Embrace your weirdness ¦ Lulu

[Arlo Bletchley]

Some Friday Evening; Late October 2025



Arlo had had a rough day. His essay on Hyde's Magical Theory hadn't gotten as high a grade he had hoped, and Quidditch practice for the evening had been cancelled. Outwardly he had been irritated about the latter, and had voiced his concerns. Over half the team were out with some sort of cold or Flu as a result in the change of weather October had brought, he couldn't really begrudge them being sick, and in reality an evening off was likely what he needed. He had been burning the candle at both ends a little too much recently; pushing himself both academically and on the pitch he had left very little room for down time. For him to breathe.

So that was what he had done this evening.

Ever since sometime three years ago, Arlo's safe space had become the broom shed. Anyone who was serious about their flying never left their broom here out of fear of damage between games, so only the Flying Professor was ever in here hauling the battered old school brooms in and out for the first years flying lessons. Plus that was only ever in the day time, Arlo had the peace he craved in the evenings. Once upon a time he had just plonked himself on the floor to read his comic, or unwind with his video games, but as the years had moved on he had gotten better with spells. Now able to shrink a plush armchair down to miniscule size and push it in is backpack alongside his comic books, flask of coffee and array of snacks, he enjoyed his time away from everything in comfort. As well as that, he had figured out how to get the small log burner in the corner going again, and make it smokeless, drawing no attention to his getaway.

As he perched on his arm chair, long legs folded under him awkwardly, he turned another page of his comic, wondering how Peter Parker would get away with his latest problem. Reaching for his coffee cup he glanced towards the fire beside him and breathed a sigh of relief. He had missed this time to himself.


lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

The dewey grass beneath Lulu's feet reminded her how quickly winter was approaching. But first, her solar return around the sun. The purple haired snake would officially be seventeen in a week. Sixth year was going by fast, and admittedly, the year was a complete blur. She felt like the year was slipping passed her fingertips. Classes were getting harder and quidditch practice more strenuous since Addy took over power of Captaincy. The seventh year really knew how to push them, but Lulu liked the feeling like they would win the house cup. She never cared about that until this year when it seemed more attainable.

Tonight was an off night for the Slytherin team, which meant Lulu had a lot of extra steam she needed to burn off.  Shortly after dinner, she snuck over to the pitch to get a night ride in. She knew students weren't permitted to fly at night but it never stopped her in the past.

Lulu typically didn't leave her broom in the shed, but she allowed a friend to use it with the agreement they would tuck the broom away somewhere in there. Since Lulu's father made brooms professionally, it wasn't something she had a materialistic attachment to, though her father wished she'd take better care of her things. 

As her hand reached for the door of the shed, she pushed the squeaky door open with a whine. Lulu's face was immediately greeted with warm, cozy air, and the inviting smell of coffee. Well, coffee was the last thing she needed in that moment but the smell always put her in a good mood. Her icy blue eyes fell to the floor with a laugh, she wasn't expecting to see Arlo, a Gryffindor Chaser - not to mention complete heart throb - tucked away in the corner of the old shed.

Lulu laughed out loud at the sight and stepped inside, closing the door behind her instantly. "Heeeey." she greeted in a sing song voice, eyes widening excitedly. Lulu cocked her head to the side with a quizzical look, "What are you doing?" she asked curiously, eyebrows threading at the center of her forehead. It was an honest question. She didn't notice the comic book yet or else she'd completely lose her shit.

Arlo Bletchley

[Arlo Bletchley]

Arlo had been just getting to the bottom of Peter Parker's issues when the door of the broom shed flew open and a gush of crisp autumn air ran in. At first, he didn't have a very clear view on the door; he had purposely put his little set up in the corner away from the door so he was hidden in case anyone did creep in. For a moment he froze in his place. With a bit of luck it was just a genuine gust of wind that had opened the door and it would slam shut again in five minutes. As he heard someone begin to move about, he remained paused in place, waiting for them to get what they wanted and leave.

