[GC.Room] Shine Bright

[Jac Shaw]

It was a beautiful day, sunny out but winter's chill still creeping in, and the skies were cleared. The rain had stayed for a long time but it was finished now, there was no more rain to rain. The Tuesday afternoon Jac hadn't had any classes and so she had spent her time by the lake, swimming some but swimming is always more fun when you've got people to dunk and laugh at. As the classes ended more and more students had begun pouring out of the castle so Jac headed in. Though the metamorphmagus was a very social person, she didn't really want to be around them just then.

Seated in the warm, sun drenched common room, Jac had sat in an arm chair and decided to read a book. It had been very enthralling and she wanted to read more but as the sun light consumed her, warmed her cool skin from the water Jac began to dose and eventually she fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes, she realised how uncomfortable it was to sleep sitting up. Because her head had lulled to the one side she had gotten a crick in the neck. Stretching and running her hand over her tense neck muscle, Jac noticed the sun light had moved past her. She must have been out for an hour or so. She wondered if anyone had seen her. Frowning, she reached her arm to the sky as she stretched.

[leonrenolds]

Leon hadn't really been seen around Hogwarts for a few weeks. He'd buried his head into his studies for once, and every weekend was spent at home with his mothers new baby, and suprise suprise, it was another girl. After the past three or four weekends there, he decided he needed to spend a little more time at Hogwarts.
He had no classes on Monday or Tuesday, so he decided to come back to Hogwarts on tuesday morning. Scrambling up the stairs with his rather awkward bag now bursting to the seams with new pictures of his little sister and lots of food and money his parents had given him, He muttered the password to the Portrait before recieving a rather nice welcome from it.
Entering it, he walked into the common room, and noticed a flame haired girl, also known as the crazy Jac.
"Well, what a nice welcome back!" He smirked, with the bag over his shoulder.

[Jac Shaw]

At the sounds of a familiar voice, Jac stopped stretching and spun around in her seat. The shock vanished to be replaced with a giant smile from ear to ear. Jac had not seen this particular Gryffindor in such a long time. Jumping to her feet and rushing towards him, Jac jumped and flung her arms around his neck in a mini-bear hug. She was unsure why but she felt compelled to hug Leon, as though she wouldn't get many chances so had to use up as much as she could now.

Releasing him, Jac looked at him with the same smile. "I can't believe I'm actually seeing you in the common room," she joked, "this is unprecedented for recent time. Where'd you disappear to this time?" It was so good to see the tall Gryffindor that Jac couldn't help but continue smiling. Every now and then she looked away and tried to stop smiling but without fail as she looked back to Leon the smile returned. "It's great to see you."

[leonrenolds]

Leon dropped his bag when Jac came running, knowing full well she'd end up climbing onto him somehow. Greeting her with a grin big enough to match hers, he wrapped his arms around her in return and lifted her up in his strong arms. He seemed to have become more muscular recently, and Jac was probably going to notice.
"I had no idea I was so missed" he said. It was audiable in his tone that he was still smiling. Letting her go, he straightened himself out.
"Well, Mom finally popped. I have yet another little bratty sister" he joked.
"I've been studying during the weeks, then going straight home to be with them" he continued.

[Jac Shaw]

The grin that covered Jac's face was wide and unmovable. She couldn't say that life was boring without Leon because with Jac around life was never boring but it was all the better for having him there. With Leon around life was that extra bit brighter, that much more shinier. She could feel as he embraced her that he had become slightly more muscular since the last embrace but she wasn't going to say that. The news he bore was just to great.

"Oh my gosh," she chuckled, punching him lightly on the arm, "congrats. I would love to have a younger sister but you know, being the younger sister is so much better." She wrinkled her nose and grinned with a naughty twinkle in her green eyes. She had been wearing them green recently, and not the usual hazel brown. She enjoyed the subtle change.

