rainy monday

[Vivian Tanner]

Click. Click. Click. Click.

The empty and soulless sound bounced off of every dusty surface, flowing through the air and vibrating rudely against sensitive ear drums. Occasionally, a head would rise from its tired state, neck irritated and stiff from the one position it had known for the past hour, and glower in the direction of the ungodly sound. The residents of the library scolded and scoffed at the disruption, sending daggers and other weaponry in the direction they vaguely knew of. Madame Prince, hawk-eyed and tense for action, peered over the unnatural stack of books from her desk, peering with intensity and malice for the crude sound.

Vivian Tanner was numb to this sound.

Strolling down the aisles, her heels clicked comfortably under her feet as she traveled, her fingertips dusty from trailing manicured hands over the endless supply of titles available to her. The long auburn trail of her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, strands and wisps rebelling against the tie and framing her face. From the waistband of her skirt was her tie stuffed, cascading past the material and brushing against the skin of her leg as she moved. Bringing up a hand, she fanned herself lightly, cheeks flushed just a tad from an unbearable heat. It always was so much warmer in the confined space of the library - the air sticky and stale from the mouth-breathers who didn't know the outside world.

Today was a rather dull day. Everyone going about their own plots and devious intentions, and leaving the poor Slytherin all on her own. Nonetheless, it was a lifestyle she was accustomed to, and made way with. There was a paper due next Wednesday for Defense that she would make a start with, and so she roamed, light green eyes barely filled with interest as they dragged over the thousands of volumes that could only help her to some extent.

Rounding the corner, the girl paused, eyes flickering to the dark sign hanging over head. The Restricted Section. A bore now, after so many times spent in her first years sneaking in and lounging in the aisles with the haunted novels. Those days were in the past, and now it served no thrill. Hardly anything did. Her last year in the school and already she could feel its toll taking form on her mind. There was a world beyond all of this, a world most of the student population wasn't even aware of. They were too busy trying to suck up to Professors, skip class and rebel against the system, or trying to gain ground on a more promising yet tainted future, and hardly paid any attention to anything else. Their worlds were contained to the castle.

Turning away from the section, she faced a bookshelf and grew impatient. Grabbing a volume she spied earlier, she made her way to a table and sat down, running her slender fingers over the title before opening it up somewhere in the middle. Not exactly her idea of how to spend an afternoon, but it worked, nonetheless.

Hopefully, she thought, something better would come along.

[for snaps][/font]

[Jackson Grey]

The same Defense Against the Arts essay was also on the mind of a young Ravenclaw who sat at the very back of the large room. The chair beneath Jackson was uncomfortable, and a horrible shade of gray that nearly made him queasy. There were many rooms in Hogwarts, and most of them weren’t even needed, but this room that got so much traffic was more or less in a state of disarray. Jackson moved around in his seat to see if it would help his comfort level. Nope, nothing.

Jackson flipped the page of his comic book. Yes, that essay was on his mind but he certainly didn’t want to do it. Being in his seventh year meant very little free time, and this was part of it. He would do the essay in the common room later that night. There was something about the Ravenclaw, something in the air, that made it peaceful and easy to concentrate fully on his work without noticing anything else. Well, of course, it was the Ravenclaw Common Room. Those damn questions though. He’d fielded all but one in his school career so far, and he was fretting another soon. They were getting harder, like the door could detect his age.

Nonetheless, he closed the comic his father had sent him. His jeans stretched across his thighs as he rose lazily from the chair, and it was only then he realized how long he’d been there. His muscles felt like he was a statue, moving for the first time since creation. The empty pack of cigarettes pressed themselves into his leg. Yet another something he would have to deal with later. All of this later stuff, it didn’t appeal to him at all. This essay though, that would have to become a now thing.

