One Day of Many ((Adrian))

[Reaegyn Eschen-Brenner R7]

"Oh, bloody honeycombs!" Reaegyn jumped back about a foot as the inkpot slammed to the floor. The witch behind the counter looked over at her with a small look of annoyance, which Reaegyn met with an apologetic smile. She took out her wand, muttered 'evanesco' and the ink disappeared, along with the shattered glass. She tucked a brown lock of hair behind her ear as she knelt down to pick up her nylon shoulder purse that had, somehow, safely escaped any ink splatters. It was black, though, and it already had numerous ink stains on it so it wouldn't have mattered either way. She knew she was getting a new one for Christmas, as well, only she was sure it wouldn't be nylon. That idea made her quite sad, Reaegyn quite liked her nylon purse. It was big enough to hold a small steno pad and a pen plus all of her necessities such as her wallet, some chapstick, and anything else that Reaegyn viewed as necessary. With another apologetic smile sent in the witch's direction, Reaegyn hurried out of the stationary shop that she was normally a regular in. The regular owner was out sick, or so said the witch who was behind the counter today, thus the way she felt so guilty and embarrassed for breaking an inkpot when she wouldn't have any other day. It was alright, she didn't need a new one anyway, it wasn't like she didn’t have a half a case full in her dorm room back at the castle. Reaegyn sighed slightly as she stepped out into the rather cold day. The wind was blowing gently, but because it was a bit below freezing the wind had a definite bite to it that it probably wouldn't have normally. The sun was out, so it was a bright and sunny...but very cold day. She wasn't dressed for the weather, either, but then again Reaegyn was never dressed for the weather. Ever. In fact, on this particular day Reaegyn was wearing jeans, her Doc Martens, one of Adrian's school button up shirts, and her blazer...but not buttoned up so it looked semi-casual. It was most definitely not warm enough for the bitter cold of December.

She knew she'd get a lecture from her mother and Adrian would probably end up forcing her to wear her jacket as well as the blazer she had on, but Reaegyn would deal with that when the time came. Which would be rather soon, now that she thought about it. She looked at her watch and then headed toward the Three Broomsticks where she was supposed to be meeting her parents like she always did on the third Hogsmeade trip of the month. Adrian was usually with her when she entered the pub, but today Reaegyn and went ahead to Hogsmeade earlier than normal and Adrian liked her sleep. That was one of the differences between Adrian and Reaegyn, Reaegyn was an early riser regardless of what time she went to bed the night before. It was nearly noon now as Reaegyn pushed open the door to the pub and stepped inside to see it decorated for the holidays. Christmas lights lined the frames of doors, there was a Christmas tree in the corner that was lit up magnificently and the normal musty smell of the pub was replaced by the smell of roasting chestnuts. Reaegyn tried not to focus on how cliché the whole scene was and tried to focus on how beautiful it really was. She ran her fingers through her hair, enjoying the coolness of it on her hands before making her way to a free table in the back that had two chairs facing the wall and two chairs facing the entrance. It wasn't their usual table, but the pub was rather busy this weekend and Reaegyn knew it would be awhile before the usual table opened up. She took off her blazer and set it on the back of one of the chairs facing the wall, pushed up her sleeves to her elbows, and sat down as she pulled out her steno pad and pen. The great thing about being a writer was the fact that she was never bored. Any place she could pull out her steno pad and write was a place that she could be entertained.

"What's the word?" a voice came from behind her, causing her to jump slightly in her seat. Her father, Benny, stood behind her, tall and a little unshaven. She knew he must have been working on some project, either muggle or wizard, because otherwise he would have been clean-shaven. Reaegyn liked her dad when he was a little rugged, because that was how she had all of her memories with him. A bright smile crossed her face as her dad took the seat opposite her, "Your mum's at...some store...I don't remember the name...it's a store she's always at, but anyway, she'll be right over. I figured it'd give us time to talk about anything you wouldn't be comfortable talking to your mum about...you know...girls and such." Reaegyn laughed at her father as he raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, "Girls? I am quite comfortable talking with Mum about girls, Daddy." Benny shook his head, "I don't get it. Wouldn't you feel more comfortable talking with me about girls? I'm the straight man...Joon's the straight woman..." he looked genuinely confused and Reaegyn had to restrain herself from laughing again, instead she reached over and patted the top of his hand like a little child. "I honestly don't get it..." he muttered again as her mother took her seat beside her husband, "Don't get what?" Joon and Reaegyn looked so much alike they could be sisters. Joon was slightly taller than Reaegyn and was slightly thinner as well, but other than that they had the same face shape, same hair colour, and same eye colour. They were often mistaken as sisters; she knew the fact that her mother was so young didn't help either. Her mother had been only 16 when she had Reaegyn, but unlike every other story you hear about young mothers; Joon and Benny had stuck together and raised a wonderful daughter. It had been a happy ending to a rather twisted fairy tale.

