Another Blank Space [Naomi]

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Leaned up against a tree, Corbin closed his eyes and sighed. Some girl to whom he had made it explicitly clear he had no intention of sticking around for had gone and insisted he broke her heart. His only reply was You had one? which was, in retrospect, probably not the smartest thing. Still, her screams could be heard from across the entire hall, a new record for him, and the names she threw at him were among some of the better ones.

He'd walked away after two minutes, gone to his room to grab some things and left as surreptitiously as he could, making his way to his favourite hideout -- a small clearing somewhere in the forest. He went there to be by himself, since not many dared to enter the place -- it was, after all, forbidden -- and those that did hardly ventured so far in. For all the times he'd been here, he'd been alone, seeing only the occasional wild animal pass by. Still, he kept his wand in a location easy to grab and point with, just in case. He wasn't completely daft, after all.

His mind wandered to the girl. It wasn't as if Audrey thought she was different or special, but he supposed there were those out there who liked to think they could 'change people'. He let out a scoff at the thought; he didn't want to change. Stupid is as stupid does, I suppose, he mused, lifting the bottle in his hands up and taking a sip of the butterbeer.

How he smuggled it into his room and managed to keep it hidden was a closely guarded secret; what wasn't was that Corbin was the man to go to in the male dorms if you wanted butterbeer during school days. Or at least, his friends knew that; it wasn't public information for obvious reasons.

Lowering himself onto the floor, he sat on the grass, back still pressed against the tree and eyes still closed, letting out another sigh. How did I'm not the type to stick around after, come across in any other way? One thing was for certain: he would never, ever, understand girls.

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Coming to terms with the loss of a friend was not easy, but Naomi wore a mask of calmness. Humphrey had been such an idiot stepping back out in to the fight, she'd gone to stop him, but she had been too late. The witch had grieved for a week, hated him for being selfish for another week, until finally she'd come to accept no tears, no anger, would bring the boy back. Life was unfair, and life had made Naomi colder to the world.

Callum had tried to make things better by running with her each morning, and finding her after class. But what Naomi really needed was space. To clear her head of the boy who had been.

Which was precisely why Naomi had taken to the woods. Three months had passed, Humphrey was but a memory now. The tranquility of the forest was relaxing, though, the tension of the witch's shoulders seeped away as she stepped lightly through the trees, only the occasional snap of a twig alerted anyone of her presence, not that the witch expected to find anyone in here.

Naomi soon found a clearing - coming through the trees to the right of a figure she had not seen. There was a soft patch of grass, looking almost like carpet it was kept neat, but yet looked untouched, a few errant flowers trying to grow. It tooled the ominous feel of the forest away, and the Slytherin witch let out a soft sigh. "Beautiful..." she murmured to herself, still completely unaware of her company as she moved forth to sit upon the grass, her back to the place she'd entered as she made herself comfy, opening her bag and retrieving the chocolate she'd taken from one of her dorm mates. She'd replace it, her body simply needed the sugar and couldn't wait for a trip to Hogsmeade.

And still, the Slytherin witch was completely unawares that she was not alone.

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Draining the beer, Corbin momentarily contemplating smuggling in something a bit stronger the next time. It would definitely help in moments like this -- when he wanted to forget -- but it was also a risk. If he got drunk, the hangover the next day would be obvious, questions would be asked, and that would lead to the discovery of his smuggling operation. Once again, Corbin sighed; how did he always manage to get himself into predicaments like this?

He'd have to wait for the weekend before getting piss drunk with some friends, and he was already starting a mental countdown.

"Beautiful..."

The word echoed in his mind and his eyes snapped opened as he sat bolt upright, straightening at the sound of another human, his hand automatically curling around his wand and slipping it out. Biting back the defensive spell as he saw a younger year Slytherin near him, he rolled his eyes. Either she was too daft to realise he had already claimed the spot or she didn't care that he wanted private space; either way, he wasn't going to stand for it -- even if she was pretty.

But the word pretty held little significance, considering most of the females around school were just that. What were looks other than something to admire? Nothing. Looks didn't equal to emotions, and besides, Corbin had enough of those for one day. Maybe in a few weeks he wouldn't mind playing with someone who wanted a game, but today all Corbin wanted was to be alone.

