What Are Friends For?

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire had been trying her hand at Origami. She had spent most of her free time for the past month on it. Not because she was interested in the art in general, but because she wanted a dragon. She had the latest in her hands now, but she was still frustrated with it. She needed a second, unbiased opinion. She sighed in frustration, ready to toss the thing.

She was on her way to breakfast, though she didn't know if she would be able to focus enough to eat anything substantial. She hardly noticed that she'd passed the Great Hall completely, or that she was about to run right into one of her favorite Gryffindors. It wasn't until they had bonked into each other that she looked up, blue eyes wide.

"Huh? Oh. Hey, Jacob." She greeted him with a smile, before thrusting the paper in her hands at the boy. "Does this look like anything to you?" She asked, blowing a strand of dark hair from her eyes as she looked eagerly at one of the few people in the school she would call a friend.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob was trying to keep himself out of trouble these days, though his best efforts hadn't worked so well thus far. Still, he was trying his best. So when he banged into someone, a curse rattled in his mind as he realized he was going to be in the midst of something. Again. It was to his great relief to hear a friendly voice.

"Hey" he replied back, turning the blue shape over and over again, trying to identify it as a creature of some kind. "Uh...is it a niffler?" he guessed, quite unsure what it was supposed to be. Sapphire always seemed to be in the middle of four or five different activities. Maybe that would help keep him out of trouble.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire pouted a bit at his suggestion. "Unless that's some kind of dragon, no." She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes, and something about the dark locks brought her brother to mind. Which, of course, made her wonder if he'd been nice. She cursed silently and put a hand on her hip, leaning in towards Jacob a little. "Did Onyx play nice? I completely forgot before but I can still kick his arse, he probably needs it anyway. Not just the dance though, one wrong look and I'll end him." She huffed, trying to look fierce.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob laughed as he handed the paper dragon because Nifflers were most certainly not dragons. At the mention of her brother, the grin remained on the young Gryffindor's face. He liked hanging out with Onyx. "He was a gentleman. Are you still mad at him? " Jacob asked, ready to put in a good word for his friend as he had promised. "We had a lot of fun at the dance. Did you? I kept looking for you" he added, wondering if Sapphire had gone with anyone.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire listened to Jacob, crossing her arms. "Well... no, no, it's fine. I guess," She pouted a bit before turning back to her friend. "But if he gets out of line just tell me and I'll kill him for you." She told him, stashing the not-so-dragon back in her bag. "The dance was alright, I guess, I didn't really get to dance though. I ended up talking to this one girl, Emilia, she's a total sweetheart." Sapph shrugged. "I took off not long after that to devour the sweets I'd taken in peace. Last time I was at a dance Onyx bothered me all night and I wasn't in the mood for a repeat." She grinned up at the boy. "Did you two have fun, at least? He didn't try anything weird?"

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

"Manning? Yea, she's really nice" Jacob nodded as he smiled. He liked Emilia a lot. She was one of the nicest people he knew in the castle. He hadn't seen her in a while, but he k ew he would run into her eventually and when they did it would be a nice time. Jacob let Sapphire talk for a bit, amused as she spoke about the last dance. It was the one Jacob had almost asked Onyx to he thought but in the end he had ended up with Onyx there anyway. Then, Onyx had left him hanging. "Weird like what?" Jacob asked, the amused look still on his face as he waited for a response. "It was pretty fun. We mostly just ate and joked around" he shrugged.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire grimaced at Jacob's question. "I dunno... He's a total flirt. He always says Ollie is 'dreamy' and Salamander is 'Handsome'. Every time he meets someone he's so over the top with the compliments. It drives me nuts," She complained, rolling her eyes. She shot Jacob an odd look then. "Except with you. He's halfway normal with you. Like an actual guy instead of Prince Charming." She shrugged, pulling a pair of suckers from her bag. She offered one to Jacob.

"At least I know with the girls he's just being dumb. It's a little irritating though to think I'll have to compete with my brother for boyfriends eventually." She popped the sucker in her mouth. "Not that I really care at the moment, but I'll probably care when I'm older." She looked at Jacob curiously. "What do you think of romance? I've had crushes before but never anything super serious. I'm not totally sold on the whole idea yet."

