Braeden scrambled back up to his feet once more and wiped the cold snow off his clothes, listening as Ruby answered his question matter-of-factly. Oh, right, her legs… He gave a weak chuckle before his jaw dropped - what was she doing, stealing his seat?! "Heeeyy! I got here first!" And then she was asking what brought HIM there.

Brae decided he could be a smart mouth too. "My legs, what do you think?"

BWAHAHA How do you like them apples, BUBS?!

Brae watched the girl dangle her legs as she copied his pose from earlier and shot her a look. Freakin' Bubs. Apparently it wasn't enough to try to ruin his relationship, she had to come and steal his chairs too!
And so, without further ado, the boy plopped down back on the seat.
With Ruby still on it.
And made himself comfortable, laying on the girl as if she was just another cushion on the seat. With a loooong, exaggerated yawn, the boy stretched his arms and opened his comic book once again.

"Now, where was I…"

Ignoring his complaint about stealing his seat, Ruby made herself more comfortable and even closed her eyes. As for his supposed clever response, she just snorted. "Stop stealing my lines, Goof," She said with a laugh. The girl was so in to the chair that she totally didn't expect what was coming next--Brae SITTING ON HER.

"HEYY!" She yelled as his massive bony body crushed her tiny one in comparison. As the lion stretched and made himself comfortable, Ruby's face got crushed by his back--her nose was starting to hurt quite a lot. "GET. OFF. OF. ME!" the lioness said from underneath but it came out all muffled. So the redhead decided to push him off, but of course, he was much heavier. And let's face it, Ruby was no heavyweight champ.

So the girl merely grunted and lay there but then an idea struck her. She smiled underneath, except it was kinda hard since she couldn't really move. "Do you really want Emma to come here and find us like this? You laying on top of me? It's pretty romantic..." She said, laughing heartily on the inside.

Braeden smirked to himself as he flipped through the pages of his comic book, looking for the page where he'd left off, merrily listening to the complaints of the crushed redhead he was sandwiching between himself and the armchair. Mmmmmm. She was comfy. Ignoring her screeching, the boy began to read once more.

But just as Brae thought Ruby had given in, the girl decided to threaten him. Oh?
A bushy eyebrow raised on the goofball's face, and he lowered his comic book just slightly. "Oh, yeah? And how exactly are you going to get Emma to come here?" he asked the redhead. "Besides, I think your definition of 'romantic' is a little twisted, my friend… there's nothing romantic about me lying on an extra-cushiony couch," he continued, wiggling around to make himself more comfortable and, in turn, make Ruby more miserable.

MWAAAAAHAHAHA!!

"By the way, do you mind turning your head a little? Your nose is poking my back and it's a little uncomfortable."
Hehehehehe hahaha BAAAAAHAHA!

Nod, nod.

This is why they were friends. They understood each other pretty well. In a remote place inside his head he started to wonder which place she liked least. Arya also moved around a lot, especially during the holidays or summer, like that forest or rain forest stuff.

And Sabel was good. That was all that mattered. He was going to be the greatest Auror...well, not really, the greatest Auror was Treyen's grandfather back in the day when the man worked at the Ministry, but yeah, the position of favorite Auror will be updated when Sabel is done with whatever it is he needs to get done, if he was still with Arya or not.

"How much longer is he to stay in training?" she was closer to graduating from Hogwarts, right?

Wait, which Simon? "The former Gryffindor Captain?" Treyen had not seen Simon, the Prince, in quite some time, but the odds of his friend moving in with Sabel were slim.

He had a point--she couldn't exactly summon Emma here. But it's not like she was going to, she was just trying to scare the dork. But it wasn't working.
Trying to roll her eyes, the redhead groaned from underneath the gryffindor boy. "You think I'm cushiony?" she retorted angrily but then decided to try a different tactic. One that she might never have considered otherwise but wanted to see what would happen if she did.

"Sure thing, Brae," Ruby responded at an attempt at sweetness and promptly turned her face to the side. "Better?" As she waited for him to answer, she had to fight the will to kick his butt very hard.

