gooseberryhigh | (no subject)

Who: Ursula De Luca & Xavier Lewis
When: 2PMish
Where: Astronomy Tower
What: During hockey, a note is stuffed in Xavier's bag telling him to go pick up something he'd forgotten in the Astronomy tower. At lunch, Ursula receives a note saying that Xavier has something to share with her in the Astronomy tower. It looks like they've been duped.
Warnings: N/A

Xavier Lewis was not the sort of person to doubt an anonymous letter slipped into his bag before lunch, for better or worse. So he didn’t give much thought to what he could’ve possibly left in the Astronomy tower for an entire week but not missed at all. No, Xavier was pretty well focused on other things. Dinner, mostly, and what was on the menu, but also whether or not the number of stairs in the tower held some sort of Arithmantic significance. Or, maybe there was just a bajillion of them for no good reason.

At the top of the tower, he found the Astronomy classroom empty. Lights off, curtains drawn, only a bit of sunlight glowing at the edges of the windows hinted at the bright day outside. It took a moment for Xavier’s eyes to adjust to the dimness of the room. He popped his lips, wondering to himself where this mystery object he’d forgotten had been left.

While Ursula was far more likely to be critical of mysteriously appearing envelopes, especially given the crowd she hung out with, this one had piqued her curiosity. Beneath her name, a heart had been finger painted in what appeared to be ketchup, and upon opening it she'd discovered it was from Xavier. She'd inspected it for a minute or so before determining that it was authentic.

The last time Ursula had climbed the steps of the Astronomy tower had been her pre-sorting campus tour. (Had the Astronomy tower always had so many more steps than the Divination one?) It seemed absurd to ask her to meet up there when they lived in the same camp and she'd almost warded him to say as much, but maybe a teeny tiny part of her cold black heart was feeling moved by the impending holiday.

When she reached the classroom, she cleared her throat to get Xavier's attention, holding the envelope in one hand, and giving him an expectant look. "Well?"

Xavier startled. His hand slipped nervously into his hair as he turned, but he relaxed when he saw who was behind him.

“Oh, De Luca.” He said, his wide-eyed stare softening into a placid smile. “What’s up? I’m looking for something I left here--Hey, do you know what’s for dinner?”

Ursula immediately narrowed her eyes. "Don't change the subject," she snapped. Of course she knew what was for dinner, but that couldn't possibly been the important thing Xavier had wanted to talk about. ...Could it?

Realizing with a bit of delay that her tone had been harsher than she'd intended (those were a lot of stairs, okay), she huffed softly and pursed her lips before continuing, "I mean. Is that really what you wanted to talk to me about?"

If he says yes, she's considering tossing him over the side of this tower.

His smile broadened a little, unsure. Xavier’s gaze darted around the room, like he expected someone to come out and explain things to him. The silence that fell between them felt dense and uncomfortable. Was there a Clippy the Paperclip for social situations?

“Oh, uh, sorry.” His hand was in his hair again, “I guess I’m up for talking about, like, whatever, if you want? I just came up to the tower because someone said I’d left something here.”

Xavier may be cute and all, but the clueless act wasn't winning him any points. Unless he was actually just very shy and she'd never realized this until now. Shy boys were catnip to Ursula.

(She was pretty sure he wasn't shy. In fact, ‘loud’ and ‘dumb’ were the first descriptors that came to mind.)

If this wasn't some poorly played game of hard to get, this was all going to be rather mortifying. But she had checked the letter thoroughly and it had seemed genuine. Ugh.

"Did you or did you not write this letter," she asked, holding the ketchup heart adorned envelope out to Xavier.

“I don’t think so?” He said before it was even in his hands.

Xavier took the envelope. He held up his wand in his right hand and called up some light, then nodded thoughtfully at the ketchup heart. He unfolded the letter and skimmed its contents. While he read it, Ursula took the time to stand up a little straighter, smooth down her hair and skirt and set her jaw firmly. It was the best armor she had against humiliation.

