One Day ((Those who know Weetz))

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

“One day, you’ll see me, but only when you’re dreaming. One day you’ll say I was the one. Late at night, trying to fight, I just might think about him. Right now, I’m feeling fine, I’m better off without him! Yeaaaaah!” Weetzie tugged the pink dress that she had chosen for the Valentine’s Day ball on over black knee length footless tights. It was ruffly, but it was most definitely a Weetzie dress. It had a corset like top, and was strapless. Normally that would bother Weetzie, but she wore a white camisole. Her shoes were her favourite part of her outfit, black knee high lace up boots that had a small heel but just enough to make her an inch taller. Weetzie twirled her wand in her fingers as she spun around and danced to the song coming from her lips. With a tap on her hands, her nails were immediately painted black and there were fingerless black fishnet gloves on her hands. Weetzie smiled and banged her head to the music, “One day… one day… you’ll say… you’ll say I was the one. One day you’ll see me, but only when you’re dreaming. One day you’ll say I was the one. I know that one day you’ll see, I’ll haunt you when you’re dreaming, one day you’ll say I was the one. I’m number one!” She stopped singing as she grabbed the black leather jacket from her bed and made her way down to the common room.

She was so excited for the ball, not only because she loved balls, but because this particular ball was going to give her the chance to sing without worrying about anything because everyone else would be singing. Of course, Weetzie normally didn’t mind singing in front of people but she did have the problem of singing her own songs. She loved to play her guitar, too, which had been a gift from her mother for her 13th birthday. It was a purple butterfly electric guitar and it was absolutely amazing. Her guitar! Weetzie stopped in her tracks and then did a double take back into the dorm where she nearly lunged for her guitar against the wall. Sure, the mist was probably going to be enchanted so there was music already being played, but Weetzie wanted to play and sing. She wanted to. Not have some weird spell do it for her. Weetzie sped through the common room, nearly running into a couple of people but dodging them just in time. Her guitar was over her shoulder and resting against her back as she jumped through the portrait hole. “One day you’ll see me, but only when you’re dreaming. One day you’ll say I was the one… I’m number one!”

Soon Weetzie was in the Great Hall, her eyes scanning the crowd. Her purple guitar was still rested against her back and she knew she probably looked really odd with a guitar and her out there outfit, but she didn’t care. Weetzie shrugged and entered, her brown hair covering her left eye as she weaved through the people who were dancing to the live band. Weetzie looked up and saw it was Mackenzie Holden, a girl in her year but in Slytherin. She had released two albums with G Major Records and Weetzie was a slight fan of her music. Not a big one because Weetzie preferred the more out there and upbeat songs, but Mack had a good voice and Weetzie recognized that for what it’s worth. Weetzie watched Mack play her guitar, which was a nice one, and then turned and headed back out of the Great Hall. She cut across the entrance hall and entered a classroom which was empty. There wasn’t any mist around it, but it didn’t matter. Weetzie didn’t need the mist. She had the talent.

Weetzie swung her guitar around and lifted the strap over her head. Her fingers started to play while her eyes closed. “You want to know more more more about me, I’m the girl who’s kicking the Coke machine. I’m the one who’s honking at you ‘cos I left late again. Hey, hey, hey! Could you see I want you by the way I push away? Yeah, don’t judge me tomorrow by the way I’m acting today. Mix the words up with the actions, do it all for your reaction, yeah. Hey! Get tangled up in me.” When she opened her eyes, Weetzie grinned. So this room was enchanted. Mist now floated over her and there was a microphone in front of her. Aside from her guitar playing there were the sounds of a bass guitar and a drum set, something Weetzie had no chance of playing. She laughed and continued to play. Just as she opened her mouth to sing again, the door opened and someone walked in. “Hey!”

[Bryce Alexander]

Bryce waved his wand down the front of his clothes, ironing out the wrinkles with a burst of steam. He was wearing a tuxedo-like outfit, but on the casual side as it was without a tie, and instead of being black and white, it was all black and trimmed with silver. It looked rather sharp, and in his conceit, he spent way too much time in front of the mirror grooming himself. "Ladies, here I come!" he said to himself with a cheesy grin and one last glance at his appearance. Turning on his heels, he did a little dance move as he made his way out of the common room.

It was Valentine's Day- the best day in the year for Bryce. He could be as flirtatious as he wanted and have every good reason to be. It never seemed to pay off, but he proceeded regardless. In all reality he was just a friendly guy who happened to love charming beautiful girls. Often, he was never serious about it, but just enjoyed the fun of being social and getting to know as many people as he could.

