Summer Camp Spin the Bottle Group 5 Closed

Dale was more than a little confused at Serena's excited reaction to his pet, he was glad they seemed to like him, but he didn't expect it, although he should've realized the girl in a rat costume would've been a fan of rats. Although Dale wanted to know the origins behind the name "Pizza Rat" ah well, he'd have to ask another day. Dale was a little off-put by the girl's enthusiasm for their rat's friendship, but rats were social creatures, he knew Winter would be happier if he spent some time with other rats. "Eh sure, why not, Winter could use some friends, maybe we could set up something for them?"
Dale was looking forward to spending the night talking about pets and other things, but good things never last.

Before he knew or could even process what was going on, he was seated at a game of spin the bottle. He knew there was always some kind of twist to all of Hogwart's public events. He was still disappointed that the peaceful evening was surely coming to an end as chaos would inevitability replace it. But out of all possible outcomes spin, the bottle was pretty tame, at least it wasn’t giants or trolls or something like that. Dale wasn’t stupid in fact he prided himself on being quite the genius, so he knew what the game was, a kissing game teens often played at parties and other teen things. He didn’t realize they were going to playing it. Dale made a mental note to read things more carefully before committing to something. But he was here now, and people were spinning the bottle, pecking on the cheeks, some were brave enough to aim for lips. He saw one guy from another school kiss the forehead of some foreign girl, she didn't at all seem happy with that. He wondered what the story there was, it seemed at least a little interesting that she reacted like that.

When the bottle was on Annie, Dale was actually pretty surprised by the looks of the guy who had spun it. It was some… guy, a really good-looking older guy, not by that much, maybe a year or two at most, and Dale had high standards for that kind of compliment. Annie seemed a little panicked, ok very panicked, but hey maybe she just needed to loosen up, it was just a kiss after not, not like they were committing to marriage here, what’s the harm in having a little fun. Dale muttered the word “hurricane” as quietly as possible and telepathically told Annie “Hey the guy you got is pretty good looking, and I think he’s from Durmstrang so no lasting awkwardness, you’d be missing out if you didn’t take his opportunity. I myself am going to try to have some fun tonight you should do the same.” He knew Annie probably wouldn't be too happy with his comment, but eh, her reaction would be funny enough.

As Dale got up from his seat, he swooped up Winter and put him in the pocket of his pants, the rat had already passed out overeating. Dale sighed and made sure the rat was comfortable sitting in his pocket, Winter's head and two front paws peeking out from the pocket. As Dale got up and moved, he heard some compassion going on from Serena, the rat loving girl was very angry at Annie's partner, he hadn’t even done anything yet. He assumed the two had some history together, maybe even family. Dale didn’t care much, It wasn’t really his business and unless they put Annie in direct danger he knew she could handle herself and the whole situation better than he could. He again muttered the keyword and transmitted a little “Good luck, you'll need it!” to Annie.

When the bottle was spun by Dale, he waited in anticipation, to see who it would land on, he really hoped it wasn’t someone he knew, and prayed it was someone he would never have to interact with again. His prayers were only half answered as the bottle landed on… someone. He definitely didn’t know her but had seen her around. Dale really wished it was someone from a foreign school, but this person looked like she was in his year. It would make any class he had with her pretty awkward. As she walked over and made her way to him, Dale thought it wasn’t the worst person to lose his first kiss to, she was pretty good-looking. When she made it over to him she took a moment to look at him, he prayed his hair wasn’t in disarray, or that he had some unknown zit. She tried to make an attempt to break the ice. He tried to think of something witty to say, but all the thoughts in his head froze as the girl leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. Dale took a second to process it, he was a little disappointed it was just a little peck on the cheek, but he didn’t let it show, it was weird to expect a kiss on the lips from a total stranger. “Strange is one way to describe it" Dale said with a tiny smirk playing at his lips, he had a plan to make this a little more interesting. "usually I like to get at least people's names before I kiss them so my name is Dale, your’s is?” Dale would wait for her response, whether she responded or not Dale would’ve said “Well now that we have the introductions aside.” and leaned in to peck her cheek if she allowed it. Dale had read a stupid amount of romance novels from his mother's collection, he had studied them well, he was determined to not be awkward in romantic situations ever again, and books had taught him well, well at least that's how it went in his head.

