Closed Have a Confession Shark Tent

Interacting With: @Mathias Pride

Outfit: Quidditch Uniform

Mentioning:

English | Irish

Who needed therapy when Quidditch existed? Sure, she had possibly hurt a few of her team mates more than she had meant to during their practice, but being in the air helped her forget about the horrible events from the night prior, some of which were still a little fuzzy.

All she could remember were mouths. Tongues. Plump lips belonging to foreign home wreckers. They had been pressed against Mathias' own. She had left mid-way through, so there was no telling just how many other people her boyfriend had kissed. Even the thought of it caused her stomach to twist into knots, left helplessly tangled until the shouts of her team mates had loosened it.

She had experienced the sweet pangs of puppy love with Matt, and as their relationship evolved, stretched past just a few months into a full year, she was discovering a fairytale romance was unrealistic. Real relationships took work. You had to talk things through, not just giggle and kiss or blow up when faced with a new problem. Jealousy was not something Winnie was used to. It was a new feeling she was just starting to explore when she thought Matt had been seeing another girl during the period he had ghosted her. Now it hit her full force, and she understood why most writers seemed to compare it to a monster. That was what she had felt like last night when she had let anger get the best of her.

It would not take her long to discover the note. She recognized the handwriting too. Probably delicate hand strokes, just like her glass cannon of a boyfriend. She grit her teeth when she read the invitation, annoyed at the way her heart almost skipped a beat. He always seemed to have a power over her.

Maybe that was why she slid back into her Quidditch uniform after showering. To maintain some semblance of power. She had always felt more confident in the sky, perhaps it would help her. Besides, she didn't want to dress up and allow Mathias to assume everything between them was okay. He at least owed her kisses.

Her hair was tied into a loose ponytail, the wet tresses dampening the back of her uniform as she stormed towards their tent. When she pushed back the fabric flap opening she paused, a sudden sense of déjà vu hitting her when she saw her boyfriend waiting for her with sandwiches, salad, and sweets.

Her anger. An apology. An offering of food. Had this happened before? She couldn't remember when. Maybe when their relationship had first begin? "Matt..." A picnic, they had been on them before. This felt more intimate. "Y-You think that you can just... Woo me after last night? O-Offer me sweets-- Did you make these?" She edged closer to her boyfriend, taking the seat opposite of him.

"Matt... Y-You think that you can just... Woo me after last night? O-Offer me sweets-- Did you make these?"

"Yes"

"Yes"

"Uhhh... I picked them with the utmost care?"

It was absolutely a cop out but that was the point, telling her what she wanted to hear and possibly lying if she had no means of validating the information that he shared.

"Look, I'm sorry?" That was the right answer. "I did not even want to go there and kiss a boys," he claimed. "Why were we even there?" He was also making sure to deflect some blame, it was to some level in part her fault he was kissing all those boys. It was a generic deflection move but they were nowhere near a healthy relationship. "You know you're the only person I would even pretend to be interested in," a bit of a Freudian slip he would realize after the fact. "I mean," rapid back peddle. "I could not even make something up that would make me want to be with someone else," he self-corrected.

Where was that damn strawberry juice? He mentally rebuked himself for making such a dumb statement but the good part about amnesia is that you had a second or even third opportunity to make an excellent first try. "Wait, I have a thermos here someplace," he claimed. yes, someplace like his trunk. It was not going to work, even if he tried little did he know. Someone was most certainly messing with him, the juice in that thermos was normal strawberry juice this time.

Mathias had made a number of mistakes this past year and his confidence was one of them. Another was his limited allies. He would pour her a drink, he had gotten better at dosing. Just a touch, like a dash of salt or sugar for the whole liter rather than a massive clot. Winnie was apt to drink the whole think if she felt so compelled and might again forget months of her life. Months might not be so bad, but he was really hoping for just a day, even a few minutes or hours. If it was far enough back it might be during that unfortunate time where he was too busy preparing for his role as Champion, where he was busy 'ghosting' her for the expressed purpose of ensuring that another name would be on that note. That nobody would know for certain. That the rumors might be believed that there was something between the eventual heir and the loud-mouthed Napolean.

