peer pressure | nessa

[Nathaniel David Forrester]

now you see me.

first week of term, 2025

THE SUMMER HAD BEEN WILDER THAN NATE HAD ever anticipated. From quarantine, to the Blishwick's to Claudia. It was perhaps even more insane than the summer before, when Nate had almost been arrested. Just for the sheer unpredictability of it all. But, eventually, reality returned and Nate had to return to Hogwarts. Though, this time, without his probationary status. The owl had come to the Blishwick's a week before term started. The parchment crisp and the words formal and firm. His probation had been lifted, but they would be 'keeping a close eye' on his 'improvements'. Nothing had changed.

Sleepwalking through the Sorting ceremony, Nate barely touched his food. Nessa hadn't sat with him on the train. Something about space, which he'd known the meaning behind. She was angry with him. He'd barely even seen her over the summer, leaving her to the prissy little hands of Jimmie, who had obviously poured snakes in her ears. Girl was a Gryffindor with a Slytherin heart, Nate thought grimly. He hadn't anticipated Nessa turning on him. Especially not at the very beginning of his Seventh year. The most important year of life, arguably. He needed Nessa.

So, he stuffed his robe pockets with bread rolls and biscuits and left the moment it was unnoticeable. When the professors had all taken their seats and everybody was laying deep in to their food, like starving animals. It made Nate feel sick. He slipped out of the Great Hall and chewed roughly on one of his pilfered rolls as he waited, leaning against the neighbouring wall as he watched people begin to filter out. He was looking for one person. The only thing stopping him from pulling her from the Feast was the idea of making a scene. She'd definitely punch him.

Jiggling his leg restlessly, Nate had almost given up when she came out on the back draft of a crowd of Slytherin's. Her blonde hair halfway pulled from her face, robes a little ill-fitting so that they dragged at the ankles. The beauty of secondhand. Nate jogged up to catch her, throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling Nessa in to his side roughly. "If you scream I'll tell everybody you piss the bed." He joked, leaning in to whisper in her ear with a grin. "I've got something to show you." He muttered, pulling his arm from her shoulders but reaching down to grab the sleeve of her robes in case she tried to run without his noticing. "Elf-brain if you don't come..." He sang, grinning innocently. 

nessa abigael byrne

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[nessa abigael byrne]

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Avoiding Nate for the last several days and the entirety of the train ride had been almost impossible. She was pissed at him, like usual, and the days leading up to the return back to Hogwarts had reminded her of how he had treated her on the ride at the end of the spring term. It wasn’t anything other than that, but it was a mood and she couldn’t just shake it because it would only make her angrier at him. Every bit of her current dislike of him was based around that, and from what she could tell, he seemed to think it was something else.

Maybe it had to do with her being chummier with Blishwick at the end of break. Nessa had found it beyond gross that he shagged Lulu, of all people, on Jimmie’s bed and then acted like nothing had happened. And it was in the middle of a fancy adult party! They were supposed to be putting on their best faces, and she knew he was going to fuck up somewhere along the way. If it hadn’t been the sexcapade, he would have pilfered as many people’s pockets as possible. He didn’t know when to stop and was constantly trying to push the limits. He was lucky big Jim Blishwick hadn’t learned about that, because that probably would have been a one way ticket for both of them back to the orphanage. Their host may have been the closest thing to an actual love doctor, but he didn’t strike Nessa as forgiving for things like that, especially if his reputation was tarnished from it. It was possible she understood him wrong, but that was the impression she got, at least.

So yeah, maybe the reason she was ticked off had to do with more than the events of the previous train ride. She was definitely going to correct him if he thought she was suddenly best friends with Jimmie, because she wasn’t. Nessa liked to think that they had reached an equal level of tolerance for one another, among a mutual dislike for Nate as of late. But that was it.

With the train ride out of the way and the sorting ceremony and dinner done, Nessa had managed to avoid seeing Nate and thought she’d get at least one more night away from him before dealing with his antics again. While she didn’t like the first night back in the dorms because there was always a lot of useless gossip she didn’t care for, she was sure it would be better than lounging in the common room and having to tell Nate to fuck off every couple of minutes. He’d bug her on purpose too.

Thinking she was in the clear, she held out a little longer than the rest of the Slytherins and was one of the last to leave the Great Hall. She wasn’t trying to be stealthy or anything as she attempted to cross the entrance hall and down towards the dungeons, but she also wasn’t lollygagging there either. When a hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her backwards, she almost yelled, finding it impossible to turn around and swing at the assailant. Nate’s voice danced its way into her ear as he said he had something to show her. Then he took hold of her sleeve and started pulling her away from the crowd, and for a moment Nessa almost fought back, but ended up relenting. “Whatever it is, hurry the fuck up. I’m tired.”

