Just another day in paradise (Reese)

[Kristen Simms]

The normal spot. The lake was just an interesting place to be. From time to time, one could catch a glimpse of the giant squid that lived in the lake. Kristen often found herself wondering what else was there. The lake was somewhat a mystery yet it was calm. She could come here and clear her thoughts that had been clouded during the day. This was a stable place. Also it was just the fact that she liked being outside.

It was her 7th year now. It was hard to believe time had gone by so fast. Now she was supposed to be Head Girl of all things. Who knew that Reese would have actually be right about that when he was actually joking. Over the summer, she did spend a little time with him and his family as he offered. It was a great summer, one of her favorites. Of course their normal banter occurred but the more she thought about it, the more she wanted. However, she knew that wasn't going to happen. She was far to nervous and actually shy to say anything and Reese apparently did not pick up on hints.

Sitting on the grass, she looked out to the lake. Kristen had somewhat gotten over her fear of flying, but not completely. She still felt like she had to put a death grip on the broom and she refused to fly alone. Pulling her knees up to her chest, Kristen sighed as she sorted through her thoughts.

[Reese Denton]

Head Boy.

When Reese posed it to the universe, it was a joke, not really a suggestion. It was probably bad for his reputation anyway. Now people knew he actually did his school work and things like that.

It was a gorgeous day though, and he figured it would start getting cold soon, so he'd started walking towards the lake to enjoy it. It wasn't often that they could enjoy a beautiful day in this country.

And there was a familiar blonde head by the lake. He chuckled to himself. Without pretense, he came up next to her and plopped rather unceremoniously to the grass. "Sunshine is weird, isn't it, Cupcake?"

[Kristen Simms]

It was odd that they could enjoy a nice day outside. The weather normally appeared to always be eight five percent cloudy. That was what Kristen thought at least. Today was that exception. She might as well enjoy the sunshine while it lasted, even though she liked to be outside any day.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice anyone near her at first, nor did she hear them sit down. It was not until a voice filled her ears that she realized someone was there. Bringing herself out of her thoughts, Kristen turned to see a familiar face. She smiled, and without knowing it, a faint light pink color was added to her cheeks. Of course she would always say any added shade of pink or red to her face was blamed on being outside.

"Sunshine is odd, but I'm not complaining." She pushed hair behind her ears to keep from it blowing in her face. "How's it feel knowing that you're head boy now?"

[Reese Denton]

Reese let out a rush of air when she asked the question, and if he noticed her blush, he didn't comment on it. "Weird. It was a weird choice. You, on the other hand. How do you feel about it?"

He was making jokes at his own expense, but actually, he was quite proud that he'd become Head Boy, and he was pleased that his hard work had paid off.

He was even pleased that she was his counterpart. If only by necessity, they would be around each other a lot more, and...

And maybe he needed to get brave and finally say something to her. He was a Gryffindor, after all, and he had less than a year before he would lose the luxury of her always being around.

"We should make up some new rules for the students. Mandatory three day weekends. What do you think?"

[Kristen Simms]

"It feels strange. Thinking I was flying low the whole time I was here." She glanced over at him and grinned. "Of course I should have known hanging around you I could never fly low. You're always so loud," Kristen teased. At the mention of a three day weekend, she laid back on the grass. "A three day weekend would be amazing. That would mean plenty of relaxation and not too much worrying about class work."

A three day weekend would be amazing. Work could actually get done and she would not fall behind, or what felt like falling behind, on homework. "We should also make a rule that apple and cherry pie should be served all the time. Oh! We can't forget the occasional food fight. Whatever house wins could get a couple of house points!" Kristen laughed at the thought of food flying around in the Great Hall and the looks on their professors' faces.

"I have a feeling that you're going to get into more trouble being Head Boy than you normally would because at least this time you can get away with it," she said playfully poking his arm.

[Reese Denton]

Reese put a hand to his chest in mock offense. "You know, buttercup, you're the one sitting here plotting trouble. I just wanted three day weekends." Innocence, he decided, looked good on him.

And rebellion looks awfully good on her.

So he told her. "You know... I like this side of you. Keep it up, and I can actually cause trouble and blame you for it. Talk about team work, right?"

Teasing her was easy after six years, and he cast a glance at her to make sure she still took it with a grin. He hesitated, as though there might have been something more he wanted to say, and then changed his mind, opting instead for, "Seriously, though, I think you and I are going to really good at this. We'll balance each other's talents..."

He trailed off, turning into a typical 17 year old boy, as hard as he tried not to, and wondered just what some of her talents might be.

