relax

Shelby rolled her eyes at her friends. "You two are ridiculous."

"You should see the debate that I have going on with Professor Hunt right now is pretty epic if you ask me. Me, Hilary, and the rest of our group minus Parkinson came up with a lot of different points. That clod Parkinson never showed up, so I think that Professor Hunt is going to switch him to a group made up of all the lazy people who didn't help their original group. I kind of hope she takes points away from Slytherin for him not showing up," Shelby said.

Theresa pulled a face at her "good, I hope I did" she joked childishly, grinning as she tried not to laugh. "And yes you do have a tiny brain, a very tiny brain" she commented. She turned to Shelby "that's not fair, she is the ridiculous one, not me" she said, crossing her arms. "Slytherin are already in last place, bet their annoyed" she said cheerfully.

"That would be so awesome if she did that! I can imagine the look on his pompous face." Lauren laughed, "Classic!" she said still smiling. Truth be told, she really didn't have anything to do with the boy. She had seen him around and heard the rumours but she hadn't actually had a conversation with him. She just didn't like him on principle. You don't beat up girls, and you especially don't beat up your family. Something was just not right with him.

Lauren laughed at Resa. "My brain is proportionate to the rest of my body thank you very much! But I agree with you, I am ridiculous but you wouldn't have it any other way!"

Shelby put on a serious face. "Slytherin is in last place because they don't have the intelligence of Ravenclaws, the courage of Gyffindors, or the 'puffiness of the Hufflepuffs," she dissolved into laughter at the idea of 'puffiness being a trait of Hufflepuffs.

"Speaking of Parkinson, has anyone actually seen him at all recently?" she asked. "Maybe he's been expelled!" she said hopefully.

Theresa snorted "just keep telling yourself that Lauren" she said, tryug her hardest not to laugh. Theresa pouted "why must everyone be mean to Hufflepuffs, we are briliant" she said. She thought for a moment "I havent seen or heard of him in a long time, he probably was expelled, he really was a horrible person" she said, remembering everything she heard about him.

"One can dream." Lauren said. She closed her eyes and let the breeze blow her hair around her face. She felt quite relaxed out here and tried to let the stress of the homework pilling up to flow from her body. She looked at the other two, her two best friends, and wondered where she would be had she never met the two. Remembering how Lauren had met Shelby, made her think of someone else. "Have you seen Pete Walker around lately? I haven't seem him since breakfast on the first day here!"

"Nope," Shelby said, letting the 'p' sound pop loudly. "I haven't seen him since that day on the train. If he hasn't been expelled too, he probably spends all of his time in the Slytherin common room. If you ask me though, he seemed pretty happy arguing with you on the train. I think he might have fancied you."

Lauren blushed very red, very quickly. "No, I don't think so." She said, blushing even harder if possible. "He... Well.. Oh, I don't know." She said, immediately regretting even bringing him up. Resa will have a field day with this one! She won't stop teasing me for as long as I live.

"I hope he hasn't been expelled." Lauren said, realising that that was probably not the best thing to say.

Theresa burst out laughing "oh no, now the both of you fancy boys, what is the world coming to" she said dramaticaly. "I think I am going to stay a little closer over here, you both have been disinfected of boy germs right?" she asked, scooting away from them both.

"You hope?!" Shelby repeated. "You fancy him too! You fancy him too! Resa!" Shelby yelped, "Lauren fancies a boy! Oh Lauren this is so adorable. He's a Slytherin, you're a Gryffindor, it's like Romeo and Juliet! It's a good thing you got a cootie shot yesterday."

Shelby stared at Theresa and crossed her arms. "Resa, what on earth are you talking about? I don't fancy anyone. Only Lauren does!"

Lauren looked at Resa... "Both of us?" Lauren asked and then blushed again. "I didn't mean that to say that I actually fancy Pete... But Shelby fancies a boy?? Who?" Lauren probed her friend for details. "What have I missed??" Lauren asked. She loved a good gossip and besides it gets the heat off of her for a while at least.

Theresa grinned "You fancy Pete and Shelby fancy's Inidana from Hufflepuff" she said, making smoochy noices before laughing again. "That is all so wrong, you better not catch anything and pass it to me by standing to close or something" she giggled, scooching away even more until she was leaning against the tree, holding her sides as she laughed.

"I don't fancy anyone!" Shelby insisted, hopping down from the tree branch onto the ground just so she could hide her slight blush and stop her foot as she spoke.

She sat down on the grass and looked up at Lauren and Resa. "And you totally do fancy Pete, Lauren. I can't imagine why, he was very smug and not very nice at all. Have you tried sending him an owl?" she asked.

