b r u i s e s (Jack)

[believe]

Stevie Rae walked into the Gardens in silence, holding her arms. It was a rather gloom looking day, and rain was no doubt on its way. As usual, she had the impulse to come outside, and, as usual, she had bruises to hide. She had been required to return home, much to her dismay. Terence had been in his usual drunken mood and... well, the rest was a blur. Without realizing it, tears had begun to stream down her cheeks. The tears were frightening, but, normal. Stevie Rae then realized why she had wanted to come to the gardens.

This was the place she disappeared to in order to cry in peace. Ever since her dad had hit her the first time a few years ago, she had always found the garden a good way to let out her bottled up emotions. Stevie Rae sat down on a small stone bench surrounded by rose bushes. She pushed up the long sleeves of her robes, admiring her battle scars. The welts were larger than normal, for just being hit with Terence's fist. They were black, with a sickly greenish hues surrounding them. A sudden creak of a gate caused her to jump. Hastily, she pushed her robes sleeves back down and wiped her eyes, turning to greet...

[jackgreyer]

Jack walked into the garden and breathed in deeply. It was quite the nice day, and he had decided to go for a walk. He hadn't seen Sydney lately, and was starting to worry about her a bit. They were in the same House, after all. But Jack supposed he would probably see her at dinner. If not, then he would allow himself to really worry.

Suddenly, he saw a girl on a nearby bench, hurriedly wiping her eyes. Eyebrows raised slightly, Jack walked over to her, wondering what was wrong. Perhaps she had broken up with her boyfriend or something; she was certainly pretty enough to have one. "Are you alright?" he asked, hoping it wasn't anything too serious.

[believe]

Stevie Rae smiled a rather weak grin towards the handsome boy. "Um, yes. I am fine." She replied softly. She vaguely reconized the boy from her House, and she knew he was in the same year. But she felt awful that she couldn't place a name with the lovely face. Careful not to reveal her arms, or any other of the countless bruises and scars, she stood and held out her hand. "I'm Stevie Rae. And, I'm sorry, but I don't remember yours." She admitted sheepishly. Stevie Rae caught the rosy blush growing on her cheeks before it spread to her neck and ears, managing a small, level-headed smile as she did so.

[jackgreyer]

Jack frowned slightly, feeling as though Stevie Rae was keeping something from him. However, he didn't know her very well, so she probably had the right to do so. He shook her hand gently. "Nice to meet you formally, Stevie Rae," he replied. "My name is Jack Greyer."

[believe]

"Nice to meet you too Jack." Stevie Rae replied. Now she recognized him, he was the exchange student from Beauxbatons. She smiled calmly and sat back down on the bench. "I'm sorry if I'm being cold, I wasn't expecting anyone to be here. But, I suppose I don't own the garden." she replied, looking apologetically into Jack's lovely face. She patted the bench beside her with a small, warm smile.

[jackgreyer]

Jack sat beside her, glad for the invitation. It would have felt awkward to be next to Stevie Rae without her offering first. Jack wouldn't want to pressure her or anything. "Oh no, it's fine," he assured her. "I didn't expect anyone else to be here either. I just thought it would be a good time for a walk."

[believe]

Stevie Raw nodded politely. She rubbed her arms, which had begun to hurt once more. Being extremely careful not to reveal the bruises to Jack, she looked around the garden absently. She wasn't exactly sure how to start a conversation with Jack. He was French after all, and incredibly handsome, but she was just a lowly "mother" to her siblings. There wasn't much she knew about in the area of flirting... Or dating for that matter. Stevie Rae finally forced herself to meet Jack's gaze, only to have her loose focus on hiding her wounds.