Then It Got Dark ; Open.

[zepopeboy]

Landon Pope was exploring like every good naive first year should. He was having a decent time, as well as can be expected. Like seriously, how much can you have staring at an old castle? All alone? Exactly. Some fun, but not much. But Mistuh Pope was determined to know every part of the entire castle. Yes, he was. And that meant the outside, the inside, and the places that might have been inside or might have been outside. The only place that he wasn't going to explore was the girls bathrooms. But he might explore those too, >=]

Landon was also going where he wasn't allowed to go. Into the Forbidden Forest. =O He'd been there before, that was where he had met Chelsea, but Landon wanted to go again. Meet someone else. Perhaps a boy? He had only met girls so far. xD Girls were nice, but you loose part of your masculinity if your always around girls. And Landon took pride in his masculinity. Yessirreeebob, he did. Landon thought it was very important. And where better to prove your masculinity than going into the Forbidden Forest, ALONE. -cue scary music-

Yes, Landon realized no one was watching him do it, but it still proved his masculintiy. That way no one could say, "oh look, it's Landon Pope, that sissy that only hangs out with girls." They'd say, "oh look, it's that very masculine Landon Pope, that looks so hot and is such a ladies man." You see the difference? Landon wanted people to say exactly that.

Shuddup, it would not be weird.

Well, maybe it would, but shuddup. Landon liked his little fantasies. [=

[siren]

Woah! Totally! Today was the day that Brenda decided to venture into the forbidden forest for the first time. What a bad example she was... Would Jared copy her? Most likely. He strived to compete with her. And copy her - that got annoying.

Actually, do you know what really annoyed Brenda? She was supposed to have learned at least the Lumos charm by now. Instead, the only thing she really learned and remembered was that the Devil's Snare was a big plant that ate you, Egyptian guys were all Squibs, and how to turn a mirror into lemonade. And what was the use of that last one anyway? It wasn't like she was about to die of thirst in the middle of a fun-house mirror room, right?

Wow, she suddenly thought as she picked her way into the big, old, not-so-scary forest. I wonder if that will really happen... She could remember the first time she'd been caught without a light... A wand light, of course. Not a... whatever. She'd been in the dungeons... It had been really dark down there. It was sort of dark here... But back on track: she'd been attacked by a wall. And then she met this girl named Selene, who was also a Ravenclaw, but was totally, like weird, even for an upperclassman. She was pretty blonde for an eagle.

Whatever. In any case, Brenda most certainly did not know the stupid charm Lumos. Sure, she could just say "lumos", but... Wait... Why didn't she just cast it? There was no rule against it. And, duh, it was, like, the easiest spell to cast in the world. Brenda pulled her wand out of the pocket of her skinny jeans, which were almost loose on her bitty frame. She was petite, she couldn’t help it. She wore a sweatshirt, too, over a regular, run-of-the-mill tee, mostly because it was cold outside, but a little bit for good measure.

She didn’t want people thinking she was anorexic or something.

Brenda didn’t have much experience in casting spells… She frowned, but held her wand in a comfortable position in her right hand, her wand hand. “Lumos,” she said quietly. After a moment, the tip of her wand began to glow, like one of those muggle light bulbs that took a long time to get really bright. Now… How did she put this thing out?

After it had grown to a reasonable brightness, she flicked her wrist. “Nox,” she told it firmly, and the end of the wand was snuffed out like a candle. That was extremely pleasing. Brenda grinned and pocketed her wand again. At least she knew she could use it now…

After a moment of more considering, Brenda continued through the forest. It was sort of boring, going by herself… It would probably end badly, too. She’d get lost or something unless she saw an upperclassman or teacher. Either way, she’d most likely get in trouble. Oh, well. The only thing she was really worried about in that idea was how that would affect poor Jared. Ugh. Being the older sister and role model was very trying sometimes.

That was weird, she said, giggling at her word choice. I’ve never thought like that before… I guess it’s just the natural Ravenclaw in me… Something startled her up ahead. She raised her eyebrows, seeing a sort of tall boy. She made her way to him. He looked as lost as she did… He was kind of cute, actually. Then again, lots of boys were attractive.

His hair was weird, though. It had a lot of different colors… The main color was, like, black or something. But there was a lot of colors of highlights. Maybe he was one of those emo kids who dyed their hair constantly… or something.

Maybe he was an upperclassman and knew the way out.

She came up behind him and tapped his shoulder. Wow, she was a lot shorter than he was. “Hello?” she began, putting on a very inquisitive face. I hope he knows his way around, because I sure don’t… she thought to herself. She pulled her hand away and gripped the bottom of her sweatshirt anxiously. Would he even mind her?

[zepopeboy]

Hello?

