Jade sat at the bar, a small glass of water closed tightly in her hand. Water was the only thing she drank at bars anymore. She had tried the whole drinking bit with some friends once and it didn't end well. Not unless you considered winding up with a hangover, laying face down on your lawn and later discovering that your friends were too careless to even bring you to your own front door.
Not that they were friends anymore.
Jade continued surveying the crowd at the bar. There was the bartender, cool and collected. The group of underage drinkers, talking a bit too loud with the one obnoxiously lovey dovey couple in the middle of their huddle. And then there were the adults, over sitting in booths looking calm. Jade sighed, pushing her hair off of her face. Every bar was the same. Everyone else was off in groups. Jade was alone.
Andy sauntered into the Three Broomsticks, hand stuffed in his pocket digging for a few coins. Smiling and approaching the bar he adjusted his leather jacket. Did he feel great tonight. It was Friday, and he had snuck out of the school for a drink. They were going to Hogsmead tomorrow anyway, why not just go a little early?
-Besides, there shouldn`t be any little annoying people here tonight.- Even as he thought that he saw the gaggle of younger teenagers clinging together in front of the bar. -Darn. Well, it looks like there might be one other person her not intent on getting drunk.- He watched the brunette girl from the corner of his eye as he handed the bartender the coins and ordered a root beer. He loved the Muggle drink and had been quite happy the day he found out they had it.
"Nice night, isn`t it?" Andy asked the girl, sitting down on a barstool and turnign towards her. She was pretty and seemed friendly enough. She was definately more interesting than the group behind him.
Jade turned her head towards the voice that had addressed her. In front of her she saw an attractive and obviously athletic boy with wavy blonde hair. "I suppose." Jade answered, sipping her water tentatively. She looked down at the glass in front of the boy and smiled apreciatively. She could tell it wasn't beer, for which she was greatful. What she needed least right now was a drunkard.
"So..." She said, glancing back up to meet his eyes. "What's your name? I'm Jade."
He smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. The bartender gave him his drink and he took a quick sip; he noticed how she looked at his glass-- maybe she wasn`t one for alcohol. Who cared right now? At least she was talking to him, that was always a good sign.
"I`m Andy, nice to meet you." He offered her his hand to shake, which he usually did. His handshake was firm and people seemed to like that about him, at least his father did. "I had hoped there wouldn`t be any of them in here," he added, nodding towards the other teenagers on the other side of the bar, "They tend to get out a hand."
Jade took his hand, noticing the firmness in his shake. It exuded confidence, which was a good quality to have, Jade noted to herself. Then she sighed aloud. "They're always here." She shook her head sadly. "They may not be the same kids, but drunk teens all act the same. And I predict that a fight will break out between the guys over some girl, too drunk to care within the next five minutes."
Jade sipped her water again, finishing it off. "That's why I don't drink." She added softly. "You sort of lose yourself."
Andy nodded knowingly, shaking her hand then resting his on his thigh. -Jade. Hm.- She seemed sort of sad or something, but she didn`t come here to get drunk and forget something.
"Yeah, that`s true. I don`t drink myself. Alcohol`s just plain icky." He made a face and shook his head. If he was lucky, she`s laugh. Maybe at least smile. He liked it when he made people smile.
Jade laughed, lighting up her entire face in a smile. Her eyes danced with amusement. "Icky?" She smiled even wider. She liked this Andy. "How old are we exactly?" She questioned, arching an eyebrow.
She took her own hands and grasped her empty glass, running her finger over the rim of the glass. She was still smiling as she looked back up, waiting for a response from Andy.
"Fifteen. Well, fifteen and a half, if I were being honest," Andy replied with a shy smile. He leaned to the side and rested his elbow on the bar, taking another drink of his soda.
"What about you? You have to be, what, sixteen?" He asked, looking back up at Jade. His blue-grey eyes seemed to glimmer in the dim lighting and popped from the rest of his face. His lips were slightly parted and he was leaning forward slightly. Body language, it was all about the body language and he knew all there was to know about it. He`d be d@mned if he couldn`t read someone.
"Yeah." Jade smiled, resting her arm on the bar and swiveling back and forth on her bar stool. "Well, 16 and a half, to be honest." She added after a moment, somewhat quoting him.