Interacting: @Serena Towers @Annie Morgan @Elena Jangleton
Metioning: Arjan Oberoi, Aleksandar Panchev, Angélique Colette de Clairmon

Interacting with @Elena Jangleton, @Anastasia Beckett
Mentioning: Arjan (@Serena Towers), @Howard White
Action: Moving in to smooch Anastasia Beckett

The greeting she received back from Elena was one that she yearned for. Someone who recognized her and their friendship. While they had only met once in the train car back home, it was enough to spark something that Bloom felt would be lasting. A bright smile filled Bloom's face. Bloom shrugged at her response back. Did Bloom have a hope for snagging someone? She looked around and couldn't help but the notice some very attractive boys in the mix.

There was Serena's brother, Arjan, who was a hawt mess. Bloom couldn't help but to kind of wonder what his lips would feel like. She shivered in thought, snapping her back to reality and looking around some more. She saw Howard White, a newer friend she met prior to leaving Hogwarts for the academic year. They had a moment together getting their anger out-- it was a friendship that she never thought would ever occur, and yet, it blossomed nicely. She found him to be attractive, but wasn't sure about anything more than that. Who knows. Then there were a bunch of people Bloom didn't know, but wondered to herself if this is the best way to meet them?

"I don't know either," she said to Elena. "But this is going to either be awkward or fun!" she added, giggling slightly.

Bloom then separated from her friend to go sit down. The party was about to start. Bloom sat herself next to Howard with a smile. She watched him spin and others spin as well. Next was her turn. Her heart racing. Who was she going to get... Bloom reached for the bottle and spun it as decent as she could. It spun, and spun, and spun... And long and behold, it slowed down, pointing at Anastasia Beckett, a Gryffindor.

Bloom blushed. She had been thinking about boys and it did not occur to her that the bottle would have chosen a girl. Does she just kiss her now? How does it work? What if Anastasia doesn't want to kiss Bloom? It would be embarrassing, right? Bloom moved in for the kiss, biting her lip in worrisome as she did not want to mess it up.

⸙ Open to Interactions ⸙
Interacting with: Greeting everyone; @Serena Towers
Mentions: @Bloom Silverton

Glen was a slightly late arrival, so the slumber party seemed to be pretty much in full swing already. Well, okay, he wasn't really late to the party, but he was definitely not one of the first to arrive. He hadn't really been all too interested in this slumber party. The only really interesting thing about slumber parties was the story telling in his opinion, and with the bonfire every evening, that aspect was well covered already.

So he wasn't quite sure why people were so keen on this. Sitting around with everyone else at night wasn't exactly different than doing it during the day, was it? Now, if they were doing a stroll through the Forbidden Forest, that he could've understood, even if it was guided and watched over – and therefore regulated. controlled and restricted – by the adults. But just sitting around? The only draw he could see was being allowed to stay outside longer.

Walking through the crowd a bit to look for familiar faces – it was the one of the last days and he wasn't really in the mood to go through the hassle of meeting all new people, that required more brain power than he thought he had tonight. (He was tired, sue him.) The first familiar face he spotted was Sil-, uh, Silver-something. Bloom, right? Hold on, he knew the name. She'd introduced herself to him during the Truth or Dare day, and they had shared lessons before … He really should remember. Silverton! That was it.

Making his way over to her group, after grabbing a blanket (or two), a drink and a snack, Glen was relieved to recognize some other faces from his year and some he vaguely recalled seeing around before. Oh, and as he got closer he could spot a more familiar face as well. Serena was also part of the group? Cool. That meant he had a friend there too. It seemed he made the right decision to try and join this group. Interesting outfit choice on Serena's part though. Onesie's were comfy, sure, but he hadn't thought of bringing his to Hogwarts let alone wear it to something like this. Then again, he supposed a slumber party was the perfect place to wear a onesie outside a costume party. Now he kind of regretted not bringing his Wookie onesie along. (You did not live in his mother's house without having at least one Star Wars onesie. No way, no how.)

“Hey all. Mind if I join you guys?”, he asked as he reached the group though he did not wait for an answer before sitting down in a free spot in the forming circle adding an “I'm Glen” as an afterthought since he didn't think he knew everyone here nor they him.

Why was there a bottle?