"Will you still run back and forth now that she's ... popped?" she emphasized the last word by making a popping noise with her lips and exploding her fingers from her stomach in a mock-explosion. She must had looked mighty funny, standing with her stomach pushed out slightly and her fingers stretching out like the gaping wound that would if her stomach had exploded.

[leonrenolds]

Leon watched her with raised eyebrows as she mocked his mother, and as she exploded, it made him laugh.
"Yeah, but not so much anymore. I'll be going home one weekend every month so I can stay here and study for the exams" he smiled. He bent down and pulled out a brand new photoalbum of his new sister and handed it to Jac to look at.
"So what have you been up to then Jaccy baby?" he smirked.
"I hope you haven't missed me too much"he emphasized as he nudged her back playfully, then decided to pick her up and lift her high above his head and twirl her around in the air.

[Jac Shaw]

Jac laughed with Leon at her silly imitation. She couldn't believe she was doing that so she straightened and played the drums on her stomach in stead with her wingers. She couldn't believe she hadn't realised how much she had missed Leon. He always made her laugh and that was oh so very important to her. Laughter was food for the soul and when Leon was around her soul was stuffed.

Smiling, Jac shook her hair over her shoulder and looked up to Leon. "Good to hear," Jac said. She felt better knowing that he would be around more. "And I hope you'll tear yourself away from those books for a while to see little ol' me." She said it in such a sing song tone that she laughed at how silly she sounded.

Leon pulled out a book. Jac clapped her hands together and squeeked, "eee! A book." She took the book from Leon with a broad sweeping arm. She spun around and opened the book to find it was filled with photos. "Oooo," Jac giggled, "photos!" As she flipped through the pages of the book, Jac shrugged. "A bit of this a bit of that. Went swimming earlier, while the Lake was still quiet."

At the mention of the Lake, Jac looked up at Leon and smiled, remembering their little trip to the lake. She closed the book and twirled around where she was standing. "You know me," she said blinking up at Leon with big innocent eyes, "I'd never admit to missing you as much as I do." She shrieked with laughter and Leon picked her up with ease. "Lee," she chuckled, "nooo!" She laughed harder, surprisingly still holding onto the book.

[leonrenolds]

Leon gave a manly laugh as he picked her up. Of course, he would never admit to missing her as much as he did either, they were alike, maybe too much alike. He turned his attention back to the photo's of him new baby sister that Jac still held in her hands.
"Her Name's Catherine, I got to choose it this time" he smiled wondering whether she would notice why he had chosen it. Knowing Jac she would, but only in an innocent way, not just so no matter what happened between them, he would always remember Jac. When she mentioned the Lake, he gave a toothy grin and rubbed the back of his hair.
"That was a fun day" he said truthfully.

[Jac Shaw]

Jac loved to hear the sound of Leon's laugh. It was so different to hers and it was always so nice to hear because it made her laugh too. She did, she laughed with him but when he turned his attention back to the book, Jac opened it and looked more carefully at the pictures.

Leon began to talk about his new baby sister and when Jac heard her name (both her own and the new baby girl's) Jac's head whipped around. She was smiling broadly at Leon, her mouth a little open. She narrowed her eyes at him a little before she laughed. "You ..." she chuckled again, becoming more and more speechless as she thought about it. "You ..."

Looking back to the pictures, Jac turned the page and came across one with Leon, his mother and Catherine. Jac's head tilted to the one side as she smiled down at the little girl. "You gave her my name," Jac said finally, looking up at Leon. "Why?" She couldn't understand. Sure, Catherine was a very popular name but she knew Leon knew it was hers (one of her many!). All thoughts of the lake were forgotten in light of this new development.

[leonrenolds]

Leon smiled as Jac turned her attention back to the photographs. It took her a while to realise he'd taken her name for his sister and he gave an uncomfortable smirk. He was going to have to explain himself, just what he didn't want.
"Well, urm...I did it because of you. I couldn't bare if we never saw each other again Jac" he said truthfully, looking into Jac's new coloured eyes. They were pretty whatever colour they were. She was pretty.
Lowering his head, he stared at the pictures in her hands. He didn't know what else to say, she'd probably think he was a weirdo and run away flailing her arms. The thought of Jac running away doing that made Leon give a little chuckle.

