Bane of Cupid
Her eyes were beginning to cross from all the reading. Poppy had spent the last hour or so sat at her table, poring over everything she could find on the gargoyle strike of 1911. All her efforts had gotten her were a headache and words that began to dance fancifully across the page.
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
Word Count: 503
It was no use. With her head fit to bursting, Poppy was sure that further reading would ultimately do more harm than good. The girl knew when she was beaten, and as she pushed away from the table, she resigned herself to her fate. When she got to History of Magic class on the following day, she would either know the answers to the test or she wouldn't. The girl wasn't actually so cavalier about her grades and already knew how hard she'd come down on herself if the results weren't favourable, but she was also tired of reading the same sentence for the fifth time without being able to grasp its meaning.
There was still about an hour left before dinner. Maybe she'd go by the lake to skip stones for a bit or return to her common room to see whether there were any games of exploding snap going on.
It was the sort of exhilarating fun that shot right through her nerves, frying every single one of them raw while it gave her heart palpitations. By all rights, it shouldn't have been something the girl enjoyed, but after the first several games, it had begun to grow on her.
Poppy collected the books on her table and set out to replace them on their shelves. They'd all come from the same section, making the task easy enough ...until she turned the corner into the aisle and saw him.
Zephyr Deakin.
"Oh god!" she squeaked, her voice rising several octaves as she staggered right back out of the aisle. The sudden action sent her right into a cart stacked with books that were waiting to be returned. The cart toppled over under the force of the impact, sending all the books clattering to the ground with a loud and incriminating CRASH that only served to further startle her.
"Oh god, oh god, oh god."
There were books everywhere, some sliding along the ground before coming to their final resting place haphazardly strewn. It was like they said about trainwrecks; with a shade of crimson creeping along her face – mortified at the several pairs of eyes now looking – she couldn't look away. Not at first. When she did manage to pry her eyes from the wreck, she tried to have a peek around the towering shelf, clinging to a final Hail Mary that suggested he might not have seen.
It was its own disaster. Poppy peered back into the aisle in time to see him heading in her direction. The girl pulled back quickly, pressing her back against the side of the shelf, unsure of the spell that could help her fall through the floor.
"Oh god, oh god."
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
Bane of Cupid
Reducio Word Count: 559 |
Reducio Mention: @Persephone Grimsbane |
Zephyr came to the library that afternoon with a simple goal in mind-to finish his homework before dinner so he wouldn’t have to worry about it later tonight. He learned it the hard way that if he left everything until the evening, he would either rush through it or forget half of it the next day. So he decided to deal with it early. Aside from that, there's also the History of Magic test coming up. He read a few chapters, but some parts still confused him. The names and dates kept mixing in his head. He just thought the library might have another book that would explain it better.
He was standing in the aisle for a few minutes as he scanned the spines of several books. One of them looked promising, so he pulled it out and skimmed the first page. He was not really fully focused. The library was quiet that time, but his mind kept wandering. He was thinking about his flying practice that morning and whether he needed time to train again tomorrow before class starts. Suddenly, he heard someone squeak, 'Oh god!' Normally, he would have ignored that since he doesn't care about other people's businesses, but it was loud enough to be noticed. He frowned and looked up from the book.
Before he could comprehend what was happening, there was a loud crash from the next aisle. The sound echoed through the library, which effectively grabbed the attention of several students, including him. He froze from reading as his brows knitted deeply. "What on earth was that?" It was followed by the unmistakable sound of the book sliding to the floor, and the sound of metal rolling followed the crash. Curious if someone was in need of help, he put the book back on the shelf and came out of the aisle he was in to see what had happened. When he walked around the corner, he saw the cart lying on its side and books scattered everywhere. Standing near the shelf, looking completely panicked, was a girl familiar to him. In fact, she was in his year and they were classmates in some subjects.
He paused for a moment in surprise. “Oh, it's you...” She looked like she just walked into a disaster she didn’t know how to escape from. Her flushed face told him she was involved in whatever happened to that place. It must have been just an accident, his conclusion as he glanced around again. A couple of students were staring, and someone at a nearby table looked annoyed by the noise. "I got this..." he told everyone in that section before it got the librarian's attention.
“Hey, it’s okay...” His voice was calm and friendly so she wouldn't feel worse. “It’s just books.” He approached the fallen cart and pushed it upright. "What happened here?" He asked her in confusion although he had a rough guess already. The girl was still pressed against the shelf as if wanting to hide, or maybe trying to disappear. He felt sorry for her, she looked very embarrassed. Library accidents happen all the time, it's not like she blew up a potion lab. “You alright?” came another question as he started gathering the books from the floor one by one. Some were heavy, and a few slid farther down the aisle.
