Emmerson had done a lot of thinking after heading to her dorm the night before. It wasn't so much that she thought her plan was wrong but more that she was kinda worried Phoebe...might be right. Keen as she still was to go through with it, there were some parts she was less...insistent on.

Walking into the Great Hall for lunch, Emmerson immediately began searching the Ravenclaw table for Sammy. They needed to talk even though he didn't know they needed to talk, 'cause she had to apologise...even though he didn't know there was anything that needed an apology.

Her stomach bunched up into tight knots and she half hoped he wouldn't be showing up to this meal at all but that would only delay it more and this was something she was gonna have to set right sooner than later.

Standing by the large double doors, Emmerson worried away at her lower lip, wringing away at her tie. Please don't show--but still show up--but now now--but soon. This was hard.

The morning was stressful. Just being back at this place was stressful.

No matter how hard he tried, Sammy was finding it more and more difficult to be at ease. Wherever he went, there were a lot of sounds reaching him, but it still felt as though he was stuck in some sort of bubble. A bubble he couldn't fix because it came out of nowhere.

So, a distraction? Foo-

........

"Emm?"

Confused? He was. Emm was difficult to understand, he'd always known that. But standing by the double doors, looking like she was more nervous than Kizzy on a normal day? Impossible. It just wasn't in her character. She always did her own thing and didn't wait for anyone, he learnt that the hard way.

Not to mention, he had a load of questions he wanted to rattle off at her. Like why she was here in the first place. Was she waiting for someone? Was she planning some-

..... wait. "You're not here to prank me, are you?"

"Sammy!" Emm jumped right out of her skin at the sudden appearance of just the person she wanted and didn't want to see. It took an extra second for her to train her expression into anything that looked even remotely like her usual look of overconfidence.

But she did it.

"No. No pranks. No tricks. I...I was actually hoping we could have breakfast together. There's...I wanted to talk to you about something even though I'd rather talk to you about something else." Literally anything else. This felt like defeat and Cambridges never lost. This felt like...like giving up, like finally admitting to herself that things would never work and then having to accept that and it absolutely sucked.

"Come on, there's some space at the end of your table here." She said, pointing half heartedly to the seats not so far from them at this end of the table. It would make for a quick escape in case her heart couldn't take it in the end and she needed to go.

Hoping he was following, she went and plopped down on the bench but didn't immediately begin grabbing for anything. Growing older was hard and complicated.

As unusual as it was, Sammy knew better than to comment on the jump and the expression on her face. He was curious about it, sure, but not curious enough to cause this Gryffindor to blow up. Merlin knows, that was the last thing he needed right now.

Any hint of a smile faded away at her words. She wanted to talk to him? That didn't sound good, especially since she said she'd rather talk about something else. Everything between them was fine, wasn't it? They had made up again and he'd even gotten letters from her over the summer. So what was the problem? What could be causing this?

It was weird, really, being on the other side. It was like having ingredients on the table but not knowing what you're supposed to be making.

Sammy followed Emm to the end of the Ravenclaw table and sat down opposite her. Maybe this was friendly. Maybe this was going to be a chill, relaxed time with two friends hanging out. Maybe. He hoped so, even if deep down he knew it probably wasn't.

"Not hungry?" he asked, "We've got Trent next, you might want to build up your energy."

Hungry? How anyone could think about food at a time like this was entirely beyond her. For her part, her stomach had dropped somewhere below her feet and was trying to distance itself further. "I'll....I'll have something on the walk over, maybe." She said, trying her best not to just crawl out of her own skin or walk away and pretend this never started.

But Sammy was sitting right there, and she'd already brought the topic up so she couldn't go changing her mind anymore.

As if drawing on some invisible courage she didn't truly feel, Emmerson squared her shoulders and sat straighter. Gryffindors weren't afraid of anything, not even losing. They looked it in the eye and laughed then moved on to the next challenge.

"I know you said you don't like me the way I like you." That...that was a good place to start. "And we agreed being friends was way better." Well...he agreed. She just...kinda got dumped and had to deal with it because she didn't wanna lose one of her closest friends of all time. "And I think I haven't been a good friend, 'cause good friends don't try to make each other jealous and if I was really your friend, I wouldn't still be wishing you were my boyfriend." The moment she started, it became impossible to stop...so she just let everything out.

"Phoebe thinks I should leave you alone--not like friend-wise but she thinks I should give up. Mum thinks so too. It sucks, but I do think I have to give up. It's kinda dumb, I feel dumb. I'm better at taking hints than this. I shouldn't be kissing Ezra to make you mad, I should do it because I want to." And she did, but it was no longer the ace in the hole she thought she had.

