let the angels commit

[Josh York]

Josh had, once again, found his favourite place to hide. The first time he'd stumbled upon the Room of Requirement, Josh had fallen in love with it. He walked the corridor, thinking of the old piano and the dark lighting of the room and willed it to existence. Turning on the spot, Josh grinned as he watched the door appeared in the wall and he walked toward it. When it opened, he saw the lone piano sitting in the middle of the room, lit by only a few candles that sat upon it. With a sigh, the Hufflepuff boy entered the room and took a seat on the bench. He already had a song in mind.

Josh's fingers carefully moved across the keys of the piano as a soft melody drifted out from it. The song was the one he'd written for his adoptive mother on her birthday. It had been a very special birthday present for her, which she had loved. Whenever Josh felt down, he hummed the song or played it if he had the chance to and it always made him feel better. His adoptive mother, Jane, had always been there for him when he needed her. She was kind and caring, very, very motherly despite the fact that she didn't have children of her own. Tommy, Laura, Alice, Joseph and Josh had been like her own children and Josh had appreciated her more than anything. It was Jane that kept him going. As he played her song, Josh let a crooked smile creep onto his lips. Josh had barely been at school for a few weeks and he missed her already.

[closed]

[Abigail Greenwater]

The dark halls of the seventh floor scared Abigail. She wasn't scared of the dark, just what is IN the dark. She was lost in the scariest place (in her mind) in the world. Her wand helped a little, but just enough so she could see but the shadows still kept her walking at a fast pace. Biting her lip she sped up, hearing footsteps behind her. Without a place to hide she dove behind a tapestry. Abby extinguished her wand quickly. As the footsteps neared she peeked out slightly to see who scared the bejeezus out of her. It was an older boy, a Huffle if she was placing him right. Grey eyes followed the boy as he walked toward a wall. She almost wanted to warn him to stop when a door appeared. She stifled a gasp as he walked in and let the door close behind him.

She knew the door would probably disappear within a minute or two so she had to think fast. Abby slinked out from under the tapestry and walked forward having a conversation in her own head. Should she run in like she was scared of the dark? No, that would make her look like a baby. Or maybe she should walk in all confident and strike up a conversation. Yeah right, like Abby would have the courage. Her last option was to just go in and pretend that she didn't see him. With that in mind she stood in front of the door, looking up at it. Sighing she put her hand on the knob and turned it.

Taking a step in she hear something ethereal. Something so heavenly she wanted to close her eyes and just stand there and listen in awe. She finally found her breath again as she stood there listening. Now what did she do? She didn't want to interrupt him, yet she did not want to stand there like a creeper. Quietly Abby took a few steps closer and hoped somehow this wouldn't end horribly.

[Josh York]

Josh had a feeling he wasn't alone. He could usually tell when there were eyes on him; he could tell someone was watching him if he was in a coma. He was so used to people staring at him that it was pretty much second nature to feel a curious pair of eyes. Could he ever just come to this room without someone stumbling upon him? Without turning, Josh's attention was drawn to whoever it was that had now joined him.

"If you remain silent, you may stay," he told the intruder without missing a note, "If you wish to make noise, you can go." He didn't mean to be rude, but Josh needed quiet other than his own music to remain focused and concentrated.

[Abigail Greenwater]

Abigail opened her mouth to say something but stopped. She wanted to stay, to listen to this boy play. Quietly she took a few steps closer to him. As she walked she looked for another chair. She didn't want to share the piano bench with him. That would be too awkward. Someone must have been listening because a comfy chair appeared a few feet from the piano. Her footsteps slowed as she walked. With her hands she fixed the skirt she was wearing, a nervous habit she had. Walking past the boy she glanced at his face again, a small blush finding a home on her cheeks.

She sat down quietly, not wanting to disturb him. The leather on the chair made a very unladylike sound. Abby winced and hoped she didn't interrupt him more then she already had. Now that she was sitting she could properly relax and listen to the boy. He was gifted with his skill at piano. She tried to play when she was younger but gave up when she had to play at a recital. Without a sound she found her comfy spot on the chair and let the music take over her.

[Josh York]

The Hufflepuff's eyes closed as he heard feet shuffling behind him. He didn't even know if it had been a girl or boy who'd followed him in there, but it mattered little. After his episode with Derrick in the boys' dorm and all the emotion that had followed, Josh just needed to play and get it all out. He could block out whoever was there and pretend they just weren't. But when he heard a noise that sounded oddly like...something else, one of Josh's eyes cracked open to see a very embarrassed-looking girl sitting in a chair next to the piano. His lips twitched, fighting the urge to smile as he closed his eye again and continued.

As Josh finished the song, he turned his body to look at the girl who'd joined him. She seemed to be utterly enthralled, which made no sense to him. It wasn't really that good, but the look on her face told Josh she thought it was. He just shrugged, taking the unspoken compliment.
"Were you following me?" he asked her curiously, letting his lips finally curve into a smile.

[Abigail Greenwater]

"Were you following me?"

Like a deer in headlights she froze, but only for a second. "Y-yes and no." Seeing that he wasn't angry with her bursting in on him she finished. "I-I was walking u-up here and I got lost. I heard some-someone, you, walking behind me. I hid. After that I followed you. But-but, not in the creepy sense. I just didn't want t-to be alone." Did she really just say that out loud? Abby giggled quietly, embarrassed at her inability to filter somethings.

