Aiden sat on the ground deep in the heart of the forest. He sighed, feeling physically and emotionally drained. These past few days have been exausting, and he had alot on his mind. It was overwhelming.
He leaned back, laying on the ground and crossing his arms behind his head. He looked up at the sky, the moon barely being visible through the thick canopy of trees. He closed his eyes, only vaguely aware of the footsteps in the distance.
((Did he ask her to come?? Can it be that way?))
((I was thinking maybe he finds her in the forest or something like that.))
((I totally forgot about this! Can we post now? Like in the present, but they can finally talk, and make it closed?))
((Sure. Go ahead.))
((This is closed (: ))
Avalee walked through the forest. The forest was silent and foggy, as was her mood. The temperate was quite pleasant for early February. She wore a black dress with purple tights, and a dark green sweater. On her feet were converse high-tops.
In her hand was her wand. She flicked it and a tree branch bent to the ground she sat on it, and it elevated, resuming its original position. And there she sat. Thinking. Breathing in the misty forest air, and relaxing. She closed her eyes breathing in more, the forests smelled so good, anytime of the year.
Her hair was down and still a little damp from her shower early that morning. the wind blew gently through it. She took another deep breath as she heard someone approach.
Aiden sat in a nearby tree above Avalee. He wasn't surprised to see Avalee, or anybody here as a matter of fact. The forbidden forest didn't seem so forbidden anymore, and most kids never treated it as such int he first place.
He tilted his head sideways and flipped his dark hair out of his eyes. He looked down at Avalee who was sitting on the tree branch by herself. He cleared his throat and spoke up.
"Hello."
Avalee jumped, startled by the familiar voice. She held on to the branch tightly, not wanting to fall. "Aiden?" She asked searching for his face. She saw him then, perched upon a sturdy branch close to her. She nervously tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, remembering the last time they were in the woods together, almost six months ago. She shook those memories and thoughts from her head.
She smiled nervously at him. She wondered what brought him to the forest. It was the one place she could find peace in the everyday chaos of life. She loved the way the trees seemed infinitely tall, the way they swayed gently in the breeze, and the way there was always a nice branch to sit on.
Aiden hooked on to to the branch to keep himself up. He tilted his head and looked down at her from where he sat. He let his feet dangle from the limb as he sat.
"Hey Avalee. What brings you here?" He asked.
Aiden gave her a small smile back, however he noticed how she looked nervous. He cleared his throat as the wind blew his hair around.
She looked at him, his words not registering for a moment. "Um, it-it's a nice place to come and think, to relax." Her face was blank, her eyes were wide looking at his face and just the forest in general. "It's like the world disappears when you come here." She thought for a moment.
She found the word that she was looking for; "Serenity" She said quietly, so quietly she was unsure if he heard her.
Aiden slowly hopped down from the tree, landing perfectly on his feet. He balanced himself back up on his heels and walked a bit closer to her.
He tilted his head, and sat down.
"Serenity?"
"As in serene, unaffected by disturbance or calm and peaceful. It's nice." She smiled a small smile. "And who doesn't need a bit of peace now-a-days?" She chuckled.
"You?" She asked.
Aiden shrugged his shoulders, not really having an answer for why he was here. It was really the sudden urge for quietness and time by himself really.
"Just felt like a walk." He replied simply.
He leaned back in his seat, resting his arms on his knees.
"So how have you been?"
"I've been ok," She paused, hopping down from her tree so they could be somewhat eye level. "Just laying low, trying to be unseen" She admitted. It was so easy to talk to Aiden, to confess. She wasn't exactly in love with him, but she did have respect for him.
((Still here?))
Aiden nodded, pressing his lip together. He squinted his eyes, adjusting them to the somewhat bright light that appeared through a parting in the dense canopy of trees overhead.
"Unseen? Are you hiding from something?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
The edge of his lip twitched, turning into a short smile on one side without being able to control it.
"Life" She whispered, almost to herself, but she knew it would have been loud enough for Aiden's keen ears to hear. She smiled, slightly, but the smile didn't touched her eyes.
She shifted her weight, and in a nervous habit fashion tucking her hair behind her ear. She tilted her head forward and over to the left. Looking at the ground. Not looking him in the eyes. She took a deep breath of earthy, fresh air.
"It all just seems a little..." She trailed off, a little sad. "Overwhelming..."
Aiden nodded in agreement. He couldn't help but notice how nervous she felt and this made him slightly uncomfortable. He turned to look at her eyes, seeing if he could find some hidden meaning in them.
"I understand." Aiden said after a moment.
"I guess we're all going through that a little now."
She darted her eyes off distantly, trying to focus on a tree that was gently swaying. She knew it was weak of her to avoid his eyes, but it was the safest thing to do. They were both uncomfortable, she knew that, but what was there to say? "I guess we are..." She thought for a moment, he had more to be overwhelmed about than she did, for sure. Twins on the way? Now that was overwhelming.
