The Astronomy Tower (Open)

[Kaileena Lovegood]

Up in one of the pillars in the castle is where the astronomy tower is located. Here, one may watch and do some studying regarding constellations, or perhaps one can just enjoy themselves doing other things.

[Rylee Goldshanks]

Rylee needed a break. She was exhausted and tired and sleepy and a million other things which would lead one to need a break. Still, she didn't want to go to do Homework and she didn't want to read. She wanted to just find a nice place to sit back and think about her boredom in peace. It wasn't like she had anyone to really relieve that boredom with.

In her entire three years of school at Hogwarts, Rylee hadn't made many friends. It was a sad state of affairs, to be sure, but she would get over it eventually. It wasn't really that she was shy or anything. She was actually a rather outgoing person at times. But apparently, her cheerfulness could be a little too much at times and people would rather be grumpy and sad all the time.

Sighing and leaning against one of the railings on the very top of the Astronomy Tower, Rylee wondered if maybe she should be more depressed and sullen. Maybe then she'd be able to make friends. Ah, whatever. She'd either find someone to appreciate her cheerfulness, or die old, bitter and alone. She wasn't about to be all depressing. At least, not in front of other people.

[Alec Richardson]

Alec looked up at the setting sun, leaning over the edge of the Astronomy tower. The golden hues warmed up the place, giving it an antiqued, olden look. It made him happy. It especially made him happy how he didn't have to pretend to be a pompous asshole to everyone he met. He hated that. He hated feeling alone because of it, and yet, that's what he was. His blue eyes narrowed slightly as he looked down at the ground, seeing the ant-like students running around in the courtyard, socializing and having fun. His heart went out to them, wishing he could join them.

He sighed softy and ran a hand through his blonde hair. Oh well, he'd live. He pushed off the railing, turning to walk downstairs when he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up to see a brunette girl walk up and lean against one of the railings. His Pureblood persona kicked in and his eyebrows furrowed. How dare she ignore him? Did she not see him? Rolling his eyes, he swept past her, bumping into her. His heart leaped at the small physical contact but he locked his jaw to keep from giving himself away. "Watch where you're walking, Hufflepuff. I don't want taint on my school robes." With a smirk, he began descending down the steps, his black robes flowing behind him.

[Rylee Goldshanks]

"Watch where you're walking, Hufflepuff. I don't want taint on my school robes."

Rylee narrowed her eyes at him. He'd brushed up against her, not the other way around! Feeling her hands curl into fists she looked him over, then tossed her hair behind her shoulder. "Maybe if your eyes weren't so beady they could actually see that you were the one brushing up against me. What are you, some kind of pervert?" she returned, "And I have a name. It's Rylee. R-Y-L-E-E. Not Hufflepuff. How would you like it if I just called you Slytherin in that nasty tone of voice? Didn't your parents ever teach you to respect a lady?"

She didn't think his eyes were really beady. In fact, they were a really pretty shade of blue. But Slytherins always seemed to have narrow eyes, probably from all of their nefarious plotting. She didn't trust a Slytherin as far as she could throw one.

With good reason, too, apparently, if this kid was any indication. What a freak.

[Alec Richardson]

"Maybe if your eyes weren't so beady they could actually see that you were the one brushing up against me. What are you, some kind of pervert?" And I have a name. It's Rylee. R-Y-L-E-E. Not Hufflepuff. How would you like it if I just called you Slytherin in that nasty tone of voice? Didn't your parents ever teach you to respect a lady?"

Alec stopped, his right foot hanging in the air before touching the next step. He put it back on solid ground, turning around slowly with a raised eyebrow. Beady eyes? He...He really didn't have them, did he? His self-confidence deflated, but he forced out a laugh regardless. "They did, see, but I don't see any ladies standing here in front of me. I see an attention seeking clown, Rylee." He laughed to himself, running his fingers through his hair.