Except they didn't.

Lulu Blishwick. That little weirdo from Slytherin. They had played each other in Quidditch, he guessed it wasn't so surprising she was here in the broom shed, and yet it still made him jumpy.

"Uhhhhhh" He had been caught. Caught out in his safe place. He had no idea what to say, nor did he know quite what to do, now that he was faced with an intruder. Especially an intruder of the Lulu Blishwick standard. As the cogs in his brain started to finally turn again he processed what was happening. His cheeks reddened and he quickly moved to stuff the comic down the edge of the arm chair cushion; like he needed Lulu to catch him with that. "Nothing. I'm not doing anything" Totally suspicious but right now is brain was a little too frazzled to actually compute things properly

No, instead he went on the defensive. "What do you want?!" Sitting up a little straighter, he shifted in his chair to stretch up to his full height in an attempt to come across as stronger than he currently was. He really didn't need anyone figuring out his little secret, never mind Lulu.

lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

Her eyes darted from his face, to whatever he stuck in the side of the arm chair, and returned to his face again. Crossing her arms across her chest, “You look guilty.” She observed with slits for eyes. ”I know a guilty face when I see one.” she stated, her mouth making a tiny smile as she stepped toward him closer. The irritation was seeping out of him just by her presence.

Lulu cocked her head to the side, trying read his face and body language. Arlo looked frazzled. Lulu loved catching people off guard, it made her feel like she had power over people, even if it were minuscule. She took a breath in, eyes locking onto Arlos face to make him nervous. “Ya sneaking away to have a wank to a dirty mag in the broom shed?” She asked seriously, more to make him defensive in his current state. She held a straight face. 

The purple haired snake held her breath when he spat out asking what she wanted. She tossed her hair over her shoulder with sass, ”Pretty sure this is the broom shed the last time I checked, mate. I’m here for my bloody broom.” she told him quickly with a huff. Her eyes finally spotted where her Puff friend hid the broom for her, so she reached for it.

Arlo Bletchley

[Arlo Bletchley]

Arlo immediately went on the defence, of course he looked guilty. He was guilty. As she stepped closer to him, his large stance shrunk somewhat. It was ridiculous really, Lulu was so small compared to him, and yet she was the intimidating one in the situation. Far too close to his secret for him to be any way comfortable. Her sly smile didn't make him feel any better, if anything it put him even more on edge.



Her next accusation both frazzled him even more and made him break out in a laugh. A wank? Wow. Unbelievable. His eyes widened, he scoffed out another laugh, despite her serious face. "Uh no." Though he supposed maybe that would be an easier cover up. Maybe he was waiting for someone. Maybe he could carry that on for a bit. With another hearty laugh he rolled his eyes, trying to play it cool despite still shifting in the chair to try shove his Comic book further down the side of the cushions. "I don't need to sneak off for that." Which was true, there was plenty of girls back in the castle for him to fool around with. Sneaking off for a wank with a dirty magazine wasn't really a thing he did. He did his best to throw her off, even if it was a lame attempt. 


Moving in the chair again, still highly suspicious; her honest, logical answer had thrown him off slightly. His eyes narrowed as she pulled out the broom from it's hiding spot.



"Oh." Eyes fixed down for a minute on the broom, he tried to think of how else this would go. Eventually he looked up to her again and studied her face. "Alright well you're done. You got your broom, now clear off" Although he was still trying to be serious and put her off, the ghost of a smirk floated on his features. He didn't need her around anymore, even if he was watching her quite intently for now, studying her features through his intense green eyes. She hadn't really seen her this close up before.

lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

Lulu chuckled and nodded knowingly when Arlo said that he didn’t need to sneak away for a wank. Instead she shot him another funny look.