It was going to be a long year.

[Kristen Simms]

A playful shocked look appeared on Kristen's face as she leaned up on her elbows. "I cannot believe that you would think I would be trouble. I'm merely making suggestions. After all, who would actually believe a Hufflepuff started the trouble?" Kristen let out a laugh.

"Although," she began with a mischievous look in her eye, "planning a few things wouldn't be a bad idea. A few pranks here and there would be a good thing. I mean after all any pranks that occurred in the Hufflepuff common room was blamed on another house." Kristen laughed again. Sure, she was normally the 'good girl' but she also pulled a few pranks on the people in her own house but nothing too bad.

"We'll balance each other out hm? I thought we already balanced each other out fairly well. You always keep me on my toes and wonder about a lot of things." Kristen had to stop herself before she went any further than just saying he made her wonder.

[Reese Denton]

Reese whistled. "Look at you, my little trouble maker." He had to admit, he was actually pretty impressed that she was admitting to be somewhat... loose in the department of rules. He liked it.

"It'll keep the students in a good mood, don't you think? We'll be the fun Head Boy and Girl. And we can get our Prefects in on it as well. Harmless things, of course."

He grew quiet when she continued though, and finally, a lopsided, boyish grin spread across his lips. "Oh yeah? What kind of things do I make you wonder about?"

[Kristen Simms]

For the first time today Kristen felt like she put her foot in her mouth. That was a normal feeling because she couldn't stop herself completely in time. Of course she knew that she always had to be careful what she said and who she said it to. No one knew of her crush, if that was the right term, on Reese, or at least she didn't think so. She told no one but then Kristen never realized her actions spoke for her.

"Just about things," she said with a shrug. "Sometimes it is the actions that you do or don't do in different situations. Sometime it is a wonder about what you are thinking when your facial expressions change to certain expressions." Why you can't pick up on hints, she thought to herself. "Just that sort of thing." Kristen smiled, trying to figure out what he was thinking just then.

[Reese Denton]

"Hmm," was Reese's reply, likely less than satisfactory for Kristen. He said nothing else for a long moment, laying back in the grass and just watching the blue sky for a moment. He doubted he would be able to see blue sky again for months, so he might as well enjoy it.

At length, he rolled his head to look at her, though now he had a better view of her pretty blonde hair than he did her face.

"Do my reactions surprise you?"

[Kristen Simms]

Reese 's response really was less than satisfactory. Sometimes reactions like that annoyed her, only because she didn't know what he was thinking. Of course there were times when she didn't want to know what he was thinking. She watched him lean back and lay on the grass. There were times when she just could not figure him out. Scratch that. She could never understand him, unless of course they happened to be talking about the same subject.

Raising her eyebrow at his question, she paused for a moment. "Sometimes," she began, "they annoy and aggravate me. Then again sometimes your reactions surprise me. Like for instance the way we met in first year when someone tripped me and my ice cream went all down your shirt. Of course I thought you might have been mad at me but even then you had that sarcastic humor."

[Reese Denton]

Reese instantly frowned at her words, definitely not liking that at all. Sure, he liked to irritate her, but in a playful way. Maybe that was all she meant- he never wanted to irritate her in a bad way.

But then she eased off her assessment of him, and he found he could take a breath again, and Godric, what a sorry excuse for a 7th year Gryffindor he was in that moment. Still, he forced a smirk to tug at the corners of his lips. "I remember that. Really, I was just angry with the git that tripped you, you know. But it gave me a good reason to talk to you. My shirt still smells like chocolate swirl."

[Kristen Simms]

"I remember blushing deep red. I was so embarrassed. Even after you made your jokes about it I was still embarrassed. I tried to play it off like I wasn't." Kristen laughed. She gave him a teasing look. "I knew it. You had to keep the shirt because it reminds you of the best day of your life." She winked at him. Joking with him felt normal and safe. Kristen could say almost anything to him and get away with it. She even admitted her feelings toward him, but at the time when she said it they were joking around. This was safe because she didn't have to hear 'no' and it be out of rejection.

For a girl who seemed sure of herself and confident, Kristen was actually fairly shy. Even around Reese she had her moments. "Who would have thought spilled chocolate swirl ice cream could lead to this?" Kristen grinned. "Of course I know why the person tripped me. They had a high amusement out of the situation because I was painfully shy at first and they may had heard me talking to one of my friends at the time about something, or rather someone."

[Reese Denton]

Reese shook his head. "Nah... there've been better days. The ball last year... that ranks pretty high on the list."