Oooooooooh. He'd heard of this before. They were going to play spin the bottle, it seemed. Well, that explained why some people had been so keen on this, even if he couldn't understand why. It really made no sense. But hey, maybe, just maybe, he could find out what all that fuss was about if he joined? (Besides, he was pretty much a try-everything-once person. At the very least he could then say he tried it and it was boring? Like making an informed decision about how uninteresting it had been or something. But maybe this might surprise him? … yeah, he doubted that too. He just didn't see the appeal.)

Glen would sit back and observe until it was his turn to spin the bottle unless someone pulled him into conversation.

Spinning the bottle when it was his turn, he curiously watched to see who it would land on, idly wondering if he should have any preference on the result. People did that right? At least he's read that people played this game hoping to get to kiss someone specific though why they wouldn't just ask that person directly in that case he didn't know either. As it was, he didn't have any preference. A kiss was a kiss, right? , so, eh. What did it matter who the bottle landed on? It wasn't like there was bad blood between him and any of them (At least to his knowledge), he could understand why that might make a difference. Maybe he should hope for someone from a different school? Ugh. Really, without knowing the point of this game – aside from the obvious – it was difficult to figure out how he was supposed to feel or act about it.

When the bottle stopped on Serena, Glen cocked his head. Alright. So... now what? Was he supposed to want to kiss her now? Was the whole bottle thing supposed to do something? Because could not tell a difference to before the bottle landed on her. They were friends. He'd already known he wasn't interested in any of that with her – well, okay, that Valentine's Day awkwardness aside, it simply didn't occur to him – so... what now?

Maybe he should have hoped the bottle land on someone from a foreign school after all? Maybe it would be different if he didn't already know the person? Gah! Why was this so confusing? It made no sense whatsoever. Or was the kissing part supposed to be the difference?

Hm. Maybe he should treat the experience like trying a new dish? Whether or not you were interested in it, if it was the food that was handed to you, you tried it, right? And then decided whether or not you liked it after trying it. Yeah. Let's go with that.

(It felt disingenuous to equate Serena with food though.)

Merlin, this was already a weird-as-hell experience and the 'important' part hadn't even happened yet. Why did he think this was a good idea again?

Looking to Serena Glen tried gauging her reaction. What did she think of that whole mess? Oh. Oh! Should he ask after her spoon preferences now? Was this a thing? (He still wasn't sure over a year later.)

⸙ ⸙ ⸙ ⸙ ⸙

tl;dr: Glen arrives late-ish, greets everyone; decides to join as the game starts (to maybe learn what the fuss is about) and then observes till his turn unless someone talks to him, trying to figure the point of this thing out (and failing). Tries to gauge Serena's reaction to see how to proceed, but doesn't really approach her (yet).

Reducio

Stats: ⸙ Stamina: 10 ⸙ Evasion: 14 ⸙ Strength: 7 ⸙ Wisdom 11 ⸙ Arcane Power 5-- ⸙ Accuracy 8

Abilities: Human ⸙ Keen Eye ⸙ Fearless ⸙ Spell Spread ⸙ Advanced Casting ⸙ Impartial ⸙

Hoodie: front back ⸙Pants ⸙ Shoes

Roleplaying as Durmstrang iNPC Arjan Oberoi

Stamina: 15 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 17 | Wisdom: 3 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 10
Abilities: Obnoxiously Strong | The Martial Artist | Spell Spread | Charmer

Interacting with Angél (@Santario Martin's iNPC and @Annie Morgan)

He was far too entertained spending time with Angél. He did not even bother to pay attention to his environment as he was too busy flirting and wondering how to make the most of the situation. It did not help that she was giving him way too much attention and boosting his ego to new heights. The boy's smugness needed a bit of a kick.

Luckily, it finally happened. He noticed the others. He finally spotted his sister. What in the name of Stribog was that onesie? Why?! The boy wanted to physically facepalm or like, throw her into the lake so she learned her lesson. Was she seriously wearing this?! Man, this was exactly why he had to pretend they were not related. Imagine people thinking he was related to the weirdo who wore weird outfits with faces on it and- wait, was that a tail on the outfit?! He was kind of horrified that she had a rat themed onesie but not surprised. However, he was more horrified by the fact that she chose to wear it outside, in front of others. He did not recognise the other girl next to Serena but he was guessing a friend of hers by the way she was behaving. Unimpressed.

