13 Dec 2019, 22:01
Dare to Disagree
The impact of the girl slamming her hands down on the table caused Jack to jump, making him sit bolt upright in his chair. Despite her smile, he knew his words were sinking in and that they actually resonated with her because she clearly had less control of her emotions than she might have wanted to portray. Normally he didn’t care what others thought, but the attention from the surrounding students was starting to make him anxious. It seemed only a matter of time before one of them decided that the situation had escalated enough to call a teacher and teacher involvement was the last thing Jack wanted just then.
“You know that faking that smile is pointless unless you’ve got the composure to back it up, right?” he asked her, hoping to indirectly motivate her to calm down. “Doesn’t help that you’re talking crazy talk.”
Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to deter her from dramatically vowing, in front of the rest of the library, that she was going to ‘do everything she could to help him see that kind people were not out to get him’. Jack slapped his palm over his face and stifled a groan. And just when he thought he’d been about to be rid of her, too! He should have just kept his big mouth shut when she turned to leave the first time!
“No – no no no no no you don’t,” he tried to interrupt when she began to apologize, holding up his index finger as an indication that she should stop right there. “You do not get to apologize if you’re still going to try to change my mind! I won’t accept it! If you were actually sorry, you would leave me the hell alone!” He waved a hand, as if to shoo her away, his expression the picture of disconcertion. “If you don’t want to agree with me, that’s fine, but just because I don’t agree with you either doesn’t mean I’m going to try forcing you to change your mind, am I?”
She still wasn’t getting it. Jack had been called a thousand things several times worse than what she’d called him. That wasn’t what was upsetting him. It was her blatant disregard for his perspective in favor of her own. Who did she think she was, just trying to overwrite his morals with what she thought they should be? This badger was relentless! Now I know why they call them ‘badgers’…
“I would rather you mean it in the worst way possible than that!” he snapped, tugging at his hair in exasperation. “You’re incorrigible!”
Getting up again, he went over to stab his index finger in her personal space. “Listen, Badger! You say kind people aren’t out to get me? Well then what are you doing? You think you’re being kind and you’re out to get me! You're already a bloody stalker! How else would you explain the fact that you know my name and I still don't even know yours?”
“You know that faking that smile is pointless unless you’ve got the composure to back it up, right?” he asked her, hoping to indirectly motivate her to calm down. “Doesn’t help that you’re talking crazy talk.”
Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to deter her from dramatically vowing, in front of the rest of the library, that she was going to ‘do everything she could to help him see that kind people were not out to get him’. Jack slapped his palm over his face and stifled a groan. And just when he thought he’d been about to be rid of her, too! He should have just kept his big mouth shut when she turned to leave the first time!
“No – no no no no no you don’t,” he tried to interrupt when she began to apologize, holding up his index finger as an indication that she should stop right there. “You do not get to apologize if you’re still going to try to change my mind! I won’t accept it! If you were actually sorry, you would leave me the hell alone!” He waved a hand, as if to shoo her away, his expression the picture of disconcertion. “If you don’t want to agree with me, that’s fine, but just because I don’t agree with you either doesn’t mean I’m going to try forcing you to change your mind, am I?”
She still wasn’t getting it. Jack had been called a thousand things several times worse than what she’d called him. That wasn’t what was upsetting him. It was her blatant disregard for his perspective in favor of her own. Who did she think she was, just trying to overwrite his morals with what she thought they should be? This badger was relentless! Now I know why they call them ‘badgers’…
“I would rather you mean it in the worst way possible than that!” he snapped, tugging at his hair in exasperation. “You’re incorrigible!”
Getting up again, he went over to stab his index finger in her personal space. “Listen, Badger! You say kind people aren’t out to get me? Well then what are you doing? You think you’re being kind and you’re out to get me! You're already a bloody stalker! How else would you explain the fact that you know my name and I still don't even know yours?”
Last edited by Jack Burnett on 18 Dec 2019, 10:49, edited 1 time in total.
PC: Jack Burnett | iNPC: Ginyami Midorimori
16 Dec 2019, 15:56
Dare to Disagree
Getting up again, he went over to stab his index finger in her personal space. “Listen, Badger! You say kind people aren’t out to get me? Well then what are you doing? You think you’re being kind and you’re out to get me! You're already a bloody stalker! How else would you explain the fact that you know my name and I still don't even know yours?”
When Jack stabbed a finger in her face, Stella calmly grabbed his wrist and twisted it around, giving his shins a hard, prompt kick and increasing the pressure of her grip before releasing him and stepping back. "If you were so interested in knowing my name, all you had to do was ask for it." She said coolly, fixing him with a calm stare and brushing her hair out of her face before offering him her hand. "I'm Stella Dawson, and I'm advising you not to get in my personal space again-- unless you become a friend of mine or wish to lose an arm-- without promptly asking first. And I'm not a 'bloody stalker'," She went on, rolling her eyes.
