CHARITY BALL MAIN THREAD

[ariella evelyn davies]

;]] OUTFIT

Jake was fun. A lot of fun, actually. However, once they had finished off for the night and were ready to get to sleep, Ari couldn't. Nighttimes were the most restless time for her and most often, she found herself incapable of catching any relatively normal amounts of sleep at all. Most often, she just spent the nights awake and doing whatever she felt like doing and then slept it all off during the day when the moon wasn't out to bother her. She had a thin layer of sweat covering her body as she slipped out of Jake's bed to plod back down to the ball. She figured she might as well do her job for part of the night, since she had most definitely not been doing that at all. She was pretty sure that the ball would probably still be in full swing, even by that time, since it was still relatively early on in the night.

Holding a bottle of tequila in one hand, Ari descended the stairs to the Great Hall, entering back into the scene with a bit of an excited hop. It was probably an absolutely terrible idea for her to be drinking and or drunk while supervising an event intended for the children, but that thought didn't even slightly cross her mind. Nor did it cross her mind that, perhaps, looking like she had just rolled out of a bed of sex was also not exactly the best example for the kids. Ari was clearly not meant to be a professor and was definitely doing more harm than good in most cases. Though, she could at least say that she did what she was asked to do and there was no denying that the kids that practiced under her had gained skill immensely. That was something to be proud of. no doubt.

Entering back into the Great Hall, Ari glanced around to see if anything or anyone new and interesting had showed up. However, she was sorely disappointed. No new hot professors to flirt at and none of her favorite students were hanging around. She certainly didn't want to stand around on her own though, since that was just lame and boring. She'd have been better off just sitting around with a sleeping Jake than to come her to be alone. However, before she could turn to leave, she saw none other than her younger sister, Gabby. The two didn't exactly have a good relationship at that point, nor did Ari really want to fix things, but it was better talking to her than it was talking to no one. Maybe. That could be debated.

Walking over to her, Ari raised an eyebrow when she saw the dress that she was wearing. "That's my dress," she said simply, forgetting the fact that she had once given it to her younger sister, in a time where they had actually gotten along. "And, what the hell are you drinking? Shouldn't you be drinking firewhiskey, or a least some tequila? Something better than that," Ari scoffed, clearly not impressed. If they were going to be at a party, shouldn't they be getting a bit crazy. She saw that some of the younger ones had their bottles out and a few older ones off to the side and that, she approved of. This, however, was clearly a problem. Holding up the bottle of tequila she'd brought along, she offered some to Gabby. "Don't be such a lameass, eh?"

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[gabriella sofia davies]

Gabriella was disappointed that she hadn't spotted many of her friends yet. She'd spotted a few dancing, like Felix and Belle, but she could hardly go over and interrupt. Which meant that for now, she was stuck at the bar, alone. Maybe missing the ball wouldn't have been such a bad thing after all, at least if she were in her dorm she'd be able to read or start on more work, anything to keep her from feeling bored. Sighing, Gabby began to trace her finger around the rim of her glass, a pout on her lips. She was in the middle of thinking that she was in for a long and boring night when a familiar voice sounded from the side. Gabby felt her shoulders stiffen the moment she heard Ari speak. 'Merlin, not now..' to say that wasn't thrilled to see her sister might have been an understatement. Bracing herself for the worst, because nothing good come of this, Gabby turned to face her sister and placed a hand on her hip.

Listening to Ari speak, Gabby couldn't help but find herself becoming overly irritated with her older sister. 'She hasn't seen me in over six months and this is how she's treating me?' The anger that had been stewing over her sisters unexplained absence and now her sudden return, was threatening to boil over. There were a thousand and one things Gabby wanted to scream at Ari, but now was neither the time or place for loud public displays. Of course if Ari kept pushing her, Gabby was afraid she might blow up in a fit of rage and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to control herself. Now, however she had a pretty good control of her emotions, which was a good thing because she also felt like crying and that was not something she wanted to do in front of Ari.