"But since we're going on first name basis here, the name's Alec. Don't get it wrong or I'll hex you faster than you can blink. Got that?" His eyes flashed dangerously, but there was playfulness laced in them, a sort of child-like persona that he'd never expressed to anyone before.

[Rylee Goldshanks]

"They did, see, but I don't see any ladies standing here in front of me. I see an attention seeking clown, Rylee."

Rylee almost let her jaw drop, but she didn't, instead clenching her teeth a moment. This pompous jerk before her didn't have a clue what he was getting himself into, did he? He was lucky that her father had taught her to respect others, something his had apparently forgotten.

As she was about to respond, Alec continued, "But since we're going on first name basis here, the name's Alec. Don't get it wrong or I'll hex you faster than you can blink. Got that?"

Rylee scoffed. "Ah, I see. The ever-popular 'I'm a sullen and dangerous Slytherin, feel my wrath,' bit. You're act is more over-played than those muggle soap-operas my Aunt Mildred watches. Why don't you stop talking and start walking? Not to mention, the only 'attention seeking clown' I see is you, since you're the one that brushed up against me." Rylee knew she was playing with fire. She didn't care. This idiot had just waltzed over and brushed up against her, then tried to play it off as somehow being her fault.

She stepped closer, a smirk playing over her lips. "Come on, Alexis, show me those dangerous hexes of yours." She had called him that on purpose. She didn't buy his act for a second. Anyone that was so depressingly ill-mannered as to hex someone for saying their name wrong needed more help than even St. Mungo's could offer. And she was a great reader of people--she'd seen the hint of playfulness in his eyes. He was only half-serious about hexing her. She wanted to prove to him that she wasn't afraid, because she wasn't. Not of him, and not of anyone. Her mother had taught her not to be afraid.

[Alec Richardson]

Alexis? Oh she didn't. That name grated in his mind like nails on a chalkboard. He sneered at her, the playfulness melting from his eyes. He'd been serious about someone not calling him that. It brought back memories. Memories he didn't want to have. Reaching into the pocket of his robe, he whipped out his wand and pointed it at the girl. Something inside was screaming at him not to do so but he found himself taking a step towards her regardless. His blue eyes flashed with cold fire and he took in a deep breath. "I said specifically not to call me that. What the hell gives you, a measly Hufflepuff, right to traipse all over my requests? Hm?"
Alec stopped in front of her, barely two feet away and jabbed his wand gently into her chest before putting it away. He didn't want to hurt her, he didn't... but if he'd backed down now, his reputation would have been severely weakened, and his family... Oh, Merlin, he didn't even want to think about that. His eyes tightened as he stared at her, his blue eyes searching her brown ones.
"And what act do you think I'm pulling? As far as I was concerned, there was no act, and you were the one that so carelessly ran into me."

Shit...She's got me figured out? No--Impossible. There's no way, we just met today. It's coincidence. It has to be. She doesn't know me. Right, it's pure coincidence. His jaw clenched as he argued with himself, never once taking his eyes off of her. The move was hers.

[Rylee Goldshanks]

"I said specifically not to call me that. What the hell gives you, a measly Hufflepuff, right to traipse all over my requests? Hm?"

His wand pressed into her chest and she glanced down at it, her heartbeat quickening only slightly at the added element of danger. But she didn't shrink away. She wouldn't shrink away. Instead, she narrowed her eyes at him.

"And what act do you think I'm pulling? As far as I was concerned, there was no act, and you were the one that so carelessly ran into me."

Rylee stepped closer, ignoring the wand pressed into her chest as her dark eyes bore into his light ones. "The act you're pulling," she said, slowly, calmly, "Is this whole persona you're trying to convey. You want your reputation to be strong. You want people to fear you. You want to pretend you're this big, tough, loner. But in reality, you're a frightened and lonely little boy. You bumped into me because you wanted my attention, you wanted me to notice you. Well, you got your wish. You've got my attention. Now hex me. Go ahead."

