The girl didn't seem to smile much, at least not to HIM, so he was surprised to see her smiling in his direction right now. In FACT, if he wasn't concentrating so much on what she was saying, he would have asked her about the smile. "You can still know a lot about something but realise that it's not important." If she asked him to name an example, he was doomed. He couldn't THINK of one, all he knew was that what he had said was TRUE.

Maybe.

Her intimidating face WASN'T as scary as she thought it was, didn't she know? It reminded the Slytherin of a lioness roaring and trying to be ferocious when she just WASN'T. So, he just smiled more in her direction.

This girl was argumentative. REALLY argumentative. Not even KAT was this argumentative on her worst days and that was saying a LOT. "WELL......... if you don't want me to remember, then I'm going to FORGET and will probably annoy you with this topic again. Do you REALLY want that to happen? Huh?"

"One Licorice Wand coming right up," he said, reaching into the bag and pulling out two, one for each of them. See? He could be nice. "What's your name, by the way?"

She smiled a lot, thank you. Just not when people were being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn. Or when those people hated clothes. Clothes had done nothing to him besides look tragic. He had no style. (Not that she, at eleven, had much). "You're just talking to talk now." Did he know? She did. 'Cause she was a smarty.

She wasn't trying to be intimidating....mostly. She just wanted him to know that she wasn't laughing at him. He wasn't funny. Except when he made that funny face. Not that she would say or admit defeat.

More nose wrinkling. And maybe a little bit of a smile.

She squared her shoulders and huffed, "If you're going to forget if you read about the ozone layer-- because I totally know about it-- then you're going to forget to bother me about it, too. So I'm not telling you." Did that make sense? She thought it did and she was sticking to her gun about it.

Chloe beamed and started to munch on the sweet, "I'm Chloe. And you?" Did he already say? She didn't remember.

Okay, so his little fun fact hadn't been that interesting to Brooklyn. Again, Adi wasn't surprised. He was just starting to think that the girl would forever be uninterested in anything he said or did. Not that it bothered him. Quite the opposite. It rather amused him though he thought it was quite a pity that his bounciness and happy attitude did not rub off on certain Slytherin girls like the Snakette here and Agatha (whom he did miss). Oh well.

Ooh, Brooklyn was so sure of life! The Hufflepuff thought for a moment before opening his mouth again. "You would think that but life doesn't always go the way we think or want it to.'' Wheee wise words from Adi! Or at least he hoped they were. "I always find it easier to have a goal and work towards it but that's just me, you know? What works for me might not work for you.'' Since everyone was so different.

He was just talking to talk? Phillip stared at the girl. UH. Didn't everyone talk to talk? Unless you didn't MEAN to say what you were going to say and that wasn't Phillip Romalotti so......... "You're weird. And smart. But weird." There. That was a good enough comeback, right?

Right. Of course!

She could think he wasn't funny as looooong as she wanted but he KNEW that she DID think he was funny. He wasn't forgetting about that laugh anytime soon, you know.

And yes, he did see that smile.

This girl was good at driving his mind round the bend. Was she a Ravenclaw? She had to be. Only THEY could know how to confuse someone just with their words. And she was totally winning here as well, which was not something that the Slytherin could let happen. It wasn't a matter of pride -- maybe it was a little -- but it was a matter of, you know, the fact that he was RIGHT. "Yeah, but it's still going to come up AGAIN. And I'm going to drive you bonkers by being du-- ...... uh, not as knowledgeable about it as you. So, for YOUR sake," Because people liked to hear that, didn't they. She could think it was all about her but, at the end of the day, he'd still be getting his way. "I should know." WIDE INNOCENT GRIN.

Chloe. Easy enough to remember. "Nice to meet you. I'm Phillip! I don't think I've seen you around much before."

He obviously didn't know how to talk to girls because being called weird was embarrassing and hurtful. She just stared at him and didn't comment. Then she used her blonde hair as a curtain to cover her face because she didn't want to talk to him if he was gonna be mean. Meanie.

