Crowded Mind (Ethan)

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Kinsey was a third year student at Hogwarts and generally loving life. Her older brother was there, though not in her house so she didn't get to see him as much as she wanted. Her sisters were there too, which was a blessing and a curse. Cara and her twin were in the same house as Kins so she saw them a lot ... and Cara liked to boss her around. Kinsey hated it, but she didn't know how to make it stop. So she found quiet places to study throughout the castle. It was nice because it meant that she didn't have to deal with other people (mainly Cara) telling her what to do. 

Today, however, Kinsey was exhausted. Classes wore her out about the same as usual, but for some reason she was sensing a lot more from the people around her than she normally did. Most of it was negative, which was the reason for her exhaustion. People were lying to one another, or just being mean, or whatever else have you and Kinsey was overwhelmed. Which was why she was in one of her quiet places. She wasn't studying, just sitting with her back against the wall in a corner on the fourth floor, breathing deep and trying to calm down. She was so focused on her breathing she didn't notice someone else approach.

@ghostethan

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It was fifth year, and Ethan was starting his second year as a Chaser on the quidditch team. He had only gotten better with the help of his amazing friends and his incredibly supportive parents and his little sister, Annie. He was pumped, in a great mood, running back into the castle, broom in hand, soaked in sweat and laughing happily with his team members. He headed upstairs, his friends dropping off to their own activities one at a time until it was just him and Liam left as they walked down the fourth floor.

That's when he saw her, Kinsey Bainbridge. She was two years younger than him, so he didn't know her that well but... she looked upset. Or rather, just... drowning. He waved Liam off, and his best friend left. Ethan turned to the girl and crossed over to her, bending down slowly until he was beside her. "Hey... Kinsey, you okay?" he asked softly, setting his bag and broom aside. He was sweaty, hair a mess and clothes probably looking incredibly ragged but he didn't really care.

@kinsey

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Kinsey had her eyes closed, her head resting on her knees when she felt someone's concern. Well, that meant it wasn't her sister ... but who would be concerned about her sitting here on her own? When he spoke, Kinsey finally moving her head off of her knees and looking up to see Ethan Johnson, a Quidditch player in her house. She gave a quick smile, nodding. "I'm okay, just tired and I ... have a bit of a headache," she told him. It wasn't really a lie ... she was getting a headache from so many intentions floating around in her mind and such. "How was Quidditch practice?" She didn't know if he'd let her change the subject, but Kinsey was sure going to try. She wasn't too good about talking about herself. 

@ghostethan

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Kinsey moved her head to look at him and he grinned at her, giving a small wave of his hand. She smiled and nodded, claiming she was just tired and had a headache. He frowned a little again at that and nodded his head in understanding. Then she asked how Quidditch practice was and his smile came back. "It was fun," he said, truthfully. He moved to sit down, just facing her, sitting just outside of her corner so he wasn't invading her space or anything. He didn't really care if he was in the way of the hallway or not. "Sorry about that headache, though... say, maybe some water would help?" he said excitedly. He reached over to his bag and pulled out his water bottle, but it was completely empty. He frowned at her with embarrassment. "Awe.. well, I suppose I could fill it up with magic but... I don't prefer the taste of wand water," he joked, giving her another playful little grin.

@kinsey

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He was so happy and seemed to only be trying to cheer her up and it was working. He said Quidditch was fun as he sat down so he was facing her and Kinsey smiled. "I'm glad. I love watching you guys play in the matches." Which was true, though she never knew who to cheer for whenever it was Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor. She loved her team, but Dustin ... but her team. She was conflicted. Still, she admired all the Quidditch players, Ethan included. She shrugged when he apologized about her headache. "It's not your fault," which was true. It was her fault for hanging around groups so much ... and maybe their faults for not having good intentions towards others, but none of them would know that. She laughed a little when he offered to give her water and then realized he didn't have any. "I'm fine," she repeated, still chuckling a little. "You don't need to worry about giving me water." Really though she was surprised that he was bothering with her at all. He hardly knew her.

@ghostethan

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She said she loved watching them in the matches and he grinned, his happiness at the thought of quidditch bursting from him. "Geez... aren't you nice," he muttered softly. He was shy at heart, and that showed often. Especially when people were being nice to him! She reminded him the headache was not his fault, but he still felt bad about it. Well, not like DEEPLY bad, but just worried about her. She repeated that she was fine after he offered the water, and at least she laughed a little. That caused him to grin and bite hit lip in amusement. "Well, that's your call," he said, when she commented that he didn't need to worry. "Though, I'm not sure if sitting in the hallway is the best help. What do you say we walk a little?" he offered, raising an eyebrow but not standing yet.

@kinsey

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His smile was ... contagious. That's what it was, Kinsey decided. Ethan was just so nice and even though he seemed a little embarrassed at the compliment, Kinsey was glad she said it. "I wasn't saying it to be nice," she told him. "I just thought you should know." She liked Quidditch. Sometimes she practiced at it, but she wasn't as good as the people on the teams so she wasn't going to bring that up. Maybe someday she would join. She nodded when he said it was her call, then he suggested they walk a little. Kinsey was a little nervous about running into the same people as before, but Ethan was nice. If other's intentions were mean, she could just touch him and his kind ones would be stronger. Yes, she'd do that. "Okay, I guess we can go on a walk," she responded, moving so she could stand up. "Do you want to take care of your Quidditch things?" Kinsey asked after a second.

