Closed Word Travels Fast

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy had been in the gardens working on some readings when she overheard some other students talking about some kind of public break up. She was about to ignore their gossiping until she heard one of them mention Eric Holland. She had frowned and immedicably went to look for Nicole. On her way inside she bent over and picked one of the daisies and worried the stem between her fingers as she started her search. Poppy usually liked taking her time walking through the corridors but today they felt absolutely infinite and not in a good way. She checked a few places with no luck before she made her way to the student lounge. She wasn't sure if Nicole would be there since it was kind of public all things considered but maybe that was better then being all alone. But what did she know, she'd never been broken up with. With a sigh of relief Poppy spotted Nicole sitting by herself looking appropriately upset. "Hey." she said softly as she sat down next to her friend. "I hoped I'd find you here." she smiled, and held out the small and nearly wilting flower. "How are you feeling?" she asked, genuinely concerned even if she wasn't sure what she was supposed to be doing.

 

[Nicole Fisk]

After the most disastrous moments of her young life, Nicole had spent what she felt like was an appropriate amount of time hiding in exile. The dorms had worked for a little while, but Nicole could almost sense her roommates must be talking or at least thinking about what had happened and quickly relocated up to the Heta Omega room. After awhile though without many of the other girls around to talk too, that had quickly gotten too lonely and Nicole had relocated further downstairs to enjoy her misery in more populated areas. Her face still felt hot and puffy and she was sure it must look splotchy and awful, but she hadn't cried since Eric had first said all those awful things, so she was counting it as a win.

She was busy mulling over all the cooler things she should have said to Eric when Poppy sat next to her, surprised when she offered her a rather wilted looking daisy. "Oh. Hi, Poppy," She said slowly, taking the flower with a weak smile. Of course Poppy knew what had happened. The whole school probably knew. "You know how it goes, just enjoying my new life as a social pariah. Stupid Eric Holland," She said bitterly, absentmindedly shredding the flower petals. "Do you think I should have known better? Than to have dated him in the first place?" She asked suddenly, turning to face Poppy fully. She was a Ravenclaw, so surely she had a good read on things like this, only without the calm rationality Iris always had that sometimes made Nicole feel like she was talking to her mum. "Like, the signs were all there, right?"

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy sat stiffly with her hand in her lap as she looked at Nicole sympathetically. Her face was red and she wondered if she had been crying. She could only imagine what her friend must be going through right now. "Oh, I don't think it's that bad." she said reassuringly, but she wasn't sure how true that actually was. She had heard about it and it wasn't like she was well connected when it came to gossip. But she wasn't about to admit that right now. Poppy blinked when Nicole asked for her opinion. "I don't know...he does have a bit of a reputation." she admitted with a shrug and immediately realized it didn't come out like she expected and quickly added to what she was saying. "But you're the one who spent time with him. You would know better than anyone what he was like. If you though he was good that's not your fault he ended up being a jerk." she said quickly and raised her hands defensively.

 

[Nicole Fisk]

Nicole couldn't help but scoff when Poppy tried to tell her things weren't that bad, looking dejectedly down at the pile of flower petals now in her hand. "I feel like half the school probably knows by now. I guess I got what I wanted," She said morosely, flopping over the arm of the chair so she could mope more effectively. She knew Poppy was trying to help, and she appreciated the sentiment, but it was hard to feel anything other than misery as Nicole mourned what was left of her poor social life.

She peeked quietly behind her hair to look at Poppy as she tried to reason out how it wasn't her fault that Eric turned out to be about as fun as dating a pile of owl droppings, feeling a small burst of appreciation for Poppy even as it was quickly overshadowed by the express knowledge that Nicole had known exactly how bad Eric was and pushed the relationship anyway. "Yeah, I guess," She said quietly, glancing at the floor where some of the flower petals had ended up. "I just kept thinking I must have been the exception, or that I could change him, you know?" She said, slumping more into the couch. "I should be more like you, Poppy and just never date anyone. It seems so much easier."

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy noticed all the petals had fallen off the flower she had given her friend, and suddenly felt very silly and small. What a dumb thing to do. It wasn’t like flowers could help in a time like this. “It’s just gossip.” she said, trying to sound reassuring. “I’m sure something else will come up and distract people tomorrow.” she added and reached out to put a supporting hand on Nicole’s shoulder but she moved before she could. Poppy frowned. “I’m sorry he hurt you. I know you probably thought the best of him.” she said with a sigh. Poppy let out a nervous laugh when Nicole mentioned her not dating anyone. It was something she was self conscious of considering most of her friends had at least had a date to a dance by now. Part of her had hoped no one had noted but apparently not. “I guess so.” she said quietly, not sure how to take that comment. She knew Nicole was upset and probably didn’t mean it to hurt her feelings.

 

[Nicole Fisk]

“I hope you’re right,” Nicole said, leaning her check against her fist with a sigh. Times like these Nicole missed her mother terribly. Not that she would ever admit something like that, especially not when her reputation was already in tatters. “I just really thought he’d be different, you know,” She said mournfully. “I dunno why I thought I could change him.” Nicole shook her head ruefully, scrunching up her nose. It’d been a stupid idea, but maybe Poppy was right and everyone would forget soon enough. At the very least, it wouldn’t be too much longer to the school year ended. If she could just keep her head down longer enough everyone would surely forget by the time next year rolled around.

“I’ve decided. No more dating for the rest of the year. It’s just so much simpler,” Nicole announced, giving Poppy a small smile. Her life would have so much less drama if she just kept to herself more like Poppy did. “Thanks for trying to cheer me up, I appreciate it,” She added. It had been a surprise that Poppy had come to find her, they were friends, but if Nicole was being honest, she didn’t think she would have immediately rushed to Poppy’s side if their roles had been reversed. Maybe she’d need to rethink that in the future.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy felt her heart sink for Nicole. "It's not your fault." she said, making sure she sounded authoritative. "Some people can't change until they want to and Eric apparently has no plans to." she added, and thought she sounded quite mature. It sounded like something her father would say. "I think that's probably a good idea." she said with a laugh, glad for the slight change of subject. "Break will be here before you know it and by the time the new year comes around I'm even more certain it will be old news." she said again. Poppy had grown quite comfortable in her little bubble at school and the idea of the whole school talking about her seemed absolutely terrifying, so she was definitely sympathetic. She smiled as Nicole thanked her. "You're welcome." she said and felt her ears turn red. She was just glad she could provide some kind of comfort at a time like this.