And she wasn't going to talk to him after the weird comment but then he was being irritating and she couldn't help herself. She had to correct him or at the very least tell him he was wrong. Because he was. Chloe shoved her chin in the air defiantly, "I'm not gonna tell you. Because you should know and you'll learn more from looking it up yourself than from me." Also, she still didn't know herself. But now, especially after weird, she wasn't going to tell him.

Chloe started to pick at her dead ends awkwardly, "Oh, uh, I've been around." She was playing at casual. She had been around, okay, just it took her a little bit of time to get adjusted to a new place whenever she changed up her surroundings. Which was a weird little tick of hers considering her father dragged them all over the world during her childhood on his escapades. But yes, she'd been around, just more shadow than little girl. Watching, learning and adjusting.

Hm. There was a bit of shade, and Brooklyn had edged over until she was standing in it even as she gave Adi a sidelong glance to see if he’d reacted to her lack of reaction to his little ‘fun fact.’ Surprisingly, it hadn’t seemed to have bothered him too much that she hadn’t commented, or that she hadn’t found it as fun as he obviously did. Maybe it wasn’t so very surprising. Maybe it just proved that he was finally getting the point that she wasn’t planning on ever being as bouncy as he was. She didn’t do bouncy, although she definitely had developed a theory that bouncy was a Hufflepuff trait. Most of the Hufflepuffs she’d ever met had been awfully cheerful, anyway, except for maybe Lux. But then, she’d been debating Game of Thrones with her so it might have affected any cheerfulness.

Although the pause after her words actually did surprise her a little. Not enough to be noticeable, since she knew better than to show that, but she hadn’t thought he would have been that shocked by her response. “Maybe for you, but I know better than that,” she said, turning to him even as she stayed in her little shaded section of the balcony. No sunburn for her. Nor was she really taking his advice to heart, not when she didn’t feel like she had to. “Who said I didn’t have goals?” She had plenty of goals. Making sure the right people showed respect for her, getting the powerful ones on her side so she could use them if necessary. Her goals just obviously were more important than his.

Adi stuck his face up to the sun again. He did like the early morning sunshine so much. The movement of Brooklyn caught his eyes and he looked over to see her standing in the bit of shade of the balcony. He figured that she didn't want the rays to spoil her skin or something. Nooo worries. He could take the sun on for both of them. Hehe. Annnnd there went his stomach rumbling again. Adi shot Brooklyn a sheepish look, wondering if she had heard. Man, he should be going to get breakfast soon. A BIG one too. "You wanna grab breakfast with me?''

Adi shrugged good naturedly at Brooklyn. He had plans for his life but he knew things could go in a totally opposite direction (as he had found out a few months after this meeting with his Snakette 'friend'). "I didn't say you didn't have any.'' Nope, as a matter of fact, the Hufflepuff had figured that the Slytherin had a ton of those already. "Good luck with them... whatever they may be.'' He gave the girl a cheerful smile.

Money. Good. Barrington didn't even flinch when he mentioned it which Cutty took as a very good indicator that he was somewhere in the vicinity of Damien Anderson-Belfort. Lower upper towards Gatsby, but not quite William Randolph Hearst. Nice assets, baby.

"I'd like to propose that I sell yew a share or two today and each fortnight whilst I show yer the ins and outs of sellin' at Hoggies. I think yew'd find the information very useful and applicable whatever yew decide to do with the business after I am gone and yew are the sole owner." He suggested.

While Dante did think it was a good plan and was going to agree in the end. Things had to be more clear like for one how much would a share be and how many were there. But he could ask those later. He was postive he had enough for this enterprise. Though he really did like the learning the ins and outs of the candy selling business.

".......Okay. Sounds like a solid deal to me"

Dante nodded and said after giving it a minute or two more of thought. He put out his hand to shake on it.

Well at least he know had something to keep himself occupied next year at this school. Something that will earn him money and experience with business.

