The Great Hall

[Drew Thirte3n]

After a long silence, Carrigan finished his half-crumbled cookie and childishly licked the crumbs from his lips. The sugar would hit his system in just a few minutes and make him indescribably tired, but until then, Carrigan laced his long fingers together once more and rested them on the damaged wooden table. He listened only to half of what Miranda said next-- a bad habit he had picked up and never put down again, and once she stopped speaking, Carrigan murmured a quiet, "Hmm?" and then started, his pupils dilating. "I'm sorry-- I drifted right there for a moment," he aplogized breathlessly, as usual.

He cast around for a new topic before Miranda could decide to be angry with him, and ended up on a question which had been bothering him all evening and most of the morning, now, too. "Back in the Library," he said warily, speaking slow in case Miranda felt the need to interrupt, "you kissed me. Why?" he paused. "Was it because I was... t-touching... you? Did you feel... obligated?" He was stuttering and drifting off again.

Carrigan remembered how he had tried touching the skin on her neck, how it had been warm and burned his cold hands slighty. That had been a very large mistake, he concluded firmly. To people like them, contact like that was intimate. It had been a large mistake, yes, but Carrigan, who was so secluded and lost in his own world, couldn't help but want to be close to Miranda again. Just to touch her arm or feel the warmth of her body. Hug her before either of them could tense up and push away.  

[mirmirfied5]

When Carrigan wispered "Hmm?", she could tell he wasn't listening, but she chose not to notice. SHe had no idea what to talk about next, so she started staring off into space. Of course, being her, she chose the celing. She just loved how it looked like a night sky. All the sudden, she had a weird urge to go figure out how they do that.

Then she heard him say, "I'm sorry-- I drifted off right there for a moment." And she snapped back to reality. "That's ok, I did too.'

Then he just had to bring up that she had kissed him yesterday in the library. Oh, how she wished he wouldn't have. But, finding no way out of the situation, she closed her eyes for a moment, composing herself, and said "Actually, I really don't know why I did. It just...It just felt like the right thing to do at the time. I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have, but I'm a terribbly impulsive person."  

[Drew Thirte3n]

"I see," Carrigan said, distractedly. "You don't have to apologize, however. Acting on impulse... I daresay it is healthier than overthinking a situation." he paused, then smiled wrly, resting his elbow on the table and supporting his chin on his hand. "Like I do."

He glanced at her sidelong, his lips still lifted, revealing a brilliantly white smile. The sarcasm was quickly fading from it, until there was only a shy sort of contentment that he wasn't used to feeling, but god-- this moment was awkward and ironic and absolutely perfect.  

[mirmirfied5]

"Really? I don't have to apologize? Well, that's a relief. I'm so used to my mom nagging me and saying "You did this wrong. You hurt this person. Apologize."

Miranda turned to face Carrigan, but immediately regretted it, for she could feel herself turning beet red. Adressing his next comment, she sighed and said, "I suppose it would be, but I've been trained, in a way, to be a perfect little child, so I'm supposed to over analize things. Whatever. All this means is that there goes another one of my parents' failed plans. Oh, well."

He had the most brilliant, dassling smile she had ever seen. Which made her kindof embarrased of her not exactly white buck teeth. Let's just say she hadn't taken the greatest care of her teeth when she was younger. But she couldn't help it. Smiling is contagious. Even though this was one of the most awkward moments of her life, second only to the library visit yesterday, it was also one of the most perfect ones. She was convinced she had died and gone to heaven.  

[Drew Thirte3n]

Carrigan chose not to comment on Miranda's was of phrasing-- his smile faltering just a little. Was that how he sounded when he put himself down? How funny. How not. As she began to smile back, he felt himself flush again, and wryly asked himself how it was he hadn't passed out from all the blood rushing to his face yet. As it were, Carrigan plucked up his courage and shoved off his self imposed dignity, kissing the fingertips of his right hand and pressing them to her forehead.

"There. That was my impulse of the day, and now we may try to be friends before we try to be lovers," Carrigan said, using the term 'lovers' much more loosely than recent slang had come to represent. He made sure he was still smiling, because he expected Miranda to react quite sharply to his previous action.  

[mirmirfied5]

She had to admitt that she was pretty weirded out at what Carrigan had done, but he choose not to say anything, as not to offend him.

"Ok, well if we each get one impulsive thing every day starting now, then here's mine." Miranda said with a smirk.

