Spin,

[ethan]

"That look was priceless..."

Yes, he was aware that what he was about to do was not justified. Much less permitted. If one Professor, or even a ghost, caught him, he'd be dead, figuratively. Or worse, if one of the creatures that inhabited here caught a whiff of his presence he'd be dead, literally. The thought made a shiver run down his spine and goosebumps to raise on his covered arms. The long, black cloak he'd put on just for the occasion only left part of his face unhidden. The rest of him was easily confused with the inky blackness that enveloped the suspiciously silent forest. No, he wouldn't think on what could happen to him if he was found. He had to concentrate on the reason behind his presence in the Forbidden Forest. Something more easily said than done, considering the fact that he was aware of even the faintest sound, jumping a mile if he thought it was nearby.

So much for Gryffindor courage, he thought bitingly, angry at himself when he'd almost hexed the branch off a tree, simply because it had rustled with the night breeze. Pocketing his wand again, Ethan took another cautious step to go deeper in. He was barely at its fringes, and yet he was ready to turn tail and leave. It didn't matter that he had special training, it didn't matter that there was a sensible reason behind all of this, he wanted to be in the common room at that very moment. Gryffindor courage be damned.

Taking out his wand again, he started muttering incantations under his breath, waving his wand delicately around him. It wouldn't do any harm to have several Shields up around him. After all, he was taught to always take that necessary step to be ahead. Of course, this was not a duel (Ethan doubted very much that he would have to opportunity to dare someone once he was found), but that rule still applied. Squinting, trying to look past that impossible darkness, he took another step, his stance cautious, arms spread wide. Normally, a simple Lumos would suffice, but Ethan had been instructed to take the most extreme precautions. And now that the thought it over, if he had to be utterly careful, it meant something dangerous was out there. And they had knowingly sent him out there, to take the fall. If something happened to him, it would all be justified. After all, he was only a student out after hours. Even if he was of age already, it wouldn't mean anything more than another casualty by the Forest. Nothing more and nothing less.

Narrowing his eyes, this time at his own stupidity for falling at such an obvious trap, he let his arms fall to his sides, his wand still gripped tightly in his fist. "Aren't you brilliant, Cartier," he muttered, throwing the leather pouch he'd been carrying in his other hand to the ground in a small temper fit. It was the best he could do at the moment and place. Throwing hexes around and provoking loud crashes was not the safest thing to do while in the Forbidden Forest.

[Indigo Grace]

Indigo sat on the love seat that overlooked the Howarts grounds in their common room. Her face was up against the window, and her even light breathing made smudges upon the glass. She traced her finger back and forth across it, making random designs on its surface. Indi folded her legs up closer to the rest of her, the room was rather cold today. There was no fire, but she didn't care for one. At this moment, all that Indi wanted to be was alone. She had to have her personal space at times, especially when she was upset about things. The reason made no sense, for most girls would be perfectly happy with the way things were. The only real answer is that Indigo wasn't like most girls, and it took a lot to pull her out of her "gloom and doom.' Unwrapping a piece of chocolate from its box with using only one hand, she was about to pop it in her mouth when her owl flew at a quick rate towards the window. To insure it didn't smack the surface and fall below, she quickly pulled it up just in time to allow it in.

Rebel dropped a small, sealed envelope at Indi's bare feet, landing on the love seat beside her. Indi paid little attention to it, it was from the father. It would in all likelyhood be a one liner paragraph, filled with the same nonesense that it was every week. What did she care about her father's whereabouts anyways. The two didn't have any special connection in the least bit. Rebel squeeled and Indi frowned. "I don't have any treats for you with me right now. I'll give you an extra bit when I come up to the owlery tomorrow." Rebel snorted and flew off before Indi had a chance to say anything else. She sighed, and stepped off the sofa, watching with a little bit of horror as it flew towards the forbidden forest. What was it doing? Trying to get back at her no doubt. Indigo jumped and ran towards the door, running down the tower steps after him. It was dangerous in there...even for an owl.

Not stopping on the outskirts as her bird disppeared in the beyond, Indi just kept right on going. Never get in her way when she was trying to help an animal. Her feet would have hurt as she ran over the broken twigs on the ground, and the branches whirled around her bare legs. A skirt, bare footed, and a tank top weren't exactly proper attire for an outing such as this. Beating past the darkness of the forest she went deeper and deepers. "Rebel!" Blast her little owl. He did things like this when he was angry. "Rebel!" Indi stopped dead in her tracks. She looked around for the first time. Now she was usually of sound mind, but situations like this sometimes made her very small imagination take a spin. Hearing a crack in the bushes she jerked. "Rebel?" The sound continued and a bunny hopped out. Indi screamed and then rolled her eyes. Honestly, fear of a bunny rabbit was just foolishness. Taking a few more steps she saw the outline of someone else just ahead of her. "Ethan?" What was he doing in the middle of the forest?

