Getting Away || Jessie & Lusie

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For the first time that Summer, Jessie had left the Svendsen residence by herself. She had been out and about in London with Simon's sister, as well as Simon himself, but never had she gone alone. It was a little daunting to traverse the city alone, in the muggle way. The small Georgia town she grew up in couldn't have prepared her for the daunting city of London. However, she had made it just fine. She finally arrived at the little cafe that she was meeting with Lusie at. She was quickly seated outside, which the Lioness was pleased with. It was too pretty to be cooped up indoors.

Jessie had been excited for the last day or so. She hadn't seen the princess since the semester had ended, and a catch-up was long past due for them. Especially since Lusie's recent attention in the media. She was eager to check on her friend, as well as to just spend time with someone other than Simon, his sister, or a book. In fact, she spent a lot of her time reading that summer. Not that minded too much, but she was excited to finally get out and about. 

@lusie

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Jessie had asked Lusie if she wanted to get together and Lusie had jumped at the opportunity. She wasn’t being forced into the same lockdown that she was before her night with Toby, but now she was forbidden from going into certain parts of the castle. As were any royal witches or wizards resizing at the palace. Anywhere where the muggle workers or visitors could potentially see her, if she were to suddenly develop symptoms, were forbidden access. She wished she could just stay in the apartment. But they wouldn’t let her leave Amedeo there since she had invited him to stay. God, she was too kind to that man.

She walked into the cafe and smiled when she saw her friend. “Jessie! How are you?” she asked, opening her arms to hug her friend when she saw her. Lusie was definitely a hugger. She was a Hufflepuff in a lot of ways, even if her recent behavior didn’t display it well.

@jessiemeadows

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Jessie's little heart swelled when she finally spotted Lusie. She eagerly stood to return her friend's embrace, holding on for a moment or two longer than necessary. As the two separated and took their seats, Jessie made sure to properly examine her friend. She seemed good, despite the tabloids printing stories about her wild night. She gave her friend a kind smile, "I'm good, honestly. I was nervous to stay with Simon and Sofia, but it's turned out to be kind of fun," she admitted. She was tempted to admit her little crush to Lusie, but she decided it could wait until after she confirmed that Lusie was well. "Enough about me though, how are you? I saw some stuff in the tabloids... I wanted to check on you," she said, elbows propped against the table. Lusie was a princess after all, and her title drew a lot of attention. Living a normal teenage life was a little more complicated for the Hufflepuff. Though her friend did handle it all superbly, it didn't hurt to give a listening ear.

@lusie

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Jessie hugged Lusie back before she sat down and joined her for their coffee date. She said that she was doing well living with Simon and Sofia and that it had turned out to be kind of fun. She liked Sofia of course, but she couldn’t say that she knew Simon very well. She knew that he was friends with Toby’s sister, but that was about the extent of her knowledge regarding the Gryffindor boy. “I’m glad it’s working for you. You can always come and stay with me if you need a break, though.” she added, just off the top of her head and kind of for selfish reasons. She didn’t like living there with Amedeo. Plus, she just wanted to extend the offer to her friend.

Then Jessie asked about her, saying that she had seen a bit of the news in the tabloids and that she wanted to check on her. Lusie smiled and nodded. She had been getting a lot of that lately, though she knew Jessie meant well. Lusie didn’t really feel like she needed to be checked on. “Yeah, everyone’s making a really big deal about that. It was just a night out.” she shrugged and brushed her hair back with her hand, trying to play it off. It was out of character for her, but she had enjoyed it, so maybe it wouldn’t be out of character for long. What was more exciting was the fact that she had spent the night with Toby, even if nothing ended up happening.

@jessiemeadows

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Jessie perked up when Lusie invited her to come stay with her if she needed a break. She would enjoy that immensely. As fun as it was in the mansion, a night or two away sounded like a dream. Claudia had been hanging around lately, and a bit of jealousy had infiltrated her little bubble. Since they didn't get to have any sleepovers at Hogwarts, being in different houses and all, Jessie decided then and there that she would come stay with Lusie at some point. "Actually, I would love that. Maybe a girl's weekend, yeah?" she replied, giving Lusie a bright smile. Maybe she could finally rant about her silly crush with someone at length. But she'd have to tell her Lusie first.

She watched Lusie carefully as she spoke, noticing as Lusie seemed indifferent. Jessie nodded, relieved to know that is hadn't bothered her friend too much. Though Jessie didn't go out much, she didn't judge anyone who did. It just wasn't her scene. She was about to respond as their waiter came to take their order. Jessie ordered a small cappuccino, and then waited for Lusie to order before continuing. "Well, people will forget about it soon. God forbid you get to have fun," she said, a little upset for the sake of her friend. The lioness couldn't imagine living under such scrutiny. Jessie's friend-tuition was telling her that a change of subject was needed. "So, I've had a small revelation," she announced, tucking her hair behind her ears. For some reason she felt like she was about to reveal her deepest, darkest secret. "I think I have feelings for Simon," she said quickly, rushing the words out. She felt a pink tinge hit her cheeks. Merlin, could she be anymore cliche?