"Daddy's just being silly," Reaegyn answered as she slipped her steno pad and pen back into her purse, "Like always." Benny stuck his tongue out at her and Reaegyn giggled quietly when her mother smacked him in the arm, telling him to grow up. If it was one thing Reaegyn loved about her parents it was how carefree and happy they were. A lot of other parents thought her parents weren't grown up enough to raise a 17 year old, but Reaegyn knew differently. "Where's Adrian?" Joon asked as she looked around the Pub for the blonde. Reaegyn looked around as well, wondering why she could be running so late, and then the door opened and in stepped Adrian. Reaegyn smiled brightly and waved her over before turning to her parents and saying softly, "Remember, no mention of my being gay, alright? I still haven't told her yet, and I want to tell her...not you two..." her parents looked at her and then simultaneously crossed their hearts with their fingers just as Adrian sat down beside Reaegyn. The first thing Reaegyn said to her best friend was, "You sleep way too much, Maigny."

[Adrian Maigny R7]

“Good God, every morning that ruddy sun has to come up and go and wake me up!” Adrian growled and shoved aside the curtains to her bed. She sat on the edge of her bed and rubbed her eyes before sighing. You would think that having curtains around your bed would keep the sun out, but no matter what, every morning somehow the sun managed to find its way into Adrian’s bed. Now normally this wasn’t a huge problem because normally Reaegyn would have woken Adrian up, she normally did this if Adrian was sleeping in and two minutes from being late from class. This morning however, no wakeup call had come. Adrian ran her fingers through her hair and looked across at the bed next to hers, shaking her head when she found the empty bed had its curtains pulled back and was nicely made. That meant that Reaegyn had been up and out of the room for long enough that the house elves had already come in and cleaned it up. Why exactly Reaegyn hadn’t bothered to wake Adrian was a source of frustration, but then Adrian realized it was the weekend, a Hogsmeade weekend at that, and it made a bit more sense. Reaegyn had gone and done the whole “I’ll be nice and let you sleep in” thing that she had a bad habit of doing. As Adrian stared at Reaegyn’s empty bed, she couldn’t help but remind herself that if she slept in that bed with Reaegyn every night, then she wouldn’t have to worry about the girl not waking her up on weekends. She pushed aside the idea before she got too caught up.

Adrian touched her toes to the stone floor beneath her and then immediately lifted them back up with a shiver. She whined for a few minutes and then realized that there was no one there to pay her any attention. “Seriously, is it that hard to just wake me up?” Adrian pushed past the frustration at how cold the floor was as she stood up and ran her fingers through her hair. She made her way slowly, grumbling, to the bathroom, where she quickly showered, and then redressed in her pajamas – boxers and a t-shirt. She made her way back to her room and grudgingly searched through her truck for some clothes. “Oh that’s why she didn’t wake me up.” Adrian laughed when she realized she was missing a shirt, she knew for a fact she’d find it on Reaegyn when she went down to Hogsmeade. The girl had a habit of stealing Adrian’s clothes, but Adrian didn’t mind. In fact she quite liked it, and when the clothes were returned Adrian didn’t immediately set them aside for wash. Instead she’d wear them for school that day while Reaegyn’s scent was still fresh on them.

Anyway, today was not a day for school shirts and so Adrian instead began picking out her casual clothes for the day. First she pulled on a pair of socks, and then over her boxers she tugged a pair of her baggier jeans. She changed quickly and without much thought to appearance, for she didn’t much care. She pulled on a t-shirt, a black one, and then a blue hoodie over that. She slipped on her shoes and before she left the room she pulled her coat on over her sweater – tugging the hood out from under it. Adrian moved to her nightstand and grabbed her music player, the thing she never left without, and pocketed that, and then in a specific order she took the four pens from the nightstand and put them in her pocket; red pen, blue pen, black pen, black marker. She did it the same every morning. Today Adrian didn’t feel like messing with the frustration of contact lenses, and so she grabbed her classes off the nightstand and then turned to leave the dorm room. She took the steps two at a time, knowing she was late for the carriages to Hogsmeade. When she did catch them, she barely managed to catch one of the last ones, which housed a couple of third years that had woken up late. But that didn’t affect their ability to gossip loudly, and so Adrian found herself shoving her headphones into her ears and staring out the window as the carriage made its way to the small wizard town.

