For Callie
 

With a look sideways, Matilda giggled. "Isn't it normal to pick up at least three chocolate frogs no matter what?" Or was that just her? She did make a point then to grab four chocolate frogs, passing this boy one of them. He obviously wanted one, or he wouldn't have mentioned them. That was how that worked, right? "I don't collect the cards, though. You can have mine if you want them." But only if he was quick enough to grab the card before her chocolate frogs escaped.

Tilly had no plans to be chasing chocolate frogs around in these flip flops! But at least there was someone here that WOULD run around for her. Yes? Right?

That was what boys were for. Daddy said that a man should do all of the physical activities. "I'm Tilly!"

Lemon drops, yes. Those were going in the basket. Ooh, and those strawberry candies, too, those were good. Oooh, watermelon suckers? Natalie was reaching out her hand to grab some of those when she was suddenly HIT by a squishy MASS and knocked over several steps. She managed to stay on her feet, but it was probably because the arms of said squishy mass were holding onto her.

"CARLTON!" Nat squealed with a delighted giggle when she realized who was holding onto her. His curls were in her face, so it was obvious. And he smelled the same that he had when they were at school.

Dropping her basket, Natalie wiggled around and THREW her arms around her best friend, squishing him in the biggest hug that her tiny arms could muster. "I MISSED you." A lot. Writing to him was fine, but she wished they could spend more time together because he was funny and fun and cool. Yes.

*too lazy to polyvore*
 

She had been raised with respect and had a pretty solid handshake, despite looking like she couldn't do much physically. She gave Jimmy's hand one of those shakes and then inspected the other sweets that were on the shelves. "Anything else you suggest, Jimmy?" Because he clearly knew good things for people with sweet teeth if he first off suggested chocolate frogs.

That grin was almost swoon worthy and Tilly giggled again. "I collect special coins!" What was she going to do with some cards? She didn't typically care for the information on them anyway.

"Not yet! I start in September. Do you?"

Amy/Slate~
 

Lily smiled warmly at RJ and she shook her head.. "No, I'm still going to do it.. and it'll just be a surprise when it'll come.. "she said with a smile up at him.. The brown haired girl was even more determined to be the best girlfriend ever now..

She was even wondering if she should change her hair and eye color.. She bit her lip a little, unused to these sort of thoughts and she turned to where he was pointing..

"Oh hey! There they are! " She said with a grin as she moved down the row a hit to grab a few boxes.. and then a few more.. She'd grab a few more later on when he wasn't here..

She turned to look back at him, her blue eyes widening slightly as he spoke.. "I can do that! Are you not supposed to be here?" She asked with a grin.

Slate would blame him being in the candy shop as a result of his terrible sense of direction. He wasn't exactly sure what his dad would say if he came home with a bag of sweets instead of new feathers.

Err. Quills. They were quills.

They were about as useful and not messy as ink and feathers sounded. Boy, did he miss pens.

He made his way through the aisles before he spotted a certain girl. He grinned and made his way over to her. Hello co-parent of a cute baby. "Hey Jessa!"

The girl spun at the sound of her name, half surprised given she'd already convinced herself she wouldn't run into anyone she knew today. That usually took prior planning, otherwise the alley was so big and the summer crowds were so ridiculous that it was hard to really run into anyone you were hoping to see.

Her face lit up the moment she realized just who the voice belonged to and a grin of her own soon spread across her face. "Slate!" Of all the people she was unlikely to run into on a random day, he may have been on the top of the list. Kinda made it nicer to see him. "Are you still trying to get your school shopping done?" Jessa nicked the treats for her niece and baby cousin from the shelf before looking to him again.

"And how's Mew?" You know, the ridiculously adorable baby bat that was possibly the best little bat in the entire world. No parent bias here.
Nope.

Once he went back to the front of the store to retrieve a basket, Henry returned to stocking up on all his favorites and scoping out something new to try. He already had a good stash of chocolate frogs and lemondrops going on in his basket with a few peppermint humbugs thrown in for good measure. The sixteen year old was on his way to check out the fudge selection in the display cases when he heard a voice calling out his name and he turned to look and see who it was.

"Oh, Ace, hey! How's it going?" he grinned at his Gryffindor friend. Wait.. what was he eating? He could tell that the boy's mouth was somewhat full. Were they giving out free samples somewhere and he missed it? That was likely, but he wanted in on that too. "They giving out samples today?" As in, point him in that direction. He wasn't even particular about what kind.

He glanced down in his basket at the question. "Oh, the usual. Chocolate frogs, Lemondrops... I was also on my way to get some fudge... And! I was looking for something new to try. Any suggestions?" Maybe Tenacius knew of something good that he hadn't tried yet.

Slate half smirked. "Yeah. Probably won't be done until term actually starts. Turned out Diagon Alley is huge and I might accidentally be getting lost all the time."

Or so he told his dad.

He smiled wider at the next question. "He's amazing, as always. Spends a lot of time hanging upside down and flying around." he said with a nod. "I wonder when we can start letting him out so he's not so cooped up all the time."

She couldn't help but snicker, shaking her head in amusement.
Diagon Alley was big, no denying that. "You should get yourself a shopping mate. Wouldn't want you showing up to the castle with only half of everything." Though he'd probably be fine either way. All he needed was uniforms that fit, parchment and quill for notes and the occasional textbook or two to make a comfortable time at Hogwarts.

His statement left her curious, as most things tended to. "Are you lost right now then?" It was a little hard to tell. He was perfectly at ease this second.

Oh and talk of the bat baby! So far he was proving consistent. That was a good sign. "We may have to place a charm on him before we start letting him loose, because what if he finally gets free and decides never to come back?" Serious question. What if he didn't KNOW he was meant to come back? "What with him switching homes so frequently, he'd probably be confused on where to go." Maybe they'd have to wait til they got to the castle to give him full freedom, sans charms and such.

Slate chuckled. "I'm sure I'll get by just fine with only half my stuff." He managed just fine the year before. But, of course, he also had the excuse he didn't know much last year. He doubted that excuse could fly forever.

He shook his head. "Not really. I mean, I wasn't actually planning on school shopping." So he was exactly where he wanted to be.

He nodded. "Yeah. That makes sense. We'll probably have to wait then, since neither one of us can do spells at home."

... and he also didn't know which ones would make bats come home...

"We should get toys or treats or something to cheer him up instead." He suggested.

"I only ever end up using half my stuff even when I have everything. Sometimes I think maybe I don't need it all then I worry the one thing I leave will be THE thing that makes or breaks the term for me."
Indecisive overthinker? Why yes, yes she was.

The fact he wasn't lost was a pleasant surprise, mostly 'cause to her,
it sounded like he was finally relaxing in the magic thing and making attempts to immerse himself in it by hanging out in the usual places.
That was always a positive first step. "Did your mum come with you?"

And there it was, the reminder that having accepted and become thoroughly enthralled with the magical world, she was not allowed to do a drop of magic until she got back to school. "You're right...we could probably read up on some spells though, that way we'll likely be decent at them when we get back to school and need to use them." A head start to make sure Mew finally got to stretch his wings like he was probably used to.

"We can also probably have our parents extend our rooms a bit, give him more room to fly about even if we can't give him a whole park."

Slate tapped a finger against his chin with a thoughtful expression. "Maybe I should start splitting the list with people in my year. Each of us would only buy a few of the books so none of us would have to haul all of them everywhere."

It was a brilliant and perfect plan.

He shook his head. "Never does. My step brother actually just drops me off usually." he said shrugging a shoulder. Not that he minded. He actually preferred being here by himself.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I think someone in my house knows how to do that." And he'd ask. For Mew's sake.

"That might actually work." She mused, now tapping at her own chin in thought. If nothing else, they could always group up to do their homework if they only had the one book which made sharing answers easier and the lot of them would have more reason to sit next to each other in classes. "Probably has more pros than cons." But then you had to think about those that didn't like or see the need to share, even if it meant lugging around everything. "Maybe your dormmates."

"Is it 'cause she has work all the time?" Sometimes Jessa forgot that being on summer vacation didn't mean her dad was on vacation too.
If she wasn't staying at the Manor, her days would probably be far quieter than she was anticipating.

"Brilliant! He'll have enough space no matter which house he's staying at." Which would prepare it for the exciting world of Hogwarts. "We'll have to find a way to hide it when we get to school. I don't wanna have to watch them send it back home." Because let's face it, he would probably be lonely without his parents.

"But how will it be a surprise? I'll know you have them." RJ laughed and kissed her cheek. He watched her amused as she started loading her arms up with the boxes of beans. "Going to save me any?" He asked with an amused grin. Seriously she looked like she might be about to fall over with how many she grabbed.

He met her eyes and practically melted. Definitely all heart eyes for her. "Huh?" he said clearly distracted for a moment and then focused. "Oh. No I kind of got away from him as soon as I could. He'll find me eventually. I always come here." He smiled at her and grabbed a few boxes himself.

Absentmindedly she walked passing through the chocolate's aisle while a person who had too many chocolate frogs on his hand almost collided into her. Huffttt. "Who the hell do you think you are.... Oh..." Her voice raised before she realized that he was actually someone whom she knew very much. Lately Ava had such a weird mood and became a little bit short-tempered, maybe it's a sign that her time of the month would come in a day or two. Sorry.

Still flustered because of the wrath outburst, the Gryffindor smiled sheepishly at Adi. "Hey, uhm.... Sorry about before." It was embarrassing when someone had to witness that. "I am fine and yes, even taller than Zhenya and Teddy." Five feet six inches to be exact and she was very satisfied with that. And no, she didn't use growing potion, it was all natural. "And how's engagement life treating you? I'm still waiting for the invitation." Hehehe.