Calming Presence | The Muggle Condition
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5
Bane of Cupid
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
Word Count: 530
“Oh, it's you...”
You? Who? She? Her?
HE KNEW WHO SHE WAS.
Zephyr Deakin knew her – knew she existed at the very least. In a more rational frame of mind, it would have seemed an obvious, even inevitable fact. They shared many classes and had for nearly an entire school year now. Without needing to be close, Poppy could easily say that she now knew everyone in her cohort by name. She could go further. Just by the process of existing within the school, she'd learned the names and faces of several older students, too.
But in that moment, it was enough to make her lungs seize. She couldn't breathe and didn't think she'd remember how to any time soon.
He was right there. Not across the classroom with his friends sharing a laugh, not on the side of the Great Hall minding his own business while she snuck glances every time she thought she could get away with it.
Right...there.
For a second, all Poppy could do was stare. His righting of the cart barely registered, as did his first few words. It was only when the girl forced herself to focus that she realised he was talking to her—specifically her. By the time he asked if she was alright, she was melting. His eyes were prettier up close, she realised. It was a fact she hadn't been prepared to have confirmed, yet here she was, at the mercy of proximity, unable to look away as the roots of her hair began to shift to an even more embarrassing neon pink.
Poppy never noticed the colour spreading down her once golden locks, entranced by a second realisation. He was as kind as she imagined.
Her mouth opened and closed several times, trying to form words that might matter. He – Zephyr – had asked a few questions, and if she was quite done looking like an absolute idiot, it wouldn't hurt to attempt a response.
"Oh! "No—No! Don't!" she blurted when it finally registered that he was trying to clean her mess. "You don't have to – I should've been more careful – it's...it's fine." Poppy moved closer, reaching for and trying to take the books from him before suddenly becoming aware of just how close they were (shoulder to shoulder) and staggering back. The colour spread further, interrupted by streams of soft lilac as her sudden jerking motion alerted her to the changes taking place in her hair.
Of all the times for it to happen.
Poppy threw her hands atop her head in a futile effort to hide her hair but quickly abandoned this for the greater disaster: the boy's abundance of kindness. "You...you really don't have to," she tried, taking a step forward. This time, she hesitated rather than rushing to try grabbing the books again, knowing full well it might have her standing too close.
The hammering that took place inside her chest was enough without her doing things to make it worse.
"I wasn't – I wasn't expecting to run into you here – not that you can't be here. It's a free castle, and I'm sure you read because you're probably very smart--but you're not smart because you read."
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
Bane of Cupid
Reducio Word Count: 602 |
Reducio Mention: @Persephone Grimsbane |
Zephyr was expecting a response from the girl while he was trying to clean up the mess, not the flustered look on her face when he glanced in her direction. She opened her mouth as if wanting to say something to him, and closed it again and just stared as if she was not so sure of his existence there. He didn't mean to make this embarrassing for her or to scare her, she probably thought he was going to report her to the librarian. He was about to speak again to ask her what's wrong when he almost choked on what happened next. Her hair! The golden color changed drastically to bright pink...and there were parts that were lilac too! "You---" he pointed at her hair, "Your hair...It's pink!" Now it was his turn to look shocked for a hot minute. It was like an odd color of sunset settling on her hair. "How...? Why...?" He couldn't even come up with a decent sentence due to shock.
Once he caught his bearings and his shock subsided, his mouth twitched upward into an amused grin. "What happened? Did you use a spell or something? Or is it because you're some kind of creature too? Like a Veela?” So far, he had an interesting encounter with a veela and boy did he admire the girl so much he was not sure why he had that kind of reaction. But, after learning she's part veela, he finally understood the sudden attraction and awareness of everything about the girl. It was interesting to have met someone like her. Now this... "What are you?" His curiosity won, but he was hoping she wouldn't mind him asking.
He squatted to be level with her to see her hair closely, curious but trying not to make it look like he was staring too much. Which, technically, he was. Slight. He was oblivious to the turmoil of emotions she was trying to fight, but he did notice her slightly panic-stricken face, he just assumed it was because of her humiliation regarding the mess she had made with the books and the cart. Anyone would be embarrassed if the same thing happened to them.