Once she drank something, he would do what he always did. Insert a memory for her mind to fill in. Brains were strange like that, they refused to believe that there is a gap so they fill it in with something vague based on what they already knew. Mind were in a way such logical tools. It was a dangerous defect - this logic than minds demanded. "We've had a few good days in a row, I can only hope that it will be a trend," he would claim after he saw her take a few (hopefully) satisfactory gulps of the allegedly tainted juice. the point was simple, give her something vague and then let her fill in the blanks and tell him what had happened. The 'good days' could be anything she wanted - dancing, picnics, make out sessions, an idyllic relationship for as far back as she had forgotten.

Only, the juice was just juice.

Interacting With: @Mathias Pride

Outfit: Quidditch Uniform

Mentioning:

English | Irish

Matt's response was met with an angry huff, "I'm not going to forget everything that's happened just because you give me some food!" The irony of her statement was of course lost on Winnie. She stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't know it was spin the bottle, it wasn't named that-- I just want to spend as much time as I can with you before you return to your school." She had wanted to sign them up for everything but unfortunately they had still been separated, except for damn spin the bottle.

What the hell?! Why had he said it like that? "Why would you need to pretend to be interested in me? We've been dating a year and a half." Just over a year in actuality, but in Winnie's muddled memories it was much longer. "Really? Because you really seemed to be into that first kiss."

"I-- I just... I keep seeing it when I close my eyes." She bit down on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling, her eyes starting to well with salty tears. She paused a moment before continuing. "Was he... A better kisser than me?"

She would wipe her eyes with the sleeve of her Quidditch uniform as Matt made an offering of strawberry juice, her favourite beverage. Well, really anything strawberry was Winnie's favourite. In the future the girl would likely hoard strawberry wine. Her fingers clasped the thermos, painted nails tapping the surface nervously between sips.

His attempts to gaslight the girl would not work. The juice had no added ingredients, just a simple mixture often sold in stores. Her brows furrowed in confusion at his statement, "What? Are you trying to be sarcastic? I mean, before last night... We can't just pretend that didn't happen."

"I'm not going to forget everything that's happened just because you give me some food!"

"Food is cleansing for the soul," or something like that. He had a smirk as he said that his own personal joke really. "Just not yourself hungry," if he was a muggle this would end with a Snickers commercial. Alas that would be a reference that would be lost on the pureblood.

"I didn't know it was spin the bottle, it wasn't named that-- I just want to spend as much time as I can with you before you return to your school."

"I'll be around for the school dances and there is always holidays," he retorted. As if that was tons of time, in fact why in the world would they need to be at the same school. "I mean... I will miss you a lot," that was the right thing to say and probably not entirely wrong. "But we have classes and sports, other obligations that need our attention, like that girl with cotton candy for a head" he meant that more literal than her hair color and he was referencing Aurora Winnie's favorite shrew. "I am more worried about people being all over you, I swear it is nothing like that in Japan," apparently just all of Brazil needs to make out with him.

"Why would you need to pretend to be interested in me? We've been dating a year and a half."

Shit. Shit on a stick! "N-no, I did not mean it like that," he stammered as his life flashed before his eyes. He self-corrected but she was stuck on the subject.

"Really? Because you really seemed to be into that first kiss."

"I tried to not kiss... not kiss him like that," she was there. She saw it. "I-I am a man," he squeaked, his voice cracking perhaps a bit. The tone certainly did not reflect the words he had chosen. "I can't just say no, look like I can't," as if there was some sort of machismo in kissing another guy but it was a bit more complicated than that. It was a game of chicken. A strike against his pride.

"I don't even like boys," he forgot about his Levi lie just then. Well, he was indifferent to them, he would swing whichever direction benefitted him but there was no basic attraction to them.

"I-- I just... I keep seeing it when I close my eyes." She looked upset and his stomach felt funny, like he had eaten some sort of bad cheese. He had no idea what he could have eaten to make him feel this way but it was terrible timing. "Uh don't close your eyes," it just fell out. A literal statement from an idiot. He realized it as soon as he had said it. "No," that was not the answer. Bad answer. Juice was the answer. "It was just a game that we will probably totally forget about in a few days," a truth actually. We she, not we. He wished he could forget too but that incurred the risk of experiencing a first kiss with him, or them again. A first-first time was already bad enough.

"Was he... A better kisser than me?"

