late n i g h t escapades [open]

[Gemma Daniels]

What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

It was quiet. Too quiet. To the point of eery, and unnerving. Gemma enjoyed her silence, found it peaceful and gave her a clear head, but this was a different sort of quiet. But, much to her displeasure, she was awake now. She had been staring at the ceiling of her dormroom through her four-poster for the past ten minutes, thinking that if she tried hard enough to concentrate on sleeping, she would get tired again. Obviously, that tactic was not working as her eyes seemed to be very unwilling to return to its blissful dreams anytime soon.

She rolled to her side, peeking at the alarm clock ontop of her nightstand. 2:37 AM. Great. She had a little too much time on her hands. Approxamately five hours until it would be an acceptable time to wake up. Shutting her eyes in another attempt to force the sleep back into her system, a loud and unexpected noise broke the silence. Her stomach. Gemma's hands instinctly flew to her belly, her eyelids flashing open. She bit her lip back from laughing out loud. She didn't want to wake her roommates afterall.

Maybe it was round time for a night trip to the kitchens? That thought was exciting enough for Gemma to lift herself out of her bed silently. Wide awake, but lazy enough to not care about her current just-out-of-bed appearance, she stuffed her socked-feet into a pair of slippers. The giant clown shoe ones that look like a huge sneaker. Her orange polka-dot pajamas and matching happy face tanktop hung loosely over her body as she tip-toed her way out of the dormroom as quietly as she could.

Past the dead common room and corridors and some two minutes later, Gemma stood infront of the portrait of the giant bowl of fruit. Upon tickling the pear, and entering through the once-hidden doorway, she was almost immediately greeted by two tiny big-eared creaures. It was as if they were expecting her. Gemma smiled at them pleasantly when they asked what they could get her. 'Well..if it's not to much trouble that is, maybe some cereal of some sort would be nice? I'm kind of in the mood for breakfast.' She said shyly. Autimatically, the house-elves bowed and rushed away towards the cabinets. The first two which had greeted her exchanged a slightly confused look, causing Gemma to look down sheepishly, her cheeks turning slightly pink. So she liked breakfast foods, sue her.

Gemma looked past the house-elves and led herself to a counter top on which she sat.[/size]

[Brooke Davis]

Rise. Fall. Rise. Fall. When a girl was watching her own chest move in tune with her breathing and god-knows what unholy hour in the morning, you knew she had a boy problem. And Brooke's boy problem, although you'd never get her to admit it, was titled Lucius Malfoy. Her minds eye, unlike her normal ones, refused to close in a futile attempt to sleep, and flashed over the Slytherin's dark brown hair-dyed so in one of his only rebellion moves-crystal blue eyes that sent shivers down her spine, tanned, fit body...Brooke groaned aloud. Go on anymore and she'd quite literally go crazy.

This was disgusting. She never felt this way about any guys since Lucas. Although, of course, the whole Lucius thing started in her fourth year, even when she was dating Lucas, right through her break up with the Gryffindor. There were so many wrong things about the statement. For one, she swore never to be really into any guy since Lucas, at least till graduation. She didn't think even she could deal with the drama that came with being steady-the girl always had so much on her plate as it was. Secondly, what was the deal with her going behind her current boyfriend's back, anyway? So maybe their splitting was just karmic backlash, which even Brooke admitted to herself with an amused grin. And third, if she just had to have more than one guy to move around with...why in the world was it a younger kid? It was all a mistake, although one she didn't know how to-and if she was being really, really honest-didn't exactly want to end.

Face it, girl, sleep was not gonna come around. She twisted around so she was on her tummy, head on her hands on her pillow, and pretended that she was drifting off. Too lame for words. Her eyes were as bright as if it was mid-afternoon instead of early morning. Giving up completely, Brooke climbed out of bed, slipping into her slippers and grabbing her invisibility cloak that lay crumpled in a heap on the floor by her bed. It was nowhere as good as James'-she would kill to know where he got his-but was sufficient, and the girl silently and invisibly climbed down the staircase of Ravenclaw tower, making her way through the cool castle corridors.

She found herself in the corridor by the hidden kitchen entrance before she really decided her destination. Ah, when in emotional pain, eat your feelings. She had cheerleading captain tomorrow anyway, so she had nothing to worry about. She tickled the pear, and entered the kitchen on silent feet to surprised and uneasy elves, probably worried of Peeves. The chaos the poltergeist could create in the kitchen could rival even the Marauders' worst pranks.

She swung off her invisibility cloak, smiling at them as they clamored around her in relief. She tried to ignore their countless questions, quietly requesting some onion soup and garlic bread before choosing a seat at the nearest long table. A clock on the opposite table told her that it was but in the morning and Brooke sighed in muted annoyance, cheering up slightly as an elf placed the food in front of her. Bless the sniveling creatures. Weirdly enough, she missed her own house elf, Lyssa. She was Brooke's closest friend as a child-patheticness defined.

She was half through when the door swung open again, and quickly threw the invisibility cloak over herself. The girl was too far away for Brooke to recognize her, although she saw enough to know it was no teacher. The girl though-atypical of Brooke's luck-took a seat opposite the Ravenclaw, and Brooke finally recognized her with an inner grimace. She was still hungry, though, so with a flourish Brooke threw off her cloak, smiling apologetically.

"Daniels. We should start an insomniac club or something. I know plenty of students already on the waiting list," she said in an odd mixture of distance and friendliness. Truth be told, Gemma was the second last person Brooke wanted to be with-the last person of course being her half-brother, Mr Malfoy himself. Knowing her current luck, though, even the dark haired Slytherin would pop up in five seconds. "So whats your excuse?" she asked coolly, taking another sip of her soup-soup, she had to admit, was starting to taste distinctly worse.