Finally, she seemed to have found her voice and she stopped him from whatever he's doing. "You don't have to explain anything, accidents do happen sometimes." His grin appeared once again, "Happens to everyone." Even with him. Somehow, he was confused by her reaction, he helped others clean before but never anyone who looked like they were melting into a puddle of embarrassment. Was it really that big a deal to her? To have been caught in this kind of situation? And her hair, he really wanted to know what caused the sudden color change.
She must have come to her senses by now, because her rambling followed about him being there, being smart and in the end, she just lost him in the middle. Zephyr raised one brow, now smirking and caught between confusion and amusement. “You lost me in free castle...” He chuckled as he shook his head. “I don’t know if you were saying I’m smart or not smart… but thanks anyway?” He held the books toward her, some he already placed inside the cart, and with an encouraging smile, he added, “How about we just put these back together first, and then you can explain the hair thing? Deal?” Maybe if she focused on one thing at a time, she would calm down and later on would just laugh it off. She was just really adorable when her face was all red.
Calming Presence | The Muggle Condition
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5
Bane of Cupid
Persephone was trying to cope. Awestruck and stuttering as she was, the girl was doing everything she could to keep it together.
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
Word Count: 709
Then he mentioned her hair. Correction, Zephyr Deakin didn't just mention her hair. He pointed, unbridled shock setting itself onto his otherwise perfect features. Pink. Pink of all colours. Right there. While he was watching. In full view of him and the other students and God and anyone else who may have wanted to take part in the spectacle. In all that, the floor remained solid, refusing to swallow her whole and put her out of this misery.
The pink didn't last, quickly deepening to a bold shade of indigo that was more in line with her growing mortification.
When Poppy imagined talking to Zephyr – because she'd certainly fantasised about it enough – she knew she would stutter and that it might be a bit awkward, but THIS was foul. This was utter annihilation of any chance she had at...at...well, she hadn't gotten that far with her hopes and dreams where the boy was concerned, but this was the furthest thing from a 'good start'. Every time he thought about her – would he think about her? Did he ever? Probably not – he would remember pink, and she would remember the way his eyes widened with astonishment.
"How...? Why...?"
That smile. That grin. The way it spread so naturally across his lips. She was dead. Bury her at the edge of the forbidden forest and, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, place a few peonies there now and then. Poppy could feel her entire insides melting, even as her embarrassment tried to remind her of the sort of day she was having. It was a strange combination, one that had her insides stirring with frenetic energy and gooey feelings that made her toes curl while her blood went cold and her muscles were twitching to make a run for it.
Which was she meant to listen to?
"What happened? Did you use a spell or something? Or is it because you're some kind of creature too? Like a Veela?”
A...a creature? Was she a...did this condition make her not...
It was the first time Poppy had ever considered such a thing, and the small girl realised very quickly that...she didn't know.
"Veela!" she squeaked. Did he think she was that pretty? Did he think she was pretty at all? The earlier crimson swept across her face again in a stark blush, even as she tried to insist on how ridiculous she was being. It was new to her, all of it. There were sensations that made her heart thud heavily with no explanation.
"What are you?"
Wasn't she just her? Poppy tucked her hair behind her ears, trying to come across less flustered than she undoubtedly was. "J—Just me. Not a creature, I don't think. Professor Townsend called it...uh....a metamorphmagus? Nothing like a veela. I could never. They're gorgeous. I—parts of me just change sometimes. I tried reading about it. Might be able to control it someday."
Stop rambling, Poppy. Boys don't like rambly girls – or did they?
Someone really should've written a book on this for the hopeless cases, such as herself, who needed extra crutches when navigating such mundane elements of life.
When he got closer, it was the end for her. There wasn't a colour that her hair didn't turn, oscillating its way through several shades and hues as if it had lost its very mind.
Oh god, he was grinning again. Oh god, oh god, oh god. Was it possible to remain alive after one's soul had left one's body? She was seconds from collapse, absolutely beside herself and unable to string together a coherent response to his reassurances that it happened to everyone. What happened to everyone? Who were they talking about? Where was she? The only thing Poppy was aware of was those beautiful eyes that stared at her too long for her to have any hope of acting normal. This was unfair warfare, and she was losing.
"Smart! Very smart!" she hurried to provide, hoping to clear up his confusion as she took the books he offered. "N–Not that I've seen your grades, but I notice you in class--not in a weird way. It's...it's not like that." Like what? How was it possible that the hole she'd dug was only getting deeper?
Why was she holding these books?