There were many ways he could deal with it. He could hex her; he could sit there and tell her to leave; he could let her stay and leave... But none of these were amusing, and right now Corbin was in desperate need for something fun. Silently getting to his feet, he stepped towards the girl, making sure that his movements were small and quiet, so as not to startle her -- just yet. When he was directly behind her, he bend over so his mouth was inches from her head and murmured, "I believe you're in my spot."

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Having just, just, got comfortable, Naomi had, of course, not been ready for the boy behind her to approach. Instead, she had taken a square of chocolate and nibbled off the corner, sucking the smooth chocolate as it melted on her tongue, and relishing in the sweetness of the treat as it filled her senses.

Chocolate was a guilty pleasure - wasn't it for all girls? - and Naomi was very much enjoying this one. Almost closing her eyes as she allowed the chocolate to consume her. Almost.

"I believe you're in my spot."

The sound of a boy's voice made the chocolate drop from Naomi's hand, her hand instead moving for her wand as she drew herself away from the voice, and turned. Her wand was pointing the boy between the eyes by the time she'd finished moving, and he was so very, very lucky she'd decided to see her opponent before she shot him with any spell that had come to mind. The Slytherin witch did not lower her wand, either, if the attack a few weeks ago had taught her anything, it was not to relax.

"And, you're interrupting my me time." Naomi replied, her voice deadly quiet, eyes narrowed. "I could have hexed your ass to Timbuktu! Do you think that's funny? Making people jump?" Naomi asked, though it was somewhat rhetorical, he probably did. It would not have been Naomi's fault if she'd have cursed him in to next week either.

Lowering her wand slightly, but still pointing it at the boy, Naomi continued on. "What are you doing out here?" The Slytherin was suspicious, it was only natural, but she was going to get her answers.

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The chocolate she was holding fell from her hands, the only thought that flashed across his mind not one of regret for starting the girl but rather: What a waste of chocolate. Still, he didn't bother to fight back the smirk that tugged on his lips at her reaction, eyeing the wand with raised eyebrows. His own wand had gone up, too, the moment she moved, the spell for a shield already half forming in case she decided to send a curse his way. She was, after all, a Slytherin, and Corbin was no fool. If someone had snuck up on him, a hex would've been uttered before he had so much as stood.

Unlike the girl before him, though, Corbin's wand was pointed at her chest, not having had enough time to raise it all the way. Merlin she's quick, he noted, adding a mental warning to be quicker the next time round -- if there was a next time. He pretended that this was exactly where he meant to point it.

He let out a slow chuckle at her words. "I'm laughing, aren't I?" he asked. "People do that when they find things amusing -- so yes. I do, actually, find it funny." He ignored her comment about 'me time'. After all, she was the one intruding on his space and not the other way around, so Corbin didn't really care. It was the principle of things, really; if you were interrupted, you had the right of way.

As she lowered her wand, Corbin let his shoulders relax just a little, but kept his grip on his wand firm. If there was going to be a duel, he would be ready for it; in fact, Corbin probably welcomed it. He was, after all, in the need of some fun. Shrugging in reply to the question, he said, "You tell me. I believe I was here first, which gives me the right of way."

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The boy's comment on finding this amusing made Naomi scowl at him in response. What a self righteous toerag with no brains! He was not funny. His comments were infuriating. And Naomi was about as close to hexing him to wipe the smile off his face as she'd been to ever hexing anyone. Which, with two older brother's who loved to play around, was quite a tall order.

"Only a poor comedian feels the need to laugh at his own jokes." Naomi told him, quite evidently pissed off with the boy for having done what he had done. Naomi was probably not helping his amusement in any way, but she'd nearly had a heart attack because of his stupidity!

"There is no right of way. The forest is not owned by you. Or anyone except for the Headmaster." Naomi pointed out, noticing his bag by the tree that she'd walked past only a few moments before. The bottle beside it was unmistakable, even from this distance. Slowly, a smug smile found its way on to the witch's lips. She might be small, she might not be strong, but you didn't need to be when your mind was sharp and your eyes were sharper.

