" I like Big Time Rush" Rex told Elle. " they are a good group" Rex said to Elle." I am just engoying the pathways today" Rex smiled. "So how are you?" Rex asked Elle.

Kimber gave Chad a little "Mhmm" at his nudge and kept on walking. The man could be so... argh! sometimes.

"The playing field sounds fun actually," she said, sounding hopeful. "Granted I don't know what kind of sports I'd be any good at but..." She left it at that, giving him a little shrug. Darn guarded childhood.

Chad gave her a side glance. "Please do not tell me that you have never played sports either." NOT. HUMAN. "You are killing me here, Kimber. Tell me...what COULD you do, aside from read books?"

Alex made his way down to the pathways, lazy strolling and looking around him. There was too much on his mind for his own good, thoughts were swirling around, he needed to get out of the castle. Taking a different route than just straight down to the lake he found himself walking the pathways. March was upon him, and still nothing had changed. He knew he needed to do something about this whole Ellie/Emma thing. The question was what he wanted and what he had courage to do...

Cass smiled. "Thanks hun." She said gratefully as she perched herself on the railings next to Elle. "Yeah, I'm raring for a but of fun nowadays, I've been so busy with my royal duties and all that." Topping what was the party of the century is hard work.

Then she grinned when Elle remembered the hunt, "Alright darling, see anyone that you like?"

Ellie wandered across the grounds, glad she was able to get out off the stuffy castle. She was tired of studying and doing homework and she wanted fresh air; room to think. Eventually she found herself on the pathways, watching the trees ripple in the light wind. Looking ahead, she spotted a boy walking just ahead of her. Ellie smiled when she recognized the messy head of brunette hair. "Hey Alex, wait up!" She shouted and jogged up to him.

But something was off. When she reached him, he looked... strange. Confused, maybe. Ellie's smile faded and she shoved her hands into her coat pockets as she kept pace with him. "Hey... You okay?" She asked quietly with a light nudge on his arm.

The blonde Slytherin made her way down to the Pathways with her camera. She was preparing a photo album for Sel and she needed as many photos as she could get for her hyper bestie. Emma smiled when she saw a familiar brunette boy. Her partner in crime. Her eyes moved over to an older girl that was jogging up to him. Ellie. Her golden brown eyes moved back to Alex. He didn't look to happy. Did Ellie break his heart or something? Why did he seem so... confused? After putting her camera into her denim bag, she ran over to them to see what was up.

"Hey Alex, Ellie!" she beamed and then her smiled dropped. She lowered her voice to Alex." Alex, what's the matter, partner? Are you okay?" she asked, worriedly looking at his eyes, trying to search for an answer, while putting a hand on his arm. The blonde really hoped he was okay, seeing him like this made her worried because Alex generally had everything sorted out, or so it seemed to Emma.

Alex heard the voice of a very familiar girl and he turned his head to glance over his shoulder while he waited for Ellie to catch up. "Hey, El." he smiled at her. There she was with her oh so cute smile and her oh so cute little nudge to his arm. Wasn't faair.

"Of course I'm always-" but he was interrupted by another person yelling out his name. Emma.

Oh for the love of all that's Quidditch. Both of them?!

Emma put her hand on his other arm and he flashed her a smile. "Yeah, yeah I'm always okay." he assured her before turning his head to give Ellie a smile. Then he looked forward. Was he the only one finding this awkward? Well of course he was because Alex was the only one who knew what was going on inside his mind. He just needed to act cool. He could do that. He hoped.

"So erm... What's up?" he asked.. Both of them. This wasn't going to be easy.

Emma smiled as Alex flashed her a smile. The blonde blushed every so slightly... Phew he was okay. She smiled at Ellie. Gosh... this was a bit awkward just a little. She liked Ellie a lot. And she had a huge crush on Alex and Alex liked Ellie. Love Triangle? Emma just kept a smile on her face. "Umm.. just getting pictures for Sel's album. It's a present for her because...... she's leaving this year. I need a lot for pictures for her third year." she explained, smiling widely. "And what's up with you? I haven't seen both of you in a while" she asked, both of them.

