Anya smiled up at Tag while he pushed her on the swing. "Of course. I'd call it... The Taggie Twirl. Catchy, huh?" It was a good decision to come to the playground today. Tag made her feel alot better.

"Ermm... no..." It wasn't like she was dating someone. "It's just... weird to get used to."

And she was talking about it again.

"I was just thinking... it's closer to summer. We can go to quidditch matches again together soon." That would be fun.

Care to give me an explain of this Taggie Twirl you speak of Miss. Phillips?" Tag asked her in a very strict, business like tone. It would be nice to see something that was dedicated for him. "Its got a nice ring to it-just like your nickname. My Gummy Bear girl."Taggie said smiling at his best friend.

His face lit up at the thought of Quidditch matches coming soon. That would be good. Tag could hang out with Carter again, have a good time with the Phillips-restrain Saxon from trying to enter the boys locker room and cheer on their favorite team. "That'd be brilliant. Tag And Anya's Summer Adventures."

"Well. It would have to be the world's most brilliant twirl ever." Anya said with a smile. It would have to be, right? If she was going to name it after her favorite Little Irish Man.

Oooh! Maybe she'd name a cartwheel after him. That would be cool right? She didn't normally do cartwheels. So it would be original.

She giggled a little. "Yeah. I like the sound of that."

"Oh, I don't know, I rather like the idea of a world filled with Edrics," mused the Gryffindor proudly, almost dreamily, as if the idea was an alternate universe he could only ever hope to be a part of. "If everyone was like me, everyone would mind their own business and no one would have to deal with other people." 'Cause Eddys don't interact with people, they like to keep to themselves. Oh yes, it was a dreamland.

As Evs asked if he'd done anything special, Edric shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. Got a couple letters and presents from home, but aside from that, it was like any other day." Edric wasn't the type to celebrate, in case that wasn't obvious to assume already.

"I don't bully people!" said Edric in his defense, though he didn't sound too confident. DID he bully people? Hm. Well, he was sure if he did, it was probably because they deserved it. But then Evs was bringing up the demonic third year again. The boy rolled his eyes. "You're not gonna let that go, are you? Is that going to be my punishment for the Casper nickname?"

The swings were the best part of any playground, Darwin thought to himself, swinging higher and higher, legs kicking out in front of him, and then throwing them behind him. Except for his and Brookie's secret playground. That didn't have swings. It also didn't have a working merry-go-round, but he didn't care. Although this park was probably ten million times better in most peoples opinion, it wasn't the Abandoned Park they'd found yearrrrrs ago.

Hm, part of him wanted that park to be near Hogwarts. It was their special place.

Smiling back at the girl - because she'd been nice to him and totally hadn't KILLED him on the swing like she could have done if she'd sped up or slowed down or kicked her legs extra hard or something, Darwin let his swinging fall into sync with hers. "And.. I- I'm... Damon," he managed, speaking a little louder than normal due to the swinging. He took one hand from the chain and offered a quick wave, before grabbing back on quickly.

Hey, he could FALL or something!

"A world filled with Edrics would be a very scary world. No offence.. but I'd really rather not be part of that world." Evelyn raised her eyebrows. Was he serious? She'd always thought he was a bit of a loner but what he just said.. was taking it a little too far. "So..you're saying that you'd rather be in a world where you didn't have to interact with people?"

"Really? That's all?" Evelyn asked, not surprised at all. "You really need to have a more active social life." 'Cause, his life was simply boring. He didn't seem to like talking to people or have fun or even smile. The guy was weird. "

"Yes, you do.. at least, you said you did." Like, a long time ago but she remembered. Hm? Oh, yeah. She defintely wasn't going to let that go. "Yes, it's payback." Evil grin. "You know, if you start spreading around that name.. I'll tell people that a certain sixth year was bullied by a third year." Gotcha.

Edric ignored Evs's deep disapproval of a world full of people just like him. He couldn't see why she wouldn't agree. "Pretty much," he answered to her following question. Why was it always so surprising to people when he said that? Honestly, was dealing with other people really that much fun for everyone else? 'Cause he really could do without it.

