A Special Letter PV M. Quinlan & E. York Closed

[quote]Marla Quinlan was many things, but relaxed wasn't one of them. In fact, she was completely, utterly, horrified. The end of the year was less than a week away, and Marla still didn't have anywhere to go for summer. While this is not a big deal to many, because of summer camp, of course... Most of her close friends weren't staying at Hogwarts. And meeting new people? No way. And she couldn't go back home. Not like this. Actually, not ever. Which was why she was going to send her uncle a foot long piece of parchment on why she should stay at his house for the summer.

Hauling herself up the steps, the girl thought of every little thing that could go wrong. Her Uncle could force her to go home home, that was a death sentence. He could force her to stay at summer camp, also a death sentence. Or maybe he could send back a letter laced with dragon pox. A literal death sentence. But if it went right? Oh, she'd be spending her days in Melrose where it was sunny and the water, gorgeous... Not in England, where the days were cold and the nights bitter. Not to mention, his apartment was stunning and a much more comfortable option compared to the castle that her grandparents owned.

Finally reaching the owlery, the foul smell of bird droppings filling her nose, she leaned on the cool bricks with heaving breaths. Tall people were so lucky, with their stupid long legs... She was over here with animated toothpicks that barely functioned. Opening her eyes, a startling yell escaped the redhead's lips as she noticed a blonde boy reading over parchment. While it wasn't surprising for another person to be up here, it was almost summer, people were bound to interact with family members... He was being quiet. So quiet that she didn't even notice him. The freaky thing was that he looked extremely familiar... She furrowed her brows, wondering if she should even go up to him. He seemed busy, reading over his letter. It might be rude to disturb the boy. Pah, when did that stop her from doing anything? With curiosity overruling morals, Marla tapped the boy on the shoulder and peeked over, immediately regretting it.

Lamik. She remembered his name. Bathroom boy. One of the people who saw her cry after she got socked in the face. She never cried. She wasn't weak. But he saw her vulnerability. Maybe he didn't remember? No. Impossible. Most people would remember witnessing a boy punching a girl in the face. After finding out why Kyle had done that, she wasn't angry anymore. It wasn't his fault, after all. Being a werewolf... But it was humiliating. If she pretended that she didn't know him, he could mistake her for another person.

"Uh– hi. Sorry to interrupt. Who're you writing to?" She asked with a nearly artificial looking smile, fear and desperation shining in her eyes.

Lamik nearly fell off of his seat. He tended to get extremely into what he was doing whenever the task was important to him, sometimes losing focus from his surroundings. It was pretty obvious that the girl had scared him. As he turned around with a sharp inhale of breath, Lamik quickly recognized the girl. He had met her in the abandoned bathrooms on the day that he tried getting over his fear of them. Unfortunately, that hadn't worked out so well, as some bully named Kyle had punched her in the face after she tried to help. Needless to say, Lamik knew exactly who she was- even if he wasn't entirely sure what her real name was.

"Jesus Quinn- you scared me half to death!" The boy said, using the only name he knew was used for her. Quickly noticing how worried she looked, the boy suddenly looked concerned. "Is everything alright?" Had she been hurt again? Did she need help with something? Whatever it was, Lamik would do anything that he could to help. She seemed nice enough- even if they hadn't interacted very much. As for the question that was asked, Lamik didn't bother answering it- there seemed to be something more pressing going on.

[quote]Recoiling as the blonde boy, supposedly named Lamik, jumped in fright at the sight of the girl, she couldn't help but feel guilty for interrupting him. Before she decided to hop in and say hi, he seemed so at peace. Happy, even. Oh god, and what he said next made it that much worse.

"Jesus Quinn- you scared me half to death!"

Shit. He knew. He remembered the day and moment that Kyle had caused Marla's blood to drip on the floor of the cold tiles in the bathroom. She clenched her jaw. Quinn? Kyle used to call her that. Well– he still did. They just haven't talked since... The ball. When he told her the thing. The thing about being a furry. No that was– that was not the word. Sheesh. Werewolf. It was painful enough to say in her mind, she couldn't say it out loud. The whole thing was riveting.

