Brand New Day (Elliot, Cam, Ingrid, etc.)

[Savannah Lyons]

The night after Elliot talked to her about how he didn't want her to act like a lady was a rough one for Savannah. She did not sleep well that night, plagued by dreams of their mother and father. Some of the dreams were of the happy times that had been so few and far between. Others involved their father yelling at Savannah, calling her worthless and ugly and insisting that a woman was meant to be seen and not heard. In one part, he smashed the piano while she was still playing it.

It was lucky for her that she had a rather odd group of roommates. Adele had nightmares as well, and Zoe rarely slept at all, spending most of her time studying in the common room. That only left Kellie, who was clearly concerned, but made no attempt to talk about it with her that night.

Savannah felt as if she was being torn in two. She actually had really needed to hear Elliot say those things to her, but it had hurt as well. So much had been drilled into her head from such a young age, and now she was being expected to just toss all that out the window? Even though a part of her urgently wanted to do just that, she also couldn't help but feel that she was honoring her mother's memory by being just like her. And how was she supposed to be "be herself" when she had no idea who that was?

But somewhere around 4 in the morning, something had clicked with her and she made up her mind. She was a teenager, right? And what did teenagers do better than anything? They rebelled.

Hogwarts would never see it coming.

That morning, she laid in bed an extra hour, just because she could. Whe she got dressed, she put on a wrinkled robe that hadn't been washed, and she wore her hair down and free. The she went straight down to the great hall and sat down wordlessly nearby Elliot. Cameron and Ingrid were both already there, but, in an effort to not be too polite, she did not acknowledge them at all. Instead, she helped herself to a large waffle and covered it with whipped cream and strawberries, then proceeded to open a book to read as she ate.

[Ingrid Regan]

Ingrid was already feeling a little awkward. While she liked Cameron, she couldn't help but wish she could be alone with Elliot. It was easier to communicate with him; he seemed to understand what she was trying to say most of the time. And whenever there seemed to be nothing else to say, they could just kiss. It really wouldn't have been appropriate to do that at the breakfast table in front of Cameron and the rest of the school. It would have particularly been rude to ignore Cameron like that. So Elliot was talking to Cameron and trying very hard to keep including Ingrid in the conversation.

But when Savannah walked in and ignored all of them, it seemed like all conversation came to an abrupt halt. Even Ingrid knew that it wasn't typical behavior for Savannah, and she silently reached out her hand and placed it on Elliot's arm.

[Elliot Lyons]

He was doing his best to keep Ingrid in the conversation. Elliot didn't want her to feel left out. Part of him just wanted to say forget breakfast and then just spend more time with Ingrid but he knew his stomach would growl at him until he put food in it and he didn't want to just leave Cameron there. That would make him feel left out, so Elliot was engaged in a conversation.

However, whenever Savannah entered, he couldn't help but notice that she wasn't speaking to anyone. He stopped mid-sentence and looked at his sister. Was she taking what he said seriously? He was glad that she was, but he didn't know as to what extent she was going to go. Whatever it was, he was going to be behind her.

He couldn't help but observe what Savannah was wearing. Never did she wear wrinkled robes or did she ever wear her hair like she was. Inside, Elliot was somewhat cheering for her.

Feeling Ingrid's hand on his arm, he placed on of his hands over top of hers. "Good morning Savannah," he said being the first one to speak just to see if she would answer him.

[Cameron Wilder]

Unlike Elliot, Cameron didn't like the change. Maybe that made him a hypocrite, but he was viewing things just a little differently than Elliot, too.

He grew quiet when she entered, stopping conversation with Elliot and Ingrid, and for a moment, he just watched Savannah as she entered. When she first came in, he smiled, almost involuntarily, unintentionally. But it faded, probably before she could even see it on his lips.

No one else was saying anything, and it was like there was a huge elephant in the room no one wanted to mention. His eyes flashes to Elliot who looked... what, proud?