But Evelyn wasn't done bringing poor ol' Eddy down.
Next she was telling him he needed a more active social life. Edric raised an eyebrow at her. Sometimes he wondered how much the girl really liked him; she seemed pretty displeased with the way he was. Like she'd change him if he gave her the chance. "I'm pretty content with my current social life, to be honest." Edric wasn't often alone because he craved human interaction. He was alone because he chose to be; because he felt most comfortable and most at ease that way, because he liked being able to do the things he liked without explaining himself to someone else. To him, there was a freedom in being alone.

"Did I? I don't remember that," said the boy, looking thoughtful as Evelyn explained he had admitted being a bully before.
As Casper went on to threaten to spread the word about him getting shoved into the pond by a third year, Edric smiled smugly and shrugged. "Go right ahead, Casper. Publish it on the Daily Prophet if you must. I'll still call you Casper in front of the whole school; nothing's stopping me." Perhaps if Eddy cared a little more about his reputation, Evelyn's threat would work. But she'd chosen a bad victim; Edric was just too careless about people and their thoughts. You were better off threatening to steal one of his books.

"Well..you know..interacting with people all the time isn't something I like either." Evelyn liked being alone as well. She didn't like having people around ALL the time. "..but, I don't like not talking to people either." Yeahhh, she wasn't sure if that made sense. "Anyway. What I'm trying to say is, you shouldn't be such a loner."

"The problem is..I don't think you even have a social life." Evelyn said, rolling her eyes. But..whatever. Frankly, this was probably the hundredth time she was lecturing him on that topic.. and she was pretty sure he wouldn't even bother to listen to her or he'd just keep arguing with her. So. There was no point in saying anything else, really.

"I'm sure you don't." UGHH. This guy was just IMPOSSIBLE. Why was he torturing her like this? WHY!? C'mon! This was SO not fair. Evelyn turned to glare at him. "You know what? I'm tired of this. As a friend, all I'm asking of you is to NOT spread that stupid name around. Is that so hard? Can't you even do that for a friend? Because, if it was the other way around, I would never tease you with a name that you didn't like. That's what friends do." Oh, right. That was a quite a speech. She turned to look at the kids again, her face flushed with annoyance. If anybody ever got under her skin, it just HAD to be Eddy.

As Evelyn went on about Eddy being a loner and having no social life, the boy decided it was best to probably stop responding. At this point the girl was just putting him down and Edric wasn't going to give her any more material to work with. Obviously she was never going to understand the way he was, much less accept it; and despite his Scroogey nature, the Gryffindor had never been one to sit around and argue for hours. This was another good thing of avoiding people; you avoided arguments and unintentional Huffies putting you down.

But then!
Evs wasn't even done! Next, she was suddenly flipping out, giving the boy a whole unexpected speech. Edric, who'd been absentmindedly watching a first year trying to build a sand castle somewhere nearby, turned to her startled, eyes widened in surprise. It took him a second to realize what she was going on about.
Oh right. The name.

Merlin. He had no idea she hated it THAT much. Evs didn't deal well with teasing, did she?
"Alright… I'll stop. Sorry," muttered the boy. He gave Evs an apologetic half-smile before deciding it was probably best to flee the scene at this point. He just wanted to avoid trouble, and he was obviously just driving Evelyn insane now. "I've got some homework to get done for tomorrow morning, I should get going. But… I'll see you around?" If she didn't hate him too much, that is.

Oh cool! He managed to swing in the same speed as Sophie and now he was as high as her! The kid seemed nice! Whooooaa! He was able to wave!!! Maybe Sophie could do the same then?? She let go of the chain with one hand and gave him a quick wave as well. COOL!

"Nice to meet you, Damon!" Sophie beamed. It was almost like making new friends in flying lessons! Wooooooo! "I think I've seen you around! You...... were here last term too, right?" She was trying her best to keep the swings going back and forth at the same time. Sophie was sure she had seen him around in a corridor or something... "How old are you??" He seemed to be a second year too!

The Hufflepuff kept looking at Damon to make sure the swings were even and she was able to take a better look at the boy. "Wow! You look a lot like a friend of mine!"