Lauren was still pondering on what Shelby said. Romeo and Juliet, huh? She thought. "As if Pete would even be interested in me anyway... Not that I like him. No way!" Lauren said to her friends, embarrassed for voicing her opinions out loud. She was as red as her hair now, and didn't like to be in this situation.

"It's silly to even think about. Of course I haven't sent him an owl! I don't even like him... But after you left on the train, he seemed nicer. Besides he probably likes that Alycia girl from Ravenclaw."

Theresa giggled as she got comfortable on the branch "well I think you two are crazy, you will never see me going crazy over a smelly boy" she said, scrunching her nose up. "I would rather visit the merpeople then ever kiss a boy or even go goo-goo over one" she said, pretending to be sick at the very idea of kissing any boy.

"It's okay, Lauren. You can admit that you fancy Pete. I'm mature enough to handle it, even if Resa isn't," she gave Lauren a sympathetic look. "Besides, Pete would be luck to have a girl like you fancy him. You're way prettier and nicer than most of the girls here, especially Alycia."

Shelby thought for a moment. "Resa seems to be pretty adament that she doesn't fancy anyone, which of course means that she does," she turned on the other girl with a sly smile. "Who is it Resa? Is it Will Black? Is it one of the Slytherin boys?"

Lauren sighed, "I'm not going crazy over a boy. I think it's a gross as you do!" Lauren said. "I just hope that he isn't expelled because we're friends. That's all... friends." Lauren said, but thought to herself that she wouldn't mind if sometime in the future... No... She stopped herself. Don't even think it!

Lauren laughed at Shelby's logic. "Haha, you're right Shelb! She probably does... I bet it's that Indiana guy!"

Theresa shrieked "I do not Shelby!" she said scrunching her face, "Ew Will Black is gross and I would never even think about a Slytherin boy that way... wait! I mean I wouldn't think that way about any boy" she said realising her mistake. "Well maybe he isn't expelled, all the snakes seem to be hiding in their common room since we got here, maybe he hasnt come out yet" she said, shrugging before she looked up at the sky.

Shelby started to giggle uncontrollably while chanting "Lauren fancies Pete! And Resa fancies... someone!"

"Come on Lauren, just admit it! You fancy Pete Walker. I promise that if you say it, I'll never tell anyone else for as long as I live," Shelby promised. "And Resa, you're going to tell us who it is that you fancy! If you don't tell us, I'm going to tell everyone in the castle that you fancy Will Black," she said teasingly.

Lauren's face felt like it was on fire. "Shut it, will you!" She said to Shelby. "I don't know anything. I haven't even thought about it!" Lauren said stubbornly. She would not admit to anything! Lauren began her decent down from the tree and walked to Shelby, she was smiling, pretending to be angry, with her hands on her hips for effect. "If you so much as breathe a word about this to anyone, I'll going to throw you in the lake!" She said, laughing. Lauren was still blushing like mad, and felt like she could fry an egg on her face.

"EW Will Black, that is so gross,if anyone hears that then I am coming after you" she said, pointing at her accusingly. Theresa giggled as she watched Lauren and Shelby "she is the one with the crush not me" she said, shaking her head. She leaned back against the tree as she sat on the branch, giggling as she watched her two crazy friends.

Shelby giggled. "You know, Lauren, you wouldn't be blushing so much if you didn't fancy him," she teased before dropping her voice. "Don't worry, I promise I won't tell anyone. We don't even know if he still goes here or not. Besides," she started talking at a normal level, "I won't have time to tell anyone about you because I'll be too busy telling them about Resa and Will!" she laughed.

Lauren snorted at the blushing part. She wasn't blushing... She was just very hot, that's all! Well, that was what she was telling herself, and that's that!

Lauren giggled at the idea of Shelby telling the whole school about Resa's crush on Will, whether it was true or not. "That's hilarious!" She said, skipping around the tree that Resa was still sitting in, very happy that she wasn't being threatened with someone telling the whole school about her and Pete... Not that there was a her and Pete anyway!!

Theresa growled "Don't you dare, I do not have a cursh on him!" she shouted, going bright red. She sat up on the branch and watched them. "I do not have a crush on anyone, especially not... HIM!" she said. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying her hardest to ignore them.

"Don't worry Resa, I won't tell anyone," Shelby grinned.

"Hey, I have an idea," Shelby said, climbing back into the tree. "How about we finish our game of truth or dare from the other day? I know Hilary's not here right now, but we could play without her. What do you say?" Shelby settled on a branch and swung her legs back and forth.