--sucky post, I know, mah apologies XP

[Gemma Daniels]

What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

Gemma hummed quietly to herself, turning just halfway in her seat so as to watch the house elves in their scurrying. In much less time then it would have taken her, a house elf came towards her baring a silver tray upon which lay a bowl of Fruit Loops and a tall glass of chocolate milk. They even knew her preference of cereal! How...strange. Gemma smiled at the timid house elf, taking the tray out of her hands. 'Thank you' She said lightly, turning back around in her seat.

Taking the spoon from the tray and indulging in a bite from her cereal, she had begun chewing just in time to notice another figure directly infront of her. She jumped in her chair, her eyes widening in surprise. Coughing at the now-stuck piece of fruit loop at her throat, she placed a hand on her chest. After sucessfully de-chocking herself, she looked back at the older girl.

She definitely was not expecting another person awake and in the kitchens at this hour, especially not someone like Brooke Davis hidden underneath an invisibility cloak across the very table she was sitting at. But, at least she knew who the girl was right? It would probably be more awkward if Gemma had ran into a random stranger. In a school this size, the odds of that were plentiful. Then again, who didn't know who Brooke Davis was? The seventh year was head cheerleader for the Ravenclaw team afterall. Even a not-so-gossipy Hufflepuff fifth year like Gemma knew that.

'Sorry...uh..hi.' She said quietly, her eyes flickering back at the girl. She now felt thoroughly embarassed as her pink cheeks revealed. 'Couldn't sleep?' She shrugged as a reply to Brooke's question. 'How about you'[/size]

[Brooke Davis]

Brooke looked apprehensively at the coughing girl before her, wondering if the need to perform a Heimlich maneuver might rise. But than, the girl would ask why Brooke even knew such an obviously muggle move. Which would take wa-ay too much explanations, and even than the girl would probably spread the word around the entire castle. Brooke Davis, pureblood elite, was a god-damned muggle lover! She wondered if even her reputation could live that down. And than she wondered if she cared. But hey, with the so called Dark-Lord popping up a girl had to be careful, should she not? That is, if a girl still wanted to live. It was truly questionable at this point.

Brooke snapped out of her uncharesteristic emo-ness, a faint blush spreading over her cheeks as she saw that no dislodging method, either muggle or wizard, was needed, and that Gemma was staring at her. Oh, great. Just what she wanted; Gemma would go on and tell her darling brother that she had actually met theBrooke Davis last night-or more accurately at some unholy hour in the morning-and it turns out that she was no more than any other normal teenager. She hated normal. Although that was admitedly better than over-emotional. Ah, just put 'emotional' as another thing Brooke hated doing.

Well, at least she didn't seem the only one feeling uncomfortable, which always brought out the best of her. When others panic, Brooke ran around trying to get everyone to calm down. She smiled at the girl in what she hoped was apologetic look. "Hey sweetie. Sorry about popping out like that," she apologised in her friendliest voice, chippier than should be legal for three in the morning. "I was worried that you were a prof or something," she explained with a roll of her eyes. "I've been caught, like, five billion times so far. Detention is so not my thing."..Now what? She had nothing, in which the only thing she could use to fill the horrid silence was to gulp down her soup.

Which just happened to be dangerously running out. Brooke smiled as a house elf poured some more into her bowl. "Same," she agreed distractedly, looking down on her bowl, her blush brightening. She looked up to meet Gemma's eyes with surprising intensity, a curious gleam appearring in her grey eyes,and she looked at Gemma in uncertainty. "Boy problems, y'know," she said slowly, taking in every change in Gemma's facial features. "He's been driving me absolutely mad. I don't have anyone to talk to, with the crap with Peyton and Lucas and all, and Haley ditching me at the house party... she drifted off slowly, shifting her attention back to stirring her soup to cool it.

[Gemma Daniels]

What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

Gemma grimaced, hinting a smile back to Brooke timidly. 'No it's fine really.' She said, shaking off her apology. She was embarrassed enough for almost choking on a fruit loop without having to add Brooke apologizing. 'You just caught me off guard. My senses arn't so up to task at three in the morning' She explained, her cheeks reddening. Well, that had to count for some part of the reason Gemma had started wildly choking at the unexpected sighting of Brooke directly ahead of her right? She looked down in her cereal, and in a now delibrately slow movement, took another spoonful. She should have just stuck to pancakes. Much less chokable.

Detention? Huh, Gemma hadn't thought of that when she'd decided to creep into the kitchens that night. She'd never been given detention to be honest. But then again, she didn't really do anything to deserve detention. It was only on the sporadical decision that Gemma would step a toe out of the line, like for example, this night's trip. Instinctly, she turned her head towards the door on the lookout just in case. Silly really, now that she was already inside somewhere forbidden to start thinking of the consequences. She bit her lip back as she finished chewing. 'Nobody's going to come now are they? I mean. The professors should be sleeping right?' She asked nervously raising her eyebrows when she turned back to the Ravenclaw.

She nodded sympathetically to Brooke's response. She didn't have many boy problems of her own really, more like a boy shortage, but she knew she'd stayed up a couple nights herself obsessing over a guy before. It was a girl thing. As much as nobody liked to, it was sort of a part of life right? Gemma wasn't sure who the various people Brooke was naming off were though, or even who the particular boy she was having a problem with was. But, hey, Gemma was good at listening, since usually, she was word-challenged, so if Brooke wanted to talk about it, she didn't mind. 'Who is he..?' She asked curiously, but then astounded at her own bluntness, bit her lip back in embarassment. She didn't really know this girl, so why would she want to talk to Gemma of all people? 'I mean..if you know, you wanna talk about it...' She added, turning to her cereal again.
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