"First of all, you gave me this dress." she pulled at the fabric and then swatted at the bottle Ari was offering her. "And second of all, not all of us like to get drunk at every party we attend." She drew in a deep breath, glad that she'd managed to keep her voice level. "What are you doing drinking anyway? You're a professor. You're not supposed to be getting wasted." Gabby pointed out the obvious and then eyed Ari over. She looked a little rough around the edges and Gabby wondered what she'd been up to. Though it should have been obvious really. Turning so that she was facing the bar, Gabby picked up her drink and downed it in one. "Another please." she smiled at the bartender and lowered her head a little so that her hair fell in a curtain, hiding her face from Ari.

This was the first time Gabby had seen her sister in over six months and Ari didn't seem at all that bothered by their reunion. There was a painful ache in her chest that had tears threatening to prick at the corners of her eyes. Gabby couldn't understand why Ari was shutting her out in the cold. She didn't know why she'd disappeared and she didn't know why Ari was no longer treating her like a sister. Had she done something wrong? Ari had been in touch with her brother after all, hell she'd probably been in touch with their parents. What had Gabby done to deserve this? She didn't know but she wasn't about to let Ari leave without demanding some answers. Throwing back her head, Gabby took a deep breath and blinked away any tears that had managed to squeeze their way out. She then turned back to face Ari, a determined line pressed into her lips. "Where have you been the past six months?"

[ariella evelyn davies]

Ari probably shouldn't have been expecting a very warm welcome from Gabriella, considering the circumstances, but seeing the coldness with which she was treating her still kind of hurt. Even if she knew it was her own fault that had brought this on, Ari didn't like it one bit. Perhaps, some part of her was hoping that even after six months of pushing everyone away and generally ignoring the fact that Gabriella existed, she would still be the same little sister that she had left behind. Balking back slightly at the rather less than friendly reunion, Ari stepped back slightly and bit at her lip. She wasn't used to people treating her like that. Usually, even if she had done something wrong, people still loved her and just kind of brushed it off. This, however, seemed like it was going to be different.

Pulling the bottle back away from Gabby when she refused it, she furrowed her eyebrows in irritation. Of course. Leave it to Gabby to make a dig at her partying habits within the first few minutes of being back in her life. Dumb. It was never fun for Ari to listen to people lecture at her and tell her what she was or, in most cases, what she wasn't supposed to be doing. She knew she did things wrong and messed up a lot, it was mostly just that she didn't particularly care to correct herself. She did things her way and that was that. Anyone that felt it necessary to lecture at her about it were perfectly welcome to, but the odds of Ari actually conforming to fit the proper standards were slim to none. Especially when people told her to do otherwise.

Harrumphing in irritation, Ari's somewhat smile turned to a stark frown. "Well, it looks good on you," she said, inclining her head, as if Gabby should be eternally grateful for her compliment. "And whatever. I'm not even drunk, just drinking," she added, since that obviously made it okay. Brushing her hair back to put it behind her ear, Ari wasn't even sure how to respond to that. Technically, Gabby was right, but that didn't mean Ari was going to agree to such a thing. "Besides, I was only drinking because I was with Jake in his room. But when we were done he was tired, so I left with the tequila," Ari said with a nod, a sly smirk arising on her face. Even if she probably shouldn't have been discussing her sex life with her younger sister, it just kind of came out and she couldn't help but feel quite proud of herself for it.

Shaking her head slightly in disappointment as Gabby downed her butterbeers, Ari uncapped her tequila and took a swig. Obviously, this meeting would require some serious alcohol. Especially when the conversation turned to the past six months. That was the last thing that Ari wanted to deal with now, or ever really. Honestly, she'd rather just pretend like that had never even happened, but that wasn't going to fly with Gabby, it seemed. "Ah, you know. Here, there. Lots of...places?" she offered, shrugging a bit at the question. It wasn't a lie, really. Ari had been plenty of places over the last few months, but she had a feeling that that wasn't exactly what Gabby was getting at with her question. "Why? You miss me?"