"Yep," Brae muttered absentmindedly as Ruby asked if she was cushiony, not really paying much attention. He'd found where he had left off on the comic book, and his mind was completely dedicated to it now.

And then Ruby - surprisingly! - did as Braeden had asked her, and turned her face away from his back. Had the boy not been so distracted, he would have known to jump off the armchair at that moment - nice!Ruby was NOT a good sign. It only meant the girl was up to no good. However, he was so distracted by his comic book, that he couldn't bring himself to worry about a suspiciously nice cushion. He was too busy enjoying it.

"AaaaaAAaaaAAhhhhhh…" Braeden let out a long, relieved sigh. Oh, that felt great! So much better without Ruby's nose poking him anymore! "Thanks, love, you're the best," said the boy, blindly trying to pat Ruby's head with one arm, but instead poking the girl's eye by accident instead. Oops.

Brae didn't notice his mistake, though; he was too distracted. Instead, he got back to reading.

Hearing his sigh of relief, Ruby waited for what would come next. A sudden realization that clearly something was up since she was rarely nice to him? But no, it seemed as if the little lion boy was really into his comic book and didn't really give a care that his tormentor was being unusally kind to him. So much the better for Ruby.

Her fake kindness was tested most when Brae accidently poked her eye whilst trying to pat her head. Of course, she couldn't help but cry out in pain--even bullies can be in pain sometimes. Her eye immediately watered and she was sure it was bright red by now. But she wanted to play along so her evil scheme could be completed.
"Braeeee that hurt!" She groaned loudly as the redhead tried to rub her eye but found that her hand was blocked by Braeden's body. And as everyone knows, when your eyes tear up, your nose starts running. So Ruby started sniffling, which made it sound like she was crying. From pain.

God help her.

Aw man, this was an awesome chapter. Harry was just finding out that his best friend, Peter Parker, was none other than Spider-Man, and his father's murderer!

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN!

Braeden was completely and hopelessly immersed in the comic book now, when, suddenly, Ruby began to sniffle and whine. She almost sounded like she was... crying?

Meh.
Brae shrugged it off and continued reading.

............
.
.
.
... WAIT A MINUTE.
CRYING!? He'd heard... CRYING?! Ruby was.... crying?! SAY WHAT?!

In a flash, the Gryffindork lion bounced right off the girl, as if she had just burned him with her fake tears.

"BUBS!" OHMYGAWSH, her eyes were all red! Well, one eye was... She cried from one eye only? Brae raised an eyebrow at this for a moment before realizing that was not what he was supposed to be freaking out about at the moment. "Are you alright?! I'm sorry! Did I-- Did I hurt you? I didn't mean to..."

Finally relieved at being able to breathe properly again, Ruby took a deep breath of fresh air. And rubbed her nose because it still hurt. But Brae was now alarmed, thinking that she really was crying. And he had no idea that he had poked her eye--she swore he didn't have a brain.

She got up slowly and reached up to her eye but halfway there, she stopped. Stifling her 'sobs', she grabbed Brae's arm and dragged him in front of her. "Let me see how red my eye is," She demanded and then used his eyes as a mirror for her own. Exceeept she couldn't see much since Brae's eyes were a nice darkish kind of brown. Sighing, she released him and crossed her legs on the chair. "Yes, you poked my eye out!" She claimed haughtily, drying her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Now. What are you going to do make up for it?" She demanded all of a sudden. MWHAHAHAHA.

"Whoa!" Poor Brae nearly slipped on the icy ground when Ruby grabbed his arm and pulled him all of a sudden. Oh Merlin. She was so close now, using his eyes as mirrors, that the boy could feel her breath warming his cold skin. He stared at his reflection in her own eyes, surprised to find a look of absolute terror on his expression. Was that really what he looked like every time he saw Ruby!?

As the girl released him, Braeden rubbed his wrist. There was a small handprint now adorning it.

