31 Dec 2019, 03:24
GiftingAnonymously
@Donnovan Perrywinkle @Jo Morgan @Jack Burnett @Euphrasia Millie @Alain Couture @Oliver Averill
[font=Segoe Print]“I’m replacing the joy that you suck out of my Christmas.”
Rafael completely, 100% saw that one coming. It was basically down to a science, their banter. He insulted her, she flew a flaming retort right back, always brilliant and scathing. He was a bit jealous, if he were honest, of her quick, witty responses. He liked to blame his deficiency of good comebacks on his lack of an IQ, but he knew better. Deep down, he had realized that she had a real gift, one he definitely didn’t share. But no matter. He surely made up for it in many other fields. “Doing a terrible job of it, too,” he fired back smoothly. “The sight of you is depressing me. Perhaps it’s your face?” He smirked a bit at his words – not too bad, huh? Perhaps her wittiness was contagious, once in a while. Or maybe it was the time of year – the Christmas Season did weird things to the mind.
Though, it took him a moment to register Jo’s pulling him aside – it was so spontaneous, it left a rather confused look on his face. “What’s up with Jack?” she asked, her voice holding a curious edge. “You’ve gotta be crazy jealous, because every time I make a friend, you’re nipping at their heels for a fight!” She smirked at the last bit, indicating that it was a joke.
Rafa didn’t find it very funny. His temper flared, his tongue moving faster than he could control it. “Maybe it’s because you have shitty taste in friends?” he retorted, an angry edge to his voice. It wasn’t true, of course – most of the friends Jo had were pretty great people. It just didn’t seem fair, to let her get away with saying something so suggestive, especially regarding his relationship with Jack Burnett. His hothead side was flaring dangerously, ready to do something else that he’d surely regret.
It took a moment for the sensible side to kick in. What am I doing? It would do him no good to snap at Jo right now. She was only curious, after all, and it wasn’t like she had bad intentions. Can’t even take a bloody joke. Real impressive, Raf. He rubbed his eyes long and hard, an aggravated sigh escaping his throat. “Excuse me,” he told Jo, his voice much more civil. “I didn’t mean that.” He relaxed his hands by his side, his shoulders a bit tense. “Look, he sent me this love letter one time, as a joke. Signed a different girl’s name on it, and all. Neither of us were very happy about it – we were both really pissed and all. She almost hurt him really badly.” Replaying his words once more in his mind, he shook his head. “Bottom line is, we don’t get along.”
He gritted his teeth slightly, looking over Jo’s shoulder at the boy in question. Jack looked a bit lonely, he noted, having no one to talk to. Serves him right, a part of him thought. He still had a great deal of anger towards the Slytherin, but also… there was something else. While he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what that feeling was, it gave him a deep, piercing feeling of remorse towards his initial thoughts. That’s a real ruddy way to think. Maybe he screws things up with people, but he’s obviously paying for it. Get off his back. Go talk to him or something.
There would be a time to talk to Jack; right now, it was time for Secret Santa. He pushed the thought out of his mind for a moment, his focus settling back on the present. He absently noticed that Euphrasia Millie – a fellow chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team – had arrived, a gift in-hand. An odd sort of chill ran up his spine, the excited kind you get before you board a roller coaster. So, this is actually happening. He took another glance at the gift beneath the tree, his terrible wrapping skills becoming more and more evident as the moments passed. “Hey, Euphrasia,” he said with a smile, waving to her cheerfully, inwardly dreading gift exchanges now. Surely she won’t mind the wrapping, he reasoned, once she sees what’s inside.
Not that he had her, or anything. That would be ridiculous.
His anxious thought process soon crashed, though, at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. “Do you vancy the vinter holidays?” it asked him. Rafa turned, his eyes catching a face he had never seen before. Pale skin, blond, almost white hair, blue eyes – it was a strange, stark mixture of features, compared to the other members of the little get-together. But not at all unwelcome. He cocked his head to the side slightly, the way a puppy would, his eyes bright with curiousity. “Quite a bit, actually,” he answered warmly, a grin coming to his face. “Giving gifts, I think, is the best part. You always end up with more joy than you do receiving.” He held his hand out to shake – it was a very American gesture, yes, but it felt right. “Don’t think we’ve met before – I’m Rafael D’Spacito. My friends call me Rafa, or 'Bird.”
He had noted a bit of an accent in the other boy’s voice. It made him feel a bit better about his own – Rafa’s voice held a Hispanic, almost American sound. He was Argentinean, after all, and English wasn’t his first language. “You’ve got an accent,” he stated, rather obviously. “Not from around here?” His words held a friendly, welcoming sort of tone. Perhaps he was being a bit suggestive – he hadn’t really thought of that, actually. It wasn’t like he had a filter or anything. He spoke more from his gut than his head. Though, surely the other boy would see through his blunt, tactless words. He was making an effort to build bridges, after all. Wasn’t that gesture enough?
