A Question of Why?

[arianna]

It had been one loooong week. One in which Arianna hadn't had any time to bother with the Prefect's bathroom. Her time had been so short, she had used the bathtub in Ravenclaw for her daily cleaning and even those had been too rushed to really relax and enjoy herself. Now that Friday was coming to a close, all she wanted now was some piece and quiet and a well deserved bubble bath.

Slipping quietly into the bathroom, Arianna smiled at the welcome sight of a pool-sized tub. She clomped to the fosets and turned each one until she found what she was looking for: a delicious blend of chocolate, cinnamon, and a hint of chile. Mmm, it reminded her of home and her mum's special perfume.

As she waited for the tub to fill, which didn't take all that long, Arianna pulled the brace off of her leg and slipped out of her clothes. She then eased herself into the bubbly water and sat on a small ledge, letting out a long sigh. Oh, yes, this was well worth waiting all week for.

[Charlie Jones]

"Don't you sometimes wish you could sink in there and not come up again?" A voice had asked this question in the soothing lull of moment, in which it was quickly identified as Charlotte. She had actually been in one of the corners where one could change and had heard the sound of the bath running again. Her first reaction would have been to walk out, but when she had peeked out to see it was Arianna Shriver, her mind had immediately set to taking time out of her "busy" schedule to strike up something with her.

She had made her way back to the tub, and sat by it. By the way her hair was still wet, it was easy to tell that she had just used it before. "Or maybe it's just me..."

[arianna]

Arianna jumped. She had thought she was alone until she heard the voice. It was Charlie. Oh, yeah, Charlie was a prefect now, wasn't she? Arianna vaguely wondered if there was something wrong with the kids in her own grade. Less than half of them had been found 'worthy' to become prefects and were passed up for the younger crowd. Even without any sort of prejudice or feelings of dejection over being passed up herself, Arianna could still think of at least one person who had received the badge when they really shouldn't have. Not that Charlie was one of them. Arianna really couldn't say anything about Charlie and her prefecture since she didn't know the girl well enough.

"Yeah....I suppose..." the girl finally answered slowly, her heart just calming down from the sudden fright. She turned her head toward the Slytherin and gave her a once-over. Someone had said their was something different about Charlie this year. Arianna could see that much just now, even without venturing for further conversation.

[Charlie Jones]

"How did break go for you, Arianna?" Charlotte asked as she looked at her heap of clothes as well as the brace. With a combination of the sweet smells that danced around in the loo, she was slowly trying to figure out this girl in the tub.

Her lips slowly formed into a small smile. "I probably shouldn't bother even asking that, though," she said in reference to the brace. "Seems like you had a bit of an accident." Her cold eyes observed the Ravenclaw.

[arianna]

"What gave that away?" Arianna asked, rolling her eyes slightly as she turned away from Charlie. She was getting tired of people asking about it. Those who didn't ask, just gave her odd looks, which was even worse than the questions because they made her feel as though the brace made her some sort of freak everyone was scared to talk to. Heck, maybe she should ask Felicity if she could write up a story about the whole thing for the school paper.

"Other than the accident," Arianna answered before dunking her head under the water, than coming back up again, water splashing over the side, "break was pretty good. What about yours?"

[Charlie Jones]

"Hmmph," Charlie continued with her smile and looked on and away. "Well, it was boring, but it was also enlightening. So that sort of makes it pretty nice."

Her direction went back to the Ravenclaw girl again. "I like the smells you put together. I wouldn't have made a better one myself." She could have left a long time ago, but she was at least making the effort.

[arianna]

"Enlightening?" Arianna repeated, curious to know what sort of things Charlie could have learned over break. Charlie never seemed the kind to use summer as a time to learn anything except maybe new quidditch moves. Arianna wasn't sure she wanted to ask just what was so enlightening about the girl's break, though.

"Thanks," Arianna smiled slightly, though adding a bit of a shrug that sent the water into ripples around her. "My mum puts it on my pillows at night. Helps me sleep."

[Charlie Jones]

"Enlightening," she had repeated, but it was an assertive tone that meant that it was all Arianna needed to know. Charlotte figured if she needed an explanation, she either could speak to her a bit more or just know by her new behavior. Either way, she was still going to be slightly guarded.

"Oh, that's nice," she nodded, but of course in her mind she could care less. Nodding and smiling was always an important key, she learned before.

But before she could help herself, she gave way to her blunt demands. "I've got to say, Arianna. I know we've never been too tight. I think we ought to change that," she swirled a finger around in the water near her. "What do you think?" Her eyes didn't convey such a coldness as better. It seemed... genuine.

[arianna]

Clearly Charlie did not want Arianna to know just what went on over the summer. Which meant it was probably something serious. The tone in her voice, though, and the added fact that the two really had never talked about anything remotely 'deep' kept Arianna from pressing further. Had they been close friends before, she definitely would have tried to get the other girl to open up. Though, knowing Charlie, that would be like getting Drew to spill all his secrets.

"I...suppose we could...." Arianna answered slowly, pondering just what it might be like to have Charlie as a close friend. The snake might tease her for being too girly or something. Which, in comparison to others, wasn't quite true. Arianna was somewhere in between. She had her moments when she liked to play rough and climb trees, but just as often could clean up nicely and slip into a pretty dress. Still...it might work out...Who knew?

[Charlie Jones]

"Wonderful!" Charlotte said as she gently tapped the surface of the water, making some ripples and waves herself. "I feel like I have a lot to catch up on. On everything. Especially now and with you, because unfortunately I'm a few years too late. I have faith, though, that we can learn a lot about each other." Even if it involved a little or a lot of lying, she had no qualms with it.

She added a bit of a laugh as if acknowledge the absurdity of it all. "I'm rambling. Sorry."

[arianna]

"So....what do you want to know?" Arianna asked, relaxing again against the side of the tub. All of this, everything about Charlie seemed a bit...odd, but Arianna didn't want to question it. Mostly because she knew she didn't know much about the girl and...well, maybe this was how she was in private? She thought maybe she should ask Drew later. He knew Charlie much better than she did.

[Charlie Jones]

"Hmm..." Charlotte stood up and walked to a big solid chair where she sat indian-style. She figured getting comfortable would be her best bet, though she wasn't sure if Arianna was feeling quite the same given the circumstances. "Well, you can really tell me anything at all, I'm a good secret keeper. But we can start small: What was the good part of your summer?"

[arianna]

"Um...I went home..." Arianna replied. There really hadn't been anything exciting happen there. It had just been a normal summer at home, visiting friends and exploring her favorite spots. Nothing special about it, really. Arianna wasn't sure what else to say about her summer. The first half had been good all around. The second half, though...Well, that was when she got her brace, wasn't it? Nothing really good about that.

[Charlie Jones]

"Oh, come on, you had to had something better than just 'going home'. Did you see someone you missed? Have some good food? Saw your brother or sister?" She let her questions roll out, but it had to have given her a little bit of an ache when she mentioned a sister. Taking that as a signal, she wondered who or where her sister was. Oddly, she thought of a fireplace.