...........

Well. This was something.

Their agreement? This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. His eyes were glued on her, but his heart was starting to race. He didn't know why, but it made him worried about what was coming next. What happened after that talk by the lake had been a disaster, so if she was bringing it up, it was for a good reason, right?

And he was going to ignore that she was still wishing he was her boyfriend. Ignored. Completely.

She was talking a lot, wasn't she? But everything she was talking about showed a lot of growth in her which was good, really. He didn't know how to feel but he knew he was proud of her for it. That she was admitting to this, in the first place. That was huge, coming from Emmerson Cambri-

What was that about kissing?

For once, Sammy was at a complete loss for words. In fact, he was at a loss on how to feel right now. Sure, he was happy about the progress, because he knew that the Emm from their second year wouldn't have said this. Then there was the fact that she was moving on and if that made her happy, that made her happy. That was all he wanted for her.

But there was a sad feeling that was growing inside of him. If she'd found someone else, that could only mean one thing: that he was going to be forgotten about. That he would be there, isolated and forgotten about - now, in a room. And this was made worse by the realisation that the rest of their group had gotten kisses and were doing teenager things and yet, he was just making cupcakes.

It was a lot to process, even for him. And so, Samuel Summers stayed quiet.

Silence...silence was not what she expected. The change in his expression...while somewhat expected...was not the change she expected.

Emmerson's shoulders slumped, her own expression saddening. While the Third Year knew it would be a stretch, and while she had abandoned her original plan...it was still....rather disheartening. Even now, it didn't matter what she said. He wasn't jealous, he wasn't mad, he wasn't begging her not to. It was the final nail in the coffin. The one that told her this decision to give up really was the right one.

And yet...she felt as miserable as the day he broke up with her. Without saying anything at all, Samuel Summers had once again made it clear how uninterested he was in her and she was no closer to finding out why.

It was honestly frustrating and humiliating all at once. The look she wore closely resembled a kicked cruppy. She'd told herself this would be a good term, coming off such a terrible one, but...nothing changed.

"I take it you don't care either way, then." She said, stubbornly wiping at a tear that threatened to fall. It may have looked like one borne of sadness, but it was anger and frustration more than anything else at this point--her go to in the face of unpleasant emotions. Emm built up her resolve, remembering everything she was ever told a Cambridge was. She took only a second to compose her face, training it the way she'd often seen her family do in the middle of some unpleasantness.

Nonchalant. Unperturbed.

"I'm glad this won't affect our friendship. There's no need for this to become weird and we spent way too long last term not being friends." She forced herself to reach for a lightly grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Forced herself to take a bite because this was aLl FiNe. "We'll have a lot of catch up to do now that we've got the run of the castle and grounds again. I'm thinking a day by the lake for SKEEM.....well...most of SKEEM." Emma hadn't come back.

This was fine.

Was breakfast the most important meal of the day? Not to Ollie. She could skip breakfast every day if she wanted. But today was different. For some reason, whilst she was doing her morning stretches, her stomach would not stop growling. Maybe it's cause I'm growing, she thought. That's what her grandmother had always said when Ollie had a larger appetite than usual. Nevertheless, she decided to enjoy a nice breakfast for the day.

The Slytherin table was almost empty besides a few other students. None that Ollie knew. She sat herself in the middle of the table and began to enjoy her meal. She had brought a few books with her but had them sitting next to her in case she had got bored.

Sammy might have been trying to process everything but there was no missing the signs Emm was giving off right now. Like the slumping of her shoulders and the expression on her face and-

Was she crying?!

Congratulations, Samuel, you've done it again.

There were still a lot of emotions inside of him but now, the sadness was taking over more than ever. From telling her the truth about how he felt to whatever this was, he was sure that he didn't do anything wrong. But seeing her like this only made him feel worse. He almost wanted to take back all of it but there was no going back, was there?

The Ravenclaw let out a small sigh. "Emm, I do care. You're one of my closest friends, how could I not care?" It was simple. "In fact, I'm..... happy. Yeah. Happy for you. It's nice that you're moving on and being happy." He gave her a small smile, trying to bury the sad thoughts about kissing for when he was alone. "And it's nice that we'll still be friends."

Speaking of friends, there was another one brought up that was making him feel a lot worse. "Emma," he whispered. Did she know that she was being missed? Because she was. Things were just not the same without all of SKEEM here and it made him feel some type of way. "A day by the lake sounds nice, I think everyone's going to need it. Do you want me to make anything?" It was easier to concentrate on cooking than on other things.

