"Oh, that explains it," Emmaleigh said nodding. "I hardly ever spoke to any of the older students." It was true, the girl had met maybe three older students, but really there was only one that she had carried on a conversation with. "I know Melanie, um, Lockhart?" Yeah, that sounded right. "She's like the only one I know."

As Preston took a book from the shelf, Emmaleigh scanned her list looking for the next book she needed. She remember not being able to find one of her book when she was packing to come home from Hogwarts, but which one was it? and did she need that book again this year? oh yeah, it was the book she needed for Saylen's class. Yeah she needed that one. Seeing it on the next shelf, she went to grab it.

Emmaleigh nodded, "I know, I think it was in March, when I finally made it up to the astronomy class with out getting lost." And then there were the people. "I met some people at the opening feast, and I haven't seen them since. I even had a few weeks go by here I didn't see my best friend, and we sleep in the same dorm." Those two weeks had been the worst! "Lets see," she said looking down at her list. "It looks like we still need The Art of Potion Making by S. Snape and A Changing Subject: Transfiguration Basics by Dawnie Iris" She looked up, searching for the books on the shelf.

Preston wasn't really sure how to continue on the conversation, he had never met anyone so talkative as Em was. But maybe that was a good thing. He nodded his head every now and then to let her know he was still listening but just letting her talk away.

"I-I-I n-n-never d-d-did g-get th-there w-with-without g-g-getting l-lost." He added in quickly. He never managed to get to astronomy on time because he always ended up getting lost. Though he did make it on time once, only because he had been to the Hospital Wing in the class before Astronomy and he had enough time to get lost and find his way up to the class.

"Here." Preston said stopping once again and pulling down the decent sized book by S. Snape from the shelf and handing it over to Em before taking one for himself. Preston hoped they could find the other books they need quickly because his arms were full and he wasn't sure if he could take walking all around the shop to find these books by without spilling his books all over the place.

As Em was looking for the books she needed, when the boy said he still had trouble finding the astronomy class room. she turned to him and smiled. "I'm sure it will be alot easier to find this year." after all, he already had a years practice. "Just don't give any first years direction."

Emmaleigh bent down to the bottom shelf, checking to see if that was the book they needed. It was in fact A Changing Subject: Transfiguration Basics, so she grabbed two copies. Just as she was standing back up, Preston had said he had found the last book. Taking the one he offered her, she held out the transfiguration book for him to take. "I looks like thats it, unless there are any other ones you need to replace," she said smiling.

Preston gave a chuckle. He'd still give Alex directions, but they could get lost together. It was only Alex...

"Th-th-that's it?" He asked, surprised at the fact that there weren't many new books they needed for second year. Which was a good thing he assumed, so he didn't have to waste space in his trunk and he could save up some money for something.

Like a toad.

"T-t-t-to th-the c-c-counter?" He asked nodding his head in the direction of the counter.

Emmaleigh heard the boy's chortle when she advised him about not giving directions. She didn't see what was so funny about it, but whatever.

Nodding at his inquiry, "Yeah, it seems so." Unless she missed a book? quickly rechecking the list, it looked like she was correct. But, it was surprising that they didn't need new books for every class. "The counter." she said in confirmation.

Lex sighed as she made her way to the educational books. She needed to save some money... well wanted to save some money this term. Having decided to try Runes, sigh, she needed all of the help she could get this term. She simply wandered through, careful not to actually touch the spines of the books as she held her finger out near them to help her keep track of what she was reading the titles of and all that.

Keeping in the habit of buying well thumbed books, Jake had approached his older half brother. An estranged brother by all intents and purposes; a guy who didn't like him, and who he didn't like. But he got free books out of the deal, so it was all good.

Strolling casually down the rows, Jake tugged a book on Charms out of the shelf and glanced through it. He preferred to handpick his books rather than buy them in a bundle.

There were some weird substances inside some books...

Glancing up, Jake caught sight of... someone familiar. "Lexi?" he said, mystified and forgetting himself for a second. No... Lexi was gone.

Lexi was about to pick a DADA book up from the shelf and have a look through when she heard a familiar voice. Oh! She had not seen him since she was sure she was leaving... which turned out to be a fluke.

Looking toward the sound of the voice she smiled brightly. "Hey, Jakers. How's it going?" she said acting casually. Heheh. Yes, she was supposed to be gone, but instead her birth family was missing and she was staying in London by herself. Fun times.

Yeah.

This was bizarre.

The book Jake was holding slipped through his fingers and crashed to the floor as he stared at Lexi. Just stared.

