» Can't Hold Us Down, Private

[Aurore Royceston]

Not meant to follow

With school out for the summer, Rori just wasn't quite sure on what to do with herself during the free time she now had on her hands. She was a girl who needed structured schedule to keep herself busy and constructive. Without plans, she grew bored. With boredom she developed ideas and with those ideas she typically always found herself on the receiving end of a Howler from her parents for doing something mischievous. Even if said mischief would start out as something as innocent as practicing her spells. Other times she would play a few practical jokes here and there. Life wasn't fun to go through living so serious all the time or at least that was how she felt. It was just too bad her parents thought other wise. The daughter of a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw...it was a miracle that she didn't turn out to become such a frigid young lady just from that combo.

Thankfully she did grow to be one of the more laid back members of her family and because she didn't have her nose turned up like many of her relatives, she had made a nice social circle for herself at Hogwarts. Currently as she sat in the grass before the pond, Rori awaited the arrival of one of her close comrades, Jesse Hatchitt. They'd been acquainted since day one of their arrival at Hogwarts and as time passed, their friendship blossomed when they realized that they were essentially two peas in a pod. Then of course Rori had to deal with those rumors that would get spread whenever two people of the opposite sex spent a lot of time together. She dismissed that rumor immediately. Although her own mother was a bit disappointed in finding out that Rori hadn't found a nice young man to potentially settle down with in the near future. As if the blonde cared what her mother wanted for her love life anyway. It wasn't any of her business.

"Where is that boy..." she thought to herself with a sigh. The time of day was late afternoon, nearly sunset in fact. A sunset on the pond would be just oh so romantic for the couples still out in the boats. It would also be such a shame to ruin the mood for them if say...a serpent composed of water were to rise out of the pond and terrorize the pour souls. Just thinking about it put a wicked glint in her eye and her lips curled into an impish smile while taking her wand in hand. But on the other hand, she was a sucker for love and she knew that if someone had ruined a romantic moment for her...well, hell hath no fury like an angry Rori. Conflicted on what action to take, she just lowered her wand while lightly blowing a stray lock of her blonde curls out of her face. She would continue to wait for Jesse and if he hadn't arrived by the time the sun had set, she would have some words with him the next time they met. That and someone's boat was going to get attacked out of spite to relieve some frustration. In the meanwhile, she smoothed out her sea green dress and laid back in the grass propped up on her elbows.

Tag: Jesse. Words: Enough Clothes: A purty dress Notes: They go here!
Credits: lumos OF Caution.

[Jesse Hatchitt]

Ahh summertime was finally upon them and Jesse for one, was glad for the break. There was far too much family drama going on for him to focus on both that and school. Thankfully, sixth year only had finals, meaning this year was the year to worry about NEWTs, Unfortunately, Jess wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to do after school... intern at the ministry or the hospital. He was leaning toward the hospital; he didn't want to ride on Gabe's coattails.

None of these thoughts entered his head however, as he left the house, and his crazy family behind to head to the park. He had agree to meet Rori this afternoon for some kind of mischief. He had no idea what she had planned, never did, but that didn't stop him. She usually came up with good stuff, so he couldn't complain. Besides, it would be nice to get out of the house for a little while and get away from the Hatchitt family brand of crazy. Gabe was healing from his fall off the mountain just fine, but Connie, well he wasn't sure his twin was going to survive this new broken heart of her's. It seemed she just couldn't catch a break. First her best friend, now her new fiance. Jess wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how, so he tended to just stay quiet and out of her way. That was a job for Vix or his mother.

Entering the park, his lanky legs eating up the ground quickly, knowing he was a little behind schedule. It was later than he realized, the sun was setting over the lake, but Jesse didn't quite care. The Carnival was coming to town, he suspected he had quite a few lat nights in his near future. Of course, it wasn't all that proper, but then again, he didn't quite care. Propriety at seventeen was overrated. He had the rest of his life to be proper. (Which was highly unlikely either.)

Spotting her over by the edge of the lake, he hurried over. "Late as usual." He grinned. "What's on the agenda this lovely afternoon, Miss Royceston?"

[Aurore Royceston]

Not meant to follow

"As usual..." she repeated nonchalantly not even bothering to throw him a glance. The blonde told herself that one day, she would have to pull Jesse aside and insist that he try to be more punctual. However, thinking about it made her sound hypocritical considering that she was not always on time herself when it came to meeting up with others or even for classes. Not to mention that lecturing him about being late sounded exactly like a thing her own mother would do. She gave a subtle shudder at the thought. Yes, she loved the her mother, but the woman was just too overbearing sometimes.