On his way to the Great Hall, Bryce could hear the music from beyond the walls where the ball would take place. However, as he neared the door, he thought he heard two different songs being played and sung. Curious, he concluded that the one song was coming from inside a classroom next to the Great Hall. If it was part of the supposed enchanted mist taking its affect, he wanted to see. Quickly, as not to miss the singing, Bryce opened the door to the room and saw a girl dressed in pink playing a guitar and singing to herself.

When she greeted with a 'hey', he realized it was Weetzie. Just a week or so ago, he had talked to her in the hospital wing where they were both injured. "Fancy seeing you here," he said with a wink. "Somebody's dressed for the occasion," he added, referring to her gown of pink. He noticed that she accented the dress with black. Overall, the outfit seemed to fit her personality well. "Where's the rest of the band?" he teased. "Mind if I give it a try?" Bryce had played the guitar once or twice before. A friend had showed him a thing or too. He wasn't the best, but it sounded alright, at least he thought so.

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

Weetzie held her guitar as she looked at Bryce with a smile on her face. When he mentioned her outfit, she looked down at it and shrugged, “I don’t like being fancy. This is as close as I’ll ever get to wearing an actual dress with heels.” The dress was something that Weetzie had liked from the moment she set eyes on it. It was an outfit that she pulled off rather well and couldn’t be pulled off by anyone else. “What are you doing here anyway?” Weetzie asked as she looked up at Bryce again. They had talked some when they had bumped into each other at the hospital wing, but other than that they hadn’t really talked ever before. Weetzie sat down on a desk and took her guitar from around her neck, setting it beside her on the ground. “I go solo…” she answered with a smile, “well, actually, in order to have a band tonight I would have to have come with friends or a date and I came with neither so it’s just lil ole me.” It was when he asked if he could try that Weetzie raised an eyebrow. She picked up her guitar and stood from the desk she was in. Biting on the inside of her cheek, she looked at the butterfly guitar in her hand and then shrugged, “Alright, but if you break it… you are buying me a new one.”

She held it out to him and once he had a hold on it, Weetzie hopped back onto the desk and waited for him to play. She had a smug smile on her face, wondering exactly how much he could actually play and how much of it was just him trying to impress her. “You do know how to hold it right, Alexander? You won’t hold it backwards and try to play, that is?” she was completely teasing him, that was evident with the laughter that was threatening to pour from her lips. She would feel rather bad if he didn’t know how to play or, lord help her, hold it correctly; but Weetz figured that he had at least a bit of basic knowledge. “So, no date for tonight? I find that quite shocking. Unless you do have a date and you just ditched her to come in here, which in that case you better make your funeral arrangements because she won’t be too happy.” Her smile widened and she leaned back so her palms were flat against the desk top and her legs were dangling over the edge, swinging back and forth. She couldn’t see Bryce actually going to the ball with one girl, wasn’t his sole purpose in life to make all the girls happy? Surely if he had one date that would upset many other young ladies in the houses. Weetzie smirked at the thought, he was going to get himself into so much trouble once he realized that girls don’t like be strung along. If that was even what he was doing, Weetzie couldn’t say for sure. Maybe it was just in his nature to be flirty. Maybe he couldn’t help it. How was Weetz to know? She didn’t know him at all.

[Bryce Alexander]

"What am I doing? What am I doing?" he asked with a wide smile and increasing intensity. "I'm heading to the best event of the year. That's what I'm doing," he said, shaking his head in a teasing manner. She informed him that she was solo as well for the night, and then gave a wary look when he asked to try the guitar. It was a rather girly looking guitar, but it would play the same, he figured. He wasn't even sure if he remembered everything or not, but it would be fun to try. Reluctantly she handed it over and then proceeded to pester him about making sure to hold it correctly. He gave her knowing glance and laughed at her taunting.

Bryce played around with the guitar, acting as if he didn't know how to hold it. "Like this?" he asked, holding it much like one would hold a fiddle. "Or is it this way?" he said with a laugh, turning it and setting it on his lap like a keyboard. Finally, before she really thought he was serious, Bryce turned it and slung the strap over his should. Eying up the frets to get re-familiarized with the spacing and such, Bryce took a few seconds to adjust. Then, he strummed a few chords. The few chords turned into a catchy tune that he sang a few words to. Then, pleased that it came back to him rather easily, he handed the guitar to Weetzie.