"Hi. It's... err. Hi," he nodded, and kind of bit his lip. Seeing Lexi, after the goodbye... it was making the emotions flood back.

Lex suppressed a smile as she bent down to pick the book up. She stumbled a bit and groaned. The back of her head still hurt like hell. That's what she gets for falling and smacking it on the tile floor. Not cool. Standing back up slowly she smiled and held it out to him.

"Change of plans, obviously. I am not going anywhere anytime soon. I am staying on my own here in London," she said quietly. She wanted to huggle him but wasn't sure it was appropriate or something like that. So she stood there, book extended to him and a smile on her face.

Taking the book back without a word, Jake looked down at it and checked it for damages. "Daniel's gonna be maaaaaad," he mumbled, pulling a bit of a face.

Meh. Who cares.

Jake looked at Lexi and smiled slightly, his eyes feeling strangely hot. "I'm glad... that you're staying," he said, voice kind of choked.

That on top of everything had been hurting him inside.

Lex watched him curiosuly as he took the book and said something about someone named Daniel. Ooookay. "Hey, what's wrong, Jakers? Hey... Don't look so sad. Please," she said as she rubbbed her head absently.

Stepping forward she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. "Tell me why you look like someone just killed your dog," she said seriously.

Only just having time to note Lexi rubbing her head, Jake tried to swallow the lump in his throat and welled up properly when she hugged him. "I don't have a dog," he said stupidly, sniffing a little and rest his head down on Lexi's shoulder.

"I'm just... so happy to see you. I've been... fighting this horrible sadness for a while," Jake explained, taking a breath and closing his eyes. Dang, he needed his sunglasses. "It's just that my mum and d-..." he stopped and gasped for breath. He couldn't say that word; he missed him. "My parents split up." It sounded stupid but... "I never had a happy family. When they adopted me I thought it was happily ever after... and it's broken. Lexi... my life is broken."

Okay, breakdown over. Jake leaned back slightly and looked at Lexi. "I'm sorry. Ignore me... being stupid..."

So what else did he say? "How come you're staying?"

She gave a light chuckle as he said he didn't have a dog. She let it go though and let one hand rub his back and the other rest on the back of his head as he rested it on her shoulder. Sweet boy.

She listened to his problem and furrowed her brow. Weren't his parents the Lawsons? Like Hot Lawson and her former HoH? Maaaan that sucked! "Awww, Jakers, that sucks. I am so sorry that you are having to go through this," she said softly. "Your life isn't broken just because they are split up. You make your own life, Jakers." Pat pat pat the sweet boy's back.

Letting her arms slack a bit so she could look at him she sighed. "You aren't being stupid. Any emotion you have is important." Fact. Sounded like she had been in therapy or something.

Giving a bit of a shrug she gave a meh face. "My parents, the Kennedy's are... kind of missing. My whole family just kind of disappeared really. The Denver's are kind of unaware of it all and I didn't want to leave until I figured out what happened to them." Short version, that was. She gave a soft smile though and released him from her grasp finally.

Jake only shrugged. "I thought when they adopted me everything would be good forever," he said, almost childishly. "It's all my fault. I'm a horrible kid."

Because he kind of was still a kid whether he liked it or not. He was displaying that young emotional age again.

Jake pulled his sleeve over his hand and wiped the tears from his eyes. See, he was stupid. Crying about this when Lexi had that. "I'm really sorry," he said softly. Looking around, the boy found a space up by the bookshelf and sat there, patting the space beside him. It was time to catch up.

"Jake, don't say that! It's not your fault," she said gently. She was SURE it wasn't Jake. He was too sweet. "You are not a horrible kid. You are one of my favorite people," she told him matter of factly.

She moved his arm and wiped his tears away that lingered on his cheeks and smiled at him. It was her turn to shrug then. Hopping up on the shelf beside him she smiled. Kicking her feet a little she eyed the shoelace that hun untied. Dammit. "I have been here in London for weeks now. Spent most of the time alone. It's been really relaxing depsite the situation," she said sadly.

These shelves were actually perfect sitting height/size. Jake supposed it helped that they were reinforced by magic, too. Daniel would flip a mental if he saw them but Daniel was somewhere else, now wasn't he?

She was being so nice to him, and after his teeeeny breakdown, the young man bit his lip. "You should have come to find me," Jake said quietly, looking down at his feet. He felt really bad now for some reason.

"I'm sorry I've not been here for you."

Lex smiled over at him and shrugged. "We've all got our problems now don't we? Seemed a bit selfish to drag anyone else into the mess with me. Especially when I have no clue what's really going on," she said quietly. Looking back down at her own feet she swung them some more.

