Pantomime ((Jack))

[Danelle Gregory H6]

|Sorry for the lateness. Muse had disappeared because old characters want to return. Poor Danelle. Anyway, here it is!|

Danelle burst into the student lounge like a tornado, her anger apparent on her face. In her hand was a crumpled letter from her father. Her stupid father who had set up to meet with her in Hogsmeade and then hadn’t shown up. Instead, he had sent his secretary – his bloody secretary – to meet her and give her this letter. The stupid cow hadn’t even bothered to apologise for her father. OK, sure, Danelle wouldn’t have believed the apology anyway, but at least it would have shown that not everyone her father came in contact with became cold and empty hearted. Surely, the entire world couldn’t possibly be robots? Well, even if everyone else in the world was – Danelle surely wasn’t. Her anger proved that point quite wonderfully. She nearly threw her purse into an empty chair and sank down next to it, groaning as she bit back a rather ruthless sounding growl. She was livid. That much was noticeable, but if you were looking at her – you wouldn’t be able to tell what she was livid about. That would require reading that bloody letter.

The infuriating letter that her father couldn’t have even been bothered to give to her himself. She uncrumpled the parchment and looked at it, but not really seeing the words. She had memorised them already. Those hideous words. “Your internship with Gregory Enterprises will begin over the summer holidays, Danelle. You will intern there, and if you don’t your allowance will be cut off.” Danelle did not want to work at Gregory Enterprises. She didn’t want anything to do with the family business. Hell, she didn’t even know what the family business consisted of. She thought Thomas had that all covered, why was her father pressuring her into “joining the team?” Anger rippled through her again, and in a fit, Danelle tore the letter up into tiny pieces and threw them, scattering, into the fire in front of where she sat. As she watched the papers burn away into nothing but ashes and embers, she felt the anger dissipate and the burden from her shoulders lift. It would only be a matter of time before she had to face them both again, but for now she could worry about something else.

With the last tendrils of the letter turning into smoke, Danelle sat back and relaxed – letting her muscles loosen up and her eyes flutter shut. It was nice to find a haven away from her father, and it was even nicer to be able to burn him out of her life. Oh, yes, how did she loath her father – even though she probably shouldn’t have. After all, he had given her life and he gave her a roof over her head, but still! Did he have to be such an arse?! A groan escaped Danelle again and she reached behind her back to pull her purse out from behind her and set it on the floor. She just wanted to curl up and be a 3 year old again. They didn’t bother her about the family business then, not like they did now. Things were so much simpler when she was younger. She was sure that it wasn’t that way just for her, either. Everything was easier when everyone was younger.

Just then the door opened and it was as if her good mood evaporated. When she wanted to be alone. She couldn’t be. Go figure. Danelle lifted her gaze to see who had entered, but said nothing. The only sound was the crackling of the fire, still eating away at the words of her father.

[Jack Reid]

Jack Reid was glad to be back from the Christmas holiday. Christmas at the Reid household had proved to be quite different from previous years, with Riley showing up unannounced on Christmas day, and the chaos that had ensued after that. The two of them had spent some alone time together for New Years, which Jack had been happy to get that short time with her before they made the trip back to school for the continuation of the year. But time at home wouldn’t be complete without a stern talking to from Jackson. Shortly after meeting Riley, Jackson had sat Jack down to talk about how it wasn’t a very good idea for him to date outside of his house, and Jack had blown up at his father. The entire ordeal hadn’t ended well at all, and it had ultimately come to a close with Jack packing his bags and taking the nearby port key back to school rather than taking the train. He had known this would sadden Riley, since she would want to see him on the train, but Jack needed this short time before the year started up again to gather his thoughts and get the hard truth of his father out of his mind. It was only days after the winter break, but students were slowly making their way back to the school. Jack decided he would venture down to the Lounge to see if Julian was around yet. After everything that had gone on over the break with Cass, he knew Julian might need a friend right now. It was still early, but it was worth it to go down and check.