"Smuggling Butterbeer in to the school? The headmaster wouldn't stand for that, even if it's not the strongest stuff on offer. What was it... a broken heart?" The witch asked, because it was much too early in the day for an alright person to be drinking. Strong stuff or not. Motioning with her wand to the bag, before bringing her wand back to the boy, Naomi continued.

"Do you have more?" She asked. Yes, she could hold it against him. Use him for the supply with the threat of exposing him. But really she just wanted a little bit of numbness, even for a moment.

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Her look of displeasure made it even more amusing, in Corbin's eyes, and he didn't bother to bite back anything, his smirk growing. He did, however, have to force down a laugh at her comment. Merlin, if she was this easily pissed off, when he was barely trying, he'd love to see how angry he'd make her when he did put particular effort into it. But that wasn't today; he was far too exhausted with Audrey's antics to bother with being an asshole. He'd save it for a rainy day.

He was, however, unable to stop himself from replying, "I'm not laughing at my jokes; I was laughing at you." He gave a tiny shrug as if to say No offence and added, "Has anyone ever told you that you scare way too easy? Because I am." He paused, flashing her a grin that he hoped she would understand was him saying he meant no harm. "You scare way too easy."

Letting her comment pass without reply, Corbin resisted a roll of his eyes. Property was property, and people tended to say things like that without issue anyway. My common room. My classroom. My Professor. It wasn't as if those things belonged to one; it was just a phrased used. In this case, he was saying that he came there first and therefore had right of way, as anyone with any amount of common courtesy would appreciate.

But Corbin said none of this; he was not in the mood for a fight.

Instead, he followed her gaze to the bottle of butterbeer, letting out a sigh at her words. "If you're going to turn me in, turn me in. If not, don't make unnecessary comments," he said, blunt as ever. He gestured towards the bottle. "If you must know, yes. A broken heart led me here -- but it wasn't mine. Didn't you hear the screaming? I thought half the school did."

His lips twitched into another smirk at her words as he shrugged. "I might. What's in it for me? I don't, by nature, share with people who call me a poor comedian and point a wand at my face." And then, to show her he was only being half serious, he winked. "I've got a couple more in my bag. How badly do you need it?"

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The fact the boy was laughing at her was not helping Naomi's very riled state, and she simply ended up glaring at him, hoping that he would spontaneously combust from her sheer will power. She caught herself, though, remembering that if she willed it too hard, she might accidentally cause some magic to happen, and end up putting the boy in the Hospital Wing.

"We're in the Forbidden Forest. Of course I scare easily. There are things in here that could kill you in an instant. I didn't see you. You made me jump." The girl told him. It was not unreasonable to be scared, especially when you weren't even supposed to be in the forest to begin with. Lowering her wand at this point, Naomi tucked it away, showing she was not going to hex the boy. Today, at least.

The response to the Butterbeer was not one Naomi had expected. Normally most people would have collapsed under the threat of being told off for bringing in substances not allowed. But, Corbin Henderson didn't seen to give a rat's ass about that. Noting that information, the witch focused instead on his other words. Screaming..? "You mean the awful racket Audrey was making was because of you? Merlin's beard..." Naomi responded, the last trailing off. This was not going to sit well with the girls if they ever found out she'd been spending time with 'the enemy'.

But, they were deep enough inside the forest to (hopefully) not be happened upon by anyone else.

Being reprimanded for her words, and defensive nature brought a small flush to the Slytherin witch's lips as he asked what he would get from sharing the Butterbeer. The witch didn't really have anything readily available, but she did want a drink. Pausing - and noting the wink that made her feel a little giddy inside - Naomi returned to form. "Well, if you share them with me. I will owe you a small favour. I have nothing to offer you in this moment, except company. I'm not going to offer you that, as I'm sure you'll scoff at the idea of it being worthy.

"So, one bottle, one favour - of a decent nature." Naomi bargained, making it clear she was not going to do anything degrading for the bottle. Boys, Naomi had found, could never be trusted in that department.

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Merlin, it was as though the female was literally asking for it, and he fought down another chuckle at the look on her face. If looks could kill... Well, he'd probably have never lived to this moment. He returned her gaze with a calm, cool expression instead, showing her that he wasn't all that affected by her apparent anger. He knew it was there, but he just wasn't bothered. As he continued to stare her down, his mind finally located her name from somewhere in the depths of his knowledge -- Naomi. She was a third year, as far as he knew.