[ethan]

"Don't let me get carried away..."

There was no way in Hades that Ethan was going to stay around long enough to figure out what that dangerous thing was. Though considering where he was at the moment, it seemed rather stupid to be worrying about just one thing out of the thousands that were surely out there. Angry and rather frustrated because he'd wasted precious time in a futile task, Ethan started muttering and gesticulating wildly with his hands, he'd forgotten his wand was still fisted in one of them in his mood at the moment. But that was quickly put to place when he felt the cool wood slip out of his fingers when he made a particularly rude gesture. Gasping and his eyes going wide, Ethan waited to hear its clatter so he could quickly pick it up, but after a moment of silence, he realized there would be no clatter because he was in The Forest, and there were leaves and moss and who knew what other stuff covering the ground. "Well, am I brilliant or what?" he asked to the inky blackness, expecting no answer.

Blindly, he bent down to pat the ground in hopes of coming in contact with the soft wood of his twelve inch wand, but no such luck. He kept picking up dry leaves and scattered roots. As he walked, still bent down, he almost fell on his face when his foot stepped over something that rolled as soon as he put his weight on it, and it was all he could do to keep himself from crying out as he tumbled into a backward heap. His expletives, after that, became just a bit more colorful as he managed to sit up awkwardly. The hood of the cloak had fallen back, and now his face would clearly be visible if someone had a light with them. Of course he was alone, so he didn't have to worry about being caught--

"Ethan?"

Oh shit. The incredulity in her voice was not enough to distort it. That was Indigo. Or at least Indigo's voice. But what would she be doing in the Forest at this time of night? She was probably asleep in Gryffindor Tower with her dormmates or something, and he was just imagining her voice. After all, they did say longing translated itself into wishful thinking, and perhaps he was now having hallucinations. Not that he longed for that little...oddball. It's just that there was history there, and his subconscious had decided to play some tricks on him pulling out that specific voice. Yeah, that had to be it. Ethan had almost convinced himself of that fact as he stood up and carefully brushed away the dead leaves and other things from his cloak, trying to remember the charm for localizing one's wand. Had any wizard ever lost their wand? How foolish was that? How he could've forgotten he had it in his hand, for Merlin's beard! He was walking now, muttering under his breath, ignorant that Indigo Grace, was in fact, only a few feet away. His location was given away by his mutterings, and if the girl so desired, she could catch his sleeve in one of his pacing rounds. But Ethan had forgotten about Indigo now as he sorted through his mind, trying to remember what was that spell. In one of his turns, though, he took a few steps more and bumped into something. Or rather, someone.

[Indigo Grace]

Please say it wasn't a hallucination. Probably the last thing Indigo Grace was to start hallucinating. She always valued her sound mind and sense of realism for things, and she wasn't about to just throw it all away now. But really, what were the chances that of all people she would run into him? In the Forbidden Forest no less? A place that they weren't supposed to be? She wasn't one for breaking the rules, she actually avoided it at high costs. In some way, trouble always seemed to find her like some disease she just could not shake off. She'd much rather return to her loveseat, listening to the soft hum of her roommates' snoring while she read a good book. At this rate, it wasn't going to happen. Her nightgown made her look rather unkept and she felt stupid for running around in the night in it. Her excuse for that one was that she didn't have time to change. If she wanted to catch a creature as fast as Rebel, desperate measures had to be taken.

Peering closer, Indi eyed him up. Oh yes, it definitely was Ethan Cartier. The dark brooding look of the trees and unexplained noises of the night weren't making her imagine it either. Indigo had seen him several times in her years at Hogwarts, and even from afar she could tell if it was him or not. Not like she stared at him all day.....or nothing...After their discusting encounter at Hogsmeade it seemed unfair that they had to run into one another again. A lot was said, and even less was said and just thought. Her eyes flitted as the snow white rabbit, which was severely out of place in the woods, finally bounced away. A loved of animals, even she had to admit it was just a bit too cheery. What was there to be happy about? It was in a forest that only got a decent amount of sunlight one hour a day. She crossed her arms as Ethan didn't look up and began to pace. Now what was he doing? He had to have heard her....no, perhaps Indi's voice had been a little too soft. Her eyes followed his movements as he paced back and forth.