Only shake her head while most of her attention remained on the scenery before her. There was something entrancing about the sun's fading rays dancing across the water's surface coupled with the purple hues of the oncoming night spreading into the sky. "If you want, Mr. Hatchitt...you're more than welcome to take a seat next to me." she spoke shifting a bit more onto her side. "It's rather lovely, no?" she asked finally looking up to him with a wink and laughing a bit as she returned her sights back to the pond.

"I honestly haven't really given any thoughts to an agenda. I just wanted to see you. Maybe I just wanted to spend some time with you. Just some peace and relaxation, watching the sunset. Whisper sweet nothings in each others ears..." she said silently awaiting a reaction while attempting to keep a straight face but ultimately failed when she brought a hand over her mouth to snerk lightly. The occasional teasing and flirting just seemed to come naturally for whenever Rori found herself in Jesse's company. She really enjoyed the witty banter the two exchanged with one another during their adventures.

"How have you been, Jesse?"

Tag: Jesse. Words: Enough Clothes: A purty dress Notes: They go here!
Credits: lumos OF Caution.

[Jesse Hatchitt]

Jess flopped down on the ground beside Rori before she mentioned it, grinning as she spoke. The two of them had a strange friendship. Sometimes it threw him for a loop because he couldn't tell if she wanted to be more than friends or was just teasing him sometimes. She was quite pretty, but the two of them had spent far too much time as friends by this point, he considered her more like another sister. Just what he needed, but it was true.

He chuckled as he glanced out over the water, it could be considered rather romantic, but he had never been the gushy sort of guy. "Mmmhmm," He hummed, leaning in close to her ear. "Sweet nothings, sweet nothings, sweet nothings." Jess whispered, obviously joking before leaning back after a quick moment. If anybody walked by, which was highly likely since the park was crowded, they could be in big trouble. Not that he cared, his reputation wasn't something he was overly concerned about. He didn't have the playboy title that Dylan Baines did, but he wasn't exactly known to be a perfect gentleman either. He'd had his fair share of snogging sessions in an abandoned classroom with a girl or two, but it never went that far. He wasn't a moron. No sense in ruining his life before it really started.

"Well that's boring." He said after a moment, letting his joke set in. Jess leaned back on his elbows without any regard to his nice white shirt. He hadn't bothered with a jacket, seeing it was so hot out, though as the sun went down it became more bearable. His mother was a wonder at getting stains out; she had to be between quidditch and Mercy all on her own, Beatrice had a lot of practice.

"Been fine, Gabe survived his little fall off the mountain on the Trail Expedition. Healing fine. He and Maddie are doomed, I mean planning the wedding again." That was the happy Hatchitt family news. "Connie on the other hand... well she's not handling the news of her new fiance's death very well." He had never seen his twin so distraught, though he was sure it was the compounding loss of Di and Mr. Summerby within such close proximity to one another. Jess hadn't even met the guy, so he couldn't know what Connie was going through, but she was like a ghost of herself. "Depressing but true." Jess had never felt the need to hide anything from Rori. "What about you?" He said looking at her after a moment of looking out over the water.

[Aurore Royceston]

Not meant to follow

An Eyebrow raised, Rori watched Jesse cautiously as he leaned in closer towards her ear and her expression fell flat once he started to whisper in her ear. Her expression fell flat as she glanced back to him eyes half lidded. "...You're silly..." she said before shooting him another smile and looked down at the grass to hide the flood of red now in her cheeks. She wouldn't let him see her blushing from that and allow him to have that over her head and never live it down. Not like she could help it. Even if it was Jesse, any attractive guy getting that close, whispering to her, the warmth of their breath lingering against her skin...she would blush. Plus what if someone saw them and got the wrong idea? Her it would be her reputation to get trashed, more than his anyway. The last thing she needed was to be labeled a some kind of whore. Rori hadn't even shared a real kiss with a guy, despite the times when the opportunity for snogging presented itself, she chose to not be one of those girls.

"Boring? You find me boring now, do you? I'll have you know that there is nothing boring about whispering passionately into my ear about how amazing and beautiful I am and how any man would be blessed to have me." she replied matter-of-factually as she plucked a blade of grass from the ground. "...Heh. Um..." she paused for a moment staring at the piece of grass held between her thumb and index fingers. Even she didn't even know where that small little outburst came from. Or maybe she did. "...Nothing." Figuring it was best just to sweep that under the rug and be done with it.