Paulie's feet dragged a little as he walked on out towards the playground, hands in his pockets and eyes on the ground. The shiny, new black eye that he was sporting was in full hues of purples and blues, and for once, his demeanor was in the dumps. It should be, though, he supposed. If he were happy, there would be something very, very wrong with him.

He settled himself onto one of the swings and moved back and forth ever so slightly. Today wasn't a day for slides or monkey bars or cool obstacles. Naw. Today was for wallowing in guilt and depression.

Frowny face...

Cornelius wasn't particularly planning on going to the Playground that day, he was just taking a walk through the grounds. It was finally nice out! And besides, Cornelius loved the outdoors. And somehow he had ended up walking past the Playground; it was sort of in the middle of anything anyway. And that was when he saw Paulie. PAULIE! He thought it and said it in the next second, "PAULIE!"

Grinning, he started towards the slightly older boy, only to find him in a less than joyous state. Which...never happened. Ever, since he had met him. Never had Cornelius found Paulie in a foul mood. Not a truly foul mood, anyway. And right then, he clearly was. His smile fell just slightly as he approached the swings, stopping a few feet before them and tilting his head at the Head Boy. "You alright?"

Hunter walked alone from the castle to the...miniature castle? The closer he got to what he presumed was the playground, the more excited he got. He could hardly even remember the last time he was at a playground, but he did remember how much fun he always had on the swings. Was there anything better than swings at a playground? No. Finally reaching what seemed to be a very large, green slide, Hunter sat down at the tip of it and waited for his cousin, Hailey, so show up. It was after twelve so she couldn't use the excuse of being asleep. This time, she'd have to be on time.

After being informed that Hogwarts did indeed have a playground, Hailey was in a hurry to get there. Thank Merlin it wasn't morning or else she might have slept in again and missed her rendezvous with Hunter. Skipping somewhat merrily, she reached the edge of the playground and looked between the huge slide, the swings and the monkey bars for her dear cousin. She finally spotted him sitting on the slide, looking a bit bored. Grinning, Hailey made her way towards him.

"Fatttyyyyy!" She said loudly and then giggled. She knew Hunter hated being called that and given that he did not look even remotely fat, Hailey could not help giving him that nickname. Really, it was because he ate too much but it never showed.
Feeling slightly bad for calling him Fatty, Hailey bent down halfway and hugged him tight. Why was it that she rarely saw him when they went to the same school? It's not like she was busy studying or doing homework.

"I missed youuu," She said now, making room for herself next to him. She truly had missed him and wished he had been there when things between her and Mikey had been...not so good. Hunter was always good with advice and she knew he would have taken her side on the situation, which was always a plus.

As soon as he heard the word leave her mouth, followed by what Hunter felt was an evil giggle, he knew that his oh so darling cousin had arrived. He checked his watch, wondering if he could get after her for being late but, sadly and surprisingly, she was right on time. Maybe Mikey was the thing that always made her run late. Either way, he was happy to see how happy Hailey was, even if she was single again.

"You realize that one day I am going to get tired of you calling me fatty, right?" Hunter said this sternly but began laughing right after. He absolutely hated being called fat but he knew there was a good reason for it. If there was one thing that Hunter loved doing it was eating. He was shocked when Hailey hugged him so tight. Who knew the girl had muscles? "I've missed you too....I think I like you more in person than behind a mobile device." Honestly, she was way nicer in person.

All jokes finished, he looked at Hailey seriously, and said, "So, how are you, exactly?" No matter how happy he was about the break up, he needed to make sure Michael hadn't hurt his cousin in any way.

"Mhm yeah, but then I'll just call you Chubby!" Hailey snorted, and then laughed as she was unable to control her laughing outbursts. She was glad Hunter knew she was only being funny and not serious because, really, anyone could tell Hunter was NOT fat. Still, nicknames were fun and not always nice. VAMPIRE!
She grinned when told she was missed by him as well and then rolled her eyes when he mentioned he liked her more in person. "Psshh, you like me in any form, I know it." She couldn't be mean to Hunter to his face for some reason but on Twitter, it was another deal. She didn't have to look at him when saying stuff.

