Calamari (Mimosa, Squid Boy)

"Y-you mean, like...you want to be...my first kiss?"

Well, she didn't have to be the first. She could be the second, or third or fourth. Or all of them. Surely the number wasn't important? Or was it? The thirteen year old cast her mind back to who had been her first kiss. Her first Boyfriend and Girlfriend kiss had been Squid Boy but he wasn't important so the kiss couldn't be either. No, her first kiss was... Jacques. Yes, when she had first come to the palace, he had been so much taller than her and he'd knelt down on one knee and kissed her cheek politely and said "Bonjour".

If that was her first kiss, then yes, that was pretty special. But that was only because of who it was from. Because anything from her Jacques was special.

Did Mercy mean it the same way? Was she saying that if Mimosa kissed her, it would be special? he young Slytheirn opened her mouth to ask but all that came out was a slight "Ouch!".

"Squid Boy, what are you-?" He didn't give her a chance to finish, his hand already finding its comfortable place around her small one. The notion of going to Madam Puddifoot's was news to the girl who had already made it clear the night before that she was going with Mercy. They were going to share a sundae and watch the leaves fall down and talk.

"But I don't want to go to Puddifoot's," she protested, trying to shake her hand out of Squid Boy's grasp but failing as his hold was a little too tight for her to escape without struggling and she really didn't want to hurt her fingers again. She'd already been to the Hospital Wing that week, she didn't want to do it again.

Squid Boy, stupid as ever, didn't understand. It wasn't his fault though, some people just weren't clever. He kept going on about hanging out together which Mimosa took to understand he wanted to practice more kissing. But right now she didn't have the time. She was having fun with Mercy, and she really wanted to know the Gryffindor's thoughts on what they had been discussing earlier.

"I want to catch Mercy now," she insisted, once again trying in vain to free her hand of his large spidery fingers. "You and I can hang out in the common room later when I'm back okay?" here, that would sort the whole matter out. She had made it clear enough for even Squid Boy to understand. Now she had an ice cream sundae with her and Mercy's name on it, waiting to be devoured.

"Hey!" Mercy yelped as Squid Boy swooped out of nowhere, grabbing Mimosa's other hand and tugging her none too gently towards himself. Mercy let go of Mimosa's hand on reflex, not wanting to hurt the younger witch by playing tug-of-war. Her lip curled in disgust at Squid Boy's suggestive tone, and anger bubbled up from the pit of her stomach as he dismissed her presence, as if he was somehow more important.

Mimosa's protests gave Mercy all the reason she needed to step up. It would have been one thing if Mimosa had actually wanted to go with Squid Boy. It might have hurt, but Mercy would have let her go.

It was another thing entirely for him to try and force her to come with him. The spark of elation that initially arose when Mimosa said she'd rather be with Mercy was quickly overwhelmed by a surge of protectiveness for her best friend.

"Hey, piss off!" she shouted, stepping between the two of them and landing a sharp shove to his chest. "She doesn't want to go with you."

She felt weirdly powerful now that she'd actually made physical contact with him. She'd imagined hitting him on multiple occasions, and she'd come close once or twice, but this was the first time she'd actually done it and it felt good. Like, really good. Why hadn't she done this earlier?

"Ow oof," Mimosa's entire face scrunched up in a grimace as Mercy shoved Squid Boy, forgetting that he still had a firm hold on Mimosa. As a result, both of them were pushed further away from the short haired witch and Mimosa's arm was starting to hurt. Still, it wasn't nearly as bad as when she had fallen down. The witch could still speak and speak she did.

"I know, everyone always wants to spend time-" she began, hoping to explain to Squid Boy calmly that he would just have to wait his turn. there were too many people who always wanted to hang out with her, that was just how things were. And a reservation wasn't important, she got a table wherever she walked in, surely he knew that by now? Oh yes, he wasn't very smart. Mimosa had to keep reminding herself that lest she expect him to do soemthing clever.

Before she could continue though, he was stroking her face in the way she liked, and his lips were coming closer to her. But she didn't want to do that now. Not today and definitely not out here. What if she fell on he ground like last time? The girl shook her head sending her dark brown hair flying behind her in the autumn wind, accidentally bumping her lips to his in the process of a clear no.

"No, Squid Boy, my hand's hurting," she tried, finally managing to free herself of his hold. Sure enough, red welts were forming on her small wrist and the rest of her arm ached too. "We'll talk later, I have to go now."

Mercy's moment of exhilaration was short-lived, as Squid Boy managed to keep his grip on Mimosa's hand. She worried, first, if that had hurt the younger witch, but then Squid Boy opened his stupid mouth and all she could feel was her blood boiling as her temper snapped.

She reached for her wand, ready to cast a quick relashio to make him let go before he injured Mimosa with his stupidity, but Mimosa was already pulling away, finally managing to release herself from his grip. Before he could make a move in any direction, Mercy felt herself step forward, shielding Mimosa now that there was a gap between them. The welts on Mimosa's arm didn't fail to catch her attention. In fact, they only served to fuel her well-earned wrath.

She took a moment to look her opponent in the eye. Under any other circumstances, she would have laughed at the look of shock on his face. As it was...

"Don't you fecking touch her," she growled, in the half-second it took to draw her fist back before socking him squarely across the jaw, just like her dad taught her. A satisfying smack resounded across the schoolyard.

She only took a second to shake out her hand before she had her wand out, ready to follow up - assuming he wasn't going to run away like a coward, though she wouldn't put it past him. She didn't notice as all across the grounds, heads swiveled in their direction. Someone cheered.

Mercy raised an eyebrow, adrenaline rushing through her at the prospect of a fight. She found herself smiling, barking a short laugh at his suggestion. He wanted her to walk away? Not likely.

"I'm already involved. You sound scared. Are you scared? You don't want to fight me?" she taunted, stepping forward and slightly sideways, trying to circle them away from Mimosa. She didn't want the younger witch accidentally caught up in the fight.

Out of the corner of her eye, she began to notice some other students drawing closer, forming a small crowd as they anticipated what was about to happen. Mercy ignored them, focusing on Squid Boy and the bright red welt beginning to form on his face. His lip was bleeding. She felt a little proud of herself. And just a little bit cocky.

Once she was satisfied with both of their distances from Mimosa, she spread her arms in a 'come at me' motion.

"Don't worry, Squid Boy. If you're scared, I'll let you have the first move. Hit me."

After all, Mercy Williams was no coward. If she was going to fight, she was going to fight properly. He deserved at least once chance to strike before she smashed his face into the dirt.

Mercy had always been light on her feet, a blessing she utilized to its fullest extent now as she saw the Slytherin's lips move. Even before he'd completed the spell, she was dancing to the side, wand at the ready now that they'd officially begun. She was surprised by the second attack but she quickly recovered, jumping backwards this time as it slammed into the ground in front of her and sent up a small shower of dirt.

"Flipendo!" she sent back, before he could strike again. She thought about disarming him, but that would be no fun. It wasn't fair if he couldn't fight back. But, he'd gotten two hits in, so it was only fair to return the sentiment.

"Locomotor Wibbly!" She aimed at his legs this time, though the longer incantation might give him more time to react. Still, she had plenty of spells in her arsenal at this point, and it would be no fun if this was over too quickly. She hadn't even realized how long she'd been waiting for an excuse to do this, but now that she was here, she was frankly enjoying herself.