Naturally, she left an open ear out to listen to Jesse's report on how he and his family have been doing. A couple of unfortunate events had befallen his siblings and she was glad to hear that they were doing well....better. At least Gabe was. She snerked when Jesse mentioned Gabe being doomed from planning a wedding. "Not doomed, I don't think. Settling down and starting a life with someone doesn't exactly spell doom." she said plucking another piece of grass from the space between them. "At least, not if you truly love the person."

She frowned a bit upon hearing that Connie had loss her fiance. That sounded well, awful. All of it did. Falling off of mountains and dead fiances, it was quite the bit of drama. "I'm sorry to hear that. I should go talk to her, but I figure it would be wise to just give her some space first? I don't know. I've never really been good with the whole...dealing with death thing. That's all I know what to do. Let them mourn and deal while making sure you know that you're there for them." she sighed tossing down the piece of grass in favor for plucking yet another.

The spotlight shifted to her as Jesse wished to know how she'd been, to which she gave a light shrug. Granted having six siblings and she had nothing to tell them that would top his family's issues at the moment. "I'm alright. You know me. Just taking each day as it comes. Alina and I still haven't murdered each other yet, so that's good I guess." she snorted lightly As yes, Alina. Her eldest sister and opposite, former Slytherin, the seemingly flawless witch in looks and talent who was just rotten to the core. "And I'm pretty sure my mother is lamenting over the fact that none of my sisters have gotten married yet and she fears I will be the same once I've graduated. I let her know that I don't want to be forced into marrying some stranger but I don't think she listens." the blonde threw a side glance to Jesse before directing her gaze out onto the water. "Not that it matters. I think I'm already been sort of categorized as hopeless in her mind."

Tag: Jesse. Words: Enough Clothes: A purty dress Notes: They go here!
Credits: lumos OF Caution.

[Jesse Hatchitt]

Jesse's smile became absolutely devilish as he watched Rori's reaction, exactly what he'd been looking for. Jesse knew he shouldn't tease like that, but she had started it. He leaned away from her, on one hand to give an acceptable distance between them. It wouldn't be very good if somebody saw them and got the wrong idea.

"If that's how you translate 'sweet nothings' lady you need to have your hearing checked." He laughed again. Their borderline teasing, witty banter was one of his favorite aspects of their friendship. Of course they were getting to that age where crossing lines could be so easily misconstrued and he hated that. Was it really so strange for a boy and a girl to be such good friends? Perhaps it was because he was constantly surrounded by sisters that he didn't find it so strange. Shaking his head as she continued then ended with a shy, 'nothing.' He hadn't meant to get her that flustered.

He was glad however, that he had somebody to share his family troubles with. He hadn't realized just how good it would be for him to talk about it. Jess was not an open book when it came to those kinds of things. Even when they lost Di, he had mourned in private and come out of his room ready to help his family. He dealt with what he had to and then locked it away somewhere in the back of his mind. He stayed quiet for a moment while she spoke and could only shrug his shoulders slightly in return. "We'll get through it somehow, we always do. You've probably got a better idea of how to handle it than I do." In all honesty Jesse knew he was doing a poor job of helping his twin, but he had no clue what to do, so he had backed off and just let her be for the moment.

Glad when she took the time to answer his question, as he was sure her life was far less depressing, Jess turned his attention on her, leaning back on both hands now as his left one was starting to go numb from holding his weight. He envied her lack of stories, wishing his family did not quite have nearly as much drama as it did. But there was nothing he could really do about that. "Ugh marriage." He sighed. Marriage it seemed, was Connie's downfall lately. He wondered if the poor girl would even make it through another betrothal. He hoped she fell in love and that would solve everything.

Choosing to snicker, rather than agree with her mother, Jess found another perfect opportunity to tease her. "Hopeless, well at least you can make a good run at being a spinster then. Now that would be boring." He nudged her with his shoulder to let her know he was just kidding.

[Aurore Royceston]

Not meant to follow

"My ears are perfectly alright, thank you. Are you saying I'm not attractive?" she questioned as her voice took an innocent tone for the seemingly harmless question. Was it a trap? Well, that would depend on Jesse's answer. Not that it mattered whether he found her attractive. That's what she was attempting to convince herself.

"Spinster? Oh yes, let me tell you. I would be most fabulous as one. I already have Mr. Kittles, I just need to collect a few more dozen cats to make up my lack of a husband. Then move into a creepy home and spook whatever children pass by." she chuckled at the image though it went from a chuckle of amusement to one of nervousness. Good god, what if that actually happened? For her to never get a proposal and she grew old and die alone. Though technically, she would die alone most likely since women tended to live longer than men, but still.

