parents who dont understand open closed

"Stupid fookin'... school--" Gem bumbled, climbing over a few dirt mounds, kicking a rock as far as he could, far away from him. "Stupid... fookin'... rock, dumbass tree."

It was like his sworn duty to curse everything in his path. He'd been a bit more moody than usual, lately, since his fun visit to Manchester. His parents hadn't bothered to send him a letter to ask if he was all right, Leland was off doing... whatever, so he was mostly by himself when it came to family terms... except Basil, who'd trailed after him everywhere he went, including now.

"What'd ya want, Basil?" He groaned, turning his head to look at the ginger cat.
Meow.
"You're a pain in my arse."
An even longer, louder meow.
"Shut up, you're fat."

Basil did shut up after that, and Gem kept on walking. He felt sort of bad, though, and wound up turning his body to give him a few scratches behind the ear, and off he went, deeper down into the grounds. He wasn't sure what he expected to find, but amidst his walking, he heard someone speaking - a girl, it sounded like she was reading something. Maybe he should've minded his own business, but the way she was reading it piqued his interest a bit too much not to eavesdrop just a bit. He slunk behind a tree, but once he saw a chocolate frog go flopping off, he decided he'd make himself known.

"A lesbian goth, aye?" He asked, standing a couple feet behind her. "Haven't heard that one before." He recognized her, the red hair and all. Or, he thought he did, but if it added up correctly, she was a fellow Ravenclaw that he'd met before. "You all right? Usually openin' up gifts out inni' middle of nowhere isn't a good sign. Maybe you're gother than I thought." He shot her a playful smile, taking a few steps forward to stand by her instead of creepily lingering behind her. "You mind if I sit here?"

꧁༒• interactions: @Gem Stuart •༒꧂

She sensed someone behind her, the crunching of leaves getting louder and louder as they approached. Although she hadn't clue as to who had been walking up so stealthily behind her, she didn't know whether to call them out on it or to just wait and see what they wanted.

The voice sounded familiar but not too familiar, like someone she'd only encountered a couple of times. As they repeated a part of her letter aloud, she couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous her had mother regarded her. "Ah yes.. A lesbian goth, because wearing clothes like this must regard my sexuality."

She turned her head slowly to have her eyes met with the same Ravenclaw she had met in the common room. He seemed to have a cat now with him, the fuzzy creature brushing up against her arm. As the boy asked to sit next to her, she shrugged implying he could do what he wanted.

"I don't know- I usually come out here so I can get a break from everything going on in that hellhole, though it seems this letter is just as atrocious." She said with a giggle, placing it down beside her.

"But what about you, mister flag critic? Why are you out here?"

When given permission, he sat beside her, spreading his legs out so he could pull his socks up his ankles. Basil had made himself comfortable wedged between the two of them, plopping himself there like a loaf of bread. "Bastard."

"Guess so, it sounded quite rough," He nodded his chin at the letter she'd casted aside, "Well... you know parents, 'least it isn't e' 90's, they probably would've put you on one ov those talkshows... you know e' ones." He'd always thought everyone on those programs was so fascinating, sometimes wondered if he could dress like that, but the most he'd ever done was some eyeliner; he doubted anything inherently gothic would suit him, and he was okay with that.

After she'd asked her question, he exhaled, falling backwards onto the grass. "I needed a breath ov fresh air... I've been a bit, ehm, upset, lately? Not sure why," That was a lie, he knew exactly why, but he wasn't in much a mood to talk much about his feelings; truly a rarity in the grand scheme of things. "Some of e' students here... frustrating, you know?" He scratched his chest over his shirt, flashing a tight-lipped smile at the girl beside him.

"Ya know, if it makes you feel any better, I fink your style is really neat. I wish I could pull that look off, but uh, I fink my category remains inni' indie... subsection? I don't know, I'm wearin' a Mac DeMarco shirt, how much more indie could ya get?" He reached behind him, grabbing a stick, sitting up so he could chuck it real far. Somehow, doing that made everything feel a lot better.