She had watched him fall down and looked startled, before changing to amusement. Indigo held back the laughter that wanted to come forth. She really ought to be at least slightly decent to him. They were friends, after all. Though it seemed, this year, they had forgotten it. As she watched on, she was beginning to think he had lost his marbles. Swearing occasionally he looked as though he was trying to remember something, and she almost had a mind to turn around and leave it to him. After all, it wasn't wise to hang around him when he was testy. Then again, Indigo didn't care. She still had to find Rebel. Stepping closer so she was only a few feet away, she pulled a face. "Ahem....what the hell are you doing?" She was completely confused. It was, very odd.

[ethan]

"I've seen it before, and it still suits you the same..."

"Ahem...what the hell are you doing?"

His head snapped up so quickly he was staring at Indigo's face before he could even blink. Ethan's mouth hung open out of its own accord, and his whole body was frozen in shock. She.was.there. Merlin's balls. She.was.there. Ethan had never won an award for coherency, but he always managed to understand his own mind. What the hell is she doing here? was the question that rang loud and clear in his brain, but he was aware it was just an echo of the girl's own previous question. And he had to answer right. It was that he'd forgotten how to make his mouth function properly. It was all so sad, really. He was always reduced to a pathetic mess when the girl was around. And it wasn't that Ethan had no dignity. Au contraire, he hadd so much pride that sometimes he bordered on the arrogant. Of course, his sweet side served to balance that somewhat, but still...focus Ethan, his mind hissed. So with great effort, Ethan snapped his mouth shut, avoiding to bite his tongue by only a breadth of hair.

But it did penetrate his thick skull that she'd asked what he was doing, not what he was doing there. So perhaps he'd be able to weasel his way out of explaining the real reasons? "I've lost my wand." Simple and the truth. "So I'm looking for it, Grace. Now if you wouldn't mind, could you please scoot over so I can keep on looking? I thought the Forest was dangerous, but now with you around, I feel positively defenseless." He said all this while he started to pace again, looking for his wand again and forgetting to try to remember that spell.

"What are you doing?" he asked pointedly. Ethan didn't ask what she was doing in the Forest, especifically. Not even he was dense enough to point that red arrow toward himself. If he asked her that, she would reciprocrate, and well, that wouldn't be nice. On the contrary, it would put Indigo in advantage, since probably her reason to be there was a hundred percent innocent, while his...wasn't. Although perhaps he could be underestimating Indi, here. Maybe she did have a malicious side to her that nobody was aware of, and he had the opportunity of discovering.

Get real, Cartier, his mind spoke up again. The resident tree-hugger having dirty secrets?

He really had to stop having conversations with the voices inside his head. Ethan was almost sure they were his body's defense mechanism against the waves of loneliness he felt when the saw the 'Marauders' together. He would never be jealous of them, after all they were his friends and roommates. It just made him feel so...left out. But why was he thinking this when he had INDIGO GRACE in front him? Gah. Stupid subconscious.

[Indigo Grace]

Finally, he looked at her. She thought for a moment there she was going to have to do something silly like run up and shout in his ear. Was he really that hard of hearing? She didn't remember him to be that way. Indigo watched as his mouth hung open, and a sincere smile spread across her face. For whatever reason that had happened, she liked that she had managed to pull some kind of reaction out of the boy, even still. Noting now that he was looking at her, she felt completely at odds that she was out in the forest in her nightware. Very akward to say the least. Nevertheless, she wasn't one to get strongly embaressed so she was choosing to ignore it. Indigo squinted her eyes as she watched the clockwork whirl about him. Talk about a hundred thoughts running through there all at once. But whatever they were, she was at a loss.

Oh what a beautiful boy. He only seemed to get better looking as the days went by. Being a girl, she had to notice right? And being an ex girlfriend/ex friend at the current moment, it was only natural. Besides, she wasn't interested. Well, that's what she had to say to herself to keep from making a move. Currently Indigo was spending an increasing amount of time with Regulus Black, a Slytherin. Thinking about that fact, it was so tempting for her to mention it in a slightly subtle way to Cartier. Of course, she couldn't do it without trying to sound smug or brag. So, with a pouting thought she brushed it away. It wouldn't do any good, nearly everything they said to one another started up another fight. He lost his wand. I suppose this wand of his decided enough was enough, picked up its things, and went to hide in the Forbidden Forest then? Shame on her for not more specifically directing her question.

Her brown hair picked up as a rare breeze past them by. How any air managed to properly flow through the thickness of the woods was a true mystery in many eyes. Indigo was starting to worry about her darling little bird now. It had been a few minutes since she'd seen him, and though he was very smart, he was her baby. Yes, her extrodinary attachment to animals lives on. Indigo looked aghast at his remark. "I certainly will not. I have a feeling I'm not standing on it." Alright, it really did come out before she had a chance to control it. Biting her tongue, which apparently had been the only way to hold it back, she moved a foot to the left. It was the most she could do without running into one of the strangling looking bushes. Looking down at her toes for a moment, which now had a sprinkle of dirt on it, she frowned. She'd have to take another bath.