Rylee swallowed lightly. She was playing a tough gamble here. He could hex her into next month. But she didn't think he would. He didn't look like he really wanted to hurt her. In fact, he looked terrified. She didn't know what he was terrified of, but he was scared. Of her? Not bloody likely. He was afraid of something else.

[Alec Richardson]

"The act you're pulling is this whole persona you're trying to convey. You want your reputation to be strong. You want people to fear you. You want to pretend you're this big, tough, loner. But in reality, you're a frightened and lonely little boy. You bumped into me because you wanted my attention, you wanted me to notice you. Well, you got your wish. You've got my attention. Now hex me. Go ahead."

Alec felt a tremor shake through him. His whole world stopped abruptly, crashing around him. How? How--he hadn't given anything away! How was it possible that she knew all of this about him? Had she been watching him? Had he not guarded himself well enough? What the hell was going on? He began to take a step back but stopped himself. No. Do not give her the satisfaction of being right. Don't do it. His eyes, which had briefly widened took their usual narrowed shape and he cleared his throat. He didn't want to hex her, it went against his code of conduct but she was asking for it. Or was she? He couldn't tell. She was messing with him. Badly.

"You're--you're not worth hexing. Why would I waste my time on someone like you? You don't know me. You don't know anything about me, damn it. Stop pretending you do. You're pathetic; you think you know everything and you think you're going to get me to break down for you and weep at your feet? Well it's not going to happen because you're wrong. You're wrong, you--you mudblood!"

Internally, he cringed and his eyes widened slightly, taken aback by his actions and words. What was he doing? He shook, both from fear and anger, wheeling around and sweeping out of the Astronomy Tower. His defenses had been broken. Why? How? She didn't even know him! As he walked down the rounded staircase, he ran a hand through his hair, tugging at it. He needed to get away from her, to rebuild his defenses for her, to show her... He needed to get her out of his mind. How was it that one person could get so under his skin so quick? Not even that Dastan prefect wannabe did that, and he was bad.

[Rylee Goldshanks]

"You're--you're not worth hexing. Why would I waste my time on someone like you? You don't know me. You don't know anything about me, damn it. Stop pretending you do. You're pathetic; you think you know everything and you think you're going to get me to break down for you and weep at your feet? Well it's not going to happen because you're wrong. You're wrong, you--you mudblood!"

If Rylee was being entirely honest, the insult had hurt, but the fact that he'd resorted to that told her one vitally important thing: she'd been right! Cheering internally, she watched as he suddenly wheeled away and tried to escape. Ha, as if she'd let him!

Running past him on the stairs and standing in front of him, she smirked. "I was right, wasn't I? Haha! I knew it! You really did want my attention. That's almost cute!"

He looked really shaken. A part of her was satisfied that she'd affected him so much. The other part felt almost guilty at having pushed so hard. She really didn't know anything about him, but he was just asking to have his defenses stripped. He had no right to sit there and insult her and threaten her, and expect to get off Scot-free. And now that she'd found out so much, the spy in her wanted to know everything else about him. He was a mystery, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Even if he didn't want her to.

[Dastan Cross]

((OOC: Totally separate from other posts; in fact, I'm thinkin' this is months after the posts before ours. This takes place after the Costume Ball.))

Dastan all but raced to the railing of the tower. Or rather, as much racing as his bum-knee would allow. Once there, he breathed in the cool air, reveling in the freshness and the coolness of it. He definitely needed to cool down. He was feeling like he was burning up, from anger and embarrassment and confusion and any other number of emotions.

He wanted to just disappear. That was what he really wanted. But he couldn't do that, now, could he? Not unless he meant just physically disappear, which he could do. What he really wanted was for the floor to swallow him up, devour him and make everyone forget that he'd ever existed. That would be for the best.

Because now he knew he loved Astin, and that he wasn't good enough for Astin, no matter what the blonde said otherwise, and he didn't know how to deal with this. He had once been sure of everything he wanted. He had known, from the time Lord Alex told him that he could teach him magic, exactly what he would do: He would learn magic, go to Hogwarts to learn more, and then, when he was strong enough, he would return to Alamut and kill Nezam and overthrow the ruling family.