Breakfast was the most important meal of the day for Serena. Her mood tended to be on thin ice, so a lack of food or a spoiled morning meal, would ruin it all. Today wasn't a bad day. Mainly because she had her favorite on the plate in front of her; two sausages, a slice of ham, scrambled eggs and on another plate, some pancakes.

She was expecting to be alone until she was joined by her roommate. What was her name? "It's Olive, isn't it?" Serena asked. It was something with food. "Your name?"

The only people she talked to was V and Lisa--oh, and the broomstick smuggler boy--so names didn't really stick. That and her social battery had already ran out. Too many interactions.

With a mouth full of eggs, Ollie nodded. She gulped down her food and stretched a hand out to the girl, hoping it wasn't too sweaty or too cold or something to make the girl regret accepting her hand. "It is! But I prefer Ollie if you don't mind." Ollie remembered her name, Serena. She had seemed nice. She remembered seeing her with Victoria once or twice, but they hadn't had many interactions themselves

Ollie hadn't really tried to get to know anyone in her own house. She was still in shock at her sorting and hadn't fully come to terms with it yet. It didn't help that her father had yet to write her back. Maybe now she could open up and make friends in her own house. She would participate more in housely things, maybe help get some house points! "How's your morning been?"

Serena’s baby blue eyes examined Ollie’s hand for a second. It wasn’t that there was something wrong with the girl’s hand, Serena just wasn’t much of a fan for physical touch. She had manners, though, and shook Ollie’s hand. “Ollie,” she amended. She was the second person to shorten their name. Serena was curious now. “Why not Olive?” she asked. Olives were alright. Especially on pizza.

There was a pause and then Ollie asked a conversation starter question, as Serena referred to. Was she trying to get to know her? Cute. Whereas outside of Hogwarts Serena would quickly turn that down and go her own way, she remembered her promise to her parents; she’d play nice and make friends. Or as she liked to phrase it, allies.

“It’s alright so far. I just woke up a few hours ago.” Is that how small talk went? “It’s parcel day, too.” And then it was her turn to ask, yeah? Yeah. “How’s your day?”

Why did Ollie go by Ollie instead of Olive? Oh yeah... "I just like Ollie because thats what my dad calls me. My mum named me Olive, but I've never met her so I prefer Ollie." Ollie's dad had wanted a boy and thats where the nickname Ollie came from. But once her mum left, her father only called her Olive if she was in trouble. Even her teachers at muggle school called her Ollie at her request.

It was nice for Serena to return the question to Ollie, even if it was obvious she didn't want to. Ollie understood. It was hard to make friends and be forward with people. Serena was one of the few that she had talked to without being prompted. Well, technically Serena had prompted her by asking her name first but.... " Its okay. This is my first time in the great hall before lunch. I never eat breakfast." She scrapped at the remainder of eggs on her plate. She had lost her appetite quickly - again, not a breakfast person.

She’s never met her mum. Yikes. Now, that sucks. Serena and her mum don’t get along, but she definitely knew she’d feel...sad if heer mum wasn’t in the picture. Her little brother and dad would be miserable without her.

“Fair enough,” Serena said, deciding not to prod further on the name thing. Now she was curious about something else. “How come you’ve never met your mum? Is she dead?” Straightforward, yes. But that was the only way Serena knew how to be whenever curiosity knocked at her door.

It was hard for Serena to make friends. Her bold attitude sometimes drove people away because she came off as unfeeling or rude. Really, she was just being true to herself and if others didn’t like it, they could go on their merry way. Ollie seemed okay so far, so Serena played along.

Wait. Ollie said what?!

“You don’t eat breakfast?” Her eyebrows rose high into her forehead, genuinely surprised. A rare sight. “How do you function without food?”

Okay... that was straightforward. But Ollie didn't really mind. Caught off-guard? Yes. But it didn't upset her. She was glad the girl asked instead of assuming. "No, she's not dead. She just moved away a little after I was born. She's from the states and I think she went back after she gave birth to me." And that was what Ollie knew, all of what Ollie knew. No matter how much she pried for info from her father and grandmother, they never said a word. She pushed her plate a little, the smell of the eggs upsetting her stomach a little.