When Ellie caught up with him, she smiled when he called her El. Nah, it'd never get old. Especially from cute witto Alex. Ellie still wasn't sure if Alex was convinced that the stupid rumour wasn't true. Because it wasn't. And whoever started was in for it...

She was listening to Alex explain when they were interrupted by a familiar voice. Ellie turned and saw Emma Malfoy running towards them. Ellie smiled at her. "Hey Emma! It's been a... while..." She said, but trailed off hesitantly as she noticed Emma put her hand on Alex's arm. Ellie forced a smile. Whew, don't get worked up, Ellie. It's not like he's your boyfriend anyway... But she couldn't help it. Ellie linked her arm with Alex's free arm and looked forward.

This was awkward. Ellie liked Alex. Ellie could tell that Emma liked Alex as well, that was way obvious. And glancing at Alex, Ellie could tell that he just felt torn and completely awkward to the tension of it all. This could be bad...

Ellie listened to Emma talk about her friend Sel. That must be the Riddle girl she spoke about when her and Emma first met. "Wait, she's a third year? Why is she leaving?" Ellie asked, hoping to cut the awkwardness down.

Emma noticed Ellie hesitate when she was saying a hi to her. Oh, did she liked Alex too? Gasp..... It felt as if her heart was going to fall and land on the ground. The blonde was about to laugh as Ellie linked her arm with Alex's but decided to smile and act cool about it. Well two can play at this game, thought Emma. She would be the bigger person and not hang all over her partner in crime. The Malfoy smiled happily at both of them. Well this was awkward.. Umm.. maybe she should go? She decided against it because Ellie wasn't in control of Alex. By Merlin's Beard, she was not.

Emma relieved that Ellie had asked her about Sel sighed. Phew... Good thought Ellie. "Yes.. Well, Sel's parents don't want her at the school anymore. Her parents are extremely strict." said Emma, in a soft and sad tone. [i]Don't cry about it Emma Astoria Malfoy[/s], she thought to herself as she blinked her eyes quickly.

"So what have you been up to?" she asked, cheerfully, hoping to steer away the topic from competing for Alex.... Not that they were..

Alright this was all very strange. First why had Emma blushed? Was it for the reason he thought it was? And second, why did Ellie link her arm through his? Not that he minded but it was all very weird. Girls were weird, uh-huh.

Alex looked to his right when Emma talked about Selena leaving, he knew how much she hated that fact. He frowned slightly. "Oh right. Sorry." he murmured. He wasn't exactly best friends with the short person- no wait scratch that she was actually his enemy but Sel was best friends with Emma, which meant she couldn't be that bad. Or something.

His eyes flickered to Ellie's arm and having her that close kind of made him nervous, which was out of character. He scratched his neck and shrugged. "I haven't been up to much. Just Quidditch and... Yeah, Quidditch." he chuckled. 'And totally staying away from you two because I can't think when miss Johanson is near'.

Had he been avoiding the two girls? Yes, yes he had. And now he had been ambushed by both of them. EEEP! This couldn't end good, at least for one of them it would end badly. Alex had a strong feeling it would be him. Internal sigh.

"So Ellie what about you?" he asked carefully looking her way, man she was close. Man, she was pretty. "Emma has been taking photos, I've been playing Quidditch... What have you been up to?" he asked her. She had to have been up to something, unless that stupid rumour had been true... Ugh, that made him want to hit something. Like that tree over there. Stupid tree. Grr.

Ellie tried to make her movements casual, but a flicker on Emma's face suggested that maybe she knew what was up. Ellie saw the firm smile on her face and she knew what she was thinking. This wasn't the time for competing over Alex. In fact, nowhere was. But they weren't fighting over Alex anyway... Were they?

Now Ellie did not hate Emma or dislike her in any way. Emma was a sweet girl and Ellie really liked her. So when she mentioned Sel going back home, she felt sorry for her. And knew exactly what she meant by "her parent's are really strict". She resisted the urge to rant about her psycho mother. "Oh.. I'm sorry, Emma. That must be really hard." Ellie told her sympathetically. She knew what Sel was going through, but she didn't press the matter any further. It was a touchy subject.

