Is It Real Or Should I Go? (Priscilla)

[Deleted]

February 22, 2025

Today was the day. Priscilla Rosier and Riley Fudge were having their engagement party today. As far as she knew, Kinsey was the one person in the school not invited, not that she would go anyway. She had no desire to see Priscilla hanging on Riley's arm and laughing and smiling with him beside her. She wished she could still be in denial and think that maybe something would happen to miraculously stop this from happening, but nothing would. Riley was determined to be with Priscilla. She knew that from the way he ran from her last week, from how he'd obviously avoided Kinsey this week. Granted, she avoided him too. She didn't want to see Riley and feel the pang out despair and desire. She missed him, but she'd lost and Priscilla won. 

It didn't help that last night she had another one of those nightmares. Somehow, miraculously, she'd woken up early in the day, but she wasn't rested or well. She was headed to the bathroom to see what she could do to hide the circles under her eyes. She hoped that it was early enough she wouldn't run into anyone else there. Kinsey really wasn't in the mood to chat with anyone. Not today and definitely not after last night. 

@priscilla

[Deleted]

Just to make sure that she wouldn't forget anything before she had to go into Hogsmeade for her engagement party, Priscilla Rosier had been awake since five o'clock that morning. After trying her best not to wake her roommates but failing as Oona O'Toole stirred in her bed, Priscilla went off to the bathroom to get herself ready to go down to Madam Puddifoot's before the rest of the Ravenclaw girls would have the opportunity to see her. It might have been only her engagement party, but this was as close as half the school would ever get to her and Riley's wedding.

She had been standing at the sink, uninterrupted, for some time before anyone entered. When she realized who it was, she flinched—enough for the mascara wand in her hand to brush her in the eye and leave a track of black goo above her eye in its wake. "Good morning," Priscilla greeted her, albeit sourly now that she had to correct her makeup before it set in a glob like that. A spell would work faster than trying to wipe it off and looking like a disaster, so she went that route instead of moving towards the tap. With a flick of her wrist, it was corrected, and she went back to preparing her face.

She had some other makeup with her, but she had also requested that her mother and sisters bring no shortage of it to Madam Puddifoot's for later. She couldn't keep the entire world waiting—minus Kinsey, that was. She hadn't received an invitation, for obvious reasons. What was she planning on doing all day? Babysitting the students who were too young to enter Hogsmeade?

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Honestly, Kinsey's bad luck had to be a record or something. When she walked into the bathroom to see none other than Priscilla Rosier standing there, it was all Kinsey could do to keep herself from turning and marching back to bed. Priscilla was the last person she wanted to deal with today. While it technically wasn't Priscilla's fault, she was a big part of the ruination of Kinsey's dreams. She was the one who would be marrying Riley. 

She nodded to the younger girl, "Morning," Kinsey muttered, her stomach twisting in knots. She didn't want to have to talk to Priscilla, so she wouldn't initiate anything. The last time they'd spoken they got into a full-on argument. That happened in a bathroom too. Kinsey wasn't sure if she wanted to deal with another argument with Priscilla, but if it came down to it, she didn't think she'd just stand there and take it. She walked up to the mirror on the other side of the bathroom, looking at her face. Yeah, her eyes were bloodshot, an obvious black ring surrounding them. Great. This was just how she wanted Priscilla to see her. 

@priscilla

[Deleted]

"Morning."

Priscilla half expected for Kinsey to jump to defend herself; that was how it had ended up going the last time that they had run into one another in similar circumstances. It was funny, though, that she hadn't; it was obvious that she had been proven right that Riley had eyes for her and her alone. Their engagement party—though Kinsey's invitation had somehow gotten lost in the post—was proof of that.

Instead of another row, though, Kinsey went to the mirror and began to examine her face. "Have you got a spot or something?" Priscilla asked, looking to see what Kinsey was looking at. She had some sort of blemish-remover with her, just in case anything had popped up overnight.

Seeing that the older girl was clearly fretting over how bad the dark circles under her eyes looked, and—Priscilla and Kinsey's mutual dislike aside—they did look bad. It really wasn't pretty, though Priscilla was willing to help with that. It wasn't as though sharing her cosmetics would help Kinsey that much.