[Jac Shaw]

As Jac waited for her answer, she thought about why he might do such a thing. They were friends, good friends, but surely their feelings for one another weren't that strong that he would give her name to his sister. She couldn't believe that that was so. She certainly felt for him but if it was that strong ... Jac wouldn't have noticed. She knew herself well enough to know that she was terrible at picking up anyone's feelings unless they came out and said what they were feeling.

Leon spoke and Jac looked at him as he did. Her cheeks flushed with colour. She was speechless. For once in her life Jac Biggerstall was speechless. All she could do was smile, her mouth slightly open, and blink. "I ... eh ..." she tired but words wouldn't come to her.

[leonrenolds]

The silence between Leon and Jac was a little awkward, the first time he had ever felt that with her. Breaking the silence, he sat down on the arm of the chair and sighed.
"So..." he breathed, rubbing the back of his neck, and gave her a swift glance and a smirk.
"You'll have to come and see her sometime" he said, finally putting an end to the silence. He decided seems as though he was being out and open truthful, he would carry it on.
"She's gorgeous...like you" he said, his head hanging. He didn't know how she'd react to him saying that, normally she would laugh and joke about it, and he would probably do the same, but somehow, this time was different.

[Jac Shaw]

Jac couldn't believe her ears. Was what she was hearing coming out of Leon's mouth really what he was saying? Or was she still on the couch, dreaming? She pinched her hand and when she looked up again she still saw Leon standing in front of her. It was really happening. But now the question was what was she going to do about it?

Swallowing hard Jac wondered what Leon wasn't saying. Surely that wasn't all? The conversation felt incomplete, is all. It was a funny feeling to have but her stomach was writhing inside her as she looked at Leon. He had always been such a good friend to her for such a long time that at any other time his comment could have been laughed at, they both would have laughed. Was this feeling the cause of the lack of laughter?

If it was then Jac didn't want it. She loved laughing. She loved laughing with Leon. "What are you hinting at, Le?" Jac asked eventually. "You know me, I'm dreadful with hints. Just spit it out already."

[leonrenolds]

Leon was really out of his comfort zone. He'd liked the girl since they first met, but he was always to butch to show it. Girls came and went, but truthfully, nobody could compare to Jac. Even if they were just friends. He fiddled with his fingers before deciding to take it on the chin like a man. If she said she didn't want anything except friendship then fine, he could deal with that, but if she rejected him and he lost her forever, he'd be heartbroken for losing a best friend.
"Well, okay...Jac. This is hard for me ya know? I just wanted to say I really like you" he said in all seriousness. He realised it could be taken in a friendly way, but hopefully the look on his face would show which way he meant it.

[Jac Shaw]

Jac could feel her heart being to beat faster and faster. She didn't know what to expect. Jac was a very forward person. If she didn't like you she would say so. If she didn't think your hair do suited you she would say, though with little tact that was for sure. But when it came to anything remotely resembling 'affairs of the heart' Jac was vague and useless.

Leon spoke and Jac just blinked at him for a moment. Had it been any other day, any other time she would have laughed and said something like, "course you do," and given him a light punch on the arm, "everyone really likes me." But Jac could see it in Leon's face that he wasn't joking. It was a strange thing to see, a serious Leon. She never thought she would see it (not like this anyway).

Putting the photo album down on the small coffee table near them, Jac looked back to Leon and smiled. She reached out a hand and took Leon's large hand in her own small one. Linking her fingers slowly in his, Jac smiled. "Perfect fit." She smiled. "Do you remember that?" she asked, "fourth year we made this game. I never found a hand that fitted better in mine then yours. I still haven't. I like you too, Le. I really do."