Nothing ever changes (Open)

Lien had been hanging around outside the Head Boy and Girl’s quarters for quite some now. Just so that he didn’t look like a complete moron, he had a book and was sat at a bench: looking like he’d merely chosen the spot as a place of study. His eyes were coming up too often though: looking at the door to the digs, wondering what could be behind it.

He’d missed out on it. The Head Boy went to Louis Weasley... of course.

He gritted his teeth and angrily put his book down, standing up. He stared at the door. He just wanted to see what he was missing, what the big fuss was about... that was all. He was a prefect himself, he could just be going to find one of them...

It was odd having her own dorm instead of being with the rest of her house, but Cherry found herself appreciative of the increased privacy. Privacy wasn't a thing in her household, so she was glad to have earned this perk from being assigned Head Girl despite never being a prefect. On the other hand, she had to get into the habit of going towards the first floor instead of making the long trek to the Ravenclaw tower after a day of classes.

One of the first things she did following the conclusion of that day's classes was to take a refreshing shower; Cherry would've gotten it in the morning had she not put herself in the position to neutralize an early fight to prove she's capable of handling the position. With her hair still wrapped up in a towel, Cherry peeked out of the door to her dorm only to spot one of her housemates waiting in front of Louis' door.

"Ummmm, are you in need of help or something?" If he was, she was going to have to get dressed real quick.

@Lien Chang

He turned at the sound of Cherry’s voice. A wave of irritation shook through him: if only she had saved coming out of there for another minute or so, he could have already been inside of there! Damn her. But, still, he kept his expression rather neutral. He just wasn’t looking at her, like a naughty child.

“I-I was just looking for Weasley...” he blathered, adjusting his glasses onto the bridge of his nose. “Is he... around? Or is he...” Frolicking around somewhere was what he wanted to say, but instead he said: “... hanging around somewhere else?”

@Cherry Darling

Cherry wrapped her robe just a bit tighter around her body. This wasn't the greatest moment to be immodest.

"I, uh, don't know where he is or what he's up to. Have you tried contacting him via crystal?"

If it was that urgent, surely that could've been used?

@Lien Chang

“No... I don’t have one,” he admitted. Not everyone had moved onto the new form of communication. Honestly, he thought it was just inviting the probability of being bothered when he didn’t want to be. That, and it was a bit of an expense.

He stepped away from Louis’s door, and looked at her. It was strange to see her in a bath robe. Perhaps he’d seen her in her night clothes before now, in the common room, but this was a little weird.

Lien sighed. “Honestly, Cherry, as we’ve been class mates all these years I should at least be honest with you.” He sighed again. “I was trying to see if I could get a look at what it was like. You know... seeing what I missed out on?”

@Cherry Darling

"I got mine as a gift," Cherry responded with a shrug. If she had realized earlier that someone was outside of the doors, she would've at least gotten some undergarments on first. She had to keep that in mind for next time it seemed...

Ah, it was FOMO. She should've expected that with how he was out there waiting for who knows how long. "Eh, it's only a step up from the dorms. Most important thing is having more room to spread out and personal bathrooms." Due to it being newer, it wasn't as extravagant as the prefect's bathroom.

@Lien Chang

“But you’re just saying that, aren’t you?”

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked away from her.

“Perhaps the reason why I didn’t become Head Boy is because they couldn’t have another Ravenclaw. That would seem biased, or something.” He looked at her again, his expression quite neutral despite there being obvious conflict going on inside of his head. “So if you weren’t Head Girl... perhaps I would have been Head Boy. You weren’t even a Prefect to begin with. It seems a little out of the blue.”

Although he didn’t have a bitter sort of tone, it was obvious that he was.

@Cherry Darling

Cherry shook her head. "No..? Why would I be? Literally more personal space and a bathroom is all there is to it. I'd be bragging if it came with a free massage table and masseuse, but it doesn't!"

She could go for a massage actually...

"They've had Head Girls and Boys from the same house multiple times in Hogwarts history," she stated trying to recall some of the examples she's read about. There was one in the 1977-1978 school year. That was only notable as they ended up being Harry Potter's parents. "I'm not the first person that wasn't a prefect that was put into this position..."

Now this was getting weird.

@Lien Chang

Cherry was looking at him as if he was crazy. He got a little ticked off by that and tutted in annoyance, but he tried to pull himself together. Perhaps he had come off a little too strong there.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

The smile he wore was very self-depreciating.

“I just... I don’t trust guys like Louis. I mean, is that really how he is? Don’t you think he’s just hiding something?” Lien bit his bottom lip irritably. “Is anyone really that... you know? Smiles and happiness about everything...?”

@Cherry Darling

Did he come all the way over here out of envy? Ugh, why so soon after term started?

"You've been attending Hogwarts longer than I have," Cherry began. Every year she gets more surprised at how much her classmates actually know about her. "If he was hiding something, surely someone would say something by now?"

Was he looking for a reason to be upset?

@Lien Chang

“Oh come on, Cherry. Are you really that naive?”