Jack tossed his long scarf around his neck and walked down the moving stairs, staring at some of the photos on the wall, as they moved and talked. It was quite a sight, to see moving pictures from people who had lived so long ago, but over his six years at the school he had become accustomed to it. He reached the end of the stairs and walked up to the lounge. The entrance was firmly shut, so he pushed it wide open, letting light into the dimly lit, yet large, spacious relaxation area. Immediately he noticed one student, straight ahead of him standing in front of the nearby fire. She was obviously frustrated with whatever piece of paper she was shredding and throwing into the fire. The girl then sat back and relaxed, seemingly free of whatever had been frustrating her. Jack, on the other hand, was still upset about his current problem with his father. It wouldn’t be as easy as tearing up a sheet of parchment and relaxing. He decided to walk over and see if he knew this girl, and also see what could have been frustrating her so much.

When he had opened the door, obviously the girl had noticed because her gaze had switched from the fire to him, but she must not have known who he was. He knew of her, briefly. She was a Hufflepuff, of that he was sure, because of her robes. Apparently she had decided to change into her robes even if it wasn’t required yet. It didn’t matter of course, that just made it easier for him to identify what house she was a part of. He had seen her before in the hallways, she had originally been considered for Godric’s Daughters, according to Riley and her friends. Danelle Gregory, was it? The name he remembered sounded right, but he figured he would ask to be sure anyway. Jack wasn’t sure why they hadn’t picked her to be one of them, but not like that mattered now. “Danelle, right? Danelle Gregory? I’m Jack Reid, Riley Coxen’s boyfriend.” It sounded a bit cheesy, but it was how Jack had to introduce himself to girls around school now, because some girls treated him a bit differently once they knew he and Riley were together. “A little frustrated, are we? What was the ripping paper all about? Did your boyfriend break up with you or something?” he chuckled at his own joke, knowing it would likely get her heated if that wasn’t what she was upset about.

[Danelle Gregory H6]

Danelle’s eyes landed on the boy who had entered. Jack Reid. He was in her year, but definitely not in her house. He was a Slytherin, and while Danelle considered herself a social butterfly, she hardly associated with Slytherins. Sure, a few of them could possibly be decent and nice; but a lot of them were just horrible and nasty. She didn’t want to be a part of something like that, even when she enjoyed confrontation now and again. Slytherins enjoyed drama because it was drama. The end. Period. End of story. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and let her eyes drift to the fire again, trying to convey that she really didn’t want company…much less his company. Boys never picked up on subtle clues like that, though, and he spoke to her.

First came her name, then came his – along with the ever so infamous ‘I’m so and so’s boyfriend…’ as if that meant anything to Danelle. Her eyebrow arched and she turned her attention back to him, though she said nothing. Why was it that guys had to make themselves feel important by saying they were the boyfriend of whatever girl? As if it really mattered to anyone but themselves who they were dating. It was as if they wanted her to aw and coo over the fact that he had snagged a girl who was stupid enough to stay with him. Then he said something that really pissed her off. God damn him. He knew nothing about anything and just like a typical Slytherin he had to prove it to anyone that he possibly could.

Her eyes stared at him in his smug way of chuckling at his oh so clever joke, and slowly, Danelle turned her vision back to the flickering flames in the hearth and replied; “Do you find it pertinent to tag on the fact that you’re dating Riley Coxen as if it is important to me or anyone else for that matter, or has she got you so controlled that you find that you absolutely must mention her in whatever opening greeting you give? Either way, it doesn’t make you look very flattering now does it?” Her voice was calm and unwavering, not angry at all, but rather blunt and honest as she normally had it.

“And for your information, not that it should matter much to you at all, the letter was from my father.” Danelle looked back at him and waited for a reply, but not really caring either way. He might have been trying to be friendly, but he failed miserably with that little jibe and self-satisfying chuckle.

