Oh look, he was being nudged again. But this time it wasn't followed by a cheek kiss. And he wanted one of those because they were awful nice, yeah? Hint, hint to the girlfriend if she wanted to be generous with her kisses. Naturally, he wouldn't protest. Smirk.

"Nah," he shook his head, "Not hungry. I just ate." Didn't she see? After all, he had eaten straight in front of her face, yeah? 'Course this was probably a last ditch effort to force more food down his throat. No thanks. He was just fine.

Deciding to change the subject, he reached for her free hand and squeezed it. Hello girlfriend, "So...I was thinking about OWLs and which to take. What are you thinking?" Because that was this year and he should probably get a move on with the studying thing.

Michael obviously did not know exactly who he was dealing with. Quick as a flash, Alice tackled the second year to the ground and SAT on him. Sat. Right there on his stomach.

Making herself comfortable on the boy's belly, she then turned as to stare at him from up close.

"You're at three seconds." Now two. Now one.

She waited.

"AHHHHHH!"

He hadn't even got three feet when he felt himself being shoved to the floor. The girl was utterly crazy. Not to mention heavy. Don't worry, he wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud.

"What do you want me to say?" he wheezed.

Lucky he didn't have a stomach full of food because this probably wouldn't end up being pretty. "I'm not ready, okay. I want to get some more practice under my belt before I..." make a fool of myself..."take to the pitch for real."

There! Could she get off him now?

While enjoying his lovely breakfast, Ryan was also enjoying entertainment; that is, entertainment in the form of his Quidditch Captain and what appeared to be an innocent second year.

Chucking to himself, he buttered his toast and watched as the second year tremble under Alice. Heck, he was lucky she hadn't BIT him yet.

Christmas was enjoying her breakfast when she saw Alice tackle a second year boy and she had guessed that alice wasnt pleased that this boy hadn't signed up for the qudditch team tryouts and boy Alice didnt look happy

Taylor was skipping along into the great hall to get some breakfast. She wasn’t that particularly hungry but she thought it might be good to grab a slice of toast and a mug of pumpkin juice. Tay had an armful of books to do some homework while she was at the table as well as some art supplies. Taylor wasn’t paying attention to where she was going so she ended up passing the Gryffindor table. She stopped halfway down and then glanced at it, chuckling at her silly mistake. Tay looked around for her stepbrother, Maxwell Lupin, but he was nowhere in sight so she just looked at the table and then started to skip away to go to her house table since none of her Gryffindor friends were there at the moment. Taylor felt slightly sad as she turned away. She put a foot out and hit a wet spot on the floor. Her foot slipped out from underneath her and her books flew out of her arms. Tay landed on her butt with a yelp and her books were spread out around her. She grimaced and then blushed when she realized that there was a guy… like a few feet beside her. Taylor tried to get up quickly and to gather her books, hoping that he didn’t notice her fall… though she doubted that he could have missed it.

While waiting to see if the second year would miraculously spring on Alice, Ryan was distracted by the sound of someone slipping close by him. Abandoning his toast, he looked over and noticed a girl, trying to make herself less noticeable but he had already seen. He smiled, hoping she was okay and then walked over to her.

"Need a hand?" He asked, bending slightly and offering his arm.

Taylor looked up at him and blushed. She nodded and took his hand, pulling herself up, ”Thanks for your help… I greatly appreciated it.” Tay dusted herself off and checked if she got any scratches but all was good. Taylor gave the boy a little smile then went to pick up her four books. She still kept an eye on the boy as she went to pick the first one up, ”I am thankful for you helping me up… I’m Taylor or as some people around here call me, Tay.” She picked the first book up and then smiled at him, ”I swear, I aint usually a klutz like that… I guess… I was a bit distracted.” Taylor giggled and smiled at him.

Penelope figured he'd turn down the toast, but there'd been no harm in trying, yeah? And really, it was kinda funny now that she thought about it. Ascanius was always amazed how she ate so much, and she, as she now realized, was always amazed at how he ate so little. Especially comparing their sizes. He was a lot taller, but he didn't seem to eat nearly as much as her, so it was kinda amusing.

"I know you did." She wasn't blind, so of course she saw him eat that tiny muffin. "Just thought I'd offer something else in case you were still hungry." She didn't see how he couldn't still be hungry after only eating that...but oh well.