Adrian rushed out of the carriage and then groaned and shoved her hands in her pockets. Adrian didn’t like the cold. Well to be honest she didn’t like extremes. Adrian didn’t like the extreme cold, and she didn’t like the extreme hot. She liked it right in the middle somewhere, closer to the cold side. She liked to have the need to wear a light jacket, but not a coat. And Adrian would even prefer a light sprinkle if she could have the weather do exactly what she wanted. But today she could not and so she was forced to hurry through the town, needing to escape the cold. But the faster she moved the more cold her ears got; she had forgotten to wear a hat today, and with short hair like Adrian’s you needed a hat. Finally she made her way to the Three Broomsticks and pushed open the door. As it shut behind her she pulled her headphones from her ears and looked around the pub for Reaegyn, for she wasn’t in their usual spot. She saw the girl waving and she smiled brightly before making her way over to her best friend and the Eschen-Brenner family. Adrian took her seat next to Reaegyn and rubbed her hands together to warm them up. Then she smirked over at her friend and shook her head. “Well if someone would wake me up in the mornings we wouldn’t have that problem, eh love?” Adrian laughed and then looked across the table at the family that might as well have been her own. “Benny, Joon.” She nodded her head to both of them. “How are you? How’re the kids...oh wait...”Adrian chuckled. “I know the answer to that question.” She looked over at Reaegyn with a smirk. “Just as big a shirt stealer as ever.”

[Reaegyn Eschen-Brenner R7]

"You know better than we do," Joon said with a poignant look at Reaegyn, "you see her more than we do." Reaegyn let a pout cross her face as she crossed her arms and sulked in her seat, but that didn't last too long because Adrian mentioned her waking her up in the morning and Reaegyn looked at her as if she had just said something completely ridiculous, "You're joking, right? Do you know how hard you are to wake up? A war could be going on outside and you wouldn't wake up, Adrian. It's hard enough getting you up on the week days, I think I deserve a break on the weekends." She smirked at her friend before moving her hand to tap her fingers on the table rhythmically, and then smirked more when Adrian mentioned her stealing her shirt, "It looks better on me anyway, and you know it." Across the table, Benny and Joon shared a quick look before deciding to play the good parents and engage Adrian in a conversation. For someone who complained a lot about hardly ever seeing her daughter, Joon definitely enjoyed talking to Adrian at times a lot more than she enjoyed talking to Reaegyn. That was fine with Reaegyn, because it was interesting to see how her mother talked to Adrian. It was actually all quite interesting because Reaegyn was able to view her parents talk openly about Adrian's sexuality when they kept hers hidden. It wasn't an easy lie, but it never had been. "How are classes, Adrian?" Joon was always getting on Adrian's case about attending classes, actually then she got on Reaegyn's case as well, but neither of the girls listened to her. They hardly ever attended class, because honestly? They were easily bored, the both of them. They were easily bored with nearly everything, except each other – which was why they were capable of keeping their friendship for as long as they could.

"I hope you're attending them regularly," Joon continued as a waitress appeared and asked for their order. Everyone ordered drinks, which appeared, and then the waitress disappeared again to leave them to 'contemplate' their meals. Reaegyn sipped at her butterbeer and listened to Adrian answer her mother's question before stating blandly, "If we're passing our classes, Mum, I don't see why you should worry. It's not like we completely skiv them off. We attend some of them, perhaps not all of them, but most definitely some of them. We tend to avoid those that we think are unnecessary, right, Adrian?" Reaegyn looked at Adrian out of the corner of her eye before grinning and shrugging, "Oh, and by the way...Mum," she tore her eyes away from Adrian slowly to look at her mother, "I submitted that article to that newspaper I was telling you about and they accepted it, it should be printed sometime next month." It wasn't that big of a deal, Reaegyn was always submitting things to newspapers, but for some reason or another her mother liked to know whenever she did it so she could get the article framed. Reaegyn would put up her first draft on her Writer's Wall in her room and her mother would hang her article in the parlour. She sipped at her butterbeer again and was about to say something more when Benny spoke up, "Adrian, how's Quidditch, eh? Have you convinced Reaegyn to play yet?" He raised an eyebrow at his daughter before focusing his attention back on Adrian. Reaegyn groaned and rested her head on Adrian's shoulder, her hand on her forehead in a dramatic way, "Oh, Father, why will you not give me a break about this whole Quidditch ordeal? I simply cannot and will not join the team!" She sighed melodramatically and then sat up, letting her head hang a moment before looking back up, "Besides...I'm terrible at it."

Her father was constantly trying to get her to join her house team, which had also been his house team, but Quidditch just wasn't Reaegyn's thing. It was Adrian's and Benny's and Reaegyn just didn't want to take that away from either of them. Besides, she liked listening to her father and her best friend talk about something she didn't really have much passion for. They had quite a few things in common, actually. Her father was an architect, magically, and she knew that Adrian was contemplating doing that after Hogwarts, and they were both really interested in Quidditch. In fact, now that Reaegyn thought about it, Adrian seemed to fit in just fine with her family. They were just the type of people that Adrian was. It was probably one of the reasons that she and Reaegyn got along so well. They were alike in so many ways, and yet they were different as well. Reaegyn had moments where she was relatively quiet and thoughtful and liked to be alone, but Adrian seemed to like attention. Not in that 'I need attention, give me attention now!' way, but in that 'I'm a great person, get to know me and love me!' way. Reaegyn was social, but not as social as Adrian, and that was something that Reaegyn liked. She actually liked when people would talk to her because she was best friends with Adrian. She didn't like when people let rumours run rampant through the halls about her even though they knew they weren't true in the least. Reaegyn shook her head from her thoughts as the waitress appeared beside her again and this time took their food orders. She ordered a salad with ranch dressing and immediately it appeared in front of her. She picked up the fork and mixed the dressing and salad together so the white creamy delicious dressing didn't just rest on top of the salad, and then she took a bite as her mother spoke to Adrian again; "We've just redone the Glass Porch, Adrian, it's fantastic. You need to come by, visit us during the winter hols, and see it! It's probably the best time to see it anyway, so you can see the snow and everything without being outside in it."