He walked past the aisles, his eyes lazily peering down each one of them. Fairly long locks of dark brown hair fell down to his shoulders as he leaned his head back in an indulgent yawn. Just when he thought the essay could be done another day, and he thought about the exit, he saw a pair of legs under a table in one of the aisles. Hello legs, he thought with a small smile as he stared, panning up her body. Immediately, he stepped back behind a shelf when he saw whom those long legs belonged to. Oh, Jesus, her again, he thought, closing his eyes slowly. He couldn’t inspire a feeling of dislike, however. He couldn’t even inspire indifference. Jackson couldn’t say why he wanted to dislike her. She’d really given him no reason, but it was just there. Trouble. Jackson had had a quietly boring seventh year and when he thought about it, years past. He didn’t want any trouble. Did he?

It proved too much to ignore though. He stepped around the shelf, a very slight smile on his face. His hair fell into his eyes and he let it hang there. The attitude was hardened and chiseled into his brain and appearance, however feigned. He simply didn’t care if something came through the window and swallowed her up, right at that moment. There were other feelings that he couldn’t and wouldn’t acknowledge right now. Slowly, he meandered over to her, his eyes on the books as he went. Vivian was hard to look away from. Vivian…

“Oh, Tanner.” He said, slight surprise coloring his voice. Jackson realized the comic was still loosely in his hand. He gently hid it behind his leg, trying not to make a show of it. There was no hiding the Batman emblem on his black shirt though. Damn her, she was making a fool of him already. He was a fool himself for coming over here in the first place. What excuse did he have? Oh, right! Jackson’s eyes went to the books behind her. Really, he was paying more attention to her long ponytail. He’d always loved that look on a gal.

[Vivian Tanner]

This was a fairly new book. Never before did Vivian have to pry apart pages carefully. It seems like the text had simply been cut by Madame Prince, then placed on the shelf. Meaning, in some context, that Miss Tanner was the one to de-virginize, in a sense, the volume. Pity it was one that she didn't really need. Flipping through it nonetheless, her fingers slid along the sharp edge of the paper at the wrong angle, and jerking back her hand, she studied the pad of her finger, noticing the near invisible hairline cut. A few moments later, and it flooded with red, bright and alive with life. It didn't really hurt, and the Slytherin watched the way it beaded and swelled up, waiting for gravity to take over.

At the sound of a voice, however, she promptly brought up her hand, sucking on the tip of her finger to get rid of the mess, the metallic taste on her tongue foul and unpleasant - but she had no napkin otherwise to clean it. Still not looking up to the voice whom had spoken to her, Vivian pulled her finger away from her lips, rubbing her thumb over the spot, trying to irritate it to see if it would bleed anymore. However, the voice itself was a familiar one. Vivian was one to never forget a face once she met it, and kept careful track of all the personalities she's encountered over the years. This one, however, intrigued her the most for reasons she wasn't aware of in the slightest. But, in this moment, it could serve for some fun. God knows the book was all that entertaining.

"Hello, Grey" she responded smoothly, placing some pressure on the spot on her finger with her thumb. Finally, she raised her gaze, taking in the shape and form of the Ravenclaw before her. Scanning him briefly, she took in some key features: that look on his face, his shirt, and whatever it was he was hiding behind his back. Amusement tugged at her mind, and a smirk appeared slowly on her lips. Finding it hard to resist, she returned her eyes to the book, closing it gently. "Planning to hit me with whatever it is behind your back?" she asked coyly, rising to stand and place the book away in its place.

It was true, Vivian could only imagine some of the things the male would like to have happen to her. The only thing she didn't understand was why. Here she thought she had made it very clear that her intentions were not those of the other Slytherin's she was mistakenly associated with. Except Bellatrix. That was a deadly friendship to keep, and yet it worked well.