꧁༒• interactions: @Gem Stuart •༒꧂

Lana smiled at the cat who seemed to be quite satisfied sitting in between them. As Gem referenced those 90's shows, she couldn't help but agree with him. Her mother would have definitely sent her off to one of those things if they didn't happen to be wizards. Jenny Jones.. or whatever it was called.

When Gem replied with being upset, he acted as if he didn't know what was wrong. Though the way his eyes wandered told Lana there was something he wasn't telling her, but she didn't want to push it. After all she wouldn't want to share her business with a stranger either, even though this one had practically listened to her entire letter.

"Yeah, I feel that. Most of them are just plain ignorant though.." She replied flatly, not delving too much into the subject. Instead she looked across the grounds and put a hand on his cat, stroking it gently in hopes not to startle it.

His comment on her style made her smile, though honestly she couldn't care less if someone didn't approve. Like what's the most concerning thing about someone calling your clothes ugly other than just snickering at you? Sure, people can be mean, but most are too wussy to do anything about it.

Lana had glanced at his shirt, now noticing the Mac Demarco name across it. She had a few herself, mainly because she liked the art the shirts had. They were like; trippy unproportional art pieces that somehow looked wicked all together.

"So you are a fan of Mac." She said with a tone like she had suspected it all along. It was true, ever since he told her he had been into The Garden it made her wonder if they had anything else in common.

interacting with @Lana Monet
:༅｡.｡༅

Gem made his own observation at that point, that she was mostly quiet. Though, most people were when you barely met them, so he wouldn't dote too much on it. He leaned back on his arms, his head tipping backwards into his shoulders... maybe they could be quiet for a while, listen to the interesting noises the grounds had to offer.

His head snapped back up when she spoke again, though, raising both his eyebrows like he were amused. Which he was, mildly. "Uh, yeah, duh," He gestured at his entire outfit, the converse, cuffed jeans, and the shirt that was tucked in quite half-assedly. "How could ya tell? Don't tell me it wos the shirt." He snickered, reaching over to pat Basil on the back, messing with some of the fur on his back. If there was something that cat was, it was soft, he took care to groom his little companion.

"Tell me what other stuff you like, I fink so far we've got music in common, but... tell me other fings. Do you draw? I can't draw, my attempts at drawin' always end up looking like Mr. Potato head wos underdeveloped in the womb. Or the ground. Or somefin', I'm not sure how potatoes are grown... I wonder if that's common knowledge, hmmm..." He knocked the tips of his shoes together, picking at a loose string in his pants.

"Do ya like settin' things on fire?" He asked, maybe a bit abruptly, pulling a lighter out of his pocket. It was a metal one, the kind that you flip and it opens and you can light it up. He'd stolen it from his dad, he was sure he had plenty. "We could set some stuff on fire."

꧁༒• interactions: @Gem Stuart •༒꧂

"I think they just grow from the ground, right? Or maybe theyre some kind of mutant vegetable that only grows in labs. The ones we see at farms are fake." Lana replied, sarcastically proposing a new conspiracy about potatoes.

When Gem pulled out an old looking lighter, her eyes glistened. It seemed now that there was something interesting added to the conversation she appeared to have more energy, though that's how it ought to work, right? It was shiny but also looked beat down, like it had been around for a while. She appreciated that aspect of it, looked almost rogue.

Anyway, Lana adjusted the collar she was wearing as she laughed at the idea of setting stuff on fire. Of course she'd like burn some things, but she couldn't tell if he meant it as a joke or if he had actually been serious. Either way she nodded back to him, letting him know they should. What's the worst that could happen? Other than potentially burning down the whole school..

And if they did get detention or some sort of punishment, they'd still be together. Maybe they could be the new pair of mischief she wondered to herself. Though before she let her mind wander too much farther, she figured she'd at least get to know the guy. Maybe he wasn't in on rebellious things like she was, and to that she'd only have to find out.

