Choosing Different Paths ((Jeremiah))

[Myka Young R6]

Myka twiddled a piece of her black hair in between her thumb and forefinger; making it continue to stick out in the direction she had styled it earlier that morning. Her blue eyes looked around the classroom as the professor continued to drone on. It wasn’t that she was bored; it was that she wanted to get out of this class and go to lunch. However, she didn’t plan on eating lunch in the Great Hall; she planned on grabbing something to eat and then finding an empty classroom. There really wasn’t anyone at the Ravenclaw table that Myka wanted to sit with and eat. The only person she would really want to eat with would be Katy and Katy was off doing something else. That was fine with Myka, though, because Katy had a life whereas Myka didn’t. Well, at least, not a life that she enjoyed. The only thing that Myka enjoyed in her life was Katy, and again, she was missing somewhere. She sighed, bringing her mind back to the present no matter how boring it was. Just as she started to take notes, deciding that it might be a good idea, the class ended.

She was walking down the corridor now, her uniform a little different than everybody else’s. Her skirt was a tad shorter than the other girls, and she wore her shirt with the tails hanging out. Her tie wasn’t tight and her robes had some pins along the hem. She wore boots and they made a clicking sound as she walked. Her eyes were straight ahead as she walked through the crowd, though she knew Katy was going to pass by soon. Sure enough, there was a flash of red hair. Myka stuck out her hand and grabbed Katy’s quickly. She rubbed her thumb over the younger girl’s palm and then let go, leaving the note tucked safely in her girlfriend’s hand. She rounded a corner, and in moments Katy had disappeared. Myka let out a lengthy sigh as she reached the Great Hall. People were already eating, and they were mostly Slytherins. Drawing little attention to herself, Myka picked up a plate and put some food on it. She also grabbed a goblet of pumpkin juice. One more quick look at the Great Hall, and Myka was out of there. Now where could she eat? Walking along the now empty corridor, Myka’s mind wandered to a room that she could use.

She stopped and pushed open a door to an empty classroom. It was full of tables and chairs and had an empty chalkboard at the front of the room. Nodding her head in approval, Myka sat down and began to eat her food. She was almost finished with her meal when the door opened and in stepped Katy. “Hey, you found me.” She smiled as Katy closed the door and nodded her head. Myka pushed her plate away and propped her chin in her hands. Katy sat on the table beside Myka and they had a conversation. Talking about the most random of things. It wasn’t until they heard sounds coming from outside that they realized how long they had been talking. Myka didn’t have a class for another hour, so she didn’t have to leave, but she knew Katy did. She stood with a sigh and placed a kiss on Katy’s lips. “I’ll see you at dinner.” And the girl was gone. Myka started to gather her things when the door opened again. She looked up, expecting to see Katy, but was surprised to see some guy. “Oh, uh, hi. I’m just leaving.”

((g-moding of Katy was done with permission.))

[Jeremiah Baer]

Jeremiah strolled casually down the hall. Normally, he wasn't very good at remembering to fulfill his prefect duties, but since there had been a recent breakout of students deciding to ignore the rules, the prefects had been advised to patrol the hallways and classrooms more regularly. As he walked, he glanced down at the shiny badge that adorned his robes. It wasn't shiny though because he took care of it or cleaned it everyday. It was shiny because he rarely every remembered to wear it and it didn't get much use. Lately though, since his newly formed attitude of more responsibility, Jeremiah had decided to take his prefect duties more seriously. Before he had always questioned how he had been given such a responsibility, but, through time, he decided that maybe the professors and Dumbledore had been able to see what was inside of him even if he didn't realize it himself. Grinning at the thought, he continued down the hall.

It was lunchtime now and most of the classrooms were empty. The hallways only had student here and there, none of which were breaking the rules though. As he neared one classroom, he saw a younger girl exit the room. He doubted she was up to anything, however he wondered why she would have been in a room that he knew wasn't having a class at the time. Just to be sure, Jeremiah entered the room to check it out.

When he walked in, he was surprised to see another girl in the room. She seemed equally surprised to see him as well. After a quick scan of the room, Jeremiah decided that everything was in order. Turning his attention back to the girl, he spoke. "Sorry to interrupt. I was just patrolling the castle," he explained. When he got a closer look at the girl, he realized that she and the girl he had just saw leave were the two much gossip had been centered on in the past few weeks. He didn't know either of them well, but he was sure they were the girls who had been called names such as 'gay' and 'lesbian.' It seemed as if some of the students were disgusted by the idea of the two girls dating, while others seemed to care less. Jeremiah fell into the second group, yet he did feel a bit uncomfortable about confronting the topic, simply because he didn't have much experience with it.