Reese had suddenly gone form smiling to serious, though he looked like his mind was a thousand miles away. He already knew that when they graduated, he wasn't letting her disappear. He just hadn't yet realized what that meant to him, or maybe even for her.

And there was that cocky grin again, accompanied by a sideways glance. "They were teasing you about how you were drooling over me, weren't they?"

[Kristen Simms]

Reese 's comment about the ball being high up in the list cause her to look at him from the corner of her eye. Kristen smiled but she didn't comment. She wasn't sure what to have thought of that whole situation but she was glad it happened.

Once she heard his next comment, her pale cheeks turned bright red. There was no mistaking this blush for the sun beating down on her cheeks. This blush was out of the fact he was exactly right. In fact that was the very reason the person tripped her. Of course they were wanting her to make a fool of herself at the time. Kristen leaned over anand hit him. "Shut up," she said jokingly. The next words came at almost a mumble "Maybe." In a way she was slightly flustered. Of course she still thought that but she wasn't going to verbalize that thought. Reese would probably have a field day with it. "I've never been good at whispering."

[Reese Denton]

He started laughing the instant she hit him, unable to even pretend that she had hurt him. Usually he would- form his lips into a little 'o' and rub the spot like it was bruising, but today, he was too busy laughing. Especially when she practically admitted that yes, she'd been staring at him.

"Oh, man. You are so lucky you didn't admit that to me a couple of years ago, or I would have never let you live that down. Fortunately, I'm mature now." He could almost see the look she would give him for that, and it was worth it, really.

"You know, since you're Head Girl now, I think you should petition to transfer to Gryffindor. In case we need emergency meetings or something."

He refrained from rolling his eyes at himself. Why was he laying it on so thick today?

[Kristen Simms]

Kristen did give a look that said 'you've got to be kidding me.' "You are mature now," she said in a question like tone. "Riiiiiiight." She laughed. His reaction to discovering she used to like to look at him was exactly the reason she never mentioned it. Sure she knew it was all in good fun and looking back on the situation it was fairly funny but she couldn't admit it now.

"Transfer to Gryffindor?" Kristen raised an eyebrow. "What would we need to have emergency meetings about? Plus give me a great reason to transfer," she added with a little teasing in her voice.

[Reese Denton]

His grin was back and wider than ever. Sure, he was "mature." More mature than he'd been at 11, and that was the important part, he though. He was still too young and having too much fun to be mature yet. That's one of the things he really liked about Kristen- she still had fun.

"Yeah. You know, er... Emergency things. It could happen. And anyway, you'd be closer to me, and we both know that's what you really want." He'd meant it as a joke, but his voice took a serious lilt to it that even startled him. He glanced at her, waiting for a moment before he dug himself deeper into a hole.


(Rori I'm about to do the thing. It's gonna be a big thing.)

[Kristen Simms]

Reese's grins were always contagious. That was one of the reasons that Kristen like Reese. He could always make her smile, no matter what type of mood she was in. She had known him long enough to pick up on a few things about him. For instance, she picked up on a few of his facial expressions, even if he didn't know what he was doing. This time, she knew his face went from joking to serious.

There was something that occurred that very rarely ever happened. It seemed like Reese was searching for words. He always seemed confident and knew what he was going to say. Kristen looked at him curiously and she felt her stomach drop to her feet. And anyway, you'd be closer to me, and we both know that's what you really want. She wasn't sure how to take the statement. It was apparent that he was being serious, but what could he have meant by that? Surely he hadn't really figured out that she actually liked him more than just a friend. Could he? It felt like her head was going to explode with several different scenarios.

"I-I," she began not knowing what to say. Kristen became a little flustered while she was trying to find the right words, which sometimes happened more than she would have liked it to. "We will be closer together anyway this year. There's the lounge for that. Also technically we don't have the same curfew as everyone else."

[Reese Denton]

"The lounge," Reese repeated slowly, mulling the word over. No, the lounge wouldn't do at all. Prefects were allowed in there. He did not want a fifth year prefect raining on his parade, as the muggles said.

"So, you're telling me that wasn't the answer you were looking for?" She wanted a good reason why she should consider transferring- if that was even a possibility- well, he had one. He had a very good reason, he just wasn't sure if she would agree. His reason might force her to hide deep inside the hufflepuff common room and he would be left with the annoying, unrelenting want of a seventeen year old boy to puff her huffle.

Godric. He was in Gryffindor for a reason. Weren't they suppose to be a fearless lot? He wondered if Godric Gryffindor ever had to face a pretty girl, because they were terrifying.

"All right. You want a good reason?"