Closed Spreading Some Love In The New School Year Open Thread + Open IC Game

@None

House Colours: Slytherin

Though the kid had not attended the summer version of spin the bottle for reasons of his personal choosing, Piérre decided that it would be at least a good waste of his time to attend and participate in the spinning of the bottle that was set up by the Hogwarts houses alone.

In green school robes and with a leafy yew wand in the sheathe bound around his chest on the right side and under said robes, Piérre made his way to the Great Lake and began to amuse himself by trying to spot any ripples on the water that would indicate the presence of the notorious Great Squid. Other people had already gathered, though the kid knew very few or none of them on a personal level except for Kim and Sophia (Kim and he had had back and forths on their interactions due to a series of pranks over the summer that traced all the way back to Piérre's little trick in June and Sophia had been part of Piérre's Mutiny group).

Bright eyes content to listen to the conversations and listen to the energies of the people around him, Piérre picked at a few fall flowers and blades of grass in a relaxed recline on the grass. The kid had never kissed or been kissed by anyone other than by his foster parents or by his twin, and neither of those had been on the lips but rather as symbols of parental or brotherly affection on the cheek or the head (respectively).

Piérre was curious as to how things would unfold or if this would quickly devolve into chaos and disorder as the boy expressed his veritable and unusual behavior towards... well... everything.

Action: Arriving

As more and more people showed up, Bailey saw a few familiar faces.
A girl she thought was named Harper said hello to all of them, and Bailey smiled and said hello back.
When Bailey saw Kim show up, she smiled and made her way over to him to say hello.
“Hey Kim! How are you? It’s nice to see you again! I missed you this summer!”
She gave him a swift hug before @Sophia Nelson swooped in, clutching to his arm.
Smiling at the younger Ravenclaw, Bailey said hello to her before leaving again. She never was sure what was going on between Kim and Sophia, if anything was.
Maybe tonight will reveal something… probably many things. This will… probably end in some chaos. Sighing, Bailey searched the crowd for any other familiar faces than the ones surrounding Kim. Currently, Bailey was feeling hungry, so she went in search of some food.
She found a table with desserts on it, and she grabbed a plate full of treats, with a chocolate cupcake, a cauldron cake, a mini fruit tart, and a Chocolate Rocher. These would keep her occupied, and possibly give her a topic to talk about. Food was always a good conversation starter.
Slipping a mint into her pocket for later, when the games started, Bailey wandered away waiting to see a familiar face.

Attire: Usual weekend kit: Slytherin pride, neck ring, kilt, no shoes. Nothing fancy!

Reducio

Colin had changed after classes and was now tearing through the hall that led out to the Courtyard. He'd managed to get one shoe back on before the excitement got to him! So now anyone with ears could hear the CLOP-skap CLOP-skap CLOP-skap of his half shod, half bare footed escape from the castle that was Hogwarts!

Out into the courtyard he sped, heading down towards the Great Lake, where he'd heard someone was setting up a game of some kind. He hoped, perhaps, to find a certain someone to play with! "Drat!" Deciding that the irregular nature of his stride just wouldn't do, Colin kicked the shoe off his foot and watched to see where it would land.

He smiled broadly from the steps of the castle doorway and his heart thumped with excitement. His eyes followed the arc of his shoe from his foot as it rose gracefully into the air, reached its apogee and then began its descent. He watched as his shoe landed right in front of Clair Fernandez! "Owwwoooop!" With a howl of joy he ran down to meet the girl that he liked best.

Words like that still sounded strange and mysterious in his mind, but he knew the moment he faced her at the broom race at summer camp that she was the one! He ran down the steps and over towards where she was. "CLAIR!! Clair!" Once he got up close, he could feel the heat of a blush redden his chest and face. He really hoped she would like him back!

His green eyes looked into her light blue eyes and --- oh my God! "She has beautiful eyes lad!"