"Oh Jake! Don't you go apologizing to me for anything. The way I treated you? I don't deserve for you to be so nice to me. I am sorry for...everything," she said with a little sniffle. She wasn't crying... she was catching a cold or sommat. Yep.

"I don't care," Jake replied, his voice going a bit forceful. He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment and shook his head. "I don't care," he added more gently and looked over at Lexi. "I care about you; I don't care if I have problems. Yours are clearly more important. I mean, at least I have people to go to. My... m-m-mmum and stuff."

Yeah. He stuttered when he was talking about hard stuff. Enough of that.

Jake shook his head when Lexi apologised, looking down at his knees as he swung his feet. There was a moment of silence where he gave a thought to how shocked he'd been that day... but that was enough. The young man put his arm around Lexi's shoulders and looked straight at her through slightly stinging eyes. "Please don't apologise. You have nothing to apologise for."

She couldn't help that he wasn't the one, just like he couldn't help that girls were attracted to him but couldn't deal with him appearing to base the rest of his life on them. He couldn't help that that was what he did.

"It couldn't be helped."

A bit startled by Jake's foreceful comment she jumped slightly. Lexi looked at him and shook her head. "Guess I have gotten tired of being everyone's victim, Jake. There comes a point where you just have to learn to cope, I suppose. I haven't even told Dylan about any of the stuff with my parents," she said as she shifted uncomfortably on the shelf. Nerves, man. Her brows knit together when he stuttered. She thought he was over that. Bless him.

Lexi looked at him when he put his arm around her shoulders and began to protest when he told her not to apologize. She couldn't keep beating herself up about the whole situation. She wouldn't! Things happen sometimes. That is just the way it goes. It wasn't his fault though... it was hers completely. She seemed to be a typical teenage girl. The bigger the jerk the more attractive he was. Finlay Carmichael = BIGGEST JERK ALIVE. Made sense that way. Not really, but you know.

"I'm glad you're back. Even if it is just for one term before you graduate. It's really great to see you again," she said genuinely as she lay her head on his shoulder.

"And you aren't being a victim by having to keep yourself steady on your own? In London? Lexi... if you don't want to be a victim you need to learn when to ask for help. Believe me," Jake said quietly. It was true. He knew it better than a lot of people, but this wasn't about him.

He smiled slightly. "Thanks. And I'm glad you're not leaving," Jake said quietly, gently rubbing Lexi's shoulder as he stared over at the bookcase across from him; lost in thought. What the heck was he doing back at Hogwarts anyway? He was just a nobody.

Lexi listened to him and nodded solemnly. "I did ask for help. I really did. It just looks like no one knows HOW to help me. I had someone stay with me for a while... but I ended up punching him in the face so he went home," she muttered miserably.

"I'm glad I'm not either. I think after I graduate I will leave though. Get the heck out of here. Clean out the vault and just go somewhere exotic. Sound good?" Lexi said with a note of humor to her voice.

"You're a little too handy with your fists," Jake smiled, but tried not to make it obvious that he was doing so. "You're some kind of war child."

It was his terrible way of trying to make a joke.

Because he didn't like Lexi's method.

"No," the young man frowned. "Sounds terrible." The world wouldn't be that way for long... Jake wanted to make sure of it.

He was planning to go everywhere after school, of course, because he needed to. But he would come back. And he would be home every few months. Jake really was a mummy's boy.

"Well if I wasn't underage and had not been in public I would have hexed his face off. Turns out I like to abide by some rules, Jake," she said with a little smirk. She didn't want to have her wand broken for attacking another kid in the Leaky. No way.

Frowning she asked, "Why does that soud terrible? Perhaps I will go to America and train to be an Auror there. Or do something else entirely... Who knows. There is so much to see and do. I can't be stuck here in the UK forever. You could come along sometime. Come visit me," she said honestly.

"Ah, I see," Jake nodded and grinned. "I think there is a line even I won't cross," he added. So yeah, he knewwwww that people would always keep to SOME set of rules. Yep.

Jake took his arm from Lexi's shoulders and clasped his hands together in his lap, noting that his left thumb was on top. "I think you should stick around. It won't be terrible forever," he mumbled. Jake didn't like thinking about the future at all. Sometimes thinking about it made him just want to go home and crawl into bed, staying under the covers until he could face his family, and eventually, maybe, the world. He was in one of those moods at the moment, what with his parents. He had no proof he'd ever find love that would last or anything.

Slipping off of the shelf, Jake stepped to the shelf opposite and started inanely looking at books. Anything to busy himself.