all smiles over here completed

@Brielle Gray & @Rafael D'Spacito

Even as Gem had been searching for a distraction and successfully found one, Brielle's glare was hard and cold. He proceeded with his interaction, with Raf, anyway, and attempted not to pay her much mind--

not that that ever really worked out.

She'd chosen a shelf close by to his seat, likely on purpose, just to rub in his face that she was pissed. Just fuming, unforgiving and bitter. He almost rolled his eyes-- what did she want? An apology? He turned his head away from her for a moment, thinking up all the events that had happened since he'd entered the library until now. He was annoyed, too, and not at all passive aggressive. He'd inquire her attitude all right, he didn't care if he caused a scene or ruined his chances with making a new friend - this was something that had to be spoken about now, apparently.

"Sorreh, Rafa, this is kind ov... personal. Has got to be addressed, though." He turned his body to face Brielle's back, now, his eyes narrowing, looking right-irritated. "Right, wot's that all about then?" He asked, sitting up in his seat. "You gonna tell me wots wrong? Or just sulk around?"

He was shocked at himself, the way he snapped at her like that. He sounded like his father. He remembered him in the studio, shouting at all his bandmates to get their shite together before he recoded the album his damn self. He felt his stomach turn uneasily, but... God, he couldn't quit it, now. He knew what the problem was, he just wanted to see her take on it. What was her damn problem, really?

"I haven't moved on, if that's wot yer wonderin'. Didn't flirt, didn't talk up anyone, haven't even written a bloody love letter. Is that wot this is all about, huh? Thought I wos messin' around wiv other birds? I wasn't. I don't do that, because if ya haven't noticed, I'm not like tha'. Thought you might know better, since ya fookin' acted like ya knew me so well. Maybe I wos wrong, maybe ya thought I was a lot less faithful than I really was. Real nice of ya, Brielle. Real nice. Real cool ov ya to think ov me that way." He huffed, turning his attention right back to Rafa, his expression not quite cooling - though he seemed more flustered than pissed off. His brows were still furrowed, his frown was a potent factor in his expression, but his eyes seemed... sad, a bit scared, even.

"Right," He exhaled, going back to scanning the pages in a fit of determination. "Uh, where was I? Reparifarge, right."

This was not going to end in his favor.

Working with @Gem Stuart Sorta working with @Brielle Gray

"I know, right? I'm- I mean, I try ta focus on how they feel, but they're just so... weird about em'. You can ask, and they'll just pretend like nothin's wrong, and then they get all mad at'cha….” As Gem continued to talk, Rafa began to blank out. It wasn’t that his conversation was boring or anything; they were definitely on-point, and thought-provoking, really. If he were brutally honest, Rafa was having a hard time focusing on Gem’s words. His voice was just so smooth and young, it immediately took him back to the voices of his friends in Argentina. It made him smile, listening to Gem.
Really, Gem gave him a comfortable feeling that he hadn’t really felt all that often – especially in recent times, with this crazy school. It was hectic, what with spells and homework and magic and Jesus Christ why is there two of everything (Monday had been insane). But Gem? There wasn’t anything hectic or insane about him. He just seemed like another human, not some crazy powerful person with crazy powerful ambitions. Just hearing his voice put Rafa to peace. For a moment, he forgot about the schoolwork and magic, and just focused on Gem. It gave him a strange, but not necessarily unwelcome, feeling. Huh.

"I feel bad,” Gem concluded with a small huff, “sayin' they're like a whole other type of person, but they really are! I... ergh, I don't know." Rafa wasn’t a hugger, but Gem looked like he needed one. Rafa watched him carefully, trying to keep his features clear, his smile now a small frown. He had laid his head down on the table, pulling on his brown hair gently. It made him angry that anyone could ever make someone like Gem feel like this, so stressed out. It’s not okay. Not at all.