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
Bane of Cupid
Reducio Word Count: 797 |
Reducio Mention: @Persephone Grimsbane |
Reducio OOC Notes: I found this rp very funny and interesting, can't help chuckling every time I read your replies  |
So it was not just a one-time thing, her hair changing colors. It confirmed at least part of his confusion. He couldn't help staring, if that's a crime, then feel free to put him in prison for this but it was amazing to see someone changed colors instantly. He was also trying to understand if it was magic, a spell reaction or something else entirely. From all the time he'd been at Hogwarts, he had seen some odd magical effects, but not something that reacted to emotions so visibly. He was curious more than anything else. But then, he caught sight of her face and noticed everything at once.
Can someone actually see how someone was mentally collapsing? Because it's written all over her face. He was not sure if she was embarrassed, or overwhelmed or hyperventilating. Is she having panic attack? If he would guess it right based on her reaction as well as her facial expression, she was probably fighting about five different thoughts at once and losing to all of them. Now it was his turn to open his mouth but was not sure what to say so he closed it again and just blinked. "Did I do something wrong?" Not realizing he voice what he was thinking.
From his perspective, he just pointed out a weird magical effect and asked a question. It was normal for him but her reaction told him he crossed an invisible line. It was disproportionate and deeply humiliating without realizing it. He lowered his hand with the book and when she didn’t answer his questions and just stood there as if shaking with panic, he frowned in confusion, and there was also worry blooming in his chest. Now he was hesitating because he didn’t know what else to do with her reaction. "Sorry if that came out rude, I just… I've never seen hair do that before.” It was the truth, nothing more, nothing less.
"If it's because of my questions, then I apologize, I'm just surprised and curious that's all. I’m not going to report you or anything.” If that's her worry then she didn't need to. That immediate squeak did surprise him as soon as he mentioned veela. “I said like a veela...” he corrected quickly so as not to make it worse. “Not that you are one.” But then her face turned red again. He didn’t fully understand what he said wrong but it was obvious something about that comparison affected her. He made a mental note not to bring it up again. When she started explaining, it happened so fast, she stumbled with her words but at least she's explaining. His attention shifted from confusion to interest.
“Metamorphmagus?” Surprised laced in his voice, as his eyes went back to her hair, which, at this point, was doing something between changing colors and completely losing control. “You can change how you look without a spell that’s pretty cool.” The more her hair kept changing into multiple colors now, not even settling into one, he started to realize something else. His gaze lingered then he looked away on purpose, trying not to make it worse. Staring probably isn’t helping which explained her reaction maybe? When he noticed her still not calming down, possibly still stuck in that overwhelmed state, he raised his arms as if to assure her, "Hey, it's just me. If anything, you look beautiful in different hair colors."
He told himself people sometimes got nervous around him for reasons he doesn't fully understand until now. Especially girls. It happened often enough that he started noticing the pattern, but not enough that he could understand the why behind it. Glancing at her again, at least he could say she was not scared of him, that much was clear. So why did she look like she was about to faint just because he was talking to her? He had seen this kind of reaction before, nervousness, blushing, stumbling words and it always left him with the same question. Am I doing something wrong? It didn’t feel like he was, hell he's not even trying to be intimidating or even saying much. Yet here she was, looking like she might short-circuit.
When she suddenly blurted out he's smart and telling him about noticing him in class and he just watched her for a second, unblinking, unsure how to take her word. Finally, an amused smile showed up. "You noticed me in classes? I’ll take that as a compliment.” The corner of his mouth twitched but didn’t comment more. He reached for another book from the floor and gestured toward the cart. “Those go in here." To help her since she hasn't moved an inch ever since he spoke. "And you noticing things in class isn’t weird.”
Calming Presence | The Muggle Condition
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5
Bane of Cupid
"Did I do something wrong?"
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
Word Count: 709
"NO!" It was louder than she'd intended, embarrassingly louder – as if she weren't already doing a phenomenal job of annihilating any hope she had of appearing poised and composed before the boy. The answer was automatic, stemming from the sudden panic of being misunderstood on a level that might have him thinking she thought poorly of him. Poppy's free hand flew to her mouth, blue-green eyes darting around the library to ensure she hadn't earned herself more attention.
When it didn't seem she was about to be thrown out, she finally allowed her hand to fall. "N—No, you didn't—you couldn't—you're perfect—this is...it's me. I'm the—it's me, not you. You...you didn't know, and...and it's okay; I just didn't..."
Poppy let the words fall off, trying instead to suck in a deep breath in the hopes of steadying herself. If she kept going, she would only ramble herself into incoherency and would risk Zephyr thinking her an actual idiot who couldn't string together enough words to save her life.