Ellie noticed Alex's eyes flicker to their linked arms and for a second, she flicked her eyes toward his, but then drew them away. This was all very awkward. She listened to him talk, very briefly, about quidditch. Yeah, quidditch. "How is quidditch going? And when's your next game?" She asked, beaming. She loved going to the games and cheering Slytherin on. Especially Alex. And then their eyes were turned towards Ellie, and she noticed how close Alex was. She didn't mind. "Oh you know, the usual. Homework late at night, falling asleep in the common room.... having people spread rumours about you." She muttered. Yeah the usual. Ellie was still fed up about that. She sighed heavily. "I'd like to know who started that thing. I mean, I'd only just met that Justin kid and already someone thought it'd be funny to spread a dumb rumour." She shook her head. Whatever. She was rambling now.

Elle looked around. She thought for a moment and shook her head. "Well, he's not actually here, but I met him at the Hogwarts Express. His name is... Nick. I think he was sorted into Gryffindor, but I wasn't so sure since I was too psyched and anxious about the Sorting," she laughed.

"And his eyes... they remind me of someone who was once precious to me, but, I can't quite place it. They sparkle with laughter, innocence and.. beauty. But I've never seen him after the incident at the Train, wonder how he's doing," Elle shrugged carelessly and sighed.

"I'm guessing you come here often, Rex," she smiled and continued, "I'm good, doing great in class, passing some requirements, eating well and... everything nice."

"And you? How's your last year at Hogwarts doing?" Elle tapped the space beside her and motioned for the Seventh Year to sit on the railings with her.

Alex smiled at Ellie's beaming, she was happy. He liked it. "Quidditch is going... Alright." he chuckled and shrugged. He didn't need to mention that the last practise only him and two other peeps showed up. "The next game is soon, against Gryffindor." he nodded. Which reminded him he needed to check out when the next practise was..

He reacted when Ellie mentioned the rumour and flashed her a sort of 'oh-yeah-that-thing' smile. If that made sense how that smile would look. But his smile faded off quickly, it actually didn't have time to fade it just disappeared off his face when the Slytherin boy's name was mentioned. "Justin?" he repeated and withdraw his arm from her so that he could cross them over his chest. Justin Hendricks? It had to be. Things just got a lot worse.

"Justin Hendricks? A fifth year?" he asked her with a slight frown.

A Gryffindor? How come everyone is liking Gryffindor nowadays? Or is it just her and Elle?

"Innocence and Beauty?" Cass repeated speculatively. Who still had innocence in today's time? Maybe Heather, but she was more childishly naive than innocent...

She raised an eyebrow at the young red head, telling her to go on

" I come to the Pathways every so often" Rex told Elle." Glad you are doing gre Sure, sit on the rail next to you, at HogWarts" Rex said to Elle." I am doing really well, too" Rex smiled. " Sit on the rail with you?" rex asked Elle/ " I have been known to be clumsy and I could fall off, but I will sit with you" Rex explained to Elle.
" .

Ellie smiled when Alex spoke about quidditch. She could tell that was pretty much his favorite thing in the world. Oooh, next game against Gryffindor? That would be intense. "Excellent, I'll be there." Ellie said with a wink. And Slytherin was going to kick Gryffindor's butt.

What...? Okay, maybe mentioning the rumour was a bad idea. Because Alex all the sudden looked uncomfortable and upset and he folded his arms across his chest. Why was he acting all weird? Ellie looked at him oddly. "Yeah, Justin Hendricks... He's a nice guy..." She trailed off. Justin helped her fix her knee when she ran into his bench. He seemed like a nice enough guy. "But the rumours aren't true at all. I had just met him..." She said quietly. But did Alex believe her?

"But if my parents find out, they would not allow me to be with a Gryffie. They're... quite paranoid, saying they aren't pureblooded and are filthy. But I don't believe them," she laughed shakily.

What are you saying, Elle? Look at yourself!, the voice told her.

"If you're with me, you won't fall," she winked. "I'm a lucky charm!" Elle laughed, hoping that Rex would understand that she was just kidding.

" Well, I trust you" Rex told Elle." I like lucky charms" Rex said to Elle. " Oh, the muggle cereal Lucky Charms" Rex laughed.