Priscilla looked through the makeup that she'd carried into the bathroom with her and fished out a face powder. She and Kinsey had practically the same skin tone, so she had no doubt it would work. "Here." Priscilla offered out the container and a brush at arm's length. "I haven't poisoned it or anything," she added, knowing that Kinsey probably would have thought she had otherwise.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey did not want to be here. She didn't want to be in the same castle as Priscilla, much less the same bathroom. Really, this was just asking too much, especially adding on the fact that she just woke up from one of her nightmares. At least, she thought she'd just woken up. Maybe this was the nightmare ... Kinsey shook her head, not wanting to dwell on that thought. Unless she ran into Riley and he gave her their sign or she saw Toby or Joe and could talk to one of them for a second, there was no way for her to know for sure what was real and what wasn't, especially when she was around Priscilla. The girl was always mean to Kinsey. Granted, Kinsey was normally mean right back, but that wasn't the point. 

Priscilla asked if Kinsey had a spot on her face and Kinsey glanced over at the girl for a second before grunting and shrugging. Why was Priscilla trying to talk to her? Wasn't she happy enough that she won? (though honestly she couldn't know just how clearly she won. She didn't know about Kinsey and Riley's discussion on Valentine's Day) 

She focused on herself in the mirror, not even glancing over at Priscilla. Kinsey wanted to pretend like the younger girl wasn't there, like she'd finished and was leaving now. That would be nice. However, a moment later Kinsey heard Priscilla speak, saying "here" and offering ... makeup? She promised she hadn't poisoned it or anything and Kinsey stared at the girl. She couldn't be serious. Okay, this definitely had to be one of her nightmares. Just like Dom was ridiculously nice to her in those, maybe there was a new phase where Priscilla was nice too. It freaked Kinsey out. 

Her eyes hardened and she shook her head, turning her attention back to the mirror. "I don't need your help, thanks," she said in a curt voice, not sounding grateful in the slightest. Okay, so maybe in her dreams she couldn't get away from Dom being nice. Maybe it was starting to alter her perception of the guy who bullied her for the last six and a half years. Maybe she was starting to look at him with something other than dread, but she was not going to let that hesitation spread to Priscilla. Kinsey hated the girl. A lot of that hate stemmed from jealousy and the fact that Riley's parents thought she was a better match than Kinsey, but she was also rude enough that Kinsey felt like she deserved it. She held up her wand, summoning her own makeup that she'd forgotten to bring along. She might not have fancy makeup like Priscilla, but she should probably be able to cover the black circles with what she had. 

@priscilla

[Deleted]

Kinsey didn’t seem willing to take the makeup from her. Priscilla didn’t exactly blame her for saying that she was fine, but she was genuinely trying to help her. She wouldn’t deny that it was out of pity for how bad the older girl looked, but that was as close to friendship as the two of them were ever going to get: her lending Kinsey her makeup in her time of need. It was a truce of sorts, Priscilla supposed. There wasn’t much reason to fight anymore, unless Kinsey was truly keen on breaking up a marriage. She’d still be pathetic for doing what she had, but at least—for the day—she wouldn’t look quite as bad.

The older girl then held up her wand, summoning what was clearly makeup over to her. Priscilla didn’t intend for her eyes to widen, but they did. She had some of the exact same products—not all of them, but a fair few—as Kinsey Bainbridge?!

Even with Kinsey’s having summoned her own belongings, Priscilla kept her offering extended out to Kinsey until her arm began to ache a little, at which point she retracted it for her own comfort. Since there wasn’t much point in persisting, she set the makeup back to where she had kept it so that it wouldn’t get dirty or wet. She wouldn’t force the stuff into Kinsey’s hands, but the offer still stood.

Taking another glance in the mirror, Priscilla realized that she probably could have done with a bit of powder, too. There were going to be countless photographs taken of her and Riley later on, and she needed to look her best in all of them. She opened up the powder that she had offered Kinsey and applied some of it, sparingly, to her own face.

