( bella ) and i'm calling, calling, calling home

[oakleigh havana blackwood]

Sitting down by the lake alone, Oakleigh started to feel pretty homesick. She was a fifth year now and she should have been able to deal with the fact that she was at school almost all year, only visiting home on holidays and during summer break. For some reason though, Oakleigh couldn't want anything more than to be able to have the chance to go home for the week. The girl didn't know why she was suddenly feeling like this all that she did know was that she did was that she wasn't the only one feeling this way. In fact, her older brother, Sterling, who was graduating this year, felt the same way. The siblings didn't know why they suddenly felt the want and the need to go home and spend time with their parents, but the two definitely felt like something was wrong. This wasn't something that the pair wanted to be feeling, although there was nothing that they could do but write home and check up on things.

Trying to clear her mind of the thoughts of wanting to go home, Oakleigh made her way up to the ground floor of the castle from the Hufflepuff common room in the cellar. Once she was there, the girl looked out the big arched opening and felt the heat coming from the sun. It was still warm for September, thankfully. Though, Oakleigh knew that it was only going to be a matter of time before the wind started picking up on a daily basis and the temperature wasn't going to work it's hardest to make it to the top of the thermometer. That meant only one thing; Oakleigh was soon going to be able to wear the latest fall fashion under her robes. She loved the variety of outfits that she was able to create, because the temperature was so different on a day-to-day basis. Some days it would be cool and others would be warmer.

Now that she was outside, Oakleigh decided that she was going to steer clear of the quidditch pitch and the numerous students that would make their way there on a nice day such as this one. Instead, she was going to make her way to the lake and lay around in the sun for awhile.

[annabelle jade harper]

Anna had been missing her brother. He'd been in jail for almost two years now and she missed all the good times they had growing up. They were like best buds even though there was a five year age gap. When Jackson started school, Anna was still at home but every holiday break and all during the summer break, she got to see him. Then when she started at Hogwarts at eleven years old, Jackson was in his 6th year. He was so protective of her and she loved it. A lot of her friends developed crushes on him which annoyed Anna but one friend didn't. Leigh.

Leigh and Anna had been friends since childhood and best friends at that. They were so excited when they got their letters together. Now it seemed that being in different houses caused them to barely have any time together. They only had a few classes with each other and over the breaks, they each had their own lives to tend to. Most of Anna's Christmas break was spent visiting her family and brother in jail. Leigh had gone a few times with her.

Now Anna was in between classes and needed fresh air. Her next class wasn't for a few more hours. The best place to get fresh air was out by the lake. The mermaids weren't around this time of year at the surface so there was no reason for Anna to freak out. As she made her way out of the main entrance of the castle, Anna took a deep breath in. She couldn't wait to be able to use magic on a regular basis but she was going to have to suffice with just being on the castle grounds.

As she made her way over to the lake she noticed a familiar body and pile of hair laying on the ground, warming in the sun. Anna giggled softly to herself as she skipped up to where Leigh was laying and toppled herself softly on top of Leigh. "Hey sexy!" she said laughing hysterically as she rolled off of her best friend and laid on her side facing Leigh.

[oakleigh havana blackwood]

Oakleigh laid on the soft grass by the lake for what seemed like ages. After laying there for so long, it seemed that the young girl started to doze off a bit. Though, she was soon brought back to reality when her felt someone on top of her.

Opening her eyes, Oakleigh instantly started to laugh alongside of her best friend. "What are you doing, crazy?" Leigh laughed, sitting up on her elbows for a moment, just before sitting up fully. "You could have given me a heart attack," Oakleigh said, obviously joking around with her best friend.

Wiping herself off, the young Hufflepuff female looked to her friend and grinned. "What's got you in a spunky mood?" she questioned. "Is it a guy?" Oakleigh questioned, her eyes lighting up.

When it came to boys, Oakleigh couldn't get enough of them. Well, just as long as they had a pretty face, of course.

Oakleigh herself didn't have a boyfriend, because she wasn't sure if she wanted to be tied down to any one particular guy and not be able to look and discuss all of the other guys with Anna.

Knowing that if she had a boyfriend and having a conversation about other boys with Anna would lead to trouble because of someone eaves dropping on the conversation, Oakleigh decided to keep herself a single lady.

It was obvious that her two older brothers certainly appreciated this, just to say the very least.

In fact, sometimes they wondered if there was something wrong with Oakleigh or if she had a secret boyfriend that no one had known about. Though, Oakleigh was fine and she didn't have a secret boyfriend or the like, she just didn't want to be tied down by one.

Or at least, there wasn't a guy that she was interested in enough to allow herself to be tied down.

Maybe one day there would be.

Until then though, Oakleigh was kicking it as a single lady and she was loving it.

Looking back at Anna, Oakleigh just patiently awaited her response.

[annabelle jade harper]

Anna giggled quietly and calmed down slightly when her and Oakleigh were now laying on their elbows, propped up facing each other. She smiled hugely when Oakleigh said that she could have given her a heart attack. "I wouldn't want to kill you!" she said and poked her best friend's shoulder laughing.

