[Library] Timeless Text

[Edward Niven]

Edward furrowed his brow as he gazed at a number of titles shelved neatly in front of him. It was growing increasingly hard to find one that actually enthralled him, and he exhaled restlessly as a slender finger perched against the spine of a particularly dusty tome.

Though he was quite studious, Edward was feeling immensely reluctant to begin his latest assignment. It was already well into the evening however, and there wasn't much else to occupy his time - seeing as how he rarely engaged in any kind of company and was quite happy being so independent.

Resigned, the Slytherin tucked the book under his arm until he reached a table squarely in the middle of the History section. Dropping the books down carefully, Edward picked up his quill and spun it around in his fingers a few times before forcing himself to begin the grueling paper. [/color]

[Becky Dowell]

It had been a rather slow day for the Ravenclaw as she stared at the pages of the book she was attempting to study from. Though the words just skimmed her eyes and didnt really sink into her mind, it seemed as though it was somewhat occupied with something else. Though what, Bex didnt know. She just couldnt concentrate. The girl just sat at the table, her elbows resting either side of the thick textbook. History never really interested her, so when she wasnt in a concentrating mood, it seemed harder for her to let anything sink in, especially History. She watched as the words blurred and melted into one rather large unreadable word. Throwing her head back gently over the back of the chair she sighed. Maybe she would have been better sat perched on the windowsil in the common room staring blankly over the grounds to the forest. That place did not hold once single good memory for her, and she wouldnt be going in there again any time soon that was for sure.

The library seemed to be empty asides from herself and the librarian. Well, that was what Bex thought, but she hadnt developed X-Ray vision yet so she couldnt see through the stacks. After a moment with her head thrown back, she pulled it up slowly to try to avoid the head rush she would more then likely get if she pulled it up too fast. No joy. She got it anyway, she had obviously been leant back for too long as her neck cracked too. "Whoa.." She mumbled to herself as she closed her eyes tightly and waited for the motion to pass. Bex liked studying usually, she liked intelligent conversations and being able to contradict herself. She, when not in one of her smarts, had quite a strange mind. Bex could usually think of something stupid on the spot without much hassle. A stupid genious. Thats how she liked to think of herself.

After another ten minutes of trying to study and getting nowhere, she decided to give up. It wasnt as though she couldnt do it tomorrow anyway when she had a better concentration span. With a slight stretch, she pushed back on her chair and stood up, yawning a little bit, but she figured that was more out of boredom than anything else. Lex and Brad wouldnt come to the library with her, they knew what she was like when she studied and she usually got into it and got annoyed if Brad and Lex began messing around like baboons. Seriously, sometimes she wondered how those two passed their exams, she couldnt remember if Lex even knew how to open a book, and Brad. Well he was a lost cause.

Picking up her bag and putting the strap over her shoulder, cradeling the book close to her chest as she made her way to put it back in the isle. She gave a warm smile to Offley before heading down the Isle, completley overlooked the fact someone else was there. Sliding the book back into a place on the shelf, she turned to look out of the window and almost fell over the guy sat down. Almost, but she managed to catch herself, luckily for her anyway as she caught the badge on his robes. A Slytherin. Of all the people Bex could nearly fall on, she had to choose a Slytherin didnt she? Not the smartest move in exsistance, yet not the thickest one either. "Eugh." Bex mumbled to herself, as, in an attempt to steady her unsteady self, she pulled a muscle in her arm. The one that was gripping hold of the bookshelf. With any luck, he wouldnt have noticed he nearly had a Ravenclaw on his knee. "Yeah, that could have gone a whole lot better." She scolded herself, deciding the Slytherin looked like he didnt want to be bothered. Bex tried to be stealthy and creep away. Though, as Offley came around the corner and asked her if she had found the book she was looking for, Bex frowned. Well so much for a stealthy escape from a situation she was more than likely not going to be throwing balloons and ribbons for later, she gave a small nod as Offley walked off. "Hmm." Turning around to look at the boy, she figured she was here now, it would just be rude to not say anything. "Did I disturb you?"