She continued munching on her toast as he took her free hand. Smiling, she squeezed his hand in return and let their fingers intertwine. "I have to take at least five to be an Auror." She'd looked it up and everything. "Like Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Defense, and Herbology are ones I need to have." And it was disappointing that it included two of her worst subjects, even though it made sense. "I may take one or two more though, like Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies." Those were ones she was pretty good at, at least. But that would require even MORE studying and effort, so she wasn't sure. "What about you?"

Woah, woah, woah. When had she decided that she was actually going to go ahead with the Auror thing? Sure, she and him had loads of conversations about her considering it, but he didn't know she was actually going to pursue it now. That was awesome, yeah? She'd be good at that just like he had told her. See? No need to stress about the future, it was aways away, but at least she had some idea.

Although, he couldn't help himself from smirking and throwing out, "An Auror? Hmm, what brilliant bloke suggested that? And attractive might I add." It was him. In case she was lost, yeah? He was talking about him. Although the attractive was a dead give away because jaw structures like this were once in a life time.

As to him? He wasn't sure musicians needed OWLS, but it seemed like something to do. Everyone else was going to be studying so a part of him just wanted to take them to fight off boredom. "I'm thinking potions, arithmancy, herbology...stuff that are steps, yeah?" He was good at classes like cause of anxiety reasons. "As to the others, not sure."

Her blushing only made him grin even more.
"Not a problem," he replied as he watched her bend down to pick up her books. And then realizing too late that he should probably be helping her with those, he bent down as well and picked up the ones she hadn't collected yet.

"Nice to meetcha, Taylor. I'm Ryan." Cue another dazzling smile. He handed the books over to her and then stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Distracted? By what?" He said with a chuckle. It was obviously him, right? How many other extremely attractive guys were sitting nearby? That's right, none. So, he couldn't really blame her for being 'distracted.'

She couldn't help but laugh a little when he suddenly got all smug and smirky over her bringing up the Auror thing. Merlin, he was really taking this and running with it, wasn't he? It was cute. "I'm pretty sure I suggested it first," she replied, squeezing his hand and returning his smirk with one of her own. "You just agreed to it, Mr. Brilliant and Attractive." Although that agreement and encouragement from him that she would be a good Auror had definitely factored in a lot. His opinion was really important to her, and it had definitely influenced her to consider that career more seriously.

But Penelope wasn't gonna tell him that right now. It'd only inflate his head more, yeah? Yeah. Heh.

And now he was talking about the ones he was gonna do, so she listened carefully. She knew he wanted to do something with music, which sadly wasn't really a subject in the OWLs (no music and no flying OWLs, shame on you, test-maker-people), but it was good he was still gonna do some. "We should definitely study together then," she suggested with a grin. "Since we're gonna do some of the same subjects." And even for those they weren't both doing. Long as she got to hang out with him, she didn't really care what they were studying. Heh.

Wow. She was gonna take the credit for his brilliant ideas, yeah? Ouch. That hurt. Eh, not really. Very rarely did his girlfriend ever give him credit for stuff 'cause she liked to make him work for it. And, jeez, that was always half the fun. Smiiirk.

"You know," he conceded, "I'm going to take that as you saying I'm both brilliant and attractive. A well known fact, but thanks got clarifying, yeah?" To be more obnoxious he sent a wide grin her way and squeezed her hand again.

As to the whole studying together thing, he just gave her a look. It was a mix between amused and almost disbelief. Them studying together was the worst idea and best idea ever. But if they actually wanted to accomplish studying........them working together wouldn't work, yeah?

Ruffling his hair, he mused, "How would we get a lick of studying done, Pen?" For obvious reasons. They'd both FAIL their OWLs, yeah? S'not that he'd mind.

Taylor saw that his eyes grew and she blushed even more. ”Well, I really appreciate it…” She gave him a sweet smile and took her books back, ”Why, thank you… you are a kind gentleman.” Tay beamed at him and organized her books so that it would be easier to hold them. “Pleasure meeting you as well, Ryan.” Taylor twirled in delight and beamed at him, ”I’m a seventh year Ravenclaw, what about you?” Tay tilted her head and smiled at him, curious. The boy was kinda cute… but he was no Nash. She sighed in happiness at the thought of the handsome Hufflepuff. There was a dreamy look that came into her eyes but then she blinked and looked at the boy again, ”Huh? Sorry…” An instant blush came to her cheeks, ”Oh… uh… well… I was thinking of sitting by my step-brother, Maxwell, or one of my other Gryffindor friends but no one was at the table so I started to think of my.. erm… well some of my Hufflepuff friends…” like this really cute guy… that I like and all…” She glanced down then back at him, ”I guess I didn’t see the liquid on the floor.” Taylor gestured to the spot with a blush.