A part of him had to wonder how she even had any friends. They must be kind of weird too. In his mind, she was just a weird crybaby weakling and anyone who thought that was something to be friends with was probably the same. He turned his head away from the pair, simply uninterested in even engaging in a conversation with them and just hoping that he could get Angél away. He did, however, spot Phaedra not too far away, looking as classy as ever. If she spotted him, he would nod his head in a silent greeting and acknowledgement.

For the most part, he was willing to ignore the others for now. Well, that was until someone said something about spin the bottle. Of course, he was up for that! It was a good game, he would happily kiss people willy nilly. Besides, Angél and he were not exclusive by any means, though, so he had absolutely no problem in playing some spin the bottle either. And he had spotted Phaedra. He could not help but wonder if she would play the game too? There were also some other cute girls around from the looks of it. Oh, well, well, well, this might be fun.

Don't worry, ladies, Arjan was here.

Wait - Serena and her friend were playing the game too? Ugh. Serena was really ruining his street cred here - you know if he had any, which he definitely thought he did. Could she just... go elsewhere? Always in the way. It was a very good thing that very few people knew they were related. After all, who would look at them and think they were? He was strong, handsome, smart and incredible. She was the opposite in all regards.

But somehow, the game had started. Arjan rolled his eyes at the sight of that pain in the ass that seemed hellbent on following him around and getting in the way [Howard]. What surprised him more was the whole interaction between Angél and whoever she got.

"Ignore him, he doesn't deserve you," He responded when she returned, half wondering why they were even bothering to play this with the present company. Most of them seemed to be kind of annoying. Well... a few of them but even one was too many!

At some point, he was bored of waiting and immediately went, "Alright, it's my turn-" and instantly went to spin the bottle. He was hoping for a cute girl. Angél would work but admittedly, she was not his first choice. He would definitely be up for kissing her but he was pretty sure he could do that anytime without the bottle. Of course, anyone he kissed should consider themselves lucky. Arjan did consider himself to be something rather amazing, after all.

It landed on... Serena's friend? Ugh. He was not super interested. Well, she was kind of cute but she also had terrible taste in company and friends. Then again... It would be kind of hilarious if he could smugly go around claiming that all of Serena's friends were totally into him instead. That was why they hung out with her, right? To get closer to him? Made sense to him!

Either way, it was a game. He got up, making his way over to the girl who seemed to not be moving. As he approached, he heard his sister's voice. Punjabi. He narrowed his eyes slightly at her, annoyed at the fact that she was making it obvious that they probably knew each other - a fact that he very much preferred to keep hidden. Phaedra was one of the few people who knew it, and that was only because she knew them both before school. If he had any choice in the matter, no one would know. "What?" He feigned ignorance, as though he had no idea what she was talking about or saying.

Serena immediately stood up, about ready to fight him. He was a foot taller than her and far bigger in stature, was she really going to try and threaten him? He could break her stupid looking face in seconds. But nonetheless, he ignored her, crouching down towards Annie, "You don't have to worry, we don't have to do anything you don't want to," He said in a softer voice than anyone had probably expected. "How about... a kiss on the hand or cheek instead?" He offered her.

ACTION: Offers Annie a kiss on the hand or cheek or something instead.
[Would totally smooch if she changes her mind and wants to].
P.S. Blame Lamont for encouraging the use of that gif =P

Mentions/Interactions: @Dale Kurt, @Serena Towers & iNPC Arjan
Outfit: Tada~
Action: Talking to Dale via Binding Mark, reassuring Serena and planting a small yet aggressive kiss on the lips to Arjan.

Interacting with: @Phaedra Stavrou
Mentioning: @Howard White @Serena Towers (both Serena & Arjan), and @Dale Kurt

The tired Slytherin had thrown herself into one of the large beanbags provided. She had arrived late to the group as it was, so an awkward wave ran through her as she wondered if any eyes were watching her. No greetings were given, no smiles or waves, or even a form of eye contact. It was a very much Fal thing to do, but normally, even the smallest of eye contact were given to her peers however tonight she would have just kept to herself, not quite remembering now why she had signed up for this again, or why it had to take place so late. A yawn would follow as a trail thought began. She was pretty sure it was something to do with Howard… or was that one for the Truth or Dare event? God… had she messed up that badly? She could have sworn it was this one she had put his name down for. She was..sure of it.

