Underneath A Tree

[Cairo Savage]

Cairo was in a peaceful mood as he arrived to the courtyard on a sunny afternoon with a novel in hand. In between attending classes, finishing homework, and studying, the Slytherin was unable to read a book of his choosing and on his own terms all semester. Although with the semester nearly over, many of his classes behind him, and confidence in his knowledge leading into his looming exams, Cairo had decided to take time away from his responsibilities to relax and read underneath the shade of a tree. He was not the sort of person to enjoy being outdoors and up until that year would have preferred to read in his common room, away from the possibility of being interrupted. But since traveling during the winter break Cairo had a newfound appreciation of the outdoors. At least the outdoors in small doses. Therefore the courtyard was the perfect choice to spend an afternoon relaxing after an exhausting semester. Cairo approached the closest tree and sat down, leaning against the tree trunk and sighing before opening his book and reading the first page. ​

 

[Falon Urie]

In Falon's opinion, December was the best time of year in New Zealand. The sun was shining brightly, the days were warm - not the unbearable heat that she got back home in Australia. Since deciding that she was going to spend every opportunity she got to be in the sun, she hadn't done any studying inside. Falon couldn't bare the thought of having to be inside on a day like this. Although the Sixth Year spent a lot of time outside, she was enjoying being able to explore new places, and experience them in different ways.
Falon made her way out of the castle and through the Courtyard, looking for a sunny place to sit. Her eyes, however, fell upon a familiar blonde head and she smiled as she changed her course and made her way over to Cairo. She had changed a lot since the first time she had met the boy, when her hormones were all over the place and she liked to think she now had a better control over her anger, though she was sure her twin would say different. Though Falon knew the truth now, she still remembered the story Cairo had told her for why he wasn't going to shake her hand. "Come a long way for a germaphobe." Falon teased as she reached Cairo. "Look at you - sitting on the ground even!"

 

[Cairo Savage]

Cairo barely finished the first page of his book when a voice interrupted his reading. Exasperated, he frowned before looking up to the source of the voice. The sight of his friend Falon immediately caused his expression to soften. The teasing of the lie he told her when they first met then caused him to smile, if only a little. Ignoring the obvious parallel to the first time they met, where he had been reading outside as an escape from the noise in his common room and she had interrupted, the Slytherin responded to her. "Wouldn't be possible without this one friend of mine. She gave me a book about coping with germophobia and I've been better ever since." He joked, closing the book in his hands and shifting to one side. "Want to tell me all about how your semester is going?" He asked, patting the space on the ground next to him in an invitation for Falon to join. Between classes and his new hobby as a photographer, Cairo had not spoken to Falon as often as he would have wanted to. Now he had a spare moment from the chaos of the semester, and though he did want to read his novel, he found himself wanting to talk to his friend more.​

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[Falon Urie]

A small smile grew on Falon's face when she saw Cairo's grumpy expression turn when he saw her. It had been a long time since the two of them had hung out, but she definitely missed her friend. Falon had to laugh at his response, "You must be lucky to have such a wonderful friend who looks out for you." She teased in reply. Falon happily sat down next to Cairo as he invited her but groaned when he asked about the semester. "So much drama, I cannot deal with it. I hate drama." She laughed. "And then all this studying? I'd rather be in the air!" Falon replied, looking up in the air. She shook her head. "Anyway, enough complaining. How are you? How is everything going?"

 

[Cairo Savage]

Teasing coming from anyone but Rome would have caused Cairo to feel genuinely annoyed, though much to his surprise he did not feel annoyed when Falon teased him. With Falon it was simply easy to joke about the lie he told her when they first met and he was sure it was because Falon also thought of the ordeal as a joke, rather than becoming offended like everyone else he had met and lied to. It was a welcome change that made him want to be relaxed and separate himself from the antisocial facade he put up to keep people away. It was why he invited Falon to join him underneath the tree and why he smiled as she sat next to him.