Adi’s complete worship of the sunlight only made Brooklyn that much happier being in the shade. Granted, she figured he didn’t get sunburned quite as easily as she did, but it was still weird. And she fully acknowledged the fact that, as someone born in southern California, she should love the sun just as much as he obviously did. She just also was a redhead, which negated any California sun-worshiper gene she ought to have had. At least, that was her theory, plus she just didn’t worship anything. She was supposed to be the one worshiped, like Cersei. Not to mention she never let her stomach make a rumbling sound like she heard rather clearly coming from the Hufflepuff in the silence that had taken over the balcony. “Not really,” she responded, as he’d dulled the growling with his question. At least, she wouldn’t go down there with him. She wanted breakfast, but not including annoyances.

The shrug hadn’t really told her anything either. Information, please. Something she could use, anyway. She couldn’t use gestures. Gestures were her domain, like eye-rolling. She held back on one of those as he’d spoken again, though. Obviously he was backpedaling, and as far as she was concerned, he should. He’d inferred she didn’t have any, after all, even if he hadn’t outright said that. “Why thank you,” she said archly in response to his luck, anyway. She was doing quite well with her goals, aside from the fact people kept leaving. She still felt like the professors saw her the way she wanted them to see her, even if she was having to basically start all over this term with all the new ones.

Between classes and training, and catching up with HoM and Ancient Runes, Zeke found he didn't have as much time to stop and breathe like he had at the beginning of the school term. That being said, breathing wasn't as much a priority as it had once been, especially when he had distractions in the form of the most gorgeous blonde at Hogwarts - because he wasn't biased, obviously.

As it was, he missed his girlfriend's presence, and so here he was, casually sitting on the ledge of the balcony looking over the side at the ground below and waiting for her. The view from up here was pretty decent, though in hindsight, he should have sought her out elsewhere... waiting was painful - though not as painful as he imagined it would be to fall from this height. Good thing there were preventative charms, right?

Maggie had been quite preoccupied lately. Lots of things to think about it. While at the same time trying NOT to think about them. Which probably required even more effort than actually thinking about them. Life was complicated, wasn't it? Especially for a teenager.

Oh. When would it get easier?

"Hey." As for right now however Zeke seemed to be a good distraction from her thoughts. Even though he was part of the 'problem'. Which she was not thinking about right now. Nope. Smiling she moved to stand in front of him and gave him a quick kiss. "It's nice up here." A little cold but still. Maggie looked down at the grounds for a long moment before meeting his gaze again.

It was actually pretty daunting to think he still had classes, and extra to catch up on, homework and their next duel - of which he wasn’t too thrilled about Maggie being pitted against Kyroh. He didn’t want to watch that, but he didn’t have a choice. On top of that, he was facing off against a fifth year again, not that he didn’t appreciate the challenge.

He was still contemplating his non-death when her voice alerted him to her presence. Maggie! Turning to face her, he couldn’t help but grin as he got a quick kiss… but too quick. "It is," he confirmed, slipping off his perch and moving to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her and giving a gentle squeeze. "Had a good day?" he asked softly in her ear.

Days. They were going pretty quickly, no? At least, he thought they were.

WARMTH!

Maggie leaned back against his chest when he hugged her from behind. Ah yes. That was a lot better. She tilted her head a little to look at him but then brought her gaze back to the grounds below them. "Mhm." Was all she hummed in reply to his question at first. She put her hands on top of his to make sure he didn't move away from her. Because like, this was really cozy.

After being silent for a long moment, Maggie sighed. "So you won't be able to come visit me in LA this summer." Her eyes on a random person walking back from the lake, she frowned slightly. Yeah. No staying with her grandparents this summer.

Feeling her lean against him, Zeke tightened his hold on her a little more, inhaling deeply and drawing in the scent of her. She smelt nice, did she know that? Her hummed answer didn't tell him an awful lot about how she was, but he didn't think much of it. Instead, Zeke opted to enjoy the moment. Nuzzling her hair out of the way, he planted a quick kiss on her cheek before turning his attention to the clouds. They were nice today.

The silence wasn't unwelcome or unpleasant, it was soothing, but as Maggie broke the silence he found he didn't mind. Or should he? "I... okay..." He didn't mind per se, unless it was a problem. Was it a problem? "Everything alright?" Was it just a family thing he wasn't welcome to? Or was it him? It was perhaps the only reasons he could think of at the minute for why he wouldn't be visiting.