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[francesca victoria thomas]

Frankie rolled her eyes but smiled at Felix's comment, obviously made so that she'd kiss him again. "Oh really?" she a quirked a brow, a knowing look on her face. To be honest she wasn't sure if kissing him again would be such a good idea, not whilst her head was still dealing with the aftermath of the awkwardness and confusion created because of the night they'd spent together. Things needed to be simple right now and kissing would only lead into something that neither of them were sure of. "I don't know..." she trailed off and eyed the fan girls. "I'm not sure it's worth the risk." she teased with a smile and was about to ask if Felix wanted a drink when she felt a wave of dizziness come over her, followed up by a heavy wave of nausea.

Stopping their dance, Frankie pushed her hair back from her face and took a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself. "I don't feel too good.." she whispered and quickly blinked her eyes when she felt another wave of dizziness wash over her. For a moment her vision went black and she lost her balance. She slouched forward against Felix, resting her weight on him. It was only a couple of seconds before her world came swinging back into view and she pushed herself up so that she wasn't leaning on Felix.

Confushed and worried, Frankie took a step back and rubbed a hand over her face and up through her hair. "I'm.. I'm sorry.." she mumbled and frowned as her eyes darted about the people dancing around them. They were moving far too fast and it was making her feel something awful. Though confused and disorientated, Frankie's mind raced with idea's and questions as to why she'd been feeling ill on and off over the last week. Of course she hadn't felt this awful until now. She felt like she might be sick, which was strange given that she hadn't eaten much today and had only had a mouthful of alcohol. Eventually it wasn't her mind that came to a conclusion, it was the knowing feeling in her gut. The feeling she'd been having all day but had dismissed over and over. Because she didn't even want to entertain the idea that she might be pregnant, even when all of the signs were saying that she might very well be.

Looking back at Felix, Frankie felt her mouth drop open into a small 'O' as realization and dread dawned on her. "I..." she started after over half a minute of silent staring "..I have to.. go." she took another step back and ran a shaky through her hair again. "I'm... this was.. yeah... sorry. I'll see you.. around." Whirling around, Frankie quickly began to push and shove her way through the crowd of people, too out of it to care if she pissed anyone off. All that mattered was getting out of the Hall and to her dorm so that she could process the world-crashing conclusion she'd just reached.

[gabriella sofia davies]

Gabby rolled her eyes at Ari's compliment, which wasn't so much a genuine compliment and gave her a bemused glance at her following statement. Gabriella found it hard to believe that Ari wasn't already drunk but she didn't say anything further on the matter. There wouldn't be any point. She couldn't help but comment when Ari went on to explain why she wasn't drunk yet. "Oh, ew." Gabby whined, her face screwing up into a frown to show that she was very disturbed. "I do not need to know that." Shuddering, Gabby picked up her drink and swallowed a small mouthful, as if it might wash away the images of her sister and professor Bridges that threatened to flash behind her eyes.

When Gabby questioned Ari about her whereabouts over the last six months, she hadn't been expecting an informative answer, so she wasn't at all surprised by her sisters reply. Still the fact that Ari was being so evasive only fueled the fire that was Gabby's irritation and anger. It also made Gabby think that her sister was hiding something. Because there was no way Ari would just randomly cut herself off from her family. There had to be an explanation, otherwise it just didn't make sense.

Looking back at Ari, Gabby felt torn between admitting the truth or acting just as evasive as her sister, when she was asked if she'd missed Ari. Of course Gabby had missed her. She missed her so bad that she'd resorted to collecting magazine and newspaper clippings to see how Ari had been doing over her absence. They were hidden away in the drawer besides her bed, underneath a book. She pulled them out on the nights she missed Ari the most. Looking at them was always bittersweet however since they were constant reminders that Ari had pretty much deserted her but was still out there living her life.

Glancing away to look at the dancing students, though she wasn't really seeing them, Gabby shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, I guess.." she trailed off and then turned so that she was facing the bar. "But i bet that's more than i can say for you" she bit out sarcastically and turned her head to look at Ari. "Did you even think about us when you were gone? About me?" she cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brows. "Or were you too busy having fun to even care?" Gabby was aware that she was being uncharacteristically harsh but she couldn't quite help the hard edge her anger gave to her words. She had six months of repressed confusion and built up anger and now that Ari was back on the scene she had someone to direct it at.

