(Untitled)

[lexi_winchester]

Week Name/Date/Time: 'The Minister is Elected'/ Tuesday, November 8th / 2:30 PM
Location: Gryffindor Common Room
Open To: Tatiana
Currently Involving: Lexi

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[tatiana_w]

Tatiana was curled up in a cushy armchair with one of her novel. It was a muggle work that she guessed must be fifty years old, and was full of florid language that she couldn't make sense of at least eighty percent of the time. However, to Tatiana, all that mattered was that she appreciated just how prettily the prose was worded.

There was a sniffling sound nearby, and Tati turned to see Lexi there, sitting by the window. Her first reaction was to think, Leave quietly. Don't bother her. But something made her pause. She strode over and knelt by her weeping friend.

Patting Lexi's shoulder and attempting to sound motherly (something Tatiana wasn't all that good at), she said, "Lexi? Are you going to be all right?"

[lexi_winchester]

Hearing a gentle voice from over her side and a light tap on her shoulder, Lexi quickly jolted her head up. What a great thing to get caught doing - crying like a baby! Wiping at her eyes messily, she attempted (but failed) to hide her recent tears. Seeing who it was, though, she was more at ease.

"Oh, hey, Tati." She said with a slight forced smile. A couple sniffles were heard before Lexi continued. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just tired..." She trailed off, turning to glance out the stained-glass window. Taking another wipe at her eyes with the back of her left hand, she cleared her throat roughly.

[tatiana_w]

Tatiana wasn't used to trying to be a good person, but today she was determined. She sat down beside Lexi and continued in soft tones, "Are you sure? Do you need to talk? I'm here if you do."

She realized she might be acting too forward. She shook her head and prepared to stand. "But I won't press you. I'll leave you alone if you want."

Tati could only guess what this was about: Niki's recent death. Tatiana hadn't known her, had only passed her once or twice in the hall, but she knew Lexi and Niki had been close. But Niki was now a shaky subject that many students weren't quite sure if they should bring up...

[lexi_winchester]

Lexi continued staring out the window, afraid that if she turned back and focused on the present, she'd bawl her eyes out again. But perhaps that was just what she needed to do. Just get it all out; it had been bottled up for much too long that it was bound to just come rushing out.

"I'm really okay." She finally said after a brief pause. Lexi smiled softly to Tati, glad to have her as a friend that cared about her to ask. "You don't have to go... I mean you're not bothering me or anything." Another sniffle before Lexi had to wipe her eyes as another tear fell.

"I'm just being such a weepy baby!" She actually laughed at this point, more of a way to make her embarrassment over breaking down less noticeable. Whichever reason; she did. Lexi swallowed hard and then turned to look at her friend, "What a brave Lion I am, huh?"

[tatiana_w]

As Lexi insisted she was all right, Tatiana reached out and tugged a tissue from a box on a nearby table. "Here," she said, holding it out.

Ah. So she wasn't being bothersome. She decided to stay and brave the storm with Lexi.

"Lexi, being brave doesn't mean not crying," Tatiana said in a rare moment of poetic inspiration. "Being brave is facing something even though you're afraid of it. See? Totally different. Brave has nothing to do with crying. And," she added, "don't be ashamed to cry." She bent down and leveled her eyes with Lexi's. "Is this about Niki?" she asked gently.

[lexi_winchester]

Taking the tissue handed to her, she lightly blew into it and smiled a silent thank you to Tatiana.

"I suppose you're right." Lexi said after taking in what her friend said. It really was true, though, wasn't it? Even heroes have the right to bleed. She just felt like sometimes compared to those actual heroes, she didn't deserve the title of being a Gryffindor. A bigger smile crept onto her face as she faced Tati and she sat down with her.

"Yes," She answered her question with a whisper and a slight nod. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "I was alright for the past few days... it just all hit me at once because I was trying to keep it all in." Lexi shook her head slightly, knowing how wrong she was to try and suck it up and not let the whole murder of Niki bother her. She really hated how conflicted she was -- and with herself!

