Glimpse of the old Weetzie? ((Bryce))

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

Weetzie, for the first time in months, was really happy. She was in quite a good mood and was excited for the fact that she was in a good mood. Weetzie tossed her black hair over her shoulder, humming as she slid into a pair of black jeans and pulled on a bright neon blue t-shirt over her head. Her hair fell over the colour, making it even more vibrant, and then she slid her feet into a pair of flats and popped a black hat on top of her head. She was currently in her dormitory, looking around for her side bag, and she had plans on going down into the common room and being… Weetz. Of course, she would make sure the common room was empty before doing anything, because if anyone saw her the way she planned on being – they would have thought she had reverted back to her old self, and she hadn't. She hadn't really. She just wanted to feel carefree once more. Just one more time, was what she kept telling herself. One more time. Weetzie spotted her black side bag and slipped it on her shoulder before hurrying from the dormitory and down into the common room. When she reached the room, she was happy to see that it was empty – something that she needed in order to be the old Weetz in secret. She knew most of the Hufflepuffs had class about this time and that most of them would be with their friends afterward; that was the great thing about how small the houses were… everyone knew everyone and knew where they were going to be. Weetzie walked over to a chair and set her side bag down in it before turning around on her heel and looking around at the common room. Satisfied that it would stay empty for the time being, Weetzie pulled out her wand and her wizarding wireless and placed the wizarding wireless on the table in between the couch and the fireplace.

She flicked her wand and the wireless lit up, scanning through music, and then finally music played around her quietly. Flicking her wand again, she raised the volume up so it sounded like it was coming from large speakers hanging along the wall. She smiled and tucked her wand away as the music played and then… Weetzie danced. She hadn't danced since before that fateful trip to Hogsmeade and she felt so much like her old self that in a moment she was just dancing. She was twirling around in circles, she was hopping around on the furniture, singing along with the song, playing air guitar. She was Weetzie O'Keeffe, the Hufflepuff fifth year that everyone fell in love with. She knew, though, deep down, she would return to Weetzie O'Keeffe, Hufflepuff sixth year that people pity when she was finished with her carefree motions. She couldn't let that bear on her now, though, because that would completely cancel out her therapeutic way of getting everything off her chest. Of course, if someone walked into the common room right then it would have been quite the sight to see and Weetzie would have immediately stopped. She didn't want anyone seeing her this way again. She might not have minded it much before, but now she would most definitely care if someone spotted her dancing like this. Which was a very sad concept if you thought about it. Weetzie had gone from being a carefree spirit, to someone who cared what other people thought about her. It was a sad day indeed when Weetzie O'Keeffe changed who she was.

Weetzie was dancing now, though, around in circles, with a smile on her face so bright you might have questioned whether or not there had ever been a frown on it prior to this day. She was alone, in her little world that she had never ever visited after the death of Gracie. Weetzie was just in her own place, enjoying who she was and who she was able to be. So, it wasn't completely surprising when she didn't notice the portrait hole open and someone step inside. It was surprising, however, that she didn't notice that it was Bryce who had stepped inside. The even furthering surprise, though, was the fact that when she did notice; she stopped dancing but only for a moment and then skipped over to him, that smile still on her face, and pulled him into dancing with her; singing along with the song again. She knew that it wasn't going to do much to help Bryce with any confusion about Weetzie's attitude change, but she, at that moment, just wanted to enjoy. And enjoy she would.

[Bryce Alexander]

The stress of school was starting to grate at Bryce's usually laid back and go-with-the-flow style. All of the due dates that were starting to expire for the many projects that were a result of his classes had drove him to a point of madness. Concentration was hard enough for him, as he liked having a good time, and the past week or so had been quite a nightmare. Lucky for him though, Bryce had just finished the worst of it, and he was on his way through the halls back to the common room. His school robes were not quite looking the most tidy, and he felt somewhat bd for not setting a good example as a prefect. At this point though, he was too tired to care much, and plus he was almost back to the common room where he could change from his class attire. Running a had through his messy hair, Bryce let out a sigh of relief as he neared the common room entrance.

Before entering, he paused, starring at the entrance with a slightly dazed look on his face. From what he could perceive, it sounded as if there was music coming from inside. Wondering what might be the cause of the music, Bryce entered, surprised to see that it was quite empty aside from one person who was dancing alone to the streams of music coming from a wireless in the middle of the room. Bryce quickly realized that it was Weetzie who had somehow secured the common room all to herself. She was... dancing. Bryce couldn't quite figure out why she was dancing, as in the past months it was rare to see as much as a smile come from her. Before he had much time to analyze though, Weetzie had noticed his entry and approached him, all the while continuing to dance.