Kind gentleman? That's what he liked to hear. "No problem at all," he replied with another grin, noticing that she was clearly delighted about something, given the twirl and all. "Ravenclaw, eh? I'm a seventh year Gryffindor." And that was obvious because he was sitting at the Gryffindor table.

And then she went into some kind of trance. "You okay there?" Ryan asked, snapping his fingers in front of her face. But then seconds later, she was back...along with a blush. Hmm.
"Maxwell?" he repeated, his curiosity aroused. "You don't mean Maxwell Lupin by any chance, do you?" Because he knew a Maxwell Lupin who was a Gryffindor but he hadn't seen the guy in months. Ryan wondered whether he was okay before returning his attention back to Taylor.

"You have quite a lot of friends," He remarked, raising his eyebrows at her.

Taylor beamed at ‘no problem at all’. She nodded, ”Yep, I’m a Ravvie.” Tay giggled, ”I guessed the Gryffindor part… but not the year… but I figured you were either 6th or 7th.” Taylor laughed and gestured to the table as a way of confirming the ‘knowing the Gryffindor’ part. Tay blushed and nodded, ”Yeah… just thinking…” She giggled and twirled her blonde curls around her finger. Taylor nodded, ”I do mean Maxwell Lupin… well… now that I think of it… we aren’t stepsiblings anymore…” A frown came at that thought but she shrugged it off. She laughed, ”Nah, I don’t have that many… I mean Gryffindor, I have Maxwell… Slytherin, I have Ariana, Hufflepuff, I have Mins, Dylan, Wade, Alec and Nash.” A blush came at that last name. ”And Ravenclaw, I have Lily, Claudette, and Harvey… annnnnd you probably didn’t care or need the list.” Taylor went bright red in embarrassment and shut up.

He had nothing against Ravenclaws, of course, but he would have pegged her for a Puff for some reason. He followed her gaze to the Gryffie table as she explained about knowing his house but not his year. Understandable. And he totally didn't believe her when she claimed she was 'just thinking.'

Step siblings? Had he heard right? "Wait-- you're his stepsister?" He asked with another eyebrow raise. So maybe she knew what had happened to him.

...He hadn't really expected her to recite a whole list of friends cos when you can name all your friends, it just means you have a limited amount. However, he smiled at her to let her know she wasn't being annoying or anything. "It's cool. I actually know almost all those people."
And theeeen something clicked in his brain. She had said she knew Nash...and hadn't Nash mentioned something about liking a certain Hufflepuff named Taylor?

Suddenly, Ryan knew the reason for the blushing and dreamy looks.

Taylor tilted her head at him and then nodded, ”Yeah… well, was…” She giggled, ”Our parents gotten a divorce a year or so ago… but once you get used to calling someone something, it is hard to change it, ya know? Maxwell is still like a brother to me… though… I haven’t seen him in a while… it’s like he just fell off the face of the earth.” Tay pouted at that. She laughed and smiled, ”Really? What a small world.” Taylor chucked and beamed at him. ”They are all amazing people.” She twirled in delight at the thought of all of her friends. Her greenish-blue eyes sparkled in joy… especially at a certain Hufflepuff. Taylor sighed happily and smiled dreamily. She then blinked and snapped out of it, ”Sorry, if I keep blanking… sooooo….” Tay wasn’t sure what to say next… she didn’t want to be annoying or anything. Taylor tilted her head and looked at him. He seemed to be a really nice person… and would probably make a good friend if he wants to be her friend. Taylor laid her books down on the table since they were getting heavy. She didn’t sit down though but instead, she twirled in delight. Tay loved to dance and whenever she was happy or excited, she twirled. It was one of her ‘things’ though it might be annoying to some people.

Oh, did he remember how it had actually gone? That she'd thought of being an Auror first? That was easy-

Oh. No, he was just focusing on the compliment. Of course he would. Penelope laughed, grinning. "Whatever makes you feel good," she replied with a shrug before nudging him jokingly. She did, in fact, think he was brilliant and attractive, but she wasn't gonna push that topic any further right now. Again, no need to inflate his head and make him even more smug than he already was right now. Heh.

