The Wonder Years - Red - May, 2008 (Alexagramma)

May, 2008
Ilvermorny

"Pixie, have you seen my earrings?" Megan called out loudly across the room. When no immediate reply came, she called louder still. "Pix! Come on, I'm going to be late"

"She's got headphones on," Annagramma replied helpfully, only for Megan to turn her way with a sneer.

"I know she has headphones on, idiot," Megan retorted, her normally pretty face contorting into something quite unpleasant as she glared Anna's way. "Why do you think I'm yelling?"

"Oh," Anna apologized. "Sorry, i just thought you liked yelling at people." It was an honest mistake, Megan yelled so often, and most prominently when she didn't get what she want. Over six years of living in the same dormitory as Megan Rosiario had taught Anna that much, or so she assumed.

"I do not yell!" Megan contradicted the blonde, speaking even louder. "And at least I'm not a slut. Is that what you're wearing to the dance, you freak?"

Annagramma looked at herself in the mirror, her slender gamine body encased in a pair of shredded blue shorts thrifted from a Goodwill in the village. Anna had even taken a blade from her art set to add extra cuts so even more loose threads would hang from the denim down her thighs. Where other girls worked hard to cinch their waists with belts, bows and buttons, Anna had taken the route of leaving the top button of her shorts open. What if she suddenly had to join a pie eating contest? It was better to be prepared for everything. The light cultured tube top that clung to ehr body was much the same. It had started out a boring tube top and had practically begged to be shredded like her shorts so Anna had given it a similar treatment, cutting the bottom of it into thin ribbons. She didn't normally like getting dressed for these occasions but some times the outfit worked.

*I thought it looked nice..."

"oh wow, you can think?" Megan scoffed before gesturing to Pix again who finally removed her headphones.

"What?"

"My earrings Pix, I lent them to you last week."

"And I returned them last week Meg," Pix replied annoyed. "Go look in your closet. I know that's where you hide your jewelry."

"Don't say that in front of the thief for heaven's sake!" Megan exclaimed, clearly meaning Anna. Ever since Megan had found out that Anna's finally couldn't afford as many things as Megan's could, she had labeled Anna a thief despite the fact that the blonde had never stolen anything. Megan stomped out of the room, gong to her closet and leaving Pixie to look sympathetically at Anna.

"Don't mind her, she's an idiot," Pix reassured Anna before adding. "Why are you not dressed yet, aren't you supposed to met Alex at the dance?"

"I.. I'm dressed," Anna replied, now even more uncertain as she examined herself in the looking glass. She had been so happy when she had first found the shorts and top. But if everyone thought she was wrong... Maybe Alex would think so too.

"Oh, my bad," Pixie hurriedly corrected herself. "I guess I just... yeah, I saw you didn't have any lipstick on. You look great, Anna."

Lipstick? Was that all she needed? Anna relaxed. "What color do you think?" she asked, tentatively, not at all comfortable with seamen else telling her what color to put on herself.

"Umm.. Red is always a classic, here," she tossed a tube of lipstick Anna's way. The blonde caught it deftly and slowly applied it to her lips. It was a deep maroon, not really red but she supposed it was red as far as Pix could tell. Anna lined her lips with the dark stain, it stood out starkly against her pale skin, making her lips look larger than usual, with a deeper dimension to them than she had ever seen before.

Anna was no beginner to creating art on paper, but on her body... she was less experienced.

"Does it look okay?"

Pix grinned at her. "If that doesn't get a kiss from Alex tonight, nothing will."

Putting the lipstick down, Anna picked up her small purse. As always, it contained no money, ID or cards but it did contain an extra paintbrush in case of an emergency. Waxing Pixie goodbye, the blonde headed out into the evening sunlight to meet Alex at he courtyard for the summer harvest dance.

Wondering if Alex would really kiss her like Pixie had said.

The school years had passed with little and less to note for Alex and Annagramma. Or, that would be how the boy would remember it until his sixth year. Alex had never been the best at making friends, but his dormmates had become the closest thing he would call friends. They would hang out at school, they would go to class together, and in the evenings they would spend time together doing homework, or playing wizarding chess, or some other game that someone had come up with.

But, when school let out for the summer, he wouldn't hear from any of them.