Bryce never really liked dancing much, but he liked to have fun. Making a fool of himself on a dance floor was always a good opportunity for some fun. Glad to be able to dance away some of the stress, Bryce found a smile within himself as Weetzie led him to the middle of the floor to dance with her. Perhaps it was the moment that took away the stress or the sight of seeing Weetzie happy again. Where the sudden change of attitude had come from, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to bother wasting his time asking. As the song came to a close, Bryce sung (quite out of tune) along and finished with a dramatic ending as he slid onto his knees with his hands in the air. Laughing it off, he stood and walked closer to Weetzie. "That was quite refreshing," he said with a bright smile. Catching a glimpse of her own happiness in his observing her, Bryce pulled Weetzie in for a hug. "It's been months since I've seen you," he said jokingly with a wink. He knew Weetzie would understand what he meant, and he hoped that she knew it was meant in a good way. He had been supportive of her, but surely she knew that he wanted her to simply return to the old Weetzie in many ways.

Crashing onto the couch as the music of another song began playing, Bryce let out a rather large breath of air. "I miss our crazy fun, Weetz," he said in a simple tone. It was true; the memories of the random fun that they shared before Gracie's death were frequently on a loop in Bryce's mind whenever it was not occupied with the many other things that had been going on in his life... Ash to be just one example. That was something he had yet to figure out as well. He had been fortunate enough to be able to spend time with both Ash and Weetzie on separate occasions. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of laser tag.

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

Weetzie was surprised to see how easy her laughter came from her when Bryce joined in on the dancing and sang along, rather badly, to the song that was playing. She threw her arms up in the air and continued to dance, just enjoying this carefree feeling that she felt like she had lost so long ago. When the song ended, Weetzie felt her energy slowly leaving her, but her smile never faded like it usually did. Instead she took a deep breath and smiled brightly at Bryce with a slight nod, "Yeah. I've forgotten how good it feels to just detach from everything and have fun." Before she could say anything more, though, Bryce had pulled her into a hug, and Weetzie felt her eyes go wide. She hugged him back, though, happily and enjoyed the feeling of hugging him. She hadn't had any physical contact with anyone but Chris in weeks, months. It was so strange to be hugging Bryce again. She felt a small sense of guilt wash over her when he mentioned not seeing her for months, "I know…" He then pulled back and Weetzie tucked her hair behind her ear as she picked her hat up off her head and tossed it on the table. The black bowler slid to the edge but didn't topple over, good thing, too, or else Weetzie would have been highly upset. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked at Bryce as he sank into one of the couches, following his lead. She played with the bracelets on her wrists when he mentioned missing their crazy fun times. She knew he did, she did, too, but there were things that prevented that now – and it wasn't just her change in attitude.

She was completely capable of being her old self, Weetzie had found this out nearly every time she hung out with Chris and Noah. It wasn't the fact that Gracie died anymore that kept her from being Weetzie O'Keeffe with Bryce. It was Ashley that did that. Weetzie had tried to figure out what it was about that girl that just bothered Weetzie the way she did, but she couldn't ever figure it out. She had talked with Chris about it numerous times, and the only thing he could come up with was the fact that Weetzie was jealous of the fact that Ashley had the potential of being Bryce's girlfriend while she never did. So, in short – Weetzie was jealous because she liked Bryce and he didn't like her back. What gave Chris that crazy idea had confused Weetzie at first, but later on she had realised that perhaps he had been right all along. Weetzie looked at Bryce now, and smiled sadly; "I do, too. It's just so…different now, Bryce." Her voice had started to get tiny and she had looked at her bracelets again as she let out a slow breath. She didn’t know what to say or how to say it to him, but she had to give him some insight to her attitude toward him -especially if she was going to be on the Quidditch team with both him and little miss Princess. "I… I know how it's different, too… but… I just…" she sighed and slouched down in the seat, tugging at her bracelets.

"Bryce, if I told you I am back to my old self – you'd want things to go back to the way they were before, but they can't. I can't be this way around you all the time anymore. There's something else, someone else, there. Someone who I can't help but think you'd rather be spending your time with. I know that sounds dumb, or at least you'll tell me it's a really dumb idea, but it's not. It really isn't that dumb of an idea." Weetzie took in a deep breath and looked at him, "Ashley is this new person in your life, Bryce, and you really enjoy spending time with her. I know that, and I just… I can't bring myself to have fun when she's around. I don't…I don't know why that is the way it is, but it just is. I'm sorry."