Oakleigh then questioned what had Anna in such a spunky mood and if it was a guy. Anna couldn't help but laugh hysterically. "There's always guys Leigh," she said truthfully. Both girls were boy crazy and that was an understatement. While Oakleigh didn't really want a serious boyfriend because of her Quidditch, Anna didn't have any commitments and would rather have a boy to commit to than a sport. That was just her mentality.

"There is one guy," she said, letting her voice trail off to leave Oakleigh in suspense. "But I'm happy to see you finally! I haven't seen you in like a week!" she said, distracting her best friend. Or at least trying to. She knew it wouldn't last long. The topic of boys had come up and Anna had left a ticking time bomb by skimming over the fact that there was indeed a boy.

Anna had been in the great hall a few hours ago before her class. She was studying while snacking on some fruit and crackers. A boy, a seventh year at that, had come right up to her. At first she thought he was joking. A prank of seventh year boys to make a fool of her. When she had noticed that no one else was even in sight, Anna felt butterflies. She was sure to tell Oakleigh once the young Hufflepuff pressured her for details.

Anna grinned over at Oakleigh and waited for the bombs. She was excited to share the news of a boy showing interest in her. It could be because Anna was finally, well, developing. She was fifteen and had only just started gaining a more womanly figure. Maybe more boys would pay attention to her.

[oakleigh havana blackwood]

Laying on her back, her elbows propping her up, Oakleigh looked to her best friend while she waited for the other girl to speak.

Being slightly impatient wasn't helping the situation any.

"Good, you'd better not want to kill me. Where else are you going to find a girl that you can be best friend's with that doesn't want to get into your brother's pants?" Oakleigh questioned.

"Although...," Leigh started, obviously joking, since she attached a laugh at the end.

Unfortunately for Oakleigh, she knew what Anna was going through with the issue of girl friends being interested in an older brother. Leigh, herself, had two of them.

Hearing Anna speak of boys was always music to Oakleigh's ears.

"I know there are always guys, but I want to know if there is one in particular."

Oakleigh had boys on her mind all of the time, but she just didn't have the time to commit to just one of them. Therefore, she decided that boys were just for show and not for play. It was just easier that way.

Finally hearing Anna say that there was one guy in particular, Oakleigh sat up straight and looked to her friend.

"Spill," she demanded.

"And you always know that I'm happy to see you. Classes and homework have been killer lately. And quidditch is starting soon, so my time is really spread thin. Sometimes, I feel like I don't even get the chance to sit down and eat a meal," Oakleigh explained to her friend.

"And I have news for you too. About a guy too, though it deals more with Quidditch, so it doesn't really count as anything too good," Leigh explained.

"But you'd better tell me about this guy before I explode," she said.

Looking to her best friend, Oakleigh started to fidget with excitement. "Come on, come on, come on. I'm dying here, Anna!" Oakleigh exclaimed.

Oakleigh wasn't exactly a fan of waiting on things, simply because she was always waiting for her older brothers at home. At dinner time, she had to wait for them to be served first. On holidays, she was always waiting for her brothers to be loved by her parents first, before it was her turn.

Leigh despised waiting.

[annabelle jade harper]

Anna giggled when she heard Oakleigh started to get antsy. She knew her best friend all too well that nothing would distract her from the topic of boys. When Oakleigh sat up and said the word "spill" in such a serious tone, Anna just grinned at her brunette best friend. Anna was excited to tell Oakleigh, there was absolutely no doubt about that. But she liked keeping Oakleigh on the edge of her seat.

Anna heard Oakleigh talk about how much time she had been using to do school work and class stuff. Anna was a good student but nowhere near as good as Oakleigh. Oakleigh had been starting to spread herself thin from their second year at Hogwarts. The quidditch team treated Oakleigh well but she was always practicing even in off season. Anna supported her best friend no matter what but she was always worried about Oakleigh's mental health. Anna made a note to herself that a shopping day was to be in order very soon.

Anna looked to Oakleigh when she begged for information on the boy Anna had been mentioning. Anna grinned. "Fine, fine. You're so impatient," she said and stuck her tongue out at Oakleigh. "I was sitting in the great hall earlier studying and a seventh year came up to me," she said, pausing for dramatic effect and to see Oakleigh's reaction. "He asked my name and for my class schedule so he knew when to see me," Anna explained and immediately felt her face light up again, remembering. "Oh and another thing, he was g-o-r-g-e-ous," she said, spelling out gorgeous in the way these two best friends would when they were referring to guys.

Anna sat herself up more and looked at Oakleigh. "Your turn!" she said, referring to the little tidbit of news that Oakleigh had talked about before she started pressuring Anna. Now it was Anna's turn. "Quidditch boys are the best and you know that so this news that you have can't be any worse than what I just told you!" Anna said, looking to her best friend with a pleading look in her eye. "C'mon Leigh! Hurry up and tell me!" she said, grinning at her best friend of her whole life.