Colin stood wide eyed for a moment. "Oof. Did I just say that aloud? Um!" He laughed, wavering between embarrassment and gushing enthusiasm. Oh well! He'd said it, and meant it! And surely there was no reason to be embarrassed! "Um! Come on Clair! I heard there's a game going on down by the Lake! Do you want to go with me? It's something about twirlign bottles around --- I have no idea what that is, but it sounds fun! Whoa. I thought it would be more fun to join in with you!? Er. If you're not busy?"

Colin hoped she'd say yes so they could race down to the lake an find out what the game was all about!

@Clair Fernandez

Banner made by the magical Sarah Night

𝐻𝑒𝓍 𝒞𝑜𝒹𝑒 #4B0082 English #3c78d8 French #800000 Latin #000000 Parsel #008080 Spanish	𝐼𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒽 @Katherine Labrouder @Pea Elena Fowl	𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃(𝓈) Curly fries aka Alec Mason	𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒪𝓊𝓉𝒻𝒾𝓉𝓈 Reducio Dark blue polo shirt + black ripped jeans short + Prefect Badge + Navy Sneakers	𝑀𝑜𝓃𝒹𝒶𝓎, 𝒮𝑒𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝟧𝓉𝒽, 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟤

Joining to play spin the bottle

The first few days of the new school year seem like a blur. One minute Cash was given some detention on their first day back at school and the next they are walking towards where Spin the Bottle game will be located with Katherine and Pea. When the green eyes first saw the flyer that was stuck on the Bulletin Board, they did not pay too much mind to it.

But since now and then Cash passed the said flyer before and after going to some of their classes, their interest piqued. And so, during one of the occasions where the Beater hangs out with the sassy Gryffindor, Cash told Kath about it. Cash insists Kath to be miserable together with them and will laugh at the childish antics that surely will come within the game.

A few next days before the date of Spin the Bottle rolled in, Cash also told Pea when the white-haired girl sit around in the Slytherin Common Room. Cash wonders why they insist to bring a friend or two into this kind of situation. Cash usually avoids such games since they thought it is useless and downright not more than a childish game.

As the trio walked down the path towards the Great Lake with Aero acts as their tail, they talked amongst themselves and whatnot. Then something occurred with the Cuban descendant. Kath and Pea did not know each other and it is the young Ironwoods' duty to introduce them to one another. "Kath this is Pea,"The fourth year told the Lioness.

"And Pea, this is the Katherine Labrouder I told you a long time ago"Cash expressed then they glance back at Kath. "Be nice, mate. Do not scare the newbie like you usually do,"Cash then bumped their shoulder playfully to the Gryffindor. Not long after that, the trio arrived at the location for the day.

Some of the faces that were already present were familiar to them but some were not. Then their green eyes fall on curly fries a.k.a Alec Mason. Things with Mason were kind of okay-ish after the Duellist explained everything to Cash. Although things are kind of okay with Mason, still, there was awkwardness between them.

Well, it is Cash that kind of feels awkward around the other fourth year. Cash and Mason were exes to each other. And to be honest, Cash did not know how to act or feel around the curly-haired boy. Cash wanted to backtrack their steps but it is too late now. "Is it rude to just up and leave before the game even starts?"They whispered so it is only Kath that can hear them.

The Quidditch player hates being in an awkward situation so they just have to push their discomfort aside. And besides, before this very day, Ronnie sent them an owl about his first-hand experience joining the infamous Hogwarts Summer Camp and he also gushed out in the owl about one game in particular.

Spin the Flagon or as known as Spin the Bottle. And so, Cash dragged Pea's hands since Cash knew Kath did not like to be dragged around. "Come on, let's get this over with,"Cash said to the second year. "Once we are done from here, please do not remind me this is a bad idea,"They said to Kath this time.

Cash should have known this is a bad idea in the first place and yet they still decided to come to the game after all.

Permission to slightly godmod Kath and Pea had been given by the respective players

@Kim Sato @Sophia Nelson

Haley didn't know what it was, but she always found herself signing up for these silly games at summer camp or participating in evenings like tonight and also uniformly knowing full well that they weren't silly games but an evening of fun, laughter and time with her friends. But whatever it was that magically kept bringing Haley to these events, she was secretly happy about it.