As Jade looked at Andy again, she couldn't help but notice that everything he did somewhat exuded confidence. She was about to say something when off to her left a loud 'HEY!' sounded off. She abruptly turned her chair to see what was going on, even though she was afraid she already knew.
Two obviously drunken teenage boys were facing off, a timid looking girl standing off to the side. Jade sighed, moving out of her seat and towards the crowd slowly. She looked at the girl on the sidelines. "Go on. Do something!" She hissed at the teen who looked to maybe be a year older than her. But no one acted their age when they were drunk so how old you were didn't matter. "Come on! You have to do something to stop them." She insisted quietly.
The girl nodded quickly and walked slowly towards the boys and started to say something. After a few tense seconds the boys lowered their fists and one stormed out of the bar. Jade returned to her seat after the bartender gave her a greatful smile. She returned the smile and looked at Andy. "I come here too often." She explained lightly, pushing her brown hair back from her face. "Stuff like that happens here often enough, that I guess you just get used to it."
(( Do you want to keep this going? ))
((Yeah, sorry.))
Andrew raised an eyebrow and watched the little confrontation and smiled at Jade as she came back to her seat.
"Wow, you really took care of that quickly. We could have had us a barfight on our hands if you hadn`t stepped in." He nodded to the girl, taking a large drink of his soda. She really took care of that. If Andy had been here alone, he would have just watched with skilled eyes and stayed out of it, maybe even smile as punches were taken. Oh well.
((Sorry for the shortness. Writer`s block. >.<))
(( Oh it's fine XD. And I swear writers block is contagious, now I have it! ))
Jade returned the smile out of courtesy more than out of sincerity. She hated bar fights because they were stupid, and a lot of the time, you had no idea why you were fighting the next day.
"Well, it didn't look as if anyone else was going to do anything." She sighed, watching the group of teens leave the bar.
"I like to think of life like it was one of those shows. You know the kind where they set up situations and video tape what people do. I want to be the kind of person that makes everyone go, 'Oh I wish I did that'. You know?" Jade paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts before she continued. "I want to be able to say that I did everything I could. I mean, even though it scared me out of my wits, walking over there, I did it."
Jade met Andy's gaze directly now, seriousness showing in her wide eyes. "I mean, what if they had started fighting, and someone got hurt? Or worse, someone died? Could you walk away from this bar, content, knowing there was something you could have done?"
"I mean, what if they had started fighting, and someone got hurt? Or worse, someone died? Could you walk away from this bar, content, knowing there was something you could have done?"
This comment made Andy jerk his head up and look right into her eyes. Was she saying that just because it could happen, or was she saying that because it did happen? Just a couple weeks ago a boy was killed in the Hog`s Head a block or so away. By his brother, or cousin or something like that. People had been shook up about it, but he didn`t care much. People died, that`s just the way things were. He didn`t know the guy-- Andy might have seen him around, but he didn`t even know his name.
"Yeah, I suppose something could have happened. Still, the bartenders are usually pretty good about keeping things under control. Did you ever come in here where there was that newly graduated witch was working the bar? She kept everything in line, in here and in the Hog`s." He raised an eyebrow and swirled his drink around. "She knew how to take care of things; you seem like you could, too." Andy smiled a little and tilted his head slightly to the side, lowering his ice blue eyes to the counter.
There was something about the way that Andy responded to the question that interested Jade. Maybe it was the way he suddenly snapped to attention, or the way that he suddenly looked at her like she knew too much. But mostly it was the way he didn't answer her question about whether he could walk away or not. He stated that something could have happened, but he didn't answer her question. She decided not to press it.
"Thanks." Jade responded. "I'd like to have a job here, but then again I wouldn't. If that makes sense?" She paused for a moment, trying to make sense of the swirling thoughts and emotions in her mind. "I'd like to have a say in what happened here, to prevent things if possible. But on the other hand, if something did happen and I didn't or couldn't stop it, I don't think I'd be able to forget that."
Jade looked down at the counter. "Sorry, I guess I'm a little shaken up about that boy killed in a bar a little while ago. I know that stuff doesn't happen a lot, but it's still so scary when it does."
