look up, not down pv mars tien Closed

Huh? They were just going to let him go? Just... like that? But they were being so stubborn all this time?? Why did they change their mind all of a sudden? And what was that about the time being gone? It was just stars and breaking rules... there was hardly anything fun about either, what were they talking about? But all the same... they were so insistent before and now they'd just... given up. He felt something weird in his chest as that thought appeared and he couldn't move, he could only stare at the silhouette of the person that not so long ago was dragging him along and now he was just standing there as they walked off... it felt so wrong, he felt like he'd just done something horrible. But he hadn't, he just wanted to go back right? Then why did he not move? He'd just gotten his freedom but he was rooted to the spot, barely able to move.

And what was that weird feeling? He wanted to move but not towards his common room. He wanted to say something but he didn't know what. If he could somehow turn back time to the point where they were just walking, that would be nice. But he couldn't do that. It felt empty all of a sudden, all the talking and struggle gone and now he was back. Somehow, he didn't like how things were at the moment even though that was exactly how they had always been and he never had an issue but it still felt so empty at the moment.

His heart was racing, he wanted to say something and tell them he didn't feel like sleeping or something but he just couldn't gather the courage to. He just spent a considerable amount of time standing there, looking extremely silly, although he wasn't aware of that, he didn't even realise it had been more than like three seconds or something at most, he was far too lost in thoughts to notice that.

The time will be gone before you know it. Those words weren't the reason he felt so horrible at the moment but they filled him with dread all the same, what did they mean? Was he making a mistake? Was everyone else really better off than he was, despite him thinking the opposite?

@Noah Page
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Finally, I am so, so sorry.

Mars continued down the hall, hands still stuffed in their pocket. They couldn't stifle their disappointment honestly—they'd grown tired of solo excursions. Stumbling upon Noah, the only uptight person they'd met in their entire school, had to have been fate of some kind. Or at the very least, entertainment.

Pursing their lips, Mars ran the options through their head. Alright one, they could go back to the Ravenclaw dorm. That sounded like an awful idea to them—they'd come out in the first place to be free of the overbearing heat. Going back seemed utterly redundant. The Astronomy Tower... well that wasn't an option either. Noah had said the professor was still up there, and as much as Mars didn't care for the rules, they also didn't care much for detention. Then it seemed the grounds it was.

Sighing, Mars forced themselves to perk up a little. At least they'd get to stargaze tonight, even if it was alone. Besides, the grass would feel good on their skin, cold and damp against the residual heat that still sung in their veins. They made it a few more steps down the corridor before they realized something. Their footsteps... it was only their footsteps, wasn't it?

Mars glanced over their shoulder. There was Noah, still frozen in the spot they'd left him. How odd. If anything, they'd expected him to run almost immediately. He'd been so eager to go back to Slytherin just a second ago, what was he doing?

They looked a little closer at his face. There was a range of emotions furrowed in his brow, something that Mars couldn't quite decipher. They turned back around, staring at the floor. Then, making up their mind, they twisted their hips, raising an eyebrow as they drawled at him,

"You coming then?"

Although the whole reason he was in such a deep state of thinking had been the person who he had been with a few moments ago, it had completely slipped his mind that they were in fact still there and so it somewhat scared him when he heard their voice, flinching a bit as he was brought back to the real world. Fortunately, he managed to not scream, thinking it was a prefect or something but realising it was in fact just Mars.

It took him a second or two to get his senses back but once he did, he buried his face in his hands and started lightly scratching his head, weighing his options, it was either saying no and feeling burdened by an even heavier sense of guilt because he let them down twice or going and risking being caught. Not much of a choice since the guilt would eat him up but then the latter was hardly a good option. bringing his hands down slightly so he could look at Mars, he gave it a few seconds of thought before realizing it really wasn't much of a choice. "This better not get me in some deep trouble." He said, wondering if they were even remotely in control of that. More importantly, if they even cared about getting in trouble, it sure as hell seemed not but he could only hope they'd be more careful, for his sake if nothing else.