[Jack Reid]

Jack stood in almost soldier formation, silently still, listening as the girl in front of him got angry over his simple introduction and question. The girl went on for what seemed like hours about how she was so frustrated with his introduction that he was Riley’s boyfriend. Obviously this was Danelle, because anyone else would have likely just run off and ignored his conversation. But the fact that she was getting so agitated told him that this indeed was Danelle, since she hadn’t been picked by the Daughters. He laughed out loud this time, finding no shame in it at all. “Settle down, little one. I was merely introducing myself that way in case you didn’t know who I was. You might know Riley over me. Give it a rest.” Jack felt a wave of...something...wash over him. Was it the feeling of getting back into the Slytherin skin he hadn’t felt in so long? He hadn’t felt like a true Slytherin since he had started dating Riley, which didn’t bother him, but it was nice to give some leeway to that feeling.

She kept on, defending her right to her privacy and the letter she had just thrown away. She explained that it was from her father. “Well then, what did daddy dearest do to make you so upset? Is he cutting your allowance because you’re spending it on too many sweets?” He may have been pushing a bit too far, but it didn’t matter to him. Danelle was dispensable. They weren’t friends, and likely wouldn’t be any time soon, no matter what happened through any course of any more conversation. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if she simply ran out crying over what he had just said. He expected it, actually. If she left, then maybe he could actually get something done. He could sit here in the lounge and just bask in his own thoughts, let his mind wander, like he had a tendency to do. He stood there waiting for her to respond, trying to come up with a witty retort so that it would get her to go away.

[Danelle Gregory H6]

Little one? Seriously? Danelle remembered now why she didn’t associate with Slytherins. They tended to be condescending. She arched an eyebrow in his general direction, “You are aware that we are in the same year? And that Riley Coxen is in the year below us? I would probably know you over her any day.” Danelle didn’t generally get to know those who weren’t in her year. She knew of Riley, but she didn’t know her personally. She never spoke to the Gryffindor, didn’t really know anything about her except that she came from the huge Coxen clan – a family far too big for its own good. Danelle wouldn’t say that she was jealous, because she wasn’t – she couldn’t care less if the Coxens had 19 siblings. But she found it positively ridiculous how close they all were to each other. And then, not to mention, she found it highly cliché that a Gryffindor was dating a Slytherin. Riley didn’t seem to be the type of girl to have a hard Slytherin like skin, but then again Jack didn’t seem like the type to go soft. Though, his seemingly self-satisfying and proud insults were lacking a bit of sting.

“Oh, give me a break…” Danelle muttered under her breath, rolling her brown eyes away from Jack to the flames in the fireplace again. “Are you sure you don’t have me mixed up with your girlfriend? I would not be bothered by such trivial matters as my daddy cutting off an inexistent allowance.” It would appear that Slytherins really couldn’t see past their own noses. Just because everyone in their house was materialistic and spoiled, didn’t mean that everyone else was. They just didn’t understand that and they probably never would because of their selfish desires to only make themselves happy. Take Jack and Riley’s relationship for instance. He could easily fool everyone into thinking that he really did care about her and he really did want her to be happy, but if you thought about it – Jack was just being selfish. He only wanted Riley, he wanted to be happy, even if it meant she could be miserable. Danelle wasn’t saying it was right for houses to be divided and for inter-house dating to be banned, but personalities that are polar opposites such as a Gryff and a Slyth…they just couldn’t and wouldn’t mesh in the long run.

Danelle looked back at Jack with a raised eyebrow, “Now, is there something I can help you with or are you just feebly attempting to make me feel lower than the low? If the latter is the case, I suggest you break things off with the Coxen girl –she’s seemed to have made you go a bit soft.”