Gladly she grabbed a basket for the former Hufflepuff. "Are you going to buy all the chocolate frogs here?"

Slate nodded. "Exactly. It would work even better if the person who had the book was the best at the subject. Then we'd just be able to help each other." It was brilliant. "I think I'll ask them what they think about that next time I see them." There really was no downside.

He shook his head. "No. Just haven't found anything that we both like." "Bonding" as she called it. Bleh.

He nodded. Now he just had to convince someone to expand his room. ... he probably needed to figure out what that meant first... He was still pretty behind with this magic thing.

He then nodded again. "That should be easy enough." They were smart kids. Plus bats were pretty normal to just be existing in an old dark castle.

"Have you seen much of them since the break?" She knew he was still getting used to the whole magic thing, and that might have included magical ways of keeping up with everyone when you were no longer seeing them at the end of every day. "Like for hanging out and stuff now that you've all survived First Year together?" It'd be fun and he'd get more exposure to magical things which would be a major help in catching up...well at least she thought so. It'd helped her.

"Oh." That made sense, yeah. Not many reasons to be in the same places if they didn't like them. "Maybe you can both agree to try something neither of you's done. Then you can form an opinion together."
A hopefully similar one. If not, they could try something else.

Thankfully she didn't have this problem with her father. Most times he was keen to do whatever she wanted--even when she could tell he didn't necessarily like it.

"You're right, it'll be fine. I can't wait to get him to the castle. There's gonna be so much to show him!"

He wasn't really finding anything he really wanted or at least anything he ever would pay his own money for. Turing he thought about shoving a chocolate frog in his pocket just to see if anyone would even notice, but even that bored him. His hands touched the shelf a few times before he heard a voice. Was someone talking to him?


He looked around and the only one he saw even close to him was a boy he didn't even know. "Hi, do I know you?" What was this boy up to? Was one of his families enemies using kids to get to the adults now He'd have to make his run for it if that was the case, but not go home, because his uncle would be disappointed if he lead the enemy home. Maybe he could just head to the ice cream parlor see if he followed him there and if he did then he'd have to find a way to lose him before going on.


He was probably just jumping to conclusions though and wishful thinking. He wanted to have fun with some of the things his dad and cousins didn't. He couldn't wait until he got to do cases like they did. Tracking people sounded like so much fun and so dangerous at the same time. He looked bac at the kids again, "Can I help you?" He needed to figure this out.

Ah yes the standard sample of a Hogwartian's confectionary collection. "Good idea, I'm running low of chocolate fudge." he said as he grabbed a handful and dropped them into his basket "I'm fine, just chilling most of the summer, except for some excursions and parties." Henry should know about one of them since they saw each other in it.

"Yah yah shamples--" the leonine lad nudged his head for the badger boy to follow him. "Some kind of new bon bons." See, a whole tiered tray of them "I dunno if they're trying to give Bertie Botts a run for his money but theres a lot of flavors here." he says as he pops another bon bon in his mouth.

"So you went with Char to the party?" He smirked. He didn’t know about the Henry and his fellow Gryffie until the party, so it was quite a surprise seeing them together there. "And how's the rest of your summer turning out so far eh?"

The blonde moved around the other boy to get to the chocolate frogs. This time he did take down a few and placed them into his basket. Koen did take a moment to look at the other kid when he asked if he knew him. "I doubt it." He didn't come into DA often and when he did it had been with either his dad or Hady lately.

He moved a little ways down the aisle checking out some other candies that were stacked along the shelves. The boy hadn't been forgotten about especially when he now asked if he could 'help' him. Now it was Koen's turn to look at the boy confused. Did he look like he needed help? "And why do you think I need help?" Just because he had said hello to the kid didn't mean he needed something. All the more reason to keep to himself and not bother with people.

What was he going to do today? He wanted candy but he was more intrigued by meeting new people. He wonder if any of these people his age went to Hogwarts. Maybe some of them were like him when he was younger and they just got to visit Diagon Alley because they have family that live in the London area. He did hope that he would meet some Hogwarts people today. He had been thinking about what house he would be in. Even though Ilvermorny had some similarities he knew that at the end of the day the houses were pretty different. Magnus walked down an aisle and looked at some of the candy. While he was looking at the candy he felt eyes on him.

Was there something in his hair? Or was there something in his teeth? Maybe he just stuck out like a sore thumb and scream AMERICAN to everyone that was here. If that were the case then how was Hogwarts going to be for him.

The blonde haired teenager looked towards the eyes that were on him, a girl was looking at him...and she was very beautiful. He managed to give her an awkward wave because sometimes he was just an awkward person. "Hey." he smiled at her. Was he stepping over the line with saying something to her? He had been in London before but he hadn't really talked to anyone he didn't know so maybe it was different here than in New York State?

Ah, summer. The perfect time to stock up on sweets for the Hogwarts Express. And given the fact the start of term was quite a bit away, it also meant she needed to buy double in order to have anything left for the train. And then there was that little eight year old next door that she babysat every now and then that also deserved candy...

Hads was going to need another basket...would the shop care if she put an extension charm on the basket she was carrying? Maybe she should get help for her sweets addiction...

Naw.

Hadley rounded the corner and wait a minute, that hair looked familiar. Definitely a little badger. Hads smirked and tiptoed closer to the young Wright. When she was right behind the girl, she threw her hands over Isa's eyes and in a disguised voice said, "Guess who?"

With each thing that Jimmy said, Matilda looked to the shelves and located the item he had mentioned and then took handfuls of each. "I've not had jelly slugs before." Sugar mice, she had. They were actually the favourite sweet treat of her grandmother and boy oh boy did she have lots of them scattered around her house!! "Do you think if I eat one right now and still pay for it, they'll mind?" Surely it wasn't bad to test something if she would promise to pay for it after? She didn't want to buy a handful of things and not like any of them!!

Was he actually interested in her coins? Tilly grinned and then shrugged. "Well I have a lot of just shiny ones. Because I don't like to use them when they're just SO nice looking. Then if I get a coin that had this year stamped into it, then I keep it. Because it was made THIS year - I have a book for each year and my shiny ones are kept in a tin. OHHHhHHHH and I have the special ones with like...significant events pressed into them. Those are COOL." But that was just her opinion and people at Ilvermorny HAD thought she was just a little bit weird.

"Do you like it here? I haven't been here long. We only moved here this summer." HONEST.

"I missed YOU!" Carlton held onto her for a few moments longer before he pulled away. Writing letters and sending postcards just wasn't enough. It just wasn't?

For now he didn't care about the dropped basket (and candy), he was bouncing on his feet, eyes open wide in excitement. "What are you doing? How are you? How is your summer? Are you looking forward to Hogwarts? LOOK!" He stretched his arm out and rolled up the sleeve. There was a very distinct line from where his T-shirt had covered his shoulder and where it just... Hadn't. "I'm TANNED!"

Well, he wasn't really. He'd burned his underarms after building sand castles for four hours and he was shining red like a tomato but still! Half of his arm was almost tanned!

Just as the thought entered the soon-to-be sixth year's mind, he paused, his hand hovering over the display to grab his umpteenth packet of crystallised pineapples. New stock, new stock..... that usually meant free samples. He turned his head to look back at the shopkeeper and see if he was-

............. Oh?

Being someone who liked to sit in the background and watch the drama unfold, Phillip wasn't used to being stared at so, at first, he simply ignored it. Frankly, if it wasn't aimed at him, he didn't care. But it was only when he was turning back to the display he had been looking at and noticed her still looking that he stopped.

And stared. Right back at her.

At first, there was a look of confusion on his face and he even turned around to see if she was looking at the person behind him. Upon seeing that there was no one there - apart from an overenthusiastic young boy but that didn't count - he turned back to face her. His head might have been tilted towards the side but, aside from that, there was a very neutral expression on his face.

Blink. Blink. Stare.

Your move.

Lily smiled and shrugged her shoulders.. "You'll see.. I'm a Snake you know.. we are rather cunning. " She said with a wink in his direction as he kissed her cheek.. "Besides.. you'd have to remember I have them. " The blue eyed girl raised an eyebrow at him before letting out a soft giggle...

"Mmmm.. yeah I guess I'll save you a few boxes.. Maybe. " She said with a grin as she stepped back on her black heels, graceful and balanced as she easily turned and moved towards the counter to buy them.

She grinned at him as he got distracted by her.. Mmmhmmm.. that's right.. he was all distracted by her! That made her feel better and helped her bruised heart a bit..

"Ahh.. sneaking off hmm? My mom had an errand to run so I came here.. she'll probably be back soon. " The second year explained.

Slate nodded. "Yeah. I've seen a few of them." Not all of them. "And some other friends." And some new people. He'd seen an array of people. But, that was good. He preferred to be out of the house.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I guess that's an idea." he said carefully. "I'll look into it." And who knows? Maybe it would work? It didn't seem like he'd be staying with anyone else for awhile.

He smiled at her next statement. [b]"Yeah. We'll be the best bat parents ever. "We'll have to do it together." That was only fair. He didn't want Mew to like her better than him.

So he WAS branching out for the summer. "Good." She said, a grin now fixed in her expression. "But don't forget I'm taking you to a Quidditch match at some point...if you still wanna go." She'd run the idea by her Dad and he didn't seem at all put off by it. Rather, the man liked to know she was settling in well and making friends. You'd think with her entering her third year he'd have stopped worrying by now but nope. He just cared an awful lot and she didn't mind one bit.