Once she had, she checked it in the mirror with the brush away from her face, turning her face at slightly different angles to make sure that nothing had caked. “Do you think I need a blusher?” she asked, turning to face Kinsey again for a second opinion. Since the mirror couldn’t give its opinion, well, Kinsey was there.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey tried not to look at Priscilla while the girl held her hand out, holding the extended makeup. Did she really not understand that Kinsey didn't want her makeup? Kinsey was trying to be polite about it, but she was really starting to get annoyed. She'd already said "thank you, no", what else did Priscilla expect from her? She stayed that way, even after Kinsey summoned her own makeup and Kinsey tried to focus on herself in the mirror. This was just so weird and she didn't understand what was going on. Add that to her nightmare last night and she was in a positively grumpy mood. She didn't want to have to deal with Priscilla right now. 

Kinsey was almost done and about to just leave the bathroom when Priscilla turned to her, asking for Kinsey's opinion about whether or not she needed blush. Kinsey's eyebrows knitted and she stared at the girl in confusion. What did Priscilla want from her? Was she just trying to brag, show how much prettier she was than Kinsey? Kinsey really wasn't in the mood for it. She shook her head, glancing away from Priscilla and focusing on her own makeup. She needed to gather it so she could get out of here. "Y'know ... I, I don't if you do or not and to be totally honest I don't really care." She still wasn't looking at Priscilla as she spoke, but all the months of frustration and resentment started to come out as she spoke and Kinsey couldn't stop herself. "We're not friends. I don't want to be and I'm really not in the mood to pretend like I do, so if you don't mind I'm just going to keep to myself and get ready for the day on my own. It'd be nice if you could do the same and ... if you want advice, go find someone who actually is your friend." Kinsey's stomach twisted as she spoke, but she couldn't stop herself and it was all true. She didn't want to talk to Priscilla about her makeup, or anything really. She didn't want to have to deal with the girl any more than she had to. Rude as it may be, Kinsey had to let that out. Also, she was still mourning her loss of Riley from the other day. Yeah, a bit of that was probably coming from jealousy too. 

@priscilla

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Kinsey stated that, honestly, she didn't care what she did or didn't do with her makeup, at which Priscilla blinked. When had a yes or no answer become such a challenge? Yes, she needed to add some rouge to her cheeks; no, she didn't need to add any. That was all she had wanted.

Priscilla listened to Kinsey carry on, wondering what she was so worked up over. She had said nothing about their being friends. In no way, shape, or form did she think of herself as Kinsey's friend. Even so, the older girl had to have some taste, pining after Riley like she had been.

"As half the castle is still asleep"—Priscilla pointed out, pursing her lips—"and every common room is essentially locked to outsiders…" It wasn't as though she could just waltz down to the dungeons and into where the Slytherin girls' dormitories were to find and rouse Lydia for an opinion on her makeup. "Look. I know we're not friends, Bainbridge," she continued with a slight sigh, trying to keep her voice down to avoid waking anyone, "but I wanted your opinion."

Since she hadn't heard anything to the contrary, Priscilla opened the compact and turned to the mirror again, applying the makeup lightly to the apples of her cheeks. "In case you forgot already," she spoke, watching Kinsey in the mirror's reflection, "it's an important day for me and my fiancé." That wasn't to mention their families or the hundreds of people they had invited to celebrate with them in Hogsmeade. There was no excuse for her not to look perfect, for them and for Riley.

"Maybe you don't care if you're mistaken for the Grey Lady, but that sort of thing isn't done in my world," Priscilla continued, recalling the one time when she and Kinsey had had a conversation about what her family was like. She was under pressure—a lot of it—to exceed all expectations.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Kinsey had hoped that Priscilla wouldn't say anything back, that she could finish what she was doing and leave without having to deal with any response, but of course she wasn't that lucky. Priscilla started to talk about how most people were asleep and she couldn't get into other common rooms, then saying that she knew they weren't friends but that she wanted Kinsey's opinion. Stubborn as it may be, Kinsey didn't want to give her opinion. She didn't want to do anything to help Priscilla. She didn't say anything, but Priscilla pulled out the blush anyway, applying it to her face and Kinsey looked away from her. 