And so, once again, Haley found herself in her dorm getting ready for tonight. She wore her long curly hair down, put on a comfortable hoodie and quickly slipped into her vans before skipping down the stairs into the common room on her way to the great lake. On her way there she met many students and it made the sign as if they were on their way there like her. Smiling, she strolled through the castle and with the lightness in her gait, it almost seemed as if she was dancing with her steps. Until she suddenly stopped and bumped into a familiar face. But this familiar face looked a bit lost. Concerned, she walked over to Kim, "Hey there!" She greeted him with a wide smile, but concern was in her voice and in her eyes. "You look lost, come with me." Haley gently reached for Kim's arm, whatever was going on, she was sure some distraction and a fun evening with friends would do him good.

It wasn't long before the two arrived at Great Lake and it seemed Kim was coming around. "We'll make and evening fun tonight." She answered his question and giggled. "Come on, it'll certainly be fun." She pulled him along by his sleeve to all the other students and greeted them all with a big grin. "Hey guys!" She shouted once loudly to the group and looked for a seat for herself and Kim.

But before they could sit down, a girl with blue hair unknown to Haley called out to Kim. It wasn't long before she had hugged him and Haley couldn't help but grin at the sight. She didn't know what kind of relationship the two of them had with each other but from the sight she suspected that at least from one side it was going a certain way. "Kisses! That's why dear Kim is with us today." She answered jokingly the question and winked at Kim. "Hey, I'm Haley Rose. Nice to meet you." She introduced herself to the still unknown girl, who until now only had eyes for Kim.

Haley looked around again and saw some empty seats, "How about we sit there?" She suggested to the two and pointed with her gaze to three free seats, waiting for the two to join them and start an evening of fun, kisses, hugs and awards handshakes.

Action: Arriving

Action: Entering the game
Mention: @Colin McCoire

It was just several days after school started. It started just like the previous year when she first step into this vast castle. Boring- there's nothing pretty much going on, other than the new first years that just arrive. She is mildly excited now that she is just a year older than someone, rather than last year when she used to be the youngest in most everything. Although age has never stopped her from speaking up to her seniors. But now she has some first year she could torment- which is the only thing that excites her in the new school year.

So when Cash told her about the.. 'spin the bottle'(?) game- she agreed to it immediately. A game is surely better than nothing, even though she didn't have a single clue about what kind of game it is. Spin.. the bottle? It sounds stupid but when Cash mention it was just a childish game- she didn't really put a lot of thought into it. Well- she didn't join a lot of games in when she was younger- because she never truly have time friends to play with when she was little. So she would not understand the silly little games that people play nowadays.

Pea meets up with Cash, and is pleasantly greeted by another senior who she guessed is one of Cash's friend. Not bad- that was the first impression she had on Katherine Labrouder. She observed the Gryffindor senior with her blue eyes. She’s pretty and also tall, not as tall as Cash but still pretty tall.

"And Pea, this is the Katherine Labrouder I told you a long time ago, Be nice, mate. Do not scare the newbie like you usually do."

Cash introduces her to the Gryffindor girl, which made her wonder what did she do to the first years previously. The more Cash actually talks about Katherine the more actually Pea is interested in her. "Cash- you know that she won't scare me." Pea smiles a little smugly and pulls out her hands towards Katherine.

"Pleasure, the name is Pea Elena Fowl." Wow, this time, she is actually genuinely interested in a person. Finally, a person she met in Hogwarts who is not a total disappointment, other than Cash of course, and her some fellow Slytherins.

She would later follow the two seniors unto the Lake as that is where the game takes place. As they arrive, she already notices some people already in the vicinity. This is what she talking about- the disappointing people she has met. Sigh-

action. entering~
interacting. @cassandra ironwoods, @katherine labrouder
mentioning.