Landon's thoughts were interrupted by a light tapping and a soft word. Landon's mess of lime green, electric yellow, and black hair did a 360 [so did the rest of his body, he isn't that talented]. In front of him was a girl. She couldn't have been more than eleven. Perhaps it was the way she held herself, but she looked very much like an eleven-year-old to Knight Pope. Maybe that was just him.

Because, really, weren't eleven-year-olds not allowed at Trio's. You had to be at least thirteen to come to Trio's. He was sure of that. Some new rule the Headmistress had made several years ago. Headmistress was supposed to be really powerful, so he doubted some eleven-year-old could really fool the Headmistress anyways. So she definitely wasn't eleven, Landon decided.

Landon took a step back, to better inspect her. Landon imagined himself as a normal sized girl and realized that she really was a bit taller than the average girl, she must have just looked short, because he was so tall. She had almost olive skin and pretty hair. Now that he thought about it, she was probably thirteen or fourteen. He just thought everyone looked young these days. Because they did. Expect he didn't. =P He was just awesome like that.

She had spoken to him, wouldn't it be kind to return the favor. 'course it would be. And Landon was kind himself, so he would reply to the small girls greeting. "Hello yourself," he said, smiling kindly down at her.

He wondered if he sounded condescending. Hopefully not, but he had this odd feeling he had acted like she was a little girl, by little, he meant like, two. Maybe he was just being paranoid. He hoped he was just being paranoid, because he didn't want to make a potential friend not like him. -.- He was thinking this through waaay to much. Wow, Landon was weird.

Then Landon remembered that he had wanted to meet guys. But no, he was stuck with another girl. How typical of him, always attracting the cute girls. It was nice, but sometimes you just wanted to hang out with someone of your own gender and he didn't really feel like getting a sex change operation. That would be just weird... Especially for someone like Landon. ._.

[siren]

Wow, was he tall. He was taller when he turned around. Or, at least, he looked taller. Brenda wasn't exactly sure. But she did know that she liked his hair. It was all colorful-like. She smiled, immediately forgetting her confused look. He made a weird face. Crap. Brenda hated that look. So many people gave it to her... Okay, so, just because she was short didn't give them the right to think she was ten. Honestly.

He took a step back and a different look came over him. A realizing look. At least he caught on fast, she thought, almost rolling her eyes. Her smile returned. It takes some people ages to figure it out. I'm fifteen. Not nine. It didn't really matter anyway. There were lots of people who thought she was just a bit too petite (she was five-five, she believed), even if there were loads shorter people. So she eventually got used to it. It really wasn't that big of a problem. She no longer minded.

The guy greeted her in a weird way, but it wasn't off-putting, as it would have been to some people. Some people would have been like, "Wtf don't be such a rude-butt!" More awesome/patient people would have been all "Kk, cool". He hadn't even said it with a mean tone. It was so weird the way people acted when confronted. Losers. She smirked at herself. What a silly girl she was! How wonderful.

"I'm honored," she replied after giving a straight face and a truly sincere tone. No sarcasm here. "In the meantime, do you have any idea how to get un-lost? It's pretty big in here, and if you haven't noticed, I'm small, unlike you." She let herself smile to show him, despite the inflection in her voice, that she was trying to be friendly. Then again, making friends wasn't as easy for Brenda as one might think. Sure, she was smart. But she'd made her friends when she was a little kid, and kept those friends. Making friends now, when she was an awkward teenager, was much more difficult than making friends as a slap-happy child.

She thought for a moment, then continued briefly. "And, for your information, I'm fifteen years old. Not thirteen or fourteen or sixteen or seventeen. Fifteen." She nodded matter-of-factly, and then grinned. She didn't want him to think that she was trying to be pushy, she mostly just wanted him to know.

Brenda looked over Tall Boy's facial expression. He was thinking of something hard. Probably wondering if I'm lying about my age or not... she told herself optimistically. It was all good. Or about his next date... He looks like the sort of male who attracts females without batting an eyelash. He sure had attracted her. Sure, she thought he was appealing. It didn't mean she had a crush on him - god, no. She'd die if that happened every time she saw someone she thought was cute.

But she did want to be his friend, all of a sudden.