"You definitely should. Maybe start with something heavily activity based, then you won't have to spend too much time worrying about conversation--y'know, in case it gets awkward." Activities were often a life saver she'd found. Some conversations just had no good turn to them.

And there was an idea; showing Mew around together. "I don't see why not. It'll be fun. Weekends mostly to start until we get a handle on fully being back and getting on top of our homew--WE CAN TAKE HIM TO THE ROOM OF REQUIREMENTS!!" Then they could made it a bat's dream and he'd be even happier.

This had to happen, yes.

Slate grinned. "Yes. I do. I haven't forgotten." In fact, he was very much looking forward to it. Ashlynn had also promised to take him to one. Which was great! Everyone seemed excited about the sport, so going twice wouldn't be a problem. Plus, seeing Jessa with her dad might help him with stuff with him mum.

He considered this. "Yeah. That makes sense." He just had to think of something he liked to do that was an activity and didn't involve much talking. So far, it seemed like all his favorite activities involved some sort of verbal communication.

He nodded along as Jessa spoke. He'd learned to do that very well. It seemed like all the girls he knew liked talking. He then started visibly bouncing on the spot when she mention the Room of Requirement. "YES!" he exclaimed. "We could make bean bag chairs too. That way we can get our homework done AND watch Mew AND be comfortable ALL at the same time."

It was BRILLIANT. They were BRILLIANT.

RJ looked at her and laughed. "My cousin was a Slytherin. I'm not sure she was so cunning," he teased and gave her a smirk. A slight blush coming to his cheeks at the kiss. "That's a fair point...I do forget I have them sometimes so it will probably be forgotten and then I'll be surprised!"

Following her he counted his boxes to make sure he had enough money. Hopefully he did he hated having to put any back. It was like a crime against...well candy to have to put it back on the shelf! "Awww. Well, can we do something this weekend?" he asked as he waited with her in line. "Another date?"

Oh good, he'll still be coming! "I think you'll love it and eventually you might even be able to play in little scrimmage games--or join a team, I dunno. They banned it at Hogwarts a bunch of years back so that's a dead end." Jessa was one of the few not particularly fussed about it. The girl had never been particularly athletically inclined and it wasn't a certainty her asthma would allow for such...er....thrilling activities as dodging bludgers while trying to stay airbourne.

The girl turned to the shelves again, trying to figure whether there was anything else she wanted in this aisle when Slate's suggestion happened.

JHKVDSFHDSGIUFSGLCJGISD!!!

"Yes!" So much enthusiasm springing between the two today. "That'd be PERFECT!!!! Then we could do it more often! And we'd be productive! And Mew would get used to just flying around us and having us while he's out and about!!" Slate was a genuis. He was wonderful at this good parenting strategies thing.

"I bet that'll even help him to not fly away when we take him onto the grounds later." 'Cause he'll be more used to them and all.

Who was this kid? No one important it was starting to be realized. If he didn't go to school with Eddie then he probably wasn't any use to him. He went back to looking at the candy when the kid said probably not. "You homeschooled?" He seemed about his age so why wouldn't he be at Hogwarts unless he was homeschooled or a mudblood.
He eyed the kid again, was that it?

The attitude on this one made Eddie even more interesting. He was bored and the candy was dumb, so annoying someone could bring some fun to his day. "Well if I don't know you I'm going to say you are either new or your parents don't allow you out of the house much, so figured you'd need some help."

Lily laughed softly as RJ spoke and she sent him a little wink after she had calmed down a tad. "Well, perhaps I'm more special then? " She said, her tone a bit haughty.. Yeah she was playing it up a bit.. but after what they had been through..he needed to be reminded about how amazing she was..

Cause Merlin knew she didn't want to feel like that again..

She grinned at him.. "Or when they were lost and they were really just in your robes. " She raised an eyebrow at him, her blue eyes twinkling happily.

"Mmm, another date sounds good, did you have anything in mind?" She asked as she moved to pay for her armfull of candy..

There was something about this guy that he wasn't sure whether he liked or not. Koen looked back over his shoulder. "No. I attended Durmstrang last term. I'll be at Hogwarts this coming September." Whatever game this kid was playing he could play too. He eyed him right back silently.

"So you know everyone then?" That's how this kid was making it sound. Frankly Koen didn't care either way. If he needed help this kid would be the last person he'd ask. The more this kid said to him the easier it was to see that he should've just kept walking passed him rather then saying 'hi' like he had.

Who was this kid? Eddie thought about his words, nope they were in a friendly tone so unless this kid was a mind reader, hmmm did they have a seer on their hands? He just watched him for a moment before taking some candy off the shelf so it didn't seem too suspicious. "Durmstrang is a good school from what I've heard, why are your folks sending you to Hogwarts?" Honestly their dark art program in Durmstrang from what he heard from his uncle was so much better, why wasn't he going there? He'd have to speak to his father about that.

"Of course I know everyone. I'm that popular." He smiled sweetly at the boy though he knew he wasn't and he tried not to be popular for reasons. Anyone got the wind of what his family really did his uncle would disown him. "It's not hard to be popular at Hogwarts though, there are plenty that love to be friends with everyone and be in everyone's business." Just find a puffer basically. He looked around the store to see if there was anything else he could act like he was interested in.

"Ever have an acid pop?"

Was she okay?

Well, honestly Ava wasn't really in a good mood lately. There were just a lot of things that bothered her and triggered the mood, but she refused to tell Adi. It's not that she didn't trust the former Hufflepuff, but she'd rather to keep her personal problems by herself. "I'm fine, it's just uh... you know. Hormones, girl's monthly problem..." Hopefully he would understand.

The Gryffindor smiled when he mentioned that she would be taller than him. "Wow, I don't know that you're actually not that tall." Although she knew that Henric was taller than him. "I am really looking forward for that wedding! Speaking of, where is your fiance? I rarely bumped into you two together." Was Benny too busy to accompany him for shopping or he simply just didn't like shopping at all? She was not judging, though. Ava was sure that everything went okay with these two.

He's going to get her some chocolate frogs? Ava couldn't help but smiled. "That's uh... very nice of you, Adi." Who doesn't love free stuffs, though? Not to mention that she could keep the galleons for herself and perhaps spend them for something else.

HUUUUUGS. Hugs were the best. Carlton hugs were the absolute best because he was the best hugger in the world. And she missed him. She pulled away from the hug when he did and listened to ALL of his questions. Beaming from ear to ear, Nat giggled at his excitement and then jumped a little when he showed off his tan. "Me too!" she exclaimed, pulling up her sleeve to prove that her arm was a tiiiiiiny bit less pale than before. Carlton was definitely red, but.. she'd let him have it.

Now, onto his questions. "My summer has been fun. We went swimming and we played on the beach and we dug for clams." We being her and her twin brother, of course. "But I'm excited to go back to school. It's been a LONG summer." She never thought that having a break from school would be so long and that she'd actually want to go back.

"Now, tell me about yours!" she wanted to hear EVERYTHING.

Durmstrang was not a good school. It was an amazing school. He was going to tell this kid that but decided to keep it to himself for the time being. "It was my decision to attend Durmstrang rather then Hogwarts last term. And it's my decision to transfer this term to check out Hogwarts, it's where my entire family went to school." His parents weren't sending him anywhere he hadn't asked to go. If things didn't go well at Hogwarts for any reason he could always transfer back to Durmstrang and continuing with dragon training.

Koen scoffed. This kid didn't act all that popular and if he thought he was going to buy into that fake sweet smile it wouldn't happen. Coming from a whole line of Slytherin's he knew when someone wasn't what they were pretending to be. "Uh-huh," he replied simply. If the kid wanted to pretend he could go along with it...for now. "I'd rather not." Being popular wasn't his style and quite frankly he couldn't careless who was his friend and who wasn't.

"Yeah, once. I learned my lesson...they make good prank candies though," Koen smirked knowingly.

He listened to the boy and even though is facial expressions weren't showing it he couldn't even deal with what was coming out of his mouth. You didn't just pick where you went to school. Children didn't have that choice. The parents could pick if you went to school or not in the place given, but everyone knew that your name was placed on a book at Hogwarts from the time you were young. He assumed other schools were like that as well. It was weird to see so many transfers and things with what his uncle told him about magical schools. "Oh I see." It was obvious this boy was no use to him. He couldn't be good to get to do his dirty work, plus he was getting bored with the conversation.

Yeah, he was over this conversation and was bored with this weirdo. He had been already placed in the not good enough for a Blaze list in Eddie's mind. "What house do you want in? I could see you as a Hufflepuff." Annoying and weird, yep that worked for him.

"Yeah they are good for that." He looked around put the basket down, because he had no intention of buying anything and turned to the boy. "This place is lame, see you around." He turned and pocketed a chocolate frog before heading out the door.

RJ laughed and looked at Lily, "More special than my cousin? Definitely. You aren't mean to me. Though...to be fair she's only mean to me because I call her Brookie and she doesn't like it." And he would continue to call her Brookie because he had since he was little and she could deal with it. Mmhmm

Looking at her he smiled, "No but I'm sure we can think of something." He moved with her and watched as she paid for her candy. "Did you not get anything for yourself?"

What kind of events? Matilda grinned and then laughed cutely at him. "You've not seen coins with Hogwarts pressed into them and the date of the Battle of Hogwarts? The election coins with final candidates and the elected Minister? Oh, Jimmy!" She was getting excited about it already and wished that she kept a set of coins with her at all time so that she could show him every single thing she was talking about. Almost fit to burst, she tucked into a jelly slug to keep her from spilling all of the fun things at him and all of the information she had about the things she was interested in.