No, he didn't see her as 'breaking free' right then, though he didn't know about the conversation Elliot had with her. When he looked at the brunette this morning, he saw someone angry. Maybe she was reaching out for something... but he didn't think he was the person to take her hand.

"Good morning, Savannah." He was testing her, not sure that she would even respond to him.

[Savannah Lyons]

Savannah almost wanted to smile at the silence. She had this sudden need to shock people, and although she didn’t yet have the courage to do anything completely outrageous, she knew that her behavior was still shocking in comparison to how she usually acted. Normally, not only would she greet everyone present, but she would also go through the formality of asking to join them, even though in the back of her mind, she knew she did not need to ask. And usually her breakfast consisted of toast with just a tiny bit of jam, even though she always eyed the waffles longingly.

Finally Elliot spoke, followed quickly by Cameron. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to Elliot, and was about to make a snotty comment, but it was Cameron who softened her. She wasn’t mad at him; in fact, she wasn’t really even angry at Elliot. But she was angry. She had 16 years of pent-up rage to get out of her system, and Elliot had given her license to let it out.

She let out a breath and turned toward them both, but it was Cameron with whom her eyes connected. Her eyes were lightly tinged with red from crying and from lack of sleep. It wouldn’t be apparent to everyone, but Cameron was sitting close enough to see it. “Good morning,” she said coolly.

[Cameron Wilder]

Cameron wanted to let his eyes shift to Elliot, some silent way of asking what was going on with Savannah. Although she was acting like everyone else at the table, Cameron knew something was going on. It was the fact that she was acting like the rest of them... it was so normal and so unrefined that it wouldn't have bothered him any less than if she did do something completely outrageous.

But then she turned her gaze to him, and he couldn't make himself look away. They both deserved the eye contact, didn't they?

He was quiet, watching her for a second, and it was so completely obvious that he was clueless. Had she been crying? He didn't know what to do to make her feel better, or ease the awkward silence at the table.

"Hey," he said, his voice soft and even if Elliot and Ingrid could hear him, it was clear that his words were for her alone. "Are you all right?"

[Savannah Lyons]

She could hear the concern in his soft voice and it nearly undid her. A thousand longings seemed to fill her and she was almost temped to ask him to hold her. But it was a crazy thought and she wasn’t even sure why she was even thinking about it.

The truth was, no, she was not all right. She wasn’t even sure what that meant, or if she ever had been. She forced a smile, knowing that he most likely would not be fooled by it.

“I’m fine,” she replied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

[Cameron Wilder]

Cameron's frown deepened. She was not fine, and he had no idea how to tell her that he didn't believe her. Somehow, he doubted that whisking her away to the room of requirement again was a good idea, and he wasn't even sure if it would help. But it was the only thing he knew of that let them connect.

Cameron, being a guy, was a natural doer, a natural fixer. So yes, he was concerned about her, as he had been since the day he met her. It was similar to the way he could be concerned about Elliot, but even he knew it was different, somehow.

He shook his head and shrugged. "Dunno, just... checking."

What else could he say? He watched her for a moment longer before he let his gaze move to Elliot. What was he missing?

[Savannah Lyons]

She felt somewhat disappointed that he’d let it go so easily. But what could she expect? Just because they had bonded a couple of times over a piano didn’t mean he had the first idea about what was going on in her head. And yet, there was a part of her that felt certain that if anyone could help her, it would be him.

“I appreciate the thought, but I’m fine,” Savannah said before she could stop herself.

More lies. What she really wanted to do was cry, or scream, or just … hit something. But even now, she kept holding back. If she let out what she was feeling, she wasn’t sure she would be able to stop.

Elliot was with Ingrid now, and there was no question in her mind that they were a couple now. There was a closeness, a silent mutual understanding between them that Savannah longed to feel with anyone. Someone she wouldn’t have to hide her true thoughts and feelings from. And it wasn’t that she thought Cameron was that person… but maybe in her secret heart, she hoped he would be.

“Well, go on, don’t let me stop you. Aren’t you supposed to be joking around and laughing now?”