It wasn’t long after his little question, that Donnovan had taken ahold of their collective attentions. "As you all know, or may have received by owl,” he said, “is that today is a secret Santa. You all will exchange with your given person after you open your gift. Everyone, please take turns opening your gifts. In fact, how about you first – Jack, is it?” He gestured to the Slytherin boy. “Go ahead and find your name. Then after, we'll ask around for your secret Santa."
Rafa would be lying if he said he understood the rules well. Truth was, he was a bit lost. This was normal – he would, as always, chalk it up to his mental slowness and lacking attention span. His attention was directed towards Jack now, his eyes just slightly narrowed. Whatever his confusing feelings were, he wasn’t about to show the other boy any signs of weakness. Though, he didn’t think Jack was paying much attention to him at the moment. “You know what?” the other boy said. “I was just thinking what a dork I was to wear my uniform and robes on Christmas Eve.” Oh, he hadn’t noticed that. The green had blended in rather well with the festivities, actually. But there was no missing the robes now – the Slytherin had outed himself. “…think I'm going to go change. Don't bother waiting up; you guys go on without me."
Jack set off pretty quickly after that, rather surprising Rafa – his face, once holding a defensive sort of look, fell into a sort of blank, vacant expression. He really hadn’t expected Jack to just up-and-leave. Though, it seemed a bit silly, leaving because of a wardrobe malfuntion – part of him felt responsible, he was ashamed to admit. It gave him a strange, dreadful sort of feeling in his stomach, pooling around like burning hot lava. He hated it. He would have said something, too, if it weren’t for his ego. You’ve got an image to uphold, Raf, it said. No weakness. Be a man. He listened to it, watching as Jack’s head disappeared out the door.
Trying to shake the sick feeling in his gut, he turned towards the group. He hid his mixed emotions well, putting up an easy, reluctant smile. “You heard the guy. On with the festivities.” Gesturing towards the tree, he looked towards Euphrasia. “Ladies first?” he suggested, a questioning look in his eyes. [/font]
[font=Segoe Print]“I’m replacing the joy that you suck out of my Christmas.”
Rafael completely, 100% saw that one coming. It was basically down to a science, their banter. He insulted her, she flew a flaming retort right back, always brilliant and scathing. He was a bit jealous, if he were honest, of her quick, witty responses. He liked to blame his deficiency of good comebacks on his lack of an IQ, but he knew better. Deep down, he had realized that she had a real gift, one he definitely didn’t share. But no matter. He surely made up for it in many other fields. “Doing a terrible job of it, too,” he fired back smoothly. “The sight of you is depressing me. Perhaps it’s your face?” He smirked a bit at his words – not too bad, huh? Perhaps her wittiness was contagious, once in a while. Or maybe it was the time of year – the Christmas Season did weird things to the mind.
Though, it took him a moment to register Jo’s pulling him aside – it was so spontaneous, it left a rather confused look on his face. “What’s up with Jack?” she asked, her voice holding a curious edge. “You’ve gotta be crazy jealous, because every time I make a friend, you’re nipping at their heels for a fight!” She smirked at the last bit, indicating that it was a joke.
Rafa didn’t find it very funny. His temper flared, his tongue moving faster than he could control it. “Maybe it’s because you have shitty taste in friends?” he retorted, an angry edge to his voice. It wasn’t true, of course – most of the friends Jo had were pretty great people. It just didn’t seem fair, to let her get away with saying something so suggestive, especially regarding his relationship with Jack Burnett. His hothead side was flaring dangerously, ready to do something else that he’d surely regret.
It took a moment for the sensible side to kick in. What am I doing? It would do him no good to snap at Jo right now. She was only curious, after all, and it wasn’t like she had bad intentions. Can’t even take a bloody joke. Real impressive, Raf. He rubbed his eyes long and hard, an aggravated sigh escaping his throat. “Excuse me,” he told Jo, his voice much more civil. “I didn’t mean that.” He relaxed his hands by his side, his shoulders a bit tense. “Look, he sent me this love letter one time, as a joke. Signed a different girl’s name on it, and all. Neither of us were very happy about it – we were both really pissed and all. She almost hurt him really badly.” Replaying his words once more in his mind, he shook his head. “Bottom line is, we don’t get along.”
