You're Toxic

[Jackson Michaels]

a dream is a wish your

heart makes when you're fast asleep

It was Saturday, finally. Jacks was down by the lake, just relaxing by a tree staring out into the water. His friends were all sleeping since they liked to sleep in until noon. Jacks liked to sleep in that late when he could, but he'd realized that he hadn't written his mother this week, so he'd gotten up to write her a letter and hadn't been able to go back to sleep. It was ten now, so Jacks only had to wait a couple more hours for his buds to wake up.

If anybody knew that there was a soft side to Jackson Michaels, everybody would be shocked. The soft side of him he just never showed anyone. His friends would probably laugh in his face and call him a momma's boy if they knew that he wrote home every week. But he and his momma were close because his momma was all he had. And he was all she had. He became a completely different person during the summers. But, when Jacks had been sorted into Slytherin he'd started acting a certain way, wanting to fit in with the older guys. Maybe it was because he hadn't had his father in his life. He'd gravitated towards the older males maybe to replace the father he'd never really had. And in so doing, he'd had bad influences from the very first day.

And now? Well, he was a seventh year Slytherin, and he was the one being a bad influence on the younger Slytherins. It was a role he took very seriously. He had to act certain ways because people were always watching him. He had lots of younger guys in his house who looked up to him, and so his reputation meant a lot. So he walked around as if he owned the place, as if he was king because it was expected of him. It was like he'd inherited the Slytherin crown when his friend Michael who'd owned it the year before, had graduated and left Hogwarts. It was a huge responsiblity.

There were things that had been ingrained in him from the beginning, and that was that all other houses were inferior, but there was definitely competition between Slytherins and Gryffindors. But Jacks picked on anyone in the other houses. There were exceptions of course. Because there were always a few cool people from every house, but mostly Jacks stuck with his own house, because they were his people. He was a seventh year and he was their leader pretty much. That didn't stop him from trying to boss the other people in the other houses around either or to get them to stay out of his way.

Sometimes it got a little old being who he was. He got judged constantly. He wasn't a complete ass. But how was anybody to know that? He never showed that side of him. He'd been acting the way he had been for ages simply because it was what had been expected him from the older guys when he'd been younger. And now it was expected from him by the younger guys who looked up to him. On top of all that, he was a manwhore. He bagged women because it was the cool thing to do. But it was getting harder for him to get girls outside of his own house since a lot of people in this place had grown rather disgusted with him. Not that he admitted that it was becoming hard. He went around bragging to his fellow housemates about all the girls he was able to get all of the time.

Jacks would never admit this, but he was secretly glad to be graduating Hogwarts. After Hogwarts he'd get a new start. Nobody would know him where he was going. Or maybe they wouldn't. He had no clue what he was even going to do. And in a way that was scary, but it was also an exciting thought as well. For now though, he would enjoy his time at Hogwarts, what was left of it anyway.

TAG !? Liberty!
WORD COUNT !?678
GRAPHICS !?
LOCATION !?black lake
WEARING !?photo above
LYRICS !? a dream is a wish;; ashley tisdale
CREDITS !? <33 @ CAUTION 2.0
NOTES !?

[Liberty Edenway]

A young Ravenclaw 5th year was in her empty dormitory, throwing on her robes. Everyone else, it seemed, had already woken up and started their day. Although it was a Saturday, she was one of the students who definitely preferred to wear robes all round. She was never one to wear muggle clothes, for two main reasons. One being that it just never took to her liking, and the other was that she was positive she would be unable to put together a decent outfit and end up looking ridiculous. It just wasn't her thing- never had been, never will be. The only thing she sometimes liked to wear that was muggle, was night gowns. They were just so comfortable. She glanced at her watch, seeing that it was half nine.

She glanced out the open window at the sky. It seemed to be one of those perfect days; blue skies, the sun was hot, but the air was just cool and nice. That was how Liberty liked it. Making up her mind, she picked up a book on her way out. After breakfast she would find a tree nearby the lake to lounge and get lost in her book. It was one of her favourite past-times. Heading down to the great hall she didn't see any of her friends at her house table. They had probably eaten already, and knowing them went either on the grounds or to the library. She sat at the edge of the table, as there was a group of friends in the middle that she felt shy to infiltrate, and had some eggs and bacon with toast quickly. She often felt self conscious when she was eating by herself, in public, and almost literally scarfed down the food so she could get out of there and enjoy her book as soon as possible.

She even imagined that a few of them were laughing at the way she was eating down her food, but pushed away the thought telling herself that she was being stupid. If someone could get inside Lib's head, they would be shocked at the levels of insecurity her mind was at. She couldn't help it though, she just always felt as if people were laughing at her, or didn't like her for some reason. For this reason she could be very closed up to most, but once someone took the time to really talk to her, just one true smile from her would let out a secret: she really was a friendly person. Shocking, right? Who would think someone as quite and reserved as her could be so friendly.

Finishing her last bit of orange juice, she headed out of the hall and out the huge oak doors, making her way over to the lake. She faltered slightly in her steps as she reached nearer though, as she saw most of them already had groups of friends sitting under them. There were two with only one person.. both Slytherins. Wonderful. It wasn't that she had a problem with them, not in the least. Just, a lot of the time they seem to not like her for some unknown reason.

The first one was a boy, who she knew was Jackson. He was not her favourite type of guy to be honest. He was sometimes mean to fellow students, acted rather like a bad-guy type and from what she'd heard he also slept around. A lot. So she had heard, but she had never really gotten to know him and so she didn't want to pre-judge the guy from the source of rumors. What if he was actually a nice guy? Beside, when she saw people act that way she often saw it as being a mask. She knew there must be more to a person than that.. so what was it? Why did they behave that way? Just for the sake of fun, enjoying teenage years..? It intrigued her. The second person was a futher distance away, but Liberty recognised her as a 5th year Slyherin- a girl in her year. Who really did not seem to take to Liberty in the least, though she never understood why, and often gave her cold stares. So Jackson it was.