And then that look he was giving her was also funny. Like he thought she was crazy or something just for suggesting they study together. She laughed again. "I don't mean we always study together," she clarified. Because yeah, if she only ever tried to study when he was around, she wouldn't get anywhere close to them amount of studying done that she needed. "Just sometimes." They could probably focus on studying a little while together. They'd just take a lot of breaks too, which was totally okay, yeah? Yeah.

Ryan listened to her explanation and then nodded his head."Is he...okay, though? Like, he hasn't died or anything, has he?" It seemed extreme for him to ask that, especially to his ex-stepsister, but Max was a really good friend of his and he missed his company in his dorm. Maybe they should send a search party for him.

She was still twirling and beaming and whatnot. He figured this could only be because of her crush on Nash, which was obviously huge. He grinned at the thought. "It's okay," he said about the blanking. Then, deciding he should confront the elephant in the room, Ryan spoke again. "Soooo, you said you know Nash. I was talking to him the other day and mentioned something about a certain girl named Taylor that he...uh, had a thing for. I'm assuming he meant you?" He asked with a smirk. But Nash had also mentioned something about an ex who still had feelings for Taylor. That didn't sound fun at all.

She shrugged and frowned, ”I don’t think he has… but I don’t know… that was part of the reason why I was looking for him.” Concern was in her facial features as she glanced around then sighed. ”I haven’t heard from Jack either… I think he moved away…” Jack being Max’s father, of course. Tay smiled at his smile and then ‘its ok’. She nodded and tilted her head, ”Yeah, I do…” An eyebrow raised when he said that he was talking to Nash the other day and mentioned something about her and him having a thing for her. Her jaw dropped a little and she went bright red, blushing in embarrassment. ”Um… I don’t know? I mean… he could know other Taylors…” Though how many Taylors have he kissed… She saw his smirk and went even redder. Tay glanced down and fiddled with her skirt, not sure what to say. Taylor looked back up at him, not blushing anymore. ”Guess I have to ask him.” Tay laughed and smirked.

So she still kind of considered him a brother? That was nice. "Jack...?" Ryan repeated, the name not being familiar to him. It was very possible that Max's parents decided to send him Durmstrang or something.

So he was right! Unfortunately, this made Taylor blush even more, something that didn't unhinge Ryan at all. He was used to making girls blush, albeit because of him but this was only a bit different. "Pretty sure it's you," he said with a chuckle. Then, he noticed that she had placed her books on the table, no doubt because they were too heavy to hold. "Wanna sit down?" He said with a gesture to the table. Aside from being chivalrous, he also really wanted to go back to his toast.

”Jack is his dad…” Tay shrugged. She hadn’t thought about clarifying it until Ryan said the name. She was a bit worried about her st-… her friend? Eh, whatever Maxwell was now… it was hard to know nowadays.
She gave a light smile at what he said and shrugged, ”Maybe.” The thought, obviously, made her happy just thinking about it. She glanced at the table when he gestured to it. Tay shrugged, ”Why not?” Taylor slipped into a seat and went to pour a cup of pumpkin juice. Taylor tipped at her juice, ”So how are ya?”

"Feel good? Why would facts make me feel good?" Ascanius teased even more. He found that with Pen, she was usually against verbalizing how good looking he was...for reasons unbeknownst to him. The game that went along with messing with her about it though was just too fun to avoid, yeah? She always got that cute little smirk on her face. He was a fan...of a lot of things a 'bout her.

But she was crazy if she thought for one second studying would get accomplished between the two of them. S'not like they were particularly keen on the idea of studying to begin with. Shove them together and he wasn't certain they would even open a book. Ahem.

"Yeah, that's probably wise...although I'm a fan of the sometimes, yeah? Sometimes is good." Yep. He could do the occasional studying thing.

"You could have asked for help. Or thought about this before you said you'd be there." Alice stayed very still, continuing to stare down the little Toussaint kid she was treating as if he was a chair.

Too bony to be a good seat, in all seriousness, but she could deal with it for a minute or two.

"Don't make promises you don't plan on keeping. That's rude. And cowardly. Be brave enough to say no."

More staring. Was he getting the point?