Tilting her head as she chewed the sweet in her mouth, Tilly listened to her newest friend tell her about his aspirations and nodded along. "As a Healer? Are you good? Have you saved anyone? Did you see anything fun? Tell me tell me tell me!!!!!!" What? She was interested!

An affinity for crystallised pineapples? Phillip glanced down at his basket and gave her a small shrug of his shoulders. "It's the perfect sweet treat and isn't heavy like chocolate is," he said, glancing up at her again, "Plus, I don't know many people who like it so it's less likely to be stolen by a hungry dormmate." Tactics, lady, tactics.

............. W h a t?

His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked her up and down. "Are you...... trying to be my business manager?" The words cost efficient weren't ones you heard everyday unless it was business related. "I don't have a house elf so unless you have some sort of secret recipe that I should know about," Hint hint. "I don't think I can go around making it." The number one reason being that he was lazy and much rather preferred someone else making food for him. Except, now she'd gotten him thinking about whether the house elves knew how to make this sweet treat and if they did, he was wasting his time and money in this place.

Pause.

"Remind me, who are you?"

As Tenacius grabbed some of the chocolate fudge, Henry did the same, tossing some into his basket. He liked the peanut butter fudge the best of the offered flavors though, so he made sure to get plenty of that as well. "Sounds like a great summer so far," he grinned. The holiday was about relaxing and doing what you wanted, right? He couldn't say his was exactly relaxing, but that wasn't a bad thing. "Mine's going really well, too." And he'd be happy to tell him all about it too.

But first some samples. Henry followed Tenacius over to where Sugarplum's was hosting some of their newest candies to try. Bertie Bott's wasn't his favorite, but he didn't often pass up free food. He selected a bright pink one and popped it in his mouth. "Not bad.. cotton candy." He grabbed a handful more to eat while he shopped.

He still needed to find something else new to try, maybe besides the samples, and he was about to ask Ace for any opinions when his Gryffinpal spoke first. "Char? Yeah, of course," he grinned. It took him a moment to realize which party he was talking about, but he remembered Ace being at the masquerade ball. "That was a lot of fun, wasn't it?" But something about the way Tenacius asked him made Henry pause. "You know she's my girlfriend, right?" Really, he thought the whole school knew they had been dating, but he might feel bad if one of his friends was left out of that information. But he'd be happy to tell anyone that, if they didn't know.

"Summer's been great! Super busy with Quidditch, but of course making time for friends and parties and all that. Plus, I got a part-time job." So yeah, super busy, but a fun kind of busy. "Oh! And something else awesome... guess what??" Henry grinned widely, but couldn't contain himself long enough to make him guess. "I got made prefect for Hufflepuff."

Slate nodded. He wasn't exactly sure how coordinated he was in the air, but it would at least be worth checking out and trying. He wasn't against trying things. Especially since it seemed like a big deal to people here.

Slate beamed proudly at Jessa's reaction. He couldn't help it. There was just something about her being so pleased with his suggestion that made it hard for him to hide any sort of cool reaction. He nodded. "Yes! Plus, family outings. He should see us together." Otherwise the poor bat might feel like he was living with two strangers.

"Exactly! He'll know where mum and dad and he should be with us."
Not in the sense that when Mew was comfortable enough to fly around he shouldn't, but so he knew where to come home to.

Lily smiled warmly as RJ as he spoke and she shook her head, "No, I can't be mean to you. " She said with a warm smile in his direction. Even when he has bruised her heart she couldn't do that to him.. "Well, so far you don't have a nickname for me that I hate.. so that's a plus.." Then again Lily would be a hard one to fully make fun of..

She smiled up at him.. "We still have horseback riding to do.. as well as swimming.. and walking around my manor. " The blue eyed girl managed to point out as she paid for her candy and then picked up the bag of beans..

That really was a ton but she had a plan.. she'd need help from her cousin but she was sure she could do it..

"Oh me? No.. I don't think I did.. " She said with a shrug..

This wasn't her first time she blamed hormones and monthly thingy (although most of them were truly the cause of her mood swings). Hopefully Adi didn't feel weird that she mentioned about this, heh. "Seriously, I'm okay. But thanks anyway." The Gryffindor responded and gave him a small smile.

Ava was not kidding about his height though, probably because she used to see all senior guys were that TALL and made her feel like a minion or something else. But she chose not to comment about his height and listened about the wedding. "You're going to pick me as your best girl?" She beamed. Ava had never been involved with a wedding before and this was such a HUGE HONOR for her. "Merlin, this is huge! I am so honored for this part!" She leaned into him and gave a huge tight hug. "So, when is the wedding? You can't keep it as a secret since now I AM your best girl, Aditya. I have to prepare the dress, the makeup, EVERYTHING!" It wasn't funny that she was appointed to be in the wedding but not knowing about the details. Wasn't that the best man/girl's job description?

Goodness, She didn't see that the question about him and Benny were rarely to be seen together could be a boomerang for her. Honestly, Ava even didn't know what about her and Phillip even though they decided to give their relationship a try once more. "Phillip is having a guys time with his wolfpack." She simply answered that. If she told Adi the truth, there's a possibility that he will be all big-brother-y and worst case scenario: caused Phillip in trouble. "I am not that type of girl who doesn't allow my boyfriend to hang out with his pack. Besides, I am busy with my part-time now."

Was it bad she said that she was SO ready for next term? Probably not. "Yeah, I am. I just can't wait to graduate now." Even though Ava still had zero idea about what should she do after Hogwarts. Her worst case scenario was waiting tables for the rest of her life if her OWL scores was... awful. But thankfully now Ava could breath a little. "Zhenny is fine, she's very busy with her healer internship. And Teddy.... Well, he's also good but still being Teddy, you know? He rarely leaves home and prefers his entire summer by reading." Another thing that she kept from Adi was the fact that she didn't go back home for summer and lived with her sister instead due to her problems with her mother. Her twin brother on the other hand, was being a good mama boy that he went home for summer. Needless to say that she rarely (or probably never) saw Teddy since the term ended.

The kid might be listening but Koen could tell he either didn't believe what he was hearing or didn't agree with it. Either way he didn't care. It was his life and where he went previously and why no ones business. He shrugged his shoulders not really caring one way or the other.

Koen resisted the urge to laugh and roll his eyes at the boy. He was no Hufflepuff that was sure. This kid was to big for himself and seriously needed someone to knock him down to size a bit, his whole attitude and the way he talked just screamed that he thought himself better then everyone else. It was making the blonde sick to his stomach. "Same as my most of my family. Slytherin." If not Slytherin then Gryffindor like his mom.

Oh, good the kid was leaving. "Right." The less they saw each other the better. He already didn't like the kid and he was sure the kid didn't like him either.

RJ smiled at her and took her hand. "I wouldn't try and find a nickname that you hated. I like Lilypad. It fits you. My precious, fantastically awesome, Lilypad." Okay maybe he was sucking up just a little bit but he felt like he still needed to make up for earlier and that was the best way he knew how. He was going to be the bestest boyfriend ever.

"We do! We need to do all of those before we go back to school," he said with a grin. Maybe not all at once but definitely before they go back. He watched her curiously as she got the bag. Really...what was she going to do with all of that?

"Would you like something?" He looked around trying to find something that she might like. "CHOCOLATE FROGS!" He headed toward the display and grabbed a bunch of them. Yup. He was going to get his girlfriend her favorite candy.

"Oh! Oh! We can take him with us to the kitchen sometimes." They visited there for snacks together, occasionally. Mew would probably like to tag along as well. There was already one family outing planned out. "Sunday evenings by the lake? Won't have to be for too long, maybe an hour...hour and a half." Even with all the excitement of spending time with Mew, she wouldn't forget that Slate had other friends and possibly a million other things to do. An hour seemed reasonable.

"We'll have to be sure to show him around every corridor we know, that way he doesn't get lost in that maze of a place whenever he tries flying from one of us to the next." It'd taken her somewhere close to a year to fully learn the twists and turns of the castle, she could only imagine poor little Mew trying to navigate through it all.

"He'll sleep through the day so we've got that covered while we're at our classes. Him being nocturnal though...we'll need to sneak out some times..."

Lily smothered a giggle as RJ spoke and she eyed him for a moment and shook her head.. "Your precious? Now I sound like some sort of mystical ring that needs to be thrown in a fire. " She said as she let a chuckle escape her lips finally.. He was trying.. she would give him that.. Only time would tell though..

Lily sighed inwardly and bit her lip for a moment.. she didn't like feeling this way.. Unsure of herself and even slightly self conscious.. which wasn't like her at all.

"Yeah that all sounds good to me.. I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other this summer. " She said with a warm smile over at him as she balanced her bag on her arm..

"Oh I mean.. RJ.. You don't have.." The twelve year old attempted to protest but it was to late now.. "All right.. " After all who could say no to chocolate Frogs?

"Well when you say it like that...." RJ went into his best impression of pose and rubbed his hands together. "My preciouuuuuuuuus." He started laughing hysterically unable to keep up the pose and grinned at her as he came back carrying an armful of chocolate frogs. So...maybe more than just a few.

Hearing her he nodded with a big grin. "Definitely! I can show you my new hamster! We named him Jasper." He smiled as he paid for all of his candy and handed her one of the chocolate frogs with a grin. "Want to go somewhere else?"

Vivi!
 

Sugarplums was a definite stop on Olivia's weekend adventure in Diagon Alley. She needed to replenish her chocolate frog stash so that she could bring it with her to Paris. Sure, the chocolate was divine there but it was nothing like chocolate frogs and Olivia just had a hankering for those. As she walked down the aisles, she found herself picking up more and more things that perhaps she didn't need but things that she definitely wanted. Licorice wands, sour gummies.... Hmm... She stopped in her tracks and eyed the candy on the top shelf before pouting momentarily. Yep, there was no way she could possibly reach that.

