what's happening to me? open

Maybe he just needed to get some energy out, or maybe he just liked the weather (it was getting nicer out by the day), but whatever it was, Felix had decided it was as good a time as any to take a walk on the grounds.

Sure, he had of homework to do, but who had time for that kinda thing? Not him (he’d do it later).

So that’s how he ended up by the lake, for probably the third (or fourth?) time this week so far. Hey, he liked the grounds. Sue him.

It didn’t take him too long to spot the girl sitting by the water. He couldn’t see her face, but she was curled up in a ball. Either she was moping or she just really liked sitting like that. He assumed it was the former.

Felix watched her from a distance for a moment, trying to figure out if he recognized her at all. He thought he’d seen her once, her hair was fairly distinctive.

Blue was a good choice, maybe he’d try that next time he dyed his (although, he’d been leaning towards purple. Maybe that’d work out well).

He flopped down on the grass a little ways away from the girl and waited to see if she’d look up.

The heck was he looking at? Oh, well, excuse him for having a set of eyes and a mild sense of curiosity.
You couldn't mope out in the grounds and not expect to be interrupted, could you?
At the very least, go a bit further out. Or find some tree to sit under—one that wasn't right beside the lake that half the school seemed to gather around as soon as the weather got decent. Perhaps in the Forbidden Forest (he'd done that several times before).

Nah, just kidding. He wasn't too bothered by her. At least, not enough to make a scene over it. Although, he still could do that if he got bored enough. Just not for now.
She'd looked upset before he'd even gotten over here, so he'd hardly been expecting anything else, and it was partially his fault anyway (he could've sat literally anywhere else). Still, it seemed a little rude to be like that right off the bat. Like hey, he was just existing, but sure, lets get snappy. Why not!

Either way, she'd moved closer to him on the grass, apparently to apologize. The girl was mumbling quite a bit, and had her head turned away, so Felix wasn't entirely sure what she'd said at first. However, he still got the gist of it, and nodded along. It wasn't that big of a deal anyway.

"What're you out here for? Little dressed up, aren't you?" he nodded towards her heels, discarded on the grass some ways away. Had she thrown them? Felix wasn't sure. He'd missed that moment, apparently.

He'd never worn heels before. They looked uncomfortable. Also kinda hard to walk in, and he figured his balance was far too bad for that. While he could balance decently well, and he wasn't 'clumsy', per ce, his coordination was just bad enough and his experience with heels just non-existent enough that he'd probably faceplant immediately.

How did people walk in them anyways? Some weird science probably. Or just tons of practise (it was probably that). Perhaps he'd attempt it some day, just to see. At least his dad and sister would find it funny, if nothing else.

"I like your nails, by the way" Felix smiled at the girl. His nails were painted too. Green, of course, for Slytherin house pride, and some black since he had it laying around anyway. Maybe just slightly off Christmas colours, with his hair. Little early in the year for that though.

"That's nice. It's fun to dress up just for the sake of it. Less expectations and rules about it, since it's not an event. You can just do whatever you want. Within reason, of course"
Honestly, he should dress up more. Most of the time he was stuck wearing his school robes though, so he wasn't too picky about anything else. Usually just ended up in shorts and a sweater, like he'd worn today (except he forgot the sweater part of that, so he was a bit chilly).

Even if Felix's current shoes were a little grungy (his dad's words, not his) and at least one size too big, they were definitely comfortable, and survived almost anything. That's why he hadn't traded them out for a new pair yet. He just kept replacing the laces, because, for some unknown reason, they kept getting broken. Maybe he had weird luck with laces. Or he just needed to be gentler with them.

"Yeah, sneakers are way better, for walking on the grounds at least. Suppose heels have their place though. A fancy place, probably. With actually flat floors. And other heels, y'know. Like, heels to be company for the other heels" Okay, maybe that last sentence went a little weird, but he could still salvage it, right? She couldn't exactly be judging him for being weird. She probably said weirder thing all the time.

After a moment, the girl asked, "Whats your name? Mine's Mary." She was definitely more polite now. Guess she really did just have to get it out of her system.

