back was to the door. She looked at the food table as if it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen, hoping Harley wouldn't spot her. After a few minutes, she glanced behind her and was relieved to see the girl wasn't lingering nearby. She didn't see Harley at all anymore, so she assumed she had gone elsewhere within the great hall. Odette's shoulders slumped slightly as she relaxed, though she was wondering more than ever why she was here.

 

[Hayden Lavish]

The yule ball brought back some fond memories for Hayden that had been tainted by more recent events but now he was in a good place with Xena he was hoping he could draw a line under the bad memories and focus on the good. After meeting up with girlfriend and entering the great hall Hayden veered off to get drinks for the pair. Before he made it to the drinks table he spotted the source of Yule ball memories past, Odette. She seemed to be alone which seemed unusual to him. Things hadn't been great between the pair since their break up but now she was quidditch captain Hayden was hoping they could be mature and be civil with each other. This would he the ultimate test of that.

Hayden debated just grabbing some drinks and heading back to Xena but something inside him didn't feel good about leaving Odette on her own so he decided to approach her. "Hey," he said a little more awkwardly than he had intended. "No date tonight?" He asked hoping him stating the obvious wouldn't infuriate. He had wanted to say how good she looked, because she did, she looked amazing but under the circumstances it might not have been the most appropriate opener.

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette was just starting to relax after seeing Harley, when she saw someone else approach. Someone she would also rather avoid. Most of her yule balls so far had been spend with Hayden, and here he was again as if to taunt her. Suddenly, she wished she had gone with Harley, at least she wouldn't be standing here on her own. She had heard Hayden was now dating Xena, one of the girls in her year. She didn't care who he was dating, but she didn't like how alone she looked while he was doubtlessly with her. Averting her gaze, she waited for him to get whatever he needed from the snack table and leave, but was surprised and a little alarmed to hear him say hello. Her gaze snapped back to him, a small frown appearing at his question. "No." She said, not wanting to humiliate herself further by making up some sort of story they would both know was a lie. "But you have one." She added, assuming he was with his girlfriend. She didn't mind talking to Hayden, but at an event like this it felt strange. She was also a little worried about getting in some sort of drama with her roommate. Xena was actually one of the people she had been hoping to befriend, and she didn't think talking to her boyfriend who happened to be her ex at a dance was the right way to that goal. She glanced around to see if she could spot the other girl. "I mean, you're with Xena, right?"

 

[Hayden Lavish]

Odette seemed less hostile than Hayden expected, he was under no illusion his ex girlfriend would welcome his presence with open arms but at least she didn't yell or try to hex him or something equally as hostile. He could tell by the expression on her face that she wasn't happy about answering his question but answer it she did and confirmed that she was at the ball alone. "I do," Hayden confirmed he did indeed have a date. It was still early days between himself and Xena but since the halloween feast things between them had only got better and he was enjoying his time with his fellow Slytherin. "Yes I'm here with Xena, I was just grabbing us some drinks," He vaguely motioned his head in the direction of the drinks table out of habit. "You should come join us, I'm sure Xena would be glad to see you,"

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette crossed her arms in front of her defensively and glanced around. She really didn't understand why Hayden was talking to her. He had a new girlfriend, she had moved on too. As far as Odette was concerned, they were just teammates now on the team. She wondered if he thought she was a bad captain, with the way they had lost the games so far. She wouldn't really blame him, but that thought made her only want to end this conversation even more. "I see." She said, resisting the urge to ask him why he was talking to her then instead of getting drinks. Lately she was thinking more before she spoke. Though, she seemed to remember Hayden used to enjoy her comments even if they were mean. Maybe Xena was like that too. Or maybe he had matured as well. She couldn't help a small scoff at his suggestion. Being a third wheel didn't sound very appealing. "I'm sure she'd be absolutely thrilled." She said dryly. "I'm fine. You should enjoy your date together." She added. The offer had sounded a lot like pity to her. Normally she wouldn't mind talking to Xena and getting to know her. But with Hayden there it sounded like a nightmare to her. Not because he was all that bad, but he was her ex boyfriend and currently dating Xena. Couldn't he see why that would be awkward?

 

[Hayden Lavish]

Despite his best efforts things with Odette showed no sign of improving, no doubt due to the fact Odette had no interest in doing so. Odette was different to the girl he had dated, when she spoke he got the sense that she was holding back, perhaps because she preferred not to say what she was truly thinking. "She would," Hayden responded. As far he knew Xena did like Odette and maybe the two of them could be friends though he suspected that could make things awkward for Odette which was something he didn't want to do. "I didn't come to make things awkward," Hayden began. "I wanted to clear the air between us, properly,"

 

[Xena Dragonslayer]

Xena had thoroughly been enjoying the time she was spending with Hayden. They had been spending more time with him ever since they made it official between them, but Xena made sure she still made time for Corrine. Corrine was her first proper friend at the school, and Xena would always love her for it. Tonight, however, was all about Hayden.
While waiting for her boyfriend to return with their drinks, Xena spent a bit of time talking to a few people. But the fact that she was now talking to the third person made her wonder where on earth he had gotten to? How long did it take to get a couple of drinks? Deciding she was bored of the conversation, Xena excused herself and made her way to the drinks table. Her brows furrowed, when she saw Hayden talking with Odette. Xena didn't have a problem with her, and hardly ever felt jealous, but she couldn't help but feel a pang of envy when she realized Hayden had kept her waiting to talk to his ex girlfriend. Making her way over, Xena put on her best smile. Though she couldn't say green wasn't her best color (she looked good in every color), she didn't want to jump the gun and get angry without any reason. "Hayden, there you are - I thought you'd been abducted. Hi Odette." Xena added, with a small smile, snaking her arm around Hayden's waist. Assert dominance, right?

