Girls' Day (Sedona)

[Gabriella Santino]

The Santino's and Rossi's were enemies, or well the fathers were. Although the two families were supposed enemies, the girls in the families ended up making best friends. Gabriella didn't see the point in hating the family. They never did her wrong personally. Sedona was her best friend, and she honestly didn't care where she came from. The girl was two years older than she was, but that didn't matter. They found a common interest and that was all they needed.

Naturally, Gabriella didn't meet with Sedona where her father would see her. That would probably lead to an argument. It wasn't that she was ashamed to be friends with her, it was just her father and his ways. She didn't want to get into trouble and she didn't want Sedona to get in trouble, well too much trouble anyway.

She left her house and apparated to Diagon Alley. Gabriella was wearing one of the skirts she made, as well as her shirt. Her hair was pinned back and she had her purse on her shoulder as she walked to the place where she and Sedona would usually meet to wait for her.

[Sedona Rossi]

Sedona was much the same way. If her father, or ever Teo, caught her spending as much time with Gabriella as she did, she would be in serious trouble. Sedona liked getting in trouble, but the fun kind that was her own doing. Not the kind she'd get from the family. She knew Gabriella was in a similar situation, and would therefor never think that the redhead was ashamed of being her friend. As if the war against mudbloods wasn't bad enough...

She was dressed in muggle clothes, a little black dress that she bought before they left Italy, and a pair of red high heels. Her hair was loose, like it usually was, and she also had a bag slung over her shoulder. Her look was a little more 'haphazard' than Gaby's was. Her friend always looks meticulously put together, at least to her. Sedona had more of a relaxed style, but both girls pulled off classy with the best of them.

When she turned the corner, she saw Gabriella already there, and she smiled, waving.

[Gabriella Santino]

"Il mio amico," Gabriella said in Italian as Sedona appeared. She returned the wave and smile. "Sedona, it's good to see you." She always looked forward to meeting with her friend. It was probably the highlight of her day.

At the moment, Gabriella probably couldn't be any happier. Her brother had returned back to England, and she had her friend. What could be better?

Like Sedona, she sported heels. She shifted the weight of her purse on her shoulder. "What are the plans for today? The usual?"

[Sedona Rossi]

Sedona hugged Gaby when she was close enough. Seriously, the girl was amazing. She was fun, and a spitfire, and into fashion. In a lot of ways, she and Sedona were alike. Eventually, Sedona thought they should open a business together... but they needed to work on telling their respective families that they were friends. Until then, their hands were tied.

"The usual," she replied. "Which of course means starting with a cup of tea and you and I exchanging our latest drawings." They usually traded shoe and clothing designs over coffee, gushing over them or providing constructive criticism. All of this was usually followed by going to muggle clothing stores in London and getting ideas, but it was just time for them to catch up and be friends. Sedona loved these days.

"How are you?" She asked.

[Gabriella Santino]

Sedona was the only person that Gabriella didn't mind showing her drawings to. After all, they would come up with ideas to match each other's drawings. The idea of starting a store had been mentioned before, but with their families they way they were and Gabriella's insecurities at how good her designs were, the store probably wouldn't be started anytime soon.

"Sounds great to me! I also made that dress that you said you liked. I'll have it owled to you because I just have to put one more thing on it and it'll be completely finished." Days like this always made Gabriella feel like she was someone important.

"I've been good. Things haven't really changed, unfortunately so nothing interesting to report on my end, except I had a dream last night that we actually opened that store. Of course whenever I told my parents, they both fell over out of their chairs and then I ran away after that. That dream was probably the most interesting thing to happen since the last time I talked to you. What about you?"

[Sedona Rossi]

Sedona made a small gasp. "You didn't!" She loved that dress, but she would never ask Gaby to make it for her. Still, imagine, she'd be the only one wearing that dress. "I'll just have to be your model Gaby, to get your things seen. You realize, too, this means I owe you a pair of shoes. I'll design something just for you." Gaby's creation came to fruition more often than Sedona's did, but one day, she swore she was going to open a shop with her friend, and in the back, they would have their work stations, and she'd be able to make all of her shoes.

"I love your dream. I love that you ran away, too. Whenever we do tell our parents, we're going to have to do it together. Moral support and everything, right?" It was nice to know someone in another family like hers that refused to be in it. A large part of it had to do with the fact that they were girls, but it still helped.

They entered their favorite small coffee shop, taking their usual booth in the back corner.