Gem offered Rafa a playful grin. "Guess ya can't please everyone, right? Bet you've got that problem, wiv that dashin' face of yers," he said. This took Rafa by surprise. His frown turned into a laughing smile. Can he read my mind or something? He thought jokingly. Then his mind snapped back at him. Compliment him back, dimwit! It said. Honestly, it wasn’t that hard to think of compliments. Gem had this perfect look about him, his brown hair perfectly framing his face. His eyes were the deepest he had ever seen. There was something about him that just made Rafa hang out with him all the time. He could completely see why people were after him. It took a moment to realize that his heart rate had increased slightly, just thinking about him. Jesus Christ, Rafa. You’ve just met this guy. Calm the fuck down.

Rafa opened his mouth to return a compliment but was stopped himself, realizing a change in the air. Gem gained an uneasy posture, a suddenly irritable look on his face. “Uh, you okay, man?” he asked carefully.

“Sorreh, Rafa, this is kind ov... personal,” Gem answered slowly. “Has got to be addressed, though.” With that, he turned around facing a girl behind him – a very attractive one, at that. In one quick moment, Rafa saw Gem’s friendly demeanor disappear.

"Right, wot's that all about then?" his friend asked sharply, sitting up a bit. "You gonna tell me wots wrong? Or just sulk around?" He looked positively enraged, but Rafa could spot some confliction in him. "I haven't moved on, if that's wot yer wonderin'.”

Woah. What’s the deal with these two? Rafa thought suddenly. Cute guy, hot girl. Crash and burn. “Didn't flirt, didn't talk up anyone, haven't even written a bloody love letter,” Gem continued. “Is that wot this is all about, huh? Thought I wos messin' around wiv other birds? I wasn't. I don't do that, because if ya haven't noticed, I'm not like tha'. Thought you might know better, since ya fookin' acted like ya knew me so well. Maybe I wos wrong, maybe ya thought I was a lot less faithful than I really was. Real nice of ya, Brielle. Real nice. Real cool ov ya to think ov me that way."

He turned around and looked right at Rafa, which honestly, left him a bit dumbfounded. Rafa tried not to pay attention to the girl behind Gem. He could probably pretend she wasn’t there, in fact. But Gem’s face was a bit startling. His face held a mixture of emotions – Anger, fear, sadness, a bit of unrest. “Right," he breathed, staring at the pages of Rafa’s book nearly as hard as Rafa had been nearly 5 minutes earlier. "Uh, where was I?” he asked. “Reparifarge, right."

Who was this girl, and what the hell did she do to Gem? Rafa’s chest suddenly exploded in a fit of anger towards this girl. There was no way he could pretend she wasn’t there now. No one could make his friend feel like that, not while he had anything to say about it. “No,” he said suddenly, looking at Gem. “No, no, no. Who the hell is that?” His smiling face had retired, a new look taking its place. This look had been carefully cultivated on the streets of Argentina, used to scare off thieves and bullies. His hands were unconsciously clenched into fists. Maybe he had just met Gem, but he already felt like he had known him for forever.

His blood was only boiling faster now. No one messes with my friends. She can’t do that. She can’t do that…

@Rafael D'Spacito

The feeling was horrible, attempting to repress the feeling that went from his chest down to his stomach. Unease, like he'd forgotten something, like he just wasn't seeing something he was meant to. He wasn't going to cry, but... he felt guilty, snapping at her like that. He wanted to convince himself that she'd deserved it, jutting those ugly looks at him, but... she was hurt, right? God. Jesus.

"Sh-" He exhaled shortly, rubbing his face with his hands to try and relieve any oncoming tension in his head. "She's me ex. Ex girlfriend? Broke up wiv me, through an owl," he stared at Rafa, his teeth pulling at his bottom lip anxiously. "Said tha' she didn't know if the whole datin' thing was workin' out, right? I said it was fine, wotever, that's her choice. I'm not- ugh, I can't just beg for her back, why would she leave if--" he shifted uncomfortably, trying to get his fizz back. "If she didn' actually want to. I've gotten over her, I'd been lead ta think she got over me, so now she's actin' all... all rude! And cold! I don't know wot I did, I really don't."