She walked up to the tree he was under, almost tentatively, her legs seeming to slow down slightly as she got closer. "Hey-" she began as she reached him, before she realised that her voice had come out extremely soft. "Hey," she began again, this time more audibly, "do you mind if I sit here?" she asked. Her heartbeat increased with each word, making her feel rather flustered and a slight blush crept up on her cheeks. Most would gather from this that she was maybe attracted to him, but that was not the case. Such was the extent of her shyness, the shyness that she knew she'd have to break out of at some point- but she was stilling waiting for it to happen.

She had made progress at least. A year ago she would have never approached him, and probably just decided to go to the library, even if it meant depriving herself of being outdoors on this wonderful day. "I mean, not here by you necessarily.. I could sit on the other side of the tree.." she finished rather lamely, and mentally slapped herself. Why did she even open her mouth? She could say the stupidest things sometimes. She felt tempted to say something else to rectify her last comment, but decided against it as knowing her she would probably only make herself look worse.

^{STARRING : liberty & jackson
WORDS : 935 words
NOTES : sorry for taking so long!
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : TANA}

[Jackson Michaels]

a dream is a wish your

heart makes when you're fast asleep

Jacks was just fingering those cigarettes in his pocket, kind of a habit if you will. Even if he wasn't going to smoke the blasted things, he still had a tendency to just finger them in his pocket. Not to make sure they were there, but for something to do rather. He was just looking out into the lake, kind of bored. He saw a girl that belonged in his house. He'd already tapped that. Besides, he didn't get along too well with her anyway. They kind of butted heads. He was getting bored, and when he was bored he liked to go look for trouble. But not a lot of people were out and about yet. And why the hell not? It was a nice day. Maybe they'd seen him by this tree and had decided to stay out the way. Smart.

Well, not everyone had decided to stay out of his way. He watched as a girl came and got closer. He knew exactly who the girl was. Liberty Edenway. She was a fifth year ravenclaw girl. The ravenclaw girls were Jacks' favorite to mess with. Maybe he had a thing for the smart chicks. But way back in Liberty's first year he had given her a hard time. He'd noticed her even back then. He didn't know why he hadn't actively pursued her. Normally, he went after what he wanted. But, he was kind of glad that he hadn't. Pursuing her might give him something fun to do his last year here at Hogwarts.

Did she just blush? He grinned lazily at her at her question. She wanted to join him? Huh. Maybe it wouldn't take as long as he thought to get into her pants. She was the one initiating the contact. Hadn't she heard of his rep? But then, he wouldn't peg her for being a girl to get easily scared off. And maybe that was why she intrigued him so much. Another reason was that they were opposites. At least what he knew of her. He was always attracted to the girls who were his opposites. They were definitely the most challenging and fun to break down. He stopped fingering his cigarettes at once, knowing that the cigarettes probably wouldn't impress her any. She might know that he was a smoker, but he wasn't going to risk it.

"Sure, you can sit by me. I don't bite, so you don't have to go on the other side of the tree,"he said with his characteristic grin, definitely pulling out his charms. He wanted to put her at ease. He wondered if she even remembered the incident way back when. He didn't know why he remembered it himself honestly. Maybe in the back of his mind he'd always paid attention to Liberty. Not in a creepy way mind you. But he'd always known she'd existed. And maybe he knew that he would have gone after her if he felt good enough for her way before now. He definitely didn't feel like he was good enough for her now. But that wasn't stopping him from acting towards her the way he acted towards all girls. All girls whom he wanted to bag anyway, which was most of them. At least most girls from 5th year up. Going any younger than that would just be a little too creepy.

He wasn't nearly as much of an ass as he liked people to believe he was. But he was a male. A male who liked women, and a male who had gotten in with the wrong crowd from the beginning. Sometimes he thought about what it would be like to actually go for a girl with pure motives, but he didn't think that he had it in him. Not even for a girl like Liberty who wouldn't want him if she did see the not so charming side of him. And maybe she wouldn't even be fooled by the charming side of him. But it was Jacks, and he definitely had to try.

"So Liberty, right? Couldn't sleep in either huh?"he asked her. He wasn't going to admit that he knew her name. He liked to be too cool to know girls' names, when first talking to them. But he knew her name, and he wasn't going to pretend otherwise. Besides, he didn't want to go into the whole introduction thing. He wanted as much time to charm her as he could without the wasted time of introductions and crap. And he knew that she probably knew who he was. Many people did know who he was. And if they didn't? Well, then they'd been living under a rock their entire time at Hogwarts.

TAG !? Liberty!
WORD COUNT !?780
GRAPHICS !?
LOCATION !?black lake
WEARING !?photo above
LYRICS !? a dream is a wish;; ashley tisdale
CREDITS !? <33 @ CAUTION 2.0
NOTES !?[/size

[Liberty Edenway]

Liberty's eyes avoided his carefully, so that while she was looking at him she wasn't making straight eye contact. She always felt more nervous around people at first if she made eye contact with them, and they her blush would be very noticeable and she didn't want him getting the wrong idea. She just didn't want to stay indoors on a day like today, but she hated the sun and wanted shade from the tree. "Sure, you can sit by me. I don't bite, so you don't have to go on the other side of the tree." 'Are you sure?' was the question that popped into her mind when he said that he didn't bite, but she smiled to herself, amused, and bit back the comment. "Thank you," she said politely instead, settling herself neatly beside him, but still a safe enough distance to keep personal space in mind. Even if she didn't judge him by the bad reputation he had with girls, just to be on the careful she kept a safe distance.

She kept her eyes downwards as she settled herself, a light smile continously on her lips. She rested her book on the healthy green grass beside her, as she ensured that her robes were tucked neatly beneath her and basically just fidgeted around with herself feeling slightly self-conscious that something may be out of place. She finally looked up and observed him, realising that he had pulled out his charms on her. Hmm. He was attempting to charm her? Who would've known. She thought back to her first year, when she was not the most socially adept person around- probably the least, in fact. He did not really seem to care to charm her at the time. Quite the opposite actually. She remembered he had given her quite a hard time, but she had managed to let go of that quite easily. It was a few years ago after all, so it had sort of just faded into her past. Just one of her countless bad memories.

