Almost Out of Here

[Kellen McCrea]

I know I left it down here somewhere, Kellen thought as he picked up a couch cushion to check under it. It was the last day of the term, and nearly everyone had already cleared out of the common room, waiting to head out to Hogsmeade to catch the train. Kellen would have too, but he'd somehow managed to lose his green-ink quill. Everything else was packed, and he wasn't about to leave school without it.

He got down on his knees to check underneath the couch. It's got to be around here!

[Allegra Thornton]

Thump... thump... thump... thump...

Allegra came down the girls' staircase trailing her trunk behind her. Sure, she could have easily done a levitation spell, but she liked the noise... and the chance that the trunk would get aaway from her and careen down the steps was kind of exciting as well. As she reached the bottom she stood up and stretched her back out. She'd get her things down to the front hallway the easy way.

And there he was. She had done her best to avoid him, refusing to feed the rumor mill any more, but now she really had no choice. "Did you lose something?" she asked before scolding herself. Duh, Allegra. Like he usually goes around tearing up the common room like that? Lame... really lame...

[Kellen McCrea]

Kellen sat up immediately at the sound of a voice. And, of course, not just any voice. For all the weirdness that had been between them the last few weeks, Kellen had thought it would probably be easier for them both to just leave for the holidays. Maybe when they saw each other again in September, it would be easier.

But then, there she was. Nobody else in the common room, just the two of them. "Um, yeah," he said after a few seconds. He stood up and brushed off his robes, though there was really no need. "One of my quills. I hope nobody packed it on accident."

[Allegra Thornton]

"The green one?" she asked, knowing it was his favorite. She gave him a crooked smile and scrunched her nose. "I saw it over by the desk, but that was last night. I don't think anyone else would have packed it, but I wouldn't put it past the guys to mess with it."

[Kellen McCrea]

"That's the one," Kellen said with a nod. He headed over to the desk, and sure enough, there it was. He reached out to grab it, but Allegra probably had a point. "Er, I probably shouldn't just reach out and grab it then, should I," he said. It was more of a statement than a question.

[Allegra Thornton]

"Grabbing it might be okay," Allegra answered, leaving her trunk in the center of the room and wandering over to where he was. "But I'd definitely give it a good check over before I actually used it."

[Kellen McCrea]

"I'm not sure," Kellen said skeptically. "It'd be a great have-a-nice-summer present if I picked it up and it exploded green ink all over me or something. Which, really, would that surprise you at all if it happened?"

[Allegra Thornton]

"Not surprising, but it would be better if it exploded inside your trunk during the train ride," Allegra pointed out. "You discover the damage when you get home and there's less chance for retaliation." Of course, the prankster didn't get the satisfaction of witnessing the chaos, but sometimes it wasn't as important as the knowledge that it had happened.

[Kellen McCrea]

"Well, I don't want all my things green-inked," Kellen said determinedly. This was actually good. As long as he focused on the pen, he didn't have to focus on the awkward. "You might want to stand back. I'm picking it up now." He made a big show of grabbing for the pen, but...nothing happened.

[Allegra Thornton]

Allegra had been thinking along the same lines as Kellen. See, this is okay. A nice, casual conversation. Not a problem. What were you so worried about? This is fine...

She took a step back at his warning and flinched in anticipation as he picked it up, giggling at her own silliness when nothing happened.

[Kellen McCrea]

"Wow, I'm almost disappointed--OW!" Kellen exclaimed as he immediately dropped the pen. He shook his hand as though he was trying to cool it down. "Stupid thing," he said, staring at it. "It got really hot all of a sudden. Man, I shouldn't leave things sitting around..."

[Allegra Thornton]

His shout startled her after the assumed letdown and she jumped and let out a yelp of her own. "That's a pretty good one, actually," she said, slightly impressed. "Are... are you okay?"

[Kellen McCrea]

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kellen said, still shaking his hand a little. It wasn't burned or anything, so it was nothing serious. "Oi, can you imagine if I was writing with it and it did that? It'd ruin the assignment. I wonder if it was just a one time thing, or..." he reached down to pick it up with his other hand to test it.

[Allegra Thornton]

"Be careful!" Allegra cried out as he reached for the quill once more. She put her own hand out, ready to stop him if he went much farther towards it. Seriously, what good would it do to burn both hands?

[Kellen McCrea]

"Whoa, weird," Kellen said as the quill in his hand did just the opposite of what it had done before. "It's getting colder now. This is a good charm," he said in admiration as he switched it to his warm hand to cool it down a bit.