[Bryce Alexander]

Different. That was probably and understatement given their situation. Just last year, Bryce remembered how he and Weetzie had done such silly things together. They were both different. It wasn't just Weetzie. Bryce was a flirt, and rather carefree back then. Now, he had matured a lot. Perhaps it wasn't a bad thing, but Weetzie, the death of Gracie, and even Ash had all slowly began to affect Bryce and the person that he was. He couldn't blame it all on Weetzie changing who she was whenever he was different as well. The part that seemed hard to grasp was that it had affected their friendship, or at least it seemed to have. Bryce was determined that it would never ruin their friendship though. He could learn to deal with change, but so long as it meant that they could still spend time just being able to sit and talk and laugh. Laughing wasn't allowed to be different, he thought with a sad smile as Weetzie shared her feelings about the past few months.

As he listened to her words, Bryce didn't realize how much of an affect the truth would have when it came at him in this way. Everything that Weetz was saying were things that were not unknown to Bryce. In fact, he had been dwelling on them for quite a long time now, well aware of what it all seemed to be doing to their relationship. Weetz seemed ready to talk about it, but in that moment Bryce wasn't so sure he was ready. What if it meant that bad change that he wasn't ready to accept. He would never be ready to accept some things. The truth had been laid out though, and as much as Bryce had been wishing that there were a way around it, a way to split himself in two and have the part of him that loved being with Weetize and the other that loved being with Ash. The only problem was that it was the same Bryce who wanted two different things. He was one person who wanted two completely opposite things, and he couldn't go on lying to himself anymore and pretending that he'd be able to juggle both parts of his life at the same time.

"I... I can make it work," he choked out, trying not to let the tears come. He was sure that Weetzie wasn't saying goodbye or anything. But it sure seemed like her words held much of a goodbye tone to them. Was she saying that they couldn't be friends if he continued to hang out with Ashley? That would be selfish, wouldn't it? No.. not really. And, even if it were selfish, Bryce knew that his own reasons were selfish as well then. But what did it mean then? Was he really going to have to make a choice right there, right now?

"We are Bryce and Weetzie! Weetzie and Bryce. We can get through anything, right? Why can't we just push through this? Why can't we stay strong and..." It was no use. She was slipping away from him right there and there was nothing he could do about it. But he wanted Weetzie and he wanted Ashley. Bryce couldn't help but feel that he could have both. He would make a way. Even though he wasn't even sure what he wanted at all, he was going to make a way to keep Weetzie. He needed Weetzie and he didn't want to think that he had to give up Ashley for that to be possible. Leaning towards her, he placed his hand behind her head and kissed her quickly on the lips, pulling away before the tears could come.

Bryce backed away, a stunned look on his face, not really bothering to figure out what the kiss would mean, but trying to find himself in the wave of emotion that had passed. "I... I don't know what to do," he managed, his voice cracking with fear. He stood, contemplating an apology as he ran his fingers through his mess of hair. "Weetzie... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I just.. I don't know what else I'm supposed to do." The overwhelming fear of losing her had just lead Bryce to kiss his best friend, and all he could do was stand and stare, shocked at his own actions and desperate to find a way that everything could go back to normal.

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

Weetzie looked at Bryce sadly, "No you can't… and neither can I…" her voice was breaking as she spoke to him. She didn't want to sound like they would never speak again, but that was how everything was coming out. She wasn't about to give up her friendship with Bryce completely, but at the same time she knew she couldn't be the one he always wanted to spend time with anymore. She looked at her hands, which were playing with her bracelets still, as the silence seemed to overcome them even though music was still playing from her wireless. The fire was crackling and it sounded ten times louder than before. She looked up at him when he spoke again, declaring that they were Weetzie and Bryce and that they could get through anything. He trailed off, though, and Weetzie knew he didn't believe in everything he was saying. Tears welled in her eyes and she shook her head, looking down at her hands again, "Bryce…" She had lifted her gaze to look back up at him, and opened her mouth slightly to say something more when Bryce did something quite unexpected. He did something that she hadn't ever thought he would do. It rooted her to spot, she couldn't even… she couldn't even kiss him back.