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob had felt this tug in his belly once before, long ago at a Valentine's dance. So he knew what it was this time. Jealousy. The green eyed monster was tearing its head as Sapphire mentioned how Onyx spoke about other guys. He knew Onyx was quick with compliments. It was one of the first things that had happened when they'd met and often happened when they met up. Onyx was certainly good for a person's ego, especially a sometimes arrogant but also insecure, hormonal twelve year old Gryffindor. As Sapphire continued, explaining that Onyx was halfway normal with him, Jacob struggled to keep a straight face. He'd sometimes wondered if Onyx liked him, but this seemed to confirm his feelings were simply friendly. Truth be told, Jacob wasn't sure how he felt, so this was met with equal measures of disappointment and relief.

"The guys who like Onyx probably won't like you" he stated, a small smile on his face. He reached for a lollipop. Lemon. Bleh. And quickly replaced it with a blueberry one which he promptly began to enjoy. "Romance? You sound like an old lady" he joked. Jacob didn't think about love or anything like that yet. He did have crushes too, but his life was probably a little more complicated than Sapphire's was. He believed that to be the case anyway. "I don't know" he shrugged. It was weird to talk about, especially with a girl. "I guess I'm the same? It's weird. My brother dated Evelyn Manning for a while and they were always together...and they kissed" he bit back a laugh filled with the embarrassment with the thought he'd be doing that one day. "I dont know if theres anyone I always want to be with. I have too many quidditch practices!" he added, wondering how that would even work.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire shrugged. "With my luck? The only ones I'll like will be his type," She joked with a smile, watching as Jacob skipped over lemon for blueberry. She made note of it so she could have more of his flavor stocked when she came back from the next break. Her circle of friends seemed to be ever shrinking and she really didn't want to lose this one. Not if she could help it. She stuck a caramel sucker in her mouth as Jacob told her his opinion on romance.

She couldn't help but laugh at his response. "I know, right? There's so much more that needs to be done! Quidditch is definitely one, we should practice together sometime." She told him while it was on her mind, before quickly jumping to the next thing. "Or trying to make this stupid dragon. What is kissing even good for, anyway? I kissed a guy, like, once, and it was just weird. Nice for maybe, two seconds, but it's so much more fun just hanging out with people and doing stuff!" She ran a hand through her hair.

"Onyx makes the whole romance thing seem like a game. He said once he sees beauty in everything and isn't afraid to say so, or something like that." She shrugged. "The only time he ever even seems serious..." She paused, glancing at Jacob. Was she supposed to be talking about this? Was there a sibling code? "Well... is when he talks about you. And he blushes. It's weird."

Sapphire stopped, turning to face her friend. "Look, um, you and Onyx... whatever happens there, cool. That's between you two. I don't want whatever is up with you and Onyx to... mess with what we've got. I don't really have a lot of friends. We're friends, yeah? Just... you'll still be my friend even if he's dumb, won't you?" She asked, sounding a little nervous.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob nodded even if he wasn't sure they would. He didn't have much time for just fun practices outside of the team ones that occurred so frequently during the season. Not that he was complaining. He loved practicing with his team. They were a lot of fun and even better players. Her next words made Jacob widen his eyes. She had kissed someone before? Jacob felt a twinge of envy just because another person had experienced something he hadn't. He was about to interrupt her to ask more when she began speaking about Onyx.

Jacob cocked his head to the side, a bit surprised to hear what she was saying about her brother. Jacob hadn't really noticed anything she was saying, perhaps because he was busy trying not to seem too weird when he was around Onyx. And then he was blushing, wondering exactly what Sapphire thought was going on with him and Onyx. "Yea, of course" he nodded. "Onyx and I are just friends anyway. He isn't acting dumb yet at least" he added with a shrug. Sure, they had gone to the Valentine's party together but it wasn't like they were dating. Right? "Now tell me more about this kiss. Was it hard to breathe?" he asked, leaning slightly forward.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire let out a small sigh of relief when Jacob said they were friends. That was good enough for her. He leaned forward then, intent on the kiss. He was really the only guy who even knew she'd kissed someone, so she thought she could tell him, even if she didn't plan to say who. She slid a step back, laughing. "It caught me off guard. I tripped, he caught me, and before I could do anything he kissed me for half a second before walking away! Does that count as a kiss? Maybe, like, a peck? I don't know," She shrugged. "I think it was nice- I didn't really have a chance to decide anything."