If her presence hadn’t yet given off a do not approach me vibe, then her expression were now sure to. As the circle grew, her eyes would finally take a glance up to see who was present. A few familiar faces were here; Dale, who she had received a lovely truth from earlier in the month. Howard, who she mentally shared a fist bump in the air too, Arjan and his sister, Serena who she wasn't too keen on from the time Lestrange filled her head with lies of Howard and her being a thing. And then there was Phaedra. A part of her wished she didn't have to stare at that face all night, but then again, the other half couldn't help but feel a troublesome smirk creep its way to her lips when thinking of all the stuff she could irritate her with, if it came to it.

As the night went on and everyone had settled the game would begin. The bottle would spin and to start with, she would only care to pay close attention when it came to anything landing on Howard, or involving him. Of course, in between she couldn't help but glance over at Arjan and his use of charm on the poor girl. She smiled to herself at the sight, but her attention was soon brought back to Howard once it was his turn to spin. Please not any of the girls, especially not Serena. She thought to herself, pleading. And while it had to land on someone, it wasn't of those she pleaded for. A part of her felt the weight fall from her shoulders and her stiffened body relax, but he raised from his seat and-... he was going to kiss someone? Boy or girl, she couldn't help but feel a hint of jealous make itself present, despite her trying to hide it the best she could by glancing away from the scene.

It was soon her turn to spin and while she wanted it to land on Howard, in hope that it would brush away the remaining awkwardness they shared and even maybe help them get back together, or even let the other girls know where they should stand with him, it landed on no other that Phaedra. Her eyes made their way over at the girl and a raise of the brow in utter shock followed, for she had no idea what to do. To laugh in her face or gag? No. That was too easy. How about pissing her off. It wasn't like she had done that already, right? So rather than breaking the gaze and looking the other way, she would lean forward, not enough to close the gap between them, but enough for her to bring the pair closer than neither truly wanted. A quick kiss that she blew towards the Ravenclaw was made, and then another not long after. ''One for you. And one as a thank you for lettin' me rearrange that awful lookin' office of yours.'' A wicked grin appeared across her face and her eyes took the time to look over at Howard. Of course he had helped her in destroying the place, but right now, she just wanted to take the credit for this moment.

Leaning back prooudly with her take on a kiss, her eyes would set themselves back on Phae, unfazed by what she had said and rather excited to see what she had to say, or do with the matter.

Outfit

STAMINA 𝟩 . WISDOM 𝟣𝟣 . EVASION 𝟫 ARCPOWER 𝟣𝟣. STRENGTH 𝟧 . ACCURACY 𝟣𝟤

Action: Teasing Phae with air kisses.

Interacting with @Glen Pope

Serena almost barfed as she had to witness Annie kissing her brother. But she left them to it and sat back down, happy to totally kill him if required. How he managed to get anyone to actually tolerate him was beyond her comprehension but somehow, it worked. The smugness on his face made her so angry but it was what it was.

Wait - when did it land on her?

She stared at the bottle, still pointing at her before looking up to see who had actually spun it to see Glen's face. Blinking, she just looked at him. He had his head cocked to the side, and was just staring back at her. So uh... now what? He was supposed to kiss her? But... He was also not moving. What was the point of this game, in all honesty?

This would make everything even weirder between them, surely? Serena did not know how to feel about the whole thing, in all honesty. He was Edric's friend. The same Edric who she had a crush on for what felt like the longest time ever. She could not kiss Glen - that would be so weird. What if he told Edric?! Not that Edric would have cared but still! It was the thought!

The awkwardness of Valentine's Day flooded back to her. They had been set up on a date, only for Serena to realise that Glen had absolutely no idea it was even a date. Admittedly, it was a weird event as there ended up being three of them but still. They had overcome that one by turning it into just food with friends. And now... she was sitting here, wondering why Glen wasn't kissing her?

Was there something on her face? She instantly wiped her sleeve over her face as she thought that, trying to remove whatever it was. Was it... her? Everyone else seemed to be getting kissed.

Wait - not that she wanted him to, of course! They were just friends. It would be kind of weird and awkward, right? People were supposed to kiss those they liked, not just everyone, right? But this game was to kiss... So they should? But... it really did not feel like either of them wanted to kiss.