"Defenseless because I'm around?" She repeated, not the best response but she didn't know how to react. Indigo didn't understand how she was supposed to take that, and if it was somewhat of a compliment or an insult. Instead, she chose to keep quiet about that one. "Why are you....." Bah. It didn't matter why he was in here did it. "I'm looking for Rebel." Ethan knew about rebel, her owl that she was so devoted to. "He flew in here and well....." She looked beyond Ethan's head and down the path. "Have you seen him?" She asked indifferently. For some reason, the whole thing had become akward. Indigo bent down when she saw a glint in the dirt, and then moment he glanced away she picked it up and held his wand behind her back. The moment he found it, he'd probably leave. Let's see him find it now. Oh god......I'm getting awfully childish.

[ethan]

"You catch on quick, you catch on quick..."

"Perhaps your owl suddenly grew some sense and backbone and decided to leave you once and for all," Ethan muttered under his breath, but not loud enough for the girl to hear. He knew how much Indigo loved that dratted owl, and by saying that comment out loud, he would only manage to make things worse than what they already were between them. Indigo was a strange kind of witch, which didn't mean it was necessarily bad, considering Ethan had come to like and appreciate Indigo's brand of unique. Not many girls were as outspoken about their wants and their likes like she was, and of course, he couldn't forget her animal loving spot. Indigo Grace was...how could he explain it without going off on a limb and end up contradicting himself? She was infuriating, but she was charming in her reclusive ways. She could make him see red one moment, and the next he was kissing her, if just to shut her up. Yes, their relationship was a complicated one indeed. But, somewhere in the back of his mind, Ethan knew he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

"And perhaps defenseless is not the right word," Ethan said offhandedly, frowning at the ground, as if blaming it for his wand's sudden disappearance. It wasn't as if it had disappeared upon hitting the ground. It just wasn't possible. And why when he needed charms the most, he kept forgetting them? Perhaps a reunion for the Charms club was needed. Or something! Fast. He was starting to get desperate. And a desperate Ethan never painted a good picture. "More like, desperately vulnerable? Yes, I think that hits the right notes." His cloak was no unclasped, hanging loosely from his frame. It was still pitch dark, but he refused to ask Indigo to light up her wand. Besides the obvious, his pride kept getting in the way. Rather redundant, because it was always the same when he was around her. He could never shelf his pride away. It became his worst trait when he spoke.

And now they had to be looking for two things: his wand and her blasted owl. Because Ethan was brought up that way, he couldn't leave the girl to go off for herself in the middle of the night, with only her wand and clad only in her--Merlin's beard, was she wearing her nightgown?! "What the hell are you wearing, Grace?" he growled out, averting his gaze again to the ground. He couldn't look up. The chit could accuse him of staring at her or something equally lewd, and well, he'd be damned before his reputation as a gentleman was ruined. "Couldn't you think and just put some decent robes on?" he went on. Ethan didn't mean to insult her, it was just that he was blushing so furiously he was mindless to any other things at the moment.

[Indigo Grace]

In her suspicion she eyed him. Indigo was not blind, and she had definitely seen him mumble something. Seeing as she wasn't exactly an optimist, she assumed it was something rude. Oh, damn Cartier. He had no idea how hard he was making it for Indi to be nice. She kept looking around; a very useless hope that Rebel would suddenly come swooping out from nowhere and land on her shoulder. Actually, she might not like the shoulder part so much. She'd feel too much like a pirate. In any case, she just wanted to see him and no he was ok. By now, it was rather futil to head farther into the woods and get even more lost than she already was looking for him. For the first time she came to the realization that in fact, she was lost. She had come off the path, so it was only a very small off chance that she had run into Ethan. A twisted smile came to replace her look of suspicion as he corrected his last remark. Desperately vunerable. "And this vunerablity is caused by me. Why, now I feel so special" Indigo grinned playfully.

Without helping herself, she inched a few steps closer with a delicious smile. Half way to him she forced herself to stop. Honestly. What kind of lady was she? Well, I guess if we were talking about the proper sense of the word, she wasn't one. Indigo was barely capable to see him in this kind of light, and basically all she could see was the outline of his shape. Which, when it was Ethan Cartier, was sufficient to look at. Indigo cleared her throat and looked around, as if there was something interesting nearby. Her eyes flashed at him again when his sudden outburst came out. Of all the things to make him lose his cool, she never thought that a simply lack of clothing would do the trick. God. If only she had known this sooner. Her startled look could not be covered up this time, and she continued to look at him that way.