It suited Alex, in truth, he was the kind of boy who preferred his own company for the most part. Whilst he could be social, he just wasn't made for the popularity contests that raged in Ilvermorny for all to see. The only real friend the boy had was Annagramma Hawkeye. When they became friends, Alex couldn't have really said. To begin with, he'd liked her because she was weird, and that weirdness had amused him. He'd stuck around the witch in the beginning to see what funny things she would come out with. As an eleven and twelve year old, Annagramma's ramblings about colours and the world hadn't made any sense at all.

The more Alex had spent time with Anna, though, the more two very real points became more apparent. The first was that Anna was a danger to herself in her pursuit of the colours she often spoke about, but also just generally in her life. This made the boy stick around her to ensure she didn't come to any harm. The second had been that, as they grew, the random mumblings that came from the witch intrigued him more, they made him want to stick around and find out more.

Which is how he'd found himself in Anna's company more and more during the years. Most other people in the school didn't see Anna in the same light. Most of the others in their year ostracised the witch for her weirdness, making it difficult for Anna to make many friends of her own. Then, there were the teachers who had, not quietly, noted that Anna was too difficult to teach. Alex had made it his responsibility to ensure that she completed her homework to the teacher's standards from that point, ensuring she passed the year.

They'd both gotten through their exams in their fifth year, and the sixth was looking to have been a success once more. The school year was winding down now, and the school was hosting a Harvest Dance to celebrate. Alex had invited Annagramma to the dance without another thought about it. The boys in his dorm had teased him for that, asking when he was going to grow the balls to ask Anna out. To them, it was clear that Anna liked him, and that he liked her. Alex had always been sceptical of this, though. He didn't feel Anna liked him, not in a romantic sense, anyway. They were just best friends, who made one another's life easier through the smaller things in life.

Which was how they'd gotten here. Alex standing in the courtyard of Ilvermorny, suited for the occasion, and a ridiculous bowtie around his throat. It felt more like heading to one of the family's functions than something the school was putting on, an idea that made him nervous. Or, that was perhaps Elijah and Logan's insistence that it should be tonight that he asked Annagramma to be his girlfriend. Alex had tried to put up a fight, but the relentless insistence that he had to do it had made Alex take a minor detour via the Herbology greenhouse. Their professor -- thankfully -- had an affinity for non-magical plants as well as the magical. He'd paused at the roses, looking at the flowers with scepticism.

If Anna said no...

He instead moved towards the more colourful plants the professor kept, taking off a couple of the stems. The colours on the flowers would be more to Anna's taste than the boringly single coloured roses.

Or that had been Alex's hope as he stood waiting.

Anna had, as was more than standard practice for the witch, arrived later than they had agreed. Alex had let out a small laugh to himself when finally the witch had appeared at that much, before taking in her attire. He'd expected... no, he corrected that thought, he hadn't expected anything of Annagramma, but he'd thought that she might have been guided by the other girls in the dorm on what you were supposed to wear to a formal dance. What Annagramma wore, though, was so perfectly her, that Alex could only beam from ear to ear as she moved closer.

"You certainly know how to get a guy's attention." Alex greeted the witch, drawing her in to one of their usual hugs of greeting. "You look amazing." He added, letting the witch go and taking her in a little more. Belatedly, Alex remembered the flowers. "Oh, these... are for you." He explained, holding them out towards the witch with an all too hopeful look in his features as he waited for a reply to that.

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~ American (turned French) ~ Profile ~ 38 ~

Anna had honestly meant to be on time. She always did. But as she had been walking to the courtyard, a unique shade of purple had caught her attention somewhere on the roof. Figuring she would chase it to find hat it was, the blonde had set out across the trying to catch a glimpse of the same hue again. But it was playing hide and seek. Sometimes it was there and other times, it just disappeared. Not one to give up, Annagramma had given chase, even trying to climb the balcony railings to see if she could get closer to the mysterious purple. It was only when a harried teacher had spotted her trying to dangle off a fifth floor balcony and scolded her back to even ground that the blondes had decided to delay her quest.

Resulting in her showing up fifteen minutes later than agreed to the courtyard, only to find Alex waiting in full suit and bow tie. A brilliant smile blossomed on her otherwise plain features as she spotted her best friend.

"You look like a game show host!" she explained delightedly, rushing to give him the standard hug that had been their practice for years now. Anna liked to call it the hug that made the whole world feel right, the kind that had colors bursting from it. "Am I going to win a prize?"