He stopped himself, his shoulders straightening out. That felt good for a second before he realized he'd just spilled his guts to someone he'd barely met. Stress really did pop over the edge, if there was too much of it. He couldn't believe it, he felt horrible. Guilty, but worried, too.

"Sorreh, I... I shouldn't've said that. You shouldn' have ta know that. I'm sorry."

She sort of just smiled through it all, with the whole getting yelled and screamed at thing? She wasn't sure what he expected out of her once he was done. Did he think he was going to get a rise out of her? Was he hoping she would burst right there and run out of the Library crying? Let me tell you, that was not happening. Something changed in her, ever since things ended between them. She had grown cold, distant- even. Her smiles rarely were found, she had cut people off- people she deeply cared about, and worst of all; she grew bitter and mean. It was like she didn't know herself anymore.

As Brielle watched him walk away rudely, it caused her to stifle a laugh. How entertaining it was to see that he thought he seemed so confident, with this big and bad attitude. She knew him better than that. She knew he was just the boy with too big a heart, scared of what to do next. That was all he was.

As she pushed the chair underneath her, she strided over towards his table, almost as if she was gliding. She looked and seemed to be calm, content with the cause of events that had happened. She smiled bitterly at the boy she had once called a friend, furrowing her brows in distaste.

"You don't get to tell me nice job. This wouldn't have even been a problem if you could have just learned to not flirt with other girls after a breakup! You wear your heart on your sleeve Gem Stuart, and it's irritating. Continue to talk to your new buddy here-" She pointed at Rafael, tossing him a glare for the hell of it. "That I ended it. You're right, I didn't want to break up, not at all. Though don't you dare play dumb and act as if you don't know the reasoning behind it. It was all anyone could talk about; how you blabbed to everyone about how you didn't think things were working. God, how arrogant can you get?" She said, the break in her voice apparent. She couldn't begin to explain how disgusted she was. Unable to decide if it were from his choices, or from hers of mistakenly loving him.

Working with @Gem Stuart @Brielle Gray

As of now, Gem looked terrible. His cheerful air was gone, now replaced by one of stress and hurt. Now, he struggled to meet Rafa’s gaze. "She's me ex,” the other boy breathed out, rubbing his face in a tired sort od way. “Ex girlfriend? Broke up wiv me, through an owl.” He looked at Rafa anxiously, biting his lip. And honestly, Rafa couldn’t help it. His face grew redder as the moments wore on, his blood pounding in his ears. He hoped his face wasn’t too red right now. She cut him off by owl? Who does that? He thought to himself stupidly. Why do I even care so much? The answer wouldn’t come to him. At the moment, his brain was clogged by a thick red sludge, which only seemed to grow as the moments continue to pass.

"Said tha' she didn't know if the whole datin' thing was workin' out, right?” Gem continued. He looked, on one hand, reluctant, but on the other, it seemed like he felt comfortable talking about this. Venting usually helps, Rafa thought absentmindedly. “I said it was fine, wotever, that's her choice. I'm not- ugh, I can't just beg for her back, why would she leave if--" he seemed to lose his words for a moment, before continuing, "If she didn' actually want to. I've gotten over her, I'd been lead ta think she got over me, so now she's actin' all... all rude! And cold! I don't know wot I did, I really don't."

Rafa really couldn’t help himself now. He opened his mouth, feeling like he was about to yell, but caught himself quickly. What was he doing? That’s not what Gem needed right now. What he needed was an understanding Hufflepuff – not a Gyffindor. Dammit. This’ll be a challenge. There was no way he could stifle the outraged look on his face. No, it was there to stay. Maybe he could wane it, though, so it disappeared, not to come out until he could properly unleash it. Right now, his focus needed to be on Gem and making him feel better. There was no way he would be able to smile if his friend wasn’t.

He overlooked his new friend. Now that he thought about it, Gem was looking kind of green in the gills. "Sorreh, I... I shouldn't've said that,” he stuttered, looking a bit unsure. “You shouldn' have ta know that. I'm sorry."