[belle]

Belle snorted in disagreement when Louis stated that there were plenty of guys out there who'd only be to happy to dance with her. Belle knew that most guys preferred confident and independent and sexy over shy, goofy and insecure. Sure Belle wasn't the awkward 'ugly duckling' she used to be and she wasn't anywhere near as shy, but she wasn't what anyone would call 'desirable' either. She was plain old Belle, always had been, always would be. It was just too bad that 'plain old Belle' happened to be a boyfriend repellent. Feeling a little down, Belle welcomed the comment Louis gave her when he said that he was lucky to be dancing with her. Belle didn't often take comments well since she had the horrible tendency to blush an unflattering shade of red, but she'd needed that little boost. Her ego was in for another boost when Louis answered her question on whether or not he was meeting anyone.

Belle really did believe that he could be out there dancing with whoever he wanted. Louis was such a nice guy after all and because of his happy-go-lucky attitude, Belle believed him to be quite popular. She felt sort of bad that he might be sticking with her so that she wasn't left on her own. The last thing Belle wanted was anyone taking pity on her. "You don't have to stay." she said and then quickly followed it up so he didn't think she was trying to get rid of him. "I mean, if you want to go off and do your own thing, that's okay." she offered him a smile and shrugged. "I'll be fine."

[felix ian wood]

Felix certainly hadn't been expecting Frankie to fall for such a dumb move, so he couldn't say he was surprised when she simply rolled her eye at him a bit. At the very least, she didn't seem to think that he was a complete and utter doofbag, so that was a good start. He was, however, highly offended by the notion that he possibly wasn't worth any amount of risk, since obviously he was totally worth it. In fact, he was worth way more than just the fear of some silly little fourth years. "Bah, don't lie, Franks. You know I'm worth every bit of it and more," he commented with an eye waggle and a smug grin. Sometimes, he was kind of kidding when he said things like that, but not really. He pretty much did think he was Merlin's gift to all the young witches that were graced by his miraculous presence in their lives. It was just up to them to see and accept such things.

He still had a fairly amused grin on his face when Frankie stopped the dance, assuming that she was just giving in to his clever wit and undeniable charm. But, when she started to look rather sick and said that she wasn't feeling well, he got a bit worried. Felix, though not always the ideal guy to have around, didn't mess about when it came to people not feeling well, or being hurt. Despite all his bravado and claims that he was the biggest manwhore around, he did care. It was times like this when his Gryffindor nature kicked in and he jumped straight into overprotective mode. Usually, it was mostly just for Ellie, but there were times when his goofy grin dropped and his srs face came on otherwise as well. Especially considering the fact that he was quite fond of Frankie, a concerned look flashed across his face and he steadied himself to get a good hold of her.

Letting her lean into him, Felix held an arm out, resting it on her side to help steady her as much as possible. He kept quiet for a moment, watching to see if he needed to do something to help her. A slight bit of relief rushed over him as she started to push herself up, hoping that it was just a random moment, but she definitely didn't look so hot. Whatever it was, she wasn't feeling well and Felix wasn't about to just let her run off around the castle where something could happen to her. Even if had been looking forward to roaming about the ball and having a good time, he couldn't have let himself do that while knowing that there was something wrong with Frankie. "Yeah, don't worry, just...as long as you're okay," he nodded, keeping his worried eyes trained on her and searching for some sign of something that might help him to help her.

Keeping a hand on her side, just in case she decided to tip over and pass out or something, Felix let the moment of silence drag on, seemingly for forever, until she said that she had to go. As she started to rush away, Felix couldn't help but have the sinking feeling that it was his fault, that he should have just left her be and maybe she'd be just fine. With that worry on his mind, he rushed out after her, not about to just let her run off and get sick without someone there to take care of her. There probably wouldn't be very many people out in the halls or back in the Gryffindor tower, since they'd all be down at the ball. "Hey, Frankie, wait up," he called out, swerving around the people until he caught up with her. "Let me help you, yeah? I can carry you back up to bed and make...soup or something. That's what sick people do right? Or...something." he offered, giving her a shaky, unsure smile. Soup was totally the answer to everything, after all. That's what his mum did.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[ariella evelyn davies]