"It makes perfect sense. If I worked here and something happened I would feel terrible. Still, things happen, though. You can`t just get caught up on the little things." He looked back up into her face. She was an awefull deep thinker for someone just being sixteen. Sure, he though a lot too, but still; in this day and age, a lot of people just acted, they didn`t really thing about what they did or said.
Think before you speak. How many times had his mum tell him that? Of course, Andy did think. He thought a lot, especially for a teenage guy. Reading people was so easy for him, and most of the time he knew exactly what to say to get what he wanted. But Jade? No, she was a thinker too, and those were the trickiest.
"Don`t worry about it. I heard about that. Luckily there weren`t any other students there, or it might have been a lot worse. Don`t worry about what happened to him, though. It happened, yeah, but we can`t change that. Worrying never helps. I would just be a little more carefully when you go to a bar late. Take a friend or something."
((I figured out how to get back on to my old profile/account/whatever... Yay lol!))
Jade tilted her head to the side, taking in Andy's words. "I guess you're right." She muttered, shoving her hand intro the pocket of her faded jean shorts. "I take to many things personally. It's kind of always been an issue with me."
She surveyed the bar calmly. "I think I can take care of myself." She said in response to Andy's advice about being careful and taking a friend. "I come here often enough, and I've never been hurt before. I said it's scary that the boy died, not I'm scared. There's a difference."
Jade had never taken very well to being taken care of, whether it was by a friend or a family member. Since her mother died, She had ran away from everyone who had tried to take care of her, including her distant father, who still every month sent her a sizeable amount of money irregaurdless of how many times she tried to refuse it. She was independant and extremely proud of that fact.
She had her problems, and she knew that. She was afraid of commitment. She was too proud to accept help from nearly anyone, and she was rebellious and hated being controlled. Hey, she had her issues, but who didn't?
Andy leaned back a little bit, again raising his eyebrows. The end of her sentence was a little sharp, especially for a girl in a bar. It wasn`t often you found a girl who could fight back. She was proving to be a challenge to figure out, really, and he was intrigued. Figuring people out was sort of an obsession of his; he loved to know how people worked, how they thought. Manipulation was a sort of specialty of his, and he was just fine with that.
"True, you said that. Still, a lady like you, someone might think you were an easy target or something," he said with a shrug. "I was just trying to be kind, you know? Girls are generally thought of as weaker than guys. I don`t agree with that, though. I have a sister who can kick a$$, if you`ll pardon my language."
Andy looked down at his glass again. It was about half empty, and he drained it with another sip. "Personally, I think women are more able to defend themselves than men. With guys, you know where it hurts the most. Plus, it`s just not cool to hit girls." watched Jade for a moment, then turned away and ordered another soda.
Jade smiled, biting her lower lip as she often did when she was geniunly happy or surprised. Now she was a little of both. "Well, I'm glad to hear you don't believe that all men are stronger than women." She tilted her head in a playful manner. "I may look like an easy target, but try anything and you'll see how dangerous I can be." Mischief glinted in Jade's eyes and she crossed her legs, swiveling a bit on her bar stool.
"And I suppose you're right." She continued. "Women are more able to defend themselves, because of the cultural standard that men can't hit women."
After a moment's pause, Jade laughed casually. "You know this is the deepest conversation I've ever had at a bar?" She stated, her laughs quieting to giggles.
Andy smiled and turned back to the girl with a new drink in hand. There, he had gotten the response he wanted. Most chicks giggled or whatever when you said something in their favor. Jade was no exception.
"Me too. Geez, this isn`t usually a place where you can find someone who can talk sensibly," he agreed as she popped open the top of his bottle. "To sensibility?" He asked, lifting his drink into the air.
"To sensibility." Jade agreed, raising her glass of water which she hadn't really payed attention to until now. In the back of her mind she wondered when exactly it had been refilled, but decided not to bother with the thought. Whats the worst that could have happened while she wasn't paying attention?
Their glasses clinked with a near angelic sound and Jade smiled. It was amazing how something beautiful could come from something so plain and average.
"So." Jade said, after nearly downing her glass of water. "What exactly brings you to this bar? Is it the typical girlfriend drama? Or the pathetic sob story drowning themselves in alcohol? Or maybe you came here to pick up girls, or simply because you had nothing else to do?" She offered, honestly curious if she had hit any of the reasons right on.