[zepopeboy]

This girl was lost, and frightened in the forest. Deja vú much? Yes. Would Landon get to be Knight Pope again and save the littlie from the ebil forest? Not really. Landon wasn't in the mood to be chivalrous. He wanted to be all manly and such with other manly men. But he was stuck with a girl again. ._. He was just so damn smexi, that was why. Girls always came up to him, and he figured out why, he was smexi, very, very smexi. Teehee, he already knew that. =P

And then she commented on her age. The way she said it made Landon want to laugh, but she seemed to be serious, so Landon kept a straight face, which he was very good at. He never offended girls. Unless they were really stupid dumb blondes. Then he just couldn't resist. I mean, who wouldn't insult really dumb blondes? No one. Okay, maybe dumb blondes wouldn't insult themselves, but he wouldn't put it past them. xP

Psssh, Landon didn't even have to blink and girls simply swarmed him. Wasn't as great as some guys thought it was. He was not thinking about his next date thankyouvermuch, but currently about unbelievable it was that this girl was fifteen. She was just so small. She wasn't short or anything, she just looked small. That was all. She also looked so fragile. Like Landon, with all his non-muscleness, could pick her up and snap her like a twig. He almost felt sorry for her.

Landon looked around and realized he didn't really know where he was. He had just kind of wandered into this place, hoping to prove his masculinity. And what did he find? He found himself confronted by a little girl. He was a bit lost himself. Silly Landon, silly, silly Landon. -.- He noticed an opening in the trees, and smiled. A way out. He saw light, and new he could follow it. He'd help the Littlie find her way out. How chivalrous. [= Oh, wait, he didn't want to be chivalrous. -.-

Oh well.

"Ya," he told her, "I can get you un-lost, Littlie Girl."

It was her nickname. It wasn't meant to be unkind, but just a nickname. Landon always gave people nicknames. He hoped it wasn't offensive, but it suited her. Very much so. Landon couldn't help but notice Brenda was eyeing him carefully. He wondered if she found him attractive. 'Course she did, he was Landon Pope. =P He also was very self-centered. Brenda was cute, but he felt no attraction to the small girl, her lips were to small. =P but she'd make a great friend, he was sure of that.

[siren]

Oh, and by the way, piercings on the upper lip are called angel bites. Snake bites are on the lower lip. XP
EDIT: And oh, it's short! I hope you don't mind too much.

Yep. There was that really strange expression everyone seemed to give her. She sighed patiently, totally used to it, even if it did get repetitive and annoying. Then he was looking around. Wow. He really was lost, too. Brenda smirked at his goofiness. Whether he was sincere or not, he was probably trying to be cool and look for a way out. At least he was good at pretending.

She watched him turn back to her and respond. Little-E girl? she asked herself, and her face flickered to reflect her confusion. But then she was fine. He's probably being goofy again and giving me a nickname. She couldn't help giggling. It was all, like, whatever to her. She really didn't care. In fact, she doubted she'd see this guy anymore, especially for classes. He was obviously upperclassman: he didn't look like a dumb thirteen-year-old.

"That's good, Tall Boy, because I definitely can't get myself out." "Tall Boy"? she scolded herself. That's, like, plagiarism or something. She looked up at him for a second, assessing his face. What would be a better name for him? She went from his hair, to his eyes, to his lips.

"Nope, I have a better idea," she announced. "You can be the Crazy-Haired Angel: Shay for short. That way you don't have to give away personal information," she smirked. (Get it? Cha = Shay.) She liked her new nickname for him. It was inventive and creative. She hoped he didn't mind.

"Lead the way, Shay," she said after another minute, and giggled at the rhyme she made. She beckoned for him to lead. I don't have anything else to do, she told herself excitedly. This guy - Shay, maybe his real name if he wanted to reveal it - looked like a good potential friend... That is, if he didn't mind his nickname. Even then, he could always just say his real name if he disliked Shay. But the more Brenda thought about it, the more she liked the idea of not knowing his real name and merely calling him Shay. She waited for him to lead.

[/blockquote][/font]

[zepopeboy]

ooc; Teehee, I get it, but Landon doesn't. =P

At first the girl called her Tall Boy, which made him grin slightly, then she changed his name to Crazy-Haired Angel, or Shay for short. He wasn't exactly sure how that made sense, but he liked it. The grin became a bit broader. Then the boy became rather slow. The girl had thought of a creative nickname for him, now he had to think of one for her. But what? He stood there and thought for a moment.

He could call her Olive, but he didn't like it that much. No other name expect for Littlie Girl came to mind. She had thought of a strange abbreviation for him, so he'd think of something odd for her. "Fine then, I'll call you Littlie Girl," Landon told her, "Bob for shorts." Brilliant wasn't it? He applauded his brilliance. Landon grinned.

You see, Landon knew how to make himself seem smart. She'd probably have to take a long time to figure that one out. Longer tan he would for his. She wanted Landon to lead the way. Landon hoped that he wasn't lost, and that the way he had seen was the way out. He nodded, "of course, Bob."

He took her by the hand and found his way towards the light. He brushed aside a few leaves and let the young girl pass through. Bob would be an interesting friend. He decided he didn't want to now Bob's real name. That would make it less fun. It was fun, being with someone you didn't know. Very much so. Ruining t with a name wouldn't be much fun at all, now would it? Then again, if she asked for his name, he'd be obliged to give it.