Dear Ursula,
I’ve been thinking about a lot of things since Wednesday. Maybe hitting my head on the branches of the Ornery Oak opened my eyes to something I’d never seen before. We need to talk. Please come to the astronomy tower this afternoon. 2PM. It’s importent.

Xavier Lewis

“Huh. This is good stuff, but, like, I know how to spell ‘important.’” He said, as though it weren’t obvious.

“Well, that’s good to know,” Ursula interjected sharply.

Xavier’s gaze flicked up to meet Ursula’s, but he looked away almost immediately. “Sorry. Not me.”

Ursula straightened her skirt hem and her response was clipped. "I see."

Well. This was awkward. Xavier’s face grew hot. In a moment of overpowering teenaged angst, his brain told him that maybe it would’ve been better if he had hit his head and suddenly started having emotional revelations about girls.

His mouth became a tight line. He forced his attention on the letter, again, to distract himself. This time, something stuck out as strange. “Hold on.”

Xavier patted his pockets and then withdrew a small folded square of stationary from one of the back ones. “I think someone’s goofin’ on us. These were written by the same person.”

When he produced a note of his own, Ursula wordlessly extended her hand and, once received, carefully unfolded it and scanned over the contents.

"Yes. It would appear that you're correct," she conceded, voice tight as she held Xavier's note up against her own. Hopefully he'd excuse any pinkness in her cheeks as a cosmetic effect. "So the question then is, why us."

“Probably the--” Xavier was cut off by the creaking of the classroom’s only door.

"You're supposed to kiss her," a voice hissed from the exit. Through the dark, the two of them could see the faint outline of a round face and teasing smile.

Xavier did the time warp: one giant jump to the left, away from Ursula and the prospect of romance. After a beat, he regained his composure.

“Hey.” He said to the person at the door. The sort of ‘hey’ a person used when they’re trying not to seem like they want to put you in a box and mail you out of the country. Xavier took a step toward the door, but the mystery interloper simply giggled and fled, slamming it in his face.

Ursula rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to stupefy both Xavier and the mystery interloper, not that there was much chance to with the latter. "Congratulations. We've just been outsmarted by a freshman." Not for the first time this year either. For Ursula, anyway.

Xavier turned to face Ursula, his face scrunched in obvious discomfort. He rubbed the back of his head, shoulders hunched, unsure of what to say or do. “I’m, uh, I’m really sorry.”

The look Ursula shot Xavier was unamused with a side of if you don't stop talking, I'll reconsider my stance on stupefication. Now was definitely the appropriate time to dramatically sweep out of the room and reassert the Ursula de Luca brand superiority. She crumpled up Xavier's note and shoved it at him as she passed by. "It's fine," she said, sounding anything but. "Just one big misunderstanding." As she opened the door to complete her dramatic exit, she heard a soft popping sound and red and pink confetti showered down on her.

This was happening. This was actually a thing that was happening to her. She picked a piece of confetti off her sleeve and examined it, the diecut letters L-O-V-E reflecting the sun. A sharp inhale followed a frustrated scream, cut short by what was left of her dignity. Stupid camping school.

Xavier winced, wide-eyed, mouth drawn. His expression somewhere between terror and mirth, although he dare not laugh.

“They made a good effort, at least?” He said as Ursula stormed off, disappearing down the stairs.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And here's the director's cut edition of the original note to Ursula, which Manx said Ursula would have been like "EW WTF?" at and set on fire.

Dear Ursula,
This is a secret I can no longer keep. An unbearable weight rests in my stomach, like too greasy pizza after lunch. Please come to the astronomy tower this afternoon. 2PM. It’s importent.

Xavier Lewis

"EW WTF?" is one of Ursula's basic modes, so it's not that hard.

Whoops, this icon is more accurate.

I am just so happy to have icons back.