His smirk returned at her words. "Perhaps you should be more aware of your surroundings," he suggested, tone verging on playful. If he was teasing or being serious, though, only his close friends would be able to tell. Corbin had a way of saying things with a perfectly straight face that annoyed most others, since they could never be certain of his intentions. "Or don't come to the Forbidden Forest if not prepared to deal with things that could kill you."

As she stored her wand away, a ridiculous thought flitted across his mind -- if I hexed her now, she would be defenceless, and it would teach her never to interrupt my private time -- but he dismissed it at once. That was simply not the type of person he was; if he wanted to hex someone, they would be armed so they would know he was better than them. Besides, she wasn't so bad, and provided some sort of amusement. Twirling his wand in his fingers, he slid it back into his pocket with a grimace at her next words. Perhaps not hexing Naomi had been a bad idea.

But he kept his posture nonchalant as he shrugged. “She was making a different racket last night,” he said, lifting the right side of his lips in a half-smirk. Letting out a faked sigh, he continued, “Apparently she misunderstood me when I told her I don’t commit, and now her little heart is broke.” Shrugging again to show he didn’t particularly care about her ‘little heart’, Corbin left it at that.

Raising an eyebrow, he contemplated her offer. ‘Favours’ didn’t always go far. What could a 3rd year Slytherin do for him that one of his friends couldn’t? Her next set of words about being decent didn’t change much; that wasn’t where his mind went. Sure, having a night with a beautiful female wasn’t something that was ever out of the question, but he would never call that in as a favour. It had to be something both of them wanted, and he always -- always -- made sure they understood that he didn’t have a tendency to stick around the next day.

Most of the time, they didn’t have issues with it. And then, sometimes, he got people like exhibit A-for-Audrey.

“Favours don’t go far with me,” he told her. He paused, mind reeling; just because he didn’t want a favour didn’t mean he couldn’t have fun with this. ”Right,” he said, grinning a little. “Honesty. That’s what I want. For as long as you are here, with me, enjoying my butterbeer, you will be completely honest with me. In return, I give you butterbeer -- and my honesty. That’s my asking price. Take it or leave it.”

Without saying anything else, he turned, heading back to the tree and resuming his earlier position, sitting with his back against the tree and his legs stuck out in front of him. Reaching for his bag, he drew out two bottles of beer, nothing that he’d been wrong; he still had another left inside. Saying nothing, he placed one beside him and opened the second, taking a slow sip and eyeing Naomi to see what she’d do.

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Naomi gave the boy no response as he told him to check her surroundings properly or not come in to the Forest, as if he could Lord over her as he chose. She was not going to give up her freeing trips in to the Forest, but next time she would check her surroundings properly, if only to return the favour of scaring him witless.

Corbin's ridiculously boyish comment on what Audrey had been doing last night did not impress the witch in the slightest. For one, it was someone else and not her business at all what said girl got up to - unless of course, it was shared in girlish chatter. And, secondly, why in Merlin's name did boys think it made them more attractive when they bragged? It most certainly had the opposite affect on Naomi, wanting instead to tell him he was pathetic for thinking that line ever made you seem anything less that compensating. "You obviously didn't make it clear." Naomi muttered in response. Boys were not always truthful in their intentions, there was nothing to deny that.

"Honesty..?" Naomi echoed quirking an eyebrow at the boy as he moved to his bag. What in Merlin's name could he want her to be honest about? Not that she was a liar anyway. Guarded, yes, but not dishonest. For a moment the witch contemplated, and then decided that she had nothing to lose. What harm could the truth do?

"Deal." Naomi replied, taking up the place beside Corbin and picking up the Butterbeer. Opening it carefully, the witch took a small swig of the drink and signed softly to herself. "It'd be better if you had a cooling charm on these. There's your first piece of honesty." Naomi told the boy, a small smile playing on her lips as she took another swig and then placed the bottle on the ground, savouring the taste and relaxing just a little bit.

» Ugh! (Humphrey & Naomi)
» We are who we are (Alexei and Naomi)
» Helping Out (Naomi)
» Shape of You [Naomi and Corbin]
» Checkmate (Martin & Naomi)