[Edward Niven]

It had only been a few minutes since he'd sat down and Edward already found himself drifting out of focus. Leaning an arm on the table and sifting pale fingers through his hair, he reread a passage lazily while his gaze attempted to flicker toward the library window.

The library held a different tone of silence that evening. Instead of the hushed voices and the soft scratch of a quill, the room was quite empty. Though he wasn't partial to interaction, Edward knew he was somewhat of an observer and the lack of people contributed to his growing boredom.

Resigned to finishing his assignment with the lack of distractions, Edward flipped the page in his textbook. He barely had the time to notice the next page of the chapter had been jaggedly ripped out when Offley appeared and in her cheery voice addressed someone Edward had not noticed at first.

Blinking in a rather puzzled way, Edward untangled his hand from his hair and took in the close figure that merely nodded at Offley's question.

"Disturb me?." Edward hid a smirk as he fingered the torn edges of the remains of the page. "I've always known Ravenclaws to be rather loud and obnoxious," he continued, eyes raking over her house badge, "but surprisingly, no. Not counting now anyway."

Edward's fingers fell away from the book as he turned in his seat to face the vaguely familiar face expectantly. [/color]

[Becky Dowell]

This could be a bad situation. By the look on the boys face as she turned around, the smug look told her he was yet another one of these arrogant Slytherins. Sighing, how she wished one day she could actually meet a sociable one, one you could actually stand to be around. Bex was not known for mixing with Slytherins, and though the boys face seemed familiar she had no clue who he was. Surprise surprise. Bex never payed attention to Slytherins. She saw them more as annoying worms than snakes, and for some reason, she always expected them to be thick like worms were, instead of smart like snakes. It was a shame really that Slytherins were associated with the serpent species, Bex liked snakes.

"Oh, thats good then. I'll just be on my way and --" She never finished that sentance because the boy seemed to cut her off with his sly remark about Ravenclaws. Bex was extreamly terratorial and protective of her house, she did not like it being bad mouthed, especially by some people who didnt exactly have good mouths. She knew she shouldnt listen to his taunts, but around a Slytherin, she was a little on edge anyway. A Slytherin always had the upper hand with Bex, she didnt quite know how to handle them, she never did have much experiance in this department. "Really now? I always thought it to be Slytherins who were the loud and obnoxious ones." Bex flicked her fringe from her eyes and set about making sure she did not break eye contact with the boy. "Hmph," She mumbled and rolled her eyes, "No manners."

The two just seemed to have a slight staring competition going on. Bex wasnt looking away from the Snake and he wasnt looking away from her. Bex wasnt the most confrontational of people, she usually left that to Lex and Brad, But her temper had been known to spike sometimes. Luckily she wasnt in a temper like state, just a wary one. Trying to keep herself on her feet, the week had been exhausting for the Ravenclaw, but Bex was strong willed enough and if she wanted to do something she would do it. Eventually. Maybe. Sometimes.

If they were in a desert, or deserted old weston town, she was sure tumbleweed would blow past them as it usually does in those silly movies at just the right time, with the creepy music and wind sounds. Not to mention the hummin and ahhing from the standoff guys. The library seemed to become even more quiet since she had run into this Slytherin. Bex had a strict rule to stay away from Snakes. So how come it was just like her to find herself in a situation like this? Maybe she tried to hard, or didnt try hard enough. Either one. Finally, after getting a little creeped out by their little staring game, Bex broke eye contact and looked at the spines of the books instead. She wouldnt turn her back on him, she knew well enough to never present a Slytherin with an easy target, and having her back to him could prove to be the easiest. "Uh..." Bex mumbled, the silence to her was awkward, she just did not know how to behave around a Slytherin. If Offley hadnt come looking for her, she could have made a getaway, but no. She was here now as she turned to look at him once more. "Well this isnt turning out to be the single most akward time in my life." Bex stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Using her fingers, she sort of cut the air as though they were scissors, "Seriously though, you're throwing off some bad vibes."