For a moment, the amused look on Gabby's face gave Ari some sort of false hope that perhaps that would be the end of the awkwardness and the questions. Of course, that wasn't at all the case and there probably wouldn't be an end to such things until Ari came forth and was genuinely truthful about everything. However, Ari was stubborn enough to retain the hope that things would just blow over and that if she continued to tell the lies long enough and loud enough, Gabby would start to believe it and accept it. There was, however, the unfortunate fact that Gabby was a Ravenclaw and had a natural intelligence that would take more than a few well placed lies for Ari to fool. Somehow, she'd just have to figure out a different way to get past that, but Ari really wasn't that smart.

Snorting a bit at Gabby's disgusted look, Ari simply shrugged in response, giving her an innocent grin. "Ay, just some sisterly sharing, right? Not my fault you have some sexed up professors," Ari shrugged. She still didn't quite associate herself with the other professors and would hardly count herself as part of their numbers. She was just a temporary fill in until they could finally send her back to where she was meant to be. "Besides, if I wasn't off having fun, the whole family would implode from your lame, boring, no alcoholsexfun lifestyle," Ari pointed out with a brisk nod. In general, Ari had a very skewed view of the world and the things that she deemed acceptable and right were pretty much all things frowned upon by anyone with even a slight moral compass. However, that was something that just didn't seem to change.

The way that Gabby shifted to look away from her when she admitted that she'd somewhat missed Ari clued her in to the fact that it was more than just a bit. If there was one thing that Ari hadn't considered in the least when making her decision to just not stay in contact with the family, it was Gabby and how she would feel about it all. She probably should have factored that in, but Ari wasn't typically the type to think about other people and how they might be effected by the things that she did. Biting back a number of scathing replies, Ari kept her cool for the time being and waited a moment before responding. "Of course I did. Did you ever think that perhaps it was for your benefit that I stayed away?" Ari asked. It was a rather cryptic and odd question, but one that had a bit of truth behind it. In Ari's mind, staying away from Gabby had been the right thing to do at the time. Not her favorite thing to do, but definitely the right thing.

A rather grim, macabre smile crossed her face at her last question. Fun. That was probably one of the last words that she would have used to describe the last few months of her life. Sure, she still went out, got wasted, partied, and acted like she was having a good time, but that wasn't really the case. She'd had a hell of a six months and fun was certainly not a good descriptor for them. Living in constant fear of what you could do to yourself and everyone else around you wasn't exactly easy. Not to mention all the side effects, the scars and everything else that came along with it. "Yeah, fun. It's been the time of my life," she commented dryly, her lip turning up into a slight snarl as she spoke. There were times when Ari's bitterness about the whole ordeal came out and her face reflected the monstrous side of her that was slowly consuming her and now was one of them.It was times like that when Ari looked downright scary.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[louis bill weasley]

The fact that Belle snorted at his comment made Louis shake his head a bit. He really did believe that Belle could easily find someone that would be happy to dance with her or perhaps even more. Perhaps he was being the overly positive about the thing, but he quite doubted that. He knew he was an optimist, but this was one of those things where he was quite certain that it wasn't just him being overly optimistic and hopeful about things. As far as he was concerned, Belle was quite pretty and certainly worthy of plenty of attention. Giving her a reassuring smile, he was glad to see that she didn't start to blush and refuse his compliments like usual. He liked to see that more confident side of her on the rare occasion it came out, as it made him quite proud of her.