Moving past him, she lifted the book to where she had taken it, and slid it back into place with ease.[/font]

[Jackson Grey]

The way she sucked on her finger stirred something in him. Jackson watched with a bored, yet slightly thoughtful look as he imagined her tongue flicking across the tender pad of that finger. A simple paper cut had never aroused so much interest from him; it wasn’t even on his finger. Surely she recognized his voice; they’d talked with no interruption and nothing to focus on other than each other’s face, voice… Yet she wasn’t looking. He thought for one thankful moment that she didn’t want anything to do with him either, and that would be a huge load off for him. However, that wish… even if it was in falsehood, didn’t come true.

When she did turn, he took the time to take in her appearance- for the second time- as well. Green and silver complimented her, and he could hardly say the same for anyone else he’d met. He didn’t know why he didn’t want to associate with her. She was a Slytherin, but certainly different. He’d forgotten the meaning of a Slytherin and replaced it, in his mind, with nasty people. It was Slytherins, after all, who’d stolen his clothes while he was bathing in his third year. Walking back to the Common Room in a towel was an occurrence he wouldn’t be quick to forget. Not to mention, she was a friend to Bellatrix. And Bellatrix was a person everyone had a reason to hate. She was cold, foul, cruel and basically soulless. Jackson might have appealed to her, but so did Bellatrix Black and frankly, fuck that.

Merlin, she was beautiful though. Her long hair, and the gentle curve of her jaw appealed to him most. Her skin looked soft, though he’d never touched her. He’d never say or act upon it, but he wanted to touch her. Her lips looked like they tasted good. Jackson’s eyes lingered for less than a second on her blouse. It was like looking at something in a bakery. He didn’t need her… didn’t need that…

"Planning to hit me with whatever it is behind your back?"

Jackson unfurled the comic book behind him, and brought it out, slowly laying it on the table. “I can’t imagine it would do much damage.” He said, biting back a smile. Now would be a really good time for that large something to swallow her up. Jackson brushed past her chair, uncomfortable with the short distance between them. It felt like a dance or some kind of game. From his last conversation with her, he wasn’t going to bet on himself if there was a game going on between the two of them. At random, he pulled a maroon book down off the shelf. His hair still hung in his face when he looked back at her. Under the pretense that they were simply in need of the same books, and he would have stopped in this aisle anyway if she weren’t here, he shouldn’t have talked to her.

“What’re you looking for?” He mumbled.

[Vivian Tanner]

Dropping her hand from the spine of the book, she placed her hands on her hips , tilting her head back to try and read the titles further up. Moving along the shelf slowly, she glanced back towards him for a moment, spotting the comic on the table and letting a ghost of a smirk grace her lips. Cute. Reminded her of some of the first years also in the library, hiding their comics behind books, swapping and trading them with their friends. Innocent.

"A muse..." she replied slowly, pausing here and there, pulling out a book, looking at it before placing it back. "Although nothing is interesting me at the moment..."

Stretching up on her toes, Vivian tried in vain to reach a certain novel. Promptly giving up, she moved along, although kept her eye on the spot it was to not forget it. Eventually she reached the end of the aisle and started making her way back. "And yourself?"

She ducked her head just a tad to catch the title of the book he had before moving over to the table. Trailing her fingers over the wood, they paused at the comic before carefully picking it up and looking over the cover illustration. Leaning against the furniture, she slowly flipped through it. In all honesty, she's never read a comic book, and failed in that to understand the appeal. The drawings weren't all that great, and the dialog made no sense to her.

Alas, she figured she was missing out on something in the long run. [/font]

[Jackson Grey]

Jackson couldn’t think of a way to explain why he was here, without giving it away that she was the reason he was in this very aisle. At this thought, he realized he was staring. He hasilty averted his eyes and looked down at the table. The boy pulled out a chair and sat heavily on the seat she’d just been sitting in. Jackson leaned back, the chair on two legs and his own legs up on the table. “I’m here for this.” He said, reading the title of the book for the first time he’d taken it off the shelf. “One hundred and one Way To Make Your Make- up Shine.” He stated, horrified at himself. “Must have wandered over here from another section.”