He pulled away then and Weetzie stayed rooted in spot. Shivering from complete shock. She opened her eyes and looked at him, shaking slightly. He had stood and was looking quite afraid and then he spoke again, saying he didn't know what to do and then he apologised. Weetzie didn't even hear past his first few words. She had gone from being shocked, to feeling a little woozy, and now she was just… well, she was angry. He stopped talking and he was staring at her, waiting for her reaction. When it came, though, she knew it wasn’t what he was hoping for. Weetzie stood from the couch and stared at Bryce, tears in her eyes. They were tears of sadness and tears of frustration, "Bryce David Alexander, that was… I… You…" She crossed her arms over her chest and let out a sound of frustration that came out as a "grrrrr!" She didn't know how to say what she wanted to say or how she felt, but she would get it out eventually. "I can't…. Why did you do that?! I… you… that… God, Bryce!" Weetzie ran her fingers through her hair, realising her hat had fallen off while she was dancing but not really caring at that particular moment, and tried to gain her composure enough to talk to him calmly.

"I can't believe you did that… did you really think it would help any? Did you really think it would make everything easier? It just makes it worse! Now, as if I didn't have a problem with you dating Ashley Bleeding Hill enough, I've got conflicting emotions going on in the pit of my stomach!" Weetzie took a step toward him, staring up at him, her eyes clear of any tears now but filled with anger, "You can't just kiss someone because you don't know what to do, Bryce! You don't do that! That doesn’t make things any easier on the person you're kissing!" She was having trouble breathing as she continued to fight back tears that were threatening to return again, "Bryce, I can't… I can't do this. I can't wonder if I'm going to be your number one person, even as just a best friend, or if she is and I can't just wait in the shadows for you to feel like you want to spend time with me again. I'm not a back up friend, and I'm not someone you kiss just to keep around. If you kissed me, and meant it, then it would be different… but it was a scared back up plan. You saw me falling away from you, and you went for it – thinking you had nothing else to lose.

"Well," Weetzie let out a deep breath and took one final step so she could close the gap between them and kiss his cheek, "Guess what, Bryce?" Her voice was shaking now, her anger still there, but sadness engulfing her now. There just wasn't any way she could be around Bryce now, not after this. Not after that empty kiss, "You weren't losing me before. I wasn't going anywhere. I would have been there for as long as you wanted me to be. After tonight… I… I can't… I'm sorry." She took a step away and grabbed her things hurriedly, "Have… fun with Ashley, be happy." With one final look at Bryce, tears welling in her eyes again, she hurried back to the 6th year girls' dormitories; feeling like her heart was being shattered into two.

((I ended it. I hope you post back, though. Also, then, I couldn't have her just be mad… after all she is losing her best friend as well.))

[Bryce Alexander]

In his own crazed world of thoughts, Bryce was too busy to even realize that Weetzie had not been happy with his actions. It wasn’t until she practically growled at him, utilizing his middle name to catch his attention, that he saw the tears in her eyes. It only made it harder for him, watching as the cracks began to shatter into a mess that was becoming more and more difficult to even think about being able to fix.

Why did he do it? That was a question that he thought seemed pretty obvious- he was desperate. Beyond that, Bryce couldn’t offer an explanation, and even if he had wanted to, things had turned for the worse, enough that Weetzie would probably ignore any rational reply he tried to produce. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I don’t know how to make things easier.” His words were full of confusion and pain, and he just wished that they could go back to the fun times... back to the carefree times... back to when Bryce knew that the relationship between himself and Weetzie was simple and easy. Why couldn’t things be simple and easy anymore?

Between her forced breathes, Bryce tried processing the many hurtful words that Weetzie was relaying to him. He wished he could give her answers, make things better, but he didn’t know how. Already, he had made one stupid attempt, and likely any other attempts would be equally as foolish. He was too confused, too frustrated and unsure, to even know how to act in this situation.

The last sentence that she spoke was the hardest to accept. This was a goodbye, he was sure of it. What it meant though, he wasn’t so sure of, aside from the fact that things were different. Things were out of his control. No matter how much he wanted to believe that they weren’t, Bryce knew that it may never be the same. Without even realizing he was doing it, Bryce had ruined the friendship that he and Weetz had shared. Though he thought that he loved Ashley, he wondered if losing Weetzie’s friendship was worth it. What was even harder to fathom was that he might not have had to ruin the friendship if he had taken some time to just act rationally, thinking about the situation more before up and kissing Weetzie because it seemed like the only thing he could do to keep her.

As he stood, still riddled with the shock of what was happening, Bryce couldn’t move to stop Weetzie from retreating to her room. The tears had finally won their way forward, hazing the vision of his best friend walking away. This couldn’t be the end, could it? Friendships didn’t end like this, did they? Adding to the already long list of what Bryce was not sure about, he wondered if he and Weetzie could ever find a way to make things the way they used to be.