He nodded in agreement when Falon said she hated drama. It seemed the rest of their year was swimming in drama and Cairo being the outsider he was, was thankful to not be part of it. Issues with friendships had caused him enough stress during his fifth year, and the last thing he wanted was a repeat of it all and for the problems to once again distract from his studies. Fortunately for Cairo none of the problems had returned and the social aspects of his semester were stress free. "Complain all you want. Are you involved in all this drama?" Cairo asked, before answering Falon's questions. "I've just been studying, really. Kind of itching for the holidays to start, though, because I miss traveling. Went on a trip with Matthew in the winter break and I really want to get back to seeing the world." When Cairo finished speaking, he shook his head and proceeded to ask Falon another question. "Do you have anything planned for this break?" ​

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[Falon Urie]

Falon smiled when Cairo told her she could complain but she found she didn't really want to. She felt if she continued to complain about the drama, she herself would become part of the drama, or even just make it worse. Falon just wanted to move on, although she was still angry, she wouldn't linger on it until either the betrayer or his co-conspirator apologized to her. She shook her head when he asked if she was involved. "Only by association unfortunately." Falon listened to Cairo, and decided he had a way better holiday than she did. "I am so jealous. Where did you go? And is that Matthew - Harper?" He was in their year so she figured it might be him. The fact that Falon didn't even know Cairo went traveling definitely meant the two of them were not spending enough time together. "No, nothing exciting! Are you traveling again? Or are you staying around for Christmas?" Falon asked.

 

[Cairo Savage]

Cairo nodded when Falon said she was part of the problems by association, glad that he wasn't even involved via association. He was glad that Falon wasn't a direct part of it either as it meant he could continue to keep his distance from the rest of their year even while talking to her. He nodded again when Falon asked if he traveled with Matthew Harper and then responded. "Mhmm, that Matthew. He's really kind and doesn't ask too many questions too, which is refreshing. We spent the entire break just taking photos and not talking about school." Falon seemed interested in his plans for the next holidays and it caused Cairo to chuckle. It seemed her holidays were less eventful than his were and while he felt bad she wasn't seeing the world like he was, he was glad that he hadn't stayed at home either. "I would like to travel again, but I'm not sure if I will. Since it's christmas I expect my family will want me to stay with them and I understand that." He answered, before nudging Falon gently with his elbow. "But we should hang during the holidays some time, would give me an excuse to get away from London and the cold for a bit." He suggested, unsure if she would want to see him outside of school but glad he brought it up so it was an option.​

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[Falon Urie]

Falon chuckled at Cairo's description of Matthew, especially since she had just asked a lot of questions, but she was glad that Cairo had found someone nice to travel with. The only people Falon thought she could ever travel with would have been Felix or Lyra, and that was definitely not going to happen any time soon, but she could understand needing to have someone decent to travel with. She couldn't imagine having to traipse around Europe or America with Finn - that would be some sort of punishment sent from hell. Falon nodded her head when Cairo said he'd stay with his family during the holidays; she'd be doing the same. She tilted her head and smiled at Cairo as he offered for them to hang out during the break. "Well, maybe you should come visit Australia. It is notorious for being offensively hot." Falon had never experienced snow at Christmas, but she was sure it was a marvel. "And then maybe you can show me London's amazing white Christmas." She replied, deciding that she wouldn't mind traveling with Cairo, if he could put up with her wonder and questions.

 

[Cairo Savage]

Cairo nodded and smiled at Falon's mention of Australia, immediately imagining how much better it would be to spend his christmas holidays somewhere warm, rather than in the freezing cold and with a friend at that. Falon could show him all the cool places to visit and he could take more photos without the responsibility of committing to spending the entire holidays traveling. In turn, him showing her around London seemed like a fair trade even if he wanted nothing more than to escape he city he grew up in. "It's a deal." Cairo eventually answered, though quickly added an afterthought. "But I have to say that white Christmases aren't all they're cracked up to be. Snow is cold, wet, and really not that fun. The only good think about white Christmases is sitting inside by the fire knowing you're not outside in the snow." He said, surprised at the amount he was saying to Falon as his eyes moved away from her and out to the courtyard surrounding them.​

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