She watched the girl's shocked expression and chuckled. "No I have a very strict schedule that typically doesn't allow time for breakfast. I don't starve, I just hold off till lunch." She nodded matter-a-factly. Her father had a routine for her since she could dress herself and she's stuck to it ever since. Of course, when she was little she did eat breakfast, but that was before she started her morning stretches, now she didn't have the time.

Serena was sure she wasn't the only curious one about why Ollie's mum left. The little redhead loves to solve puzzles and this seemed like one. It just wasn't her puzzle to solve. Darn it. "So she just left?" she asked cautiously, noting her housemate had pushed away her plate. "I'll stop asking if you'd like me to," she added. Trying to be considerate and all.

What kind of strict schedule didn't give one the time for breakfast. Was she an athlete? "So you practice intermediate fasting?" Serena asked, calming down. That was pretty wicked. "What's your schedule like?" That also intrigued her. Serena found more freedom here than at home.

She waited a moment before responding. Ollie didn't think that Serena was rude. She didn't mind the questions because she admired that Serena had no issue asking them at all. Ollie could never just ask someone all of the things Serena was asking her. "No, it's okay. As I said, I just never eat breakfast. And, yes, she did just leave." She wished she knew why her mother had decided to leave. She often thought that it was for an important spy mission her mum was a part of and that it wasn't her choice to leave Ollie. Of course, she knew it wasn't true, but it was something to distract her from the truth.

"No, I don't think about it like that. I wake up at 5:30 and take a few minutes, most of the time 5 but I allow leeway for up to 10 minutes, to close my eyes and take in the morning. Then I do some reading of whatever book I feel. I like to read for an hour. Then I do some stretches or yoga for an hour. And with my last 20 minutes, I shower." She nodded matter-of-factly.

The Great Hall was one of the places Scarlett enjoyed hanging out at the MOST. It was usually related to food and many people were constantly there, which meant it wasn't user SILENCE, which she APPROVED of VERY MUCH.

And it also meant food, did she mention that?

So HERE she WAS for an EARLY lunch before her next class.

But WHOA, apparently she was TOO early. AW, NOOOOOOO. The Hufflepuff flopped on a seat by the Hufflepuff table and sat there looking MISERABLE.

That only lasted a second, though, because she was soon bored of being miserable, so she pulled a long parchment, quill, ink pot out of her bag, spreading everything in front of her before SLAMMING a big ol' book on the table right next to it all.

Might as well get some homework done while she imPATIENTLY WAITED.

Margaret did know she was early for lunch. But, if she was early, she could sit wherever she wanted, snag an extra apple and sandwich for later before most others even showed up, and most (or least) importantly, she wouldn't be late for her class. Maybe she could even have time for a little walk after she ate, so she wouldn't be groggy in her afternoon classes.

Though she usually didn't mind being groggy. Well, some of them. Sometimes.

She spotted a little first year, taking up way more than her fair share of room, and decided to sit across from the kid. Maybe she needed help doing homework or something. If she did, Mamie Margaret was absolutely the wrong person to help her, but she could try. Plopping her own bag on the bench, Margaret sat down, across from the first year.

"Hi," she said, raising her eyebrows at the girl. Scarlett, she thought her name was. She looked solemnly at the girl for a moment, then smiled. "Your book is going to be in the way of the food," she joked.

SPOILER!!: The boy with his foot constantly in his mouth

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

Sammy might have been trying to process everything but there was no missing the signs Emm was giving off right now. Like the slumping of her shoulders and the expression on her face and-

Was she crying?!

Congratulations, Samuel, you've done it again.

There were still a lot of emotions inside of him but now, the sadness was taking over more than ever. From telling her the truth about how he felt to whatever this was, he was sure that he didn't do anything wrong. But seeing her like this only made him feel worse. He almost wanted to take back all of it but there was no going back, was there?

The Ravenclaw let out a small sigh. "Emm, I do care. You're one of my closest friends, how could I not care?" It was simple. "In fact, I'm..... happy. Yeah. Happy for you. It's nice that you're moving on and being happy." He gave her a small smile, trying to bury the sad thoughts about kissing for when he was alone. "And it's nice that we'll still be friends."

Speaking of friends, there was another one brought up that was making him feel a lot worse. "Emma," he whispered. Did she know that she was being missed? Because she was. Things were just not the same without all of SKEEM here and it made him feel some type of way. "A day by the lake sounds nice, I think everyone's going to need it. Do you want me to make anything?" It was easier to concentrate on cooking than on other things.

Happy?