In. Out.
The puff of air left her with little fanfare as her mind centred itself.
"T—The questions weren't a problem. I...I don't mind, really. This," she said, gesturing around her in indication that she meant the castle, "is the first place I've ever been to where...where people are—they're curious about the way I change, in—instead of scared or...or, I guess, disgusted." If she was being honest, Poppy wasn't used to reactions that weren't rooted in some form of disapproval. All her life she'd been told to get it under control—that it was inherently wrong and a sign of rebellion. She just 'couldn't do as she was told'. She was 'trying to have her own way' no matter how many times they'd warned her. "Nevermind," Poppy continued quietly. "You never asked about any of that."
She turned her back to him for a moment, returning the books in her hand to the cart. She didn't know where they went, having no real concept of the library system and how anything was organised. If she needed a book for her studies, Poppy had a general idea of where to begin her blind search, but returns? Those she typically, and with much humility, left to the librarian when she returned them at the front desk.
“Metamorphmagus?”
Poppy turned at the word.
"Y—Yeah..."
Cool. He...he thought it was cool. A flood of warmth returned to her body, exacerbating the colours that had only just begun to calm down. She was trying to remember to breathe, to not let it get to her head. It was no secret that Zephyr was nice. Yes. Nice. That's all this wa—
"Hey, it's just me. If anything, you look beautiful in different hair colors."
Oh.
Goooooooood.
Persephone was on her way to the nosebleed of the century. It was a wonder every blood vessel hadn't simultaneously erupted. Beautiful. He said....to her...she....Poppy...
Beautiful.
It wasn't like the comment on veelas with the implication of beauty. He...Zephyr...outright...she...
She needed to lie down. Poppy leaned against the nearby shelf, doing everything she could to slow the erratic beats of her heart while her head spun with the giddiness only a 12-year-old girl could possess. She had to focus. His lips were moving. Words were likely coming out of his mouth. More compliments? Concerns about the strangeness of her behaviour? She'd never know if she couldn't pry herself back from the brink of death far enough to get her ears to start working again.
"You noticed me in classes? I’ll take that as a compliment.”
"It...I..Okay," she relented, choosing to focus instead on the second part of what he said: where the books went. Earlier when she'd focused on the books, she'd been able to bring herself down by offering herself some distraction.
"Do you..." she paused to place another book on the cart, "Do you notice anything—in class, I mean."
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.
Bane of Cupid
Reducio Word Count: 716 |
Reducio Mention: @Persephone Grimsbane |
"No!"
Zephyr winced the moment she shouted, followed by a flinch as if someone had cracked a book too loudly near his ear in a silent room. His next reaction was to look instinctively past the long rows of shelves and tables, where the possibility of a librarian's attention felt alarmingly real. He quickly raised a finger to his lips. “Shh...” Mouthing the words and then reinforced it properly with his index finger pressed against his own mouth in an unmistakable lower your voice gesture. It was a necessary gesture if they both did not want to end up in trouble because he was only realizing now that somehow, despite all logic and explanation, every single thing that he did and said to Poppy seemed to be trending upward in volume and downward in composure. That realisation alone confused him, big time, along with a helpless amusement, as it was becoming a pattern now.
Amusement was there with the way she mega reacted. He was not sure if she was aware of the way her emotions was spilling out of her without control. It was almost comical in a way that honestly, he didn’t know what to do with it. There was also something else, confusion, because for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what he had done to warrant this level of emotional catastrophe. It was confirmed, by her, that he had not done anything wrong yet the evidence standing right in front of him suggested otherwise. And that's why he was finding it hard to believe her, though he could tell she's not one to lie either. It was a conundrum.
All Zephyr could do was watched as she stuttered her apology, her explanation, and her compliment all at once, while also possibly trying to rebuild her composure brick by brick. He sighed in thought. “I’m not perfect, Poppy, nobody is. But thank you, I do appreciate the compliment.” He kept looking at her hair which truly fascinated him but he refrained himself from commenting about it again lest her emotions couldn't decide what they were supposed to take again. Not wanting it to be a distraction, he focused on her face instead. “What is it that’s bothering you about this…?” Gesturing between them in an attempt to define the root of the problem. “This situation...between us.”
From his perspective, it was just an accident with a collapsed book cart and their increasingly confusing conversation that had somehow turned emotionally charged for reasons he could not tell. He wanted to understand it but she's not giving him a proper answer. “I didn’t think my presence, or my words would set you off like this?” There was a bit of silence as he put some more books back into the cart. Whatever this was, her reaction she was having, it was not about books anymore and Zephyr Deakin, for all his calm exterior, hated not understanding things.