Arlo was acting strange. She didn’t know him in the slightest, but he was acting like he was hiding something. The way he dismissed her and told her to leave after she had the broom in her grip made her want to do the opposite. Lulu didn’t like his attitude, but hell, he was nice to look at. Huffing out a puff of air, “Excuse yoou.” she stated dramatically with an eye roll. ”You aren’t the boss of me, nor do you own this space.” she told him in a bratty tone, blinking at him a few times to read his expression. Lulu clutched the broom in her hands, eyes not leaving Arlo as she froze, deciding what to do next…

Lulu suddenly dropped the broom on the ground on the ground to distract him, before lunging toward the boy with undeniable swiftness as her fingers reached to dig for what he shoved in the side of the chair.

Her fingers made contact with something and she tugged, hard. A glossy comic book fell open onto the ground, spine open. Spider-Man was printed in bright red as the title and her eyes widened so much, he’d maybe think she did find his dirty mag.

Her body jolted at the sight, ”YOO!! Mootha fookin Spider-Man!? I love Spider-Man!!” she exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down around it.

Arlo Bletchley

[Arlo Bletchley]

Not noticing her funny look, Arlo continued watching her pointedly. Now all he could do was wait for her to clear off apparently. Giving a small huff, he crossed his arms defensively across his chest. Waiting.

Except that was his first mistake.

When Lulu purposely dropped her broom, not only did his eyes shoot to it totally distracted (his second mistake), but now he didn't even have his arms there as a defence. As the small figure darted forward and tugged at the comic book in one swift moment, Arlo was half a beat behind her movements and his arms dropped just as her lilac hair flashed away from him.

Eyes wide, he realised he had lost out. She had the upper hand. She had the comic book. Fuck. Pushing his lips together, he attempted to play it casually, but there was still some panic in his green eyes and some crimson was now slowly creeping into his cheeks. Lurching forward to meet her, but not touching her he held his right palm out. "Very funny Lulu. Now give it back!"

But then she had time to appraise her spoils, his eyes widened even more and his cheeks began to burn. "I'm not kidding Lulu, give it back!" there was an attempt to force some authority into his voice, but the more he went on the slight bit more panicked it became. She was making fun of him. She had to be. Spiderman, while yes his favourite, was one of the dorkiest. Nobody would freely admit to liking it like she had. Right? He was internally too panicked to take in the fact that she was in fact jumping around quite excitedly and likely not actually making fun of him, but now wasn't the time to make his anxiety ridden mind try be logical. Not that he had much of a logical side to his brain anyway. No, Arlo Bletchley was all academic smarts, not much common sense at all.

Scowling at her again, he looked down to her pointedly again, but now for a different reason. Eventually admitting in a more quiet and defeated tone "Give it back, please Lulu" Like a small child he was close to begging, absolutely mortified and terrified she was going to start making fun of him. 

lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

The confused look on Arlo’s face as the broom hit the floor was cute but also very comical to the snake. A devilish grin broke out at the corners of her lips, eyes falling on him after the the comic book hit the floor. It was hard to hide her excitement since she hadn’t seen a comic book while at school. Usually she borrowed them from her younger brothers at home, or found them online.

Immediately, excitement welled up inside her. “I always go back and forth between Spider-Man and Batman. But when ya think about it, Batman is more of a rich bloke with fancy toys, rather than a superhero so Spider-Man is my fave...” she shared quickly, unable to spit the words out fast enough.

Her head cocked to the side as she started to digest his embarrassment. The redness in his cheeks and ears, his defeated tone. Lulu wasn’t a bully, so when she noticed someone getting uncomfortable she’d step back. She didn’t know Arlo, other than playing him on the pitch, but she certainly didn’t want to upset him.

Lulu's expression fell, excitement simmering within her as Arlo ended with a ‘please Lulu’. The tone of his voice almost made her feel bad. Her icy saucers fell on the Lion, ”Uhhh. Are you okay?” she asked slowly with a frown, eyebrows threading at the center of her forehead out of confusion this time. She lunged down to pick up the comic book off the ground, wiping her quidditch hoodie sleeve on it to remove any dirt it may had acquired from the floor, smoothing out the folded corners. She extended it out to him as she forced an awkward smile.