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette wondered if Hayden was really this oblivious or if he was trying to make fun of her. Of course Xena wouldn't be happy to see Hayden's ex-girlfriend tag along on their date. What was he thinking? "Maybe she wouldn't mind talking to me some other time, but I doubt she'd be very happy if I interrupted her date with you and decided to hang around as a third wheel." She said bluntly, looking at him with a frown on her face. "As far as I'm concerned, the air is clear as day. Nothing awkward about it." She said lightly, her hand moving up to fidget with her hair. "Despite not having a date, I did move on. I've been seeing someone." She added a little defensively, wondering if Hayden imagined she was still hung up over him.

But just as she was about to tell him to go back to his girlfriend, she appeared at his side. Odette tensed, wishing this entire situation had been avoided. She didn't want some sort of weird game between her and Xena, especially because she had no interest in Hayden. But if she said that directly it would just sound like she did have an interest and was trying to deny it. She gave her a slight smile. "Hi." She said quickly. "No abducting here. Hayden just had some questions about practice." She wasn't even sure why the lie slipped out. It wasn't like they had been talking about anything inappropriate. But she wanted the girl to know Hayden had talked to her, not the other way around. She just wanted to avoid seeming desperate.

 

[Hayden Lavish]

Odette clearly wasn't interested in whatever it was Hayden was trying to do, either that or he had just chosen the wrong time to try and build bridges with his ex. "That's not..." Hayden began but before he could finish his sentence he felt Xena's arm around his waist. Ha he been away so long that she had come looking for him? "Hey Xena," He said turning toward her an kissing her cheek. "Was I really away that long? Sorry babe we were just catching up a little," Hayden wasn't sure why Odette had lied to Xena, perhaps she was just trying to emphasise to Xena that she hadn't been the one to instigate the interaction. "I hadn't quite got round to getting the drinks," Hayden looked apologetically at his girlfriend hoping she wouldn't read too much into the fact that he had essentially abandoned her to talk to his ex girlfriend.

 

[Xena Dragonslayer]

The kiss on the cheek from Hayden made Xena relax a little. She smiled as Odette replied, nodding her head when Hayden asked if he'd been gone for so long. It hadn't been years, but enough for her to get bored. Xena smirked at their replies. "So, catching up a little, about, Quidditch practice?" She teased lightly. Their different answers had to cause some sort of suspicion, but the Slytherin was still adamant on not jumping the gun. "Well, now you can go get some." Xena replied to Hayden with a smile, before looking back at Odette. "I'll keep Odette company."

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette had no romantic interest in Hayden any longer, so the sight of him with his girlfriend didn't phase her. All it did was make her feel more pathetic for being here on her own, and she was starting to wish she hadn't come to this event at all. Odette said nothing as the two talked to each other, thoughts he narrowed her eyes slightly as Xena seemed to pick up on her lie. "We started talking about other things as well." She said by way of explanation. Was this girl going to analyze every interaction Hayden had with any other girl? That must be exhausting. Xena's last words to Hayden and then herself made her eyebrows raise slightly. She really was bossing the boy around, and she wondered if he would do as she said. The last comment she made sounded ominous and made Odette a little nervous. Was she about to get some sort of protective girlfriend speech? That would be the perfect thing to ruin this night even more. "Sure." She said with a shrug.

 

[Hayden Lavish]

Hayden left the two girls and went over to the drinks table. While he was able to grab three he didn't want to give anyone any ideas and Odette clearly had no plans to stick around with him and Xena once he returned and he couldn't really blame her. Even with their feelings for each other gone it was still weird for Hayden to be around Odette, despite this he did want to make things good between them and no matter what she had said he didn't believe they were. With two drinks in hand he made his way back to the group and handed one to Xena. "Hope you guys weren't talking about me," He teased.

 

[Xena Dragonslayer]

Xena nodded her head at Odette's comment. She had arrived to the conversation feeling slightly apprehensive, but the two of them not even getting their conversation topics right between them made her feel more so. It wasn't really that she didn't trust Hayden. But she knew what a catch he was, and the lure of an ex was often strong, so she had to make where she stood clear, and hoped that Odette would as well. Once Hayden had left, Xena started. "Look, Odette, I don't have anything against you. In fact, you're a cool chick. But I hate lies, and I hate liars. I don't care if you still have feelings for Hayden. Just don't lie to me."
Upon Hayden's arrival, she smiled at him as she took her drink. "Of course we were. Only nice things though." Xena said with a wink.

 

[Odette Madison]

As Hayden left, Odette waited for Xena to say something. Surely she had something she wanted to talk to her about, or she wouldn't have sent her boyfriend away. And she was right. Odette's brow furrowed as Xena accused her of lying. Apparently, her little lie about the practice had been enough to raise her alarms. "I don't have feelings for Hayden." She said, trying to force the truth of the statement into the words. "He started talking to me about wanting to clear the air. I said that about Quidditch to make things less awkward." She now realized she had, in fact, made it more awkward. But really, it was on Hayden. "I like someone else. So relax. He's yours" She said, her eyes moving to the spot she had seen Harley earlier. She didn't spot the girl, and quickly forced her gaze back to Xena. Her words were truthful, she could only hope the girl was as good at spotting truths as she apparently was at spotting white lies. She was a little pleased she had called her cool. Maybe this hadn't been a total waste of time. At least, if she had convinced her she wasn't still pining for Hayden. The boy returned with two drinks, apparently moving pretty quickly as it hardly seemed like any time had passed. At least now she could excuse herself. "Enjoy your date." She told them, taking a step back to signal she was done hanging out with the two of them. Hopefully they would leave now to do couple things and leave her in peace.