"It looks to me like I'm wearing my nightgown. This is the type of thing people tend to wear right when going to bed." Indigo replied blankly. Watching as he stared at the ground and blushed furiously, a new light shone in her eyes. Ah, she was making him blush. "I was too busy thinking about Rebel to bother with anything else. If it had been like most days, then I'd have run out here in my undies." She beamed, enjoying this new turn in the situation. Her first reaction was to put her arms around herself to cover up, but seeing as his wand was still locked in her grip behind her back, that wouldn't have worked. Just as well, she wasn't really that shy. She smiled at him flirtatiously, having fun now. "Oh I'm sorry Ethan dear. Am I making you feel uncomfortable?"

[ethan]

"The cynics stop before they give the same review."

It was unlike him to get flustered over something like that, but perhaps the bizarre-ness of it all was starting to get to him. The late hour, the place they were in and the reasons behind it were just too much for his poor conscious mind to handle. Of course Ethan would never admit why he was in the Forest in the first place. If he wouldn't under torture, much less to Indigo. Of all people he could've found here, honestly. Angry Slytherins he could handle blindfolded (no bragging intended), but an Indigo Grace? Try again mate. Much less if such Indigo Grace happened to be in nothing but a nightgown. Where was decency these days, he asked. He could almost groan out loud, sure that his blush hadn't gone unnoticed, even in the dark.

"No, not by you," Ethan proceeded to hastily explain. "By the fact that I am wandless in your presence. That's vulnerability, love," he stated with a sarcastic smile. It was true, nonetheless. You never knew when one of her violent moods would strike. She could deny it as much as she wanted to, but Indigo did have violent moods. Ethan noticed they were more recurrent in his presence, and he wondered if he had anything to do with it. He was sure the verbal sparring could have something to do with it, yet he could never bring himself to shut up. Not even in situations where he was so defenseless...or perhaps, wandless. Just because he didn't have a wand didn't mean he couldn't defend himself if it meant life or death, but Ethan was against physical contact with a woman unless it involved some sort of snogging or things that ran in that line of thought. Throwing punches was definitely out of the question.

Nervously taking a few steps back as Indigo took some forward, Ethan's eyes flickered everyhwere on the ground, trying to locate that blasted wand. Not that it was of any use, considering the darkness was of no help at all. "But you aren't exactly in bed, are you?" Ethan retorted with a growl, almost pettishly. His arms were crossed, and he was almost sulking. He just wanted to feel in control, dammit. Was that so bad? It was extremely unpleasant for a man his age to be alone with an attractive girl in a dark place while absolutely nothing pleasant was going on. If at all, Ethan was feeling cornered. Just why, he couldn't pinpoint it, but still. It was an unpleasant feeling.

"You know you are, and you're taking full advantage of it," he accused, his eyes narrowing. He muttered something under his breath that sounded like 'wench', but he knew better than to tempt fate that way. With a huff, he took his robe off and handed it to her, his eyes still not looking at her. "Just put this on, for Merlin's sake," he pleaded in a whiny voice, forgetting about his wand, that, unbeknownst to him, was gripped tightly in Indigo's hand.

[Indigo Grace]

"Mmmm hmmm, I see. Well forgive me then Ethan, I wouldn't want to mistake your emotions." He hasty replies were amusing, seeing as he was having a harder time coming up with witty ones now. As always, Indi had trouble with them, but she took a special effort when it came to retorts to Ethan. Of course, she usually always looked like a serene and emotionless person on the outside, displaying few signs of vunerability. On the inside however, she was always a jumble and a mix. Especially right now, when she had no idea how to answer him.

You couldn't believe how embarressing it was to have run outside in the middle of the night in only a slip really, just to find and chase down your bloody bird. That was devotion, mind you. But really, Indi had plenty of decency at times, and this wasn't one of the things you'd find her normally do. And, when she made a mistake in front of almost perfect Ethan Cartier, it was such much worse. Her tight lip gave her away as she flicked her hair with a shake of her head. "I was about to. I even turned down my covers and everything." Good grief, now she was giving him details. Her sense of calmness and having the upperhand was quickly slipping away.

"Realllly, I don't know why I should be making you feel so uncomfortable. It'd be a totally different think if I was naked, which I'm clearly not. Besides, it's not like your attracted to me." Indigo smirked. Oooh, she couldn't help that one. "Hahaha, I'm not taking your coat darling boy, we're not courting or anything." Indigo's face turned a light shade of red as she tried to register what he had said. Her hearing wasn't that bad. "Did you just....." She broke off, apparent of the aghast look on her face. "I can't believe you just called me that!" Indigo reached out and yanked his robe out of his hands in a huff, throwing his wand, nicely aimed, right at his head. "I am not." She slipped it over her shoulders, and right on time Rebel flew around her head. "Rebel!" He went off further into the woods. ".....that's not even funny."