"Are you kidding? Solo is the way to go," he answered. "That way, I can spend time with all the girls I want." He raised his eyebrows and gave Weetzie a sly smile. "It's more fun when you don't have to feel obligated to just spend time with one person and you can be free to have fun with as many different people as you want." He took a seat on the desk beside her and tucked his legs under himself, Indian-style. "So, what's your reasons for going solo?" he inquired.

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

Weetzie had to bury a groan as Bryce took her guitar and asked if he was holding it the right way when he was holding it all the wrong ways. Finally he stopped kidding around and started to play and Weetzie raised her eyebrows in surprise. He wasn't half bad, and she hadn't expected him to know any chords. She listened and then took her guitar when he handed it back to her, "You looked kind of silly with a butterfly guitar." Weetzie leaned the guitar against the desk again and shook her head with a laugh on her lips. Anybody would look silly with a butterfly guitar, the only reason Weetz didn't was because she had owned the guitar since she could remember and she hardly went anywhere without it. It wasn't the only instrument she could play, but the one she adored the most. "I'm sure if anyone saw you with it they would think you were completely insnae, not to mention it would scare off just about every girl imaginable."

She listened to him reply about going solo and then shook her head. She would much rather have had a date then go solo or with a group. Weetz had her reason for going solo tonight, though, and that was completely different than usual. "Well, I'm sure people are missing out by you being in here with me instead of being out there with them. I mean, after all you aren't really having fun with anyone at the moment. Unless you call playing my girly butterfly guitar fun." She raised an eyebrow with a smile and then watched as he took a seat beside her. She let her legs swing back and forth as she thought about his question. Why was she going solo?

Finally, she shrugged, "You're joking right? Finding some guy who would put up with me and then asking him or getting him to ask me to the ball and then making him feel obligated to spend the whole night with me just seems like too much trouble." Weetzie smiled at Bryce, "Besides boys are just trouble and my friends are embarassed to be seen with me at dances..."

[Bryce Alexander]

"Then I guess that's a secret you better take to your grave," he teased when Weetz mentioned that he looked silly with the butterfly guitar. Truth was, despite his habit of flirting, Bryce didn't usually care what people thought of him. He was confident in himself and was himself whether anybody liked him or not. Most of the time though, they realized he was a bit on the goofy side, but his charm was enough to win them over in the end. Plus, most girls found his antics to be humorous. He had found that humor was an easy way to support his flirting- it lessened the seriousness of situations. "Eh, I'll eventually find my way to the ball," he said with a shrug. I'm sure if I am too long that there will be a line of impatient girls knocking on this door." He gave Weetzie a sarcastic grin and then listened to her explain her own reasons for going solo.

"Boys are trouble?" he asked with a look of disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Give us ten minutes to get ready for the ball, or maybe fifteen in my case, and then feed us when we get there and we're happy. With girls, they take hours upon hours to get ready. And then, when they get to the ball, they have to make sure they tell each and every other girl how beautiful they look in their dresses, even when they go and say how terrible they look when the person is no longer there. If you ask me, girls are more trouble... at least generally speaking," he added, knowing that nothing was ever one-hundred percent when assuming on extremes. "But, even in all the trouble, girls are worth it," he said with a large smile. "And I'm sure," he said with a voice of confidence as he looked at Weetzie, "that there is a great guy who is more than willing to go through this trouble that you speak of for yourself." He nodded his head for assurance. "You've just gotta find him."

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

“Oh, yes sir. I will keep it locked inside of me until I am dead and buried,” Weetzie rolled her eyes and grinned as she twirled a strand of her hair around her fingers, “Of course, if you do something to make me angry I don’t know how much of that promise I can keep.” She shrugged at the thought, knowing perfectly well she wouldn’t say anything. It was just who she was. Forgive and forget, sometimes regret but never, under any circumstances, spread secrets. It had gotten her pretty far in life so far, she wasn’t planning on stopping it. She stopped twirling her hair and leaned back on the desk as she watched Bryce talk about girls lining up at the door impatiently. “Well, I’m sure that’ll be annoying.” Weetzie hated when girls fawned over a guy, it was as if they had nothing better to do. Honestly. Get a hobby that doesn’t involve watching guys or swooning over every little thing they said. Sometimes they were fun, other times they were just… boys. “You really have that many girls after you, Alexander? Jeeze, I think I might kick you out here shortly. Too many squealing girls in one room drives me nuts.” She hopped off the desk again and grabbed her guitar.