"I'm Jeremiah," he said, breaking the silence. He knew the girl as Myka, only from hearing others talk about her. He wasn't sure if she knew his name or not, but it just seemed polite to offer his anyways. "Is everything alright in here?" he questioned, making sure she knew that he really was just doing his duties and not spying on her or anything like that.

[Myka Young R6]

"Patro..." Her eyes flew to his Prefect badge and she nodded, "Oh, I see." Myka nodded again and started to push wrappers and such back onto the plate she had brought down with her. Her hands were fluttering around, finding things to do. She was about to pick up the tray and leave when the guy introduced himself as Jeremiah. Standing there a moment, Myka watched him and then sat down again. "Myka." She offered in return. He had asked if everything was alright, and Myka had to laugh slightly at that question. "Well, I guess that completely depends upon what you mean by alright. If you mean is everything in order, then yes, for once everything is. If you mean something else, you'll have to specify." She shoved the tray away from her slightly, and then picked up an apple that she hadn't yet bitten into. Tossing it into the air, she let it fall and then caught it before it hit the ground.

Looking at the apple, Myka sat it down on the table and spun it. It spun and spun as awkwardly as an apple could spin. Suddenly, she stopped it and looked up at Jeremiah, "Can I ask you a question? Or a couple questions, really. Though before you agree, I must warn you they might be personal questions and you are fully able to ask me just as personal a question in return for every personal question I ask you." Myka tilted her head slightly, wondering what he was thinking at that exact moment. Was he putting her under the category that most everyone else put her under, or was he seriously considering her as a person? Nevertheless, Myka tossed the apple up into the air and caught it. Again and again, until he finally gave her an answer.

[Jeremiah Baer]

Myka seemed ready to leave at first, but then she sat back down when Jeremiah introduced himself. "Yeah, umm, I was just making sure all was in order," he answered simply, watching her pick up an apple and begin to toss it in the air and then catch it. Jeremiah thought about Myka's request as he watched the apple spinning on the table. By this time, he was standing just inside the doorway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Uh, sure," he shrugged, quite uncertain what Myka might possibly ask about him. Then, he wondered what he might ask her. A few questions popped into his mind, but he wasn't sure if he would ask or not.

As Myka continued tossing the apple, Jeremiah decided to take a seat instead of standing across the room from her. He picked a chair next to hers that was near the wall. He tilted it backward, like the professors always discouraged, leaning it against the wall. This was a habit of his, and he figured it wouldn't hurt anything if he was careful.

[Myka Young R6]

Myka tossed the apple in the air as Jeremiah agreed to answer her questions. He hadn't any idea what he just got himself into. She caught it and sent him a mischeivous grin. "First question, and then a follow up question." She reached over and picked up the knife, cut the apple in half and took out the seeds in the middle of the core. She bit into one half and set the other half on the table. After a moment or two of silence, Myka took one more bite, swallowed and then nodded. "Do you have a girlfriend or have you had one? Honestly, because if you don't, then me asking the following questions will be seemingly meaningless and I don't need answers to seemingly meaningless questions." She raised an eyebrow and bit into the apple again. She wondered how he would answer the question, but before he did get to answer, Myka decided to ask her follow up question.

"Follow up; if you do have a girlfriend or have had one, have you ever been in love?" She eyed him a moment and then grinned again, "Don't worry, these questions have a purpose for being asked and it's not because I'm interested."

[Jeremiah Baer]

Myka began talking but then paused for a few minutes to slice into her apple and begin eating it. The whole time, Jeremiah was generally curious as to what she was going to ask. When she finally did ask him the first part of her question, he was surprised. He wondered how he should answer the question, and then just decided he would explain his answer the best way he could, since in his case, it was a complicated answer. "Well, no, yes, and kind of." Jeremiah smiled and then continued, knowing that his answer would need some explanation. "I don't have a girlfriend now, but I would say that I have in the past. During my fourth year, I dated a girl, but it only lasted about four months." Jeremiah stopped and sighed, biting his lip. "I guess that's all that was official," he finished, then pondering the next part of Myka's question. This was even harder since he didn't quite know the answer for himself.