Jackson watched her long fingers curl around the comic. It was a new one, and he’d waiting for it for a while. There wasn’t a place got get comics around here, and all the ones under his bed had been read many times. They were an escape. Still magical, just not in the way Hogwarts was. After seven years here, most things were very ordinary by now. The magic around him was not awe- inspiring, as it had been. After all, he’d see his mother perform it before she left. Now it was him and his Muggle father. When he was eleven, it was amazing. Now the world of comic book fiction appealed to him much more.

“It’s, uhm, called Batman.” Jackson didn’t know why he was explaining it to her. Firstly, she didn’t care. Secondly, the name was right there on the cover, and on his shirt. Thirdly, why did he care if she knew what he was talking about? True, the last time they’d spoken, he thought that would be the last time, just as he thought now. They just kept bumping into each other.

[Vivian Tanner]

"Hm. Amazingly enough, I can read" she muttered without humor. Flicking a page of the comic, she skimmed over the layout before turning it over to observe the cover. "So is he an actual bat?" she asked out of curiosity. "From what it looks like, he just likes to dress up as one. Where are his wings?"

Trailing her eyes lazily over the pages, they slid off the text she barely absorbed and across the table to where he sat. Quirking an eyebrow, she felt a short burst of a laugh escape her throat softly. Closing the comic book, she leaned across the table, pushing it back over to his possession. While in the stretched position, she managed to take a hold of the book in his hands, leaning back and bringing it with her. "One Hundred and One Ways? I didn't even know so many tips existed..."

Flicking her eyes up to him, she smirked before opening it up randomly to the middle of the page. Raising her eyebrows, she gave him a feigned look of surprise. "Y'know, this smokey shade wouldn't look too bad against your skin tone..." Closing the book, she smirked and rested the book on the table before pushing it across and over to him once more.

Shifting her weight off of the table, she moved around and over to another aisle nearby, disappearing from sight for the moment. However, not out of ear shot. "So why are you really here?" she asked, peering over her shoulder toward where Madame Prince was watching her viciously. Smiling politely, she grabbed a few books before moving over to the table once more, making herself appear to be busy. Settling down in the seat directly across from him, she set down the large novels and opened them carelessly, occasionally flipping a page to mark progress.

[gah, so short.][/font]

[Jackson Grey]

"Hm. Amazingly enough, I can read."

This merited nothing other than a shrug from Jackson. After all, it was a true statement and he knew what her reaction would be from the moment he uttered that idiotic statement. However, speaking ill about Batman… that seemed to anger him more than an attack on his own person. Immediately, his feet hit the floor and he was sitting upright again. “No, he doesn’t like to,” Jackson started, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “When his parents were killed, he saw a bat.” Jackson stopped there, sorely tempted to use the phrase “it sealed his destiny” but he refrained. “He doesn’t have actual wings, but his cape helps him to glide and the likes.” Well, that was certainly enough making a fool of himself for the moment, anyway.

Jackson tried not to leer at her as she leaned across the table. It was hard though; the way her body pulled across the table, stretched. She looked quite limber. Though it was with horror that he realized she was reaching for the book he’d mistakenly pulled off the shelf. Once again, his chair went up on two legs. He didn’t have anything to be embarrassed about, he’d already expressed his surprise at finding the book in that section. Nonetheless, he flushed in the slightest and averted his gaze to the books behind him.

"So why are you really here?"

“Ask every other student in this library that question, and pick your favorite as my answer,” he replied a tad loudly, misjudging the distance. He stared at her as she moved back into the aisle they shared. Yes, that pretty much answered why he was in the library, but he wasn’t going to relinquish his answer for why he was in this aisle, nor could he think of a very good lie.