In response, he produced the colorful flowers and Annagramma's eyes shone. Taking the flowers from him, she delicately picked one out of the bunch and twisted it among her golden locks. This was the last thing she needed to complete her look. "Thank you, they're perfects." And they were. Perfectly unique. She doubted anyone else here had a bunch like this one.

"Come on, let's go. They have a ferris wheel, and a strong man's booth and they have like fifteen types of jams, I want to see what color all the foods are. And they also have a fenced off area for dancing. And carriage rides too!" Taking his arm as she was used to for years now, Anna happily skipped along beside him, taking in the sights and sounds of the harvest festival this part of the country was known for.

It was a decent turnout, nearly everyone at the school was there, and so were people from the neighboring villages and smaller towns. The areas surrounding Ilvermorny were mostly farmlands, crops of corn, hay, grain and livestock provided row food for most of the heartlands. And this was the occasion to show it all off. As they passed a giant butter and cheese making display, Anna pointed out the groups of children running after the carriages.

"Back in NorthSouthWest, we still have carriages, they aren't a festival attraction, we use them to go actual places."

The picture of happiness touched Annagramma's features when he presented her with the flowers. Annagramma would always have that ability to make the simplest of things out to be like you'd moved heaven and earth for her, and he hoped she never lost that.

"Much better!" Alex agreed as Anna explained that she was done with her outfit. In his eyes, nothing had changed but the boy had learned that sometimes it was just much easier to agree with Annagramma than get in to a discussion about it.

The comment about his own attire made him look down. "Well... It's a dance." Alex offered, but the conversation moved on to the dance, and all the activities that surrounded it. Alex listened as they began to walk, taking in everything that Annagramma wanted to do that evening. Agreeing with a small nod in the right place, the blonde allowed himself to be led by the witch towards the stalls.

The news that her hometown still had carriages for real life purposes wasn't one that surprised Alex. NorthSouthWest had always sounded quite an odd place to him, one that needed to be modernised, but for some reason never had. "Well, maybe this summer I'll get to come and see it." Alex offered. They had never set foot in one another's homes in the years they'd known one another. Alex had always thought Annagramma would invite him, and she never had. He, on the other hand, had never purposefully invited her because his own home was not somewhere he thought she'd enjoy.

"So, what do you want to get to eat?" Alex asked, looking across at the witch hopefully. If he got a straight answer then the night was sure to be a promising one, but Alex was doubtful of such luck. He'd likely get the vaguest answer in the world, which would leave him to try to decipher what she meant.

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~ American (turned French) ~ Profile ~ 38 ~

Alex's notion of maybe being able to see her hometown was not given a response, and intentionally so on Annagramma's part. Nothing in the world would have pleased the blonde more than to bring Alex back home with her but he wasn't small enough to go in a bag and there wasn't room for anything bigger in a rundown home already over crowded with children, grandchildren, pets and rodents. Anna herself wasn't exempted from having to sleep on the occasional bale of hay out in the stables when Rosie and her childfree came to visit.

And so she had never invited her best friend over to her little hometown, and she never would.

Instead, the elfin blonde focused on his next question of what she wanted to eat. "There's a pie eating contest somewhere around here!" she informed him with great gusto, almost dragging the boy down the many booths that lined the entrance to the dance. "Let's go see!" It wasn't a direct answer, but direct answers were boring. And Alex always knew what she meant anyway.

The found the stall setting up pies five minutes later, manned by a plump farm boy who couldn't have been much older than they were. From his appearance, Annagramma doubted he was magical. But then again, this occasion wasn't for magical and no maj discrimination, it was for everyone to come together and celebrate what rural America was.

"When does the contest start?" she babbled excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she stood beside Alex. The red faced teen looked up at her with a wink.

"Lookin' to part-ici-pate l'ille lady?" he asked, clearly amused. "I've seen chick'ins put away more pies than sum'un like you."

"I'll be a chicken today then," Anna grinned, not at all deterred. Reaching for a pen, she put down her name on the sigh up sheet. "When do I start?"

"Soon's we get half a dozen peeps, I'll give you a holler," the boy replied cheekily and added a wink. Annagramam waved at him before steering Alex away to the other attractions. Eventually, the ended up at he Ferris wheel which was finally opening up to the fair goers.

"What do you say? Wanna try., I imagine we'd be able to see all kinds of colors form up there," the girl put forth, her entire frame vibrating with excitement at the prospect. She also really wanted to see what Alex looked like up there. Would his orange change? With fear? With excitement? With something else she couldn't quite put into words but which made her stomach feel funny?