#5foot2problems

Maybe there was someone taller that could help her?

Now that it was summer, Vivian had all the time in the world to go around for some adventure. Of course, her usual stop would be Diagon Alley. She had spent months away from here that she decided that the idea was definitely not unwelcome. Sure, Hogsmeade had places and shops to suit her needs too, but perhaps it just wasn't close to Diagon Alley in loads of aspects. Vivian's naturally adventurous soul was made for places like this, where she could roam around freely and explore... but not into Knockturn Alley, of course. Her parents made sure it was craved on her head.

Speaking of which, the blonde had a few things she needed to attend to. Stuff like buying treats for her owl and kneazle, and also for her baby niffler Goldilocks, who was a lovely addition to the family for the summer. She also needed to take a look at the stuff at Quality Quidditch Supplies because the soon-to-be fifteen year old just wanted to admire some of the brooms in there. But of course, Vivian's priorities were laid and she definitely made a beeline for the sweets shop. She wanted all the candies from there, marshmallows and licorice wands and chocolate frogs. The mere thought of it already excited her.

Skipping through the displays, Vivian accidentally bumped into another girl. "Oh, Merlin!" The blonde said, a little alarmed. Oh no, her careless self was showing again. "I'm sorry...." But then Vivian took a better look at the girl she had just bumped and...

SQUEAL!

"Olivia!" BEAR HUG.

Ali :)
 

Olivia nearly dropped her basket filled with delicious treats (probably more treats than she could possibly ever need but they were all worth it when someone bumped into her but she somehow managed to maintain her balance. Delicious packets of liquid sunshine didn't deserve crashing into the ground. "I'm sorry..." she began to say automatically, glancing down at her basket, and then she paused. Why on earth was she apologizing when she hadn't bumped intot he other girl? She blinked, glanced up, and she grinned. Olivia knew that girl. She would have known her anywhere. A GIANT smile graced her lips.

"VIVIAN?" cried Olivia when she suddenly felt warm, snug arms around her. She returned her friend's hug eagerly. It was so good to see her! She placed her basket onto the ground as it was getting a little heavy for her arms. "How are you? How's your summer? What are you up to?" Merlin. So many questions for the poor She-Snake. Olivia just wanted to make sure that her friend was having a fantastic start to the summer!

Vivian had loosened up on stepping on people's feet. She usually would have panicked and apologised endlessly, much like that time when she had stepped on Andrei's foot. The fact that it was a friend instead of a stranger made her calm down and she was glad the person didn't bark at her for such an accident in the first place. The blonde wiggled in place as she hugged the older girl, and then released with a beam on her face. After that Ancient Runes class together, Vivian felt she needed to hang out with her more. They made a great team then!

"That's me! That's me!" Yes, this was Vivian! The sight of a familiar person made things incredibly better. "I'm okay! I'm sorry for bumping into you." Knowing it was Olivia made her feel more guilty. "I hope I didn't hurt you. My summer's great so far! I'm thinking piano lessons and Quidditch matches with my auntie." Which were both fun, of course! Spending time with Auntie Elise was always a good time.

Vivian noticed the basket nearby. Hmm... "Were you candy shopping, too?" she asked. She'd love to have a buddy in this case!

Why did they have to go to Diagon Alley? She was really mad at her parents for making her come shopping with them here. ALL the kids were running around excited because they were getting to go to Hogwarts in September and she was not going to get to go. It wasn't fair at all and she didn't understand why the world hated her. Why was it her that got the bad gene to be a squib? Why couldn't it have been her sisters? She hated everything about this place right now and she wasn't hiding it.


Half looking at the candy when her sister pointed it out she shrugged. "Sure we can if you want. Will dad let us buy them?" She knew mom would only allow them one a piece saying candy wasn't all that good for them, but that was the plus of having two houses and two sets of parents. Rules were different. She turned and started looking at the fudge though, "I might get this instead of just candy." What kind would she get though?

Anyone?
 

Sam was pretty sure that Dora's Uncle Spike somehow managed to have a sweeter tooth than she did, so it seemed like this might be a good place to come get him a thank you present.

Well, part of a thank you present. She'd already got him a plant in a nice ceramic pot, see. But she wanted to get him something else too. Because he was a Herbologist, and what if he already had ten of what she'd chosen?

She headed for the chocolate aisle first, picking up a caramel bar for herself and looking along the shelf for the mixed boxes. They weren't her preference - less chocolate for your money than solid bars, and always a couple of meh fillings - but it seemed more fitting for a present.

Milk chocolate... Dark chocolate... Choices, choices.

Olivia beamed. It was really great to see her partner in crime from Ancient Runes. They ought to partner up for more things or just hang out in the future cause that class was a breeze! 15/10 would run away from crazy Trowbuckles with Vivian. "Oh no worries at all! You barely bumped into me." No bruises, nothing! Olivia was a okay. And she didn't fall over which was a bonus.

Hearing about Vivian's start to the summer sounded wonderful. Piano lessons was something that Olivia loved herself whereas Quidditch... She wasn't a big fan of it but if Vivian enjoyed it, then that was all that mattered there. Olivia tended to avoid flying wherever possible though she had improved greatly over the course of the past two years. "And when you bumped into me, I was probably standing in the centre of the aisle trying to talk myself out of getting more candy," she laughed and motioned to her basket that was about a quarter filled with chocolate frogs and licorice wands. Ah yes, she was here for candy shopping. "I am. I'm trying to debate getting something else but I can't decide on what."

And then the 'too' part of Vivian's question clicked a little later than usual for the Lioness so an even bigger smile tugged on her lips. OH. GOTCHA. "We should shop together!" It just be like Ancient Runes class minus the angry adorable Bowtruckle.

Vivian was one who always wanted assurance when things like this happened. She was glad that she hadn't seriously hurt Olivia, but the tiny ounce of guilt left in her still lingered. "Still, I'm sorry," she said for the last time to make sure and offered a tiny smile. She hadn't meant to bump her in the first place. Careless Vivian was careless. SIGHS.

The blonde giggled at Olivia's next comment. Apparently she also had a mad love for candies and sweets. See? This is why they were friends. "What's wrong with having more candy?" Because the last time Vivian checked on her mental rule book, there wasn't any restriction about getting more goodies. She sent a wide beam at Olivia, but her eyes widened when she saw the older girl's basket. "Is that a year's worth of candy?" She joked with the beam still on her face. Looking at the different displays, Vivian's eyes scanned the variety to see what else she should get. "What about some fudge? And... oh! Sugar quills!" Vivian loved those! She liked to nom on those sugary candies while she studied and did homework. There were still so many sweets around and... yes, Vivian could see now why Olivia struggled with what to buy or not."How about you? How's your summer so far?" Details! She wanted to know!

So Olivia was candy shopping! Obviously, but it made Vivian wiggle in excitement. "We should!" The blonde replied happily, but she wasn't planning to buy that much as Olivia was. Maybe just a couple so she could share with her dad and sister later on. This was a better way of bonding than nearly getting attacked by a cute bowtruckle, to be honest.

After his talk failed candy stealing attempt with Zoryn , Dorian was smiling at the thought of having made a friend. At least, he thought they were friends now.... He shrugged his shoulders as he made his way towards the counter to stand in line with his father when something caught his attention.

Turning direction so smoothly, it was as he had been walking towards the chocolate section right away. He had totally forgotten to ask if his dad wanted to buy a chocolate frog for him! Apart from this, something or rather someone else caught his attention as well. Why did that girl look like she had a hard time chosing which chocolate she wanted? Didn't everyone know that "If you can't choose, buy them both" he said , crossing his arms over each other and nodded his head.

Of course, she could just forgo the chocolate altogether. Wasn't it liquorice that she remembered Spike having a taste for? Maybe she should go have a look at that too before deciding.

And then a young voice came to add his two knuts on the situation.

"Tempting as that is," Sam replied, turning her gaze towards him. "These aren't for me. They're part of a thank you present." And giving two separate large boxes of chocolates and a potted plant seemed a) odd, and b) a bit much. Not that she thought that the kids would take any issue to helping him finish them off.

It really was a dilemma.

"I'm thinking the milk is the safer bet than the dark." She liked any and all chocolate, pretty much, but she wasn't shopping for her. Yet.

Regina :3
 

They were going to shop together? Fantastic! This was going to be a great time to hang out with the She-Snake and catch up on everything. "Y'know I think we should spend more time together. I enjoy hanging out with you," smiled Olivia. She definitely wanted to get to know Vivian better. That was a must indeed. Yes, yes!

And at Vivian's joke about her basket being a year's worth of candy, Olivia laughed. "Not quite. Let's triple the amount," she said with a wink. Heh. A year's worth... Actually it was probably close to half a year's worth. Ooh FUDGE. HOW HAD SHE FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT? "Fudge?" she repeated with widened eyes as she couldn't believe how silly she was to forget such a magnificent treat. "Sugar quilllls." She nodded at that and picked up a packet to add to her basket. As her eyes scanned the shelves looking for that perfect treat that would hit the spot, she was struck with a very peculiar thought. "I wonder how they make all of this candy.... If its like in the muggle world where its manufactured or if its just a simple spell or potion or something..." But Vivian hadn't asked her for such a thought. Vivian had asked her how she was!