[tatiana_w]

Tatiana snatched up the tissue box and moved it to the windowsill for Lexi. She had a feeling that box might be empty soon...it seemed a lot of people were having trouble dealing with Niki's passing.

She shook her head. "Don't try to keep it in. It's what my mother always tells me to do, and you know her...she gives the worst advice. She's the same one who tells me not to smile because, God forbid, it makes me look 'demented'. Are you going to do what a woman like that says?"

Holding out another tissue, she asked out of nagging curiosity, "Do you know what happened? I mean, with Niki and all? Why did...you know...why did it happen?"

[lexi_winchester]

She listened to Tatiana as she spoke and actually let out a small laugh at her comment. "No, I suppose not." She said, shaking her head a tiny bit.

Taking a pause for a deep breath, Lexi wiped at her eyes with the next tissue and then looked at her friend. "Well... I don't think anyone knows for sure. All I heard was that Will Sparrow stumbled upon the bodies and he only saw Niki's.. body." She hesitated at the last word for a split second, then said it, finding it so odd to be calling her good friend that. It was all so foreign. "It's hard to tell for sure among all the rumours around the Common Room... I am sure the story has gotten quite out of hand."

[tatiana_w]

Oh. So no one knew. Truth be told, Tatiana was feeling a bit left out by all this Niki business. It wasn't that she wished one of her friends would die, no, definitely not! It was just that...well, here was the biggest happening in school so far, and in a sense, it had united the houses against one common enemy--Niki's murderer. Suddenly Slytherins and Gryffindors alike agreed on something, that Niki should not have died.

"I see," Tatiana said softly, even though she did not see. She stared ahead at the wall, unsure of what to say next. Finally she said, "Feeling better, Lexi?"

[lexi_winchester]

((GAH, no dang reply for this. Sorry about the delay!! :( ))

Strangely, as Lexi sat in silence by the window sill, she did feel better. She realized that by keeping it all inside, she was just letting the pain deepen and boil beneath her skin, and thankfully she had friends like Tatiana to vent things with. Lexi too had realized the irony in Niki's death - that what usually tore Houses apart - was now bringing them down onto the same level.

Lexi gave a nod to Tati, turning to look back at her with a small smile. "Yes, I'd say I am." Her eyes were still a bit red and puffy from her tears, but she really didn't mind. Although secretly she was thankfull that Julian wasn't anywhere nearby to see her like this! "Thank you so much, Tati. I don't know where I'd be without friends like you." Lexi let out a soft sigh and leaned forward, putting one arm around Tatiana in a gentle hug.

[tatiana_w]

Tatiana was honestly surprised by the hug. No one ever hugged her on their own accord, not even her parents. They were stiff and formal and insisted on giving little signs of affection, as their own parents had done with them...that was how the same mistake carried on from year 1860 until now. Darn parents...

"I don't know where I'd be without friends like you, Lexi," Tatiana said, pushing back a flood of uncharacteristic emotion. Where would she be? Stuck at home with two robotic jailers, most likely. And their names were Mom and Dad.

[lexi_winchester]

((I saw your OOC note but I'll just post anyway and if you're back before the tallies are done, feel free to join back in if you want :). ))

As Lexi hugged Tatiana, she noticed how uncomfortable and rigid she seemed in returning the gesture. It hadn't occurred to her that clearly her family weren't as loving with her. Lexi just felt the need to hug her friend, and didn't really think about what she was doing. "Sorry..." She said, pulling back with a smile.

"Aww.. well, thank you, Tati." Her smile only grew wider as Tatiana felt the same way about their friendship. Her made her feel warm inside, and it was a nice contrast to the dark gloominess she had been feeling before. Rubbing at her eyes with one hand, she yawned softly. "We're both in agreement, then." Lexi said aloud after re-opening her eyes, with a small chuckle.