r o s e s (bella/open)

[mrpotter]

James wasn't sure why the rose bushes in the garden had become his favourite haunt, but nearly every afternoon, regardless of how torrential the downpour, he wound up in the gardens. Today it wasn't raining, although the dark clouds overhead certainly threatened it. James lightly fingered a bud on the bush, in a month or two it would become a flower, but as for now it was a firm green protrusion. He carefully went about feeling the beginnings of flowers on the branch nearest him, minding the thorns.

James reflected on his memories, mainly the ones he had of his mother as the rose bushes never failed to remind him of her. While still saddened by the loss, James no longer felt as if the world were coming apart at the seams. It was difficult, but manageable. When he heard the sounds of footsteps in his safe haven of solitude James had no choice but to look over his shoulder and see...

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bella had been hoping for a long walk through the gardens alone, but wasn't too upset to find that her lone companion was James Potter, one of the few people she didn't hate at the moment. In fact, Bella considered them to be nearly friends, which was odd for her. Bella didn't think of herself as having many true friends, so that she considered James to be a sort of friend was a pretty big deal. Bella smiled as James turned around to see her. "Hey James," she said, closing the gap between them.

[mrpotter]

"Hi Bella," James said with a nod and a slight smile. The young Malfoy was one of the few people that he might actually call his friend. She had been the one to comfort him a few months ago when he had broken down, and had thankfully nto told anyone about it. James considered her trustworthy, and if anyone were going to interrupt his time alone in the gardens he would rather it be Bella than someone else.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bella's eyes found the rose bush that James had been standing next to, and stared at it for a moment. She imagined it would be beautiful in only a few weeks time, but right now seemed to be the in between time for the bush, while it was waiting for the rose to bloom. Bella could relate. She felt like she was holding her breath, waiting for something big to happen. Isabelle had been suspiciously quiet, only attacking people here and there. Bella had a feeling she was planning something, though. "How are you?" Bella asked politely, turning back to James. She would much rather make conversation at this point, than be left to her depressing thoughts.

[mrpotter]

"I'm," James began, having no idea how to finish the sentence. His moods were rather odd these days, he didn't really have any emotion at all, unless someone got him angry. "Fine" seemed like the automatic response, but he didn't think it was appropriate. He wasn't completely miserable, but he didn't think that he was particularly happy either. "Doing all right," James concluded after a pause, that being the only response he felt fit his specific situation.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bella nodded slowly, understanding James' pause. She too, often hesitated when asked that very question. How was she? Bella had no idea anymore; she felt as if she wasn't even there anymore. Like her body was on autopilot, going through the motions without feeling. "Well, that's something," Bella said, trying for a positive comment. She was just glad that James hadn't said "fine" or "completely awful". Bella wasn't really a fan of those responses.

[mrpotter]

"I guess," James said with a shrug. He was beginning to wish that his entire existence wasn't so... apathetic. It wasn't just the absence of moods that was bothering him, but almost everything about his behaviour. He didn't think it was right of a fourteen year old to not have opinins on hardly anything. James was jsut grateful that he was able to concentrate on his schoolwork now, his grades had been slipping, but now he was doing even better than he had before his mother's death. Schoolwork gave him something to do, to keep his hands and mind busy.

[gooddontalwayswin]

"I know what you mean," Bella commented quietly. She wasn't entirely positive, but Bella was starting to get the feeling that James' mood was a lot like hers. She briefly wondered if everyone felt this way, but decided that couldn't be right, because there were people all over the place falling in love and pulling pranks. Certainly they couldn't be feeling this empty too.

[mrpotter]

James nodded, he wished that he knew what to say, but he found that no words would come to his tongue- the path between his brain and tongue seemingly closed off entirely. So he would keep quiet. If Bella wanted to talk, James would talk, but her heart didn't seem to be in maintaining a conversation. Besides, he was the kind of person that would much rather sit around in quiet. Unlike most teenage boys James did not need to talk or do anything to be entertained.

[gooddontalwayswin]

"Want to walk?" Bella asked after a moment of silence. She didn't mind the quiet too much, but she felt utterly useless if they were just standing there. Besides, Bella had wanted to explore the rest of the gardens, anyway. She figured she might as well still do that, even if now she was accompanied by James.

[mrpotter]

James shrugged, he wasn't terribly talkative. He liked being in groups of three, four, or five- that way he could listen to what the others were saying without needing to contribute anything. The few friends he did have understood this. He had always been that way, even before being attacked. "Let's just walk a while, maybe something will come to us," James suggested. He was starting to unearth painful memories because of the rose bushes, he wanted to abandon them for a little while.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bella nodded, glad that James had wanted to walk around a bit as well. She led the way at first, examining the flowers as she and James passed them. Bella was glad for the distraction of being outside; when left to her own thoughts, she didn't feel like anything was right. In fact, most of Bella's private thoughts only contributed to her half-depression.

[mrpotter]

James, utilizing the gift that most males seemed to have, allowed his mind to go blank, his only thoughts about being moving his feet forward. He looked at the different plants, but didn't really take them in, that would disrupt his quiet nothingness. James absently shoved his hands into his pockets as a drop of rain landed on his forehead. Finally pulled out of his empty state-of-mind James looked up to see a few more drops falling from the clouds, they would probably have a steady rain sometime soon.

[gooddontalwayswin]

At nearly the same moment as James, Bella noticed that it was raining as well. She raised her head to the sky, staring up at the clouds. "Do you suppose we should go inside?" Bella asked, not sure what James would want to do about this. As long as it wasn't pouring, Bella didn't mind the rain. But she didn't want to get completely drenched and have to walk through the castle like that.

[mrpotter]

"Only if you want to," James said with a shrug. He wouldn't care even if the rain came down in sheets, a simple charm could dry him off in seconds after going inside. Throughout the days of frequenting the gardens James had even gotten used to it, heavy rains didn't phase him. He burrowed his hands deeper into his pockets, fixing his gaze onto the tops of his trainers that he had exchanged for the shoes he wore with his uniform before going outdoors.