[ethan]

"I heard that this is where, where the party is."

"At least you're covered up now," Ethan remarked smugly, but that expression didn't last long when Indigo threw her wand right at his head. "Hey that's not really lady li--" he trailed off as he picked up the wand (out of courtesy for his ex, since he thought it was her wand), but when the mahogany wood came in contact with bare palm, Ethan almost yelped, as the wand let out a red spark of recognition. "This is my wand!" he exclaimed indignantly, albeit redundantly. And the snide voice in his head couldn't help remarking No, duh. But as always, he chose to ignore it in favor of glaring at the Gryffindor girl.

"You saw me looking for my wand and..." he trailed off at the sudden appearance of Rebel and his anger evaporated in a second as the owl flew away. "It looks like it did develop some sense and a backbone," Ethan repeated, though this time he did say it out loud. He was still irritated at Indigo, even if her owl was funny, she still had kept his wand! Angrily muttering the illuminating charm, Ethan raised his wand high, so that the silvery glow of the magical light was cast over them both, illuminating their faces with an unlikely halo of deities. Which was all good and well if Ethan cared about it. But right now? He certainly didn't.

"So," he started, but was unable to continue now that he realized that there wasn't anything for them to discuss about. Ethan had his wand and Indigo knew, or at least had known, where her owl was. It would all be settled if... Muttering curses under his breath, Ethan flicked his wand. "Accio Rebel," he said clearly. In a matter of moments, the owl was zooming straight at them, obviously against its will, if the angry squeaking was of any significance. Easily, Ethan could have caught the bird, but spitefully, let it keep its zooming course right at Indigo. If she was good enough to snap at him, then certainly she was good enough to catch her own owl. "Bloody girls," he muttered, frustrated. "I'll be damned before I understand them." It was always the same, wasn't it? No matter how well he got along with some of them, in the end something wasn't right. They were all so unlike...

Ariadne? his mind supplied. And his scowl grew deeper. Life was enough without his mind bringing that girl into it. Complications, complications. Would he ever be a normal and semi-decent guy? Seriously! He threw up his hands in hopelessness, aware of how crazy he must've looked, muttering to himself and yanking at his hair like he was doing. But Indigo had no idea. Nobody did. Except Lily. And even she didn't know the whole story. It was just too... Ethan shook his head. He wasn't going to bring a childhood friend into this mess.

[Indigo Grace]

"That's not the point." The point was that.....well what as the point? Indigo didn't remember what her point had been, and she had a strong suspicion she never had one to begin with. Argh, she was really getting sick of fighting with him. It was nearly impossible for the completely opposite beings to be friends it would seem. "Hmph" Indigo tossed her wavy hair, her response to her "unlady like" action. Like she cared. Grace and elegance and all that sort of thing were wonderful, but sometimes....she didn't give a damn. His reaction to her stealing his wand didn't seem to compensate for anything.

She thought it would have, at least, made her feel a little proud or feel like she had once again gotten back at Ethan Cartier. Nothing. In fact, she was more and more by the minute annoyed that she had taken it in the first place. Indi was much more mature than that.....when she wanted to be. All she could manage to do tonight, or more like this whole year so far, was feed the fire between them. Whatever happened over the summer made them much more...harsh. "Yes, I did. But would you really have given me the time of day otherwise? Let's be honest here." He had to now, neither one was too keen on lying, even more so Ethan.

Indigo watched a little horror struck as her shrieking owl came flying back in her direction at a quick speed. "Ethan!" Indi yelled out in vain, barely managing to retrieve he wand to freeze Rebel in mid-air. Holding one hand out she unfroze him with the other, letting the wild and feathery owl drop into her arms lightly. It cooed softly and remained silent, apparently having decided it was best to just stay where it was. "Oooooh you poor baby." Indi cooed at him, cradling Rebel against her chest. That was perhaps the only thing she would ever consider "cooing and swooning" over. She was very aware how ridiculous she looked, but it couldn't be helped.

Casting a look in Ethan's general direction, the fire in her eyes died out quickly. She really didn't look angry anymore, and instead something else was there. Longing. Indi stroked the feathers of her pet and sighed, not breaking eye contact with the boy in front of her. "It's just not possible to be friends anymore is it? No matter where we are or what situation we're thrown into, neither one of us can be decent. It's a shame....we used to be such good friends." Fighting occasionally, of course, it was a great game. But it was never meant to be all the time.