"Also, I can't say that I do know how to handle it better than you. I've never had to deal with anything like that." she turned a little more to face him. In that moment she came to realize just how little her problems were in comparison to his. While she was complaining about her mother's expectations, Jesse had real issues to deal with. He was a tough guy, that much she was aware of and didn't like spilling his personal business. So for him to confide in her as he did, well it made her feel pretty special. Just another reason of why she really liked him. "But they're your siblings, you know them better than I do. But like you said, you guys will make it. Time heals and so on. Just remember that I'm always here for you..." she trailed off.

Ah, there was that pesky blushing in her cheeks again. Trying to avoid being even more corny, she immediately turned her head to the sun beginning it's descent over the pond and had given a warm glow to the the waterfront. Yes, that scenery didn't help. Stealing another side glance, she realized the way the sunlight was hitting his eyes, the gold mixing in with an already vivid blue? That wasn't helping either. But what exactly wasn't it helping? What the hell was going on with her?

"Are feeling a bit heated? I know I am." she announced, though the more she thought about it, it just sounded...improper in the other context. Though technically it may have been a little true, but she wasn't going to allow herself to acknowledge that little fact. Clearing her throat lightly, she pushed off of her hands, propping herself up a little more. "Would you be up for a swim?" she asked tilting her head.

Tag: Jesse. Words: Enough Clothes: A purty dress Notes: They go here!
Credits: lumos OF Caution.

[Jesse Hatchitt]

Choosing to push past the depressing topic of his lunatic family, Jess only nodded. The Hatchitts were a tight-knit family, they could get through anything. Even Connie, who felt like her world was crashing down around her in every respect, would be okay. They would get through it somehow and be better for it on the other side. They had a wedding coming up in their future, it would be a good way to gather around one another and focus on the positive. Jess had best man duties to fulfill and he intended to do well.

About to shake his head and give her a curious look, Jess looked over his shoulder sideways at Rori. Swimming did sound delightfully... devious. There was a slew of reasons why they shouldn't do it. Improper, completely improper, and probably illegal, most likely they were going to get caught and written up in the paper, but Jess had always been one to push the boundaries of propriety a little bit. Okay, a lot.

"Sure a swim sounds like a good idea." He looked around. There weren't too many people left in the park. Dusk usually sent everybody scattering home for dinner or whatever else they had planned for the evening. Even the boaters had dissipated as the sun set. "We'll have to find somewhere a little less... exposed." He gave her a sly grin and stood up, offering his hands to her to pull her up too.

Not that he had done this before.. okay he had, so he knew exactly where to go. If they went down the path a little bit, cut off to the side, there was a little inlet that not many people knew about. Surely nobody would be over there, at least he hoped so. Leading the way down the path, Jess strolled leisurely. They couldn't look like they were up to anything, then somebody would definitely stop them and ask what the pair of them were doing.

[Aurore Royceston]

Not meant to follow

(ACCIDENTALLY EDITED THIS ONE WHILE WRITING A NEW POST. SORRY FOR THE DERP. -.-)

"I'm not saying you''re a streetwalker." she replied, pausing in her foot steps crossing her arms over her chest. As he suggested skipping the swim session for a drink at the Broomsticks, she pondered on it knowing that the stakes were high. The last thing she needed was waking up tomorrow and reading an article in the Prophet than branded her a tramp. All she wanted to do was have some fun with Jesse...

"You're worried about me." she smiled at him followed by a light chuckle. "Well..." she drew nearer and lowered her voice to a slight whisper. "I'm aware of the repercussions. I'm not a dimwit. We only get caught if we're seen...catch my drift?" she smirked drawing out her wand. "I mean, whats the point of knowing an invisibility spell if you never really get to use it?"

Her mischievous expression fell however. Sure she enjoyed pushing the limits, but there were some that she shouldn't have push. Particularly since her being discovered swimming with a bot would reflect badly on her family and she didn't want that. "You know, I'm not even sure anymore. Ugh, this is...annoying." she sighed lowering her wand. "I shouldn't even be here alone with you..I enjoy our time alone..." the last part slipped out unknowingly causing her to blush again once she realized it had. Now she'd have to make up some excuse for saying that. "Oh dear..."

Tag: Jesse. Words: Enough Clothes: A purty dress Notes: They go here!
Credits: lumos OF Caution.