Weetzie slipped the strap over her head and started to play softly as Bryce continued to talk about how much trouble girls were instead of boys. She laughed lightly as her fingers moved over the neck of the guitar, “Yes, boys are the troublesome ones. It might take you guys only 10 minutes to get ready and to be happy with just food, but you also can be real incompetent jerks sometimes.” Weetzie raised an accusing eyebrow at him and switched to a different chord, her eyes casting down to the guitar in her hands to make sure her fingers were aligned correctly. “And obviously,” she said as she looked back up at Bryce, “you haven’t gone to a ball with Weetzie O’Keeffe. I don’t take forever to get ready, nor do I pull the number four with a smug grin.” She laughed lightly. “Which is a compliment with a smile, and then an insult with a smirk the next minute. I’m not that conceited nor shallow and I despise those who are. Besides, it’s not like guys don’t sit there and criticize each other. Don’t try to make your gender seem like saints,” Weetz stuck her tongue out at him for a second and then hummed as she continued to play.

He caught her attention when he said that girls were worth it, which she replied to with a shrug and an ‘ooh’ that matched her music. When he said there was bound to be a guy out there for her, Weetzie looked at him in disbelief, “Riiight, any suggestions? Let’s see, he has to be musically inclined, a bit out there, not clingy, but not too drifty either. And he has to be able to put up with my sarcasm and my mood swings, if he can’t then he’s in trouble because I’m about the moodiest person to ever walk the face of the Earth.”

[Bryce Alexander]

Weetzie joked about kicking Bryce out of the room as she took back her guitar and began strumming random chords. "Gosh, if you want me to leave so bad, just tell me," he joked in response. As she played on the guitar, Weetz began to point out the holes in his theory about why girls are more trouble. He laughed when she informed him that she did not fit into his generalizations. That was something he'd have guessed, which was why he added that it was not always the case. When she stuck out her tongue at him, Bryce couldn't help but chuckle out loud. Weetzie sure was a character, but Bryce found her fun to be around. She had a lot of energy, like him. Plus, she made things less boring. The problem with most girls was that they only seemed to enjoy his humor, but tended to be completely lacking when it came to having a funny bone themselves.

After he had mentioned that there was surely someone out there that would be perfect for her, Weetzie gave a sarcastic remark and then proceeded to list the qualities that any guy for her would have to possess. Bryce racked his brain for a few seconds, coming up with a rather humorous list that he shared with Weetzie. "Well there's always Willard Jeffries. You know, that Gryffindor fifth year who plays the harmonica." He talked in a voice that was as serious as he could muster. "Wait, what about Davie Humphrey, that sixth year from Ravenclaw that collects stuffed rodents. He doesn't seem like the clingy type. Plus, I think that he sings too." By this point, a smile was starting to crack through the serious face that Bryce was struggling to maintain. "Or better yet. There is this one Slytherin- I think his name is Melvin McAdams. He's a bit out there in the fact that he likes to hold conversations with pieces of furniture. You could always teach him the musical aspect." Bryce couldn't help but start to laugh at his own comments. Then, however, just so that Weetzie knew he wasn't trying to make fun of what she had said, he became a bit more composed. "In all seriousness though," he said sincerely, "I mean it when I say that there is a guy out there who fits you Weetz. He'll show up eventually." Bryce gave a reassuring smile, hoping that Weetzie would be able to see the truth in his comments but appreciate the humor at the same time.

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

“If I wanted you to leave, you would know.” Weetzie replied rather coolly as she continued to play her guitar. Truth was, she enjoyed Bryce’s company. He was fun to be around and someone she could just laugh with. She was sick and tired of guys playing any type of card with her, and she was thankful that Bryce was just being Bryce, or at least she hoped he was. She finished playing and took the guitar off from around her head and set it n the floor against the wall, as she leaned against it as well. She crossed her arms and watched him as he began rattling off names and the qualities of each guy he named off. Her eyes grew wide and then she shook her head, a smirk gracing her face. “You’re terrible, you know that?” She was completely teasing him, but the guys he had named were the complete opposite of what Weetzie had mentioned, not only that but they were really strange. Sometimes strange was a good thing, but a lot of the time it was just strange. Weetzie was strange enough for ten people. “I just don’t think they’ll be right for me… I mean, I simply can’t ask Davie Humphrey to give up his rodents and there’s no way I could share his love with some smelly rats. I guess I’ll just have to stick with going solo to balls.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal and stood from her position against the wall again.