simon sixten svendsen

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Jessie seemed excited at Lusie’s offer to stay over at her castle and asked if she could stay a weekend, Lusie nodded. “Yeah! That sounds great! It would be really nice to have someone other than my brother and Amedeo to talk to.” her mom was around a bit too, but she had duties to tend to and spent most of her day in her office or out and about in London. She also preferred to stay in her little house out in the country and often was there on weekends. Jessie seemed to agree with her, saying that people would forget about it and laughed about her not being able to have fun. Lusie had a feeling that Jessie was just saying so to agree with her, but nonetheless it was appreciated. “I don’t care if people forget about it, really. Will’s been in the tabloids several times and people still respect him. I don’t see why I should be any different. I don’t want to have to give up having a relatively normal experience just because I was born into the royal family. It’s not like I had much of a choice in that…” she didn’t mean to seem ungrateful. She loved her family and the amazing opportunities that it gave her to be a part of it. But she was also 17. And she had whims and urges and desires.

And then Jessie dropped the bomb. One Lusie couldn’t say that she was very surprised by. She had a feeling that this was coming, and she had spoken about it with Sofia when she heard that she had invited Jessie to stay the summer. “What brought this on?” she asked as the waitress brought over her tea. Lusie didn’t know Simon well, she knew vague things about him as she did about most students, especially in her year. But she did know that Toby’s sister, Claudia, and Simon, were known to have some sort of relationship. And she knew the type of guys that Claudia was normally interested in.

@jessiemeadows

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Jessie grinned at the princess, pleased to hear that she would like to have company, besides her brother and Amedeo. Though, she wasn't sure how things would get on with Amedeo. She hadn't spoken to the prince but a handful of times. It would be interesting, to say the least. Jessie nodded as Lusie spoke. She could never understand fully how the Hufflepuff felt, but she could lend a listening ear when she needed it. "Nor should you," she commented, giving her friend a sympathetic smile. The Lioness was all but cut off from her family, with the exception being a letter or two from her parents in a given month. She needn't worry what her sisters thought of her, they already thought the worst. She had given up years ago trying to gain their approval. It was a fruitless attempt.

Lusie's question was one that she had asked herself a multitude of times. She found herself trying to dig up some sort of answer, because she honestly hadn't found one yet. Jessie shrugged, cheeks still warm. "I don't know. We were at each other's throats for the longest time. I didn't even find him attractive until late... But then I started tutoring him, and we became friends. Then the flirting began, which he instigated, of course. But his flirting threw me for a tizzy," she said. "I started worrying about how I looked when around him, and hoping that whatever he said to me held some worth. It feels silly to be saying all of it aloud." Jessie stared at her drink for a moment, eyebrows knitted up in thought. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't feel the same way as I do. In fact, I know he doesn't. The racket that he and Claudia make at night..." she said, a bitter tone lacing her words. She needn't elaborate on the details of their late night escapades. Claudia was her boyfriend's sister after all.

@lusie

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Jessie seemed to be on her side at least enough to say that she was and Lusie appreciated that. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about judgement from her friend now that she was making some of these new choices and lifestyle changes. She knew Toby would always be on her side, by he was often aso by her side when she was making those decisions. Never before in her life did she think that she would spend the night in a boys bed before she married him, but suddenly all of that seemed so stuffy. Lusie didn’t want to be a stuffy little princess. Not anymore.

Jessie tried to explain why she liked Simon and all that Lusie could think was that she should tell her friend that it was a bad idea and that she would end up with her heart broken. But she was trying to be a good friend. “Yeah I know he and Claudia are… close.” she agreed with a nod. “Well, I mean, the heart wants what the heart wants. I can’t say I’m Simon Svendsen's biggest fan, but if you like him, just be careful?” Lusie could only see this getting messy. But she would love and support Jessie just as Jessie did for her.

@jessiemeadows

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Jessie grimaced as Lusie mentioned that Simon and Claudia were close. The brunette knew that without a doubt. They weren't entirely subtle around the mansion. She nodded as her friend said to be careful. She was trying, certainly. But something about Jessie and Simon's interactions urged her to be daring and bold. She wasn't ready to admit that to her friend though. "Yeah. I mean.. I definitely don't want to like him. Maybe it will just fade," she said, out of wishful thinking. It wasn't ideal. Having feelings for a boy that you lived with? It would bound to be a disaster. Jessie reminded herself of that often enough. But apparently logical thinking wasn't enough to get rid of whatever feelings she had for the guy. She appreciated Lusie's honesty. She would have said the same thing had their roles been reversed. "Enough about that though, I don't want to fret over it today," she said, giving a bashful smile to her friend. "Any big plans for the rest of the summer? It feels like we haven't talked in ages."

@lusie

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Jessie admitted that she didn’t want to like him and said that maybe it would fade. It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince Lusie. But Lusie wasn’t going to bring that up. Lusie didn’t want to press her, she knew that her telling her that she thought that it was a bad idea would just drive her further and further into Simon’s arms and she didn’t want to be responsible for that if it did end up happening. Then Jessie said that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore and Lusie nodded since she had just said about the same thing when it came to her night out last week. “Um, no I suppose not. I was supposed to be in Italy all summer but the world had other plans…” she had been studying Italian all year and was going to spend the summer in Italy, learning about the history and government and putting her language skills to good use. She hadn’t even begun to think about whether she’d spend the summer and next year adding yet another language to her repertoire.

@jessiemeadows