Her heart started to race. Biting her lip was the only thing she could do to not say anything else to make this more awkward. "I-I'm sorry. I-If you want me to go I'll g-go." Hands placed in her lap she looked at the candles on the piano.

[Josh York]

And Josh had thought he was awkward. He watched the girl trip over her tongue and stutter out the words she was trying to say. He smiled at her as he listened, finding it quite amusing. Josh chuckled quietly at the girl.
"Yeah, I know how you feel," Josh answered her about being alone. He turned back to the piano, letting his fingers walk down the keys.
"You don't have to go, love," the boy told the girl, "In fact, I'd really rather you stay. I don't think I want to be alone either." He smiled over his shoulder at her, leaning into the piano again as he just played with the keys, not really playing anything real.

"I'm Josh, by the way," he told the girl, raising his voice above the music, "Josh York. And a Hufflepuff."

[Abigail Greenwater]

Her lips curled into the smallest of smiles. Now feeling somewhat reassured that she wasn't bothering the boy Abby could let her guard down. She nodded slowly, looking at the boy with curiosity. He wasn't scary now that she could really see him. "I-I'm alone mo-most of the time. Peo-people don't really notice me much." Abigail fiddled with a stray string on the chair, trying not to stutter as much. She hated when she stuttered. It was an instant turn off to almost everyone she spoke to. "I-If you don't mind me as-asking, wh-why don't you want t-to be alone?"

Josh York. Hufflepuff. So she was right. Making a mental note of this information she grinned, this one was a bit more confident then the last. "Ni-Nice to meet you Josh. I'm Abi-Abigail Greenwater. Gr-Gryffindor." Feeling the need to move Abby got out of her seat to shake his hand. Pleasantries like this felt so normal and infused in her life that to not do it felt..awkward.

[Josh York]

"I notice you," Josh retorted quickly before the girl could say anything else. He flashed a smiled at her as he turned himself so he straddled the bench as he looked at her. Josh's smile faltered slightly when she asked him why he didn't want to be alone.
"Just getting tired of it," he answered truthfully, "You can't always block out the world, you know?"

The grin returned the longer he watched the girl. She was so shy, which struck his as odd because she was pretty as well. Usually the pretty girls were the confident ones, but that might just be his own bias. He knew his older sibling Laura was gorgeous and flaunted it quite often and that was all he knew. Josh never really had many run-ins with pretty girls who didn't flee at the sight of him. As she introduced herself, the Hufflepuff reached out to grab her hand and shake it. He noticed how soft her skin was.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Abigail," he greeted her, his crooked smile still plastered on his face, "Am I really so intimidating?" He chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

[Abigail Greenwater]

If she was any more shy Abigail may have run out of the room, but she stayed. This Josh boy seemed nice, something she could use more of in her life. At this time she could count all of her friends on one hand. All she had really was Dustan, at that was enough for her. Yet, she heard an old saying 'The more the merrier' but never had a chance to think about it. After that thought she felt herself calm down, no more fidgety hands or feet.

Josh saying that he did notice her made her cheeks flush again in excitement. Being noticed was a good thing, most of the time. Not finding he correct words to answer him she grinned and nodded lightly. She was trying to say she noticed him too. His next comment made her think. She did have to agree. "I fe-feel the same way. I-I try sometimes to block o-out the world but it do-doesn't always wo-work."

"Am I really so intimidating?"

"No. I-it's not just you. I-I'm nervous around ever-everyone." Ever since her friends left her to get arrested that is, but she didn't add that. No need to tell him her whole life story. "People ju-just make me....wary. I-I don-don't know why."

[Josh York]

"I can understand that," Josh agreed, his eyes looking over the girl. In every other situation he'd been in with people, Josh was usually the stuttering, nervous one and it was weird to be on the other end. Most people weren't as understanding as he was about how difficult meeting new people could be. Is this what he seemed like in front of everyone else? A light shade of pink began to bloom on Josh's pale cheeks and he was thankful the room was so dark.

"Well, I'm nice, I promise," the Hufflepuff joked with a laugh, turning back to the piano, "You a fan of music?"

[Abigail Greenwater]

"I-I can tell...that you're ni-nice," Abigail stuttered out. Josh was really starting to grow on her. He seemed like a truly nice guy. Someone she could see herself hanging out with in the future. Not feeling as on edge anymore she could stop trying to relax as much. With a small grin she moved her chair closer to his, now only a foot or two away from the piano bench.

"D-Do I li-like music?" Well, sure she did. Everyone her age liked music. "Y-yeah. I like music. A-All kinds. Wh-who's your fav-favorite band?" It seemed like a simple question. Maybe they had the same favorite bands. Or same genre of music. "I like the b-band the Dr-Dresden D-Dolls a lot."

[Josh York]

"I'm more of a Keane fan," Josh confessed, looking up and down the keys of the piano. As he mentioned his favourite band, his favourite song popped right into his head: Everybody's Changing. He pressed the keys along the piano until he found the right one to start with. Most of the songs he knew how to play were all learned by ear and he had to hear it again before he could play it. Josh played the first few bars of the song, humming the tune as he went along.

"What's your favourite Dolls' song?" he asked curiously.