She waited for the boy's response, one hand still linked loosely through his as her green eyes looked up to him, sparkling with possibility.

The answer of attending the pie eating contest was one that made Alex let out a small laugh. Of course, Anna would want to do something that was beyond 'normal' for any other girl. But, that was why it was so very typically Anna. Allowing himself to be dragged through the crowds, Alex took in the other stalls around them until he heard Annagramma talking again. The boy manning the pie eating contest didn't seem to have much confidence in Anna, but Alex knew she wouldn't be deterred by it all.

Once Annagramma had signed herself up for the contest, the duo moved off, Annagramma looking around for what they were going to do next.

As they came to stand by the Ferris Wheel, Alex looked to the witch. "If that's what you'd like to do, then of course we can." Alex replied, as if she had ever been denied anything she'd ever asked of him. Anna's excitement was palpable as she pulled him forward, towards the attraction's owner. Alex pulled out the coins to pay for the ride, not at all aware of whether the price was normal, high or otherwise.

From there, they were shown in to their own little car. The option was to sit side by side only on this one, and Alex was quite glad of that. The boy set Anna in to the chair first, before sliding in to the other one himself. The ride was possibly made for slightly younger people, but thanks to Anna's small frame, it didn't feel too tight. Comfortable, though.

The ride was a slow mover, Alex noted one the door had been closed behind them. Which meant it wasn't going to be anything too scary at all.

Regardless, Alex gently put his arm around Annagramma's shoulders, allowing her to get a little closer to him should she wish.

The ride was about a quarter of the way around before anything looked different. The height of the wheel making everything look slightly smaller below them. Alex's eyes turned from the scenery to the witch beside him in that moment, trying to gauge Anna's reaction to the whole thing, and whether she was enjoying it.

"You alright, Anna?" Alex asked softly.

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~ American (turned French) ~ Profile ~ 38 ~

"If that's what you'd like to do, then of course we can."

The blonde witch let out a jubilant peal of laughter as they approached the ticket person, Alex taking care of the boring stuff as Anna wondered how far they would be able to to see from the very top of the wheel. The girl slid in excitedly, automatically turning her legs towards Alex when he took the seat beside her. It was a habit she had noticed much after it had developed, she always sat facing Alex, wherever they were.

And she liked to imagine that when they weren't together, her body still automatically pointed towards his general geographic direction.

As the ride began to move, Anna settled into the boy beside her, easily adjusting her small frame into his arm. It was like the whole world was lifting as they ascended higher, exposing new layers where before, there had been mere banality. Her emerald eyes grew wider as they climbed, darting in every direction, trying to take it all in.

When Alex asked her if she was okay, the girl thought about it, then shoo her head.

"No, i want to see behind us," she insisted, turning her neck as far to the side as it would go before letting out a frustrated sound., Then, the glint of an idea sparked and before Alex could stop her, the slender witch was wriggling in her seat until she had her legs free of the safety bar. Anna wasn't worried, Alex was still safely locked in and as long as she held on to him, she would be fine.

It was with that belief that the girl swung her legs over, landing on his lap, straddling his legs as she sat on him, getting a perfect view of the scenery behind him.

"There, now I can see everything," she exclaimed with delight, bouncing a little, the cut denim of her shorts rubbing against his trousers. "Isn't it all so beautiful, Alex?"

As he asked if she was alright, Alex should have known the answer would have been no. Not because Annagramma was difficult in any manner, but because she was quite incapable of sitting still for a long period, or maintaining her focus on one activity at a time. Unless, of course, it was her artwork. For her artwork, Annagramme seemed to be able to focus entirely too hard on that!

So her answer of no came and that Anna wished to see behind them, Alex had turned slightly to see if he could see and assist the witch in her mission to see more. It was in that moment that Anna had moved from beneath the restraint of the ride, and had swung herself around. "Anna, what are you doing?" Alex asked, concern clearly written on the features of the young boy that lived in fear of the rules almost far too much.

But, Anna wasn't worried as she tucked her legs around him.

How could she be? Alex's arms were around her almost instantly, too worried she would fall out of their compartment from the reckless way she'd decided t see the rest of the world. Arms that were all too comfortable with holding on to the witch over the years, because her safety had never been Anna's concern. It had become his.