"Didn`t have anything else to do. Didn`t have anybody to talk to a felt kinda... I dunno. Just sort of plain. Thought if I came here I could drink a soda and not have any immature students bothering me. Of course, if you hadn`t been here to stop that I would have." Andy nodded again.
-Dang, she asks a lot of questions.- He thought to himself, keeping the thought away from his face.
"What about you? What brought you to this dismal place?"
Jade nodded, listening to his answer carefully. It was strange. For some reason she felt she would have pegged him as coming to pick up girls. She inwardly shrugged. It wouldn't be the first time she had been completely off base.
She stiffened slightly in her seat, trying to hide the discomfort from her face when he asked why she had come here to the bar. Then she relaxed again. Why was she stressing out? She had no reason to. It was a simple question, and she had been asking all the questions so far. She should be fine with giving a simple answer, but for some reason, she was uncomfortable. She wanted just to tell him some fake reason she came here, because it was somewhat relaxing. It was because she could break up fights occuring here, or some other crap story.
She didn't want to tell him the real reason because it would most likely rip open a topic she didn't want to get into. Jade decided to do something she was horrible at. Lie. "Well... I don't know. Nothing else to do I suppose." She muttered, brushing hair from her face in a jerky gesture.
Andy nodded slowly and pretended not to notice how uncomfortable she seemed to become. He had just asked the same question she just asked him, yet she got so stiff and jerky; obviously she was lying, and she didn`t come here just because she had nothing to do. Smart girl like her, probably would be back at the school studying for something. Still, it wasn`t like he could just ask her what was wrong right now. Maybe he could-- he was a near stranger, after all. Sometimes people opened up, thinking that they would never hear from that person again. Ha.
"I see," he started. "Well, it`s getting kinda stuffy in here. I think I`m going to go for a walk. Care to join me?"
Jade smiled and nodded. Fresh air was just what she needed right now. She needed to clear her head and get off the topic of her father.She couldn't think about him for too long or it would drive her crazy.
She stood, focusing on not tripping out of her seat as she prepared to leave the bar. She grabbed the small clutch purse she had brought with her and tucked it into the pocket of the hoodie she had been sitting on. The rather thin fabric embraced her as she snuggled into the familiar sweatshirt.
Jade looked at Andy as they walked out of the bar. "So where exactly are we planning on going?" She asked.
Andy shrugged his shoulders and stuffed his hand into his pocket as he stood up.
"Who knows. Maybe towards the school along the forest." He shrugged again as they left the bar. "It`s a nice night. All depends on what happens out there."
There was a slight breeze out that pushed his hair into his icy eyes. His soda was still loose in his fingers and he swung it forward now to finish it off. "Anywhere you had in mind?"
"How about..." Jade pondered for a moment. "Down by the lake? I haven't been to the lake in a while."
She pushed open the door of the bar, smiling as the night air hit her face. It brought with it the smells of other people and what smelled like a bonfire or something similar to it. Jade began walking, but whipped around quickly. "We could go swimming!!" She nearly shouted. "It's a perfect night. I mean, look you can see all the stars."
Jade had always liked swimming. Even as a child, swimming had been an escape. And who doesn't want an escape every now and then?
He sucked in a deep breath of the fresh, warm air and laughed as she suggested they go swimming. He hadn`t been swimming in what felt like forever, and especially not in the lake. Andy got caught the last time he had been in there, and that was his first year.
"Why not? It`s a wonderful night!" He grinned and started walking a little faster.
-The lake, huh? Guess she`s not as quiet as I thought. Maybe I can get her to open up a bit,- Andy thought as he moved towards the school grounds. -Wonderfull night, indeed.-
((I had nooo idea what to say. O_O ))
Jade smiled, mischief glinting bravely in her eyes. "I'll race you to the lake?" She half asked, half challenged, the wind whipping her hair around her face suddenly. She laughed softly and pushed it out of her eyes, taking out her wand. "Accio thunder." She murmured, waiting a moment before a broom shot towards her hand.
She grabbed it and looked at Andy. "What do you say?"
((Writers block... blahhh))
Andy laughed for real now. She wanted to race him tot he lake? He wasn`t exactly the running type, although he was fit, and he knew he would probably lose anyway-- and not for Jade`s pride. Andy was competative, but he found different ways to win. Things like this weren`t his thing.