She sat back down on the desk beside him and tilted her head when he said that there was a guy out there for her. Weetzie watched him a moment and then looked away with another small shrug, “So not worried about that right now. I’m worried about getting through Hogwarts before I can worry about my non-existent love life.” She smiled and kicked her legs back and forth, “Well, non-existent compared to you and your flirty lifestyle. How do you do that? Have you ever actually liked a girl? I mean, really liked a girl? Not just for a fleeting moment.” Her questions might have seemed personal, but Weetzie didn’t care. It was just how she was. When she wanted to know something, she asked it. No beating around the bush, no considering what their reaction would be. Just the question, and the answer. Simple as that.

[Bryce Alexander]

“Oh would you?” Bryce replied after Weetz said rather openly that she would let him know if she wanted him to leave. While he had rambled off the list of guys for her, she seemed content in playing her guitar until she realized that he was feeding her a bogus list. Then, it was quite humorous for Bryce to see her reaction. “I’ve been called worse,” he joked back. “And I’m sure that Davie has plenty of love to go around. Even with all the rats, he would still find time for you.” Bryce’s smile grew as he saw the look on Weetzie’s face. At least she could take a joke, unlike some girls he’d ran into before.

The conversation quickly turned from being very light and casual to something a lot more personal. It caught Bryce off guard at first, but he quickly thought about what Weetzie was saying and then considered her question. The truth was, it was something he had thought about often. It was ironic that she would ask. Reality was that Bryce acted like he did, simply to take some of the pressure off of worrying about things like that. He figured if he just had fun and didn’t take dating seriously, that it, in turn, wouldn’t be something that he’d have to worry about. It worked to an extent, but he realized that he was playing a dangerous game. One of these times, he would end up gambling and then finding himself in a situation where he wasn’t sure what to do. He was aware of this, but never seemed to do anything about it.

“That’s a good question,” he said, finally. Bryce collected his thoughts before attempting to give Weetzie an answer. “I guess you could say that the reason I am so flirty is because I don’t like the idea of making dating or relationships serious. Why, you may ask, well simply because I’m not quite sure how I would handle a serious relationship. So, I figure that for now, I will just avoid them.” He shrugged his shoulders and gave a slight smirk. “However, I know that one of these times, I will probably end up falling for someone, which brings me to the second part of your question. I can honestly say that there hasn’t ever been a moment where I have liked a girl to the point of considering that serious type of relationship. It’s all just been fun for me. You know, just little crushes that don’t mean anything.” He looked at Weetzie, wondering how much she really understood of what he was saying. Maybe for her, she couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. He knew that he had a unique way of approaching things, and maybe she believed that it all should be serious when dealing with things of this matter. “It’s all complicated though,” he added with a tired sigh. “Plus, I’m not quite sure what I will do when that one person does come around, and frankly, that scares me a bit.”

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

Weetzie raised an eyebrow, “I don’t want to come second to a bunch of rodents. No girl would like to be compared to some smelly rat, not even one like me.” She grinned and tugged at her dress to prove her point. It didn’t matter how out there she dressed and how wild but crazy cool her attitude about life was, Weetzie O’Keeffe was still a girl and she still liked to be loved and adored by a guy. There was only one thing missing from that scenario, and that would be said guy. Oh, well, Weetzie didn’t feel like dwelling on it too much. Guys were just trouble to begin with, there was no point in getting mixed up with one when all he would do was break her heart. She didn’t want her heart broken at the moment. Sure, she had liked a couple of guys over the years but never had she dated one for more than a week or so. Serious relationships, no matter how glamorous they seemed to be at times, weren’t worth the trouble that was sure to follow. Weetzie listened to Bryce answer her question, and after a moment she stared at him and then lay back on the table that served as a desk during the day and that they were sitting on. She groaned and covered her face with her hands before letting out a small, but still rather loud, shout of; “Relationships suck!” Weetzie continued to hide her face behind her hands before peering at Bryce from behind her fingers and then reaching up to pull him down beside her. She looked at him and smiled, “Maybe you’re the smart one.”

She sighed and looked up at the ceiling, “I mean, avoiding all that mushy love stuff that relationships inevitably include.” Her green eyes traced the designs that were on the ceiling as she let the silence engulf them a moment. The only sounds that could be heard were from the ball across the hall. She looked at Bryce again and nudged him, “I have something else to tell everyone now. That you looked silly with my butterfly guitar and that you’re afraid of serious relationships because you don’t know how to act in them.” Weetzie eyed him a moment and then shrugged before turning her gaze to the ceiling again, “Which is complete rubbish if you ask me, because if you just be yourself… I’m sure any girl will fall over her high heeled boots to get to be with you. Not that you don’t already have girls lined up, but if you really meet someone you like enough to have a relationship with, I’m sure you’d know exactly what to do.” She smiled and held her hand up to examine her nails to keep her mind from reeling with thoughts about her own lack of love. “Kinda like… magic.” Weetzie brought her hand back down and she chewed on her nail before looking at Bryce out of the corner of her eye.