"It's Marla, actually. Quinlan. Lamik, right?" She had asked for confirmation, pointing to the boy with furrowed brows. "You're the only other one than Kyle to call me that." It was pointless to say aloud, though it was better to mention that then another few minutes of awkward silence between them. What could she say? This was humiliating. Hopefully, he would avoid the topic of... The incident. It was not only months ago, but a sensitive subject. There was still a rough patch of skin that had formed over the cut, creating a scar on her face. By this point it was almost gone, so one would have to look extremely carefully to see it.

"Is everything alright?" The boy asked, to which she just blushed, letting out a small chuckle. She shook her head, honestly, immediately regretting it. Why would she tell this kid anything? They barely knew each other. She had to keep her mouth shut.

"I'm sending an owl to my uncle. To see if I can stay at his place during the summer. I don't feel like being at summer camp, so... But I don't think he'll let me. He's busy with work." Marla scrunched up her freckled nose at the last part. Work was stupid. It wasn't like the girl was high maintenance or anything, why couldn't he just keep her there for at least a week? Anything, an-y-thing, to not go home. Or to at least not stay there as long.

"So, what'cha writing?" She questioned, looking down at his parchment and back up to the boy with a small smile, twiddling with her robes in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

"Marla. Right, sorry. Never actually heard your name." Lamik smiled as he watched her closely, noticing that she definetely did not look alright. He was glad that he had gotten her name, of course. Maybe he could help marla with whatever problem she had and they could be friends! Lamik did like friends after all. The thought of further testing his... Interesting... Ability crossed lamiks mind for a moment, but he quickly realized that giving someone a permenent telapathic link to you was a big commitment that a stranger probably wouldnt agree too. With a small sigh, he pushed the thought out of his head.

"Well- its my little sisters birthday today, so im sending her an owl." Lamik moved out of the way a bit, giving Marla room to read it. "I miss her so much. It sucks." It was true- Alice was Lamiks best friend in every way, a relationship that often made the bullies at school make fun of him for. "What about your parents?" Lamik asked, changing the subject back to Marla. "Cant you go with them? And why dont you want to stay at camp? Ill be staying for a bit myself. It looks kind of fun."

[quote]Letting out a nervous laugh, Marla studied the blonde's face. He looked a bit troubled, as if he were bickering to himself in his brain. She was tempted to ask if everything was okay, but selfishly enough... She just wanted to get out of there. The last thing she needed was this boy thinking she was a fool for crying. For being weak enough to let Kyle hit her like that. To rely on him to not hit the floor from the impact. It was mortifying. Thinking of all the old memories that came back like a flash, her face heated up, letting it sink in that this boy right in front of her, had in fact, witnessed everything. It seemed that he put himself at ease with a small sigh.. If only she could do the same.

Okay, but when he mentioned his little sister... Marla couldn't help but soften up a little. Even with her guard up like this, she had to admit that was cute. Especially because of how it reminded her of Noah, her little brother. With his cute red curls and his freckles, his button nose... Ugh. It was such a bummer knowing she wouldn't see him this summer. "Aww. At least you're seeing your sister in a few days, right?" She reasoned, peeking over his shoulder to skim his letter. Her heart became heavy with nostalgia and sorrow of her own, thinking of Noah's little smile and how she would possibly never see that cute little thing ever again. His face was already fading, and it was terrifying. Noah Quinlan was Marla's pride and joy, and she'd like nothing more than to give him a hug and an 'I love you' one last time. Just once.

Recoiling as Lamik had asked about her parents, her face went red. What could she say in a moment like this? Stumbling over her words for a few seconds, she finally found her words and cleared her throat. "I– uh.. My mom, didn't really know her. Died in a car accident." Well, that was what Marla thought up until a few months ago, but she might as well tell him that,"Dad's busy with work, I don't really talk to him. Rather not go home..." She mumbled, looking away from the boy, as to not show her envy. She could tell from the tone of his voice. He had a loving home. Parents who loved him, who thought of him as their little angel. A twinge stabbed her straight in the gut as she imagined the same thing, and she bit back tears.