[Jesse Hatchitt]

Turning as she accused him of being promiscuous, Jesse wore a scandalized look and wanted to mess with her a little bit more without drawing too much attention to them. It wouldn't be very good if they were caught, though again, Jess knew the repercussions would be worse for her than for him. There was no continuing set of newspaper articles about how poorly the young men of Hogwarts were behaving. Jesse highly suspected that poor behavior was expected from boys, especially at the school-aged level. It wasn't acceptable for ladies however, which was why they were targeted for the newspaper.

"You make it sound like I'm some kind of common street walker." He teased, looking over his shoulder casually at her. It had been a couple of years... or was it just last fall? He was sure he and Charlotte had done something pretty similar. Of course, Lottie had never one for primp and proper activities. She blasted past the lines of propriety, which is probably why Jess was attracted to her in the first place. Things had fizzled out and now they didn't speak nearly as often as they used to, which was kind of sad.

Instead of dwelling on that Jess just continued his air of mystery. He wasn't sure if she was just teasing him or genuinely bothered by it, but if she was bothered by it, he wasn't sure why. Slowing his pace, Jess wondered if this wasn't a bit too bold for this particular afternoon. With school over, who knew how many Prophet reporters were lurking around the park just looking for some kind of non-existent scandal. "You sure you want to go for a swim? We could just go get a buterbeer or something at the Broomsticks." He didn't want to sound like he was chickening out, a swim would feel good, but it would be just dreadful if they got caught. He'd bounce back, surely, but Rori's reputation might be sullied permanently and he'd feel pretty awful about that. It wasn't like he had his sister with him, that was far less scandalous.

"What can I say, I'm either very brave, or very stupid." He smirked at her. If they did get caught he would get beaten up on several occasions, of that he was sure. Gabe might even join in.

[Aurore Royceston]

Not meant to follow

"I'm not saying you''re a streetwalker." she replied, pausing in her foot steps crossing her arms over her chest. As he suggested skipping the swim session for a drink at the Broomsticks, she pondered on it knowing that the stakes were high. The last thing she needed was waking up tomorrow and reading an article in the Prophet than branded her a tramp. All she wanted to do was have some fun with Jesse...

"You're worried about me." she smiled at him followed by a light chuckle. "Well..." she drew nearer and lowered her voice to a slight whisper. "I'm aware of the repercussions. I'm not a dimwit. We only get caught if we're seen...catch my drift?" she smirked drawing out her wand. "I mean, whats the point of knowing an invisibility spell if you never really get to use it?"

Her mischievous expression fell however. Sure she enjoyed pushing the limits, but there were some that she shouldn't have push. Particularly since her being discovered swimming with a bot would reflect badly on her family and she didn't want that. "You know, I'm not even sure anymore. Ugh, this is...annoying." she sighed lowering her wand. "I shouldn't even be here alone with you..I enjoy our time alone..." the last part slipped out unknowingly causing her to blush again once she realized it had. Now she'd have to make up some excuse for saying that. "Oh dear..."

Tag: Jesse. Words: Enough Clothes: A purty dress Notes: They go here!
Credits: lumos OF Caution.

[Jesse Hatchitt]

Jess hadn't meant to make her indecisive, but he stopped as she did to let her ponder whatever it was that she wanted to do. Rather he was just pointing out that swimming for her might not be a good idea. Really if it was a bunch of his guy friends they would have probably already been out in the water horsing around. Of course that wasn't nearly as scandalous as a young lady and some middle class boy going for a co-ed swim in the middle of Padmore Park. Not very socially acceptable. Either situation would have gotten him in trouble, but most likely only the latter would land him in the newspaper. It wasn't exactly a place he intended to find himself any time soon. Though with Gabe's upcoming wedding, the family name was sure to be in there and he didn't want to ruin that for Gabe.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He said in response to her quip about catching her drift. Why their teachers had let them learn an invisibility spell was beyond him, but Rori was right on one level, why know if you're not going to use it. "Let's just go get a butterbeer." He decided. "I can't risk a newspaper article this close to Gabe's wedding." Jess reasoned aloud. She couldn't argue with that. Not to mention he was now eager to move past her little blurb there. The two of them had always walked a fine line between friends and something more and Jess, being the stupid seventeen year old boy that he was, was still undecided on whether or not to actually cross that line. All of their joking aside, he kind of enjoyed being a romancer of young women; the chase was the fun part. Once that was over it was time to move on and he knew he couldn't do that with Rori.

Jesse suddenly felt a little awkward and that never happened to him. He always had some witty comment to make or just chose to ignore the awkward silence. "I don't have too much more time. It's my turn to read to Mercy before bed." He joked finally, coming up with another logical reason as to why swimming was not the best choice for the evening.