Reaegyn chewed on her salad as she listened to her mother, thinking about how often they redo that room. It was her favourite room in the house, next to hers, and she knew Adrian liked it, too. But her parents redid that room so often it was ridiculous. She swallowed, took a drink of her butterbeer, and said; "What'd you do to it this time, Mum? Glass snowmen and snowflakes all over the place?" Joon mocked looking hurt as Benny laughed and Reaegyn smiled, looking at Adrian and explaining; "The Christmas of my third year, Mum went crazy on the Glass Porch. We had about a dozen glass snowmen, all different colours, and about fifty or so glass snowflakes just hanging from the ceiling." Benny cut in, taking deep breaths so he'd stop laughing, "It looked really cluttered and it was all glass so it was see through, you know?" Reaegyn smiled brightly when her father couldn't continue with how hard he was laughing, and so she finished the story; "Long story short, I got lost because there was too much glass. We pick on Mum about it now because she went a bit overboard on the Christmas decorations..." Benny howled with laughter and Reaegyn took another sip of her butterbeer, "You two are so mean! Adrian, be on my side... tell her it's her fault for getting lost..."

[Adrian Maigny R7]

“You’re quite right mum. I see her every. Single. Day. Can’t seem to get away from the girl!” Adrian laughed and shook her head. “I’m just playing, just playing.” She smiled over at Reaegyn. “If anyone cant get away from anyone it’s Reaegyn who’s stuck with me.” Adrian smiled brightly. She couldn’t help but smile brightly when she was in this company. There were probably not any other people she’d rather be with. She had even grown to love this family more than her brother and his troupe. The Eschen-Brenner family had filled up a spot in Adrian’s life that had never been filled before. Unlike her brother, Adrian didn’t have the opportunity to run away to Paris and live with a performing group. She was stuck at her home in London with her mother, and as much as Adrian loved her mother, it just wasn’t a family at home. In fact, Adrian could hardly call the apartment she lived in a home. It didn’t feel like a home. The only place that felt like home these days were the streets of Paris, or Reaegyn’s house. She felt welcome there, unlike the feeling she got when she went back to London and listened to her mother yell and complain all the time. Adrian’s mother wasn’t the same woman she was when Beau had grown up. She had only gone downhill since Adrian’s father had died. And so Reaegyn’s family was Adrian’s sanctuary. She owed a lot to them and she couldn’t possibly take them for granted.

“Me? Hard to wake up? If the sun can do it, you can too Missy.” Adrian smirked and shook her head as Reaegyn went on about how Adrian’s shirt looked better on her. “Le sigh, I can’t deny it. But that argument is invalid because everything looks good on you and off - huh?” Adrian was halted in her speech as Joon asked her about her classes. Adrian grinned, knowing that Joon would not like the answer that she was about to get. But of course Reaegyn beat her to answering it and Adrian was left to just chuckle. “Exactly. Which includes potions, transfiguration, defense, but I can’t skiv on charms. That’s part of my arrangement with Flitwick.” Adrian grinned and shrugged. “I’m passing them all of course though.” Adrian smiled over at Reaegyn and she didn’t look away until Reaegyn did. Then she leaned back and put her arm around Reaegyn’s shoulder casually. “Of course they’ve excepted it, love. How could they say no?” Adrian smiled and then leaned forward to sip the hot coffee she’d ordered only a few minutes before. She was smiling at Reaegyn again, and it took Benny pulling her back into another conversation to get her to peel her eyes away again.

“Quidditch is good, nothing special going on. I believe we have a match coming up, but you know me, I’m no good with keeping those things in order.” Adrian shrugged with a smile and then laughed as Benny asked if Adrian had convinced Reaegyn to join the team yet. Before she could say anything however, Reaegyn cut in and Adrian was content to sit back and shake her head. “Oh please, you can’t be half as bad as some of those Gryffindor players.” The waitress appeared and whenever she asked Adrian what she wanted Adrian paused in thought. “Soup please?” As soon as the rest of the table had ordered a bowl of soup appeared in front of her. Much to Adrian’s pleasure it was just a chicken broth, Adrian wasn’t really a fan of complicated soups with lots of ingredients. She just wanted something hot. Adrian smiled brightly and then looked across the table as Joon mentioned their porch. God, Adrian loved that thing. She leaned forward, interested. “Come on now mum, when do I not come over during the hols? You can’t expect me to stay at home? I doubt my mother even got a tree this year.” Adrian smiled and leaned back again as Reaegyn spoke up. At once Benny was roaring with laughter, and Adrian couldn’t help but smile brightly. The kind of confused smile you get when you know something funny’s going on but you just don’t know what.

