LoSt iN tHe ArMs Of DeStInY (aLi)

[Shane Varrick]

Shane quietly made his way down the steps of the castle, multiple brooms thrown over his shoulder. He wore a black t-shirt that revealed his muscular arms. Dark tan cargo pants were held up by a simple leather belt and black boots covered his feet. His dark chocolate eyes were protected from the bright afternoon sun by a pair of dark sunglasses.

Glancing around the almost empty lawns he began his walk toward the quidditch pitch. He wasn't surprised to find only a few students scattered across the fading grass. It was, after all, the middle of the afternoon on a Thursday. He figured most the students were in class. The dry leaves scattered across the lawn crunched under his feet as he walked. It was funny how it looked like fall, yet it felt like late summer.

[Alizabeth Phillips]

Alizabeth Phillips—of all people—could easily be categorized as a ‘brown and [insert color shirt she is wearing here] blur’ on any day that she had consumed caffeine. Hell, she could fall into that category on … well, any given day. Right now, she was dashing out of the castle, almost knocking over a pair of studious students and their books on her way out. She wore a long, baby-doll cut, yellow top, and the doubled loop of wooden beads that hung around her neck clunked as she ran. Of course, so did the matching beaded bracelet clank against the thick wooden band on her right arm, but that was beside the point.

Her long, wavy, dark brown hair hung loose, free to fly behind her in any way that it wished. Light jean kapri’s covered her lower body; her feet very much barefoot. Right now, she was attempting to find Abbey. After all, Ali had just found this random song sitting just so … INNOCENTLY in her iPod! And she hadn’t even noticed it before, let alone how totally and completely AWESOME the tune was! But of course, being as she was, Ali had left her iPod in her dorm, deciding to tug Abbey back to where she’d just come from in order to play it for her. Gimme a break, this is Ali we’re talking about.

So, as she dashed across the lawn paying absolutely no attention to where she was going, sending fallen leaves back into the air as she ran, Ali’s ohso blue eyes caught an ohso purple flower. I know, typical right? So, being as ADHD as the fourth year was, she completely forgot about/gave up on finding Abbey and skidded straight for the flower, landing in a neat little Indian-position heap beside it as an unknowing shadow towered over her. Bending over to curl her arms around the precious flower—even though there were dozens not six feet from where she was sitting—she looked up to the man whose path she’d just ohso kindly bounded into. “Don’t squish the flower, Mr. Varrischakinstalk!!

[/color]” Ali called, recognizing the teacher almost immediately. “It’s pretty…[/color]” She pouted innocently, looking back down at the lone purple flower, so far from the rest of its friends.

She would have to attempt to move them all without plucking them from the ground, that’s what needed done!

… Ali jumped back up, dashed to the group of similar flowers not a man’s height away and started digging into the soft earth with her bare hands, obviously not one to get all riled up about being dirty.[/size][/blockquote]

[Shane Varrick]

Shane had froze mid step as a rather immature voice reached his ears. Looking down, he immediately recognized the source of the voice: Ali. He took a step back, rolling his eyes behind his dark sunglasses. Looking past the young Hufflepuff, he finally saw the flower he was about to step on.

Shifting the many brooms he was carrying to the other shoulder, he apologized, though he wasn't quite sure what he was apologizing for. Arching an eyebrow as the girl flew toward the other flowers, a questioning expression formed on his face. "Ali, what are you doing?" he asked, almost as soon as he did so, he regreted it. He knew full well she would go on this hyper rant about it and he wouldn't be able to get away for at least an hour.

[Alizabeth Phillips]

Her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth as she struggled to keep the roots of the other flowers from breaking as she dug with her fingernails. After all, unless it was a weed, the plant would die if you broke its root. Her dad had taught her that one when she was little and attempting to help him pull weeds from the family garden. Yup, she was no help at all, in the long run. But it was the thought that counted.

She paused in her efforts as Shane spoke, raising her innocent blue eyes to meet his … sunglasses. Oh well, same difference. “I’m getting Jeanne some friends!” she exclaimed, grinning brightly and having already named the lone flower. She nodded once, pleased with her explination, and turned back to her digging, somehow managing to free a palm-sized clump of grass, clover, and—sure enough—purple flowers from the spot she had just moved to, dashing back to the lone flower Jeanne with the clump of earth held delicately in her hands.