He was happy she had decided to kiss someone else? Well if that wasn’t the biggest slap in the face. It didn’t get any more “I’m not interested in you” than someone making it clear they were happy that you were moving on and no longer bothering them. It was...he was probably relieved, glad she was fixating on someone else. Glad he didn’t have to deal with her need to MAKE SURE he knew how she felt. Must’ve been a real load off for him, huh?

How embarrassing. Emm was realising that she had been chasing shadows this entire time. All that false hope. All that thinking if she waited and gave him some time to mature, he’d realise he was crazy about her, too.

He was glad she was moving in.

Her insides hurt and she wanted ice cream. Emmerson kept her composure, deciding she really couldn’t keep subjecting herself to this nonsense of unrequited love~

It was better to focus on a somewhat happier topic. “Cupcakes could be nice. Some more of that bread Healer Poppy is walking around with, too. Me and Kizzy can handle the other snacks. Dress for swimming, we’re gonna make the most of this weather before it disappears. There’s probably some spells we could make use of, too.” Planning for happier times. That...that was all she could do.

It was a Baltazar trait; unfiltered curiosity, and it wasn't out of cruel intentions. When you mixed that with a Dos Santos boldness, it came out looking something like Serena. Baltazars charmed with their trait. Dos Santos...they were more of the solemn kind. "My uncle is a private detective if you ever want to look for her," Serena said, deciding to stop the questions there. It must suck not having her mum there. Serena could relate just a bit as her own mother had missed the first years of her life.

Feelings stirred up at the thought and to shut them up, Serena stuffed some pancakes into her mouth. Nom, nom, nom, feelings go away. Thank Merlin she was eating or her mouth would have dropped open at what Ollie said next.

Waking up at 5:30 didn't stun Serena as much as the rest of things that came out of Ollie's mouth. She knew regime. She had her own one, but...READ for an our just after waking up? HA. It'd put Serena right back to sleep. "What's the reason for your training? Is it to teach you discipline?" It reminded Serena of pureblood families she's met who train their your for future specialties. For example, herself. She's already started training for the REAL training when she came of age for it. Was Ollie part of that social group too?

Scarlett had ALREADY started taking NOTES and writing on the parchment when she could TELL someone took a seat across from her. She quickly glanced up and before she could look back down at her work the girl greeted her. "Hi!!" The first year greeted back with a friendly smile, not taking the quill from her parchment as she finished whatever she was scribbling down without looking. "No, never! NOTHING of mine gets in the way of food EVER!!!!" She was grinning but it wasn't even a JOKE. She truly meant it. "Ever." She added for good MEASURE. IT WAS TRUE.

Next thing she did was to gesture with her head towards the area to the right of her stuff. "That's my area." She informed the other girl. Meaning her FOOD area, yep! The elves knew to send her LOADS!!!!!!!!!! Or, well, they sent loads to the whole table every time and Scarlett was good at stuffing her face no matter where she sit. "Besides, it's kind of FUN to see how FAST I can put my things away when food's about to appear!" NOT that she was ever bothered to really TIME it, that'd make it take LONGER and she was NOT here for that. She was there for the FOOD and FOOD ONLY!!!!!!!!!

And getting some homework done in the meantime so she could have more free time LATER. "You're early, though." She casually commented, going back to looking down at her parchment and scribbling things down. Aaaaaaand once again it didn't occur to Scarlett to introduce herself. Typical.

Ollie took a minute to think about the offer. Had she ever thought about trying to find her mother before? Of course. But she never really liked the idea. She always felt that if her mother answered the questions Ollie had, she would be left heartbroken. She didn't want to know the real reason her mother had left. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

She watched as Serena took a bite of her breakfast. Ollie never understood the love of the meal. Who woke up super hungry? Ollie stirred at the question. Was it for discipline? She had always figured that it was just so Ollie could grow to be independent and use to a schedule. But maybe Serena was right. "I just kept to it because it keeps me use to having a routine. Plus I know that if I have something to do in the morning I won't be late." She liked her schedule. Why was it such a big deal to Serena anyway?

There was nowhere else Remy wanted to take her prized rainbow pumpkin than to the Great Hall. She had to show off how awesome it was, in one of the most populated places in the castle. She strode down the walkway, as if it was her runway, very similar to her first catwalk down the hall when she was going to be sorted.

Remy paused in the middle of the house benches and looked around, her hand on her chin as she thought about the perfect place. Hmmm - there.

The blonde placed her pumpkin in the centre of the Gryffindor house table, its face turned to the big doors for everyone to see when they walked in. She grinned at it for a few seconds, and then turned on her heel to find Ollie and skip back to class.