Luckily Reaegyn was good enough to explain. Adrian busted up laughing as well and she shook her head at the humor of the family. There was always something interesting to talk about when you were in the company of this family and Adrian loved it. When Joon plead with Adrian to be on her side, Adrian grinned and then turned to Reaegyn. “You know, I do need to side with her. Seriously, it’s glass? Can’t you see right through it to know where you should go to get out? But did you run into any of them because you couldn’t see them? That might explain a few things.” Adrian smirked playfully at Reaegyn and moved a hand to poke her thigh gently.

[Reaegyn Eschen-Brenner R7]

Reaegyn raised her eyebrows at Adrian when she mentioned not being able to get away from her. Her face brightened with a smile, however, when Adrian said it was the other way around, "You know if I wanted to get rid of you I could, Maigny. I've got a way about me that seems to drive people away." She smirked and took another sip of her butterbeer, noticing she had about two more drinks left before she'd need another one. The truth was Adrian and Reaegyn didn’t get sick of each other, and they enjoyed how much time they spent together. Actually, then, they might have liked to spend a bit more time with each other if they possibly could – but they couldn't do that without over stepping some lines. Reaegyn looked at Adrian as she smiled that bright smile she always smiled when they were with Benny and Joon. She knew her parents were great people to be around, really she did, but she couldn't ever quite understand how Adrian could be so happy to be around the two. Reaegyn loved her parents because they were her parents and because they were so accepting and so willing, could it be possible that Adrian loved them for the same reason? Reaegyn smiled softly and reached over, fixing a strand of Adrian's hair before joining back in the conversation when Adrian spoke about being hard to wake up; "Oh, please, it's not like I shine so brightly that I force you to wake up. If I jumped on your bed and hollered your name over and over you might wake up, but I'm not going to do that. You should know me better than that." She let her hand drop back onto the table and her fingers tap on the tabletop, as Adrian spoke about the shirt being good on her. She knew it was coming in that essence, there was no way Adrian would argue with the way Reaegyn looked, but Reaegyn should have also seen the off comment coming as well. She sent Adrian a rather shocked look and shook her head at the girl, quite happy her mother cut her off. That could have been potentially dangerous...or at least, for her. Her parents wouldn't do much about it, they'd just laugh, but Reaegyn couldn't let Adrian know anything about her sexuality. She was supposed to be the straight friend who flirted because it was safe, not the gay friend who was actually interested. And that's what her parents would give off if they laughed that topic off. It was needless to say that Reaegyn was nearly always on edge whenever she was with her parents and Adrian. It was still enjoyable, but it was rather nerve racking at the same time.

The topic of classes came up then, and after Reaegyn had put her two cents in, Adrian prattled off a list of classes they had deemed unnecessary. Reaegyn laughed, "You forgot Astronomy, Arithmancy, and Herbology." She nudged Adrian with her elbow before propping it up on the table and putting her chin in her hand, "Seriously, though, Mum, don't worry. We're doing fine. I promise." Joon gave her a look that said she didn't believe her but didn't press on the subject anymore. Benny and Joon gave Reaegyn a lot of looks, or they shared a lot of looks and Reaegyn knew why. Either they were expressing their disapproval of something, which didn't happen often, or they were letting her know they knew something that she thought she had been doing a good job of hiding. Like her feelings for Adrian, which apparently shined brighter than anything they'd ever seen. If she could continue to hide them from Adrian, though, Reaegyn was fine – or at least she convinced herself that she was fine. She knew it wasn't good to hide feelings, but she just couldn't bring herself to tell Adrian and she wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was because she was waiting for Hogwarts to finish, because then she'd know whether or not they'd stay in touch after Graduation. She didn't want to tell Adrian, have something happen, and then have to be separated in a couple of months. Reaegyn didn't think she could handle that. That was probably one of the most prominent things about Reaegyn, she was always thinking too logically. She followed her heart often, but she questioned it first. Reaegyn smiled, noticing Adrian's arm around her shoulders, and she finished off her butterbeer when Adrian mentioned the newspaper accepting her article. She shrugged nonchalantly, "They could say it wasn't good enough, it's happened before, you know." A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she thought about Adrian's confidence in her. She had far too much faith in Reaegyn, because Reaegyn didn't even have that amount of faith in herself. She ran her fingers through her hair and twirled her butterbeer bottle around on the table as another bottle appeared in front of her. She didn't reach for it, though, instead she just continued to twirl the empty bottle around on the table top.