"I would stay at camp, but at this point... I need a break from Hogwarts. To smell the air of a real city again... To be in shops with normal things and not just magic trinkets.. I just want a break from it all, you dig?" She gushed, fiddling with her parchment. "But maybe if I do get the hell out of here for a little bit, I'll come back later in the summer. It depends. And you? Where are you from? Happy to be seeing your parents?" She questioned, curious as to what it felt like to be in, well, an actually loving family.

Lamik thought for a few moments when she asked about his sister. It was true that the school year was about to end, but it was going to take a bit longer for him to return home because of the summer camp. "In about 20 days, I think." For a brief moment, Lamik wondered if he should just go home as soon as the break starts instead of staying.

He didn't linger on it too long though, as Marla answered his question with a few phrases that didn't seem to signify a particularly happy life. Still, Lamik was an optimist- her father must be able to make time for her. "Oh." Lamik knew that people tended to apologize for someone's loss, but he really never saw the point in that- it wasn't like he had brought up the sore subject on purpose. He did remain quiet for a few more moments though, imagining how terrible a life without his mother would be. "Well, I'm sure your dad could make some time for you. Why wouldn't he? You seem like a fun person to hang out with. And even if he cant- you could still go home. It's not like he wouldn't let you enter the house, is it?"

[quote]A smile danced across Marla's face as Lamik mentioned he would see his sister in twenty days. It was a small transaction of interaction, but she could see in his eyes that he was truly excited. And how could it not be contagious? With a little sibling of her own that she loved with all of her heart, it was hard not to relate to the boy.

But that feeling faded fast as the blonde Gryffindor urged more about her family. Oh no. Oh no. What would she say? Marla frowned, feeling her face heat up and angled her head away from the boy. And then came the worst part: It's not like he wouldn't let you enter the house. At this point, it felt as if she were punched in the stomach. How could she explain this? He would tell everyone. Or would he? Now that she thought about it, it didn't seem that anyone knew about the bathroom incident outside of the people who were there. Did this boy know how to keep his mouth shut, possibly?

Turning to him, she stared the boy dead in his pale, blue eyes. She took a shaky breath, trying to resist the urge to look anywhere but at him. Crossing her arms, she held them tightly against her torso and shifted her weight from foot to foot. Right, left, right, left. She had to do this. It was now or never, right? "I ran away," it felt like ripping off a bandaid, but a feeling of misgiving still kept her wary, on her feet. Who knew what this boy would tell? But now that it was out, it would be torture for her not to elaborate. "My family sucks, okay? They're steaming piles of dog sh... Nevermind. But I just– I can't stay there, okay?" She buried her face in her hands, humiliated. Whyyyy did she do this to herself, again? "I'll murder you if you tell anyone." She added, moving her hands away from her face and narrowing her eyes slightly. Soon after, her features softened as she sharply inhaled through her teeth.

"Can you please not tell anyone?" She repeated in a less barbaric manner, furrowing her brows. Tracing her fingers on the stone etchings of the wall, she waited for the boy's response like someone plummeting towards the ground bracing for impact. Hopefully, he wouldn't take it so weirdly.

Lamik Fillestar was a bit confused at first. Obviously, he was aware that some families were a bit... Problematic. Only now had he actually thought about what that meant though, and the thought terrified him. How could parents be mean to their kids? How could siblings not like each other? The idea seemed rediculous, but he knew that it was possible and that it happened quite a bit. Still, the intensity of Marla's words really showed how important the topic was to her, and by extension how serious the situation actually was. Lamik wouldn't tell a soul. He knew how to keep a secret.

What shocked him more though we're her sudden threats. Until that moment he had gotten the impression that she was extremely nice, but now he wasn't so sure. That didn't mean he didn't want to be her friend, it simply meant that he had to be more cautious about him. However, there was a very large chance that the outburst came from embarrassment or simple sorrow, and Lamik could easily forgive that. In fact, almost as soon as the surprise came, it went. "I won't tell anyone, don't worry. You would keep my secrets, I would think."