Rafa shook his head, his stomach burning. “What the f-“ he caught himself. This isn’t about Gem. This is about her. “Look, man. You don’t need to worry about me. I can handle shit. What I’m worried about is you-“ he took a deep breath, trying to rein in his anger. That was the thing about his rage – it was like an uncontrollable fire, burning people it shouldn’t. For the moment, he was doing pretty good. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, looking over to the side. It was then that he realized how many people had left – very few people meandered the area. You’re all good. Just focus. “She broke up by owl?” he asked incredulously, trying to channel his fire. “I mean, who does that?!” He wasn’t getting across what he was trying to. He wanted to punch something. He gave Gem an exasperated look, hoping anything was getting through to him. “I mean, who the hell does she think she is?”

Gem didn’t seem to get the chance to answer, however, as another voice permeated the air behind him. "You don't get to tell me nice job,” the female voice said. “This wouldn't have even been a problem if you could have just learned to not flirt with other girls after a breakup! You wear your heart on your sleeve Gem Stuart, and it's irritating. Continue to talk to your new buddy here that I ended it.” She pointed at Rafa, sending him a sickening glare. It was right then Rafa decided that if this girl didn’t get out of his vicinity in the next 30 seconds, boundaries were definitely going to be fucked big time. Here she was, putting down his new friend right in front of him, like he was going to sit by and watch it happen. Rafa must have been beet red, because that was how he felt. Sorry, Mami. Can’t make you proud this time.

“God, how arrogant can you get?" he heard her say. And that was it. Rafa stood up in a fit of white rage, pushing her backwards. “You don’t talk to him that way!” he snarled. “You can’t talk to him that way!” It was then it occurred to him that maybe he shouldn’t be pushing girls. But at the same time, it hadn’t been too hard, just enough to get the point across. If she wanted a reaction, she sure as hell was going to get one. A Gryffindor reaction.

*OOC: Seriously no shade Bri. Just being my character~

@Rafael D'Spacito & @Brielle Gray

It was humiliating, having Brielle chew him up and spit him out like a wad of gum. He'd felt both the want to crawl away, brush it off and let her believe she was right, and the other... well, he wanted to tear into her too, pick apart every single problem he had with her, her attitude, the way that she'd just... assumed. Assumed this, assumed that -- assumed he was with Catriona, assumed he was flirting with other people. It was all she ever did, jump to conclusions and tear into people when they couldn't get their story straight quickly enough. He hated that, he hated that quality in anyone, and an ex-lover, someone he saw as a trustworthy person, was no exception.

It seemed like Rafa had beat him to jumping in and fighting back, however, with the way he snapped at her and-- Christ, he'd pushed her? It was Gem's turn to stand up, gripping Rafael's shoulders to guide him away from her, glaring at him warningly-- there was no sign of anger, just concern.

"Don' do that, mate. Don't h- it's no need to get physical. That's a whole week ov detention, right there." He stood in front of the young Gryffindor, his once warm, brown gaze slipped into a harsher one, nearly deprived of all emotion. He'd cooled down, and that was no good. It wasn't good for anyone.

"That really is yer problem, Brielle," He said, tone sharp. "You joost love ta think of social interaction as a risky game. Ya make assumptions, ya can't trust anyone, you won't just take their word. Not even the right people," He licked the inside of his cheek, crossing his arms nice and firm, right over his chest. "I wouldn't dare call ya shallow, cos I don't think ya are, but I think it's time fer you ta think. Stop makin' this all about people gettin' out to hurt you, cos it's old. It's old, it's deprecating, and it drives people away."

"You know why I went and asked - wot - one person? Thinkin' stuff wouldn't work out? Because I needed advice, because I wanted it to work. But that doesn't matter, right? Context lost its meaning? I wasn't flirtin', I was fookin' complementin' her. I asked her why she wanted me ta flirt wiv her, you came in at the wrong time. Maybe it's not my problem, that I wear my heart on my sleeve-- at least the people around me know I'm being truthful-- maybe the problem is you wearin' yer heart on your cheek. That's wot just lost ya one of yer biggest fookin' fans-- one of yer strongest advocates, it did. Yer Slytherin is showing, and it isn't the good qualities. Ya can't really win em' all, can you?"