A frown came upon his face when she suggested that he should leave. He loved being around Belle, so he most definitely didn't want to just leave. He was quite happy to stay there and chat with her. "Please, Belle. I'd much rather hang around with you than any of them," he said, shaking his head. Sure, he could have found someone else to be with, but he didn't want to. "Besides, someone has to stick around to keep you in line, eh? Wouldn't want to have you off getting into all sorts of trouble now, would we?" he joked, looking over at her with a slight grin. He was pretty confident that there was no danger of that from Belle, but of course he had to stay around and protect her from the roving bands of guys that would start showing up drunk.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[gabriella sofia davies]

Gabby had to bite back on the urge to scoff a loud 'Ha!' when Ari stated that talking about her sex life was 'sisterly sharing'. That annoyed Gabby to no end since she didn't think Ari had any right to talk about anything 'sisterly' with her. Not after the way she'd just up and left without so much as a goodbye. Her irritation was quickly replaced with exasperation when Ari began laying into her and the way she chose to live her life. She always had something to say about the lack of drunken partying and 'fun' in Gabriella's life. It was annoying because Ari sounded disappointed in her every time she pointed it out. Geez, Gabby would've thought she'd be happy that she was doing so well at school and not out there wasting her time away getting wasted.

An inquisitive look immediately appeared on her face at Ari's vague answer to question. For her benefit? What was that supposed to mean? Ari's evasive and vague replies were starting to grate her the wrong way, especially now that Gabby was sure her sister had to be hiding something. Ari wouldn't have said what she had if she didn't have something to hide. Besides she was being far too evasive and mysterious, which wasn't at all like her. Ari normally bragged about her trips and conquests and well basically everything she accomplished in her life. Maybe her evasive and dismissive answers worked on others but Gabriella wasn't born yesterday, she knew her sister was hiding something. The annoying thing was that Ari happened to be as stubborn as a toad.

The look on Ari's face as she finished off her last sentence had Gabby taking a step back. The angry and hard expression she'd been wearing slipped into one of surprised shock. Ari hadn't ever looked at her like that before, like she might rip her head from her shoulders. It was downright scary and had Gabby feeling somewhat nervous. "Sorry, I didn't mean.." the words had left her lips before she'd realized what she was saying and Gabby clamped her mouth shut. Just because her sister looked scary and pissed off didn't change anything. Gabby was, at times, just as stubborn as Ari. She didn't want to be apologetic or forgiving until she knew the truth. Still, having her sister look at her like that wasn't something Gabby liked, so she looked away, back to the dancing crowd.

Gabby was one hundred percent certain that her sister was hiding something and she was very much afraid that, that something wasn't anything good. But how was she going to get answers if her sister persisted with her evasive and mysterious answers. And Gabby knew she would. Groaning because she thought her brain might explode, Gabby contemplated following Ari's lead by getting drunk. So drunk that she didn't have one coherent thought jumping around in her clever brain. Except the idea of getting rotten wasn't actually an appealing one. At all. Returning to her dorm however, was. Because standing here and arguing with her sister was no doubt going to get her nowhere. Besides she was pretty much too scared to say anything to Ari at the moment.

[ariella evelyn davies]

Considering the fact that Ari knew how much she hated it when people commented about her own lifestyle, she probably should have been a bit more sympathetic to Gabby in that regard. There she was ragging on Gabby for her choices, when just moments before she was getting angry with her for trying to do the exact same thing. Of course, Ari wasn't exactly the most sympathetic and generally tended to fail when it came to understanding other people, even if she technically could if she tried. But, she was a bit too self absorbed to bother trying usually. She did what she wanted, when she wanted and didn't give a rat's ass if it was technically completely hypocritical of her to do so. As long as she was happy, that was what mattered to her. Worry about other people could come later.

The spark of questioning that Ari saw in Gabby's eyes worried her. She knew that it was highly unlikely that Gabby just accept the fact that Ari wasn't talking and it was much more plausible that the girl took to trying to figure out what had happened. Of course, knowing herself, Ari was pretty certain that anyone with half a brain and a serious desire to hunt down the truth probably could. She wasn't exactly the best at hiding things and the clues were all over the place. From the change in her attitude to the little quirks that she had developed, it wasn't like it would take a genius to put two and two together and figure it all out. And, unfortunately for Ari, she was pretty sure that Gabby was something of a genius. At least, her older sister pride seemed to think so anyways. She'd always considered Gabby the smart one, the one that would actually do something with her life worthwhile. Of course, she'd never tell her something like that, though.

