Girls, girls, girls (tag Kelsey) on Crotalus Commons

Alistair Johnson

August 15, 2016 5:56 PM

Girls, girls, girls (tag Kelsey) by Alistair Johnson

Alistair was devastated. Forget that time he’d caught his then-girlfriend dancing and flirting with a family member after blowing him off for weeks. If he thought that had hurt, he hadn’t even known the meaning of the word. Had he not felt so heartbroken, he might laugh at himself but he was hardly feeling that way these days. Alistair couldn’t believe how affected he was by just seeing the girl he adored so clearly in love with someone else. The strangest part of it all was that he and the girl had only ever been friends, brought together by a shared interest, and he’d never even gotten close with her in a way that made it appropriate to care this much, to care more than he had when he’d actually gone through a breakup with someone who had been an important part of his life for as long as he could remember.

It was clear to the fourth year that other people were not within his control. They could ruin his plans and break his heart, but one thing they could not take away from his was his pride. So Alistair kept his composure outside the privacy of his dormitory and did a good job of hiding the unsettling anger and misery that he’d found within him of late.

Alistair found himself longing for things to go back to the way they had been before he’d been gripped by ridiculous notions and feelings to the extent where he had actually thought admitting them was a good idea. He even found himself wanting his old girlfriend back, a realisation that came to him after patching things up a little with Joella in the form of a solely sympathetic hug. It wasn’t so much her that he wanted back, more so the physicalities that his previous relationship had provided at his disposal. Alistair had always had a desire for the fairer sex but the older he grew, these desires only got worse and began to feel more like needs, to the point that he hated not having someone to satisfy them.

It was hard to decide whether it was more annoying or reassuring that Daniel Fintoc had become very confident in the fact that Alistair was the all-knowing, all-powerful, generally all-amazing being whom could provide advice for more than just Quidditch these days. It probably shouldn’t have surprised him that he was the man that the young second year came to for girl advice (rather than his awful cousin) because Alistair was very much a ladies’ man and expected that he was known for his success in this area.

He wasn’t sure why, but the fact that Daniel had wanted to ask him for advice on asking Kira Spaulding to the midsummer ball had confused him. Alistair wouldn’t have minding supplying such advice had it not been for the strangely protective (he could not think of another way to define it) feeling that bubbled inside of him when he first realised it was Kira whom Daniel had his eye on. Daniel was a good kid and Alistair could see some of himself in the younger boy, a very unlikely moment of self-reflection and self-evaluation brought this to his realisation. He lacked the same level of confidence that Alistair possessed but he was sure that would develop as the younger boy grew.

Alistair made sure to instruct Daniel very carefully and express how he should be mindful of Kira’s shyness. He was sure the reason why he wanted to give sound advice was because Kelsey was one of his best friends and therefore he felt a duty towards her younger cousin on her behalf.

The best way to keep up appearances and false pretences was to make sure that he stuck to all the beliefs he’d been trying to tone down just for Ginger. Alistair knew that no matter who she kissed, he wasn’t going to go back to his younger ignorant self. He’d come too far and become too aware to stay as true to himself as he’d once believed he was.

In reality he had left the whole ball date situation too late to have the pick of the patch. Caelia was going with Jack Spencer and it shocked him how little he cared. She’d always been there, seemingly unattainable to any other guy, waiting for him to realise that he didn’t need to mess around with impropriety because he had someone so much more virtuous and beautiful right under his nose. Perhaps he still wasn’t ready, or maybe he was sure that the relationship status between Caelia’s brother and Jack’s ravishing older sister meant that the pair of them could never be anything more than platonic friends (a theory that technically work).

It was therefore so blindingly obvious to him that he’d be going with Kelsey and originally that thought made his heart sink. But the longer he left it, the longer he thought about it, the idea grew on him. Kelsey was perfect. Admittedly the fourth year had long struggled with the fact that he didn’t actually like perfect but for the first time in his life he thought he might actually need it. And in some ways that was a good thing, the only positive to come out of the great vat of negativity he was currently drowning in.

The only issue with Kelsey was that she wouldn’t make a show of herself and therefore he couldn’t make a show of her, couldn’t wave her in front of people’s faces and prompt jealousy. But he could rely on her to be herself and that alone should be good enough. They would be like the power couple of Sonora, if only for one night, and they would be a force to be reckoned with. A large part of the midsummer ball was the dressing up that everyone did for it. He knew that he and Kelsey would make a beautiful pair and neither were likely to put a step wrong on the dancefloor either.

“Miss Atwater,” Alistair never addressed Kelsey that way anymore because they’d been friends for going on for years now but the tone in which he spoke, paired with the expression on his face showed her that he wasn’t being serious. He was layering on the charm thickly, because he felt he hadn’t smiled at a girl in one too many days and needed to flatter Kelsey so she wouldn’t think his lateness at asking her to the ball was due to any reluctance.

“May I steal you for a moment?” he asked politely.

“No doubt you were expecting me to ask this,” Alistair said confidently, even if Kelsey didn’t seem like she ever had doubts, one could never be too sure. “After all, I couldn’t think of anyone better to ask,” an outright lie but she didn’t need to know that. “So, the midsummer ball, would you care to accompany me?”

8 Alistair Johnson Girls, girls, girls (tag Kelsey) 306 Alistair Johnson 1 5

Kelsey Atwater

August 23, 2016 10:29 PM

Only one girl by Kelsey Atwater

Unlike the rest of the school seemed to be, Kelsey wasn't obsessing about the ball. In her opinion, this ball didn't truly matter and didn't even truly count as a real ball since they had to let everyone in school attend including the halfbloods and muggleborns. The only thing that she was worried about with regards to the ball was that they wouldn't behave appropriately. Balls were supposed to be classy affairs and how could they be with such...uncouth people being allowed to attend.

Due to this, part of Kelsey didn't really want to go. She did her best to avoid fraternizing with those who had inferior blood and to go to a ball that included them was a rather unappealing prospect. Still, she felt obligated to go anyway. Kelsey had to be an example for the other young ladies there and even show the non-purebloods how to behave when they were attending events with their betters.

Though it would likely be wasted on them. Those with a Muggle influence in their backgrounds seemed to think that propriety was a bad thing, that having decent manners meant one was stuffy and uptight. Non-purebloods seemed to be uniformly loud and...unrestrained. Certainly there were purebloods who were that way as well-which was downright shameful- probably due to exposure to people who weren't from good families, but non-purebloods seemed to be lacking basic decorum and decency as a whole while revelling in it.

However, none of this was on Kelsey's mind as she read the newspaper. She always tried to keep up with what was going on in the world so she could engage in intelligent conversations about it if such opportunities arose. Just because she was female and from a good family didn't mean that she didn't have a brain.

However, when Alistair approached, she didn't mind putting it aside. She really had been rather expecting this and part of her wondered what had taken him so long. After all, this was Alistair . Nerves and fear of rejection were not a part of his character and besides, they were friends anyway so he had no reason to be intimidated. "Of course." She replied, a note of warmth creeping into her voice.

11 Kelsey Atwater Only one girl 305 Kelsey Atwater 0 5