"Must we really be friends before we try being lovers?? Don't you know all that does is make breaking up harder? Because then, when we break up, if we break up, that is, it'll be really hard because we'll be like "I'm mad at her for breaking up with me, but she's my best friend, and I want to talk to her" and wa-la. Relationship ruined. Not that it wouldn't be ruined after we break up anyway."

She pulled him closer to her. "Please?? Can't we just skip over the friends part??"

As if just realising what she was doing, but knowing she couldn't stop now that she had done it, she just backed away slightly, to give him some room in case he chose to freak out and to give her some room to back away if he chose to slap her.

But nevertheless, she was satisfied. She had gotten him back for weirding her out. She forced herslef to keep smiling, as if that would help him deal with what she had done.  

[Drew Thirte3n]

"E-excuse me?" Carrigan gasped out, skin crawling in anxiety as she pulled him close, their legs touching. Had he been too forward? Even as Miranda backed away, looking like she was afraid he'd slap her, he pushed himself down the bench of the Ravenclaw table, until he risked falling off the end and spilling onto the stone floor. Carrigan caught himslf just before he began to topple and clutched the edge of the seat for dear life.

"I--" he stopped sharpish and cleared his throat uncertainly, curling his slender fingers over his mouth. His eyebrows furrowed, but pulled up in confusion, a steady pink peeking out from behind his fingers. She was still smiling earnestly, and in his state of mental confusion, he didn't even notice the hint of self-satisfaction to it.

|| Haha, Miranda got him GOOD. ||  

[LilMeady]

Meady stifled a yawn, rubbing at her eyes as she realised she had drifted off. Already she could hear the boring voices and topic of serious conversation. No, that would not do at all. Smiling, she wiped the last sleep from her eyes and sat up straight.

"OI! Anybody seen my stuffed carrot? It's like a stuffed animal, but it is a carrot with eyes. I had it right next to me." She was more than happy to ignore the odd looks. Pointing a finger at a random student, she yelled, "You took my carrot!"  

[MyMoonlitDream]

"Accio Meady's carrot," Serithia says, but only gets a carrot of her plate. "Does your carrot have a charm on it? This is a job for a detective!" she exclaims and plops a detective hat atop Meady's head.  

[LilMeady]

"Do you have my magnifying glass? What kind of detective am I with no glass?" Another housemate offered me a glass of juice. "not that kind of glass, idiot. A magnifier! Come, come! We must find my carrot at once! Quickly!" Meady makes a summoning motion at Serithia. "Come, Watson. Off we go!"  

[Giselle LeFlour]

Mikki skipped into the Great Hall, noticing she was a bit late. She took her spot at the Ravenclaw table and started piling up the food on her plate.
"There's so much, I just don't know what to choose!" She giggles and starts to eat.  

[P I N K Y - Platypus]

Abby runs over to the slytherin table realizing she is late as well. She grabs a saet and a plate a piles on some fried chicken!  

[mirmirfied5]

Seeing how badly Carrigan had reacted to what she had done, the smile on her face evaporated. She rushed over to help him regain his balance from almost falling of the bench. "I-I'm sorry. Was I being too forward?? I'm sorry, we can be friends first if that's what you really want, I can deal with that. " She walked over to help him up, and went back to eating, to give him a little space. She was still alert, though, just in case he changed his mind and did decide to slap her.

|| LOL, you betcha! I couldn't help it, he knida left himself open for that one.||  

[Drew Thirte3n]

Carrigan shook her off lightly, hardly aware of her apologies as she went back to eating and attempting to play light on the situation. He had his palm clamped over his lips as though he were trying to prevent something from escaping, breathing coming shallow and uneven. He was so confused. Somewhat unsteadily, the dark haired boy stood and swayed on his feet, before circling the table and coming to sit heavily across from her. His hands trembled when he forced himself to lower them, and he stared at Miranda quite guiltily, as though silently apologising for switching benches, but finding it was necessary in order to regain any sense of control. "It-it's fine," he said finally, his voice coming high and strained, much to his embarassment. "I just... I need to think."

He ran a hand through his hair distractedly, an odd combination of stress and insecurity scrawled across his face. He felt ill between the racing of his heart, the impending headache, his hunger, and the nausea rising through him-- his arm felt heavy as he reached across the table to take his goblet and lift it shakily to his lips. He took too big of a sip and choked slightly, his body tensing as he coughed into the cup. "Ah-- god--" he muttered.  

[Giselle LeFlour]

"Hmmm... no peeps?! How depressing! I'll have to write mum...."
Mikki, looking sad from lack of her favorite sugar covered marshmallows shaped like bunnies and chicks, grabbed herself some treacle pudding.
"How dissapointing.... cry " *shakes head*