Instead, he'd found himself falling hopelessly for Astin, a Hufflepuff who he thought he'd hated. It wasn't part of his plans. It didn't have a place in his plans. But he couldn't just not feel that, could he? And of course, he knew he wasn't good for Astin. They still couldn't be romantically together, even if Dastan now realized the depth of his feelings for Astin.

"It kills me," he finally spoke, knowing Astin was right behind him, "To see you kiss a girl like her."

That was true. It didn't have anything to do with the fact that he loved Astin necessarily. "I thought you'd dance and then forget about her. But to see the two of you kissing...Kissing is more important than that. You deserve better than her. Because no matter how you're dressed, you aren't some penny-whore. You're...You're Astin."

Dastan sighed, knitting his brows together. This was tough. It was almost a confession. Almost. Dastan felt a renewed desire to be swallowed by the floor of the Astronomy Tower.

[Astin Descartes]

Astin stared at Dastan's back. What was he supposed to say in response? The truth? Right, that would go over well. Oh, I only kissed her because I can't have who I really want: you. It was Das who had said there would never be a them; he was the one who had stopped their relationship in its tracks. So why was he getting so worked up over a meaningless kiss?

Or was it the fact that it was meaningless that bothered him?

That made sense. Maybe it was Dastan's stupid self-esteem issues getting to him. After all, if Astin would kiss random slags like that one, how could Das tell himself that he was special or that he meant something? But dammit, Dastan was the one who wanted to keep things platonic. How could Astin do that when jealousy issues like this flared up? It was just impossible.

"Look, Das," Astin said, reaching out and taking Dastan's hand, "Kissing is... weird. If it's not you, it's not going to mean anything to me, no matter who it is, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try. I told you I'd wait for you, and you rejected me. Fuck, Dastan, I have to move on. I can't sit around and hope for something that's not going to happen. It's not fair to me to ask me to do that, and it's not fair to you for me to expect it. I'm sorry. But if I pretend that I'm finally over you, maybe one day I'll start to believe it. And I'm so sorry, so freaking sorry, that this is how it is."

Astin sighed and tore away, looking off to the side. Watching Dastan just made him want to prove he meant every word, but that wasn't going to help the situation at all. In fact, it probably would make matters worse to kiss Das now. For one, he could still taste the remnants of the girl's sugary lip gloss. He was sure that what lingered of that taste would only serve to make Dastan even more upset.

Not to mention the fact that now Das was questioning their kisses. But what the hell was Astin supposed to do? Kissing Dastan meant more than words could say, and the only way he could think of to convey that was more kissing, but that was what the whole spat was about. He wasn't going to say the truth-- that the whole time he'd kissed her, he'd compared it to what he felt with Dastan. That was stupid and cheesy and entirely unwarranted.

Astin wished he knew what to say to make it all go away. He didn't want to fight. He wanted Das to see that he was the only person who mattered. But that would only complicate things further, so Astin kept his mouth shut.

[Dastan Cross]

"Kissing is... weird. If it's not you, it's not going to mean anything to me, no matter who it is, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try. I told you I'd wait for you, and you rejected me. Fuck, Dastan, I have to move on. I can't sit around and hope for something that's not going to happen. It's not fair to me to ask me to do that, and it's not fair to you for me to expect it. I'm sorry. But if I pretend that I'm finally over you, maybe one day I'll start to believe it. And I'm so sorry, so freaking sorry, that this is how it is."

Dastan took a deep breath. "I don't want you to wait for me, Astin. That's not what I meant. I even told you to dance with her. I just...you deserve better." Better than me, and certainly better than her. "I want you to be happy. I want for you to have someone that actually means something to you, who's actually worthy of you. Not some random slag at a party that thinks you're a girl anyways."