"No, of course not!" even if he was, Mathias was not suicidal enough to admit it. "It was horrible, practically traumatizing," he would claim as he passed her the thermos of juice. Lifesaving juice. This interrogation would quickly become a pleasant meal and maybe a make out session that hopefully Warren could walk in on and forever regret.

"What? Are you trying to be sarcastic? I mean, before last night... We can't just pretend that didn't happen."

His eyes widened and the blood drained from his face. "What?" That was all he could choke out in reply. "It has been a great summer, us and our friends," he repeated. His heart was beating faster as he said it, his voice lacked the conviction it has before. he would look her in the eyes and he did not see that same dumb, blank stare. Fucking hell. He must have made the drink too weak. he did not want to whammy her bac to spring but he needed it to pack some sort of punch. "Surely I am joking!" He rapidly agreed as he forced a rather uninspired laugh. "I think you need more juice," he claimed as he took a nervous bite of his sandwich.

He would sit there, his eyes darting about as he studied her face. Was she mad, confused, was it starting to work, just a bit delayed? "It is just," he would wait for her to take another drink. Maybe a couple of large gulps. Did the house elves change up their recipe? "We have such a great time together. This has been the perfect summer together." He repeated, making sure to clearly enunciate the 'perfect summer together' part. The summer that she is supposed to sort of remember.

Interacting With: @Mathias Pride

Outfit: Quidditch Uniform

Mentioning:

English | Irish

"I'm not just 'hangry', Matt. I'm trying to have a conversation with you about how I feel a-and I feel like you aren't taking me seriously!" He was smirking even! Did he think this was somehow funny? Winnie's heart sunk inside her chest at his retorts. Didn't he want to be together as often as they used to be? They had seen each other daily, taken walks, read next to each other... She missed his company. "It's not the same. D-Do you want to spend the holidays with me?" She asked, blinking back more tears.

"What? Why would someone be all over me?"

"... Aren't you bisexual?" Winnie bluntly asked, her face twisted in confusion. Matt was behaving weirdly. Weirder than usual. She wasn't used to him stumbling over his words like this. A part of her, the part that was terribly fond of her boyfriend, found it to be a bit endearing when he squeaked. It was too bad she was currently angry at him.

"It's not that easy..." She was getting frustrated. What were they supposed to do? Break up? She didn't want to, the mere thought made her feel sick to her stomach. "What should I do...? I just... I want... I want you to tell me it will be okay. I really love you, but how am I supposed to know you feel the same--"

More juice. She needed more. She took a sip as she listened to her boyfriend talk about how they had had the perfect summer again right after she had scolded him for being sarcastic. What the hell was he on about? Winnie was getting ready to yell again when she suddenly paused in her tracks.

Forget. More juice. Drink more. Perfect summer.

... Was Matt... Was he trying to make her... Actually forget what had transpired?

No. No no no no... This couldn't be what she assumed, right? There was no way that her boyfriend was trying to make her to forget. It was her paranoia, because of what had happened to her. She had been poisoned by Matt's ex. He had told her so--

He had... told her? Or suggested it to her. If Matt knew about Levi poisoning her, would he dare to try to the same just to erase her memory of the night prior? Would he really go so far, especially given her history...? What had she already forgotten?! What day was it? She blinked rapidly when she realized she had been staring at the boy with her mouth half open.

"You're right." She paused to swallow the lump in her throat. It just could not be true. "But it's always perfect when we're together, isn't it?" She mumbled, a shaking hand bringing the juice up to her lips to pretend to take another sip.

Sliding out of her chair, she rounded the table to Matt's side. She leaned in to affectionately pepper his cheek with soft kisses. In reality she was hiding the panic from her face from him. After a moment, she pushed the flask of juice against her boyfriend's lips. "Here, Mattie... Try some."

"I'm not just 'hangry', Matt. I'm trying to have a conversation with you about how I feel a-and I feel like you aren't taking me seriously!"

"No, I am... I am taking this super serious," he claimed. Shit. "You're just," hell "really cute when mad," he muttered. It was not a complete lie; it just was not too cute when it was focused on him. She was damn terrifying. Maybe he liked that terror just a bit, a thread of masochism he would deny admitting. In truth he was more a sadist, it ran in the family as anyone who studied his family line would be well aware.

"It's not the same. D-Do you want to spend the holidays with me?"