Nathaniel David Forrester ● 586 ● Monstrance Clock by Ghost

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[Nathaniel David Forrester]

now you see me.

first week of term, 2025

THE INITIAL REACTION WAS, OF COURSE, unpleasant. Just as Nate had expected, which was why he'd come with a prepared response. Though he'd only been joking, Nate knew he'd have to catch her unawares. If he'd waited until they'd gotten to the common room she'd have met him with her usual swearing vitriol. It was a game he'd played with Nessa more times than he could count. He hadn't been in the mood that night, eager to bury the hatchet before classes started and he neglected her once again.

"Cheer up, shit-head!" He retorted with sarcastic enthusiasm. "You might like it." And then he dragged her quite determinedly through the hallway to a door hidden by a large, sweeping curtain. "Duck low, and if any prefects find us, you know the drill." And then the cold air bit their exposed faces. The stairs slick and damp as night fell in earnest. Luckily, the first day of term was busy enough that their absence wouldn't be too conspicuous. As long as they were back before lights out, Nate reckoned it'd be a swimming success. Hand slipping down to envelop her wrist, Nate pulled them across the grass to a small copse of trees leaning precarious against a sheer mountainous drop.

"Race you to the edge," He told her brusquely, letting go of her hand before he broke out in a to sprint. If she didn't follow it would be a lonely trek back to the stairs, paired with her possible discovery. At least if they were caught together she could blame his terrible influence. Once they were shielded by the tree line, the only thing ahead the drop down towards the Great Lake, Nate slowed down. "I've seen you bolt from the offy's quicker." Nate teased her, his face uncharacteristically flushed and bright.

High up and this close to the lake it was windy, but Nate didn't mind as he led them down towards its edge. Feet skidding. He anticipated Nessa's sharp distaste for the adventure, but he didn't feel like grovelling in front of a group of snivelling first years in the dungeons. Pulling a biscuit from his pocket he bit it and handed Nessa a small chocolate frog he'd pilfered from the train. "Don't act so pleased." He deadpanned, catching her face from his peripheral. "I thought you were annoyed I was neglecting you, or whatever." He sniffed, smirking at her cruelly as the trees thinned and the riverbank came in to view, glimmering gently as the moon rose.  

nessa abigael byrne

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[nessa abigael byrne]

▲

Why would she ever like something that only Nate wanted to do? While she always ended up going with the flow and following him into whatever folly he had for the day, there were often times where she knew better. Unfortunately tonight it seemed like Nate wasn’t completely wrong in wanting to escape the crowds. It would have been infinitely better if she could have dropped lazily into her bed, but the Slytherins would be annoyingly loud for hours yet. And the worst the Prefects and professors could do to them for sneaking off the first night? Detention. Which they had both done dozens of times. Nessa was almost positive that she had a few that were rolling over into this term anyways. She wasn’t exactly scared of adding a few more check marks to her file. Eventually the school would let up, since it would end up being a lost cause. They had been warned for years by the orphanage, meetings she had been privy too.

So Nessa let him drag her away from the crowded Great Hall without much of a fight. Their escape wasn’t anything too elaborate, though she hoped Nate had a way to get back in if they decided to creep back into the castle stealthily. The doors weren’t always left open, unfortunately, and she preferred being caught than to sleep outside. The descent onto the grounds wasn’t marred by much difficulty either, though Nate eventually asked her to run towards the closest grove of trees, an outcrop near the lake. “I told you already, I’m tired,” she repeated, though annoyed by the fact that she had to. Running across the castle grounds hadn’t been on her checklist for the day. If she wanted to run willingly, she would have done so. Nate could drag her away from whatever he pleased, but he wasn’t getting her to run.

Down the steep incline they went, Nessa picking up her pace slightly so that the ground didn’t move out from underneath her while she descended it. There were better ways to get to the lake than this. And it wasn’t like anyone could see them from the castle once they were a hundred meters from it anyways. She took the offered chocolate frog when he held it out to her, looking down at it before returning her gaze to him. “How romantic,” she said dryly, before continuing, “I’m always annoyed with you. You’re no Sherlock Holmes if you’re just figuring that out, Nate.” She wasn’t going to spell it out for him, though this seemed like it was maybe a step towards self-awareness of his actions. At the same time, Nessa wasn’t going to hold her breath over a one-time thing.

Nathaniel David Forrester ● 454 ● Catnip Trip by Falcon Funk

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0