Outfit | Inventory: Wand | Getting a personal post in for some interactionsss

He was admiring his work on the set up, finishing up a few extra touches just as @Bailey Glade had come along, perfect timing. She was nice and there was no pressure with having her around. Alec was glad she had decided to show up. He waved a small wave as she walked over, chuckling in surprise as he found herself answering her questions “Glade, Hi! Doing great, thanks for asking,” he was quite proud of the set up he had here. The blankets to the foods and drinks, plus the music. It was fun. He had fun taking the time to set it up. “Summer went about as good as it could go.” As good as it could go considering the circumstances he'd been left in. That was more of a personal story though, not the type you share at fun and happy social gatherings. He always had other people to chat about his not so great start of the summer with, it was best to not burden her with the bad details.

“Summer camp was a blast, how are you doing? Settling in to the school year well?” Alec seemed surprised as she leaned in for what seemed to be a hug. Alec muscles tightened, freezing up at the realization, he wasn't used to the physical affection of hugs. Alec was a touchy person, but , he tended to be generally reserved on who he got touchy with. Alec wouldn't have minded as much, it was just the physical affection that took him by surprise. His smile picked up slightly. In the end he was relieved it was a light squeeze which he would reciprocate back. Giving her a thoughtful look as he pulled away. He was happy she'd thought of him and adjusted. “What do you think? How does it look?” He turned to look back around at the set up. She was the first here, he may as well get her opinion of what she thought of it.

When he eyes flickered back on her, they took a moment to inspect her, more specifically her outfit. “I like your rings, you'll have to tell me where you got them later.” He spoke his eyes flickered away as someone else walked in and Alec quickly found his attention divided. Waving to welcome the new person as she entered(@Harper Jordan). “Hey! Welcome! Invite yourself in, get comfortable.” He spoke noticing she seemed a little shy. He hoped the encouragement would help. He'd been pretty shy once too, not at much any more. Friendly words and kind encouragement were the way to go. “I swear I don't bite. I make no promises as for what Bailey will do.” He pointed to Bailey as he spoke. Figuring it was a nice way to help get the seemingly shy girl acquainted with people. “Alec,” since he was giving out her name it only made sense for Alec to give out his. “Is there a name you prefer to be called?”

--(this is me skipping around a bit to get interactions in... I was having fun writing. Assume he got around to doing each of these at some point)
There was a girl who within the small crowd currently looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack(@Cara Smalley). It might have been Alec's dramatized interpretation of the matter(it was incredibly dramatized), but he figured he should walked over to check either way. Her panicked face had to be a warning sign. “Hiya there! You alright? You look a little panicked.” Her looking a little panicked made him a little worried. The last thing he wanted was someone panicking over the event or the game. He didn't want to have people forced into it either. “You don't have to play if you don't want to. No pressure, no judgement, I swear.” He smiled gently her way and rubbed the back of his neck. Glancing around the set up as he spoke again. “You could hang around eat snacks and still have fun even without playing.”

There a few other people by her(@Athena McClenin@Rita Su), Alec smiled nervously. He'd been lazer-focused on how panicked she looked that he hadn't realized she had company with her. He made a little gesture to wave to the other girls. “Call me Alec,” he would offer out a hand for anybody willing to shake his hand, and give a hello nod to those who didn't want to shake his hand.
--
Another girl had joined the group(@Lily Blaze), she seemed a little nervous about showing up. Not as nervous as the other girl from before had been. Alec waved her over, she said hello to everybody who had arrived, then asked if she had the right place, followed by introducing herself. Alec nodded at her question, Hogwarts wasn't very big, out of all the options many couldn't have been left if it wasn't her. “You've got the right place, I'm Alec, I think everybody else is up to introducing themselves. Let me know if you need help breaking the ice.” Alec shrugged, he would offer out his hand to the girl to shake hands as a quick an easy introduction.

Trying to explain and give her the run-down of what was happening at the moment “We're kind of in intermission for a bit here as we wait for people to come.” Alec explained. That was one way to put it, it seemed like the most simple way to put it as well.
--
Everything was going well. Alec was happy and excited at how it all was turning out! He was having fun saying hi, talking to. and meeting new people. Alec turned his head as he heard someone calling out and walking over(@Avery Chen). Alec nodded with a wide grin, “that would be me. What do you think, bruv?” Alec's face flushed slightly, being told something he hadn't been expected to hear.