[Edward Niven]

There was an entire range of emotions that flickered in the girl's expression, Edward managing to catch only a few, and he noticed her stubbornness right away. Allowing himself a wry smile, the Slytherin stood from his seat and offered it to her almost mockingly. "You're right; where are my manners?"

As he waited for her to take the seat, not quite so unnerved by their awkward staring contest - though grudgingly impressed that she wasn't about to hurl insults at him. - Edward flipped his book shut. He was always a bit strange about his need for privacy. Then, leaning against the desk to get comfortable, he crossed his arms.

"Quietly studying in the history section is now loud and obnoxious? Seems I need an updated dictionary." His smile widened a bit at her scissored motion. The girl's behaviour was becoming increasingly more curious. "I'm a Slytherin." His voice was slightly condescending with its sarcasm. "Aren't we meant to be all about 'bad vibes'?"[/color]

[Becky Dowell]

"H-hey!" Bex said, frowning as she waved her hands infront of her face in a 'no' like fashion. "I didnt mean I wanted your chair!" Though the way he offered it to her was more in a mocking like way anyway, so he was probably not doing it out of the goodness of his heart. That is assuming his heart even had any goodness, or even if he had a heart. It was difficult to tell with some people and this guy wasnt giving off any signals, in fact, he was doing quite well avoiding any emotional conflict in himself. Unlike Bex who was able to throw the whole range out. Giving a sigh, Bex rubbed the back of her head. She wasnt quite sure what she was doing and she wasnt sure of what was going to come of this meeting either. Seriously, she thought she knew the male species, and yet there was always one she couldnt figure out.

Bex watched as he flicked the book shut and leaned against the desk. Looking between him and the chair, she figured if it was just going to be of no use to him, she may as well get comfortable. This would certainly be a tale to tell Lex, possibly not Brandon though. You never knew how he would react and since he was highly protective of both her and Lex, he would probably assume the worst, think this guy had done something to hurt her and hunt him down. Pitchforks an' all. Now there was a funny picture when painted and Bex couldnt help but smile. Brad all riled up with his pitchfork and a stick with fire on it. Whereas this guy just stood looking at him completley calm. Did he have any other emotion then calm? Bex doubted it.

"And again I point out I didnt mean that either." Bex sighed, "I meant its usually the Slytherins who make the big fuss about things, being all loud and thinking they are better than everyone else." Looking up at him from the chair, she furrowed her brow, "And dont you dare say anything sarcy to that, Mister... Whoever you are." She tilted her head to the side when he stated the fact he was a Slytherin, laughing heartilly she placed her hand over her chest. "Really? And here's me thinking your a Hufflepuff." She stuck out her tongue at him for a moment, then waved her hands to show she was only teasing. As far as Slytherins went, this one didnt seem to be hell bent on throwing out insults or making people feel like complete rubbish. Bex raised one eyebrow then looked down at the floor, this wasnt as awkward as it first was, and Bex was thankful for that. She didnt really like awkward silences. "Well." Bex commented to his last statement, brushing off the condescending tone as if it was dust, "Yeah, I guess you are but you could try to be a little less bad vibey and a little more..." She shrugged, "I dunno, fun? I mean would it kill you?"

Standing up rather quickly, she smiled at him. Seeing as how they were both here, they should at least have a bit of fun even if he didnt want to. Bex would see to it personally that she got a smile out of him. A halfway decent one too, not a silly smirk. And if he laughed well hey, bonus points. "Come on," Bex smiled, having a strange urge to flick his nose but resisting, she didnt think he would appreciate that much. "Doesnt it hurt your face to frown all the time? Keep on frowning and your face will be stuck like that and believe me, from where I'm standing, it doesnt suit you." She put her hands behind her back and rocked back on forth on the balls of her feet. "Do you have a name?" Introductions first, fun soon after.

[Edward Niven]

Edward smirked as the girl sat down, her mouth running off again with the millions of thoughts that seemed to be in her head. She would zone out for a minute clearly thinking to herself, only to revive the conversation between them quite suddenly with another remark.