[Gabriella Santino]

"Of course I did! You know how things are. You either are in the house, or out walking somewhere and I was inside at the time. I wanted to work on something and I randomly opened my notebook to that page and made it! To top it all off, its in your favorite color." A wide smile was on Gabby's face. "As for shoes, you don't have to make me any. I was just bored and made it for you. It's nothing, really."

When she was with Sedona, she felt like she could be herself. She didn't have to put on a show or anything. "And I agree. We'll have to do it together whenever the time comes. Plus, we'll need to be able to go somewhere together. I'm saving up money for whenever that time comes so that we could get somewhere to stay." Gabriella knew that if they had to, Dante would probably allow them to stay there but she didn't want to burden her brother with anything.

The lady in the coffee shop knew them by name and already knew what they wanted. Gabriella gave the woman a smile and she brought their drinks already. "And, today, could I have a slice of lemon cake please?"

[Sedona Rossi]

"Oh, a slice for me too, please," Sedona told the waitress before turning her attention back to Gaby. No matter what the girl said, Sedona would get her a nice pair of shoes made. She felt like she knew Gaby's style well enough to know what she would like. She would surprise her with a pair later.

"You are a doll for making that dress for me. Really." She took a sip of her water as they waited for their order. "You know I want you to design my wedding dress when it's time for that, right? Oh, Gaby, I really can't wait for us to open that shop together. We would be such a great team together. If it came down to it, we could rent an apartment together. We'll figure it out."

[Gabriella Santino]

"Well, I knew that you would wear it," Gabriella said with a laugh. As long as Sedona would wear her designs, she would make them for her. "And I would love to design your wedding dress! I have a few drawings that I worked on while I was in the Observatory the other day!" Just talking about this kind of think made her excited.

"As for money, I think I have enough saved up for a couple month's rent. I need to try and get a job so that I can get more and save it. Even if we don't have the shop, I want to make sure that I get out of my parents' house. There is no way I want to be there forever, but don't get me wrong, I love them to death." Gabriella knew that she couldn't live with her parents forever. If she was going to attempt to have the life she dreamed about having, she couldn't live there always. How embarrassing would it be to tell a guy that she still lived with her parents although she was still pretty young.

[Sedona Rossi]

"Brilliant," Sedona said. Though her words were still wrapped in a thick Italian accent, she found she rather liked British slang, and picked it up quickly. "I think the highlight of my wedding will be my dress. Forget the groom."

And of course, she had to find a groom first.

"I've been saving a little here and there, and I would have a few months rent... or I know I have enough to rent a little space in Hogsmeade for a couple of months. Maybe if I covered the shop and you covered rent until we got on our feet? I'm just worried to tell my family. Teo and my father will not be happy."

Neither would Gio, but the younger of the two boys would forgive her, she was sure. And she didn't care if her father forgave her... but Teo meant the world to her, and she did worry she would lose him. Or worse, what if she put Gaby in danger?

[Gabriella Santino]

Gabriella giggled. "Well, your wedding with be beautiful, that is for certain!"

"Well, I know that my father wouldn't be too thrilled. My mother, I'm not really sure and I know that Dante wouldn't really care. He'd be happy I was actually doing something." She sighed. "We knew becoming friends would be sort of dangerous, but we did it anyway."

Part of her wanted to just say lets go get the shop now, but her father's image in her head was stopping her. What if she got Sedona into danger? Gabriella wasn't really worried about herself, it was her best friend that she was worried about. What would her father's reaction be? His head would probably come off.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to tell my father that I'm friends with you without him just blowing up. I know that if I told him that we thought about a shop, then that would be the end of it. Although, you know, we could just get the shop, then tell them. After all, it would show them that we were serious, but I'm not even sure how well we'd do with the shop..."

[Sedona Rossi]

"Yeah, well, I don't know how to tell my family, either. None of them are going to be happy." How was she supposed to tell them? No one even knew she was friends with Gaby, except Gio, who caught her once, and she lied and swore to him that she wouldn't ever see Gaby again. Merlin only knew how well that conversation would go over.

Her eyes widened a little and brightened. "No, you're brilliant, Gabs. Let's have our coffee and cake and then let's go get the shop. We'll look at apartments, too. Let's just do it, because if we keep talking about it, it's never going to happen. We'll get it done, with everything in place, and then we'll deal with the fallout."

[Gabriella Santino]

Sometimes, she didn't know when to keep her mouth closed. It wasn't looking for an apartment that she was iffy about, it was just the shop. Gabriella knew that she just needed to swallow down whatever doubts she had and just do it. That was one of the things that she admired most about Sedona. Sedona just did whatever she wanted.