Her jaw clenched, body tensing when Priscilla started to talk about how today was an important day for her and her fiance. Riley. Even without saying his name, just the mention of him made Kinsey's heart ache. She hadn't seen Riley, much less talked to him, since the Valentine's Day party last week. That was obviously evidence of his answer, that he wasn't choosing her, but having Priscilla talk about it made her sick. "I couldn't care less what days are important to you or your fiance," she retorted, a hard edge to her voice. Kinsey hated this. Hated the idea that in just a few months Riley would be marrying Priscilla. Hated that she already lost him to the other girl. 

She rolled her eyes when Priscilla talked about Kinsey not caring what she looked like, commenting about how that wouldn't be done in her world. "Oh, so you'd rather look like a clown instead?" Kinsey commented rudely. She honestly couldn't care less anymore. She'd rather wear not enough makeup than too much. Rather have flaws that showed instead of having to look perfect for everything. She'd rather marry someone she loved that someone her parents arranged for her. Ugh, she needed to stop thinking like this. It would just hurt worse. 

@priscilla

[Deleted]

While she claimed that she couldn't care less about what days were important to her or her fiancé, it was obvious to Priscilla by the fact that Kinsey had responded so vehemently that she must have still cared some. It had to hurt that she hadn't been invited to the very party for which Priscilla was preparing herself, but there wasn't anything that she could do about it. Well, maybe she could have theoretically invited her—since she was the bride-to-be—but she didn't care enough to go the extra mile for the older girl. The rejected offer of makeup had been enough.

"Oh, so you'd rather look like a clown instead?" Kinsey countered her. Priscilla knew that it was an insult, but she also recognized that she might have been a bit too heavy-handed when she'd applied the blush. Grabbing another brush, she quickly went to the task of blending it into the rest of her skin so that it wasn't so obvious.

"There," Priscilla said resolutely. "Is that better?" Even without having blended it, at least her skin didn't look as pasty as Kinsey's did.

"Do you honestly think that I can be bothered to do my makeup and hair like this every day?" she wondered of Kinsey. Of course she wore makeup on the daily—and more than a lot of the other girls, especially in Ravenclaw—but, again, she was going to a party. Her party.

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Blessedly, the two seemed to have fallen into a silence. Kinsey didn't care if it was uncomfortable or not, she just didn't want to have to deal with Priscilla. She already felt on edge after all her nightmares, the fact that today was Riley's engagement party just made everything worse. Granted, that was her fault for ruining everything with him last week at the Valentine's Dance, but Kinsey was trying hard not to think of that. Thinking of that night would just make the day harder for her. 

Kinsey rolled her eyes, glancing at the girl when she asked if her makeup was better after having blended it. "Not really," Kinsey muttered. She didn't understand why people tried to use makeup to make themselves look "perfect". Didn't they realize that makeup caused as many problems as it fixed. Getting close to someone wearing lots of makeup showed you everything. It was one think to use it to remove black circles or to cover up a zit once in a while, but most girls went overboard with it, in Kinsey's opinion. 

She gave a disbelieving laugh when Priscilla continued to question her. Couldn't she tell that Kinsey didn't care? That Kinsey didn't want to be talking to her? "I don't know. I don't pay enough attention to your or your face and hair to know. I have more important things to do with my life than stare at people who only care about appearances," she snapped. Kinsey wouldn't be surprised if Priscilla was the type to apply lots of makeup daily, even if she did deny it now. 

@priscilla

[Deleted]

Priscilla was beginning to give up any hope of getting a straight answer from the older girl. She heard Kinsey mutter that her makeup didn't look any better than it had after she'd blended it, but nowhere had her fellow Ravenclaw bothered to specify what the issue with it was. Was it still too heavy? Too red? Too pink? Had she blended it too much? At least Lydia would have been happy to advise her—and probably give her a few pointers about the Fudges' expectations of her.

Meanwhile, Kinsey continued to maintain that it wasn't her business. "I don't know," she said. "I don't pay enough attention to your or your face and hair to know. I have more important things to do with my life than stare at people who only care about appearances."