"You just happen to be fairly popular among the school." She used the word 'popular' instead of 'infamous', and didn't falter once, to make it appear as if she'd simply just heard about him and seen his face instead of being warned not to even talk to him. "And I pay attention enough to memorize names to faces-- which I'm guessing is another thing that's different about the two of us, based on the fact that you just asked for my name and we have almost all of our classes together." Yep. Stella was definitely attentive to the small details and had a fairly photographic memory-- she could pick a face out of a crowd as long as she'd seen it before, and even sketch it out, given she had enough time and the supplies needed to accomplish this.
"And as for me being 'out to get you'-- that paranoia is exactly the sort of thing that'll stop you from doing anything worthwhile in your life. Sure, you can be successful and rich beyond compare, but will you look back on your life later when you're old and retired and be able to say you were proud of the way you treated others, and what you did in order to reach that level of success and fortune, with no sense of underlying guilt or regret?" Stella asked, gesturing to the copy of The Basic Book of Spells that still sat on the table. "You can pass all of your classes at Hogwarts and ace your OWLs and NEWTs, but you won't be happy when you've done what you feel is necessary in order to succeed and have a Gringott's vault bursting at the seams with money, along with a few dozen handfuls of adoring coworkers and fans here and there, depending on what you want to be when you're older. You'll tell yourself that you're happy, but at the end of the day, you'll question everything that you're for, and wonder what would have happened if you hadn't turned that nice little redheaded girl away. What would have happened if you hadn't rejected all of her attempts at helping you become a better person. And you wouldn't ever find out, because why in the world would you go through the trouble of trying to get ahold of a time turner just to come talk to little ol' me? The incorrigible kind girl in the badger house, whom your younger self despised so much?" She asked softly, picking up the book and giving it a once-over before handing it to Jack.
"It doesn't have to be that way for you. No one could possibly want that for their future-- no matter how famous they become, no matter how rich they later will be. Everyone wants a chance at being happy and successful in life. It's not like that I'm going to stop you from doing what you want to do-- I just want to help you see that kindness is a virtue, and that the world would be a better place if more people started showing it. I'm not trying to morph you into someone who's overly kind-- just the person who you are inside. There is no way that, deep down, you're the person who you portray on the outside. Everyone starts somewhere, and I don't think you started out like you are now. Please let me do this for you. It'll be easier for both of us if you just agree to let me help you. Either way, I'm more than willing to spend my free time helping you out in any way possible."
You will be found~ Deh
Stella Dawson
16 Dec 2019, 17:07
Dare to Disagree
@Stella Dawson
Before Jack knew what was happening, the boy found his wrist twisted and his shins kicked before he was eventually released, falling over from the unexpected loss of balance. He glared up at Stella, ignoring her offered hand and pushing himself back up on his feet as he dusted his robes off.
"I wasn't interested in knowing your name," he told her crisply. "And I didn't ask, either. But that doesn't mean I haven't been aware of who you are all this time. I know your face and I've just done my best to avoid you because I could see from a mile away what kind of person you were - the sort I wanted nothing to do with it I could help it." Brushing off his sleeve indignantly, he added, "I was doing pretty well until today."
It was interesting to note that she knew of his reputation, but Jack knew better to believe the bit about being 'popular'. Especially when he thought back to all the bullies who adored coming after him and his own victims like Oliver who loved to complain about how obnoxious he was. Still, regardless of the nature of the rumors, the Slytherin couldn't help but feel somewhat proud that he had made something of a name for himself - even if he'd wished it would have discouraged people from interacting with him rather than encouraged it.
The girl's long lecture about Jack's supposed future caused the redhead to roll his eyes at her, frowning and shaking his head, but not inturrupting. There didn't seem to be a point in trying with how determined she was to finish. When she finally seemed to be done, he told her, "Don't presume to know what 'no one could possibly want'. You'd be surprised." Ripping off a piece of his parchment, he wrote something on it as he said, "Everyone may want to be happy, but you don't get to decide what that is for them. Some may just be happier making no personal connections in their lives." Once he was done writing, he handed her the piece of paper, eyes narrowed. "If you want someone to help, quit wasting your time on me and help this kid. He seems the sort who wants friends, even if he's too proud to admit it."
The paper read:
Before Jack knew what was happening, the boy found his wrist twisted and his shins kicked before he was eventually released, falling over from the unexpected loss of balance. He glared up at Stella, ignoring her offered hand and pushing himself back up on his feet as he dusted his robes off.
"I wasn't interested in knowing your name," he told her crisply. "And I didn't ask, either. But that doesn't mean I haven't been aware of who you are all this time. I know your face and I've just done my best to avoid you because I could see from a mile away what kind of person you were - the sort I wanted nothing to do with it I could help it." Brushing off his sleeve indignantly, he added, "I was doing pretty well until today."