Seeing the change in Gabby's expression to something akin to fear, Ari realized that she was probably slipping into a state of mind that she really didn't need to be in. The more that she spent time as a werewolf, the harder it was for her to separate herself from that side of herself. It was as if, at times, she was becoming a werewolf stuck in human form, as opposed to the other way around. Breathing out for a moment, she let herself calm down for a moment, which was not always a very easy thing to do. "Ah, no...that was...forget it. Just that time of the month, I suppose," Ari shrugged, a dark smile crossing her face at the small bit of humor she could take from the situation. Lately, it was becoming more and more about the little joys she could take, as opposed to actually being happy most of the time.

Shaking her head a bit to clear it of any lingering traces of a darker self, Ari took another sip from the bottle of tequila in her hand. Probably not the best of ideas, but it made her feel slightly less on edge. Which, considering the fact that this night was turning out to be much less fun than she had anticipated, wasn't such a bad idea. she could get pretty volatile sometimes and it was definitely best that she kept her cool. Risking a serious blow out in the middle of a public ball wasn't exactly high on her list of things to do. "So, ah. There's no chance you're just going to accept the fact I've been gone as just my being flighty, is there?" Ari asked, a rather fail attempt to lighten the mood at least a little bit. She hated dealing with serious or awkward situations for too long, as they made her rather uncomfortable.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[francesca victoria thomas]

Frankie slowed her hurried walk once she exited the Great Hall. Her chest was rising and falling fast and her head still felt dizzy. How could this be happening to her? How could she have been so stupid? Now that she'd entertained the idea that she might be pregnant, she knew without a doubt that she was. Her mind kept telling her no but her gut and instincts screamed yes. Frankie felt her head reel as thoughts zipped through her mind a mile a minute. What was she going to say to Felix? Telling him was the worst thought of all and it had Frankie feeling sick all over again. How the hell was she supposed to break that sort of news to him? She couldn't imagine him reacting well to it that was for sure. What male teenager ever responded well to finding out they'd knocked someone up? Besides Frankie was the type of girl who dealt with her problems on her own. It was rare that she ever burdened others by asking for help. Sure she'd have to tell Felix eventually but for now he didn't need to know a thing, right? Frankie shook her head, no. The idea of keeping it from him felt wrong and she knew that the longer she did keep it a secret the worse his reaction would be.

Barely a minute had passed during her escape from the hall and the time she'd spent thinking before she realized Felix had followed after her. Blinking so that her eyes were focused on the tall blond, Frankie felt her stomach churn with nerves. They'd only just managed to get through the awkwardness of having spent the night together. Frankie admitting she was pregnant was going to make things awkward all over again. Except this time she knew things would be much, much worse. The idea of returning to her previous routine of avoiding Felix like the plague played on her mind. She was about to tell him to go have a good time back at the ball when he went and took her by surprise again with that sweet nature of his. Frankie thought that she might have preferred him when he was cocky and confident because it made it much easier to dismiss and avoid him.

Felix had barely finished his sentence when Frankie blurted out the very thing she'd been telling herself she wouldn't. "I'm pregnant." her eyes went wide and she bit back on her lower lip before she lowered her face to look at the floor. Frankie had never felt like hexing herself so much in her entire life. Unable to meet Felix's eyes, Frankie walked the small space to the wall and then slid down it so that she was sat on the cold concrete floor. It was seconds before her shoulders began to shake along with tears she felt she couldn't hold back. Frankie wanted to bury her head in sand and stay there.

[felix ian wood]

Felix didn't know what was wrong with Frankie and that was what terrified him. He was usually pretty good with most situations, especially when they got stressful. Felix thrived in stress and pressure and that was when he was at his best, but not when he didn't know what was happening. The fact that he didn't know what to do downright worried him. He didn't want something bad to happen to Frankie on his watch, simply because he didn't know how to fix the situation or even what the situation was. So, as he came up to her with a worried expression on his face, he was more than hoping that she would have some sort of help to guide him in helping her. He was doing his best, that was for sure and that was all he could give at the moment.