"It's easy to see why Slytherins think they're better than every one else," Edward commented importantly, a crooked smile washing over his face as he sent the girl a sly look. "I've not seen anyone from another House come up to par." Of course, he left out the part of him not associating with anyone out of Slytherin, thus being extremely biased.

Though, that was all said with an air of casualty rather than snidely. His eyes glimmered with amusement when she childishly stuck out her tongue and Edward slanted his head to one side devilishly. "Fun? I almost hexed off your tongue there, and what's more fun than that?" It would have been hilarious, but Edward wasn't really so juvenile or idiotic to try it out.

Nearly flinching when she pulled herself up and looked entirely too happy for someone in his presence, Edward straightened. "Edward Niven," he became quite formal. Not being sociable had its downfalls and Edward's stiff personality was one of them. "Not that I'm really all that interested, but yours?"[/color]

[Becky Dowell]

There was absolutley nothing wrong with Bex allowing her mouth to run off with her. Besides, it made life more interesting if you said what you thought and Bex quite easily achieved that. Of course some of her thoughts were usually better left inside her head but hey it wasnt her fault if they accidentally slipped out of her mouth. Bex liked to think she was easily sociable, and though this guy was making life difficult, she wasnt about to give up yet. Bex wouldnt admit defeat and would hunt him down every day until he gave in to smile at least once!

"Oh yeah I know it is," Bex put a finger on her chin and seemed to be lost in thought, "You're all arrogant. Thats one reason why. Not to mention you all think highly of yourselves too, like you rule the school or something when we all know this is not true." Bex hadnt said any of this with any sign of maliciousness or nasty toning, it was simply what she thought. Bex was a character all of her own, it was fun to be around her as you never quite knew what she was going to say or do and she would usually do something drastic to surprise you or disgust you. "You've not eh?" Bex smirked, "Well clearly you've never been around me before." She gave a soft wink towards the boy. Bex liked to kid around and it didnt matter much to her if she made him feel uncomfy or not. If he felt uncomfy it gave Bex the upper hand, she had found a challenge, and she would see it through to the end. She never thought she would say a Slytherin seemed interesting. "You should be careful of what you say," She stated, "Someone might take offence." Then thinking on it, "Guess I dont have much room to talk on that matter, oh well!"

Clapping her hands over her mouth, Bex did not like the idea of not having a tongue. "Hey!" She mumbled through her hands, "Not funny!" Dropping her hands, she scowled at the boy, seriously was it all bodily harm with these morons or did they just enjoy tormenting people. On second thoughts, she knew the answer to that one already. "Well I could think of a million things a lot more fun then hexing off someones tongue," She folded her arms across her chest in a huffy like manner, "And again I point out, you have absolutley no manners!" She walked closer to him and gave him a hard jab in the chest with her finger, bending forward and looking directly at him. "No manners at all, you are the least gentleman like of any people I've met. Completley arrogant. You dont suit frowning, some reason I suspect you wouldnt suit smiling either. Honestly!" She leant back, "I feel sorry for any girl who gets landed with you!" Though all of this was said, you could sense the amusement in Bex's voice, and anybody with half a brain would know, even though she meant what she said, she meant no harm by it. "Cant you at least try to be civil? Or was that not programmed into your head?" She gave a sweet smile and clasped her arms behind her back once more, before adding a little 'hmmm?' Sound.

"Bex Dowell." She grinned rather energetically. Which was surprising with the week she had. She could tell he didnt like her, or she got the feeling he didnt but eh, you win some, you lose some right? "Gosh, You really are a downer." She stated, "Do you even know the meaning of the word 'fun'? Or would you like me to get you a dictionary. While your at it, you could look up 'conversation' and 'civil' too."

[Edward Niven]

A gleam had entered Bex's eyes and Edward frowned warily. He could only imagine what thoughts had entered the unorthodox girl's head as he glanced at her inquisitively. But, as soon as the the gleam had appeared it was gone and the Slytherin nearly sighed in exasperation.