“Everyone needs friends!” Ali spoke her mind, setting the clump of earth down and starting to dig next to “Jeanne.” “Don’t you think so? I mean, if you don’t have friends then … life is just one big Stephen DePaul—I mean … boring?” She looked up at him, pausing once more to gauge his reaction. Uhh … she wasn’t supposed to compare random students—no matter how evil she thought they were—to boring, friendless lives … was she? Oh well, she had better things to do than worry about getting shoved into detention.

Besides, if Shane was as awesome a professor as Alizabeth thought—and knew—he was, then she had nothing to worry about. She went back to her digging, though this time not taking the care to not rip roots in half.

[Shane Varrick]

Shane watched almost in awe as the girl concentrated so deeply on her digging. "Jeanne?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. He was shocked when Alie was actually able to pull a clump of flowers from the ground without killing them. His eye followed her as she ran back the the flower Shane assumed was now named Jeanne.

Rolling his shoulders stiffly as the load of brooms seemed to grow in weight, he nodded in agreement. He cocked his head to the side as she mentioned Stephen DePaul. "Yes, everyone needs friends. But what does Mr. DePaul have to do with that?" he asked curiously, a small smile twitching at his lips. The professor honestly couldn't care less what the girl compared the Gryffindor to, she was entitled to her own opinion. He was simply curious as to what happened for her to think so poorly of him.

Even if Shane did care about what the girl had said, he probably would have given her a warning or something. The girl was annoying enough, he didn't want to get stuck with her because he gave her a detention. He could just picture it now, her and her nickname she had somehow created for him. He could honestly say he despised the cutesy name she insisted on calling him.

[Alizabeth Phillips]

Ali nodded energetically as Shane questioned her naming the flower… or was he questioning who was Jeanne? Oh, well, Ali never thought these questions through, so whatever. She cupped the dirt and grass she’d torn out of the ground beside “Jeanne” in her hands, running back to toss it into the patch of dirt she’d dug the other flowers from before running—yes, just as quickly—back to where she had been sitting moments before.

She looked up again as Shane asked her about Stephen, a hint of guilt visible in her expression. “Stephen DePaul…” she began, taking a dramatic breath, “is a ‘leet form of ‘condescending evil’ packed into a short human form.” She nodded firmly, then turned back to her flowers, gently setting the patch of friends for “Jeanne” in the space she’d cleared for them and patting it down.

Yeah, pretty harsh words for someone so capable of winning the “Nicest Person on the Planet” award, eh? Well, she didn’t like Stephen. I mean, obviously, she’d left a scar on his wrist simply because someone had informed her that he was “evil.” Oh, and he’d thwacked her over the head … guess that didn’t help matters, did it?

[Shane Varrick]

Shane simply blinked as the girl nodded energetically. He couldn't see how a girl could be so hyper all the time. He figured the flower's name was Jeanne, seeing how the girl didn't really give him an answer. What did he expect? After all, he was dealing with Ali. He watched, his eyebrows raised as the girl ran back and forth between the two dirt patches she had created. Seeing how she had returned to her original seat, he questioned her methods. "Wouldn't have been easier to simply move...um... Jeanne over to where the other flowers are?" he asked.

Ali's nearly guilty expression increased Shane's curiosity as she began to speak. He was slightly taken aback by the harsh, and rather large words the usually cheerful girl spoke. He didn't know such words could come from her generally good natured person. He began to wonder just what the boy had done to Ali to make her hate him so much. He realized the rumors that had ran around the school about the Gryffindor. He wasn't deaf, but Ali just seemed so innocent to hate him for that.

Gently setting his load of brooms on the ground, though making sure not to hit any of the purple flowers, he crouched down. Looking Ali square in the eyes, though it probably lost some effect due to his sunglasses, he asked her, "What happened between you and Stephen?"

[Alizabeth Phillips]

Ali gasped as Shane suggested having move “Jeanne,” her eyes growing wide and chin dropping in utter and complete shock. “Of course not! Jeanne likes her spot. She would have gotten mad and eaten all the other flowers because she had to be moved. Besides, she like being greeted by new friends instead of having to say ‘hello’ first.” Ali grinned brightly, as if everything she was saying made perfect sense.

She glanced to “Jeanne” and turned back to Shane, cupping one side of her face as if to keep the flower from seeing. “She’s a little bit … shy,

[/color]” she admitted in a whisper, nodding solemnly. What? She had to come up with a reason for herself as to why “Jeanne” was all alone in the first place.