"Love..." he said, trailing off into thought. "That's a good question, but I can't say that I have an answer. I guess it would be a no, simply because I'm not so sure, and I think that I would be sure if it were a yes." Jeremiah took a deep breath after offering his long-winded answer. His face showed much confusion, and then he shook his thinking from his mind, turning his attention back to Myka to see if she'd offer any more explanation as to why she asked the questions in the first place. He had known, or at least figured, that she wasn't asking because she was interested.

[Myka Young R6]

Myka waited and finished her apple as Jeremiah thought of an answer. When he finally did answer, Myka felt her eyebrows go up. Before she asked what the hell he meant, he explained it. Myka nodded although she didn't quite understand. Then again, Myka was the one whoe, before Katy, didn't want anything to do with relationships. She didn't say anything unti lJEremiah had answered both of her questions. His answers were vague at most, but Myka wasn't really expecting some grand response to her confusing questions, was she? "Would you? Honestly, would you be 100% sure that you were in love if you thought you were? No doubt?" Myka sighed as she stood from her chair and walked to the window that faced the courtyard.

It wasn't that she doubted she loved Katy. She knew that was absolutely true. But... she didn't know why she felt so confused. Myabe it was all that had gone with her parents. Myka wasn't sure, and she didn't like the feeling it gave her. "So... you haven't had a girlfriend since your fourth year? Not even an interest?" Myka looked at Jeremiah with slight shock, "I find that shocking."

[Jeremiah Baer]

"I hope so," Jeremiah answered with a shrug. If true love wasn't as obvious as he had always thought it would be, he knew he was in trouble. Relationships were hard enough as they were. "Don't you think that you will just know if you're really in love?" he questioned Myka as she stood and walked over to the window. He still hadn't worked up the courage to bring up Katy. He knew it would be easier if Myka would bring it up first. Although, he wondered how she felt about the topic- whether or not she was even comfortable talking about it. He had a feeling she wouldn't be, but still just waited for her to bring it up before feeling comfortable to talk of Katy freely.

"Yes and no," he said in response to Myka's next question. "I haven't had any girlfriends since my fourth year, but I definitely have had some crushes," he admitted with a grin. "Even lately, I'll admit that there have been a few girls who I would say that I've been interested." Jeremiah didn't know what Myka was getting to with all of this, but he didn't mind answering really. He never had been one to try to hide his feelings and be secretive. Especially before this past year, he had always been pretty social and a flirt. "I will say though, in the past year I have been realizing that relationships ought to be taken in a more serious manner. I don't want to spend my whole life alone; not that I don't have a lot of time left though. At least I hope I do," he added with a chuckle. The moment seemed right to ease into the topic of Katy. "What about you? Are the rumors true?" he asked. He made sure his voice indicated that he was only curious and not accusing Myka of anything or even offering any judgment through his words.

[Myka Young R6]

Her eyes held Jeremiahs' for a moment, wondering if knowing love was that easy. She dismissed it almost the moment she wondered. "That's just thing, love is too confusing to be clear. Don't get any fantasy notions, Jeremiah. Love is, it just is. And it's not easy." Myka didn't know how she was certain, but her gut told her that she was right. "Many people have spoken about falling in love countless times, but they fell in lust; not love. Love is something for more complex, and nearly impossible to fall in love with one person and then another ten minutes later." Myka sighed and sent Jeremiah a soft smile as she shrugged. This was love. Love was and will forever be love. Myka didn't know where she was getting all this knowledge, all these thoughts or if she made sense at all. She didn't care either.

"Interests," Myka began as she leaned against the wall, "are for play. Relationships are serious, very serious. They mean commitment. People can be afraid of commitment. I was. Not so much anymore. All I was doing was shoving people away." One person, rather. That one person was Katy. It had pained Myka, so she overcome the fear. She did it just for Katy, the Hufflepuff fifth year meant that much to her. "So, it's a good thing you realized this before you fell in love. Don't think you'd win a girl over just by your good looks." A teasing smile crossed Myka's face. If Jeremiah knew anything about her, he would know she was gay. That didn't mean she didn't know a good looking guy when she spotted one.

Finally, Jeremiah asked the much anticipated question. Myka felt her lips slip into a smirk. Everyone asked that question eventually. With a long drawn out sigh, Myka let her eyes travel back to Jeremiah, "Most rumors are truths that are exaggerated. I don't know what you've heard, but I can tell you that I am gay and that I am in a relationshop with Katy Hudson and that I'm rather open about it." Myka grinned, "That answer your question?"