Err.. Oh right! "Great! My summer is really nice so far. I've been living with my brother which its been great to spend time with him and then I've been working at a cafe and volunteering at the museum." She nodded. And in her free time? "And in my free time, I come to Diagon Alley or visit people or going on dates." Dates with a certain someone. And visiting a certain Gryffindor Prefect.. Wait. Actually both Gryffindor Prefects.. Oh and a Hufflepuff one. Merlin. Since when had a good handful of her friends become Prefects? Back at Beauxbatons, she had been a serial prankster and rule bender.

"Ooh they have Mars Bars?"

A curious expression went across his face as he looked at the older girl telling him that it was part of a thank you present. He had personally never bought anything for someone, mainly because he had no money and he never had a reason to do it.

"But" he said, unfolding his arms as he picked up a chocolate frog package and started to WAVE it around like a crazy person. He was in fact trying to get his dad's attention and it took a couple of second before the man in line at the counter and him made eye contact and he pointed excitedly at the package in his hand. Signalling that he wanted to have one. His excitement fell when his father silently told him to put it back down. Puffing up his cheeks, the boy dropped the package back and sulked and it was when he saw the girl that he remembered he had wanted to say something.

"If i were the one getting a present" he continued as if the whole thing inbetween had not happened. "I'd love to get a box of mixed chocolates" he said. "I mean, If you buy them both and mix them up in empty box and the chocolates that don't fit in it you keep for yourself" he said. "That person will be happy cause they'll get a box of TWO kinds of chocolate and you'll be happy cause you get to eat some too!" he grinned proudly at his reasoning. "Or..." he frowned as he looked around. "Don't tell me my genius idea has been used already and there's already a box like that here?" There probably was....ugh.

"Do you go to Hogwarts?" he asked out of the blue, cocking his head to the side as he watched her curiously.

Ooooooh! What Olivia said definitely made the blonde bounce a little. "I definitely 101% agree with you on that!" Vivian replied with a wide beam. Hanging out once and in a class activity wasn't enough for this girl, nuh-uh! Surely they both would have the time this year, despite this being her fifth year and that meant OWLs. "You can always just drop by the Slytherin Common Room when you're free... or send a tiny note... or we can even hang in between classes!" The fourteen-going-fifteen year old would always make time for friends. No doubt.

Triple the amount? For a few seconds, Vivian stared blankly, but thankfully it didn't take long until she realised it was probably just a joke. Oh, LOL! She was a little slow today. To hopefully cover up her awkwardness, she grinned at the Gryffindor. See? Totally didn't just make a fool out of herself. "I'd really like to take all, but I don't exactly fancy those blood pops," she had to mention. Had she eaten more than just a bite before, ickle Vivian would have barfed all over the floor on that very moment. "But definitely fudge and sugar quills are a must!" Olivia already had chocolate frogs and licorice wands, so it looked like a good set of sweets to Vivian. OOOOOOH, the question had the blonde curious, too. "We can ask the shopkeeper about it! He might be the best person to ask about those." Besides, he owned the shop so he'd have some idea about this, yeah? "Let's ask him when we reach the counter." And after they've finished candy shopping, of course. Vivian added some sugar quills to her set as well. She'd never like to run out of these.

Now, the blonde listened as the Gryffindor shared her summer experiences. Of course, there was occasional giggling. "Café? Like... are you the one making the coffee or something?" What was the term for that again? It definitely escaped her, but basing on this Slytherin's experience, she looooved watching the coffee people do their coffee art thing. But there was MORE GIGGLING at the date part. Vivian's eyes immediately snapped back at Olivia, with her eyebrows wiggling. "Now that's interesting. Do tell me more? Like, with who exactly?" She giggled again. How had she not known about this?!

Mars bars was that muggle candy, right? "I didn't know they sold muggle sweets here," she said... and she had been in this shop for years! Vivian was obviously slow at things today.

Last school year, Brent had the mistake of boarding the train without anything at all. Well, he'd had his luggage and then some money in his pocket, but what had been the fun in that? This summer, he was going to load up on snacks, so he'd have money and snacks in his possession. That train ride was seriously long, and he major plans of eating and napping while on it. Of course he was going to spend time with his amazing girlfriend, too. Maybe even his brother, too, since Kane had become less annoying since he'd gotten older.

So it was with these thoughts in mind that Kane bee-lined for the sweet shop as soon as he'd gotten to Diagon Alley. School supplies? Who needed those? Not him! That kind of stuff could wait until the last minute as far as he was concerned. He would be a sixth year soon, and wasn't that pretty much the graduation point? Never mind the fact that graduation was really two years away for him. Brent fumbled with the lose change in his pocket as he surveyed the glorious selections in front of him. Wonder how much it would cost him for the whole display?

Yes. Olivia's mind was made up. She would HAVE to drop by the Slytherin Common Room more often to visit Vivian or send a note to meet up. They were going to def spend more time hanging out this year. Between classes would be fun too!

Vi bit her lip and paused as Vivian stared blankly at her. Ooh. Did the joke not land properly? Before she could awkwardly shrug her shoulders and offer a carefree smile, the Slytherin was grinning. Okay. Bad joke. Whoops! My bad, thought Olivia offering a smile. "Blood pops..." said Olivia as she shook her head. Those were the worst.... "I wonder why they make them and who buys them...?" It must have been someone's preference but still..... "It must be an acquired taste." Yes, that must have been it for sure then. Vivian didn't know the answer to her question either. Hmm.. perhaps some investigating ought to be done? Yes, asking him when they got to the counter sounded like an excellent idea.

But first. Candy shopping! :whaa:

Was she the one making the coffee? Well sometimes. "I help out the barista.
I'm training to be one. I can make some drinks on the espresso machines but I mostly serve treats and check out people." She nodded casually a couple of times before she realized the last part of her sentence. Blue eyes widening, she paused. She turned bright red almost as red as the Gryffindor tie she wore at school. "I.. I run the cash register at the moment," she said with a laugh. Olivia wasn't checking out people per say ALL the time. She was doing her job. Sure there were cute guys that came by but the REALLY cute guy her friend hadn't come by recently.

And then Vivian was giggling. Was this about the date thing? Olivia raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the giggling, and then she had her answer. A blush crept onto her cheeks, "Ace." She paused and then realized that maybe Vivian didn't know him by his nickname. It had been a while since she had called him by his full name. She was so used to calling him Ace now that it seemed almost strange to use his first name like that. "Tenacius. He's a Gryffindor in my year," she smiled. A fellow housemate and a really, really good friend. Well more than a friend. "What about you? Anyone special?" she asked as she raised her eyebrows at the Slytherin. There must have been a ton of people that liked Vivian. Merlin. What was not to like about her? Vivian was amazing.

As Olivia scanned the aisles for Mars Bars, her shoulders slumped a little bit when she couldn't see any. "Merlin.. Must have mistaken it for something else or maybe I really just want a Mars Bars," she laughed.

But...? She waited for the kid to continue, but apparently he'd gotten distracted and was now waving a chocolate frog around.

Er. Sure.

It took a moment to realise he'd been trying to attraction the attention of someone already in the queue. She'd have felt sorry for the boy, but it looked as though he'd already got a few things. With a shrug, she turned back to the boxes of chocolates on the shelves, putting the one of dark chocolate down so she could investigate a selection of caramels.

A smile spread across her face. Caramel had been her favourite bar for her birthday growing up. Maybe-

Oh, the kid was talking to her again.

"Like that one...?" she nodded to a box straight ahead of him, about waist height. "They exist, but always have some crummy ones in. Like ones that you think have soft caramel in, and instead have sticky, hard toffee that glues yeh teeth together." She'd made they mistake at her brother's house last Christmas.

Deciding that she would go for the caramels, she put the milk chocolate box back too. "I do. You gonna be starting at the castle soon?" He looked about the right age.

There was something about an annual Sugarplums trip that was mandatory EVERY summer, but even more so important THIS summer for a variety of reasons. Numero uno; summer before her OWL year which meant being hyped up on sweets was not simply an option this year. She wondered vaguely about trying some of that coffee Professor Newton was so very fond of as well... as it might help with staying awake to study extra.

But for now, she was not going to think about the studies too much because it was summer. Which meant quidditch and sunshine and her birthday and her first summer with a boyfriend! One whom she happened to be rather fond of, which was awesome. Smiling when she spotted him fumbling with his coins, she slipped her arm to loop his, "What do you reckon might be the best study candy? Because I want the entire stock of that." oops. So much for not talking about studies.

Was it obvious to Olivia that Vivian was sorta excited for their in-between classes adventures? It probably was. The blonde was wiggling in her place!

But ugh, yes! Blood pops. Vivian made a face as they came across a whole pack of them in the shelf. "Yeah, those red ones," she said, pointing and cringing at the sweets. Were they even supposed to be considered as sweets?! "I'm not sure if they're actually made of blood, but I guess vampire kids fancy them?" Or those with wolfish mannerisms. It's not that Vivian minded, but she just didn't think the blood pops appealed to her so she was going to avoid them as much as possible. "And perhaps acid pops... if you wanted a hole on your tongue." Which she hopes won't happen! No way! But now she had her eyes on those pumpkin pasties. Did she want some of those? Hmm, Vivian would have to contemplate on that for a while.

Still, something about the jobs of a barista -- THAT was the word! -- pretty much interested Vivian. Handling the coffee and doing those pretty art with the foam. It just amazed her. "Is it hard? Handling the machine thing, that is. It kinda looks complicated from a customer's point of view," she had to ask. She always only found herself staring and contemplating on life whenever she watched the barista person do his thing. Vivian couldn't help but giggle at the 'check out people' part. She even wiggled her eyebrows at the comment. "There's nothing wrong with checking people out," she had to say. If there were attractive people out there, why not appreciate such beauty?