He still had no idea why he was doing it, he kept saying it was the guilt from letting them down but... maybe it was those new feelings of wanting to try something new that had been lurking in him. He couldn't lie he was getting slightly excited at the idea of it. He loved walking around the castle and the idea of walking around it at night suddenly sounded a little exciting for some reason. He didn't want to admit it but he maybe actually sort of wanted to do this now and wasn't doing it because he was forced to by his guilt. He just started walking towards them hoping for the best, maybe it really was going to be a somewhat positive experience.

So, he actually did have a tiny, tiny adventurer's spirit. Mars grinned at him, waiting for his footsteps to near them before starting back up again. They kept their steps light, still very mindful of the fact curfew existed.

"Aw, of course it won't," they winked, nudging him in the shoulder, "I don't intend on getting caught." Mars tiptoed down the hallway, stopping to peer around a corner. It was better like this, they thought, not having to drag Noah around like a limp doll. Now he was here of his own violation so if they did get caught, well... it was his own fault.

Stifling a laugh at the thought, they deemed it safe enough, the hallway vacant and dark. Mars beckoned him forward before spinning around, an odd sense of grace in their movements. They looked back at the boy, shaking their head.

"Some of that Slytherin ambition is finally coming out, huh?" they smiled, giving him a nod. It was good. They were still kids after all, and what kids didn't break a few rules? It'd be good for his character, spice things up a little.

A few more minutes of walking with them making quiet quips every now and again, and they neared the library. Mars slowed—the lights were still on, quiet chatter streaming out of the doorway. Shoot, they hadn't realized there'd be people up. Professors? Students? They couldn't tell.

Pressing a finger to their lips, they raised an eyebrow at Noah. Half of them expected him to bolt at the prospect of passing in front of the open doors. Why were they open? Jesus, what a horrible thing to stumble across. They took a tiny risk and peaked inside. A few shadows moved in there, but they were far in the back stacks, murmuring to each other. They ducked back out, hand coming to their chin.

Mars ran the different routes they could possibly take to the Grounds through their head. None of them were really viable options right now. They'd either have to pass the doors or head back to the dorms. The answer was obvious.

Dropping into a half-crouch, they took a deep breath and ran across the lit doorway. Please, please, please let no one see them. Mars kept their movements fast, footsteps light and as soundless as possible.

"Hey!" came a startling voice from inside. Sh*t. They broke into a full-out run, skidding to a stop at the opposite corner. It felt as if their heart was going to beat right out of their chest. Had they been spotted? Where was Noah?

"Shhhh, keep your voice down. We're in a library."

"Yeah, yeah, I was just trying to tell you you forgot this."

Thank the heavens. Mars let out the biggest sigh of relief they probably ever had. Then, they broke into a fit of laughter, eyes watering as they muffled the sound with a sleeve. Oh, this was what adrenaline did to you, rushing hard through your veins. It was exhilarating, really, the thrill of it all. It made them feel alive in ways they hadn't before, brilliant and star-struck. But ah. Noah.

Mars opened their eyes. He probably hadn't liked that. Was he still around? Funnily enough, every part of them hoped that when they turned their head, he'd be there in all his awkward glory.

Noah found it very hard to believe Mars words, although he didn't have much of a choice now, he couldn't back out now, he'd made the decision and couldn't just back out now. Well, he could but... ugh he didn't even know why he couldn't change his mind now. He simply tried his best to keep up with them and not mess up in some way. His heart was still racing, he was a bit calmer now that they were walking but his fear came not from the awkwardness of the previous situation but rather from the part where they were out against the rules and could very much be caught and punished for it, a highly probable chance of it happening, really. He should've thought about that before but he also couldn't get himself to say 'it's too late to think about that now.'

As for now, he just stuck close to Mars, hoping they knew what they were doing, surely they would at least have some expertise in this, it didn't look like it was their first time... At least he hoped that was the case, what would he even do if he got caught? Should've thought about that before...

"Would be better if I was using it for things other than... things like this." He wasn't sure how to word it exactly, all he knew was that this was far, far from a good use for his "Slytherin ambition" if he even had any of that, to begin with.