@ghostethan

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She said that she just thought he shoulder know and he nodded, but he still thought it was a pretty nice thing to say. Especially if she was just being honest. "Well, thanks anyway," he chuckled. Then, she agreed to the walk and he grinned, pushing himself up to standing and grabbing his bag and broom from the floor on his way up. She asked if he wanted to take care of his things and he shrugged, "hmm... yeah, I guess we can swing by the tower," he said, shrugging his back onto his shoulder, "that way I can change out of my dirty, sweaty clothes..." He glanced over at her with his useful golden smile, "do you play? Quidditch, I mean," he asked. He realized he should have helped her stand up but he didn't, and he felt a little awkward about focusing on his broom first. What a jerk!

@kinsey

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He thanked her again, laughing and Kinsey rolled her eyes, still smiling at him. "You're welcome," he answered, her tone only slightly sarcastic. He stood up and she joined him only a moment later. She'd started to get up first, after all, he was just faster. She nodded when he said they could swing by the tower, but didn't say anything. Hopefully she wouldn't run into anyone ... naw, she'd be fine. He continued, talking about changing and she smiled, "Sounds like a good idea to me." Kinsey made sure her voice was cheerful. Then he asked if she played Quidditch and Kinsey shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I like flying and Quidditch, I'm just not too good at it." Which was alright. Watching it was plenty good. Besides, she didn't know how she'd feel if she was on a broom and felt three people charging her with the intentions to knock her off her broom or something. That'd probably freak her out and she knew it was a possibility because Quidditch brought out the competitive side in lots of people.

@ghostethan

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He wasn't sure what to make of her 'you're welcome', so he decided not to dwell on it. She agreed to going by the tower and he started to steer her that way. Her voice sounded... strained to him, maybe a little fake. But he could tell she was trying, at least. He knew he had a hard time being positive when his head was aching. "Oh, cool. Maybe I could show you some tricks -- if you want to learn any," he suggested casually, mostly just making small talk as they headed toward the tower. "How's your brother?" he asked, smiling a little wider. He was a big fan of Dustins. The kid was a great player, and the two of them had basically developed a friendship over quidditch and not much else.

@kinsey

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Kinsey walked with Ethan, still a little surprised that he was paying so much attention to her. Not many people would stop hanging out with their friends to talk to someone who was sitting along in a corridor. Man, that sounded lame. She needed to find better hiding spots. Her smile widened at his suggestion. "I'd love that! I mean, I don't know how well I'd be able to learn them, but that'd be cool if you want to." She didn't want him to feel like he had to teach her, but he did suggest it. Her smile remained when he asked about Dustin. "He's doing great!" She responded. At least, as far as she knew he was. "Super focused on Quidditch of course, but he's doing well." Kinsey loved talking about her brother.

@ghostethan

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She seemed very into the tricks idea, which made him grin. "Then you're on! We could do that later on if your headache clears up, or another time. Or multiple lessons could work," okay, Ethan, stop blabbering. He knew that he talked a lot when he got excited. Or nervous. Or scared. Or was really happy. Well, he just talked a lot when his emotions got big. She said her brother was doing great, and he grinned. "Yeah, he's an amazing Seeker. Wouldn't be surprised if he went pro sooner rather than later," he suggested, as they were almost to the tower. "Has he taught you any Quidditch stuff? I mean, does he even have the time?" he joked. Dustin as very good, and Ethan didn't know if that was due to excessive practice or maybe just genes.

@kinsey

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Kinsey smiled when he was grinning at her and then shrugged. "I could probably do it now. Normally fresh air helps me with headaches." Mostly because there generally weren't lots of people in the air so she normally didn't have to worry about crowds and such when she was flying. "But I'm sure multiple lessons could be fun," she added. She liked how chatty he was. She'd never really seen Ethan as a particularly chatty person but now ... it sure seemed like he was. She nodded at what he said about Dustin. "He's the best seeker," she answered loyally, not minding that she said it in front of Ethan because he wasn't a seeker. "We sometimes talk about Quidditch, but he's pretty busy," Kinsey answered easily. If she asked she was sure Dustin would definitely practice with her, in the summer if he couldn't any other time. She wasn't exactly sure how busy he was.

@ghostethan

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Ethan grinned excitedly when she said she could play now. "Yeah! We can just see how we feel after today," he suggested. Really, he was just glad that she was seemingly feeling a little better. Then, Kinsey said that Dustin was pretty busy, which Ethan understood. "I know busy, alright," he muttered. He was a prefect and on the team... it was a weird time to be him, that was for sure. Plus, he was still trying to figure out what path to take after graduation. A professor or a quidditch player.. he couldn't decide which way to pursue first! They arrived at the tower and he turned to her before slipping inside. "Do you want to wait in the common room or out here? I'll just be like... five minutes!" he promised, smiling softly at the girl.

@kinsey

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She didn't know if he was just excited to fly or excited to share his tricks or if this was him normally, but she was glad. "Sounds good to me," Kinsey agreed. She nodded when he said he understood what it was like to be busy, but didn't say anything else. Honestly, she knew that she wasn't all that busy. She just had classes and homework. People in Quidditch obviously had more to do. They arrived at the tower and Kinsey stepped away from the entrance. "I'll wait out here." She said softly. She didn't want to see a group of people, especially if her sisters were inside. She loved them, but wasn't in the mood to deal with anything in there. She nodded, "See you in five minutes." When he walked in, she moved to a window nearby, sitting on the sill and looking outside. Hopefully people would leave her alone until Ethan came back.

@ghostethan