It was interesting to note that she knew of his reputation, but Jack knew better to believe the bit about being 'popular'. Especially when he thought back to all the bullies who adored coming after him and his own victims like Oliver who loved to complain about how obnoxious he was. Still, regardless of the nature of the rumors, the Slytherin couldn't help but feel somewhat proud that he had made something of a name for himself - even if he'd wished it would have discouraged people from interacting with him rather than encouraged it.
The girl's long lecture about Jack's supposed future caused the redhead to roll his eyes at her, frowning and shaking his head, but not inturrupting. There didn't seem to be a point in trying with how determined she was to finish. When she finally seemed to be done, he told her, "Don't presume to know what 'no one could possibly want'. You'd be surprised." Ripping off a piece of his parchment, he wrote something on it as he said, "Everyone may want to be happy, but you don't get to decide what that is for them. Some may just be happier making no personal connections in their lives." Once he was done writing, he handed her the piece of paper, eyes narrowed. "If you want someone to help, quit wasting your time on me and help this kid. He seems the sort who wants friends, even if he's too proud to admit it."
The paper read:
He snatched his book back from her and tucked it into his bag, not meeting her gaze. He was sick of this talk of kindness. "People use kindness to manipulate and hurt others, too," Jack told Stella, still not looking at her as he shouldered his bag in preparation to leave the library. "Watch yourself, Badger."Oliver Averill
1st Year Slytherin
Aspiring Prefect
PC: Jack Burnett | iNPC: Ginyami Midorimori
16 Dec 2019, 19:26
Dare to Disagree
@Jack Burnett
Stella took the parchment and read it over before pursing her lips and looking back up at Jack with a small frown, not bothering with her smile anymore. She had the calm composure to back it up, now-- Jack's little comment about it had affected her-- but the fact that he continued to turn her down made it appear as if he was happy not to interact with anyone like Stella, and that confused her. Why was he so set against avoiding her before? He'd said why, but was that really it? It couldn't have been. Stella decided that she would have to later do some digging if she were ever to have a chance at finding out what inner turmoil was causing Jack to be distrustful towards kind people.
That led Stella to think about the possibilities that Jack had already interacted with this 'Oliver' other than the two simply both being Slytherins. But if Jack was telling Stella she'd be better off helping Oliver... aha! Jack was good! Why else would he be advising Stella to help someone else, other than the obvious fact that he was eager to be rid of her company? Her lips quirking into a subconscious side smile, Stella pocketed the piece of parchment. She would at least give this 'Oliver' a visit, as soon as she found out what he looked like. The rest would be fairly simple.
"People use kindness to manipulate and hurt others, too," Jack told Stella, still not looking at her as he shouldered his bag in preparation to leave the library. "Watch yourself, Badger."
This caused Stella to give an eyeroll, but she'd long lost the annoyance in her gaze. She allowed the other boy to shoulder his way past her, but not before calling out, "I have a feeling we'll meet again. You can believe what you want, but I know we will. Either way, I hope you have a nice day."
Stella took the parchment and read it over before pursing her lips and looking back up at Jack with a small frown, not bothering with her smile anymore. She had the calm composure to back it up, now-- Jack's little comment about it had affected her-- but the fact that he continued to turn her down made it appear as if he was happy not to interact with anyone like Stella, and that confused her. Why was he so set against avoiding her before? He'd said why, but was that really it? It couldn't have been. Stella decided that she would have to later do some digging if she were ever to have a chance at finding out what inner turmoil was causing Jack to be distrustful towards kind people.
Stella recognized the name, but she couldn't deduce from where. Probably from her classes-- if he was an aspiring prefect, then he must be smart. She'd probably heard a professor call out his name asking if he knew the answer to one of their questions."If you want someone to help, quit wasting your time on me and help this kid. He seems the sort who wants friends, even if he's too proud to admit it."
That led Stella to think about the possibilities that Jack had already interacted with this 'Oliver' other than the two simply both being Slytherins. But if Jack was telling Stella she'd be better off helping Oliver... aha! Jack was good! Why else would he be advising Stella to help someone else, other than the obvious fact that he was eager to be rid of her company? Her lips quirking into a subconscious side smile, Stella pocketed the piece of parchment. She would at least give this 'Oliver' a visit, as soon as she found out what he looked like. The rest would be fairly simple.
"People use kindness to manipulate and hurt others, too," Jack told Stella, still not looking at her as he shouldered his bag in preparation to leave the library. "Watch yourself, Badger."
This caused Stella to give an eyeroll, but she'd long lost the annoyance in her gaze. She allowed the other boy to shoulder his way past her, but not before calling out, "I have a feeling we'll meet again. You can believe what you want, but I know we will. Either way, I hope you have a nice day."
You will be found~ Deh
Stella Dawson