[Jack Reid]

Jack realized he was definitely in for a fight with this girl as soon as she gave him some lip about his phrasing. “Silly girl,” he said, condescendingly. “I was calling you that because you’re shorter than me, not because I think you’re in a different year. I do know a bit more than you probably give me credit for, so it would be nice if you changed your attitude on that a bit.” Jack knew he had to set her straight, but it was amusing that someone like her would think she could step up to a sixth year Slytherin. The house was a strong and worthy house, and demanded respect. Anyone who wouldn’t give respect should be shown the door and kicked out. Of course no one would allow that to happen over a simple discrepancy over houses, but it was just how Jack felt. While he agreed with diversity and oneness in the school, he knew that he was in the best house. She again disrespected him and made it seem like it was nothing even close to anything like a money situation with her father, but Jack had a knack for seeing through these masks that people put on. She was hiding the truth. It had to be about money or something at home. He eyed her carefully. “You’re lying. I can see it in your eyes. That letter was something from home and you’re just too proud to talk about it. Or you just don’t like Slytherins and want nothing to do with me. Either way, I hate it when people lie to me, especially when I’ve called them out on their lies.”

While his words lacked a bite that they used to, he didn’t mind the absence. Riley wasn’t softening him. The relationship was showing him how to love again, which wasn’t an easy task for anyone, particularly him. Danelle made a stab at his heart by telling him to break things off with Riley suddenly. He felt his anger burn. He knew he had to come up with some kind of rebuttal, but maybe Danelle was partially right. His edge was gone. He had started caring about things that didn’t matter before. What was he even doing in the student lounge at the time? But Danelle didn’t understand even close to what he was going through. What kind of family life he had grown up in. Well here was his chance to gain back some of his Slytherin edge, with this girl. “Why don’t you try growing up with a father who never pays attention to you ever? Why don’t you try figuring out what it’s like to be Jack Reid, a boy who’s been thrown into leadership he never deserved? You know nothing of my life before this, and you sit there telling me to break off what good has actually been in my life for the past few months? You go ahead and bloody try to figure out what I’ve been through, guaranteed you’ll fail.” He felt good about his rant, but at the same time he wanted more. Letting loose like that definitely gave him a high that he had missed since he had started dating Riley. He decided to end it with one last jab. “Oh and I could never get you mixed up with Riley. She’s got much more talent with a wand as a fifth year than a simple Huffle sixth year.” Jack remembered back to their duel in the school and the damage that had been done. Things had stretched much past that since, and he was happy for once. Jack was not about to let some young Hufflepuff girl tell him off and disrespect him the way others had so many times before.

[Danelle Gregory H6]

Danelle gave Jack a look, a look that stated 'don't get condescending,' and she emphasized forming the letter O with her mouth as she said shortly, "Oh." Really. He was getting on her nerves. He…seemed to think that his insults, his looks, his tone of voice were something she should be afraid of, something she should respect, when in reality all she was doing was shaking her head and thinking how big of a fool he was making himself. Slytherins were so stereotypical, so…all the same. They acted the same, spoke the same, walked the same, etc. If Danelle had any hope that Jack would have proven her wrong about the stereotype, it was gone. "Well," she tilted her head, "I'll change my attitude when you do. Simple as pie." That would never happen, and so, Danelle was safely with the belief that she wouldn't have to change her attitude at all either.

She rolled her eyes, "My my, aren't we psychic? You've caught me. It's about money. Because that's clearly the only problem worth worrying over." Her tone had changed from blunt, to snide, and she was obviously getting annoyed with this Slytherin. Danelle began to say something about what the letter truly was, but she shook her head and changed her mind at the last minute. It wasn't worth it. Jack was obviously a moron, self-centered, conceited, and slow; he wouldn't comprehend what she was saying anyway. Danelle sank lower in her seat and stared into the flames of the fire, trying to pretend like Jack wasn't there.

It wasn't going to be that easy. Oh, there he was again. On his high horse. Danelle slowly let her gaze fall on him and she stood, her eyes boring into him as he spoke. She let her gaze drift down and then back up over him, as if she were surveying him, sizing him up for something. Finally, when he was finished, with quite a pathetic remark about how much more talented his precious Riley was compared to her, Danelle folded her arms over her chest; "You and I have a lot more in common than you seem to know. That letter that was supposedly about money, was from my father – telling me that if I didn't want to go into the family business, I wouldn't be a part of his family any longer. It told me the same old thing that I've been hearing since I was 7.