Ali frowned as Shane asked about what happened with Stephen, the expression coming across as more of a sad pout than anything else. “I guess ‘nothing’ won’t work, will it?” she asked, forehead creasing slightly as she frowned/pouted … more?[/size][/blockquote]

[Shane Varrick]

Shane should have known his question was going to be met by a long reason that didn't make much sense in his eyes. He rolled his eyes, only half listening as the Hufflepuff rambled on. Because we can't have Jeanne eating all the other flowers, he thought sarcastically. Why must the young girl give human characteristics to every minute object she came across? He wondered. Realizing Ali had stopped talking he nodded his head, smiling as if he agreed with the girl.

Shane simply arched an eyebrow as the girl added the fact that the flower was shy. Wait, the flower.... was shy? "You know, it's not nice to whisper about people when they're standing right there. Or in this case flowers, when they are rooted right there," he said, he couldn't help but chuckle. His deep, baritone voice rumbling in his throat. At her final question he simply shook his head. No, he was curious as to what happened. The Hufflepuff had tagged along around him long enough for him to know that she wasn't one to hate people just because.

[Alizabeth Phillips]

Ali titled her head to one side as Shane pointed out that she shouldn’t whisper. “You’re right.” Ali nodded, smiling and eager to cure her suddenly wrong ways of whispering about “Jeanne.” She bent down and kissed the apparently special flower, muttering a quick, “I’m sorry, Jeanne,” after she’d done so.

Letting out a defeated huff of breath, Ali lowered her gaze. “HewasmeantomeandIheardhewasbadinthefirstplacethenhehitmesoIbithim.” she explained, mumbling so all the words were jumbled together and hard to understand.

[Shane Varrick]

Shane was pleased to hear the girl acknowledge him as being right, even if she was annoying to be around. Again, he rolled his eyes as Ali bent down and kissed the purple flower. He simply shook his head at the girl. One thing was for sure, she was definitely unique. "Did she accept your apology?" he asked after a while. He didn't really speak flower.

Shane paused, having to run his mind over what Ali said a couple times before he thought he had it. "He was mean to you and you heard he was bad, he hit you on the head and you bit him?" he repeated, making sure he had gotten it right. He couldn't help the chuckled that escaped him after he had finished. He had tried to hide it, but failed to do so as his mind grasped the events.

[Alizabeth Phillips]

Ali looked up at Shane, blinking twice before answering with a smile. “Of course she did!” she exclaimed, beaming as she did so. I mean, duh “Jeanne” had accepted Ali’s apology. Wasn’t it obvious that Ali was the flower’s bestestest friend?? xDD

Ali looked up silently as Shane repeated what she’d mumbled. She nodded once he was done, the facts having been heard correctly. “Yeah, thas right,” she informed, pursing her lips to one side. Of course, when his chuckle reached her ears, she frowned again, forehead creasing once more. “What? You don’t believe me?

[/color]” she asked, appearing offended … or something.[/size][/blockquote]

[Shane Varrick]

Shane nodded as the girl explained the flower had accepted the apology. He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips as he thought about her reasoning behind hating Stephen DePaul. He stopped laughing as the girl seemed hurt by it, though he continued to hold a smile. "No, no. I do," he assured her. He didn't mean to offend the girl.

"So," he started, hoping to cheer the Hufflepuff up. "what brings you outside during the middle of a class period?" he asked, a suspicious look crossing his face.

[Alizabeth Phillips]

Ali’s face went almost immediately back to her usual smile as Shane assured her that he believed what she’d said. “Okay,” she forgave him quickly, as she would just about anyone. Besides Stephen, of course. But that was a different story.

She opened her mouth to answer his question, but then realized that she forgot what she was doing outside in the first place in all the hubbub of finding “Jeanne” some friends. “Umm…” she stalled, face screwing up slightly as she attempted to remember what she was doing.

And then she gasped. Suddenly. Out of nowhere. You get the idea. “I have to tell Abbey about the cherry song!” she exclaimed, sitting up straighter and looking around for her bestestest friend … ever.

[Shane Varrick]

Of all the time Shane knew Ali, he never could figure out how the girl was so nice to everyone all the time. Sure, the girl was an annoyance, but it seemed every time their conversations ended, he walked away smiling. He rolled his eyes as she forgave him just that easily. To think about how much the girl hated Stephen was strange to Shane, he simply couldn't picture the girl hating anyone.

Again he rolled his eyes as the girl seemed to forget why she was even out on the lawn. Raising his eyebrows at the over-dramatic gasp, he waited for her to answer his question. Yes, he knew who Abbey was. It was the girl that Ali was always hanging around with. She acted much the same way too. Both of them together was a nightmare, especially in flight class. "Cherry song?" he asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

((I don't know, the c-box isnt working for me.))