"So Liberty, right? Couldn't sleep in either huh?" She continued watching him for a moment, before she realised that this could probably seem unnerving and answered. "Well, I'm a night bird but also an early riser," she explained. "I hate waking up late, feels like most of the day is already lost." Time was one of the things Liberty valued.. you couldn't get it back, and what you used it to do could make big difference. Wait. Did he just call her Liberty? As in, by her name? Well, that was different. She often thought that a lot of people didn't realise or forgot that she existed, due to her relatively quiet existance.

She admitted that it pleased her slightly, and her eyes glanced downwards for a second as if in an attempt to make sure that he didn't realise her pleasure in his knowing her name, before looking back up at him. She wasn't used to being recognised so easily, even by people in her own house, so it was rather flattering. Quite the opposite of Jackson actually, who was rather well-known, mostly for his lesser qualities. She usually didn't pay much attention when others gossiped and such, but she had gathered a fair enough idea. Still, she would rather decide for herself what she thought of him.

"So what are you doing up already?" she queried, genuinely interested. She bit her lip for a moment, contemplating, before she continued. "Somehow you don't strike me as an early riser." It was true. He looked more like the type to wake all night, and wake up late the next morning. Which was actually quite similar to the habits of many teenage boys.

^{STARRING : liberty & jackson
WORDS : 621
NOTES : :]
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : TANA}

[Jackson Michaels]

a dream is a wish your

heart makes when you're fast asleep

Jackson grinned as she sat down beside him. Good, now they were getting somewhere. He noticed that she kept a comfortable distance, but hey. They'd never really talked before, and so there was time. He noticed when she smiled and the book that she had with her, and he almost laughed aloud. Typical Ravenclaw. Okay, so maybe he was too judging according to houses, but it was what was expected of him. And it was true. The Ravenclaw girls that he had noticed all seemed to have a book to read wherever they went. Maybe that's why Jacks thought they were hot. The studious smart types always got to him. But Jacks himself never opened up a book if he could help it. He did the bare minimum to pass his classes and that was all.

At her response he raised his eyebrow. The day half gone? It was still so early. The guys wouldn't be up for at least another couple of hours. Before Liberty had happened along he'd been cursing himself for not staying in his bed. But he'd been bored just sitting there staring up at the ceiling, trying to fall back to sleep. So this alternative had been better. Besides, now he wasn't kicking himself because it was shaping up to be an interesting morning, talking to Liberty. Something he'd always wanted to do anyway. Not that he'd ever admit to that. He'd want people to think that the only reason why he was talking to her was to get into her pants. He wouldn't want her to think that, but he had to act as if his friends were here and he was being charming simply for those reasons. But he was actually interested in talking to her for her. Something he wasn't used to at all.

"You're right, I do generally sleep in late on the weekends. But I couldn't sleep in for some reason this morning. But really my friends won't be up for another couple of hours. I could have sat in my common room doing my homework, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. So I decided to come out here,"he replied to her question.

"So, what are you reading?"he asked, indicating her book. He wasn't interested in the slightest, but he might as well pretend to be. If he pretended in being interested in the things she was interested in, maybe she'd give him the time of day. So far so good. He would just pour on the charms and she wouldn't be able to resist right? Girls had a hard time resisting him. But he did have the manwhore reputation so girls also had a hard time trusting him as well. For good reason.

In the back of Jackson's mind he always wondered what it would be like to truly settle down with a girl. But, he was also afraid of becoming like his dad so it was much easier having his little flings, not getting involved with anyone. Before he got with anyone, he wanted to make sure that she was the girl for him. But the type of guy he was, he knew that he didn't deserve the type of girl that he wanted. He was able to get the easy girls, and girls that didn't have much substance to them, but that was getting a little old. It felt different talking to someone like Liberty for a change. She wasn't all giggly and trying to flirt with him. It was different. It was a challenge. One that he felt like he wanted to take on, and was ready for.

TAG !? Liberty!
WORD COUNT !?602
GRAPHICS !?
LOCATION !?black lake
WEARING !?photo above
LYRICS !? a dream is a wish;; ashley tisdale
CREDITS !? <33 @ CAUTION 2.0
NOTES !?

[Liberty Edenway]

Liberty smiled slightly at his raised eyebrow, as she realised that he probably took what she said as her meaning that she considered ten in the morning as late. What she had really meant was that if she allowed herself to sleep in, she wouldn't have woken up until sometime in the afternoon, and by that time she felt as if a lot of time was wasted and most of the day had already gone by.

"You're right, I do generally sleep in late on the weekends. But I couldn't sleep in for some reason this morning. But really my friends won't be up for another couple of hours. I could have sat in my common room doing my homework, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. So I decided to come out here,"
"I see," she responded softly, tempted to ask him what he usually did at nights that kept him and his friends up so late. With her, she was usually reading, writing or watching out the window and just plain thinking most of the time. The rumors she had heart concerning him rose to her memory. that he was one of 'those' guys.. the kind that nice, good girls like Lib stayed away from, and the type that the wilder girls, usually interested in having temporary enjoyment that in Liberty's eyes was just superficial and senseless were attracted too. The type of girls who were interested in flings, one-night-stands, and simply being able to say that they had gotten in bed with him. Then again, he hadn't even shuffled closer to her or tried to do anything inappropriate yet, so so far so good right?

She shook her head slightly, as a few of those girls came to mind. She had heard them whispering about it in the great hall at breakfast, or while passing notes in class- usually Charms (which, now that she thought of it, was kind of ironic). Hmm. She had to fight to keep a smile off of her face this time, as she was amused by her own private joke. If she kept smiling to herself too often he might think she was a bit mental. Then again, was she even normal? Liberty liked to believe that no one was, but not in a bad way. She simply preferred to see everyone for their own special uniqueness, and so in her mind everyone was extraordinary. She had come across a topic in a Muggle Studies book in the library once called 'psychology', which really caught her attention. It was so interesting, to study people's minds. To her anyway. Why didn't wizards think of that?.. Or did they?

Shaking her head slightly she brought herself back to reality. The girl often got lost in her thoughts, her friends often found her dreaming away, lost somewhere in her own world. On a few instances when she had not paid attention to things that she really should have, they accused her of never knowing where her mind was at times, or how to get there. She brought her aqua blue eyes up to meet his again, brushing a few stands of slightly messy hair that had fallen out of her ponytail back behind her ears. "So what do you do at nights?" she asked, after a moment of consideration again on whether or not she should pose the question. If she didn't ask it, she would remain curious until she did so what the hell.