Her father and Adrian talked about Quidditch for a bit and then Adrian made a remark about her not being worse than the Gryffindor team. Reaegyn smiled and choked back a chuckle, "No one can be worse than them, Adrian." Her tone was soft, but it was because she hated being mean, and so like always she added; "But they do try, at least that's one thing they have." Reaegyn always tried to say something nice about someone after saying something mean. She knew it was pointless because Adrian would just shoot them down again, but that was Adrian and not Reaegyn. Of course, once Reaegyn was angry there was nothing nice coming from her mouth, but that was to be expected. Reaegyn angry wasn't a pretty sight to see. Reaegyn was eating her salad by now, and it was half finished, but then she looked over at Adrian's soup and decided she wanted some of that, too. So instead of ordering her own, she stole Adrian's spoon, dipped it into the soup and took a bite without a word. Only, you can't really take a bite of soup, but whatever Reaegyn took, she did it without saying anything and then when she was finished, she handed the spoon back to Adrian and returned to her salad. It wasn't uncommon for Reaegyn to steal bites of Adrian's food and it also wasn’t uncommon to see Adrian doing the same with Reaegyn's food. Benny and Joon had been startled at first because Reaegyn hated sharing food with anyone, but after awhile they had just grown used to it. By now Joon was talking about the Glass Porch and Adrian had question when she never showed up during the hols, "Oh, silly me...I must have been thinking about our other daughter who we hardly ever see...what was her name again, honey?" Joon looked at Benny as Reaegyn sulked in her seat, "Reagan? Meagan?" Benny smiled and reached across the table to pat Reaegyn's hand, "Don't listen to her, sugar cube, she's just being a Mum." Reaegyn stuck her tongue out at her mother, "A mean one." Joon laughed and then turned back to Adrian before they dove into the story of Reaegyn getting lost.

Laughter drifted from the table and into the pub, causing other customers to look over at their table, but the group didn’t notice. Finally, Adrian spoke up and took her mother's side. Reaegyn let her jaw drop and she hit Adrian in the arm playfully; "There was a lot of glass! Glass is hard to find your way out of because it is in fact transparent. You turn one way and find you can't go that way because it's a dead end but it doesn't look like a dead end because you can see through it." Reaegyn took Adrian's hand underneath the table when she poked her thigh with her finger, holding it as she continued to talk; "One of these days I'm going to have Mum set up a glass maze for you and you're going to have to find your way out of it. In addition, I'm going to sit on the sidelines and laugh every time you head into a dead end and find you're in the wrong place because you can't see which way you're supposed to go. Then when you're finished I'll dance around you singing 'I told you so! I told you so!'" Reaegyn grinned at Adrian as she squeezed her hand gently, "And then...you won't take Mum's side on this any longer."

[Adrian Maigny R7]

Adrian couldn’t help but smile softly when Reaegyn moved her hand to fix Adrian’s hair. She then let the conversation about Reaegyn waking Adrian die out, because for one there was no reason in continuing to argue over it, and two Adrian’s mind was skipping of to a different subject. There was no doubt in Adrian’s mind that Reaegyn was the best friend Adrian could ever have had, but at times it was a difficult friendship. Not in the sense that Adrian didn’t want to be friends with her, because that was not the case and never would be the case. Adrian loved Reaegyn’s friendship, and she wouldn’t trade it for the world. The only thing she would possibly trade it for would be for a more intimate relationship. Reaegyn and Adrian’s friendship was constantly followed by Adrian’s feelings for Reaegyn. There was no denying that Adrian had a monstrous crush on Reaegyn, if you could even call it a crush. Adrian didn’t like to refer to it so much as a crush, because to her it was so much more. A crush is a thing that dies out over time. A crush is a thing that fades away when it is unrequited. A crush can’t continue if there are no returned feelings. A crush is a fleeting and all around meaningless thing. Adrian’s feelings for Reaegyn however had been continuing, and growing since she’d first became close friends with her at least a year ago. They hadn’t faded, if anything they’d grown stronger. Adrian couldn’t help feeling that she was supposed to be with Reaegyn, despite the fact that her best friend didn’t return the feelings. Adrian knew that being with Reaegyn in a romantic sense was not an option, and so she had always just thrived off of the mutual flirting, even if it was just safe flirting. Reaegyn flirted because Adrian knew that she didn’t have the same feelings. It was safe. Reaegyn could flirt and still be friends with Adrian without awkwardness. Because she was comfortable with Adrian and excepted how Adrian felt. There were no pushing Adrian’s feelings aside of course, but at the same time Adrian didn’t pressure Reaegyn on it. Adrian would never want Reaegyn to feel pushed into something she didn’t want.