She held up her letter so he could see, implying he knew what to do. "Why don't we burn this horrid letter? It's not like I want to keep it."

Gem was quite pleased with the response he was given, digging into his pockets to retrieve some small papers, a couple of matches, and a broken quill, setting them down into a little pile where some dirt was, far enough away from the grass so that the flame wouldn't catch on and have disaster ensue. Once they'd gotten all of their little things piled up, Gem held the light up to one of the matches that were sticking out, his eyes glistening as the flame immediately caught on.

He watched it spread, slowly but surely, until it was strong and bright. He sat there in silence, mostly, his eyes lidded at the flame. The wind was warm against his skin, and he felt at peace, for the most part. He enjoyed her company, obviously, even if he hadn't seen much of it yet; he was pretty sure that was a good thing.

"I don't wanna get all corny on ya, but," He paused, turning his head so he could look at her. The sun was setting, so the fire reflected off her face warmly, visibly. "Do ya ever wish you could joost burn up the past, or... the life ya have now, and make a new one? I fink about it a lot." He wished he didn't, and he wished he hadn't had the urge to get so weirdly... deep, he guessed? With someone he didn't know so well. But judging by the way she read that letter, she had some issues of her own.

He watched the fire again, bringing his legs up to his chest so he could rest his chin on the tops of his knees. He knew he wouldn't regret it, he knew when and when not to trust people, and she just... seemed like someone he could trust, he didn't know. Leland had mentioned something about vibes before, maybe she just had those... vibes, whatever that meant.

꧁༒• interactions: @Gem Stuart •༒꧂

As the flames engulfed the pieces of stationary, her eyes filled with anger and then sadness in a matter of seconds. She didn't know why watching the ashes float up into the now setting sky was so relieving to her. Maybe it was because her mother was so harsh, and watching her words drift away was comforting.

Lana's father on the other hand was the complete opposite of her mother, almost always reminding Lana to be herself. Her parents often got in fights because of the subject, leaving Lana to feel like she had been the cause of all of it. If you looked close enough, you could see tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, but she would just blame that on the heat.

She was pulled out of her daze when she heard Gem's voice again, his words now calm and collected. His question struck her by surprise, making her wonder if he had read her mind. She thought about the words he used carefully. Make a new life? God, that's was one of the only things she wished to do. She longed for a stupid reset button- something that would erase everything, even if that meant being a muggle.

"Yeah, sometimes.." She replied quietly, her usual 'I don't give two fucks' attitude gone. "Scratch that- All the time. It's all I ever think about, wondering what life would be like if I had been born into a muggle family that didn't criticize everything I did. I'd give anything for it." Her head was now buried in her chest, embarrassed for letting herself get like this.

Her hands fidgeted with the bracelets and bands on her arm, unsure of what to say next.

Gem knew what it meant when it came to not wanting to be alone, so hearing an affirmative answer was relieving to him, a bit of a weight off his shoulders. He smiled a little bit, and then frowned - there was no reason to be super expressive right now, he should've known that.

"I fink about bein' a muggle a lot, too," He said softly, picking a handful of leaves up from his side, tossing them into the flame. "Sometimes I wish I was one, joost... entirely, I think everythin' would be so much easier." He was always told that he should've been grateful that he were a wizard, with all the cures they had and such, all the technological advances.

"If I ever get married, or... start me life somewhere, I'm goin' ta live in the muggle world for the most part, I fink. Or, if I end up stayin' here, then I'm gonna move far away wiv the person I love, and we'll be happy." Maybe his future was a bit romantically driven, but he was naturally a pretty romantic person, he daydreamed too much, he knew it, but it made for good storytelling he guessed.

Maybe he didn't fully understand how lucky he was for being born a wizard, but that seemed like such a secondary consideration in his head right now. There were other things to think about that wasn't teenage angst and misery, like daydreaming about the future - he'd pick that over whatever was going on his brain right now. "'Least I found you in this mud puddle of school, though, aye?"