After her comment Maggie was quiet for a while, not entirely sure how to phrase this. Eventually she turned around though so she was facing him again. "It's because I'm not going either." In case he'd been wondering if this was about him or not. It genuinely had nothing to do with him. To be honest, she hadn't even told her mom that they were dating.

It would just lead to so many questions and discussions. So no, not yet.

"But...at least I'll be in London." Looking on the bright side, right? She put on a smile and lightly tapped her fingers against his chest. "Maybe next year." Which was a long time from now but she was trying to make herself feel better about this too. It wasn't necessarily to comfort him or anything.

Something Chloe was doing very well was confuse him. Because that's what Phillip was right now: confused. It was the hair motion, you know? The hiding behind it. Was that a sign that she was BLUSHING? Because girls did that when they blushed, right? "Are you okay?" Curiosity and a little bit of concern but mostly curiosity.

He was getting tired of this little argument they were having. The more she talked, the more the Slytherin became aware that he was NOT going to win in this case and he did NOT like that, okay? He HAD to have his way but this wasn't HIS way. Nope! And something told him that he wasn't about to win her over. SIGH. "Well, F I N E. I'll look it up for MYSELF and tell you what I've found out." Nod.

Was there something up with her hair? Because first, she was hiding behind it and now, she was picking at it. He half wanted to inspect it for himself to see what was so interesting with it. It was, you know, HAIR. Hair was hair. And it gave him the impression that she wasn't REALLY listening to him until she started talking again. She'd been around? "Hmm. You must be like a ninja," Because he really did NOT remember seeing her around anywhere. "What house are you in, by the way?"

Awkward, was this awkward? Naaaaahhhh.. it wasn’t. He loosened his grip around her so that she could turn to face him - this was never a bad thing - but his arms remained at her sides. SHE wasn’t going either? He arched an eyebrow at that. "No?" because he had thought it was fairly certain that she would, it seemed to be a thing for her as much as France was a thing for him.

He did return her smile though, because London was a great positive. "I think I can live with this," he mused with a bit of cheek. It would be more convenient to see her this way. Less travel and less convincing of traveling and such, AND it would be easier to work around his time with Sabel - however they decided to execute that. The maybe of next year was something, though next year was a long way away. "Maybe," he replied, figuring she probably needed to hear that more than anything else.

Maggie shook her head, eyes on her fingers on his chest. "No. My grandparents are...busy." Yes that. They didn't have time for her. Not that she'd asked them but they hadn't invited her either so that kind of implied that they didn't want her to come visit this year. And it wasn't like she could afford to just get on a plane and go anyway.

Of course Zeke appreciated her staying here. "I mean, of course I still have lots of plans over the summer. We'll have to see if I have time for you." She was kidding obviously. So far apart from the Hady thing she didn't really have any plans. Which...was something she'd been sitting on for quite a while now.

Was now the right time to ask him about it?

Probably. "Sooo Hady says she invited you over too." She looked back up at him now, watching him closely while trying to keep her voice conversational. Just curious you know. About the party and stuff. Mhm.

Busy. Right. He supposed that kind of thing did happen, he wasn't a stranger to it after all. "Definitely maybe next year then." Mmhhmm. They'd just have to be, NOT busy. OR they could be busy together? Family was weird, he decided, but her family wasn't really any of his business.

He watched her hands for a moment, a smirk forming on his lips as he shook his head gently. Make time for him, yeah, something like that. "Don't make me beg for it..." he joked in return, his eyes finding hers. Of course he wouldn't beg, not straight away at least, and only in good humour. But then, they were talking about plans. Mutual plans, he did hope they'd have more than just Hady's over the break though.

"Yeah, a while ago... so you're definitely going then?" As if he'd want it any other way.

Eh... The rising sun was getting hotter and Adi was starting to think he was going to get burnt to a crisp if he didn't get out of the rays soon. He had literally soaked up enough sunshine for today, thank you very much. That should replenish his depleting stock of Vitamin D. LOL. As his stomach noises faded for now, he nodded at Brooklyn. "Knew you would have said no, anyway.'' He just thought he would ask, being such a polite guy and all. Your loss, Brooklyn.