"Yes, my father never paid any attention to me. My older brother's the golden child. I'm the worthless one, and now he suddenly wants me to be the center of his company? Right. I've been through a lot, too, and the biggest difference between you and me, Jacky-boy," Danelle smirked here, "is that I take it and I make myself a better person out of it, and you take it…and you become…" she looked him up and down again, a condescending sneer on her face, "that."

[Jack Reid]

Danelle was proving to be a bit more rude than Jack expected but he was having a bit of fun with this. He couldn’t let her think Riley had turned him into a softy, otherwise the entire house of Slytherin would be in jeopardy. She gave him some more attitude after he completely proved her wrong, and he could tell she hated being proved wrong by a Slytherin. She gave him an ultimatum about his attitude and her attitude, and he rolled his eyes. That wouldn’t happen any time soon, and he could tell she knew it well. She then made a comment about how money was the only problem to worry about, and he would have responded, but she almost started speaking again, so he let her go. But she quieted and turned her head, acting as if he didn’t exist. “Ah, the childhood game of ignorance. If you ignore me long enough, I’ll go away. Is that your tactic now? Believe me, I don’t go away that easily. You’ve intrigued me now, anyway. So I have to stay.” He took a seat next to her, knowing it would make her uncomfortable. He pointed his wand at the dwindling fire and spoke, springing it back to a roaring, bold flame. “I was getting chilly, I hope you don’t mind the warmth. If you do, too bad.” Jack was firm with his decisions, so she better get used to him and quickly.

Danelle explained what the letter was about finally, and Jack realized they were more alike than they had previously though. She called him “Jacky-boy”, which he had to laugh at since it was so immature and simplistic, and she took a step lower, saying that he became something different because of his upbringing. “While I admit our lives are similar, my father is probably a nightmare compared to yours. This is how my family is, and I realize that it’s the only way I’ll get through. Is your mum still around? Because I can tell you this right now, even though mine is, she isn’t really there. Jackson goes off on his own and cheats on her nearly every night. Does your father pull that trick well?” He knew his words were piercing, but if they were going to get anywhere with this conversation, she had to know what she was dealing with. “That’s why I’m like...this.” He said his last words simply, looking away, wondering if he should just get up and leave. It wasn’t something he should be talking about, particularly with such a brat like Danelle. But he didn’t leave.

[Sorry, a bit short ]

[Danelle Gregory H6]

"Like I really give a damn about whether or not you're 'intrigued,'" Danelle said clearly with a sigh coming from her at the same time. This was getting old, rather quickly. Her tolerance was running low, and she was feeling zapped of any kind of energy. She looked over at Jack as he took a seat beside her, her disdain for him rising even more than it had been before. She let her gaze fall back to the fire as Jack made the flames burst full force again, as opposed to the dwindling embers it once was. "Poor baby." She muttered as she rested her head against the back of her chair and tried to tune him out.

No such luck.

She listened to him and while she did so, she came to the realization that Jack wasn't just like every Slytherin out there, he was also like every male out there. Danelle sighed slightly, showing her boredom, and she stood from where she was sitting, gathering her things together. She was feeling all of the fight in her leave slowly, draining her of energy, and when all of her things were packed up, she turned to Jack and sighed again, trying to pacify her anger and frustration; "Look, I really don't want to play 'my horse is bigger than your horse,' Jack. Truth is, we both have different reactions to things in our lives.

"You caught me at the wrong time, and for all I know… I caught you at the wrong time. It's not my place to judge your relationship with Riley, nor is it your place to judge my problems with my family. Anyway," she rubbed the back of her neck and pulled her shoulderbag onto her left shoulder, "I'm going to leave before one of us ends up cursed. Have a nice night." And with that, she walked away…as she usually did. And she felt better for it.

End of Thread.