Shit. Did he want to spend holidays with her? Well, in truth he had not thought too much about it, "uuuhhh---" there was a brief delay as the gears in his head turned a bit and he considered the potential ramifications of his offer and his verification. "Yes, but" there was always a but he realized, but there was a rare glimpse of honesty that came through in the statement he made. "My family is not normal and," he let out a sigh. "They expect things, you would not be happy with them," he admitted. They would also make sure he was not happy either. "I want to spend it with you, not them" and probably not her family either. "Just us I guess," easy to romanticize but he had more practical reasons really even if he said it with a shrug.

This was going into unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory however, future plans and talk about his family no matter how superficial. If it was not written about in a newspaper, he really did not want to talk about it. He shifted uncomfortably and wanted desperately for their conversation to devolve into something useless and trivial, arts and crafts, shiny things, the most recent fictional account of love Winnie read about and decided to prescribe facets of their relationship to in some delusional manner. "

"What? Why would someone be all over me?"

He frowned; the candlelight would deepen the lines in his face in a not particularly attractive manner. "Well, there was him," he complained. He was speaking of he who shall not be named. "But I also know how guys think," he added. "I am somewhat an expert really, being one... I mean I chose you out of everyone and choose you each day." It was not meant to sound romantic, but love was not an emotion to him, it was a choice. "You are loud, and mad and really dangerous so I try to keep sharp things away from you. But you're also kind and soft and smell nice. You have the capacity to care and express it where others would be unwilling, desperate for approval and incapable of self-advocacy, in short you have a self-respect most girls lack." Finding a pretty girl that was willing to stand next to him was easy. They had little to offer and lacked a soul. He was not interested in them. "I picked you because you're the best, why would any other guy choose different." He stuffed another hunk of sandwich in his mouth and chewed obnoxiously. He did not like this, he would give anything right now for warren to barge in here and start a fight. Anything to save him from a fate worse than a trip to St. Mungos - talking things out.

"... Aren't you bisexual?"

Shit. "No! I-I mean yes? I mean, maybe!" He coughed a bit and took out his canteen of water, he was always drinking water. Never water from the school, from the public, always his water. "I mean, I like..." He was not sure what he liked in truth. "You?" That was the right answer wasn't it? "I-it's complicated," he concluded after stumbling through the passageway at some sort of non-committal conclusion.

"It's not that easy..."

No, it really wasn't.

"What should I do...? I just... I want... I want you to tell me it will be okay. I really love you, but how am I supposed to know you feel the same--"

"It is okay," he insisted. "I mean, I'm here saying the words and eating the sandwiches. I am trying to make you happy." This room was evidence, but he was failing to say the word she wanted to hear. if it was true or otherwise, he was failing to come out and say it. That he loved her. "It is going to be okay," he said instead, the phrase she had asked for. "It is going to be okay, like it has always been," he reasoned.

She would take another drink from the thermos.

"You're right."

When she said that, his shoulders slumped a bit. it was over, he was safe. They could get back to having a good summer, a great evening and a better tomorrow. Thank Merlin, he was getting nervous with all of the questions she had asked.

"But it's always perfect when we're together, isn't it?"

"Yeah, pretty much," he affirmed with a nod of his head. She took another sip and he stood up. He was going to need to swap them out unless he wanted her to forget the whole of summer. "You know, it is a super nice evening, we could just go out?" For a walk, something like that. The point was for her to look away, maybe at the tent flaps or something she would want to bring with her so he could swap out the drinks but the drink was still in her hand.

She would come around the table and when she did, he would instinctively sit back down. She would need a chair to reach him otherwise. The thermos slid in front of him, pressed to his lips he would freeze. A few moments earlier he would have taken this drink had the thermos been placed in front of him. If he had believed that she had not forgotten, but she had. She was calm, placated and it was over. He needed to remember to know what he needed to avoid. Had he taken any of the juice before he wondered. it was not possible to know, he would have forgotten also.

"I-I really don't like strawberries dear," he answered. He had no reason to think she suspected. "I like water," he wiggled his canteen that was on the table a bit. His water, he rarely partook in foods made by others, especially those made by the school. He preferred
packaged foods and perhaps whatever she made, store bought items and specifically nothing made by a house elf.

will code later

Interacting With: @Mathias Pride

Outfit: Quidditch Uniform

Mentioning:

English | Irish

Her cheeks flushed with colour at that comment. Really cute when you're mad... Well, she got mad often enough. "Y-You're trying to fluster me on purpose?" She asked in disbelief, pushing a loose strand of hair away from her face. It was working well enough, but Matt always managed to make her blush or stumble over her words.