She wondered if he would tell her the truth or not. Then again, maybe the rumors weren't the truth? 'You'd have to be a complete idiot to think they're not,'' she told herself mentally. 'Well then call me an idiot, I'm sorry for wanting to get to know people before I judge them by mindless gossip,' she countered. Oh great, now she was talking to herself in her mind. She was actually interested in the conversation now, awaiting his response. Was he what everyone said he was, or was there more to him than that? Did he wake up late for innocent reasons like her.. or not-so-innocent reasons? Then again, some people had a way of twisting their answers to tell the partial truth, so that they were not lying but at the same time they didn't tell the whole truth. If would be easy for him to do that, and if he did, she wouldn't push him to tell her more.


"So, what are you reading?" She was a bit surprised by his question. First he knew her name, now he wanted to know what she was reading? Really? Most people didn't even pretend to be interested in what she was reading most of the time. Liberty was often seen with a book, so much so that it was strange to see her without one. Usually it wasn't a textbook though, but was some other book not related to school work. This time it happened to be a muggle novel called Little Women. She had burrowed it from one of her friends as you usually didn't find that stuff in the wizarding world, and if she had purchased it herself in the muggle world and her dad had seen it, well that wouldn't have been very pretty to witness.

"I-.. um" she started, stuttering slightly as she was a bit shy to show him what book it was. He was, after all, a Slytherin. And wasn't Slytherin house the one known for believing in the whole pure bloods being superior thing? Then again, not all Slytherins were like that, even if Salazar Slytherin himself was. She picked it up off of the grass beside her and turned it upwards so that he would be able to see the title. "It's a muggle book," she said in a soft voice, which often happened when she grew shy about something. "A novel called little women," she finished, watching his face closely wondering all the while what his response would be.

^{STARRING : liberty & jackson
WORDS : 1002
NOTES : this post was a bit longer than i expected
LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : TANA}

[Jackson Michaels]

a dream is a wish your

heart makes when you're fast asleep

Jacks and his buddies really did tend to stay up too late, even on weeknights. Jacks had taught them how to play Poker, a muggle game that he had learned from an older Slytherin boy who had a muggle uncle who had taught him the game. So, he and the games had their fun, their poker nights. They sat in the Slytherin common room, all acting like idiots. They snuck in alcohol and played until usually three or four in the morning. On the weekend nights, they stayed up usually until as late as six in the morning. No wonder they slept the day away. It was amazing that any of them were passing their classes at all considering that poker and girls were the things that they were more concerned about.

Thinking of girls, Liberty was really pretty. She wasn't normally the type that Jackson went for. But she was definitely pretty. The Ravenclaw girls were just harder to get. They all seemed to think they were better then him. And in all fairness, they probably were. But Liberty didn't seem to be judging him whatsoever. She didn't seem the type to care about the rumors, wanting to get to know him for him and not for what was talked about him. But he'd be stupid if he thought that she hadn't heard all of the rumors. He'd slept with girls in her house before even, though not as often as girls in other houses. So he was sure that she'd probably heard things. Hey, he was good in bed. He'd be insulted if his skills weren't talked about.

The wilder girls, the ones who didn't mind being used on a regular basis, especially liked to talk about his skills in bed and compare notes with the other girls who had been so deliciously used by him. He'd heard them at it, which only served to over-inflate his already over-inflated ego. But for girls like Liberty, he knew that how many girls he'd slept with and his skills in bed were not things that he wanted her to know about or think about. If he was going to impress Liberty, he'd have to find other ways to do it. The wilder girls, his skills in bed were exactly how he impressed them. But Liberty was different from all of that. And it was refreshing to interact with a different kind of girl. A girl who had more substance to her. A girl that would not be easy at all. He needed more of a challenge.

At her question, he was startled for a moment, but he didn't show it. What did he do at nights? Well, he wasn't going to talk about the fact that most nights he could be seen sneaking off with some girl and trying to get into her pants. Oh yeah, that would definitely serve him well with her. He could bring up the poker, but would she approve of that? He couldn't tell her that he read or whatever because she wouldn't believe that. So what could he tell her really? They came from two different worlds. She was probably used to being the good little girl who went into her common room at nights and read, but that wasn't Jackson at all. And if he lied and said that it was, she would see right through it.

"Well, most nights the guys and I play poker or anything else like that. Even when we don't have money we'll play poker with just chips or candy, or whatever we've got on hand,"he replied. He wouldn't mention the fact that they even played using girls. Like if the guys both wanted to try to bag the same girl, whoever won the poker game would bag her, and the other guy would know to stay away from her, at least until the other guy was done with her. Alright, so Jacks and his friends were pigs and extremely crude. He already knew that about himself. He also wouldn't mention the fact that whenever the girls joined in poker, they would play strip poker. Yup. It was party central in the Slytherin common room most nights.

"So, what do you do at night?"he asked her, feeling a little bit weird asking the question, but since she had asked him first, he had the right to ask her right back, didn't he? Though he was sure he already knew the answer. Reading and studying was what he was thinking she would respond with. He didn't think he ever studied at night. He made lame ass attempts at his homework right before they were due most of the time. Again, it was amazing he'd even made it this far in Hogwarts. But he'd always considered Hogwarts his home, so he'd tried hard enough to ensure his stay. But other then that, he definitely didn't go above and beyond what he had to.

At her response of what she was reading, he'd never heard of it. But then, he hadn't heard of a lot of books. Little women? He assumed it was about little women, but what, were they young or something? Who wanted to read about young women? "I've never heard of it,"he admitted. There would be no way that he could lie and say that he had. She might have asked him about details. Besides, it sounded like a girly book and he wasn't going to sound girly by admitting to read such a book. "What other types of things do you read?"he asked, just trying to continue the conversation and act like he really did care about that kind of stuff. Girls ate that stuff up right? Especially Ravenclaw girls. Didn't they like the smart dudes? He wasn't sure he could pull off the extremely smart dude. But the least he could do was continue on a conversation and act at least interested in the things that she was interested in. That way they could keep talking, and maybe he could even pave the way for future conversations. That was all he was trying to do. He didn't think he was doing too bad. But then, he never did think he did bad when it came to girls.