Noah felt less and less tense as time went by without them getting caught, it apparently wasn't as hard as he initially thought it was. But ah, of course, there was the library that was actually open. When he heard the voices, his face went white as his breathing went up again and he started panicking, trying his best to keep reminding himself that panicking won't help but that just ending up in adding more noise to his brain to fuel the chaos.

He kept his eyes on Mars, they'd either have to pass the doors or head back to the dorms. The answer was obvious. He eagerly awaited them to tell him they were going to go back to their dorm because there was no way this was worth the risk, right?

And then all of a sudden, with no warning whatsoever, they ran off to the other end. Noah didn't exactly have time to react, he thought of following them but the fear held him back and it became harder and harder the more the moments passed by. Till they're reached the other side and Noah was still crouching, wondering what he should do. He could see Mars at the other side trying their best to not laugh, how was this funny in the slightest??? He starting taking deep breaths to calm his heart down as he tried to grab any hints of shadows coming from the library to be able to judge whether he could go or not but they seemed to be too far from the light because he could get nothing from that.

He sighed, still not sure whether he should sprint to the other side or go back... Maybe the latter, he wasn't exactly cut out for this and this was far too big a risk. He waited for them to look back to realise he hadn't made it and maybe signal to them that he couldn't do it and return to his dorm, hopefully...

@Noah Page
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He wasn't there. Mars sighed, face falling slightly. Well, what did they really expect? No one could turn into a daredevil overnight, not even a kid in a magic school. They turned back to the hallway. Maybe... they chanced a look back and their eyebrows raised. So he was still there. A spark of hope bloomed in their chest.

Crouching down, Mars got as close as possible to the doors of the library, careful to stay quiet. Was he going to come over? Did he need a push of some sort?

They waved over to him, cocking an eyebrow. The shadows in the library still drifted about, quiet voices speaking to each other. Sounded like a group project of some sort, and they figured that the participants would be too consumed in what they were doing to really notice two underclassmen sneaking around in the middle of the night. They didn't really understand why it was such a big deal in the first place.

"Noah," they mouthed. Their voice probably wouldn't carry over and it was a really dumb idea to raise it anymore than they had. Mars hoped his lip reading skills weren't too shabby.

"Come on~" they prompted, "They won't see you." He was probably scared—kinda had been this entire time—but right now was go time. If they could get past the library, the rest of the way to the Grounds, to the stars, was home free. If he was coming with them, he was coming with them now.

They had to be kidding, right? It was hard to see in the dark but he could vaguely make out (and could perhaps even predict) that they trying to tell him to take the leap, to which he of course said "n o". He shook his head, motioning at the library with his head, hoping they get the point, adding in a lil shrug at the end, he didn't have a choice here, he couldn't possibly do that, they had to understand that and let him go back.

Although... would he be okay with that? Going back after all this... would it still not end up in him feeling like how he did earlier? Just because he was too scared to run in front of a library where they were people that could see him and get him in serious trouble. Yep, completely worth the risk, all just to wander around a castle he's been in multiple times. Why, why was he so on edge about this when it was so simple, what was it that made him want to continue on. He ran his hands through his fair a few times, thinking it over and over till he decided it was just one time, if he even by some horrible chance did end up getting caught. If he did, he'd never do something like this again. Yes, simple... he could do that.

He took a deep breath and fixed his posture, looking back at Mars, then at the door, he had to just do it. He closed his eyes for a second and tried to hold on to every little bit of courage he had as he opened them back up and quickly dashed forwards, his footsteps light but quick as he reached the other side without even having realised he'd done it and perhaps overshooting a little as he stopped and crouched back down, his hands on the floor as he leaned over, breathing hard and feeling a weird sort of rush after his stunt.

He couldn't believe it really. The people in the library hadn't noticed either, from the sound of it. He chuckled a bit, despite not wanting to, he couldn't explain why but he felt like laughing all of a sudden, it felt good somehow. His head felt like there was a bright light shining inside of it. He felt disgusted at his reaction but it did feel really good so he let himself savour it.