She shifted her sucker in her mouth. "If Onyx decides to kiss you, you have my permission to punch him." She teased lightly, wondering how Jacob would react. She thought it was pretty obvious Onyx had a thing for the bloke, but she wasn't sure if it was mutual or not.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

"I probably will" Jacob chuckled, not entirely sure that he wanted to kiss Onyx or anyone else. Kissing was definitely weird, though he was intrigued at the prospect of it. He wasn't even a teenager yet, so he figured he had plenty of time to decide for sure. What Sapphire had explained definitely sounded like a kiss, not that he was an expert or anything like that.

"So, who was it? Do I know them?" he asked as casually as he could, the curiosity burning through him. The second year didn't think he knew any other second year who had kissed someone, unless you believed the rumors he'd heard about Diana Holland. But he didn't. As far as he was concerned, she was a liar and he couldn't believe that anyone would actually want to kiss her.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire laughed. "Maybe if someone else punches him in the face it might mellow him out." She complained a bit. "I swear, he's so dramatic. I just wish he would take it down a notch or something." She grinned at Jacob. She really felt like the two of them were growing closer. It worried her a little, with her luck. She was quickly distracted, however, when Jacob asked who she had kissed.

She was tempted to tell him, but she didn't want the whole school finding out. Then again, if she asked him to keep it secret she doubted he would tell. Still, she wasn't totally sure yet. She waggled her brows at Jacob instead. "Isn't a little mystery in life good for you, your majesty?" She teased lightly.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob shrugged. He knew that Onyx annoyed Sapphire on occasion. He could see it in how she treated him, but Onyx was usually pretty cool around him. He'd never realized, until Sapphire said, that perhaps there was the possibility of him behaving differently around him than he did with others. It was an interesting idea. Jacob wondered if he did that at all.

The second year scoffed. "You're talking to a guy the tabloids have tried to get pictures of since I was in diapers." His parents' best attempts at keeping their kids out of the spotlight had still resulted in pictures of them coming out. "But I like the challenge of having to figure it out for myself" he shrugged because now he was going to pay attention to who Sapphire hung out with besides him. "This won't be a mystery for long, Sapphie" he teased.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph raised a brow at him, hitting his arm lightly as he picked up the nickname her brother used. "Why would the tabloids care?" She asked, before offering a sly grin. "Were they looking for contestants for the goofiest lookin' kid?" She teased. He had said he liked a challenge. She made a note to be careful of how she acted around Mervyn. She grinned lopsidedly at him. "f you decide to surrender, I'll consider accepting your inevitable defeat." She teased.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

"About my diapers?" he returned, still grinning slightly. "I dunno because they're creeps?" he finished with a shrug. If Sapphire hadn't put his last name together with his dad, then he wasn't going to do it for her. The second year had mixed feelings about the new election. He couldn't remember a time when his dad hadn't been minister, didn't know if he would like it or not. How could you know if you liked something you'd never had? "Surrender? Do you even know me?" Jacob asked, an offended expression on his face though he was joking around. "Now I really want to know because you're so keen that I don't" he added stubbornly.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire laughed as Jacob replied so nonchalant about the reporters. "That's dumb. I know your mum is a Professor and all but seriously, it can't be that big a thing." She shook her head, confused by the whole thing. She would never understand the fascination with popular people. If you didn't know them personally, why bother?

He looked offended, but she didn't take it too seriously. He had been joking around as well, so she doubted he would change moods so quickly. "Does anyone really know his highness so well?" She teased him, though it could be taken seriously. "I suppose though I do recall once your mind is made up it's hard to change it." She laughed lightly at his interest in who she'd kissed. She had already been in a row with Diana over it, she didn't really feel like getting into it with Jacob- though she didn't think he would have an issue with Mervyn.