TAG !? Liberty!
WORD COUNT !?1036
GRAPHICS !?
LOCATION !?black lake
WEARING !?photo above
LYRICS !? a dream is a wish;; ashley tisdale
CREDITS !? <33 @ CAUTION 2.0
NOTES !?

[Liberty Edenway]

Liberty noticed that he took a moment to answer, though his face did not betray any particular emotion. She let it pass, as usually took a while to answer questions like that too, it didn't just jump to her head immediately.
"Well, most nights the guys and I play poker or anything else like that. Even when we don't have money we'll play poker with just chips or candy, or whatever we've got on hand."
She nodded in response, not too impressed but hey if the guy liked to play poker he liked to play poker. It didn't have anything to do with her anyway. Besides, money chips and candy sounded innocent enough. As long as it wasn't strip poker or anything. "Sounds fun, but probably not my cup of tea," she responded with a small smile.

"So, what do you do at night?" "What..I do at night?" she repeated stupidly. She looked at him for a moment, surprised that he had redirected the question at her. He did have a right to though, she supposed. This time the blush on her face was quite evident, as she was sure her answer would seem boring to him and he would lose interest in the conversation and probably never speak to her again..OK, maybe she was overreacting a bit. And since when did she care if he spoke to her or not anyway? Not as if she was big on the whole talking thing, she already had a few true friends and that was good enough for her. The thing with Liberty though, was that she didn't often speak.. but she did have a lot to say. So to have someone that actually seemed interested in hearing what she had to say, aside from it being flattering in a weird way, she found that she actually wanted to answer his questions.

"Not much..." she said in a weaker voice than before. "Probably just read, write or sit down by the window and look at the grounds," she shrugged lightly. "Sometimes I have a little midnight excursion around the castle or the grounds, but I try not to do that too often.. I have to live up to my good girl status, right?" she added with a small smile. Liberty was the student that Professors really were not too concerned about, in most cases anyway. At least that was how she saw herself. She was a good student, but did not excel in her classes. She had gotten detention one or two times, but they were minor things, and was generally a good student all-around. She was not exceptional nor did she cause trouble.

When he told her that he had not heard of the book, she nodded, she hadn't expected otherwise. Most wizards probably would not have heard of the book. If she met one who had, she may be genuinely concerned about them. "What other types of things do you read?" What was with these questions? If she did not know any better, she would almost think that he actually wanted to talk to her and get to know her. Then again, it was the same with her right? She did want to get to know him, but that was different. It was because she suspected there was more to him than met the eye, and she always made an effort to get to know people like that. "Anything, as long as it's not boring," she answered honestly. "I like to be ahead in class, so I sometimes read text books- but as long as I'm ahead, there's no way I'd pick it up. I like to study magical history, and I like reading about muggles as well. They have some really good fiction books." Wow, she was breaking personal records here. That was probably the longest she had ever spoken to someone she just met.

Just then a group of girls that Liberty did not recognise passed them by, shouting insulting calls to the pair.
"Hey Jackson, is that your new slut?"
"Why don you just quite the small talk and get a closet? You know that's all you really want anyway!!" and a few more colourful ones that Liberty preferred to pretend she didn't hear.

<sup>STARRING : liberty & jackson
WORDS : 707
NOTES : "Well, he wasn't going to talk about the fact that most nights he could be seen sneaking off with some girl and trying to get into her pants. Oh yeah, that would definitely serve him well with her." <--- LOL i love that line!
as for the insulting comments thing, just thought it'd add some drama/interest to the rp! an idea is it can be girls who he'd used that resent him for it now kind of thing? You can play it however you like, I don't mind so it's up to you! :]

LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : TANA</sup>

[Jackson Michaels]

a dream is a wish your

heart makes when you're fast asleep

Jacks barely held back a laugh as she said that it wasn't her cup of tea. He could have told her that before she'd said so. It seemed that they had very little in common. Maybe that was why he was so intrigued by her. Most girls that he bagged at least had a little bit of bad in them, so there was usually something to relate to. Liberty, well, she really was good wasn't she? Which was alright by Jackson. Nothing he couldn't handle, right? As she repeated his question about what he did at night, he couldn't surpress a grin.

He didn't want to make her uncomfortable though and as she blushed, his grin faded, though it was barely surpressed. And he wasn't at all disappointed by her answer. She'd given him exactly the kind of answer that he had expected hearing from her. God. It sounded like the most boring life ever. Didn't she want to get out and have a little fun? Maybe let her hair down sometimes? Jackson knew he would like nothing better then to be the one to corrupt her, at least just a little. Because he found that he was intrigued by her simply by being who she was.

Sure, the answer had seemed a bit boring. But nonetheless, there was something there that intrigued him and he didn't really even know why. She was such a good girl. Like a lot of the Ravvie girls he had seen. It was a bit odd actually. There had to be some crazy wild side somewhere in there, right? Maybe she just didn't know that side of her existed. But it suddenly became his goal to pull it out of her, one way or another.

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to lose your good girl status,"he agreed with her with a smile. Talking to him might do a little bit with that, but he was hoping that nobody would say anything or that she wouldn't pay attention to the rumors or whatever. Because then that would totally harm what he was trying to do here.

God. Was Jacks gonna have to pick up a book to impress her? The way she was talking about books, he knew that he just might have to do that. He had no desire to read his text-books ever. But then, she had said that she didn't like to read text-books if she was ahead in her classes. So that was good. Then he would really feel like this chick would be extremely difficult. But then, he didn't really have a desire to read about muggles either. Then again, he didn't even have a desire to read period. But hey, if it was what she enjoyed, he wasn't going to knock it. Especially considering the things he enjoyed were getting a little old. It was just the same thing day after day. And the expectations of him made him feel a bit stifled.

As he was about to respond, some girls that he had slept with walked by and started calling out insults to him and to Liberty. It was his turn to turn red. Red from anger, and shame. He should have known that this was going to happen. What was he thinking letting a good girl like Liberty talk to him for? Was he completely heartless? She was far better off staying the hell away from him. But he found that he didn't want that to happen. Though he wouldn't blame her whatsoever if that did in fact, happen. Many girls would have just left after the girls called out those insults. She was still sitting here though. Why the hell was she still sitting here? Was it just because she was in shock or something? He had no clue. But he knew he had to say something.