[Bryce Alexander]

Bryce laughed at Weetzie's rodent comment, then watched as she laid back on the table. After covering her face and making a grunting noise, Bryce was shocked when she shouted a quick spurt on relationships. "Eaaasy, Killer," he said with a grin as she pulled him to his back. He threw his hands behind his head to stop it from slamming against the hard surface of the desk. Then, he just busted out laughing for a second. It was nothing uncontrollable, just something that felt good to get out. Weetzie had that affect on him, he noticed. No matter what the topic of conversation, it was just fun and light-hearted.

"Maybe I am the smart one," he said finally, once the silence set in and all that could be heard again was the music playing in the background. "However you would be the smart one to keep those secrets to yourself," he threatened jokingly. "But maybe you're right," he acknowledged. "I guess I will see though when that moment happens- not that I anticipate it any time soon." He turned his head to the side to see Weetz looking at him from the corner of her eyes. A large smile spread across his face. "Weetzie O'Keeffe, why did you never tell me before how much fun you were. I could have saved tons of bored hours searching for something to do. Never a dull moment anymore- not when I can find you around." He stood up and let out a large sigh.

"You know what?" he said, taking a moment to pause as he looked at her and tilted his head to the side a bit. "I haven't told anybody, but today's my birthday. I think I should just do something crazy to celebrate. You know, just because I can. When I think about it, maybe the ball isn't a good idea. Just... well... because that is what is expected of me. What if I just do something unexpected?" He waited for a second for Weetzie to respond. "Any brilliant ideas?" he asked with wide eyes.

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

Weetzie stuck her tongue out at him again and fidgeted with her dress, it was starting to bother her. She would have loved to just go in her usual jean skirt or what not, but a ball called for something special. Not that she was actually at a ball, but she had planned on attending it. Her plans just seemed to have evolved into something entirely different, which was fine with Weetz. With her mind in someplace else at the moment (that someplace being her dress), she had almost forgotten that Bryce was beside her. That was… until he burst out laughing and caused her to jump slightly and look to her left with a raised eyebrow in his direction. After watching him a moment, she couldn’t help it, she started laughing with him. It was always a good thing to laugh, at least Weetzie thought it was. Because it reminded you that life was supposed to be fun. Some people, sadly, lost sight of that in the middle of their stressful and crazy lives. Weetzie was thankful everyday that she could laugh and mean it, but then again Weetzie’s life was far from stressful. She had stopped tugging at the lace on her dress (seriously, lace? What had she been thinking?!) and crossed her arms over the necklace that was long enough to reach her stomach, a small smile still on her face.

She glanced over at him when he spoke again, saying that maybe he was the smart one. Weetzie opened her mouth to say something back to him, something sarcastic, but he was talking again and this time he was saying that she would be smart to keep all that quiet. She immediately snapped her jaw up and glared at him teasingly as she turned her gaze away from him. After a moment of silence, she grinned brightly; “Weeeeeeeell,” Weetzie shrugged with an angelic look on her face, “I guess that all depends on how many cookies you give me. And none of those cheap ones that can break your teeth. I mean, the really really REALLY good kind, Bryce. So? What’s your offer?” She was completely teasing, but if he offered her cookies she wouldn’t say no. Weetzie closed her eyes as she listened to the music pulsing from the Great Hall, Mackenzie was definitely playing her worst songs at the moment. She felt her stomach turn as she heard “Waste my time! Waste my time!”, and tried to resist the urge to put her finger in her mouth and make a gagging noise to show her distaste for the tacky song. Her eyes popped open when Bryce spoke again and she laughed when he was finished. “Well, you never fell prey to my spontaneity and slash or unpredictability. Obviously, if you had Herbology with me last year, you would have picked up on the idea that I’m me from the moment I tackled that snot nosed Slytherin; but you weren’t, now were you?” Weetzie sat up and tugged on her dress again, “So, I suppose we have to make up for lost time.”

