wake up (ashley)

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October marched into November, bringing with it near constant drizzle and grey skies. Halloween came and went, bringing with it answers to Brígh's questions and closure. As it turned out. Al hadn't been ignoring her. He'd been digging himself into a hole, and was barely able to peer out of it back into the real world. The memory of his surprise visit still warmed Bri, and she carried it in her heart like a talisman. Though the weather was dismal, Bri couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

There was a break between classes, and mercifully a break in the rain, so all students were sent outside for the hour. Bri waved to her friend Eli from across the courtyard, but instead of heading in his direction for a chat, wandered off in the direction of the lake. She pulled her robes tighter around her, wishing she'd thought to pull on a cloak before taking her break. Though the rain had stopped, there was still a chill breeze.

Bri reached the edge of the lake and looked down into the murky waters. She couldn't see the giant squid. She wondered if it didn't like rain, but it was the same thing as the lake after all. Her mind wandered and circled back to what she had so often found herself thinking about as of late- Albus.

tag: @ashley

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As she continued on with the school year, Ashley found herself continually more annoyed. She'd seen Eli twice during all the Halloween festivities. Twice! Yet on both occasions he'd been with the same girl, this Brigh. She was pretty and seemed to be cheerful and fun and despite herself Ash was jealous of the girl. She shouldn't be. She told herself that time and time again, but every time she saw the girl in the corridors or in the Great Hall, she couldn't help but feel jealous. It was ridiculous. She knew Eli wouldn't want to be near her after all the stuff she put him through last year ... but the entire mess was giving her the biggest of headaches. She seemed to be walking around with a constant migraine and the stubborn part of her refused to use her potion unless it was absolutely necessary. 

That way why, on this rainy sort of day, Ashley went for a run. Her schedule was such that she didn't have any classes before lunch and she always liked rain so she decided to go on with it. Running was one of the things she'd taken up over the summer. It was, surprisingly, one of the few things that helped her headaches lessen most of the time and she liked the way she felt afterward. Though she wouldn't admit it, running also felt like a connection to Eli since he loved it so much. But of course, that wasn't why she ran. Of course not ... sure.

She was returning to the castle, slowing to a jog, when the rain stopped. Well, great! Now she could relax even more. She decided to make her way to the lake, smiling and feeling more relaxed than she had since the last time she went running. At least, she felt relaxed until she saw who was already there. That girl, Brigh. She'd recognize that red hair easily now. 

Ash thought about turning and heading somewhere else, but decided against it. The girl would surely recognize her now and she needed to be nice. Especially since she'd probably recognize her after that Halloween Event thing. "Hi," Ash said cheerfully as she approached. "It's Brigh, right?" Sure. That was fine for now.

BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH

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For Brígh, it was difficult to believe that so much had changed in so little time. Well, she still had absolutely no clue what she wanted to do post Hogwarts (though that whole Auror thing was sounding quite good, as if she could get the marks for it) but at least she had Albus to talk to. She knew it would be difficult, it already had been. And they hadn't even been a thing before, just friends. She was a bit hazy on their current relationship, but it seemed to be more than just friends. That put a smile on her face.

Still grinning stupidly, Brígh looked up at the sound of her name. Her smile faltered a bit. Not that she'd had much of a problem with Ashley, but they'd already met and been properly introduced. Bri knew that Eli was acquainted with Ashley, and it had been rather awkward running into her- literally- at the Haunted Hogwarts event. "Er... yes. Hello, Ashley," Bri responded, hitching the smile back onto her face, though it was rather forced. After all, Ashley was at least trying to be nice. "How are you?" she asked. She wasn't entirely bothered, but Bri was a bit curious as to why Ashley had come up to her, all sweaty like.

tag: @ashley

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It wasn’t hard to see that Brigh was uncomfortable around her and Ashley thought- once again- that maybe she should leave. What if Eli told the other girl about last year? That thought shook her a lot more than she cared to admit. Did Eli tell other people? Honestly, Ashley wouldn’t be entirely surprised. He had a lot of friends, and he wasn’t particularly good at keeping secrets. She couldn’t help but hope that he hadn’t told others, especially this girl. It would be hard for her to make a good impression if she already knew how mean Ashley could be.

Ashley smiled, not allowing her hesitation or worries about Eli to show. She was quite good at putting on a good façade, even when she was confused like she was now. “I’m doing pretty well. Just took a bit of a jog around the grounds during my free period, so I’m happy. What are you doing out here?” She rubbed her wrist, subconsciously playing with the charmed, invisible bracelet hidden there.

BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH

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It was obvious to anyone that interacted with her that Brígh was absolute rubbish at hiding her emotions. She could try to arrange her face into a facade of nothingness, only to break it moments later. Her demeanour changed greatly when she was upset, pissed off, happy... everything was written plainly all over her body language, clearly spelling out how she was feeling. As such, Bri was sure Ashley could see her growing discomfort. But she seemed completely non-plussed. What if she was one of those girls who were opposite of Bri, who could hide their emotions? Bri didn't trust those girls one bit.

Though she wasn't much bothered, Bri asked politely after Ashley. She frowned. Jogging? Happy? "I'm not going to lie, that sounds absolutely horrid," she said, but her frown slipped away into a chuckle. "Never been much one for running. Just running away from things, even if they're just y'know in my imagination and like," said Bri after a moment. "But never got into it as like a sport. But er... I'm just... looking at the lake," said Bri truthfully. "I don't mind the rain so much. Reminds me of home," she added, looking up at the sky. It looked ready to open up again.

tag: @ashley

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Brigh did not want to be here, talking with Ashley. That much was clear just by looking at her face. Ashley, for her part, was trying so hard to make a good impression, but it obviously wasn't working. The girl was probably just extremely confused about why Ashley approached her in the first place. It made sense. Ashley was, for all intents and purposes, a stranger. 

Awkward as the situation was, Ashley found herself laughing when Brigh said that the idea of jogging sounded terrible. She shrugged, "Not too long ago, I definitely would have agreed with you," she admitted, turning to look out at the lake and hoping that would make things less awkward. She smiled as memories flooded her mind. "Last year I ran into someone at Ilvermorny who ran almost everywhere he went. At first I hated it, but I kind of started to like it, so I ran this summer when I had the time. Now I actually like it." Ashley shrugged, her smile fading a little as she remembered why she ran. Another connection to Eli. She had two now. Her bracelet and her running. She shook her head slightly, trying to push Eli out. "I like rain," she answered softly in response to the other girl. She paused for a moment before adding, "Well I should leave. I don't want to be in your way, but it was nice to get to know you a little more Brigh. See you around maybe?" Ash took a slow step backwards. She didn't really want to leave, but she also didn't want to push herself on one of Eli's friends, and the girl seemed nice. 

BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH
(uhhhh didn't expect that, haha. Brigh can let her go and we can have another thread or she can keep Ash there. Haha I'm good with whatever you want)

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Brígh was startled when Ashley started to laugh. Was she mad? She did suppose that jogging was a bit funny, but she had thought Ashley was one of those crazy people who liked running. But she smirked when Ashley said that she ran into someone who ran everywhere he went. Perhaps she wasn't so hard to figure out after all. "So you started running to impress a boy?" she asked. She didn't mean it in a rude way, but it was pretty comical to Bri. After all, she had tried to show off some dance moves to impress Albus, though she didn't really pick it up.

After commenting on the rain, Bri was surprised to find Ashley had agreed with her. She looked a bit like a sunny, beachy kind of blonde. She was about to say this when Ashley abruptly decided to leave. "Oh okay. Bye," she said, her brows furrowed in confusion. She hoped Ashley didn't expect her to go after her or something. She watched her go for a moment, before turning back to the lake. The droplets pelted onto the water, marring what otherwise would have been a glasslike surface. Brígh sighed, then turned and headed back to her afternoon classes.

-END-

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Ashley froze a little at Brigh's question about running to impress a boy. That hit a little close to home, even though the other girl was definitely wrong. She forced a smile and shrugged, speaking before she really thought through her response. "No, not really. I started running after I lost the boy." Ash gave a short, self-depreciating laugh when she realized what she just said. There was no way the other girl would be able to know who she was talking about, and she was probably confused by Ashley's logic, but maybe that was for the better. "I don't make a lot of sense. It's fine." She didn't want Brigh to feel any sort of pity for her, but she admitted the truth before realizing that it was the sort of thing that made it easy to pity her. Crap. That was just another reason to add to the growing pile of why she should leave now. She was showing Brigh way more than she wanted to and the girl obviously did not want to talk with her. When she didn't argue with Ashley, simply saying "okay. Bye", Ashley knew she made the right decision and hurried back to the castle.

BRÍGH ENNIS O'DALAIGH

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