"Sorry about that. You don't deserve that. I have a bit of a past. I don't want it to be my future, and I'm trying to change. But, as you can see it's not exactly easy convincing people of that,"he said. There. He had decided not to laugh it off or say that they were just jealous or didn't know what they were talking about. He had decided to be honest about his past. It was bull that he was trying to change, but she didn't have to know that, right? Then why the hell did he suddenly feel so guilty? He never had when deceiving other girls in the past. It was confusing. But he'd had to say something, right? And he was sure that he'd come up with the best possible words to say. Now if she chose to walk away it was her choice, and at least he had tried, right?

TAG !? Liberty!
WORD COUNT !?788
GRAPHICS !?
LOCATION !?black lake
WEARING !?photo above
LYRICS !? a dream is a wish;; ashley tisdale
CREDITS !? <33 @ CAUTION 2.0
NOTES !?haha. I love it xD.

[Liberty Edenway]

Liberty lowered her face slightly, feeling as if it were her who had been personally attacked. Then it hit her. She was. Sure it was because of who she was talking to, and not herself, but they had called her a slut among other words she preferred not to repeat, assuming she was just another girl that Jackson wanted to bed. She wondered if that meant the rumours were true. What if they were? What if people started talking about her because of this? As much as she hated it, Liberty did care what others thought of her. In fact, at almost defined her behaviour in a sense- if she didn't care so much, she wouldn't be as shy and quiet as she was and keep herself behind so many walls.

By this time, Liberty's face had turned the bright shade of scarlet that it acquired when her emotions were running high. She was never good at this kind of thing. Should she retaliate? Should she say something to defend herself, or defend him? Should she just remain quiet? Then again, it may be better if she just kept her mouth shut. She reached up and shakily brushed her hair back, but did it in a way so that it conspicuously resulted in more hair falling in front of her face to hide it. She really was not the best person when it came to this kind of thing, and somehow felt safer with the veil of hair falling between her and where the girls were walking.

She was afraid to look up at Jackson as well, though she was not sure why. A part of her felt as if he would be ashamed that anyone could think he would want to sleep with her. Liberty was rather insecure, especially when it came to her appearance, and was afraid that he would no long wanted to be associated with her to ruin his 'reputation', whatever that might be. What did it matter to her if he did not speak to her again anyway? She had just met him, not as if he were one of her close friends or anything. For some reason, she found that she did care though. Maybe because she had a desire to get to know him better, to get to know what was beneath the Slytherin bad-guy appearance. Maybe it was because he was actually showing interest in getting to know her as well.

"Sorry about that. You don't deserve that. I have a bit of a past. I don't want it to be my future, and I'm trying to change. But, as you can see it's not exactly easy convincing people of that."
At his words, she finally raised her head again and made eye contact with him. Her eyes probably betrayed some of what she was feeling, though she was doing her best not to let it all show. She felt slightly more distant from before, as despite what he had said she was still afraid he might not talk to her again.

"It's ok," she said shortly. She did not mean to react like that, but she just couldn't knock the fear. Taking a deep breath, she realised she was the one who was acting as if she did not want to talk to him now. Deciding to correct that, she spoke again. "No, it wouldn't be easy. Once people are used to you being a certain way, they don't think you can change," she commented with a hint of bitterness. She hated that, as it was one of the reasons she was so afraid to break out of her shell. People were used to her being reclusive, they expected it of her, and she acted in alignment to their expectations.

What really got her to look at him again though, was the way he was completely honest with her. He admitted that he had a past, which she supposed meant that the rumors were true. He also said that he was trying to change. Hmm. "Why are you trying to change, if you don't mind my asking?" She wondered if it was true, and depending on his answer she may better be able to figure that out. Even if it was not convincing, she would not doubt him though. One thing about Liberty was that she was far too gullible when it came to believing for the best in people. Besides, people did not usually just up and want to change. Usually something would trigger it, and she wondered what would make him want to change.

<sup>STARRING : liberty & jackson
WORDS : 766
NOTES : awesome!

LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : TANA</sup>

[Jackson Michaels]

a dream is a wish your

heart makes when you're fast asleep

Shoot. This was the part where she was going to walk away and not look back. Damn those girls! Damn them all to hell! Girls were going to be the death of him. At the moment, he couldn't exactly figure out why girls were so important to him. Oh yeah, because he was a guy whose brain most of the time resided in his pants. She wasn't looking at him. Maybe she was trying to figure out the best escape? Maybe she was simply waiting to make sure those girls were long gone? Whatever she was doing, he found that he really didn't want her to go. And not just because she would be a challenge, but because he just really didn't want her to for some reason.

She finally did meet his eyes after his words, but he could see a bit of what she was feeling. She said that it was okay, but he didn't feel like she thought it was okay. Not until she spoke again and inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. She wouldn't judge him based on his actions. She was willing to get to know the guy he could be. Or at least, the guy he could pretend to be around her. God. He was an ass, wasn't he? He should just end it right here and now, that way she wouldn't get hurt. It sounded like she had some experience in wanting people to see some changes or something. In what ways could she have experience with that? She had always seemed perfectly fine just the way she was.

At her question, once more, the guilt racked through him. He couldn't just deceive her, could he? But he'd been doing it for so long with girls that it had become second nature. He said whatever he had to in order to get girls to trust him. And sadly, even with all of the rumors, there were always girls like Liberty, willing to overlook the rumors and want to get to know him for who he is instead of listening to all the crap that other people said about him.

"I don't like the person that I've become. It's my last year, and I want it to be different from the rest. I don't want to be known as that guy who sleeps with whatever has legs or that guy who is nothing more than an ass. I want to be more than that,"he replied. And surprisingly, he actually meant every single word. And he could actually tell Liberty that. He couldn't tell anybody else that. People in his house wouldn't understand, especially the younger ones who wanted to be where he was now. They would do anything for his spot, and he knew that he'd gladly give it up to any one of them and just be whoever he wanted to be. Whatever that was.