Witsy had her camera out that her father had given her for her birthday. She missed working in a dark room, it was really nice to be working with chemicals creating spectacular pictures. She zoomed in on some sort of creature by accident, she made note to look him up at the library. She quickens her pace to follow this silvery blue dream and trips over a part of a log that looked like someone purposely put here. Tending to her camera she hoped the shutter didn't break as it gives motion and light to her pictures.

She stares through her lens noticing a familiar figure up a head approaching less creepily, it was Rex, she thought. Standing from behind she didn't want to startle him nor his friend but casually spoke up and said, "Hello, how are you?" She pulled out a different cloth hoping she got all the dirt out of her lens.

Emma noticed Alex's expression. He was drop dead confused. Oh dear, Alexbear. The blonde shrugged. "Yeah.." she said, looking off to the side, blinking back tears that had welled in her eyes. Taking a deep breath and she felt the tears stop welling, she turned back around to them and smiled. "But at least I'll have you..." she began. "All of you guys." she added, quickly.

"Quidditch? Awesome! A match against Gryffindor? I think you need some practice Alexbear." she added, enthusiastically. "We should go practice.. together. The three of us plus Fee." she said, trying not to sound awkward as possible. "I'll be with Ellie to cheer you on. And of course, Fee will be there too." she said warmly. Her golden brown eyes flickered from Alex to Ellie. Alex seemed upset.. No angry. And Ellie seemed to be enjoying being so close to Alex. Grrr... This could not be happening. And why did Emma feel this way, she really liked Ellie, she was cool and fun, but why did they have to have feelings for the same guy? Where was Fee when you needed her to save everyone? Emma gave Ellie a genuine smile and frowned slightly at the thought of Sel going away. "Well thanks Ellie.. But as I said, at least I have you guys." she said. The blonde's eyebrows raised. "Rumors? Why would anyone do that to you? You're really nice..That's terrible and so annoying! " she exclaimed, for she knew what it was like to have rumors spread about you. And Alex knew?

Her concerned face dropped. Wait Justin? Justin was a good friend of hers? How? When? Why? She saw Alex's expression and squeezed his arm gently. Justin would never do a thing like that especially to a person like Ellie. Emma smiled softly once she heard the rumors weren't true. "I'm glad they aren't because Justin would never do such a thing. I've known him since my first year and he seemed fine. He usually happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." explained the Slytherin sticking up for Justin because she would do the same thing for Alex.

" " I am fine" Rex told Witsy. " How are you doing?" Rex asked Witsy. " This is my friend Elle" he introduced her to Witsy. " You look like an expert with that camera" Rex smiled." Get my good side" Rex laughed.

Alex glanced at Emma worriedly. "Yeah of course you'll have me- I mean us." he corrected quickly. Aoowkward. He grinned at her and shook his head. "I don't need practise Emms." he chuckled when she called him Alexbear.

Hearing Ellie talk about Justin was just too much. He scoffed when she called him a nice guy and just rolled his eyes. Of course Hendricks had gotten to Ellie just as he did with Fee, he felt Emma squeeze his arm, thank Merlin perhaps Emma agreed with him. Alex was just about to flash her a grateful smile when she too started saying Justin was a nice guy. Oh and of course, he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He just magically popped up where there was trouble did he? Sure, he was a nice guy, breaking up relationships, making Fee cry, hitting Sheridan, turning her hair pink and ugh... There was too much to think of that made Hendricks not a good guy.

No, listening to them talk about Justin like he was the greatest guy in the world was definitely too much. "Well yeah sure a really nice guy." Alex said sarcastically. "You know what Emma, I think you're right I do need to practise some for the game. I'll catch up with you guys later... Or something." he muttered and turned on his heel to walk back to the castle.

If Ellie wanted to be with Justin then fine, she should go ahead and be with him. If Emma wanted Justin as a friend then Alex couldn't do anything to stop her. They were free people. And anyways, Alex needed to practise. He was sick of the drama, sick of how everything turned out so complicated.

The blonde raised her eyebrow at his comment and then he walked away. Emma was about to reply when he walked away. The blonde stood there confused. Her heart felt as if it was going to fall onto the ground. What had Ellie and her done? "Did we do anything wrong?" she asked Ellie. "Ellie, I'm going to find Fee. She's probably the only one that can talk some sense into him about Justin.. I'll see you later.." she said and she headed over to the Lake, in search of Fee.