[Vivian Tanner]

A normal response to such an attack would be to retaliate. It was human nature to defend ones self from being treated as if they were dense, and it was the same tone in which Jackson spoke that nearly placed the weight of that feeling on her. However, stepping back from the situation, Vivian simply raised her eyebrows slowly, if anything looking impressed by the spiel. "At last...he shows some emotion..." she observed softly, letting the corner of her lips tug up in a brief smirk before looking over to the comic.

"But he doesn't use magic?" she asked, slender eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "He's a muggle then? Why are you reading muggle things?" It wasn't an insult. At least, she didn't sought it out to be. General curiosity. Personally she wasn't very interested in what the muggles do. As far as it concerned her, they had their world, and she had her own. It did no good to get mixed up in affairs she couldn't grasp. That, and when she had been younger, her nanny took her out to see a muggle play - sadly, the actors never made it onto the stage after Vivian's magic started spiking erratically from excitement. Ever since she didn't bother.

Shifting, the Slytherin crossed her legs smoothly under the table. A sudden heat wave washed over her partly flushed skin, and gripping at the button line of her shirt, she pulled it away from her body repeatedly as a method to fan herself. Looking up, she spotted that several other students begun to unbutton their shirts and loosen their ties. Looking over her shoulder toward the window, Vivian squinted at the amount of sunlight pouring through the hot panes of glass. Turning back around in her seat, she exhaled softly, pushing some strands of her hair out of the way.

Looking across the table, Vivian's expression was left as a closed off one. Studying him and the way he gave his response was rather daunting, almost guarded. What did he have to be so guarded about? Dropping her gaze down to the books before her, she started turning the pages, not bothering to give him the decency of her entire attention span anymore. If he would close off, so would she. Conversations didn't work one-sidedly. "I was more interested in your own reason," she admitted without shame. Shutting the book rather loudly, she stood up.

"But I suppose I better get going. From the way you're looking at me, there should be some Slytherin meeting on how to mess with your head going on, shouldn't there?" Finally looking up, Vivian could feel the disappointment not only in her eyes, but in her chest as well. Here she was, being categorized yet again. "And I thought I proved myself to go against that..." Shrugging, she started to move away from the table. [/font]

[Jackson Grey]

What could he reply to that? Jackson didn’t shrug, or look away or do anything to escape the situation this time. She was paying attention to his emotions? Well, he couldn’t really blame her. He was being more or less a shell of his normal self, and he didn’t quite know why. Still, he stared at her with unblinking eyes, thinking about her response. Yes, he was showing emotion. About Batman… but she hadn’t really shown a positive reaction to his speil. It was just… a reaction. He could say the same thing of her at this moment, except that she wasn’t showing emotion. She was showing recognition.

The next question was going to take a minute to answer. He decided to give her the truth. She didn’t seem annoyed with his fascination with this Muggle subject, merely curious. That was very different than the reaction he’d get from one of her Slytherin companions, surely. “My uncle introduced me to them,” He said, speaking about his family for the first time in quite a while. “And he is a Muggle. I guess you could say that I was very much a Muggle before I turned eleven.” Jackson was a half- blood, but, in order to keep her failing marriage afloat, Jackson’s mother had made him swear he wouldn’t use magic around his father. Now that his mother was gone and his step- mother and step- sister were Muggles, his father didn’t want any magic around the house for fear of scaring them off, either. Jackson didn’t much mind though.

Jackson also looked up to the window, following her suite. He responded in kind, like her, pulling his shirt away from his body slightly. Sitting across from him, he could see when she pulled her blouse away from her body… Now, she had to be doing this on purpose. What should he care if he found her attractive? He tried to say it in his head, but again, he just found himself thinking Stop looking. So he did, for the most part.

Damn, she was leaving now. Jackson resisted the urge to stand up with her. He didn’t want her to leave. He knew she didn’t have anything to get to, from the way she didn’t immediately rush away from the table. Maybe it was time to give her another truth to go on. “Fine. I saw you sitting over here, and I came to talk.” He said. Let her leave now, he thought with a smirk tugging at his lips.