But then again, he was scared. If he gave up this badass, who would he be? He'd been this person for so long that he had no idea what he'd revert to if he ever gave it up. So though he was anxious to leave Hogwarts and get a new start and be whoever the hell he wanted to be without people watching him, he had no idea what that would be. So it scared him too.

He really didn't want to deceive this beautiful, nice girl. But then again, if he didn't deceive her, then she would want nothing to do with him. And he wanted to get to know her better. So he would have to deceive her. He'd been doing that for so long now with everyone, that it was just what he had to do. He deceived everyone in Slytherin house, because he wasn't really as badass as he wanted them to believe. And he deceived everyone else in school because of that reputation that he wanted to keep up. It was exhausting.

So he did want to talk to Liberty, a girl who was willing to overlook what he might have done in the past. It felt kind of nice to talk to someone like that.

TAG !? Liberty!
WORD COUNT !?689
GRAPHICS !?
LOCATION !?black lake
WEARING !?photo above
LYRICS !? a dream is a wish;; ashley tisdale
CREDITS !? <33 @ CAUTION 2.0
NOTES !?haha. I love it xD.

[Liberty Edenway]

Liberty was watching Jackson's face very closely, as if trying to decipher what was going through his mind. Legilimency would be a very useful talent to have at times like these, she thought. The boy just did not seem to be letting out any more than he wanted too. She almost admired it, she wished she could hide her emotions that well. She did notice that he seemed to have paused before answering her question, as if debating with himself. Then again, he could just be thinking of an answer. She felt as if a little voice inside of her was screaming at her not to trust him, but she ignored it. It was not as if she were planning to date the guy. She just wanted to get to know him, a little friendship was harmless right?

"I don't like the person that I've become. It's my last year, and I want it to be different from the rest. I don't want to be known as that guy who sleeps with whatever has legs or that guy who is nothing more than an ass. I want to be more than that," Every bit of instinct in her, as a reaction to what had just happened, told her not to believe it. If he had been that way for years, why would he suddenly want to change? Still, she sensed that he was being genuine in what he was saying. She wondered what his friends would think of him if he told them that. "I don't think you're that guy," she told him honestly.

"You are more than your past, we all are. That may be how people see you, but that's definitely not who you are. I think you're the guy beneath the outward facade- that's who you really are. And that's the person you should be on the outside too," she told him, before blushing slightly and looking down. She did not usually speak so much to people, especially not about things like this. After a moment she looked back up. "You can be whoever you want to be Jackson.. It's your choice. Or are you going to let other people determine that for you?" As she said it, it hit her suddenly that she needed to hear those words just as much as he did. Her blush increased slightly. She was not used to going so deep with her words, even if she thought them they were often left unspoken. She was glad she had said it though. It was the truth, and if it encouraged him to change it was worth it. And if it helped her a bit too.. well she would have to think about that one.

A question came to her mind, and she was sure that showed in her eyes. She wondered if she should ask it though, or if he may think it too personal considering they had just met and everything. She was sure that, as always, what she was feeling was showing in her eyes so it was pretty clear there was a question she was burning to ask. Deciding to just out with it, she broke eye contact with him for a moment before looking back at him. "If you don't mind my asking... who are you when you go home for the holidays?" She realised a bit too late that she had probably phrased that question badly, causing her to turn slightly more red. How much could she possibly blush? She hoped he had understood what she meant though. She was basically asking him who he was away from his friends.. from Hogwarts, when he was with his family at home. How be behaved around them. Maybe that was who he really was?

<sup>STARRING : liberty & jackson
WORDS : 625
NOTES : wow, jackson is an arse, haha, with the whole deceiving thing. xD I mean that in the nicest way possible. xD

LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : TANA</sup>

[Jackson Michaels]

a dream is a wish your

heart makes when you're fast asleep

As she said that she didn't think he was that guy, he really felt a pang in his gut. One he wasn't used to feeling. He wasn't used to feeling bad for anyone. He was a self-centered jerk, and he liked being that way. He liked not caring about other people. Okay, so there were a few that Jacks did care about. But that circle actually didn't include a lot of girls. Girls were normally just objects to be banged. He'd grown to care about some of the girls in his house, but that was because he was around them all of the time. So this was the first time he actually felt really bad for deceiving a girl. But he'd been sort of honest about a few things, so it wasn't that bad right? And there was another first. Jacks had never felt the need to try to justify himself before.

She continued, and for the first time, he really truly wanted to be that guy she thought she saw in him. Another first. A girl actually inspiring him to want to be more. But it was highly uncomfortable. He was comfortable where he was at, in his own skin. He wasn't sure changing would be good for him. Changing was going into the unknowable, something he wasn't sure he could do. He was popular. He was respected and looked up to by many. He should just stay exactly where he was. But already he was sick of all of the pressure. Sick of the people who expected him to be a certain way. Sick of other people who judged him. Not that he didn't deserve their judgements. But she was right, was he going to let other people determine who he was going to be? He was in charge of his own life. His own personality. Not anybody else.

"You're right. I am in charge of who I want to be,"he said softly. But changing was a lot easier said then done. And it was just a tad bit uncomfortable as he argued internally with himself. Why should he change? He was just fine the way he was. He was more than a little surprised at her next question, but this next question he could feel comfortable answering and being honest about. At least with her. He'd never admit being a momma's boy to anybody else.

"Well, it's just me and my mom. So I'm quite a bit different. My mom is pretty much everything to me since my dad left when I was young. She's been taking care of me my whole life. She's sacrificed a lot for me. So, I think I'm a lot nicer at home just because I'm around my mom,"he replied with a shrug.

"What are you like when you're home for the holidays?"he asked her, turning the question right back around on her. He wondered if she felt more comfortable in her own skin at home. If she was better about getting out of her shell. Or if she was just like this at home. Whatever or however she acted, he was interested in learning more about her.

His buddies wouldn't believe how he was acting. They would all think that it was just words Jackson was using to get in Liberty's pants. And really not all of Jacks' motives were pure, especially about ten minutes ago when the conversation had started. But the more he was talking with her, the more he forgot about his impure motives for talking to her, and just concentrated on the fact that he did want to get to know her. And being around her, was opening a whole new side to him. One he wasn't even sure had existed, other then around his mom. But that was completely different.