Her eyes followed him as he stood up. When he said it was his birthday, Weetzie let her jaw drop and hopped off the table to stand in front of him. She put her hands on her hips and glared up at him indignantly, “And you didn’t tell me because why?” Her green eyes pierced his and then they glittered as she smiled brightly at the prospect of doing something to get out of the blasted room and away from the ball. Or was getting away from the ball a good idea? Weetz lifted her hand to her mouth and chewed on her thumbnail as she turned on her heel and started to pace back and forth. She was usually so good at doing something unpredictable, but tonight her mind seemed to be faltering. After a moment or two (she had lost track of how many minutes were passing with each step of her feet), Weetzie snapped her fingers and faced Bryce with that bright smile on her face again, “How are you with the cold?” her eyes lingered on his face a moment before moving past him to the window directly behind him where snow was visibly falling.

[Bryce Alexander]

Cookies? If Weetzie thought that Bryce was going to give her cookies, she was crazy. First, he couldn't bake to save his life, and second, if he bought any cookies, he would surely have eaten all of them before they even made it back to the castle. "You obviously don't know me," he said, laughing. "It's not the guys job to give cookies to the girl, it's the other way around," he added, shaking his head with a smile. Then, when Weetz mentioned tackling a Slytherin in Herbology once, he had to hold back the urge to laugh even harder when he pictured Weetzie running across the room and lunging at a Slytherin. The mental image was all too amusing.

When he told her that it was his birthday, he was surprised as she quickly seemed upset. But, then he realized she was only joking. "I guess I just kinda forgot about it. Sometimes, with it being on Valentine's Day, the excitement is a bit overshadowed by the fact that everyone is celebrating the day for other reasons. I mean, I don't expect everyone to celebrate my birthday, but it just kinda gets lost in the day, you know?" He watched her pace back and forth for a while. He was silent, as she appeared to be thinking of something that they could do. Or, at least he hoped that was what she was doing and not just off on her own little daydream.

The silence that had surrounded them caused Bryce to jump a bit when Weetz all the sudden snapped and turned to him in excitement. "The cold?" he asked rhetorically. "I guess it depends what we are doing in the cold," he said with a wary glance. "I mean... well, I don't know what I mean. I guess I am just supposed to say no, I don't mind the cold, and just go along with whatever you have in mind since I did ask for something crazy in the first place." He shrugged his shoulders. "The cold, it is," he agreed, anxious to see what Weetz was concocting for a plan.

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

Weetzie shook her head, disappointed, when he said he wouldn’t give her cookies. Fine. If he didn’t want to give her cookies, she wouldn’t give him anything either. Well, okay, she knew she would forget that sooner or later and end up giving her some of her licorice wands or chocolate frogs or whatever candy she had in her bag for that day; but for the moment Weetz could pretend that she had no intention of giving him any sweets. She listened as Bryce told her that his birthday sometimes got overshadowed by Valentines Day. She didn’t know if he meant that it got overshadowed by him or by others, but she didn’t care either. Weetzie smiled, “Well, never again. You see, you’ve got me as a friend now, and birthdays outrank Hallmark card holidays any day. You’re stuck with celebrations, cakes, and presents whether you want to be or not.” She stuck her tongue out at him again.

When he finally answered her question, Weetzie merely grinned and grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the classroom. Entering the hall was like entering a musical and Weetzie laughed as she wove through couples and groups who were singing and dancing with Bryce’s arm still in her grip. She pushed open the double doors and out into the snow. Weetzie, strangely enough but not for her, wasn’t cold. It would easily be a warm spring day for her. She had always been warmer than she really should be, which was why she had asked Bryce if the cold bothered him. She knew it wouldn’t bother her either way. Once outside and down the stone steps, Weetzie let go of Bryce’s arm and did a cartwheel over the newly fallen snow.

She was laughing as she brought herself upright and pulled out her wand. Weetzie brandished it in front of him and then pointed to a pile of snow. She said an incantation and flicked her wand and before she knew it, snow bears were dancing around in a circle. She walked over to Bryce and then looked around the grounds, “Have you ever waged war on the school with snowballs and snow bears? It’s very fun. Not really all that predictable and only people like you and me would even think of doing it. Wanna give it a shot?” Weetzie tilted her head to the side with a smile on her lips as she watched Bryce and waited for an answer. It was just then that a snowball flew through the air and hit him square in the side of the head. Weetzie’s eyes widened to the size of saucers and then she laughed, “Looks like they’ve already declared war.”

[Bryce Alexander]

Just before dragging him into the hall where many of the other students were singing and dancing along with their dates, Weetzie mentioned that his birthday would never be forgotten again with her around. Bryce smiled softly and thought that it was a nice gesture if she really meant it. As they exited the castle and made their way across the snow, Weetzie let go of Bryce’s arm and tumbled through the white powder. The cool air felt good against Bryce’s skin, and he slipped out of the tuxedo coat, rolling up the sleeves of his dress-shirt.