The name 'Ace' didn't really ring the bell yet, but the name 'Tenacius' definitely did! A wide grin grew on Vivian's face. "The prefect, yeah?" Just to make sure they were talking about the same guy. That would have been awkward! "Sooooo, how'd it go? Are you guys official now?" The important questions needed to be asked, because Vivian would definitely support whoever made her friends happy! But then the conversation shifted towards her, and the blonde sort of just smiled and shook her head. "No one special," she said. "Unless getting butterflies in your stomach whenever you see someone is considered special." Were her feelings for Andrei considered a crush, anyway? She didn't know, but she was positive that she didn't just think of him as just a friend. It was more than that.

The expression on Olivia's face made Vivian giggle a little. "Perhaps there are some Mars Bars outside, in Muggle London," the blonde beamed. "There are great ones in here that aren't Mars Bars." Like loooooads of them!

Vampire kids? Olivia blinked. Sure, she had read about vampires in books and whatnot but she had never ran across a vampire in her life so far (thank MEEEERLIN) for that. So the whole notion of vampires seemed like a far off concept but when Vivian mentioned them, she realized that they were actually much closer to what she would have liked to think. She shivered slightly and then began eying other customers as they walked past. Everyone was now a suspect for sure. Olivia just had to make sure to keep an eye on them. Mhmm.. "Both sound waaaay more painful than I'm willing to sign up for," laughed Olivia. Sure, she had a high pain tolerance but still... Acid burning a whole in her tongue? No thank you! She'd pass on that experience.

Handling the coffee machine was hard.... "Yeah, I think so but I think its cause I haven't found my rhythm yet for it. I think that once I get into the rhythm of it all. It will come more naturally. My boss keeps telling me that I think too much when I do it." Overcomplicate and over worry about all the sentences that she's just said? Yep, that was Olivia Holden recently. She was very aware at finding all of the possible meanings of the phrases that escaped her lips. She laughed a little with Vivian. Yes, she was right. There wasn't nothing wrong with checking people out especially when she wasn't dating someone but still.... She felt guilty for some reason because emotionally she was sort of taken...? Or maybe that was just her. "True. The barista did have many interesting stories about people leaving her their number," she smiled.

She nodded. Yes, Olivia Holden had a very big crush on the Gryffindor male Prefect. He was a great person and just.... just... fantastic? She could have used so many other words to describe her but none of them truly fit him. He was just... wonderful. *SWOON*. Hold up. Was Olivia Holden just swooning over a guy? What happened to her independent ways back at Beauxbatons and last year? Well... half of last year. Nope. That was gone. Her cheeks turned pink. "Yep, that's him! Gryffindor Prefect and one of my closest friends." Seriously she couldn't imagine Hogwarts without him or Noelle or Etta or Mel o Jace. It'd be so weird without them. THEN Olivia turned the BRIGHTEST red of shade (way redder than she was before). Were they official? That was the million dollar question. "Well you see... I.... I don't know. I don't think so. We're taking things slow," she rambled. She had no clue. Ace and her had never really talked about what they were... They had just gone out on dates and enjoyed each other's company. Yes, she knew how much she meant to him based on his actions and she was pretty certain that he knew how much he meant to her. But they were taking this sloooooow. Now Vivian and a certain someone...? Olivia almost hadn't caught that murmur but had. Thank goodness for good hearing. Sure her eyesight was just okay but her hearing was great. Butterflies in your stomach? She smiled. "Then that person must be special or you must think they're special to be making you feel that way." That was the way she felt whenever she saw Ace. She felt comfortable with him always but still she always got the butterfly feeling seeing him.... smile. AHEM. What was happening to Miss independent? Earth to Olivia? She blinked and she was back with Vivian. "So who is this person?"

Yes, Vivian was right. There were most likely plenty of Mars Bars outside of this store at other muggle convenience stores. Olivia beamed. "Yes, plenty of times to grab a quick mars bars before going home!"

Well, yes. Vivian wouldn't dare try any of those sweets either. But she couldn't help but giggle at Olivia's reaction and obvious eyeing at the customers around. Well, who knew, right? Maybe one of them was disguised as a totally normal person when in fact he or she was a vampire! Oh, the possibilities. Better to remain vigilant in that case. "Definitely!" Vivian laughed a little and mentally placed an 'X' on that in her list of sweets to buy. "Well then, let's pass on those." She'd rather eat sweets that actually made her enjoy and not moan in pain and disgust.

Now, talking about the connection between the coffee machine and rhythm was interesting. Vivian, being a music enthusiast, nodded along to what Olivia said. "Don't be disheartened! You'll get it right soon, don't you worry!" The blonde said as she beamed wide at the Gryffindor. Vivian definitely sucked at playing the guitar the first time she received it for her twelfth birthday, but it was safe to say that her constant practice (and maybe a few broken strings) did her well in the long run. The next comment about Olivia's co-barista made the blonde giggle. "That's really smooth!" She wondered what she would've done if someone slipped them her number. Perhaps aside from her dad burning the paper into ashes, that is. "Did you get any slipped numbers yourself?" Especially from pretty looking guys?

GIGGLE. Vivian definitely wiggled her eyebrows more at Olivia, especially after noticing her change of expression. "I hope he's treating you well because then he'll have to face me," she said. Well, Vivian was't menacing at all, but she'd do anything to make sure her friends were in the right hands. Girls got to have each other's backs, okay? "And you should update meeeee about that stuff!" Like if ever Tenacius will ask her out. THAT kind of stuff. But... oh, so Olivia did hear the murmur. Vivian turned a little pink, which she usually didn't do. This Fairfield wasn't a blusher at all! She opened her mouth to say something, but the words totally escaped her. So butterflies were special? She made a mental note. Indeed, and obviously, Vivian Fairfield wasn't well-versed in the topic of teenage emotions. "His name's Andrei..." she said, a tiny smile growing. The thought of him always made her happy, even the slightest in a bad day. "We're in the same year, but he goes to Durmstrang." It never bothered Vivian before that Andrei went to a school so far away from hers. In fact, it made their frequent letters more meaningful. His words put into handwriting had such a power of making her feel better. However, despite the amount of times she wished she could hang out with him, she knew they couldn't. Why did Hogwarts and Durmstrang have to be miles and miles and miiiiiiles away?

Olivia smiled gratefully at Vivian's warm encouragements. Yes, she would get it soon. Practice and patience make perfect. "Thanks. You're right. Soon I'll be a pro and I'll have to make you a delicious beverage of your choice," she beamed. Maybe she could even practice those skills back at Hogwarts in the room of requirement so that her skills wouldn't become rusty. To her co-barista, Olivia nodded. Yeah... She was really cool and just awesome in general. Beautiful, spunky, and her own person and very, very flirtatious. She kind of reminded the girl of the Illvermornian champion Louise. She turned bright red when Vivian asked her about if she had gotten any number's slipped to her. "Yes, I have... Several times..." Though she had never gone on any dates with the guys as this had been over Christmas Break when she.... when she was interested in someone else and it was the beginnings of something new. "Though the funniest story I have is a sweet elderly gentleman coming in and asking me how my day was. I was just myself and then he told me about his grandson that I should meet. Next day, he comes back in with his cute grandson." Olivia laughed, remembering how caught off guard she had been at the whole situation.

Ace treating her well? Oh yes he was! Vi beamed at Vivian's comment. "Don't worry, he's treating me really well." Besides if he wasn't, there was Vivian, Mel, Noelle, and Etta all there. Between the four of them, it certainly wouldn't end well. However, that would never ever happen.... right? The idea of him hurting her in such a way seemed foolish but what if it did happen? She brushed the thought aside. It was not time to worry about that. He cared so much for her and she for him. Impossible thoughts and worries. "Yes, well if he and I become official then I will let you know," winked Olivia. That was.... a topic that she didn't know how to broach with Ace. Yes, they cared for each other a lot but they both didn't want to rush into anything. Rushing into things ended badly. That's what adults said. She was enjoying this phase of their relation-friend-ship? Now enough about her own relationship-friendship dilemmas.... Olivia couldn't help but smile more when she heard the guy's name that Vivian was SO crushing on (even if the girl was in denial). "Andrei, hey? That's a nice name," she added and nodded as she listened to Vivian speak. Then she mentioned that he was from Durmstrang. It was sad that he didn't go to Hogwarts so that the two could spend more time together and so Olivia could check out this Andrei fellow to make sure he was a decent guy for Vivian. "How did you two meet?"

saylexa + bbies
 

"We can have this one...and this one.....you like this one too, yeah?" This visit was long overdue...perhaps too overdue given the snot nosed children now crowding the alley--but her candy bag was just about done and she'd be damned if she left herself to deal with a two year old without her hourly fix.

"Holy Merlin, Emm, LOOK!" It was safe to say that Alexa Cambridge had no chill when surrounded by this much sugar and the kid on her hip was no better. The little one reached for everything her mother pointed out to her, eagerly trying to fit them all into her tiny hands as she was quite reluctant to set them in the basket. Were this another store, Lex may have firmly reminded her the things did NOT belong to her but....all this sugar....it was a regular shopping spree. Halloween had come hella early.

"Oh, go grab that one for mummy." She suggested, setting her down to grab the cauldron cakes from the bottom shelf. The only problem came when she saw the one...then tried for the other....and another....

Pretty soon the candy was falling all about the floor but the little miss didn't care, oh no. She'd heard voices and had headed down the aisle. Curiously, Lex watched her go, following at a close enough distance while hazel eyes continued to scan the shelves. Emmerson made it all the way to the end before turning into the next. There, she saw familiar people, but not quite familiar in her memory for her to do much more than stand there staring. Green eyes locked onto the pair momentarily before turning to the Princess gum. "That." But before she could properly make demands, she was being scooped up, back into arms she knew very well.