"My family is weird too." Who was normal these days anyways? Winnie did realize she had met at least three other members of Matt's family. Jurgen she disliked, Gideon was a bit odd, and Vlad had been... Well, she hadn't really known him. She had only spoken to him once but she hadn't instantly hated him. She obviously loved Matt so surely there was someone else in his family she would get along with. "What kind of things...? Is it because I'm a half-blood? Gigi told me pureblood families can be strict." Aileen had been rather blunt about her opinion, as per usual. She had also told Winnie that Mathias was too well bred for her, and that his family should find another girl for him. Something about blood traitors. Admittedly she had zoned out a bit during that part. "Aw, Matt... I wish we could spend it alone. Maybe you should spend winter break with me. No one would expect anything from you, and I could show you some muggle traditions."

"His lips barely grazed mine before I had to push him to dodge your spell." Winnie couldn't help but roll her eyes. Her boyfriend had his tongue down several people's throats that night and he was complaining about a brush of the lips?

Her annoyance didn't last long; it melted away quickly along with her heart at his next words. I choose you each day. Her face was burning a dark red hue again, his words helping to repair the damage caused by last night's fight. She smiled a bit at the 'terrifying' part. All she had wanted was to feel good again. Good about what was between the two of them, and as Matt offered her these words she was tearing down the wall she had built between them the night prior.

"I love you, Matt. Sometimes I worry you’re holding yourself back. I want you to know that it's okay to open up to me. You don't have to hide what you're feeling or thinking." She didn't want to hide from him either, so she offered him her thoughts. "Maybe I felt a bit insecure after last night." Insecure was an understatement; she was ready to rip apart the entire tent. "You're very handsome, and I know I'm not the only one who thinks so. That's not why I love you, though." Sure, it was a great perk to actually be attracted to the person you were dating, but Matt was so much more than that to Winnie.

"You're intelligent, funny, confident, you don't take shit from anyone," Except maybe her, "But you're also so sweet, Matt. You put together a meal for us, all things we've eaten together before. Even your gifts are well thought out. You're supportive of my interests, especially Quidditch and reading. You push me to take care of myself, to be confident." It was all from Winnie's perspective, of course, but there was no denying the amount of thought Mathias had put into their relationship, forgetfulness potion/the power of suggestion or not. It was something Winnie noticed. Her boyfriend might have been panicking, but for Winnie it was a nice moment. If she hadn't been suspicious of the juice Matt tried to make her drink, she might have dropped the kissing other people topic entirely.

Luckily for him, she would drop the sexual orientation subject. She wasn't ready to label herself yet either, so she understood how Matt felt. "Titles are... Confusing. I just know that I like you and when I think of you with someone else, it hurts."

"It's going to be okay." She repeated, as if his statement were a mantra. He had just spent time assuring her he was interested in only her, and now she was worried he was trying to poison her. It couldn't be right, could it?

Except he wouldn't drink what was in the flask. "You like me and how I smell; strawberry scented." She pointed out. She felt sick to her stomach, like the room was swaying. She had to cling on to him to feel steady. "Matt..." Her voice trembled, what was she supposed to do? She couldn't stand there and scream at him. She could run away with the flask and find someone to test it? No, she was just being delusional. Matt would never... He didn't have it in him, right? Why would he make her forget? Maybe it was just this once because last night had been so difficult for her? A million thoughts were whirling inside of her head. She had to calm down. She would pull back from him and offer a shaky smile. She wasn't the best actress, but she would try to test him again as she set the flask down, "Hold on, I just need a sweater... Oh... What did we end up doing last night again?"

She didn't wait for an answer, she crossed the tent and walked towards her trunk. She opened it and pretended to dig through it, while her right hand found her notebook, a muggle pen already tucked inside the pages. She would quickly scribble a warning if Matt wasn't glancing her way, 'If you forget that you wrote this, it was Matt.' She pushed a pile of clothing on top of it, grabbing a fluffy white sweater and tugging it over her uniform. "S-Sorry, I don't know why I didn't change out of this after practice." She glanced down at her uniform and frowned.

Matt had no idea this walk was going to turn into a game of 20 questions.