TAG !? Liberty!
WORD COUNT !?631
GRAPHICS !?
LOCATION !?black lake
WEARING !?photo above
LYRICS !? a dream is a wish;; ashley tisdale
CREDITS !? <33 @ CAUTION 2.0
NOTES !?haha. I love it xD.

[Liberty Edenway]

Liberty looked away, her eyes traveling across the lake as he fell silent for a moment, seeming to have some sort of internal discussion or argument, or maybe he was just lost it thought at what she had said. At his response to her next question, she nodded thoughtfully, looking at him. It had been just as she had expected. There were some kids, she knew, who probably went home during the holidays and were just either just as horrible or pretended to be angelic when around their parents, usually one of end of the spectrum. She could tell from the way he spoke that he genuinely cared about his mom, something that made her smile slightly. It was pretty sweet, actually.

"What are you like when you're home for the holidays?" Hearing him re-ask her the question, she immediately diverted her eyes away from his face, as she did not want to risk him reading her emotions if she could help it. She even turned her head slightly, as if hoping her hair would block her face slightly, as she looked down at the book in her lap suddenly finding it very interesting. Home. That was one topic she did not like she speak about. She felt as if he had set of the trigger for some invisible security system, as if alarms were going off in her mind and sending walls up in each side.

She ran her thumb over the spine of her book as she kept her eyes locked on it, not looking at him. "I'm.. pretty much the same as you see me here." she told him, nodding casually. It was the truth, really.. sort of. She had never thought about it really. Was she? She was rather quite and seclusive, almost never speaking around her father.. but around her mother she was more talkative and loving, though she was found it hard to be extremely close to her. She pushed the thoughts away, or at least she tried to, to the darkest corners of her mind. No no no. She was not doing to think about that here.

What if he was a Legilimens? Or if not him, what if someone around could perform Legilimency and was seeing everything going on in her mind right now? OK, so she was being a bit paranoid now. She hoped he could not tell that there was a lot more to this than she was letting on, though she wondered if she was being obvious. Liberty tended to be the type who wore her heart on her sleeve, her emotions and thoughts like an open book to those who really took the time to talk to her. It was something she hated about herself, she wished she could master the skill of hiding her emotions better.

Not liking this topic at all, she redirected the conversation towards him. "So... if you're nicer at home when you're around your mom... why do you behave the way you do at school?" she asked. She bit her lip, her mind putting up warning signs about going into the territory of what she wanted to say next. She heard the question play out in her mind, 'So what did those girls that you slept around with do to deserve that treatment?' but held her tongue and did not say it out loud. They had just met after all, and this was their first conversation. She was no where near brave enough to voice a question like that, even if she wondered it. Plus, some people may take offense at it, and she was not sure if he was the type that would. Better safe than sorry.

<sup>STARRING : liberty & jackson
WORDS : 611
NOTES :

LYRICS USED : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
BANNER CREDIT : TANA</sup>

[Jackson Michaels]

a dream is a wish your

heart makes when you're fast asleep

Jacks could sense that there was so much more to her response then that. But he wasn't going to push for more of a response. He found himself wanting to know so much about her though, and that was weird with a girl. Usually he got right to business with a girl, not caring what she was like or any of the details about her. But this time, he did care. There were only a few people that Jacks really totally cared about. One was his mom, and the other few friends he actually allowed himself to give a shoot about. Like his best friend who happened to be a girl. He didn't know Liberty, but he did sense that there were things in her past. Things that he found himself wanting to know about and wanting to protect her from.

The thought almost made him laugh out loud. Jacks was far from the knight in shining armour type. Anybody would laugh at that imagery. In fact, he was the type of guy that girls normally needed saving from. So he never did any of the saving. So to finally want to save a girl from something was very laughable. Those thoughts he would definitely have to surpress. He and Liberty were from two separate worlds. She deserved much better than what he'd ever be able to offer her. He needed to keep reminding himself of that fact. Besides, he was Jackson Michaels. Girls didn't affect him, well at least not any other part of him besides the area in his pants.

He had the sudden notion to become better at Legilimens. But Jacks was a private person himself. He was a firm believer that thoughts should be your very own. You didn't need people busting into them. He'd never really cared about reading other peoples' minds before anyway. So, why start now? He was about to respond to her response, and try to draw her out a little bit more when she asked him another question. It was a fair question. Why was he such an ass around here? Of course, that really wasn't her question, but it might as well have been.

"Well, there are just certain expectations of me. There has been from very first year. I guess you could say I fell in with the wrong kid, with the older Slytherin boys. I always wanted to impress them. There's this stupid thing with having the Slytherin crown. You might have heard of it. Anyway, I got the crown and so people are always watching me. I guess I act the way I do because it was always expected, and then it just became habit, I suppose,"he replied, knowing how completely retarded he sounded.

Jacks was the type of guy who could easily say screw it, and become his own person. But who would that be exactly? He didn't exactly want to be the sissy nice guy he was around his mom. That just wouldn't do at all. But then again, the bad boy Jacks was becoming a bit old after all of these years. The year had only just started and already he wanted to pass the Slytherin crown on to somebody else. Somebody who was more up to the task then he was. Of course, he had to make everyone believe he was perfect for the job. People were counting on him. But did it really matter all that much to him anymore? If may have once, but he kind of just wanted to be his own person, even if he didn't have a clue in hell who that person was.

"So, Liberty. If I were say to want to see you some other time, that would be possible right? I mean, not as a date or anything. It's just refreshing to talk to someone that I can be myself with. So if we were to hang out pretty regular, would that be okay with you?"he asked with his innocent eyes. He wasn't asking her out per se, like he would have felt comfortable enough already with other girls doing. But he was taking this slow, not wanting to scare her off. I mean, hey, those girls might have ruined it so he had to act slow after something like that had occured, didn't he?

TAG !? Liberty!
WORD COUNT !?716
GRAPHICS !?
LOCATION !?black lake
WEARING !?photo above
LYRICS !? a dream is a wish;; ashley tisdale
CREDITS !? <33 @ CAUTION 2.0
NOTES !?Sorry it took so long. This semester is giving me a heart attack xD.