But a smirk had crept onto his face rather quickly at her next remark. "I'm quite lucky to agree. I've never had to endure your company before. And you really think you can live up to such high standards?" With his head slanted to one side, Edward took in her airy wink. "Seems in the midst of pointing out the too-large egos of everyone else, someone forgot about her own arrogance." His smirk broadened a bit, making it clear that he was mostly teasing.

Teetering a chair next to him on its back legs, Edward snickered as Beckii held her fingers tight against her mouth. "Our ideas of fun are quite different then." He looked up at her innocently and was a bit stricken to see her looming in front of him and even more surprised at the hard jab at his chest. "I have grand manners," he said after a moment, letting the chair he was balancing fall back against the floor with a thud. "I just prefer not to use them."

It was, surprisingly, the truth. Edward could be well polite if he wanted to and often was, albeit a bit short with others. The earful she was giving him about being civil, however, nearly had Edward laughing.

"What about the guy that gets stuck with you, Dowell? If he sets you off at all, he'll never hear the end of it." Edward glanced at her amusedly. "And I didn't hex off your tongue, did I? I think I get some 'civil points' for that."[/color]

[Becky Dowell]

It was true, the gleam left her eye almost as quickly as it appeared there. In truth, she had tried to hide it, it wasnt the smartest thing to do in the company of a Slytherin, he, or she, whichever sex you were in the prescence of, would hex you for it. Luckily this guy seemed to either not notice, or chose to ignore it. Either way, Bex had managed to avoid yet another hex, which in her eyes was always a bonus. Picking up the pink plastic heart which hung loosly around her neck, falling as far as a necklace could fall, she began to twiddle it between her fingers as though in thought.

"Had to?" Bex eyed, clutching the plastic heart before letting it fall clumsily onto her chest. "No, you've never had to, and you dont now. But if you'd prefer to be left to your tedious History essay then please, tell me and I will leave you to it" Of course, she wouldnt leave that easily, but there was no point in forcing her presence on somebody was there? Mimicking his head tilt, her hair fell off her shoulder in a wave as she blinked and smirked. "Oh, I think so." Smiling, Bex had her own standards, and though this was breaking everything Beckii was by even speaking to a Slytherin, it was proving to be quite interesting. He wasnt as arrogant as the rest of them, Bex would even say he was tolerable. "I'm not arrogant actually. Im just confident, there's a big difference." She stated, "By first, I dont think, nor claim to be the best, the prettiest or the most intelligent. But can your lot claim that? No. Slytherins think they are a notch above everybody else and that is not true. Nobody's better than any one else." Bex then rubbed the back of her head when she caught his broad grin. Now she realised he was only teasing. Resisting the urge to stick her tongue out, Bex tried to hold back a laugh so she looked away.

She removed her finger from his chest only when she heard the thud of the chair and turned to look at it. Raising her eyebrows she looked back at him, furrowing her brow and pouting. "Everyones ideas of fun differ. Some like going in the Forest!" Bex shuddered and looked away, "I personally despise it. Creeps me out and..." Okay so she was stopping that sentance before she embarrassed herself. Bex gave a sigh as she looked back to Niven and with a smirk she waved her finger infront of his face, "Now now. That is not good is it!" She laughed, "Looks like someone needs some lessons!"

If there was something that could be considered as fun in this boy, Bex would find it. She had a habit of bringing the fun out in others. Even now it seemed he had relaxed around her a bit, he was giving the banter as much as he was recieving it so that was a step at least. Bex wouldnt quit until she had broken a laugh from this guy. Prefferably without hurting herself.

"Oh, there will be no guy for a long long while thankyou very much!" She shook her head, "So not interested in being all couply like people these days, eugh!" Of course, this wasnt entirely true. She wouldnt mind it, but she didnt want it either. Bex just wasnt bothered whether she had someone or not, she had Lex and Brad and they were all the people she needed. "Fine, two civil points. But you have a long way to go yet Mr Niven."