He gritted his teeth slightly, looking over Jo’s shoulder at the boy in question. Jack looked a bit lonely, he noted, having no one to talk to. Serves him right, a part of him thought. He still had a great deal of anger towards the Slytherin, but also… there was something else. While he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what that feeling was, it gave him a deep, piercing feeling of remorse towards his initial thoughts. That’s a real ruddy way to think. Maybe he screws things up with people, but he’s obviously paying for it. Get off his back. Go talk to him or something.
There would be a time to talk to Jack; right now, it was time for Secret Santa. He pushed the thought out of his mind for a moment, his focus settling back on the present. He absently noticed that Euphrasia Millie – a fellow chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team – had arrived, a gift in-hand. An odd sort of chill ran up his spine, the excited kind you get before you board a roller coaster. So, this is actually happening. He took another glance at the gift beneath the tree, his terrible wrapping skills becoming more and more evident as the moments passed. “Hey, Euphrasia,” he said with a smile, waving to her cheerfully, inwardly dreading gift exchanges now. Surely she won’t mind the wrapping, he reasoned, once she sees what’s inside.
Not that he had her, or anything. That would be ridiculous.
His anxious thought process soon crashed, though, at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. “Do you vancy the vinter holidays?” it asked him. Rafa turned, his eyes catching a face he had never seen before. Pale skin, blond, almost white hair, blue eyes – it was a strange, stark mixture of features, compared to the other members of the little get-together. But not at all unwelcome. He cocked his head to the side slightly, the way a puppy would, his eyes bright with curiousity. “Quite a bit, actually,” he answered warmly, a grin coming to his face. “Giving gifts, I think, is the best part. You always end up with more joy than you do receiving.” He held his hand out to shake – it was a very American gesture, yes, but it felt right. “Don’t think we’ve met before – I’m Rafael D’Spacito. My friends call me Rafa, or 'Bird.”
He had noted a bit of an accent in the other boy’s voice. It made him feel a bit better about his own – Rafa’s voice held a Hispanic, almost American sound. He was Argentinean, after all, and English wasn’t his first language. “You’ve got an accent,” he stated, rather obviously. “Not from around here?” His words held a friendly, welcoming sort of tone. Perhaps he was being a bit suggestive – he hadn’t really thought of that, actually. It wasn’t like he had a filter or anything. He spoke more from his gut than his head. Though, surely the other boy would see through his blunt, tactless words. He was making an effort to build bridges, after all. Wasn’t that gesture enough?
It wasn’t long after his little question, that Donnovan had taken ahold of their collective attentions. "As you all know, or may have received by owl,” he said, “is that today is a secret Santa. You all will exchange with your given person after you open your gift. Everyone, please take turns opening your gifts. In fact, how about you first – Jack, is it?” He gestured to the Slytherin boy. “Go ahead and find your name. Then after, we'll ask around for your secret Santa."
Rafa would be lying if he said he understood the rules well. Truth was, he was a bit lost. This was normal – he would, as always, chalk it up to his mental slowness and lacking attention span. His attention was directed towards Jack now, his eyes just slightly narrowed. Whatever his confusing feelings were, he wasn’t about to show the other boy any signs of weakness. Though, he didn’t think Jack was paying much attention to him at the moment. “You know what?” the other boy said. “I was just thinking what a dork I was to wear my uniform and robes on Christmas Eve.” Oh, he hadn’t noticed that. The green had blended in rather well with the festivities, actually. But there was no missing the robes now – the Slytherin had outed himself. “…think I'm going to go change. Don't bother waiting up; you guys go on without me."
Jack set off pretty quickly after that, rather surprising Rafa – his face, once holding a defensive sort of look, fell into a sort of blank, vacant expression. He really hadn’t expected Jack to just up-and-leave. Though, it seemed a bit silly, leaving because of a wardrobe malfuntion – part of him felt responsible, he was ashamed to admit. It gave him a strange, dreadful sort of feeling in his stomach, pooling around like burning hot lava. He hated it. He would have said something, too, if it weren’t for his ego. You’ve got an image to uphold, Raf, it said. No weakness. Be a man. He listened to it, watching as Jack’s head disappeared out the door.
Trying to shake the sick feeling in his gut, he turned towards the group. He hid his mixed emotions well, putting up an easy, reluctant smile. “You heard the guy. On with the festivities.” Gesturing towards the tree, he looked towards Euphrasia. “Ladies first?” he suggested, a questioning look in his eyes. [/font]
Reducio
[font=Segoe Print]OOC
Sorry for the wait. I've been waiting for my Secret Santa to send me my gift *cough cough*. If anyone is uncomfortable with the curse words used, owl me and I'll remove them. Happy New Year![/font]
I probably haven't collected my allowance yet.