And the, there was some...awkwardness in the air. From the way Hunter asked her how she was, she had a feeling he was talking about her breakup. And she realized she was not ready to talk to anybody about it, or ever. But it was always better to let it out than in.
"Oh, fine," She murmured as she dug her shoes in the sand. She didn't really know what else to say but felt that the emotion behind her 'fine' was loud and clear. She was not fine but she didn't want to admit it.
"How are you?" She asked in return. Surely he must have some news of lately...perhaps he had realized how stupid Aria was and dumped her. Hailey tried not to be so optimistic but found it hard.

Hunter rolled his eyes. Yes, he did like Hailey in person and through any form of technology but he couldn't help it! The girl was his cousin! And Hunter was a family man and he couldn't help but be protective either. Four female cousins will do that to a guy.

When Hailey decided to answer his questions, he knew she was lying but he didn't really know what to do. She didn't want to talk about it so the sensible thing would be not to push it, right? Why would she want to talk to him about it anyway? "Oh...okay, if you say so." Hunter shrugged and stood up, figuring he'd leave it to her to decide. He began walking over to the swings, not in the mood to be so inert anymore. "I ran into him at the topiary garden the other day. Just...thought you should know." He steadied one foot on the seat, then put the other one up and began to swing back and forth. He had always wondered what it would be like to be a trapeze artist. 'Must be the life.'

"I am just fine, darling. Aria and I have never been better and, of course, my grades are just as great as always. The term has been boring, for the most part, but I can't say it's been bad." Now, if March would just end already, he'd be in a better mood about school. It really seemed like this term would keep going on forever and ever.

Shrugging was not was Hailey had expected. What she had thought, or perhaps wanted was for Hunter to extract the detail out of her. But she was forgetting he was a GUY. And guys, unfortunately, just did not care about feelings. At least he had asked how she was.
She watched him walk over to the swings and then hop onto them. She wanted to yell at him to be careful but that desire vanished as soon as he spoke again. So Mikey and Hunter had been talking...she wondered if Mikey had mentioned her. He must have, the boys only had her as a mutual friend. Oh wait, and Aria.

Of course Hailey wanted to know what they had talked about but she didn't want to make it sound like she was desperate or anything. Carefully avoiding his eyes and resting them on some kids playing on the monkey bars instead, she tried to sound casual as she spoke. "Really? What'd you guys talk about?"

And then they were back to boring life. "So you're seeing Aria, eh?" She asked curiously. Darn it. But she wondered if he was perhaps lying about the 'never been better' part; she couldn't recall seeing them together that very often. "You guys see each other a lot, then?"

Still standing and swinging, Hunter was a little surprised to hear that Hailey wanted to know about Mikey. Weren't they over? He understood that she would be curious because they were together for so long and they had been stuck together at the hip, or so it seemed, but he never would've thought she would be asking him about the guy. "Nothing really, I mean, I had forgotten about it so he was dreading telling me about it but then I remembered and then..." There was no way he could tell his cousin that he told Mikey to get over her. She would take that the wrong way, he already knew it. But how else was Michael supposed to move on? "And then....that was it. We went out separate ways."

"Am I still seeing Aria?" Hunter repeated the question, wondering why in the world they wouldn't be seeing each other. Seeing each other...when they actually saw each other, of course. "Of course I'm still seeing her! I know how much you were hoping that I'm not, but I am." He really did hope Hailey and Aria would get along one day. They were both so much alike! But he figured that was why they didn't like each other to begin with. Aside from all of the name calling. "Just because I we're still together doesn't mean I have to see her a lot!" Did it? Aria was busy a lot! She had things to do and whatnot and he studied and space was always good in a relationship! He missed his girlfriend, but he'd never tell Hailey that. Aria and Hunter's relationship was better than ever. Seriously.

Hailey listened closely to what he said and then looked up at Hunter's face. Mikey had been dreading telling Hunter? Probably because he knew Hunter would be full of joy, she thought. So they hadn't really talked about it, which was all Hailey cared about. Perhaps Mikey didn't miss her, as she had hoped.