Arlo Bletchley

[Arlo Bletchley]

Lulu started rattling off how she preferred one Hero over another, something in Arlo's stomach tightened. Was she...did she actually like this stuff? Definitely not. She was more likely actually just pretending. Maybe to lure him into a false sense of security before laughing at him over it all. Arlo made it his business to know the people in his year, even if he wasn't friends with them. He knew Lulu was an utter weirdo and that sounded like something she would do.

Lurching forward again he averted his gaze to avoid her icy stare and plucked the magazine back from her in one swift movement. "Thanks." With a mumble he moved to turn his back to her, now trying to cover his tracks and cover his mortification from her. He didn't need another reason for her to mock him. As he faced away from her, he reached for his backpack and began to hastily pack everything away; including the untouched stack of comics that lay to the side that she hadn't noticed. "I'm fine." He definitely wasn't. But he didn't know her well enough to elaborate.

Eventually, he turned back to her; she was still there, watching him with unease.

It made him uneasy in return.

After a moment he raised his gaze again to look the snake in the eye. Still a faint tinge of crimson in his cheeks, his eyes were still as sad and uncomfortable as he looked down at her. "Don't tell anyone please."

lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

Lulu stood still as she observed Arlo’s back as he started to shove his belongings into his backpack. Now she noticed the stack of comics but she wasn’t going to say anything about it. That alone made her want to explode. Lulu wasn’t the type to hold anything back and she hated not being authentic to herself.

The pained expression on his face made Lulu wish she could fix it, which was a weird feeling, considering she didn’t even know him like that. He didn’t look “fine” to her. She didn’t like when people felt intimidated by her. Well, not unless if she was trying to do it.

Her expression softened, ”Tell anyone about what?” she asked dimly with a slightly confused expression. It didn’t occur to her what he was self conscious about. Lulu didn't get embarrassed often. Plus, she thought comic books were freakin cool.

Arlo Bletchley

[Arlo Bletchley]

Still eyeing him, he let his face crumple to show his confusion. She didn't think this was weird? Comic books and superheros were so uncool. Very much contra to the image he had carefully shaped for himself in the last few years. Did she not understand that he didn't really need it getting out that in his downtime he hid away reading stupid comic books like some big nerd? And that was before she even found out about the obsessive video games hidden in the old cupboard behind the armchair. Merlin if she found out about those, he had a feeling she'd never leave.

When his brows furrowed, he let out a slight sigh of annoyance, at the idea that he had to actually explain himself moreso. With it, his cheeks darkened just slightly again.

"About this. The fact I hide and read comic books. The fact I read them at all. They're not cool. They're dorky as fuck. I'm not being labelled a big nerd like that." Scowling her dipped down to reach for the strap of his backpack, then reached out for his cup of coffee as well, the smell drifting up and out towards Lulu once again, strong like a slap in the face.

"Look, it doesn't matter. Sorry I was an ass, just don't tell anyone you saw me today." Staring at her, with a strange sense of longing, something at the back of his mind wondered if in fact Spiderman was her favourite like his was. She seemed to know all about him anyway, part of his brain was intrigued, but then the mortified part outweighed it. "Just shut up about it" perhaps he was saying that to his brain moreso than to her. With another quiet sigh, he adjusted the straps of his backpack and took another slow sip of his coffee, waiting for his words to sink in.

"Okay, Lulu?" Eventually he asked her gently, for some sort of confirmation they had some sort of understanding. His visage had softened at least as he looked down to her, almost pleading with her again. Nearly going as far as to offer her the ghost of a smile again.

lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

Lulu’s jaw clenched when Arlo looked at her, explaining how he didn’t want anyone knowing about him reading comic books. That sounded silly to her, but judging by the look on his face, and the tone of his voice… He was being dead serious.