Typical of most boys, Bryce’s first instinct in the snow was to bend down and grab a handful, carefully molding into a firm ball that he would likely throw at something. As he packed the cold snow in his hands, he watched Weetzie pull out her wand and conjure some animated bears who blended in with the white snow as they danced. He turned his attention from the bears and gave Weetzie a confused stare as she asked about waging war against snow bears. He tossed the snowball he had made back and forth as he opened his mouth to answer her. Before he could speak though, he felt a freezing mass smash into the side of his face. Angry at first, Bryce turned toward the direction that the snowball came from and was about to throw his in retaliation until he realized that it was the bears who threw it. Hearing Weetzie laughing behind him, Bryce’s glare slowly formed into a smile until he realized that there were now numerous white spheres being hurled at both he and Weetz.

Bryce threw the snowball he had been holding at the group of bears. He watched as it hit one of them, sending snow spraying everywhere. The bear however magically reformed from the pile of snow and continued waging war against them. Bryce shook his head and retreated back to where Weetz was, grabbing her by the waist as he ran past and ducking the both of them behind a nearby drift of snow. “You better get packing snow, I think we’re outnumbered!” he said with wide eyes and a large smile. Bryce started to make snowballs as fast as he could, piling them up just behind he and Weetz as he heard the snowballs from the bears smashing against the mound of snow that sheltered them. “This “fort” might not last very long either,” he said as the snow only began to fall faster and harder.

[Weetzie O'Keeffe H7]

Weetzie watched in amusement, laughter still escaping her lips, as Bryce’s face went from angry and annoyed to a smile. She covered her mouth, trying to suppress the giggles that were flowing out fast. He threw his snowball back at the bears before running toward her. She felt his arms encircle her waist and then pull her onto the ground behind a low mound of snow. Weetzie laughed as she sat in the snow, watching the snowballs sail over them. The bears had horrible aim. Her laughter died on her lips slightly, but giggles were still forming and her face was starting to hurt with the smile she held on her face. She did as she was told, and started to make snowballs. Soon she had made ten snowballs. This was going way too slowly. She took out her wand again and flicked it, soon her pile of snowballs was quadrupled. Now she had forty snow balls. She looked over at Bryce, “It’s only fair!” She told him with a shrug, “They’re able to make snowballs faster than we are. I think we’re able to use magic, yeah?” Weetzie pointed her wand at Bryce’s pile and then flicked it. Soon his pile was quadrupled as well. She pocketed her wand and reached over, grabbed one of her snowballs, stood and then launched it at the closest bear. It hit the bear in its nose, and the bear shattered into snowflakes. Unlike the bear that Bryce had hit, however, it didn’t reform. She collapsed beside Bryce and grabbed his arm, “Hit them in the nose! They smash into a billion snow flakes.”

She let go of his arm, having told him what she had wanted to, and stood with two snowballs in her hands. She launched them at the snow bears but didn’t wait to see if they made contact. She needed to work on the blasted ‘fort’ that Bryce had mentioned. Soon the bears stopped throwing snowballs and it was quiet once more. Weetzie stopped Bryce from throwing another snowball and peered over the mound of snow that had grown since Weetz had built it up. The snow bears were gone. She wrinkled her brow in confusion and then plopped down on the snow beside Bryce. “They’re gone. The charm must have worn off. I didn’t know it would do that so soon.” She shrugged and dusted the snow flakes off her pink dress, which was soggy now because how long they had been out in the snow. She still wasn’t cold, though, and she wondered if Bryce was. Weetzie looked over at him and laughed at the snow flakes in his hair. She reached up and brushed them away before dropping her hand and pushing herself up off the ground. “C’mon, we should get back inside.” Weetzie smiled and held out her hand for him to take and when he had she helped pull him to his feet.

They made their way back to the castle (where once inside, Weetzie accio’d her guitar to her) and then toward the Great Hall. “I’m gonna head to the common room,” she told him as she floated her guitar to the common room and pulled her hair into a knot on top of her head so it wasn’t dripping down her back, “you have fun with all those girls that are waiting for you, yeah?” A teasing smile crossed her face and then she pulled Bryce into a hug. “Happy birthday,” she said with a bright smile on her face as she broke away from the hug and turned to skip down the corridor toward the Hufflepuff common room.

((Yeah, I ended another post. I figured we could start another when you weren’t so swamped, you know? Hope you don’t mind that I had him return to the ball.))