There definitely was the exit in the distance. Landon had helped a fair maiden in distress. [= Wait, no he hadn't, he had only saved a Bob. =P Close enough. But Landon felt specialful. If saving Bob's wasn't manly, he didn't know what being manly was. Perhaps playing a rough game of Quidditch or beating the living hell out of another boy.

[siren]

Brenda enjoyed that, at least, Shay wasn't too terribly upset by her copying him. He seemed lots happier at the prospect of "Crazy-Haired Angel"/Shay. Then he froze, obviously thinking about something. Silly people had a tendency to do those sorts of things, Brenda realized. She didn't do anything when she was thinking. Shay apparently had to stop everything, too. Maybe he was guilty that he couldn't think up a really good name for her...

But then he continued with "Littlie Girl" - Bob for short. She didn't exactly get it, but since she called him Shay, she supposed it would only be fitting for him to call her Bob. Then again... Shay had no way of knowing that Brenda's name started with a B too... She smiled at her new nickname, honored that a possible new friend would appoint her so highly. Well, she didn't exactly know what Bob meant... Would she ever figure it out. She blinked and her smile slowly fell into a content stare as she began to think of how he got "Bob" from Littlie Girl...

Then Shay answered her question. She nodded, the smile back on her face. Then he took her hand. Did many boys hold hands with people they just met? She didn't reject it, just questioned the motivation. Maybe only silly boys like Shay, she thought, and it was decided. Yep. Only people like Shay would hold hands with a total and complete stranger. However, she returned his grip. Shay began to lead her in some random direction. Did he see something she didn't? Most likely.

As they (slowly, she realized) made their way along, it gave Brenda time to think. Where was her brother now? He was probably being a good little boy (not "littlie", that was her name) in his common room somewhere... And not in Ravenclaw. At least he wouldn't know if she was gone or not, since he wouldn't not see her in the common room that she should have been in. Her logic sent a wave of confusion through her. That was really weird, she thought to herself, and she couldn't help but smile again.

Shay's hand was getting warm, but she didn't let it bother her. Instead, she started up a conversation. "You don't happen to have any siblings here, do you? My brother's supposed to be here, but I haven't exactly seen him yet," she said, still keeping her tone as cheerful as possible. She hoped her homesickness hadn't transferred from her voice to his ears. She really did miss her mum and dad, and all her Muggle friends, and her flying horses...

"He's fourteen," she continued as if she thought of nothing. "How old are you, by the way? And what year are you in? I'm a first year, even though I'm fifteen..." Talking about this sort of thing always busied her mind. She stopped being lonesome and began thinking about how many people in the school were thirteen or fourteen and in upper years. They wouldn't even be able to go out in the world "of age"...

[zepopeboy]

It occurred to Landon that it might be odd, Landon holding Bob's hand. It wasn't anything romantic, he was simply leading the way, and figured he would be a better guide if he could pull her in the correct direction. He was about to let go, when he felt her return the grip. So, she didn't mind his hand on hers. How wonderful. Now he wouldn't have to worry about being all awkward like, 'cause he held her hand. He did believe it had happened before.

They were walking in (what Landon assumed was) the right direction, Landon all being guide-like when Littlie Girl spoke. You don't happen to have any siblings here, do you? My brother's supposed to be here, but I haven't exactly seen him yet. Landon was a bit startled by the question, because Missus Bob had broken the silence. Naturally, being surprised and all, he jumped a little. It was a little embarrassing, trying to be all masculine, and then jumping at the tiniest thing. A small blush creeped up his cheeks, and he was glad the light was dim in this forest. He was about to answer when she began talking again. How old are you, by the way? And what year are you in? I'm a first year, even though I'm fifteen...

"That's a lot of questions for one so small," Landon said, grinning a little. Bob would be an awesome friend. "No, I don't have any siblings. No, I haven't met your brother, though I'd be happy to, since I've been dying to meet some guys. I'm fifteen as well, though I'll be sixteen on January first, and I'm a first year as well."

Now, if she got to ask questions, it was only fair Landon got to ask questions as well. "So, Missus Bob, you've asked me questions, now it's my turn. It's only fair if you answer them. What's your deepest-darkest-secret?"

He grinned. He knew she wasn't going to him her real one, but perhaps he'd get a funny story out of her. "I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours," he promised. He didn't really have a deepest-darkest-secret, but he'd think of something funny. Like his brother was sent to Juvi for eating their cat. 'scept that won't be the secret, 'cause I just said that, and it would ruin the fun if he used that one.

Landon saw the exit twenty feet away and smiled, turning to Bob. "I do believe we are officially un-lost, Missus Bob," he said proudly. He really had saved a Bob.