He'd had enough, at that point, and turned on his heel to grab his book and leave, storming out the door of the library without another word. He hadn't regretted a single thing that came out of his mouth, and he'd leave it like that, enjoying the momentary lack of culpability.

gem has left the thread.

Working with @Gem Stuart @Brielle Gray

Rafa felt a hand on his shoulder. "Don' do that, mate. Don't h- it's no need to get physical. That's a whole week ov detention, right there," Gem told him. It was then Rafa realized what he had actually done. What am I doing? He shook Gem’s hand off, his cheeks flushing. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about detention – teachers pretty much knew him by now. But he had always had a strict chivalry code. A guy could take a punch, but a girl? Suddenly, Rafa’s anger was directed at himself. I should have been better than that. Now, she gets what she wants.

He shut out Gem’s words towards Brielle, his fists clenching and unclenching. Some of his anger had fizzled out, replaced with guilt. I’ve known this guy for, what? 10 minutes? And he’s already seen me lose it. That’s a bit humiliating. Then, it occurred to him. I didn’t even get to study. He felt a deep disappointment in himself. It fizzled out, though, when he saw Gem exiting the library. He’s leaving? Already?

His stomach did a somersault, some of his anger flooding back to him in a second wind. This girl really scratched him wrong. There was something about her that screamed ‘princess’, or ‘entitled’. He couldn’t stand those people, never had been able to. She must be so happy. Rafa felt like yelling at her or something. Make her feel what Gem was feeling. Instead, he swallowed, and spoke to her in a deadly voice.

“You really are a Slytherin, you know that?” he said to her angrily. “You enjoy this? Hurting people?” He looked over her. God, she was pretty, what with her beautiful face, her luxious black hair, her perfect hourglass body. She’s probably a Veela, he thought. Her beauty was comparable to that of a flytrap – she probably drew people in, only to leave them scathed. “How do you sleep?” he finally snarled. He opened his mouth to say more, only to stop himself. He didn’t want to lose himself and say something he would regret. He bit his bottom lip, looking away for a moment. Staying here isn’t helping anything. I should just leave.

He sent this girl – Brielle? - a final glare. His instincts were screaming at him, but there was nothing more he could do here. He left the library, not bothering to get his books. I’ll come back later, when there’s less people. Right now, he knew what he needed to do.

Rafa has left the thread.

It would be a lie if Brielle had said getting pushed back didn't affect her, when it certainly had her taken aback. Who did he think he was, jumping into a conversation that didn't concern him in the slightest. It was one thing to act like he ran the show; but to put his hands on her?- That was crossing the line.

Instead of pushing back, or getting herself into god knows what trouble, she refrained and focused her cold eyes on Gem, who had begun to talk again. She sort of winced at his words, the way his tone cut into her guilt. She refused to crack in front of him though, because what would that make her? A girl who couldn't back up her words. It would make her seem like she was a girl who talked it up, but didn't really know how to support her statements. Was she that girl, though?

Deciding to not focus on the thought, she instead clenched her fists and turned away, her eyes tracing the matted carpet of the Library. The thought of apologizing crossed her mind, though would he even accept it? Probably not, after what she said.. Brielle didn't even think she'd forgive herself after that. Why did she care, anyway? He wasn't hers anymore, so why did she care so much if he had been flirting with girls? He had the right to do that, didn't he? As the questions continued to boil, she opened her mouth to speak.

Before she had a chance to say anything, he was already out the door, carrying his things with him. She felt the sudden urge to go after him, but she was interrupted by the voice of another.

"You enjoy this? Hurting people?" They asked, giving her a disapproving look. She didn't have anything to respond with, so instead of adding a snarky comment, she walked away herself, exiting the Library and having no wish to come back.

brielle gray has left this thread