As for Aria, the brunette was slightly happier to hear a note of panic in Hunter's voice. It seemed that Mikey and her weren't the only ones who had gone through some distancing.
"Of course it does! That's what you do in a relationship!" Hailey retorted. If Hunter never saw Aria, how did he know what was going on with her? She might be cheating on him and he would never know. In which case, she would go after Aria herself and beat her up.
"I'm sorry Hunter, but I think you guys are going to fall apart if you don't get together every so often," Hailey continued in a not-so-sorry voice. Because really, it was awesome that they never saw each other.

And suddenly Hunter could see the disappointment on Hailey's face. He was kind of confused now. Why did girls always have to make things so complicated? He saw Mikey. He spoke to Mikey. The end. What was the disappointing part? "I mean, we spoke about it a little. Y'know, he wasn't happy...and I told him to move on to someone else, but nothing else!" Maybe that would make the girl feel better?

"I see her sometimes!" He really did. On occasion. But it was such a big school and the fields were so large and there were so many different classes and the library was really large too. How could he possibly ever find the girl anyway? Maybe Hunter wasn't the best relationship guuuuy but Aria was a good match for that, right? "We are still the same people we were during the holidays. Nothing is going to fall apart." His voice quivered a bit when the last words left his mouth. Would things fall apart? Was he going to have to get over Aria like Mikey would eventually have to get over Hailey?

Hailey's heart leapt when Hunter mentioned Mikey hadn't been happy...so maybe he did miss her after all? But before she could even let herself feel giddy, Hunter expanded on his conversation with Mikey.

"You told him WHAT?!" Hailey screeched. She got up from the slide so fast the she kicked sand up into the air. Of all the stupid things Hunter did, this was perhaps the worst. HOW could he tell Mikey to get over her?! And what if Mikey had actually taken his advice? Her hopes of getting back together with him were slim to none now, all thanks to her DEAR cousin.

Hailey stared daggers at Hunter before slumping down onto the slide again, holding her face in her hands. Way to make her feel worse. "I can't believe you said that, Hunter,", she said finally.

Regardless of how confident he sounded when talking about his relationship with Aria, Hailey was sure he was worried about it now. Serves him right, she thought.
"Fine, suit yourself," She said, picking at her robes. "The less you see, the less you know," She said wisely. Of course, she had just made that up to annoy Hunter but maybe he would fall for it.

What was going on? It felt like every time Hunter was around Hailey girls, he was utterly confused. That was supposed to make her feel better! They were broken up! "I was helping him! I was helping you! Why are you so maaad?" He had no idea what to do. Hunter absolutely hated when Hailey was mad at him. Which happened quite often.

'The less you see the less you know? Oh goodness, what if Aria is off cheating on me somewhere?' That's what she meant, wasn't it? Or what if Aria was doing drugs or merlin knows what else! He would need to find that girl and never lose sight of her again. No way was the Hailey/Mikey thing happening to him.

"Because--Because you weren't supposed to tell him that!" Hailey sputtered. How could he not see that she clearly still had feelings for Mikey? Was he that blind? Apparently. "You didn't help me at all! You made it worse!" Merlin, she didn't think anything could get any worse. How very wrong she was. She could only hope that Mikey had not taken his advice. But even if he had...they were still best friends. Right. Just friends.

She was quite happy to find that Hunter was taken her words to heart. She instantly hoped Aria was cheating on him, or possible stopped liking him. Only then would Hunter know how Hailey felt.
"I wouldn't be surprised if she's forgotten you guys are still going out," Hailey said evilly.

"Made what worse, exactly? You guys aren't together anymore, though!" Hunter knew from the moment Mikey spoke about "Rose" that he was pretty much in love with the girl but they broke up for a reason, right? He was helping everyone. " You should try and get over him too! Then you guys can be happy!" Hunter flashed his amazing and practically perfect smile, hoping it would make things better. "You said you were fine."

And now they were back on Aria. Hunter knew there was a reason why he had never had a serious relationship. They were so much trouble! Having to make sure they still liked you and weren't cheating on you was so complicated. "Aria's memory isn't that bad. She couldn't just forget something like that!" Hunter got off of the swing and went to sit down next to Hailey. Maybe this family just wasn't good with relationships?