Adrian was grateful for the mutual flirting, even if she knew it didn’t mean anything on one side of it. Yes, she wanted it to mean something but she knew not to get her hopes up. Adrian and Reaegyn were friends. Sometimes Adrian could make herself imagine that she and Reaegyn had something, but in reality she always knew it was just a best friend relationship. That was what made their friendship difficult at times for Adrian. It was never so difficult that she wanted to leave it, but it was sometimes a bit of a struggle for her to not get to discouraged or upset. Reaegyn had ways of making Adrian feel on top of the world. She had ways of making Adrian feel so wonderful inside and so happy. And she had a way of making Adrian feel loved, even though it was just a friend type of love. Sometimes Reaegyn’s flirting could tug at Adrian’s heart strings in a way that it was a bit hard to continue being so flirty. Sometimes, on very rare occasions the thought came up that maybe she should as Reaegyn not to be that way with her any more. But she knew that that would only be worse. She had grown rather attached to the flirting and she would only feel worse if she didn’t have it. If there was one huge thing Adrian had always been thankful for however, it was the fact that Reaegyn didn’t date. And she didn’t talk about guys around Adrian. What she did when Adrian wasn’t around was something Adrian didn’t want to know. But she could only imagine how it would hurt to see her holding hands with a guy someday. She tried not to think about what it would be like to attend Reaegyn’s wedding someday. But she had to be a supportive best friend. She couldn’t be bitter. Not towards Reaegyn. She wanted her to be happy more than anything, after all.

Adrian added in her two cents about classes and the conversation took of a bit. Adrian felt Reaegyn nudge her with her elbow and she managed a small smile in the midst of her thoughts. She moved past them quickly however, knowing that her change in expressions would be obvious if it was kept for too long. So Adrian plunged herself back into the conversation when Benny asked how quidditch was. Quidditch was an easy subject to get caught up in when Adrian and Benny were together. They both loved the sport and so every time they were together some sort of conversation revolving around it would come up. And normally Benny would ask why Reaegyn hadn’t joined the team yet, and then there would be conversation about how Reaegyn always thought too hard on herself when it came to quidditch. “Reae love, it really makes no difference that they try. Ravenclaw tries, and that only makes us better. Honestly it’s even worse that they try and they’re still miserable!” Adrian laughed and she picked up her spoon to take a sip of her soup. When she did however, Reaegyn stopped her by taking her spoon and taking a bite herself. Adrian just smiled and waited for her to finish and hand back the spoon. Then she took the bite she had initially moved to take and say back in her chair as the subject of Adrian visiting over the hols came up. Joon always found some way to slip a bit into the conversations about how little they saw of Reaegyn, and it always made Adrian laugh. Because they really did see her rather often, what was Reaegyn supposed to do? Leave school to go home and visit? Adrian smiled brightly as the Benny called Reaegyn a sugar cube and then she stuck her tongue out at her mother. She was so cute that way.

A story was told about Reaegyn getting lost on her own porch and the laughter at their table continued. It was always nice to get their group together because they were always so fun. There was never a dead moment when they were together. Adrian took Reaegyn’s mother’s side and Reaegyn’s response was violent as usual as she swatted Adrian on the arm playfully. This only made Adrian laugh more and shake her head as Reaegyn tried to give an explanation for her getting lost. Adrian poked Reaegyn’s thigh and then had to keep herself from reacting too much when Reaegyn took her hand under the table. And then when she squeezed it Adrian couldn’t help but smile brightly. “Well while you’re standing outside the glass egging me on will you be wearing a cute little cheer uniform? Like the girls in the states? Eh Reae love? ‘Cause if so then it’s totally worth it. Short skirt, half shirt.” Adrian smirked and shrugged, taking her hand back from Reaegyn’s reluctantly. She lifted it and grabbed her spoon again, taking another bite of her soup. But the second that conversation picked up and the attention wasn’t directly on Adrian, you could bet she moved her arm from around Reaegyn’s shoulders to take her hand back again under the table.

[Reaegyn Eschen-Brenner R7]

Reaegyn knew Adrian well enough to notice the change in attitude after she had fixed her hair. She noticed the change the moment or so it happened and she felt terrible for doing it. Reaegyn looked at Adrian sadly and had to repress the urge to lean over and kiss her forehead tenderly, telling her how sorry she was – but that wouldn't do any good with the situation except make it worse than it really was. Reaegyn knew that it got difficult at times to be friends with her because of the way they were. She knew that Adrian liked her, and she knew the way she acted around her best friend didn't help the situation at all. Reaegyn couldn't help but wonder sometimes what would happen if she told Adrian she liked her, too. She often dreamt up these grand scenarios where she'd just kiss her and tell her that she didn't want to deny her feelings any longer. Of course, in her dreams there was corny music and it usually resulted in everyone cheering for them, but Reaegyn doubted it would be like that if it ever happened. Which was also, sadly, unlikely. Reaegyn looked at Adrian out of the corner of her eyes before letting her head fall forward slightly. She didn't like the feeling that sometimes came from keeping her sexuality a secret. It was heart crushing and terrible, it made Reaegyn fall asleep at night crying - quietly of course, because otherwise Adrian would hear her and crawl into bed beside her, asking her over and over what's wrong and how she can fix it. There had been times where Reaegyn hadn't been able to keep her crying as quiet as usual and Adrian had been at her side immediately. Those times were the hardest because they were the times that Reaegyn just wanted to come right out and say it, but they were also the times that she was the most afraid because she wasn't sure how Adrian would react to her telling her she'd been lying for two years. It wasn't even that. Reaegyn hadn't ever lied to Adrian, she hadn’t ever told her she was straight; Adrian had just assumed that she was straight and Reaegyn hadn't ever corrected her on the subject. Things like that happened often. People assumed things and Reaegyn never corrected them on it. That was her mistake, though, no one else's.