"Oh, why not?" He smiled, then watched as a broom came towards her. "Well that`s not fair," he complained jokingly as he whipped out his own wand. Within seconds a broom was by his side and he mounted it.
"First one to the lake gets to push the other it?"
((So I miss my old RPing funness... Ha, you game for starting this up again? Feel free to say no, this is super old haha))
((Haha, sure! Your turn.))
"Deal." Jade confirmed, swinging one leg over her broom and flashing Andy a devilish smile before shooting forward towards the lake. Or, at least in the general direction of the lake. She didn't look behind her to see if he was following. She just pushed herself faster, letting the wind sting her face and bring tears to her eyes.
It was the perfect night for something like this; something fun and a little reckless; something that made it easy to forget.
Andy watched her for a while as she flew away, getting smaller. With a laugh he darted after her. He caught up to her and swerved to her left, smiling broadly.
"That all you got, kid?" He asked before pulling ahead of her.
((Aaahhh sorry. Haven't used this guy in forever and am really lacking things to say.))
((No problemo! I haven't used Jade in forever either =] ))
"Kid?" Jade scoffed, arching one eyebrow until it almost touched her hairline. "I am no child!" She retorted. She would have crossed her arms across her chest too, if she hadn't been gripping her broom to the point that her knuckles were white.
Leaning down, Jade tried to make her body more streamlined as she pushed herself and her broom harder. She was painfully aware that the sweatshirt she was now wearing was extremely thin. So thin that the wind gusting against her was painfully cold. She shivered slightly, just a slight tremor running through her body.
The shiver that attacked her body a second later was stronger than Jade had expected. It shook her hands hard enough that her broom was thrown slightly off balance. She yelped in surprise, trying to correct herself before she hit a tree.
Too late she saw the branch in her path. She felt her head smack the branch with a crack that would have normally scared her, if she hadn't been overwhelmed by a sudden pain centered on her left temple. The forest spun briefly before Jade felt her back smash into the ground with a forcefullness that she didn't think possible.
She moaned briefly, closing her eyes and muttering a few choice words. Ouch. She thought. Something hurt. Badly. But she couldn't quite pinpoint where it was coming from. "Andy?" She called, remembering her companion.
Andy laughed once, grinning into the cold wind that seemed to cut through him. He leaned down as she pushed ahead of him, again staying close. He didn't exactly see her move away, but he felt the absence of her next to him. Quickly he turned, banking deeply in the air.
"Jade?" He called just as he heard a crashing sound coming from his left. Slowly now he moved towards the sound. "Are you okay?" he asked impulsively when he saw her lying on her back. A rather stupud question, considering her grimace of pain. And was that blood on her head?
Jade lifted her head, feeling a teardrop trickle down her cheek. She paused, confused. Teardrops didn't originate at your forehead. She slowly pulled herself up onto her elbows and touched her head. Her hand came away covered in something sticky and dark. Blood. You're bleeding. Her brain told her.
Eventually she registered Andy's words."Does it look like I'm ok?" She snapped, the words coming out of her mouth harsher than she had meant them to. But honesty, couldn't he see the blood on her face that was now slightly obscuring the vision in her left eye.
Jade stilled herself, taking inventory of her body. Sruprisingly it wasn't her head that hurt. Head injuries always bled profusely. But there was an incessent pain throbbing in her left arm. She rotated her hand so she could see the pained area and gasped. An inch or two below her wrist, a three inch stick was shoved halfway into her arm. "What the..?" She murmured, trying to fathom how she had embedded a stick in her arm.
Then it hit her. She had a stick embedded in her arm. She felt her face drain of color as that fact registered. She put her other hand over her mouth. She was going to be sick.
Forcing down her nausea, she looked up at Andy. "You need to get it out." She commanded. "Use a spell or rip it out with your hand, something, anything, just get it out." She struggled to keep the edge of panic out of her voice, but knew she failed. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
Andy ran his hands through his hair and knelt beside the girl, trying to figure out what to do. He was okay at healing, but not the best at spells. There wasn't anything he could do with the stick still in her arm, but... still. The childish aversion to violent things stuck with him.