His laughter wasn’t nice and lyrical: there was definitely something cruel about it. But when he stopped laughing, he looked troubled by how he was acting.

“Let me just... look around inside of there for a bit? Go on,’ he urged, smiling at her. “I just want to see for myself. And if Louis really is as pleasant as he comes across, he won’t mind, will he? It’s not like I’m going to go snooping around his personal possessions or anything. I just want to look.”

@Cherry Darling

"I'd argue that Louis is more naive than I am since he slept with a Riddle." Then again, she likely slept with a Riddle too, but she at least realized what she was getting herself into.

Cherry found herself getting a bit suspicious of his motives. Why was he so desperate to get inside of Louis' dorm?

"Um, for security reasons, he has to let you in himself."

That was a lie to save face and protect her fellow Head. There was a common space between the two dorms allowing themselves to go to or check on each other if the need arises.

@Lien Chang

He sighed loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“Fine... fine.”

Perhaps he’d just sneak in there when neither of them were around. Of course he couldn’t ask her to show him around her dormitory. That could’ve come across as perverted or something.

“Hmm. So it’s true that he did? That’s interesting.”

@Cherry Darling

"Yeah..."

What was with Lien? Although Ravenclaw was considered to be one of the saner houses, Cherry felt as if she had a few housemates whose heads weren't screwed on right.

"Why do you want to see his dorm and know about him so badly? Do you have a crush or something?"

It's only fair to give an out-loud benefit of the doubt.

@Lien Chang

Lien laughed at her.

“Are you being... ah. You actually are being serious.” What the hell?! “No Cherry,” he assured her, still laughing a little, “I do not have a crush on Louis Weasley. I just wanted to see the digs, that’s all.” And maybe leave something in his bed? Hmm... that was interesting. Why did that idea come to mind?

“And maybe I just like to find the reasons behind things instead of just accepting them as the way they are. We’re Ravenclaws. We don’t just accept things without questioning them.”

@Cherry Darling

"If you just want to see his room so badly, you could've just hunted him down and asked. Did you even knock or were you just standing out here waiting like a lost dog?"

Cherry was still skeptical of Lien's intentions. She found his explanations perplexing. Squinting, she glanced around.

"Yet you're extremely suspicious of Louis when nobody else at Hogwarts is? Sounds obsessive."

@Lien Chang

"I was standing out here waiting, yes. I wanted to see if he came by, so that I could ask him." He folded his arms across his chest and gave her a strange look. What was she getting to worked up for anyway? He didn't think they were that close or anything.

"I'm pretty sure I've heard others say similar things, so I wouldn't say nobody else is. I think it's strange not to be dubious about him, personally. I suppose you probably fancy him. You are out here in just your robe, after all. You heard a sound and hoped it was him." He smirked.

"But why assume he was here when he could be anywhere at this time? How many people go to their dorms not long after classes?"

After all, Cherry only went to hers this time as she needed a shower. If she knew this conversation would be so long, she would've gotten dressed first!

"I just took a shower. Do you see the towel on my head? Who doesn't fancy him? Just get to the point or leave and hunt him down yourself."

Cherry then pointed to the towel on her head.

@Lien Chang

"I didn't. That's why I was waiting."

He always thought Cherry was smart, but she was actually sort of dumb.

"Yeah, typical. I thought so." He rolled his eyes. "What 'point'? You're not making sense."

"You could've waited for hours with all of the cousins and friends he has," Cherry said.

"I'm just wondering what sort of vendetta you seem to have against Louis considering how you made up theories about why you didn't become Head Boy."

@Lien Chang

"What I struggle with the most is how people endure his can-do, happy-go-lucky bullshit," Lien muttered icily. "People like that are just so easy to trust, aren't they? That just pisses me off."

Lien knew he was letting his temper get the better of him, so he took a long, deep breath to try and calm down a little.

"But of course someone like you would like him. He's all over you, like he is with everyone. You're probably not used to that kind of attention." Not many had seen this side of him. It was... an ugly side, no doubt. He usually kept it caged away in a bitter silence. Cherry had just seemed to pull it out of him.

@Cherry Darling

Cherry listened in annoyance. Now she definitely wasn't going to let him in with all of these grievances he appeared to be holding for not being given the title of Head Boy. "You're still one of the most powerful students in this school." Lien was sounding worse than the Slytherins at this point.

"You don't know me or my history." She, of course, would still treat him fairly as Head Girl, but he wasn't going to be a favorite anytime soon. It was appalling that because of her weight, she was being perceived as undesirable. "I've gotten plenty of attention before him."

@Lien Chang

Lien already knew that he'd gone to far as she was thoroughly defending herself. The you don't know me thing. Perhaps he was a little hurt himself. He'd liked Cherry, but she was clearly angry with him now.

"Look, we've wasted time here," he muttered, not looking at her in the eyes. "I'll just leave you to... Do your hair, or whatever."

@Cherry Darling[/b]

"Alright..."

At least it seemed as if this conversation was finally over. Those were a few minutes she could've spent doing something more worthwhile. Guess she might as well go and finally get dressed.

Cherry shut the door and locked it.