"Mine's Felix. It's nice to meet you, Mary!" he held out a hand to shake, "And also, before I forget, apology accepted. I was gonna say that before, but I got a bit off-track, so I'll say it now." Yeah, Felix had gotten distracted by the heels. He probably should've gotten the whole 'What the heck are you looking at' fiasco over with and out of the way first, but hey, he did have priorities.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, was there anything in particular you were upset about? Or just a crummy day in general?"
After all, they were literally living at a school (like, no matter how much fun Hogwarts was, it was still technically school), so there were plenty of things to be upset by there. Like homework. God, he hated homework.

Why did they even call it homework? It wasn't like they were going home to do it. At the very most, he was sitting in the common room to do it. Once he got to his dorm, work was going away. He was napping, and nothing was going to stop him (well, his sleep schedule was non-existent, and he might prefer wandering the castle over actually going to bed, but otherwise nothing was stopping him).

"Well, if we're both weird, at least I'm cool weird" Felix shrugged. "I should frame that and use it as a title, hey? It'd rock"
He needed more decor for his dorm anyway, why not add a couple quotes?

Mary was quite nice. Like, she had called him weird, sure, but she'd also called herself weird, so they were even as far as he was concerned.

He'd asked about what had upset her, but she didn't seem to open to talking about it, not beyond her quick explanation of getting a letter. Fair enough. They'd only just met, after all. But he could certainly relate to the day-ruining letters.

"Ohh, yeah that sucks. I only really get letters when there's bad news, or when my dad decides he's left me without supervision too long. Apparently he wants to make sure I'm not getting into anything quote unquote too 'unhinged'." He couldn't help but snicker quietly under his breath.

That had, in fact, been a direct quote from his most recent letter, just a few days ago. Now Felix almost wanted to make up some really crazy, maybe concerning, story to send back, just because he'd been asked. It'd be hilarious. Might not end well for him though.

"But that's a totally uncalled for accusation, by the way. I'm not unhinged at all. I do totally normal things. Like right now! I'm just out here because it looked nice out and I wanted to stretch. And also, it's excellent scenery for reading. Did you know that? Because it so is." He was starting to ramble, but he couldn't really bring himself to care at the moment.

Despite claiming to have come out here to read, he'd forgotten his book bag. Oh well. Hopefully she wouldn't question that.

Hey, maybe she'd read some cool books recently. That could be a good topic, right? Perhaps he'd bring it up later.
Was she a reader? He couldn't tell.
Was he a reader? Guess it depended on the day.

Mary gasped and said "No! You totally seem like someone who can be trusted to be left alone for long periods of time."

Felix put a hand to his chest dramatically, in an attempt to look flattered. he wasn't sure if he really succeeded, but it was good enough. "You're so right. I'm literally the most trustworthy person ever. I'd never do anything wrong, and I certainly don't need supervision. I even made my bed this morning, and I've been told that's an excellent show of character"
He had actually been told that, some time ago. It hadn't been directed at him, really (the exact wording had been "if you ever get a husband, make sure he can make his own bed and folds his socks. That's what makes him sophisticated), but it'd been an interesting talk to have at 7am on a school morning.

Then she asked what kind of books he read. Which probably should've been an easy question, but he wasn't too sure. Was he ever sure? Of anything? Not really. "I dunno, I kind of like a mix of things. Mostly sci-fi though. Some random comedic stuff. Depends on the day, really" also depended whether he had the motivation to read, but at least half the time he did.

Felix paused to think. "I used to be more into fantasy, but y'know, got to Hogwarts and all, and then all that seemed a little funny to me." it was true. After coming to this school, even though he still enjoyed the books, the entertaining outlandishness of them had almost worn off (not to say sci-fi wasn't also outlandish, but it was scientifically outlandish, and he appreciated that).

He'd also considered the fact that it would be really easy to re-enact some of those books with the magic they learnt here. Even now, he wondered if that'd be allowed. At some point maybe he'd ask.

Mary still seemed a bit tense, but maybe he was reading too much into it. She was weird, for sure, but fun at least. And she'd gone along with the company for heels joke (he honestly hadn't expected that one to fly very well), so that was better than most. He still didn't know why he'd said that, but at least she didn't seem to mind.