Appearances weren't the only thing Priscilla cared about, but they made up a considerable percentage of what she was focused on at the moment. Even with her wedding date's having been moved up to June, she had been able to plan around the party so that she wouldn't have to think a bit about her schoolwork over the course of the day. Even if she was going to be getting married off and wouldn't really need them for a job, she wanted to be able to say that she had done well on her OWLs nonetheless.

"Seriously?" Priscilla giggled. "If you didn't keep running away from me as though I'd caught dragon pox," she said with an eye roll, "then maybe you'd have seen my face before." She'd be all over the newspaper after the party, anyway. "I'm not easy to forget, you know."

@kinsey

[Deleted]

Priscilla seemed to think that this was all a joke, or that she was sharing a laugh with a friend and Kinsey didn't get it. Why did Priscilla think that she'd want to help her at all? Why did she think that Kinsey cared what her face or her hair looked like? Did she care what other people (other than herself) looked like? Maybe Kinsey was in more of a grouchy mood because of her nightmares, but she really just wasn't up for this right now. 

When Priscilla started giggling, Kinsey rolled her eyes, her frustration starting to bubble out of her like magma out of a volcano. "I'm not running away from you, Priscilla. I just don't care about you enough to bother looking at your face or your hair or paying attention enough to tell you what you have to fix. It's your face. Look at it in the mirror that's right in front of you and do whatever the heck you want to with it. I have my own things going on in my life and, quite frankly, looking at you makes me feel sick to my stomach. If you'll excuse me," Kinsey pulled away from the mirror, grabbing her small bag and starting to make her way to the bathroom door. She couldn't handle this. She was going back to bed. Or maybe she should go to her tree-house. That would probably be a good place for her to hide away today. 

@priscilla
(I can do one more with Kinsey after this one)

[Deleted]

"I'm not running away from you, Priscilla. I just don't care about you enough to bother looking at your face or your hair or paying attention enough to tell you what you have to fix. It's your face. Look at it in the mirror that's right in front of you and do whatever the heck you want to with it. I have my own things going on in my life and, quite frankly, looking at you makes me feel sick to my stomach."

For someone who hadn't ever seemed to have much of a spine, Kinsey was actually standing up for herself. What was funny to Priscilla, though, was that this was probably the one time in the history of their ever being aware of one another that she didn't need to be so angry with her.

"If you'll excuse me," Kinsey added as she grabbed her makeup and went to leave.

Priscilla, for what it was worth, was amused by how worked up Kinsey had become. "For Merlin's sake, Kinsey," she commented, nearly touching her face in her frustration but catching herself and pulling back her hands before she could damage her makeup. "Do you want to wake all of Hogwarts?" It was beginning to sound as though that was the intention. "You're acting like I've actually done something to hurt you." Last she checked, she hadn't ever laid a finger on—or pointed her wand at—her. "I'm only trying to be the bigger person. Helping the less fortunate and all of that."

@kinsey
OOC: Sounds good!

[Deleted]

Kinsey rolled her eyes at Priscilla's comment. She wasn't shouting or being loud at all, though her words were definitely vehement. She didn't want anyone else to stumble upon this moment and go tell Riley how she'd lost her cool at his fiance, not that he would care. He wanted this.

She gritted her teeth, glaring at the girl across the bathroom from her. "You ruined everything," she growled, fighting to not let the pain envelop her. She knew that even if Priscilla hadn't agreed to this Riley's parents would have found someone else and Riley would have followed their plans like an obedient puppy. It wasn't Priscilla's fault, but in this moment Kinsey didn't care. She blamed Priscilla, she blamed Riley, she blamed both of their parents. Now she needed to try and find a way to live with it and move on. Like that was possible. 

"Asking me to help you with your makeup is not helping the less fortunate, it's helping yourself. I don't want your help with anything but to leave me alone," Kinsey's words were quiet, but filled with venom. She hated this situation. Hated everything about today. She spun around and stormed out of the room without a second glance, leaving the common room and heading down to the kitchens. She needed to be alone. 

@priscilla
(Kinsey out! You can end)