She stopped then. Wait... She understood why Diana had been in such a spin over it, and that had been long before the kiss. Would Jacob be mad at her? She furrowed her brow and looked at the boy, her mind hopping from making it a game to finding out his opinion quickly. "Okay, fine. What do you think of Mervyn Strangeways then?" She leaned in close, careful to speak so only Jacob could hear her. If there was anything Sapph knew it was that there were ears everywhere and there was no telling if there was anyone around with a taste for gossip.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob stared at Sapphire for a long second. Hadn't she been at the revolution thing the year prior? He assumed that most people, most students even, knew who his father was and pretended they didn't care to varying degrees. He had even done that Hogwarts Monthly article about it so it was an interesting moment for Jacob, trying to decide if he would say something about it or let the moment go. He snorted at her next comment, always having assumed the jokes comparing him to royalty had just as much to do with his name as with his familial relations, but perhaps not. The moment passed. "You're damn right" he grinned when she mentioned his stubbornness.

Finally, he got a name but it caused the grin on Jacob's face to dim slightly. He actually liked Mervyn a lot. Mostly, he liked listening to him from across the common room as he spoke to his friends. "Isn't he a little old for you?" he whispered back. Jacob had been expecting her to name a far more familiar second year, but that wasn't the case. The Gryffindor was protective of all of his friends.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire laughed when Jacob told her she was right. "Get used to it, your majesty, I'm always right." She grinned playfully, brushing the hair out of her eyes. The bangs were steadily getting more annoying- she doubted she would have her hair this way again.

She noted the way Jacob's grin seemed to shrink when she named Mervyn. "You know him?" She asked idly, a bit curious now. They were in the same house, it shouldn't really surprise her. "Besides, it's not like we're dating. We're just friends." She told Jacob, attempting to sound reassuring. Whether he was worried about her or Mervyn or even worried at all, she couldn't quite tell, but it seemed like the right thing to say.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob nodded. "Yea, I see him around the common room." He didn't know know Mervyn, but he knew who he was like he knew a bunch of other Gryffindors. At her next word, Jacob raised his eyebrows and then snorted. "You sure about that? I don't walk around kissing my friends" he added pointedly. It probably helped that most of his friends were girls and the little interest he had in kissing in the first place didn't involve them. But even his guy friends, he had never just thought to lay one on them. Jacob thought Sapphire maybe wasn't realizing that Mervyn actually liked her. Or maybe Jacob had it all wrong. These kind of things confused the heck out of him.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph pursed her lips as Jacob answered her first question. Fair enough. She knew plenty of faces without knowing them personally. He snorted then and she looked at him questioningly. His answer stopped her a moment, and she rubbed her neck. "Well..." She started thoughtfully, mulling over his words. "Okay, fine," She conceded. "But this was way before the Yule ball," She confided in the Gryffindor, "Before the Brightstone before that, even." She shook her head slowly. "But nothing else ever happened. So we're just friends now." She looked to Jacob curiously. "So, uh, feel free to ignore me if I'm stepping out of bounds. Ever thought of kissing Onyx? It'll stay between us, I swear."

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob chuckled. "I knew it" he hissed as he listened to Sapphire make her way through an explanation. He kept making an 'mmhmm' sound, quite pleased that he was right and that there had been more to it than Sapphire had been attempting to let him in on. When she shifted the question over to him, Jacob let out a small laugh and then shook his head. "I dunno. Kissing seems kinda weird. And talking about your brother to you seems even weirder" he laughed, trying to make light of it all. The truth was that he had thought about kissing Onyx before, but it was a weird sort of thing to think about especially since he had never done it before. It was just easier not to. Then he wouldnt have to worry about things getting odd between them.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire listened as Jacob told her how weird it was. She laughed, letting it go and looping her arm through his. "I'll stay out of it, I promise." She told him lightly. "There's probably some kind of sibling code I don't know about." She shrugged, looking to her friend with Sapphire eyes twinkling.

"We should hang out more." She decided aloud. "I hardly know anything about you. I'm obviously changing the subject, but humor me. What's Jacob like other than stubborn?" She asked the boy with a smile.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob hid a smile as she spoke. Link had once told him about something called the bro code when he'd been really young. He couldn't even remember it much now, but he was pretty sure Sapphire was not talking about that. As they began to walk with her arm looped around his, Jacob realized she was probably right. He spent more time with Onyx since they dormed together. "A lot of things..." he began, beginning to give her weird facts about him like that he pretended to hate mangos sometimes because they tasted funny and he hated potions because it was too hard to focus on all the directions.