And that was true. Dastan felt that completely. Astin was amazing. He was wonderful and compassionate and loyal and brave and beautiful, inside and out. He was so much more than that girl. So much more than him. He didn't know if anyone could be good enough for Astin, but he did know that he wanted Astin to find something meaningful, and he also knew that he didn't want to see it when Astin fell in love with someone else. Because even though he wanted Astin to be happy, he didn't think he could handle it.

God, their relationship was so screwed up. Why couldn't things have remained simple? But then again, he decided, glancing at the lovely person beside him, nothing had ever been simple with Astin. Not from the first moment they met.

And this was a new development, apparently. He hadn't thought of what it would feel like to see Astin with someone else. Now he knew. It didn't feel good, that was for sure.

What's worse? He couldn't even imagine how it would feel when Astin moved on completely, and these days of emotional turmoil and everything they had been through became nothing more than a memory. He suddenly wasn't looking forward to the future as much.

[Astin Descartes]

"I don't want you to wait for me, Astin. That's not what I meant. I even told you to dance with her. I just...you deserve better. I want you to be happy. I want for you to have someone that actually means something to you, who's actually worthy of you. Not some random slag at a party that thinks you're a girl anyways."

"You're an idiot," Astin said, grabbing Dastan and kissing him firmly. Knowing that that wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done, he pulled back quickly. "You are quite possibly the dumbest person I've ever met. Do you know that? There isn't one person in the world who is going to make me half as happy as you do. You don't want me to wait, so I won't, but no one's going to be good enough-- not compared to you." Because I love you, you idiot.

Astin wanted to say that out loud, but he was petrified. If he told Dastan how he really felt inside, chances were that he'd ruin everything. He'd destroy all the progress they'd made over the years, all the progress he'd worked so hard for. Although he'd kill to be romantically involved with Dastan, he'd die if their whole friendship flopped.

Astin's heart gave a painful clench at the mere thought of Dastan leaving him again. He couldn't risk it just because he wasn't completely satisfied. Just friends was better than nothing. He didn't like it, but if it was the way things had to be, he'd survive. He needed Das in his life. He needed the stupid quarrels and the drama and the way that their relationship was ten kinds of crazy. He needed Das teasing him and talking him into women's clothing just for the hell of it. He needed the whole terribly fucked-up nine yards.

Astin pushed away the pain. He wanted to forget for now. He wanted to go back to when Dastan was holding him and the rest of the world faded away. He needed it.

Wrapping his arms loosely around Dastan's neck, Astin rested his head on Dastan's shoulder again. "Dance with me some more," he said quietly.

[Dastan Cross]

"Dance with me some more."

Astin wrapped his arms around Dastan's neck once more and immediately, he went into a proper dancing stance, his breath coming in sharp gasps as he tried to regain some semblance of sense. He still didn't know what to do about this whole love thing. It was too new, and too strange.

But he couldn't not dance with Astin. He couldn't say no to the blonde about anything, really, though he tried to more often than not. It was pathetic really, but Dastan was firmly ensnared in Astin's charm, whether Astin knew it or not. Even the quick kiss they'd shared just moments ago hadn't managed to make him say no. He hadn't been able to.

So, instead of thinking any more about it, he just pulled Astin closer and danced with him, ignoring the twinge of agony from his knee. He wasn't going to think about anything right now. Not pain, not emotion, nothing. Just dancing.

"You make me crazy," Dastan whispered. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but it was true. Astin made him ten kinds of crazy. Everything he did sent Dastan reeling off balance. Nobody else had that kind of ability. At least, nobody that Dastan knew yet. "I don't even know what I'm thinking anymore. You and your kissing and your dancing and...everything about you makes me nuts."

That wasn't a confession of love, he told himself firmly. It was something else entirely. Astin did make him crazy. He had just body-slammed some kid for talking about the other boy kissing the random girl. That was definitely his definition of first-class craziness. He couldn't even begin to know what else he'd do for Astin. Only time would tell.