"Alright," she agreed. "I don't think that would be to bad." They were getting the shop today? If Gabriella really allowed herself to think about it, her knees would be wobbly with nervousness. They were actually going to do this. What if her designs didn't sell? She didn't think that anyone but Sedona and herself liked them. What would her parents say? Or even do? What about Sedona's family?

The waitress returned with their order and Gabriella started on hers. She couldn't let Sedona down...

[Sedona Rossi]

Sedona took a bite of the lemon cake before she even started on her cappuccino. She was suddenly in a wonderful mood. After all their talking and planning, they were finally going to do this.

"This is amazing," she said. "But maybe we can hold off on the apartment until we really get the shop up and going. Then again, maybe it's safer to just do it now. What if one of our family members stumbled across the shop?" She sighed. That would be bad news. "No, let's just find an apartment and the shop today. I think that's better. What should we name it? Something cute."

[Gabriella Santino]

"I was thinking about that myself. I have a secret vault at Gringotts. We could stop by there and get some money out when we decide on somewhere." Gabriella bit her lower lip. "I was lucky that my parents never found out about that vault, but that is one thing about Goblins I like." She gave a smile.

The idea of getting an apartment made Gabriella giddy with excitement. Telling her parents that she was getting an apartment was one thing, telling them that her roommate was Sedona was another. Although, she thought she might break the news after they got the apartment settled and the shop. That way if they freaked out, she could just leave.

"A cute name? Hm. I'll have to think on that one."

[Sedona Rossi]

"I have my own vault, too. It's not secret, but only I have access to it."

This was huge, but she tried not to let herself think about it. The dangers, and the what ifs, and the negative things surrounding this... she just didn't think about it. They would deal with it whenever they had to, and if they were lucky, they wouldn't have to.

"Maybe we should just keep all of it quiet for a while. Tell our parents we're getting an apartment, but not necessarily with each other. Right? I don't think that lie would hold up for the shop, though. They'll want to visit us, no?"

She set her mind to thinking of names while she ate her lemon cake. "Maybe it doesn't even have to be cute. You know how English speakers are. We could name it "Clothes and Shoes," in Italian, and they would love it." She laughed to show that she was joking a little. "Maybe a combination of our names? Sadriella Designs or something?"

[Gabriella Santino]

"Keeping it quiet would be kind of hard either way. Like you said, they would want to visit us. Knowing my parents, they would drop in at any time." Gabriella sank in her chair for a moment. Telling her parents was what scared her the most. "But maybe I'll just tell them after we get in and have everything final and settled. I'll just bring it up at dinner one evening." She could see her father's face right now. His head would more than likely nearly explode.

"Although, it'll be worth it. After all we're not children anymore. We're old enough to make our own decisions and that should be good enough. At least we'll have each other to turn to." Gabriella gave an optimistic smile. She could be optimistic about this... right?

"Sadriella Designs? I actually like that one. We could come up with a neat tag for our clothes and shoes."

[Sedona Rossi]

"No, you're right," Sedona said with a little nod. "We'll just have to get everything in order first, and then tell them. We're their daughters... they can't be too angry, right?" Even as she said this, she knew that at the very least, Teo and her father would be pissed. Her father treated her like a princess, and gave her everything she wanted, but she was also always very careful to please him and not aggravate him. Teo was protective and she loved him dearly... but she didn't imagine him being happy.

She sighed. "Yes, we're adults. And they already know we're not going into the family business. We'll deal with it." Gaby was being delightfully optimistic, and it helped Sedona immensely.

"We could also try Gabridona, but I think Sadriella sounds prettier."

[Gabriella Santino]

Like Sedona, Gabriella was careful in not aggravting her father. She knew that Dante would probably be glad and be on her side about going out on her own. The only thing that stood in her way of having a life away from home was actually telling her parents about having a shop with Sedona, who happened to be the daughter of her father's rival.

The two girls didn't let their parents' fighting get in the way of their friendship. If anything, it probably brought them closer together.

"They shouldn't be too terribly angry... I hope." Gabriella whispered the last part. "I mean, we'll have somewhere to go, and we'll be fine. After all, we were both raised to be strong girls."

She was doing her best to remain optimistic about the whole situation. "Sadriella it is. I think the label should be something elegant yet simple. Maybe we could come up with a few sketches and then figure out which one we like best."