"And here I thought I'd seen everything." There was nothing to hide the amused look as she properly entered the aisle to admire the gorgeous face that was Sayid pappadeaux. Today he would be the one to deal with a demanding child and the idea left her positively tickled.

Brent eyed the chocolate frogs much in the same way a kid would eye a Christmas present. There was just something about all that chocolate that drew him in. Plus, even though he was pretty much sixteen years old now, he still got excited to find out what kind of card he'd get inside. He dropped one of the frogs into his basket, paused, and then dropped a second one inside. Maybe he'd even buy some candy for that certain someone special. He had just raised his arm to put something else into his basket, when he felt someone loop their arm with his. Either somebody was getting just a little too close to his personal space, OR it was his amazingly hot girlfriend.

...and then he heard her.

"Who cares about studying?" he jokingly asked. He was FINISHED with OWLs. He knew she wasn't, though, so hence the joking tone. "What's your favorite? It's on me." She probably had loads of her own money, but he just wanted to do something special for her...and candy was SPECIAL. He didn't want to get all mushy with her, but he was really glad she'd shown up. When he first met her, he never thought he'd like her this much...but he did. He kind of, sort of, really, definitely hoped they stayed together.

"So what'cha doing today? Busy or something, or can I keep you with me?" he asked.

She grinned when he didn't object AT ALL to the arm linking, because well, why should he? She was pretty adorable, if she cared to admit so herself. Shaking her head, Skylar rolled her eyes. "Oh you know, like anyone who actually cares about their future." Her, obviously, foremost given that she started prepping a full year ahead of time.

"Didn't I just say I wanted everything?" She teased, but of course she hadn't said that exactly. No wait, what had she said? All of the good study food. "But if you insist, then these are good." She plopped a bag of the cockroach clusters into his basket, along with a box of chocolate cauldrons too. She wasn't limited to just one thing, was she?

"Hmm, well, today just so happens to be your lucky day. I'm all yours." In more ways than one, but no need to be all mushy.

Emmerson might not have outright recognized Sayid and Yolanda but that was not the case for her father and half-sister. The reactions of the two were strikingly similar; a blink- a gasp and the widening of identical green eyes. "Emmser!" Yoyo said, getting over her momentary shock to become a beaming being of innocent happiness. They might have had different moms and all but it wasn't weird plenty of other kids she knew had two moms or no moms or sometimes even one mom and two dads- Emmerson was her baby sister and nothing was better than seeing her baby sister (okay, except maybe new things or coloring just in the lines, or falling asleep in her mom's arms).

A second later and tia alexa was picking up Emmerson and giving Papi that look that grown women were always giving him. "Hola, Tia Lexa- I didn't think you guys were gonna be here- did you and papi plan this as a surprise for me and Emmers? You know if you two wanted to surprise us you could have just bought is some gifts, this is good too- and you love candy right? Papi told me you love candy. I love candy too." the little latina talked on, her voice louder than necessary as she played with the hem of Emmerson's dress and smiled bright and big for Alexa.

Sayid couldn't even get a word in with Yoyo going on like this, but he wasn't the type to cut the kid off. Not when she was just harmlessly rambling on and besides, he was too busy giving Alexa a look which showed exactly what he thought of her little amused grin. He could have kicked himself, the one place on this earth he should've bet on meeting Alexa Cambridge was a well stocked candy store. He wet his lips, cherry lollipop reddened tongue peeking out. "Thought it was an auror's job not to be surprised." he playfully sneered. The expression shifted, but only a little as the dark man watched his little blonde daughter.

"my little honey." he grinned then, a little self-indulgently. This wasn't going to be pleasant for long. He had to enjoy it while the moment lasted and his money was still in his pocket.

Her name in the 7 year old's mouth brought a wide grin to the little girl's face but Lex wasn't fooled, Emmerson couldn't completely remember or she'd have been yelling her name loud enough for people back over at the Leaky Cauldron to hear. Kid's heart may have been wonky but her lungs were just fine.

For her part, Lex did her best to indulge the little girl who prattled on to her. This wasn't to say she didn't like her--not at all, she'd grown fond of her. The problem came in that she didn't usually have to split her attention when Sayid was around--because these two usually were not and she could openly and happily appreciate this man in the way she liked and was used to. Seeing him like this with a 2 year old lodged on your hip and a 7 year old full of grins and long sentences tended to make this a little more difficult.

Nevertheless, she was indulging...in fact, "You're getting more clever by the day, Yoyo!" She said, returning the grin. "Your Daddy and I did plan this, he owled me up, said he wanted to buy us all candy then take us to a fancy lunch and buy you girls some neat toys afterwards. I didn't wanna ruin the surprise but...you got us." He was out of his mind if he didn't see his 7 year old lead him into that one.

Finally, she allowed her gaze to shift to his, the amusement not lost for even a second. "Nonsense. What joy would there be if I knew everything that was gonna happen? Reckon I'd have a boring life and no little head of blonde curls nudging me awake every morning." Speaking of the little blonde, she was lowered to the ground at her request, at which point she walked over to her sister and again pointed at the gum. "Mine?" She asked, small hand extended and her most earnest expression given. Sayid she gave very little attention, as was typical unless she'd been given over to him to spend the day without her mother.

"You should have told me you'd be in London, we could've made real plans for later." To be honest she'd already made plans in the split second she saw him, he just didn't now it yet.

"Yeah, we could tell Mum, Dad, Daddy Cos, and Mummy Liz that we'll share with Helena and everyone if they insist." Candy was good. Elisa liked having nieces and nephews so close to their age. Made things fun and everything. She wanted to share the most of the happy times with Alana as much as possible.

Elisa looked at the fudge that Alana wanted to get, "That does look good," She was tempted to get some of her own too, but the more candy the better for her as she took a basket. "Do you think Wade and Bart will like this one too?" Picking up the Cockroach clusters. She knew big brother Wade loved anything with pickles, but pickle candy was hard to find here.

"Psh," Brent jokingly said, in reply to her comment about OWLs. He was done with OWLs, and NEWTs weren't until next year. He could afford to joke. "I care about my future, and I'm not making plans to study." He grinned at her and cast a wink. "Just kidding. You're going to do awesome, and you know it. Miss Top Points Earner." Speaking of which, he should probably try to help out with that house cup a little more next school year. "Just remember to spare some time for your boyfriend, mmkay?"

Brent shrugged. He couldn't afford everything, but he was good with eating everything he had the money for today. He smiled when she added two items to his basket. "I'm so glad you're not the kind of girl who's embarrassed to eat in front of me," he said. Seriously...why would girls do that? Everybody ate, so it was really no big deal. Plus, it just meant they could do really cool things together, like share an ice cream sundae or something.

"All mine?" he asked. "Sounds awesome." He looked into the basket that was filled with his two chocolate frogs and the candy she'd chosen. "Let's go pay for this then head off to do something fun. Start thinking about what you want to do." Then he started for the front counter to pay for the candy.

Her mom's birthday was fast approaching, and today Kitty was buying her presents. She knew what kinds of deserts her mom liked. Of course desserts were only one of the things she was buying for her - right after here she'd transport to Hogsmeade and buy the rest.

But within moments of entering the candy store she caught sight of a familiar face.

"Oh, Henry!" she squealed upon spotting her co-prefect. She walked right up and wrapped her arms around him in a hug (he wouldn't mind, right?) and said, "How are you Henry? How's your summer going?"

She was half listening to her sister, not because she didn't like candy, no she loved candy, but because she resented her sister. She didn't want to resent her but she did. She hated that she got to get magic and Alana didn't, she hated that she got her Hogwarts letter and Alana didn't. She felt like she was getting abandoned by the only person that was supposed to be stuck with her forever. It was a twin thing, but yet they wouldn't be twins in a month, no, they would be in two different schools and living two different lives. It just wasn't fair.

She let her eyes turn as she heard Elisa say Lz's name, "Liz would probably let us and if not I know Cossy would. We could really play it on them so they felt guilty and bought us stuff." Step parents were easy.
Pointing to the fudge she wanted when the shopkeeper asks she turned and looked at her sister. "They can come buy their own. They have jobs."
Both were professional quidditch players so she assumed they wouldn't be mad if she kept her money mom had given to buy a cool skirt or sunglasses and not candy for them.

"I bet our nephews or niece would like some." Even though she was only eleven she did love being Aunt Alana to them.

Skylar smiled. "Listen, just cause you were a Hogwarts Champion and top four of two great wizarding schools, doesn't mean you can scuff off your studies," she winked. "Eh, I hope so! I'm like freaking out already, because like after this ... well these exams decide my future ... i don't even really know what I want to do. Some type of healing, maybe, but like if I don't well...." she trailed off, sighing but then glanced over at him at his next comment and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Of course. I need some sense of calm and nonchalantness in my daily routines." Which was the truth, in so many ways, because in the few months they'd been dating (or wait, was it 10 months already?) and two years they'd known each other, his carefree sense of humor and sarcasm had this calming effect on her. This stability she so desperately needed and one of the things she loved most.

"Please. Why should I be embarrassed to eat in front of you? Everybody eats!" And food was amazing and lovely and warm feelings of more things she loved about Brent Westwood.

"Always and forever," she reached for his hand to intertwine her fingers with his. "Sounds good. I've already got my books and robes and a beater's bat of my very own... so maybe we can just window shop? Unless you needed something?"