He told her she's beautiful, and he meant every word, spoken with sincerity. In a way, he assumed it would calm her down as it would tell her he's not thinking anything negative for being metamorphmagus, that it was actually the opposite, that it suited her. But the reaction, or lack there of, was something he least expected. It's as if someone pulled a thread connected to her somewhere and her composure gave way. He was worried for a heartbeat that she was going to faint. Or worse, blow up? She leaned against a shelf, her hair went through different colours again, and all he could do was watched with fascination again. Did he say something wrong again? Maybe she thought I'm lying? "I meant it..." He blurted out to save the situation just in case she's offended. It was scary to think that anything more would probably make her combust. Judging by her current state, it was a possibility.
What did I do?
Zephyr was honestly starting to panic, not believing this was happening over something that had been a straightforward observation. Her question came next, “I do... I know you're friendly and nice to everyone. You seem fine around everyone else." There was humour behind his words that he was trying to hide. "Now I’m trying to figure out, what exactly I’m doing differently.”
Calming Presence | The Muggle Condition
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5
Sta: 7 | Eva: 8 | Str: 7 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 8 | Accu: 5
Bane of Cupid
“Shh...”
Do you ever feel like a misfit?
✪ Everything inside you is dark and twisted ✪
Word Count: 613
The rebuke, mild and well-intentioned as it had been, was enough to send her face scorching. It was a library, a quiet place of reading and study. Poppy already knew that. She shouldn't have needed him to tell her to be quiet. Would there be an end to her capacity to make a fool of herself in his presence? Persephone was quickly learning that the limit didn't exist.
Brilliant.
Then he asked the dreaded question, the one she'd been doing everything she could to avoid. What was bothering her...what had her so flustered when it came to him. She hadn't known at first. Poppy's brain had been so scrambled when she first started noticing the changes within herself each time he was around that there was no time to fully dissect it. Then it dawned on her one day while listening to a few girls talking up in the common room.
She'd been mortified ever since.
Persephone Grimsbane liked a boy. There was no bigger scandal in her world. What would her parents think? What would her brothers and sisters? None of them had ever mentioned liking anyone – never mind how unlikely it would've been for them to discuss such things with her. No one at home talked about attraction or the butterflies that could sometimes make you feel like you were going to throw up.
It just...wasn't done – wasn't meant to be done. Worthy of repentance perhaps, and...so...insidious. Poppy couldn't have said how or when it happened. One day she woke up and discovered she had feelings she'd never had before, feelings she didn't have a handbook for but a heaping dose of inexplicable guilt.
She couldn't explain any of that to him.
Her lips parted, ready to offer some half-baked excuse that might deflect from the erumpent in the room, but the boy continued.
“I didn’t think my presence, or my words would set you off like this?”
"I...I didn't either – it's...it's not you. I mean it is," in the strictest sense of things, "but – but it's not your fault, I just..." Poppy's words caught in her throat. She couldn't very well admit it. What would she even say? "Hi, I like you and that turns me into a puddle every time you even look at me'? She didn't have the courage to give such words voice. How could she admit to such a shameful thing? It wasn't possible. She couldn–
He meant it.
He meant it.
Zephyr...thought...he thought...and meant....that she...her...Persephone...not the girl standing next to her...not the girl across the library but her. He thought she was beautiful?
Just let her die.
“I do... I know you're friendly and nice to everyone. You seem fine around everyone else. Now I’m trying to figure out, what exactly I’m doing differently.”
"No–stop–just," She stuck her hands out, physically unable to handle any more of his sweet words and the kind of attention he likely wasn't intending to give to her. He was being nice. He was being sweet. It didn't prevent her entire nervous system from short-circuiting." I–"[/b]
Oi! Poppy! You ready to go?"
Her head snapped in the direction of the call. It was one of her dormmates. They had plans for after the library, plans that had completely left her mind the moment she ran into Zephyr Deakin. Relief flooded her at once, the sort that made her limbs even weaker than her infatuation had.
"I'm...I'm sorry, I have to go!"
She didn't wait for a goodbye, didn't wait for him to give her a nosebleed with any more sweet words. Dumping the last of the books onto the cart, Poppy turned and made a desperate run for it.
Encyclopaedia ✿ Metamorphmagus ✿ If the sun shines, that's reason enough.