"Okay, I'm going to pull it out. It's the best thing to do, and I can heal you after that, okay?" He was rambling, but he didn't care. Carefully he put one hand on Jade's, carefully wrapping his fingers around her wrist. Andy looked at her face, trying to ignore the blood running across her forehead.
"Close your eyes; you don't need to see this," he breathed.
He lifted his free hand and let it hover over the stick. -Do it fast, like a Band-Aid.- Before he could hesitate he pulled the little twig from Jade's arm.
Jade squeezed her eyes shut as Andy had instructed, biting her lip to stifle the sharp yelp that tried to work its way out of her throat. No, she wouldn't cry. If there was one thing her father had taught her, it was that you shouldn't cry. Under no circumstance was it allowable.
"Thanks." Jade rasped, wincing at the tone of her voice. She cleared her throat and moved to sit up, hissing at the throbbing pain in her arm. Then she realized she still felt nauseous, but she refused to throw up. Not because her father had taught her not to, but because, honestly, it was disgusting.
She ignored it for a second and wrenched her sweatshirt up over her head, cringing when the sleeve scraped her arm. Shivering, clad only in a thin tank top, she used her sweatshirt to mop up the blood from her face so she could see. "S-so." She started, putting on what she considered her brave face. "What's that spell you were going to use?" Her facade faltered a little bit as she looked at Andy. "It won't hurt will it?"
He gave a nervous chuckle, watching her as she sat up. She had to be in a lot of pain, but she wasn't thowing up or crying or anything. Andy suddenly admired her for that.
"Not a spell. I can heal you with my hands." As if she didn't understand he lifted his hands and wriggled his fingers. "It shouldn't hurt at all. Maybe feel a little warm, but that's it."
Andy scooted back and moved so he was leaning on his heels. Gently he took her hand and raised it closer to his face, inspecting the cut. "Really, it's not as bad as it looks." He took his free hand and lightly touched his fingers to Jade's upper arm. Slowly, glancing up at her face, he trailed then down towards her wrist. When his skin came in contact with the wound a soft glow formed around his hand. Within moments the cut started healing.
Jade couldn't help herself. She gasped loudly. She had never seen anything like this before. Not like she had tons of experiences to compare this to, but she didn't think many people could do this. And the sensation in her arm! She couldn't place it. It wasn't pain. But it didn't belong either. It was warm, very warm, but not really uncomfortable. Various words came to her mind: life, giving, care, but none of them quite described the feeling. She furrowed her brows, watching her arm heal.
"Do you do this often?" She asked, breathlessly. Most of her mind was still enthralled with her arm. Then she bit her lip, wishing she could retract her question. Why would he have to do this often? Really, she was the only one clumsy enough to go impaling a stick in her arm.
"I mean... can a lot of people do this? Like, was I just left out of the loop on something like this? Because honestly, that wouldn't surprise me. Or are you unique with this.. er... talent or um.. skill?" She was rambling. Partially because she was trying to correct her earlier statement, and partly because she truly didn't know what was going on. More likely the latter than the former.
Andy smirked and shook his head slowly, watching her as she talked. She really must have been out of the loop if she didn't know a thing about healing powers. Even that one young teacher--Miss Gray or Green or something--taught about them.
"Nah, I don't do this often. Other people can do it, too. It's about as rare as control over the elements. A lot of people have it and don't realize. Sometimes they just think they're really good at healing spells and stuff," he explained. Suddenly he realized he was still holding her hand and pulled away somewhat reluctantly.
"Hey," he added after a long pause, "Maybe you can heal too, and just don't know it."
Jade felt the warmth of his hand leave hers, a shockingly disappointing sensation. Then she realized how stupid she must look for having not the slightest clue about healing powers. As common as elemental control. She reached up and smacked herself in the head, bringing on another round of blood from her head. A short list of swear words flew from her mouth when she felt the blood drip down her face again before she could stop them.
Terrific. Now she felt like an idiot and looked like one too. "So, you want to teach me about these healing powers that apparently everyone else knows about, except for me?" Jade finally asked, using her sweatshirt to wipe her face again.
Thw wind whipped up again, easily passing through her thin tank top. She shivered from the cold, but tried to pass it off as some sort of shiver of excitement about learning healing. She had a feeling she didn't pull it off very well.