Was that sarcasm? He wasn't sure but it didn't stop him from grinning. "No problem! Don't forget about me when you're rich or famous.'' Hehe! Adi wouldn't forget about her either when he was both. Oh, no... there went his stomach's cry to be fed! Ugh! He had better get moving to the Great Hall. "If you're sure you don't want to head down to breakfast with me...'' Adi stepped away from the rail. "I'll see you around, Brooklyn. It was nice chatting with you.'' He meant that. He did like the Snakette, after all. With another grin, he took off.

Breakfast, here he came!

Maggie appreciated the sentiment. Yes. Definitely maybe. Smiling she nodded, then reached up to boop his nose. "And THEN maybe you can come visit." Maybe. He didn't have to come of course. But she didn't really see why he wouldn't want to either. Both Kaycee and Dante had had a good time so she highly doubted Zeke would have anything less than that.

Beg for it? Her lips curled into an amused smirk. "Oh but you're making it sound so tempting." Hehe. So maybe she would make him ask her a few times before actually finding the time to see him. For the lulz. Besides, HE was the one who wouldn't be around for some of the summer break seeing as he was going to France. So it was probably more likely that he'd be the one making time for her.

A while ago. Right.

And what kind of question was that?? "Do you NOT want me to go?" She narrowed her eyes and leaned back a little, dropping her hands from his chest.

"Mmmhhmm," he hummed in agreement, accepting the boop to the nose before leaning in to give her a quick kiss on, his lips grazing hers before pulling away. They'd cross that bridge when they got to it... he never was very good with sticking to plans anyway.

He probably shouldn't have given her any ideas, but it was harmless. Right? Right? She wouldn't ACTUALLY get him to beg? Zeke raised his brows, assessing her for a moment before dismissing the idea. "You're hilarious," he started, his expression softening to a smile, "not the most patient though, remember? I could just have you kidnapped and brought to me instead." He had connections. Kinda. Maybe... okay, maybe not.

...

But no. NO, Maggie.

"Of course I want you to go, I wouldn't have it any other way." Really, ifpresented with the option, WITH Maggie trumped WITHOUT Maggie every day of the week. Frowning slightly, he reclaimed her hands that she dropped. "Why would you think I wouldn't?" Serious Q right there.

Mhm. Although she kind of wished he'd kissed her for longer.

Professor Flamsteed didn't seem to be around so you know.

Hilarious? Her? Well that wasn't nice was it? Him not taking her seriously. Was he questioning her ability to make him wait? Because she totally could. And she was about to say as much when he went on telling her he could have her kidnapped. Maggie giggled then. "What if whoever kidnaps me wants to keep me though? I'm very likable." As if to prove that she smiled at him, twirling a lock of her around her finger. See? Such a sweetheart she was.

Her eyes were still narrowed when she dropped her gaze down to his hands holding hers. "But you'd still go even if I wasn't going right?" This has been bugging her for a while now. It wasn't even that she thought something would happen if it was just the two of them. Or at least not necessarily. It just bugged her that he hadn't mentioned it. She dismissed his question for now, waiting for his answer to hers first.

Maggie giggling was a sure-fire sign that she was going to continue taunting him, so he was prepared, what he wasn't prepared for, was THAT. He shook his head. Nope. Nope. Not happening. "I'll just have to kidnap you myself then." Especially if she was going to twirl her hair like that. He leaned in again for another kiss, this time a little longer than the last. If he ever did need to have her kidnapped (highly unlikely but he always got carried away with these things), he would arrange for an old toothless man, a fat woman, or himself. Those were the options. Mmhhmm.

...

He didn't get it.

Was he in trouble?

He FELT like he was in trouble, but he couldn't think of WHAT he'd done wrong.

If she wasn't going, would he go? ..... "I'm allowed to hang out with friends, aren't I?" Or had he missed something. He was still frowning, because it sounded stupid. 1) Because she would be there and 2) So what if she wasn't?