Quidditch was the topic of conversation now and Reaegyn managed a small smile at Adrian's remark about Gryffindor still being terrible even though they try. She was really trying to get a hold of herself, and wanted to get back to the fun mindset that she had been before because it was obvious that Adrian was, but that was rather difficult to do with how guilty Reaegyn was feeling. It was around this time that she stole Adrian's spoon, took a sip of her soup, and then handed it back, slipping back into her comfortability and her skin that told her it was okay to be how she was with Adrian even though it made things difficult at times. Adrian had never told her to stop being that way and she had never mentioned anything else along the lines of stopping how they act around each other, so Reaegyn was capable of telling herself repeatedly that it was okay even though deep down she knew that it wasn't. "Well, perhaps the Gryffindor team just doesn't have any incentive." Benny spoke up even though he was beaming. Benny, being a Ravenclaw graduate, was always proud whenever Adrian spoke of how the Quidditch team was doing, because they had been one of the best teams while he was there. Reaegyn never spoke about Quidditch, and so whenever Adrian was around it was definitely one of the key topics of conversation between the two. "Incentive? Daddy, what do they expect McGonagall to do? Oh, free points to every member of the Quidditch team if you win this weekend's match against Hufflepuff!" Reaegyn rolled her eyes and shook her head, "You don't need any incentive to win, you just have to like the game. They shouldn't need to be bribed to do well." Benny laughed and shrugged as he ate a fry. Joon was humming absently as she looked through her handbag and then she looked up and pulled out a tube of chapstick. There was a small silence amongst the group before everyone dived back into conversation again. Then the lasting conversation was Reaegyn getting lost on her porch. When she told Adrian about setting up a maze for her, she was having a hard time focusing. Not because she didn’t know what she was saying but because she was holding Adrian's hand and her guilt was washing over her again.

She smirked at Adrian, "Oh, yeah, definitely. Can't you just see me in that? With my hair in a pony tail and those pom pom things that are utterly ridiculous? 2, 4, 6, 8 who do we appreciate?! Adrian, oh yeah, Adrian!" Reaegyn rolled her eyes, but continued to smile as she spoke again; "And besides, I wouldn't be caught dead in a short skirt and half shirt. And Daddy wouldn't let me out of the house, right Daddy?" Benny looked at her seriously, "Darn right. My little girl is not going to be half dressed anywhere. Sorry, Adrian, we love you...we really do, but even you can't see my little girl like that out in public." Reaegyn caught his mistake before he had even finished what he was saying. She was waiting for him to cover it up, but he didn't and so Reaegyn smirked at Adrian again, "In private on the other hand, I'm sure it'd be perfectly okay, right, Daddy?" Benny snorted and mumbled something that sounded like 'right, yeah, yeah, right...' and Reaegyn laughed it off as she looked back at her parents across the table. She settled back in her chair and tried not to let her heart hurt too much when Adrian took her hand away, because it really shouldn't have hurt as bad as it did. Adrian didn't leave her hand unheld for long, though, which is probably bad if you think about it. Because the moment the conversation picked up again and Joon was going on about some new project, Adrian had moved her arm from around Reaegyn's shoulders to underneath the table and took her hand again. Reaegyn hid a smile behind her free hand before she picked up her fork to finish off her salad. She knew that holding hands was a very couple-ish thing to do and although she and Adrian were not a couple, it was something she enjoyed. Reaegyn swallowed a bite of salad and tried not to let the guilt rise up again. The guilt which was just terrible but she was so familiar with it.

"So, have you two done any Christmas shopping?" Joon asked, looking from Adrian to Reaegyn. Reaegyn raised an eyebrow, "I never do Christmas shopping until a couple of days before Christmas and you know it. Have you done any shopping, Mum?" Benny snorted again as he finished his hamburger with one more bite and then relaxed back in his seat, "Has she? She's spent my entire paycheck already and she's not even shopped for me!" Joon stuck her tongue out at her husband before taking a drink of her coffee and saying, "You're always last because you're the hardest to shop for. If you were easy to shop for like Reaegyn or Adrian than you would be on the top of the list like they are. But you never like anything I get you, so...you'll just have to deal." Benny mocked her and then chuckled and kissed her cheek as she pouted. Reaegyn smiled and looked at Adrian, wondering exactly what she was thinking about everything. Christmas, their hands, and her sickeningly sweet lovey parents.