[ethan]

"You had your chance."

"Oh, it's not?" Ethan raised a skeptical eyebrow at Indigo, knowing that she would cave soon enough, even if she was too proud to acknowledge it. "Then what is? I don't know, and I'd be rather glad to find out. So please, do tell." His stare was almost hard as he looked at her pretty face. Yes, he was attracted to her. Had been for the longest while now, and he wasn't even trying to deny it anymore. Nothing good ever came out of that, so he accepted and shrugged it off. It was easy to ignore most of the time. But when he was face to face with her, in the middle of a heated argument, he wished that she wasn't so damn stubborn and everything he always liked in someone. It would be so much easier to everyone if he truly hated her. Then he'd stop stopping himself in mid-sentence in order to not be so rude to his so-called crush. But if things kept up like this, he'd get over it soon enough, and everything would explode in a mass of hurtful words and angry hexes.

"How do you know? Stop thinking you know all about me, and how I react to situations," Ethan retorted in a cold fashion, suddenly angry. Angry at himself for allowing to be sucked into this game of cat and mouse where nobody was the mouse and both of them were trying to be the cat. There would never be a winner in this. For all of Indigo's quiet nature, she could still unsheath some uncharacteristic claws for her, and well, Ethan would never back off a dare. That was a given. And apparently the girl was taking advantage of that. Whether knowingly or not, that was an entirely different matter. "I probably would have, because it's you," Ethan said desperately, gesturing wildly with his hands, the Lumos charm still going strong, thus making weird shadows dance across both of their features. Shaking his head, he gave a semi-bitter laugh, aware now of all the foolishness in this situation. "You won't get it, ever." It was supposed to be phrased as a question, but nothing in his tone indicated any kind of doubt. He was sure of it now. "You pretend to be all deluded in this subject, and you know what? I'm sick of it. If you want things, you've got to be willing to give hell and back to have them, you ignorant witch." Ranting, and pacing, he was the picture of a mad man. But he couldn't care less.

He was in the process of pulling out most of his hair when Indigo spoke up again, her tone different, calm. Letting his arms fall useless to his sides, Ethan closed his eyes for a moment, remembering good old times. No matter how hard he tried to keep life simple, it refused to cooperate, and he was always in the middle of disastrous things. It had to be a karmic debt. What else? Nothing else could account for all...this. He was through on placing blame on other people. Things happened for a reason, and he had to stop questioning it. Let things fall into place as they should. That was all there was to it. It wasn't that difficult now, was it? Running a hand through his hair one last time, he let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and looked at Indigo once again. "I don't think so," he agreed quietly. It was true. It was just not coherent for them to be friends anymore. It didn't make sense. And beside it all, there was the fact that Ethan didn't want to be her friend. So much more.

"I don't think so," he repeated listlessly, as if waiting for it all to sink in. What a surreal situation. He was in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, in the dark of night, talking to Indigo Grace. How did he get into these kind of situations, seriously? "You see, I don't want to be your friend." Taking a few tentative steps forward, Ethan was hating himself at that moment. He was always the one to take the inititiative. Always, always, always. Smiling in a self-deprecating fashion, he leaned in close to Indigo, his blue eyes not blinking. "Because I can't," he breathed, placing another feather light kiss on her lips before any of them could react. Quickly pulling back, he smiled ruefully at her, knowing that after this, there was no way in Hades he'd be talking to her any time soon. It was time to put a little distance between them. He was tired of this tug'owar, and was more than ready to put it to rest. They both deserved it. Raising his wand, Ethan extinguished the Lumos. But instead of walking away like he'd first intended to, he stayed rooted on the spot, looking at the faint outline of the Gryffindor girl. He was such a goner.

[Indigo Grace]

"I don't know what the point was, that's why I stopped. I never have a point, how come you've never figured that out??" She huffed annoyingly. Indi wasn't nearly as self-assured or confident as she made herself out to be. Relying on others to bring her up was a horrible way to go about it, and yet that's how it was. "But at any rate, I don't want to wear you're coat, it's just...weird." Indigo shrugged it off and held it out to him. If Ethan didn't take it, she was just bound to drop it on the ground. "And why do you have to glare at me so? We left off for the summer on quite good terms actually, so I do have to wonder what happened. It could have been a lot more cruel; I could have stomped all over your heart like I've done to so many others." That was a bitter truth. "I know you well enough Ethan, to know that you try to avoid...unpleasant situations at high costs."

