pv @Reid Kovacs
the fit

As Alexx stepped onto the train and slipped into an empty compartment, she couldn't help but think back to the train ride home from her third year. In the seats surrounding her, space had been occupied by Ami, Scott, and Reid. Now, the dull, velvety red seemed to have sucked everyone in until it was just her. She was going into her fifth year and she couldn't have felt more lost or alone.

She had suddenly yearned for someone, anyone, to share this time with. Even the likes of one of those Slytherin underclassmen that annoyed her so would have done just fine right now. Someone to bicker and debate with. Or, better yet, a friend to share her time with. She was just so sick and tired of not feeling like she belonged to anyone or anything.

Alexx worked tirelessly to be the best at everything, but she never seemed to be the best friend that she could be. This mystique that she put up, convincing those around her that she led this extravagant and lavish life, all finally hit her this summer as being a lie. There was nothing glamorous about having a messed up family that was torn between a divorce, with the eldest brother having to grow up too soon to raise his siblings, and the second eldest running away to escape the tragedy that was their family. That wasn't the life that some of her pureblood counterparts led. Instead, they were sitting in their manors with their happy families, having dinner parties which Alexx was not invited to. That no one would think to invite Alexx to. Because her blood status might say that she was a pureblood, but in reality, she was raised by the muggle streets and a teenage boy doing his best.

Too pureblood for the muggle borns, too muggle for the purebloods. That's what she was.

At least she had Rosalie, who sat comfortably on her shoulder. On the way to the empty compartment, a few excited first years made note of the magical pink ball of fuzz, which to Alexx had always appeared to look like a lint filter after washing pink clothes. Rosalie, her most consistent companion, was nothing but a palm-sized, indestructible ball of lint. To someone who wasn't magical, Alexx would seem like a crazy person.

Pulling her coat closer to her, Alexx sunk into her seat, bag placed neatly above her. At best, a friend or a curious peer would wander in, likely due to the fact that there was no where else to sit. A single person taking up the entire compartment could be quite annoying. At worst, though, no one came, and that would confirm Alexx's fear that she was starting this year alone.

[font=PT Serif]Since when had he grown so tall? His summer in Birmingham was often spent with kids around his age, muggle or not, their heights weren't this short. Though he had begun to be more acquainted with muggles again, he just had to make excuses as to why he didn't attend school with them. Reid keeps his bag over his back with his arm holding it with ease. If he didn't have a sliver of conscience, he'd push past some of these students without a care.

They were sluggish and indecisive, he almost wanted to pick a few of them up by their collar and toss them into the cabins. When did his kindness get so dull? His melodrama is vehemently kept in check by himself, this was just another school year for him with unkept emotions.

After a particularly weary wait in front of a student, he moves the student slightly without his permission and steps past him. Maybe that conscience of his was slipping faster most of the time.

" You could've waited — " It earns the student a slight shove to his shoulder on purpose. Reid's scowl is more pronounced as he finds himself on the other side. " Not waiting for anyone. "

Even his voice had changed, he wasn’t sure what to think of it. For a moment, he almost thought he heard his dad in himself. Reid had his mother’s eyes but his father’s temper after all. He runs a hand through his hair and ignores whatever was said after that, he's not interested.

Now that he had more room to move, he didn't take the chance to be picky, but a simple glance into one compartment has him thinking otherwise. Maybe he could afford to be picky for a moment. Kovacs’ fingers unlatch the door from the lock and peeks in. “ Alexx — “

Some people moved past him and he realizes the hypocrisy that he was exhibiting, so the wizard steps in to move out of the way. “ Well, I was going to ask if I could sit here, but I’ll do so anyway. Your seats are fairly empty. “ Reid closes the door behind him and sits himself on the seat.

Where was Scott and Ami? He doesn’t question it under the pretense that they’d come soon. She seemed like she changed over the break or . . . well over some time. It’s been a while since he’s talked to anyone he’s met, he placed a great deal of distance between him and people he knew.

from derby.

[/font]

A familiar voice called out to Alexx, pulling her out of her trance that she had fallen into briefly. She had arrived on the train pretty early, as she wanted to avoid being touched by all the nasty, foul-smelling, unclean little underclassmen. That, and it was easy for her to get swept up into a crowd of people, given that she had not grown very much- or, rather, at all. Alexx still stood at 4 feet and 11 inches, being probably the smallest of her year.

"Reid," Alexx nodded politely, resisting the urge to address him by his last name. The two hadn't spoken much in their third year, Alexx being a bit distant and curt with everyone, but fourth year they seemed fairly neutral and as if there was nothing to worry about. Now that they were fifth years, Alexx supposed that the past was the past and they were going to go back to being close like they were before. She quite liked Reid, and this was a friendship she valued. Well, it was maybe the only friendship she valued. "Not like I'd object, I'd rather you sit here than..." She trailed off, nodding her head to a group of rowdy first years. She also supposed that with Reid's size and her death glare, together they'd ward them off and avoid any unwanted company.

This was not a bad start to the train ride at all, Alexx supposed. While she assumed she would have spent it alone, wallowing in her own misery and teenage angst, Reid was welcome company indeed, and she would not have picked a better companion to start her fifth year off with.

She sat up, suddenly aware that she was slouching, and readjusted her clothes for a moment. "Did you have a nice summer?" They didn't need to make small talk, and she knew that Reid could talk. She remembered that quite vividly from the first time they had met, where she had secretly thought if she weren't so polite back then, she would have told him to shut up. They were both different now. Reid was still kind, at his core, but he was more matured, and she sensed that he likely faced the same angst and displeasure with the world that most kids their age were suddenly going through. But he was still nice to her, and that's what mattered. Alexx, on the other hand, was more outspoken, and far more jaded. Bitter sweet, perhaps.

She hadn't seen Reid at all this summer, which wasn't exactly unusual. Sometimes she would couch surf, go on a tour of Europe to visit friends in many different countries, and have one grand adventure. Other summers, she stuck to the estate, sitting through dull arguments about property disputes and custody. Things that Alexx didn't care for. If she had Mikael, she was content. Mikael could take care of her, there was no need for the arguments. Nevermind that he was barely in his 20s and didn't have an actual career, he had an apartment in Manchester and he fed her well, and Uncle Jean never had an issue providing money or shelter when it was needed, because Uncle Jean loved them more than their parents did. So, at the end of the day, Alexx never understood why it was such a big deal.