Against a Tree

[arianna]

Arianna sat against a tree on the northside of the courtyard with her knees pulled up to her chest. She had a pile of homework sitting next to her that was due the next day. Normally she would have had it all done the day it was given, but lately she hadn't felt like doing any of it. At the moment she was torn between giving up or at least attempting to do at least part of it. Anytime she picked up a book, though, the girl couldn't focus and her mind wandered onto other things. First off, there had been another....incident. This time in the entrance hall. It had all been cleaned up before the girl dared check it out, but she knew there had to be a connection between it and the red paint now staining the pajamas she had worn that night.

Despite how bad everything seemed to be getting, though, Arianna was most baffled by the odd feeling that Drew was upset with her. She was certain she hadn't done anything to him. But then, she had been certain she hadn't done anything to Stoney before he had lashed out at her. As time wore on, though, Arianna's distress over the current situations increased. She didn't know who she could talk to anymore and was even pondering leaving for a bit, if only to be sure she wasn't the one doing all these awful things. She knew no one would let her leave, though. Not unless she had gotten them mad enough not to care anymore. Arianna wasn't so sure that wouldn't happen if she couldn't stop it soon.


{not really closed, but mostly for Drew ^.^}

[Kellen McCrea]

The evidence was really stacking up. It was hard to deny it. The paint, the late return, the strange attitude lately. After a few hours of reasoning, Kellen realized he absolutely had to talk to Arianna.

He hadn't expected to find her in the Courtyard, but when he saw her there, he knew he couldn't really wait any longer.

"Hey, Ari," he greeted in a quiet, serious tone. "Do you have a minute to talk?"

[Drew Thornton]

"She's not into talking. More like dropping books on people," Drew answered passing nearby. He had come into the courtyard to find a quiet place to study, but had quickly changed his mind when he saw who else was in there. Of course, he couldn't help but shoot off a snide remark when he heard Kellen speak to her.

[arianna]

Yup. There it was. Drew wasn't upset with her. He was mad at her. Arianna's brow creased in confusion. When had she ever dropped a book on the boy? Maybe she had done so on accident, but no recently. Why would it get Drew's shorts so tight, anyway?

"Um...yeah...sure," Arianna answered quietly, biting her lip. She focused on shoving her papers and books into her bag to make room for Kellen to sit down if he wanted to. It wasn't like she'd get any of it done anyway. She was too concerned about what was going on with Drew. Something about Kellen's manner also told her the Head Boy might not be happy with her, either. Of course, she might just be paranoid.

[Kellen McCrea]

Kellen shot Drew a confused look, but didn't say anything. He moved to sit down next to Ari, just as somber as before. "Arianna..." he started, but he didn't know where to begin. He ran his hands through his hair. "This is going to sound weird, but..."

He sighed, and, doing everything he could to keep accusation out of his tone, asked, "What were you really doing this morning? Before you came back to the common room."

[arianna]

If possible, Arianna's confusion increased? Why was Kellen so interested in where she had been? Arianna thought about making up another story, but she had already done that once today. She didn't feel she could continue doing so and still be the good person she wanted to be.

"I....I don't know," she replied quietly, shaking her head as she stared down at her lap. "I mean....I...I went to bed as usual around eleven and then....I...I woke up on the second floor landing with all that....stuff on me."

Arianna sniffed. She could feel tears already in her eyes, but blinked them back before she dared to look up at Kellen and murmured, "I think I'm going crazy."

[Drew Thornton]

Drew had taken up a spot farther against the wall, not wanting to be too close to the other two. He heard what Arianna said and grumbled his disbelief to himself. She seemed to be pretty convincing when she had bothered him in the library. The old "I don't remeber" was a classic excuse, but he had really thought Ari was above it.

[Kellen McCrea]

"You had...red...on you when you came into the common room this morning," Kellen said, gently but pointedly. "I thought it was blood from your nose, but I realized later that there was way too much. The Hall was covered the same way this morning...vandalised in red paint. I'd brush it off as coincidence but you had paint all over you when Stoney was hit, too." His tone grew, if possible, even more serious.

"I don't know if you're going crazy, Ari. But I do know you're the one who's vandalising everything."

[arianna]

Arianna bit her lip. Kellen had come to the same conclusion she had, but she wasn't so sure he would believe anything she said. She wasn't that kind of person. Arianna was certain he would know that.

Staring down at the ground, Arianna nodded her head slowly.

"But....I don't know why," she muttered quietly, lifting a hand to wipe under her eyes. "I don't recall doing any of that stuff. I mean...when that stuff with Stoney happened, I swear I was on my bed studying, but the next thing I know, you're shaking me awake and I'm in the common room covered in paint. I didn't know how I got there. I thought...I thought someone was trying to frame me."

[Drew Thornton]

"Not her. It was her evil twin," Drew grumbled, loud enough so that the other two could hear him. Another classic excuse, though slightly less belivable.

But Kellen's accusation still struck him. Ari responsible for all of that graffiti? The things that had been painted on the walls and on Stoney had been pretty bad. It just didn't sound like Ari to him.

Of course, he was still too mad at her to say anything though.

[arianna]

Arianna took a deep breath at Drew's grumblings. Her mood was quickly moving from confusion and worry to anger.

"What is your problem?" Arianna turned to Drew and questioned him in as calm a voice as she could muster. Still, it was a tone that said she was not going to play his game and let him continue to throw hurtful comments at her. She was already upset enough without him doing this. "Didn't you know it's rude to listen in on conversations you aren't involved with?"

[Drew Thornton]

Drew snorted at the accusation. She was a fine one to be giving him a lesson in manners. "Yeah... rude. I'll make sure to remember that," he told her, turning back to the runes text he had brought out with him.

[Kellen McCrea]

Kellen ran his hand through his hair nervously as he waited for Drew and Ari to stop fighting. It seemed rather petty to Kellen, considering the seriousness of the conversation he was trying to have. After only a few exchanges, he broke in. "Look, Drew, if there's something you want to say, say it, okay? Otherwise, I really do need to talk to Ari." He hadn't meant to sound so brusque, but at that moment he wasn't really concerned about it. He was concerned about Ari.

[Drew Thornton]

"Whatever," Drew grumbled back, feeling like Kellen was taking Ari's side against him. He wasn't about to leave though. Heck it was a free country and he could sit where ever the heck he wanted and shouldn't have to worry about being hit with books from his so called friends.

Actually... 'free country'... could he say that in Great Britain? Yeah, probably.

He grumbled a bit more to himself, slumping into his book and ignoring Kellen and Ari.

[arianna]

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Arianna grumbled to herself, but said nothing more to Drew. He was mad at her, she knew that much, but if he wasn't going to say why, she wasn't going to bother pressing him. At least not while Kellen was trying to talk to her.

"He's acting like Stoney was," she muttered to Kellen again, shaking her head slightly. "Except I'm pretty sure Drew wouldn't throw punches at me...."

Actually, Arianna honestly wouldn't be surprised if Drew did decide to haul off and smack her. She certainly hadn't expected the old Ravenclaw guardian to do so.