Pausing just shy of where she was standing, Felix looked at her expectantly, not sure if he should rush forward and just carry her the rest of the way or something, or if he should just stand back and wait. Then she spoke. Pregnant. Frankie was pregnant? That definitely wasn't what Felix was expecting and well, it floored him. He definitely wouldn't have expected something like that to come from her. He didn't think she was a whore and to find that she was now pregnant with some guys kid, that kind of sucked. He was stunned silent, not at all sure what the hell he was supposed to respond with to that. A congratulations to her and the boyfriend that she was having it with? Or an apology that she had been sleeping around? Obviously, the thought that it quite possibly could be his hadn't occurred to him yet.

As he stood there, Felix anxiously ran a hand through his hair before walking over to stoop down to where she was sitting. He couldn't just let her sit there and cry, especially since she was going through some serious shit at the moment. Kneeling down on his knee, he pulled her in close to his chest and just sat there for a minute, holding her and letting her cry. "Hey, don't worry. I'll uh, we'll figure something out, yeah? It'll be alright," he murmured, keeping his voice at a low, comforting whisper. It was easy for him to be so helpful when he didn't see himself as being a part of the situation. At the moment, in his mind, he was simply just a friend helping a friend through a rough patch and that was easy for him. Little did he know, it was about to get a whole lot worse.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[gabriella sofia davies]

Gabby felt a huge relief when Ari sort of apologized for the intimidating face she'd pulled only minutes before. Gabby might have been pissed off at Ari but she didn't ever want her sister to look her like that again. Gabby glanced out the corner of her eye to check that Ari was no longer looking scary-angry and then turned her head completely when she saw that her expression had returned to normal. Only a few seconds passed before Gabby rolled her eyes and turned her head away again. Ari wasn't being serious with that question, was she? Gabby couldn't be sure. Maybe she was just being hopeful, because she should have known Gabby well enough to know that once she had her mind set on finding something out, she didn't stop. It was why she was such a great student.

"You must have forgotten what I'm like during your mysterious absence." Gabby quipped, sarcastic as usual but there was a hint of a smile on her lips. Turning so that she was facing Ari, Gabby stepped a little closer and placed her hands on her hips."You should just tell me now and save yourself a whole lot of trouble." Gabby raised her eyebrows and gave Ari an expectant stare. She doubted Ari was about to start spilling anything but Gabby wanted to give her the chance to come clean herself. "I'm going to find out either way." she pointed out to make it clear that she had every intention of getting to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on with her sister.

[francesca victoria thomas]

The last thing Frankie had expected was for Felix to take the news so well. The silent sobs that were racking her frame slowed to quiet sniffles as Felix comforted her. If she was being honest she felt a little wary that he was taking this so well but when he'd said they'd figure something out Frankie felt her hopes soar. Her worries over telling Felix had obviously been for nothing. Frankie let out a shaky breath when she felt a huge relief lift like a heavy weight from her shoulders. Raising her arm, Frankie wiped away her tears from her cheeks, although her eyes were still watery, and let out a loud sigh.

"I was so scared to tell you..." she started shakily and then when she realized that he might presume she'd been avoiding him because she knew that she was pregnant, she slipped into another of her rambles. "Just so you know I didn't know until now. I mean I felt really the bad in the hall and I just knew, y'know? See over the last few days I've been feeling off and today i was feeling worse than usual. But i didn't want to think that i could be pregnant because the idea of it terrified me. It still does. But I have to be pregnant because I'm five days late and have had all the typical side effects, like dizziness and nausea and I guess I just didn't want to believe it." she spoke fast, her words tumbling out at a mile a minute, not giving Felix the chance to speak.

"So, yeah, I don't want you to think I was avoiding you all that time because I knew that I was pregnant. Because I wasn't. As you know I've only just realized. I mean I'll do a test too but I'm 95 percent positive that i am. I think the other five percent is just me hoping that I'm not pregnant. I mean, no disrespect to you but us having a baby together is just....." she trailed off her rant here and looked up at Felix before dropping her gaze again. Frankie was aware that she probably hadn't made much sense but she didn't care because she'd already forgotten half of the jumbled up things she'd said.