How long had they just been sitting there? It could have been less than a second or two but it honestly felt like minutes or more. The awkwardness seeped into her very soul at this point. She tugged on the sleeves of her rat onesie, feeling super nervous. Everyone was watching. Everyone was staring at them. (Okay, they might not be but in Serena's mind, they were). Oh gosh. Her brother would probably kill Glen if they kissed, right? He was definitely a hypocrite through and through, after all.

But maybe kissing her friend in a platonic way would be better than kissing a random stranger?! Ughhh, she had no idea. Serena was just glad Edric did not seem to be around because that would make the whole thing even worse.

"Er... So...urm..." She started, not entirely sure what else to really do in this situation, twiddling her fingers together. A kiss should not be such a big deal, right? Several others seemed to be just fine with it, so why was she freaking out about this whole thing? Ugh. She had no idea but him just looking at her did not help, "How about a hug?" She managed to get out after what felt like way too long. Ughhhh she hated this...

Outfit of the evening

ACTION: Offers Glen a hug awkwardly after way too much silence

⸙ Open to Interactions ⸙
Interacting with: @Serena Towers
Mentions: -

Oh crap. He’d waited too long. This was… Was there some sort of protocol involved? Was there? Ugh.

Was she trying to signal anything by swiping over her face. She probably was, right? Ah, damn. This was the spoon conversation AND the picnic thing all over again. Why. Okay. Breathe. What was he missing? Was she trying to tell him to get on with it? Or …? Was she trying to tell him to skip and move on as they were friends?

Oh no. She wasn’t crying, was she? Fuck. He definitely fucked up somehow. Shoot. Uh. Crap. Yeah. This had been a mistake. He was absolutely missing vital information on this game. Okay. Okay. Damage control? He had to fix this somehow. A quiet, strangled “… spoons …” would escape him, just barely loud enough for someone to overhear, though luckily quiet enough that most likely would not.

Oh thank Merlin, that hadn’t been it. He panicked over nothing. No. Over the wrong thing; he still had no clue how to proceed. Okay he could do this. Without messing up further that is. Yep. All good.

She was even throwing him a life line. Hug. (She was definitely trying to cover for him again, crap. He would have to do something nice for her as thanks sometime soon.) He could do a hug. That was easy. (They’d been friends for a while now but did they even hug before? He wasn’t sure. Not like that mattered.) With a decisive nod he went to hug her.

Once they were hugging [if she allowed the hug], he would whisper quietly (apologetically) in her ear so no one else would be able to hear: “I’m so sorry, I have no clue what I’m doing. Is there a protocol to this game? We’re friends, right? I-, maybe … kiss on the cheek?” Yeah, he still didn’t get what the fuss is about in the slightest.. It just felt uncomfortably awkward. Not that the hug was … the hug was fine. It was the situation around it that was weird. Why did people like this game so much? It was. Just. Really. Weird. (Did he mention it was weird?)

Depending on her answer he would simply draw back with an apologetic smile aimed at her or, if she was fine with it, he would give her a kiss on the cheek after all, before sitting back down.

This whole game/kissing thing was definitely going to be a been there, done that, no need to do it again thing. And it was not aiding any inclination to kiss anyone, so that experiment was a failure. Or rather, it had a negative result? Probably. Maybe it would be different with a not-a-friend?

⸙ ⸙ ⸙ ⸙ ⸙

Action: Giving Serena a hug and possibly a kiss on the cheek afterwards; depending on what she’s okay with.

Reducio

Stats: ⸙ Stamina: 10 ⸙ Evasion: 14 ⸙ Strength: 7 ⸙ Wisdom 11 ⸙ Arcane Power 5-- ⸙ Accuracy 8

Abilities: Human ⸙ Keen Eye ⸙ Fearless ⸙ Spell Spread ⸙ Advanced Casting ⸙ Impartial ⸙

Hoodie: front back ⸙Pants ⸙ Shoes

Interacting with @Glen Pope

Did he just say spoons? N-no. He didn't, right? She was imagining it, surely. Oh gosh. That was not a memory she wanted to remember, it was so awkward. Luckily, he agreed to the hug and moved to do that. Okay, phew. This was better. This, she could do. With a nod, she stood up, tiptoeing, she hugged him wrapping her hands around his neck. He was quite a bit taller than her but at this age, she expected most people to be. Of course, it was getting super annoying as she was trying to hide her goblin-ness but everyone else seemed to be taller and she seemed to be drastically falling behind.