Not that avoiding her today was really such a high cost, yet still. Now he was acting slightly crazy, which in any other moment would have made Indi lose her cool composure and laugh out loud. Yet in this time and place, it just didn't work in that way. "Because it's me. You mean to tell me you would actually have a nice conversation with me if it were possible?" That alone was something else all together. It looked like Indigo wasn't the only one who didn't like the way things had gone. Of all the things to say, she wasn't ignorant! She was...well.....hmm. Being book smart wasn't everything in the world, and Indi really didn't have the first clue on long-lasting human relations. Maybe he was right, in his own way after all.

His words felt like a sharp blade had just been jabbed into her middle, but at the same time she hadn't expected anything different. They both knew what they had couldn't be called in any sense of the word a friendship, but they couldn't seem to let it go. That sinking feeling constantly came and went in Indi's life, when she knew she was about to lose another thing because of her coldness. Nothing came to mind, to say in return to Ethan's agreement of her words. It seemed like it came at perfect timing when his lips touched her's once more, making Indi's grip on rebel go completely. Fortunately it was a bird of flight and caught its self, wandering a few feet away to mend its pride. His touch was perhaps the most perfect feeling in the whole world, except only now it felt so wrong.

Only days before she'd been giving Regulus this kind of attention, and now here she was feeling the same about Ethan. What an awful fix to be in; what ever girl thought that it would be a wonderful feeling to yank with the feelings of more than one boy was terribly wrong. Suddenly, and as quickly as it had come, the feeling went away as Ethan drew back and the lights went out around them. Besides the very faint glimmer of the moon through the trees, they were cast into a darkness. "I know....I can't either." She couldn't be friends with him and feel like this at the same time. It was a painful sort of ultimatum: either they wanted to tear one another from limb to limb or they wanted to kiss. Still, as he prepared to leave that awful feeling only seemed to get worse. Indigo wrapped her hand around his wrist, holding him there. "Wait, don't leave. Everyone....they always walk away from me."

[ethan]

"Open arms reject assuming hands"

Arching an eyebrow at Indigo's rejection of his cloak, Ethan slowly lifted his arm to take it, draping it over his forearm instead of putting it back on. That would not be a good idea. They were both walking on tentative ground here, and hesitant steps were the only kind of steps that should exist. What an absolute mess. Had he mentioned already how much he detested for things to get out of control? Well, he did. Ethan felt almost...caged. As if there was only one option left. But the thing was, he didn't know what that option was. He was tired of walking around in the dark, his arms stretched out in front of him to avoid any straight on collision. His arms weren't good enough safeguards, though, if the collision came from the side, or the back, or from where you least expected it: inside. Ugh. Now he was sounding like a bloody girl. What was next? He'd declare his undying love?

Ethan almost snorted.

Hardly.

"Trying to avoid 'unpleasant situations' hasn't worked out so well, huh?" he said bitterly, gesturing wildly still. "Nothing is working out! Everything is going straight to bloody Hades," he muttered, crossing his arms with his hands fisted in an attempt of semblance of some kind of control. "And I'm tired of avoiding" he emphasized. "I always avoid you, Grace, do you think that's what friends do?" This time, he did snort incredulously. "This is such a hopeless case." He wasn't used to giving up. After all, he'd been taught to persevere, no matter what, but seriously, Ethan had finally come across an obstacle that was much too wide, and much too tall for him to even think of going around it. Named? Indigo Grace.

Bloody ironies.

Now in darkness, he was ready to leave. Leave and wait for this whole mess to disappear. Or evaporate. But evaporation took time. And time had its own way for avoiding Ethan. It passed more slowly for him, and it was kind of annoying. Especially when you just wanted to bolt. Away, away, away. Was that too difficult to understand? It was an innate feeling, surely everyone had wanted to escape at least once in their lifetime. It was human nature: cowardice. He wasn't even surprised about the feeling. No. Because he was around her, and being absolutely honest, there was no way in hell he wouldn't want to do that. Fighting and bickering, and bantering...he could only hold on for so long without bursting. Merlin, he just wanted to kiss her to shut up sometimes! But, you see, there was this tiny thing called PAST RELATIONSHIP (yeah, in capitals and all), that interrupted those trains of thought when they appeared.

"Merlin, I hate you," he murmured softly as he felt her hand on his wrist, stopping him from leaving, and making him feel with the right to let his arms wrap around her shoulders of their own accord in a tight hug. Ethan didn't want to interpret anything that was happening now. Reading body language was entitled to girls, and he wasn't going to deprive them of that privilege by starting to analyze himself. So, as he buried his head in her brown hair, he closed his eyes and smiled sardonically in self-reprehension. What was he doing? Apparently he liked being in a state of absolute confusion, if anything at all.