He was never prepared for compliments, nothing could or would ever prepare him for them. The other stuck out his hand, and Alec reached to firmly shake it. “Thanks mate, would you believe me if I told you it was my first time?” Alec asked with a chuckle. Internally relishing in his own self-confidence and ability to carry out conversations, a conversation like this would have been a total flop last year. “Lovely to meet you, I go by Alec,” introductions were easy, it came a little harder when continuing on conversation. Alec glanced away, as out of the corner of his eyes he had spotted someone, @Kim Sato. Distractions were easy to come by with so many people around.

Alec found the entire situation ironic. What a nuisance Alec was, setting up an event Kim had ended up attending, wow, how terrible. Alec was slightly bothered by the idea of Kim playing even if he wasn't going to say it. All Alec could do was hope that when it was his turn to spin the bottle, that it didn't land on Kim.

Just as he looked back the kid he was talking to has disappeared. Kids were fast. Oh well, it meant he didn't have to worry about carrying on a conversation. It was all so busy, not to mention Alec could now feel someone's eyes on him(@Cassandra Ironwoods). Alec turned to see Cash and who he assumed to be Cash's friends off in the distance. He hadn't expected Cash to be the type to play spin the bottle, it didn't seem like their thing. Still, he was excited to see them! It had been a while. Part of him instinctually wanted to Cash about the mess his summer had been. They most certainly knew some of the antics Alec's parents had tried to pull in the past. He knew they understood more than others. It was one of those things he'd only been able to tell one person. Hah- yeah he wasn't really going to walk up to Cash and begin sharing family issues. They weren't close like that. Although... Maybe that was better considering their history. Alec shook his head to clear the thoughts.

Alec waved to catch Cash's attention before striding over, his eyes flickered over to Cash's friends(@Katherine Labrouder@Pea Elena Fowl) stopping on their friends to acknowledge their friends for a moment before going back to Cash. He smirked, “you were staring,” he spoke, it was a statement, a hint of curiosity hid in his tone. Teasing; Alec winked and chuckled, “you like what you see?” Playfully, the Gryffindor would strike a pose. The pose was one he'd seen on the front page cover of Witch Weekly a while back. His teasing would continue for a few seconds more before he suddenly became serious(even while serious a smirk edged at his lips.). “I'm surprised to see you here,” Alec spoke he put his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he eyed Cash curiously. “Spin the bottle doesn't really seem like your thing.” If it was Cash's thing he was curious, ready to hear an explanation for why they would be the type to be interested in a kissing game. Of course he was not expecting an explanation, it was asking too much. His eyes carefully inspected them for a moment.

Diverting his attention from Cash his eyes fell back to the friends they'd brought along. “Did these two put you up to attending?” Alec asked Cash with a raised eyebrow, his playful tone was back. He was only teasing. As he brought up Cash's friends Alec removed his right hand from his pocket to wave a small wave Katherine's way. She used to be on the duelling team, it only made sense he was somewhat familiar with her. He continued, “is it peer pressure? Do I need to go threaten someone for you?” Alec joked to Cash, his eyes falling on the girl he was unfamiliar with(pea) as he spoke.

Nodding towards her(pea) the Gryffindor spoke. “It's Alec by the way,” a short introduction. How he missed the days where he wanted to introduce himself with his full name. The repercussions were what keep him away. Hearing the use of his last name tended to ruin whole evenings. No point in setting people up for failure.“I have to go; I'm supposed to be helping with last minute stuff before the game starts.” Alec glanced away remembering the time. If he didn't get it done who else was supposed to?

Hurriedly he glanced back, as if he had just remembered something else. “Oh. But, Cash um. . . Could you stay just a few minutes later after the game ends? I'll be cleaning up, there's something I want to talk to you about; It won't take long.” With those words said Alec waved by and hurried off to get last minute tasks done.