The hug was awkward. She was not sure if this was the first one, but it suddenly felt like it was. Her hugs were usually more natural and this felt so much more awkward since it felt kind of forced - and was everyone else just watching this? That was weird, right? Glen broke the awkwardness by breaking the silence.

"I- I don't know, to be honest... I haven't played this before, can you tell?" She whispered in response, with a little nervous 'heh'. It was super obvious to all, she was sure, "Of course, we're friends, silly. I- O-oh-" She responded to the friends comment without hesitation. Things had always been a little awkward between them - mostly because they had awkward conversations, because of her but it was kind of... their thing at this point. A kiss on the cheek though? Well... That was not too bad, right? It was how you also greet people sometimes, "I think that would be fine," She added as she pulled away, allowing him to kiss her cheek before sitting back down. You know... it was not so bad. He was actually being rather sweet about it, in hindsight - something she was super grateful for.

Phew. She had survived. The relief surged through her as the panic started to leave. Quietly, she just sat there, giving a crisp to Pizza Rat and trying to stop being so dern awkward about everything. Geesh, what was wrong with her? It was not so bad, after all.

Outfit of the evening

ACTION: Hug Glen + let him kiss her cheek

Interacting with @Falentra Black
Mentions Elena Jangleton, Bloom Silverton, Serena Towers & Arjan Oberoi, Howard White

Elena had graciously fed her, but she couldn't induldge for long. After two nips of sandwich, Phaedra left her beanbag to whispers of some sort of game, plopping herself onto the circle with crossed legs and her embroidery safe in her lap. She acknowledged Arjan—family friend since the age of five—and smoothly ignored a certain three until it suddenly dawned on her that she had no idea what she was getting herself into. “So... What's this 'Spin the Bottle', exactly?”

Although the game began before someone could fill her in on it, it wasn't hard to put the pieces together. The premise was simple; people took turns in spinning the bottle and would kiss or hug whoever it landed on. Phaedra rolled her eyes. Was this what Bloom had meant by food breath? Gross... Actually, maybe she should take more bites so she'd be left alone. So very tempting.

“Ah. Of course. I should have expected something like this.” Something idiotic, she'd nearly added through the bite of her tongue. And yet, despite believing the game was beneath her, Phaedra's hand reached to spin the bottle anyway. Maybe it was the shame of backing out; peer pressure could be a substantial force. Maybe it was a subconscious desire to actually spend time with kids her age, no matter what shenanigans they put themselves to long as it wasn’t dangerous.

Or maybe she was idiotic too.

Either way, the bottle span on its side, and Phaedra leaned forward to stare at it as if she could will it into submission to give her a decent choice. Instead, in what was possibly the second worst choice ever after Howard himself, the bottle landed on Falentra, his ex-girlfriend and accomplice. Phaedra scoffed and avoided her gaze, turning to rant to anyone who would listen. “Her? Her. Really.” There were a million things Phaedra would rather do than lock lips with her.

When Falentra moved closer, Phaedra recoiled in the opposite direction, dark features contorted in revulsion. She huffed when the Slytherin teased her about the newspaper office's "rearranging" that fateful night, wishing wholeheartedly that she could threaten to rearrange Falentra's smug face instead. No. She had a prefect badge to honour, even if technically she was off-duty at the moment, and unclenched her fist. “I won't even dignify that with a response, Black.”

Her eyes narrowed and she continued, Falentra's air kisses doing little to appease her hot temper. But that was the point of it, after all, wasn't it? “But I'll be here when either of you are ready to apologise to me. And if I feel it is adequate, I'll pass it on to the rest of my team, who you've upset greatly.” Truth be told, Phaedra did not expect they'd give her an apology, not only with the amount of time that had passed without one to begin with, but also because of the kind of people they'd proven themselves to be. Not that she was any better.

Still, Phaedra would not allow them to feel superior in their part in it all. “Hmph.” Crossing her arms indignantly, she turned her nose up and looked elsewhere, anywhere that the two of them would be out of her sight and out of mind. ^{“The nerve of some people.”}

x──────────────────────────────── Rejecting Falentra's air kisses, taking the first bait of probably many tonight. Outfit under reducio.

[reducio][center] But imagine the jeans as dress trousers of a similar fit.[/center][/reducio]