Their eye contact caused her stomach to drop to the floor. She didn’t know why, but his discomfort made her feel uneasy. Lulu felt bad for crashing his reading session.

Her expression faltered, ”It’s not that big of a deal.” she told him, threading her eyebrows together. ”People don’t care as much as you think.” she attempted to assure him but she could tell he didn’t want to hear it. He was already finished shoving his belongings into his backpack with that red hue creeping back onto his cheeks and ears.

After he plead with Lulu, her jaw tightened before loosening to answer his ‘Okay, Lulu?’. After a beat, a sigh passed her lips as she feigned nonchalance, matching his gaze with her icy saucers. ”Yeah, sure. Whatever, Peter Parker..” she told him with a straight face before crouching down to pick up the broom she had thrown on the ground to distract him. A part of her enjoyed the idea of knowing she had blackmail against the lion. She was a proud snake after all.

Arlo Bletchley

[Arlo Bletchley]

All Arlo could do was simply stand and take Lulu in. So much smaller than him, and yet in this moment so much stronger and more sure of herself. Watching her even more closely now, his top teeth came down over his bottom lip, one of his nervous ticks. He didn't say anything. He didn't really know what to say, if he needed to say anything at all.

He should have hitched up the strap of his backpack, and turned away, making his exit then and there. But he didn't. For some unknown reason something in him wanted to stay; to linger here. Something wouldn't make his legs start to carry himself away. He hesitated, eyes latched on to her face instead. When Lulu went as far as calling him Peter Parker, something in his stomach jerked. Instantly he wasn't sure how it made him feel, but he didn't think he hated it anyway. The corners of his mouth twitched, threatening to smile, but instead he just clamped his upper jaw down some more.

After that he definitely should have left, and yet he didn't. His legs just wouldn't start moving. He stood there, entranced by the smaller snake. There was something so intriguing about her, even if he didn't like to admit it. When Lulu's head dipped to pick up the broom she had ditched as part of her planned distraction, Arlo realised he had been staring at her. The pinkness in his cheeks that had dissipated, began to creep back in bit by bit.

"Uhh" Biting down on his bottom lip again, he tried to shake himself out of wherever his mind had drifted to.

lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

Lulu stared back at Arlo, who seemed to be caught in a moment. The silence between them put a static in the air. There was something about how Arlo was acting that told her he was holding back, but she wasn’t going to interogate him any further. He was uncomfortable enough by her being there. His ‘uh’ caused her to cock her head to the side with a curious tilt, nodding at him silently.

Looping the strap of the broom over her shoulder, she finally cracked a grin for him, her eyes flickering with amusement. The purple haired snake took a couple of steps away from the lion. ”Well...nice chat.” she said sarcastically with an awkward shrug. Lulu stepped toward the shed door and grabbed the handle, ”Enjoy your bean water, Arlo.” she gestured to the mug of coffee in his hands with a smile before pushing the door open and being greeted by the chill of the evening air.

Arlo Bletchley
 

[Arlo Bletchley]

Arlo really wasn't sure what had just happened. He didn't know what had caused his brain to say no to his legs and keep him there, staring at her. But deep down he was glad for it. He had allowed himself to be utterly captivated by Lulu and once his brain went into the slow movement of picking the details apart, she had already vacated the broom shed. He slowly nodded in response anyway in a total delayed reaction.

Exhaling a breath he wasn't aware he was actually even holding, he deflated somewhat.

He could breathe now.

In theory he could sit back down now and enjoy his comics, but in reality that would never happen. lulu anne blishwick had gotten his back up and now he was bristled, not to mention the coffee had finally hit his gut and gotten his heart racing. No, he'd have to go and maybe go for a run to try clear his head. Try and make sense of what that moment of madness of staring at Lulu had been. Shaking his head he poked his wand toward the wood burner and quickly extinguished the flames before tightening his grip on the strap of his back, downing the last of his coffee and quickly exiting the shed.

Fin.