What was her problem? Selfishness? No, it was self-pity. Stupid self-pity that needn't be there, but alas it was.
(Um hi? Is this still happening?)
Aiden frowned as he lifted his hand to scratch the back of his neck. He pressed his lips into a straight line and his eyes darkened a little. However, the mood around them didn't exactly fit how he was feeling.
"Will you please tell me what you're thinking? The suspense is killing me." Aiden said aloud after a moment.
It was obvious that something was bothering her, even if it was something that he could figure out, he still wanted to know. He was getting annoyed that he was one of the few people at Hogwarts these days that couldn't read peoples' minds.
"Nothing, sorry, just awkward, and I hate it." She said. She tried to repress the tears of anger and sadness she had repressing for months. "Everything that happened." She took a deep breath. "I just...don't....know..." She fell back against a tree. So tired.
Aiden watched her eyes and face carefully, desperate to know what she was thinking. He watched her expressions, searching for what she was thinking about and what she was feeling.
She wasn't easy to read.
"Don't know about what?" Aiden asked quietly.
"What to say. What to do. How to think. How to act. What the future holds." She was babbling and practically ranting at this point. The three hours of sleep she had gotten weren't helping, same for the insane letters from her ex. It just all came crashing down on her, and she was crumbling under the weight of it all. She didn't want to unload it on Aiden. He had enough to worry about in his personal life.
Aiden watched her, watching her face. He frowned, seeing that she seemed to be going through a lot. He wanted to give her a hug or something to help her, but he wasn't sure how she would react to that.
"I understand. We both seem to be going through so much pressure right now." Aiden said quietly, looking down at the ground ifn front of him.
She took a step closer to him, not wanting to get too close and make him. "More, you than me, I hear." She said, almost smiling. She was eluding to the recent event of Stacey becoming pregnant. She didn't mention it directly, she didn't know how he felt about it. How were they supposed to deal with pressure like this. She opened to mouth to try to say something, but nothing came out. She thought to herself What the he!! am I going to do with my life?
((Hello?))
Aiden looked up at her, surprised. He hadn't recalled telling anyone about Stacey being pregnant, and he doubted that Stacey would tell Avalee of all people.
"How did you know about that?" He asked, knowing what she was referring to.
He leaned forward from where he sat, resting his arms on his knees and flipping his hair out of his dark eyes.
"Word gets around" She replied softly, eyes sad. "Congratulations?" She said the word more like a question than a statement.
Aiden nodded, the edge of his lips curving into a small smile.
"Thanks. " He replied.
He tilted his head to one side, and brushed his dark hair out of his dark eyes. He looked up at her as the wind blew his hair around again.
"Has anything new been going on with you?" He asked quietly.
"Just a lot of alone time. Thinking time..." She paused wondering whether or not he cared at all. After all he many more things to worry about. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes. She took a slight step forward sighing. She was exhausted. "I-I-I'm sorry Aiden..." She broke, taking a breath. "I can't, I just..." Her eyes filled with tears.
Aiden blinked, taken aback by her sudden sadness. She seemed fine just a moment ago and he wondered if it was something he had said to make her upset.
Aiden stood up and walked over to her.
"You can't what?" He asked, confusion swirling in his dark eyes.
"I don't know. I will be graduating soon and I just don't know what to do. I have no idea what to do with my life. I feel so lost" She sighed, not knowing how to form coherent sentences, or how to describe what she felt.
Aiden frowned and took another step forward. He gently rested his hands on her shoulders, hoping she wouldn't mind his attempt at trying to comfort her.
"It's okay Avalee. I don't think anyone really knows what they want to do with their life. Perhaps trying out different things will help you decide what you want to do." He suggested quietly.
He watched her eyes carefully.
"That is not what I mean Aiden. I don't know anything anymore. The world sucks..." She trailed off, so very bitter in the moment.
Aiden help her shoulders, staring at her eyes. A crease formed in his forehead as he struggled for the right words to say. He didn't want to say the wrong thing and make her more upset.
"It'l be okay. I know it will get better. Maybe once you leave school you're find something that you really want to do with your life, something real." He told Avalee.
She had calmed down a bit. "I really don't want to leave Hogwarts. It really is my home." She knew he would understand. Heck, he was still there.
Aiden nodded. He actually did understand why she would be so upset in leaving this place. For so many people Hogwarts was some of the student's home away from home.
"I know what you mean. I can't say I have a lot of friends here, but I still love this place a lot more from where I used to live. It's just makes me feel alive when I'm here. I know one day I'll probably have to leave, but I want to stay as here as long as I can." Aiden told her, looking at Avalee.