"I-- I didn't mean to!" the Gryffindork immediately replied when Ruby accused him of poking her eye out. "It was an accident, I swear! You know I'd never hurt you on purpose, Bubs…" Didn't she know him by now?!

And then she was asking what he was going to do to make up for it.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa'?!
Braeden's jaw fell to the floor for a moment before his expression turned into a more wary one, his brown eyes narrowing at the girl. He wasn't going to fall for THAT again! Brae might've not been the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was smart enough to learn from his mistakes. Specially the really huge mistakes. Like jumping into ponds naked while a girl stole your clothes and your girlfriend came out of nowhere and thought you were cheating on her.

At that moment, Braeden pulled out his wand. Luckily for him, his wandwork had improved 736745% this term, much thanks to the NEWTs scare. With a wave, the boy conjured up a small bag of ice and handed it to Ruby. This was his way of 'making up for it', no way was he going to do another crazy dare! "Here you go."

With her shaky breathes, Evelyn stared at Josh, trying to persuade herself to look elsewhere, but as he turned away from her and just sat there, she couldn't tear her gaze away. The deep ache in her heart and pit of her stomach grew after she heard the sigh from him and the silence that followed. Wringing her hands together, she took a small step forward to him, but that was as close as she got for now.

Surely...surely he understood, right? She still loved him. Very much so. That didn't change, no matter what. And marriage...

She wasn't ready for it.

Opening her mouth to say something, apparently her words were still caught in her throat, for nothing came out. Nothing but a tear from her eyes falling down her cheek that is. With another shaky breath, she mustered up the nerve to break the silence and at least say something. No matter how quiet her voice was...

"Josh?"

Still staring into the darkness, the Gryffindor boy tried not to think of anything. He was not even sure how he felt. It was like a new one was added as every moment passed. Disappointed, heartbroken, depressed, ashamed, guilty...and more...with the regret added now. It was not that he regretted loving her or all the things he had done for her so far. The feeling had nothing to do with that. It was something else that he regretted and he knew it very well.

It also made him even more ashamed and guilty. He did not know how he could start or even if he should mention it yet when she said his name, he knew that was the proper time for it. It was necessary, it was for her own happiness after all.

''Don't...'' so he started but quickly realising that sounded like snapping, he stopped and took a breath before adjusting his tone to an approprite one. ''Sorry. I mean...you don't need to bother anymore.'' standing up he walked to his bag without looking at her. He could not look at her because of the guilt.

''I understand, really. I have been, like, forcing you into this. I embarrassed you in public, terrorised your friends and all the other stupid things i did. You have been feeling like you need to lie about things just because of me. Just like getting your head girl position. You have to sneak around with your friends. Because of me. You are in trouble with your family. I don't know why but i am sure my existence would not help you with this either. You are right. You can't do it. I have been selfish and i am ashamed of it.''

Stopping for a breath, he threw the box into his and zipped it. Then...he finally looked at her.

''I am sorry for making your life difficult and unbearable. Sorry it took so long for me to realise. But i am making up for it. I'll leave you alone.''

He picked up the bag and looked around at the candles, blanket, picnic basket and food before looking back at her.

''I promise.''

...

Snapping her mouth shut, Evelyn was a bit scared to even breathe loudly now, for fear that would anger him further. His apology though hadn't relaxed her, and she stayed rather stone still as he spoke. It hurt even more to see that he wasn't even looking at her.

How could he say that? Forcing her into this...

Normally she would agree with him, about everything he said, but in this moment, everything in her mind and heart was fighting against it. It was just getting those words out for him to hear that was the problem, and just as she felt like she could, they were caught once more when he looked at her. Finally. No. No no no, this was wrong. This was all very wrong. It wasn't supposed to end up like this.

"No." she finally got out, if at all as he breathe was caught in her throat just as her words were. Swallowing, she shook her head, holding her hands close to her chest, holding the very dear necklace in her grasp. "No, Josh. Please, don't. I...It's not...please, it's not like that."

Just, please don't go...

No?