[Edward Niven]

Edward smirked as he leaned both arms back on the table, eyes watching his accidental companion with interest. From his experience, he'd known Ravenclaws were a civil sort but he'd always thought they were almost as haughty as Slytherins. Needless to say, Edward was mildly surprised at most everything about Beckii and, finally, held up a hand to stop her mid-rant.

"Hold on, did you just tell me no one is better than anyone else?" The Slytherin looked as though he seriously was in doubt of that. "What a naive thing to say - in fact, what a completely Hufflepuff sort of thing to say." He shook his head slightly, before pulling himself onto the table for an unconventional seat.

Edward had a short laugh at Beckii's ramble about the forest, his green eyes glancing over at the nearest window trying to get a look at some of its terrorizing trees. Seeing nothing, he turned to Beckii with a surprisingly neutral expression. She had just thrown another one of her weaknesses at him and Edward wondered if the Slytherin in him would eventually use that to his own advantage over her.

Her next comment about any future love interests made him forget about his thoughts and Edward grinned wolfishly. "Is that so? I suppose that means the male population is safe for a little while longer - enormous relief for many, I'm sure." As an afterthought, Edward added with a crooked smile, "And only two points? Kind of cheap, don't you think?"

Usually Edward noticed the smallest details of things happening around him, but it seemed that was only because he was often alone without anyone to distract him from them. It was for that reason he completely missed the history textbook that was to his right flipping open by invisible fingers. In fact, Edward wasn't aware of anything out of the ordinary happening until a scratchy ripping noise caught his attention.

Stopping the conversation suddenly, the Slytherin frowned and shifted so he was facing the book squarely. A page had begun to tear itself out and the words on it slithered off the parchment like runny ink. Then the page began to fold itself.

Stunned, Edward watched in silence as a third corner of the page curled itself inwards. But when the third corner was done, he gently slammed his palm on the table and effectively sopped it from continuing. "What on earth..." He trailed off, eyes looking incredibly puzzled.[/color]

[Becky Dowell]

Beckii had that effect on people, she tended to surprise those she was in the company of since there was a lot that made Bex who she was and she gave everyone a fair run, trying not to judge people on who they were or what colours they sported. However, Beckii did tend to judge Slytherins. Though Edward didnt seem to be all too bad. In fact, she was willing to bet underneath his cool and calm exterior lay someone who did care. Of course, she wasnt about to tell him that.

"I did, why?" Though her question was soon answered, Beckii grinned like a cheshire cat. "Well I was told I held qualities for all but Slytherin, but I had more Ravenclawish qualities then any other." Smiling she wagged her finger, "Another random fact for you."

Bex didnt know if she was happy, or rather annoyed at the fact he laughed about her adventure in the forest. It wasnt a pleasant one, having to sleep in a cave with only a thin jacket and your best mates brother to keep you warm. It was a disasterous night if there ever was one, and she was sure she had begun counting the cracks in the walls as Brad had drifted to sleep long before she did. Saying that, Brad could sleep comfortably in a bush of nettles, so she didnt know why she was surprised really.

"Now I'm offended." Beckii stated, was he implying that she wasnt a good enough girl for someone? How very Slytherin like. Or was he implying nobody was strong minded or willed enough to be able to handle her? Either way, Bex had not liked that statement. "You just lost a point for offending me, so now you only have one."

Bex seemed to stare at Edward, almost like she was daring him to give her some form of snippy comment, the Ravenclaw was a nice enough girl but she could argue for England if she needed to. Bex opened her mouth to say something to him but a ripping noise caught her attention, looking behind him she saw the text book open and a page tearing itself away. Now Beckii had a million stupid things to say about that, but not one smart thing and she didnt want to give him more reason to taunt her.

Ed stepped in her line of vision so she couldnt see the book, walking behind him she placed her hands on his shoulders, her head popping up over his left. "What's it doing?" She asked as she watched the book with interest. Though, like usual, a Slytherin had to spoil it by stopping the page from continuing. Frowning, she took her hands off his shoulder and moved around, picking his hand off the table and patting it almost patronisingly. "We'll never know what it's doing if you stop it, will we?" A devious grin spread across her features as she uttered the next words, "Could be fun."