The excitement from Annagramma had Alex looking up at her to see her features as they lit up from excitement of it all. Her outfit doing little to hide her from his gaze as he did so. The light bounce in his lap did little to help the effect he usually found himself being subjected to with Anna, and the reaction would make itself known in the pants that were mercifully just a little bit too big for him.

"Yeah, it's beautiful." Alex agreed, though, in truth, he would not be talking about the scenery around them, but the witch perched in his lap, looking over the scenery with the excitement that he had come to admire in the witch. It would have been easy, in truth, to draw her eyes away from the scenery in that moment. To lean up and press a kiss to her lips and tell her exactly how he felt. But, Alex had always had a social block when it came to his feelings. More specifically, the feelings he had for Annagramma.

So, he said nothing more.

His eyes simply content with watching her.

As he always had.

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~ American (turned French) ~ Profile ~ 38 ~

Meanwhile, completely unaware of the effect she had on the boy currently securing her tot he world, Annagramma looked on at the mixture of colors and textures moving around her. The perspective this position gave her was beyond compare. In fact, the witch thought it was rathe incomparable. It was like watching a baby bird take flight for the first time, or watching a chick hatch from an egg.

Or watching Alex with his golden head bent over a book...

That was a strange thought, the young blonde thought to herself as the ride now reached its highest point, coming to a stop. The view was absolutely breathtaking, and had the thought of Alex not snuck into her head, it would surely have bene the only thing capturing her attention right now.

And yet it wasn't

The realization was so simple, Anna let out a small laugh, making her bounce a little more where she sat.

This was all beautiful because Alex was with her. She didn't really know how, but she knew that it was the case. Because if she imagined being here without the boy currently holding on to her for dear life, then she wouldn't be nearly as happy.

Or maybe at all happy.

She would be one of those sludgy bruisy blue green hues without Alex. And she could never be that.

He wouldn't let her ever be bruise colored.

:You know," she spoke, turning her face downwards a little, only to find his altogether too close to hers in that vantage point. Not that it mattered, Anna had never been shy of physical closeness with the boy. "I've just had a realization, I think you're my muse, Alex Quinn."

The confession was followed by another happy bloom of laughter, her bright eyes looking into his and her lips almost touching his, the vibration coming off of them being absorbed by his soft skin. She felt his arms tighten around her even though they had come to a stop.

Perhaps he knew what she meant?

The epiphany that Annagramma had was one that made the time stand still for a moment. The boy looked back to the witch without knowing how to reply to that comment, and knowing that he should, in the same moment. Alex's features slowly moved from a look of realisation to a gentle, small smile in it's place.

"I-"

Whatever reply was about to come was interrupted as the ride moved again, jolting them slightly in a manner that made Alex's grip around the witch's waist tighten for a moment to ensure she didn't fall from her position. The movement would bring the witch closer, until Alex's grip slowly loosened from her, an apologetic look on his face. That small action, though, would have been enough to make the Pukwudgie student lose his resolve to say what he'd been thinking in that moment.

Annagramma had been unphased by it all, and her eyes had roved across the scenery until, finally, they had been made to get off the ride as it had come back around full circle. Alex had shown Annagramma off the ride, and was ready to move on to the next attraction as he reached out towards her hand with a courage he didn't quite believe in.

"Little brother!" Simon's voice floated towards them, making Alex jerk his hand away before it found his intended target. "Imagine running in to you here."

It was quite clear Simon had no illusion this was a surprise, he almost made it sound like the youngest Quinn was predictable in everything he did. That assumption would not have been unfair, though, Alex was quite the creature of habit, and familiarity. Simon was the one who knew this the most.

"Si," Alex replied shortly, acknowledging his brother with the air that said he wasn't exactly happy to see him today. "What are you doing here?"

"Thought it would be fun." Simon replied, his eyes moving to Annagramma as he said that much, rather than the fair around them that had gotten slowly busier since they'd gotten on to the ride a half hour earlier. "I don't think I was wrong."

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~ American (turned French) ~ Profile ~ 38 ~

» .The Wonder Years - Blue - June, 2009 (Alexagramma)
» The Wonder Years - Yellow - December, 2009 (Alexagramma)
» The Awakening - Purple - February, 2010 (Alexagramma)
» Lesson Three: New Years, New Spells (All Years)
» Lesson 2 (1st-3rd Years)