No to what? Josh very well knew what he had said so far was the truth he needed to face sooner or later. Maybe he had been avoiding it or hoping those were only his own pointless delusion. But it was all revealed tonight and it was too big to avoid or ignore. Doing so was nothing but being selfish anyway. Maybe he was going to love her above anything for good, but on the other hand, he understood that she did not have to return it.

Trying to hide his very unhappy state behind a forced little smile, the Gryffindor boy walked to her. Figuring she already understood what he meant, he was not going to repeat it and tell her not to bother trying to make him feel better.

''I think you should go back to your common room now. Before even the head girl gets in trouble...because of me.''

Ronnie smiled. "There's probably SOMETHING." she said. "Well, my grandmother has reminded me several times about how my personality is a lot like my grandfather's." she said. "And sometimes, to my grandmother, that can be a bad thing." she said laughing.

"See there you go, so you are like your grandfather." he said smiling "he cant be that bad afterall you are like him and I dont think that is a bad thing" he said smiling.

"You, Harvey, are seriously the sweetest person I've ever met." she said with a sigh of admiration.

Zhenya went to the Gazebo to meet up with Raven and Desiree. She couldn't see them here just yet, so she sat on a bench and pulled out the camera. She knew how to use them, so she looked around surveying the surroundings to see what she could do to make her photos more interesting. There were leaves, trees... that was about all she could see to make something interesting happen. But what could they do?

After she left the lake. Raven walked down to gazebo. She saw Zhenya was there with the camera.


"Hey!!!"

Desiree walked into the gazebo, it was so pretty, which made it the perfect spot for...

pictures!

She pulled out the small camera she had grabbed in Potions class, and looked around. Immidiately she spotted her two friends, "Hey you guys!" she said walking over and putting her arms around the two of them, or her one arm, with her other arm she held the camera out, "Smile" she said with a laugh. Click.

Zhenya beamed at her two friends as the camera clicked. "Okay - you two can go stand over there," she said, pointing to a tree, "And I'll take a photo of you two. Don't look at the camera though, just pretend to laugh at something in the distance," she said laughing. She loved to take photos, and loooooooved telling the people in them what to do to get funny photos. Her family used to do it a lot and add funny things in where they were looking and laughing.. sometimes looking worried... it was still fun!

"yes sir. I mean, mam." she joked as she did exactly what Zhenya told them and stood in front of the tree with Raven, looking off into the distance at something that was apparently extremely funny. "like this?" she asked laughing, making sure she was doing it right.

Her photo wasn't going to be quite as cool as this, Zhenya was like a professional photographer, well compared to her. Desiree really never took the pictures, her mom was big on photos, but she never let her use the camera. Desiree knew how they worked though.. point and click, simple, it was just the creativity she was slightly lacking..

Zhenya laughed, "Perfect Desiree! Perfect Raven!" she said and clicked 5 photos, for just in case. "Who was next?" she asked. She had 5 photos to chose from, but wanted a few more. As she saw Raven and Desiree relax from the post, she snapped another one. They were just talking. She walked up towards them, turning with her back to them and smiled at the camera taking a self-portrait, hoping that her friends were in the background.

They enjoyed taking some photograph. But.. It was flat.

Actually Raven had taken some photos.

"Guys." said her. "Why don't we take some candid picture?Actually, yesterday I took 2 candid. I took a picture of a dating couple. Gyahahahah..." suggested her.

Desiree was relaxing from the pose, when she heard a 'click', "Hey, no fair, we weren't ready!" she said with a fake glare at Zhenya, but she couldn't keep a straight face, and just ended up laughing.

She was distracted for a moment by a rather pretty yellow and orange flower, and decided to take a picture.

Click. Click. Click.

She took three, each from different angles. Looking up again, and rejoining her frineds, Raven suggested they take candids, hehe Desiree liked that idea. "Good idea Raven.." she said laughing, picturing her taking a photo of the unknowing couple,she scanned the gazebo looking for people. It was.. empty. "There's not very many people here though." she said trying to think of a better place..