they call it evasive [adrienne]

All week Taylor had been suffering from a string of bad luck when it came to his stationery. First, in a rush to get to class several days ago he had shoved all his things - left messily out on his desk after finishing his homework the night before - into his messenger bag without realising the cap on one of his ink bottles hadn't been properly screwed shut. The black ink had leaked almost completely out; while the stain wasn't quite that visible against the dark gray fabric of his bag, the rest of his belongings, homework included, had been less than fortunate. In fact, even after he'd siphoned off all the ink with a charm, the five page essay still had remaining black smudges all over it. As if that mishap hadn't been enough, earlier today his best quill had somehow broken into half - despite the Anti-Breaking charm that had supposedly been placed on it - and his spare didn't retain ink properly for some reason. If he didn't know better, Taylor would have suspected someone was out to get him, but the idea was absurd, of course - who the hell would try making him miserable via lousy stationery?

Without any working quills and being low on his ink supply however, a visit to the school's student store was obviously in order. So, taking advantage of the fact that his next class didn't start 'til an hour after lunch (ah, being a sixth year with less classes to attend was a privilege, despite the extra workload they had to deal with), he simply stopped by the store after the meal on his way back to the Malvolio common rooms with Cory. Telling his best friend and roommate to go ahead before him when the other boy offered to wait, Taylor pushed the store's door open lightly and walked in, ignoring the soft doorchime that accompanied his entrance. Letting the door fall shut behind him, he headed directly for the quill section first, knowing his way around easily after the six years he'd spent at Oasis. Besides, he could see all four walls from where he stood - the store wasn't large enough to get lost in in the first place.

Giving the bespectacled wizard manning the till a brief, polite nod, Taylor turned his attention to the quills on display, scanning the rows with his usual quiet, unremarkable gaze. The quills were arranged by type and size, and the sixth year's expression was absently thoughtful as he selected several regular-sized eagle feather ones, testing each of them on the scrap piece of parchment provided for that very purpose, and then replacing those with a different selection of quills. Normally, Taylor was hardly this particular with his writing equipment, but given the events that had led him to his current situation, he figured it would be less hassle in the long term to be more meticulous in his choosing this time. Gripping one of the quills lightly with two fingers, he gave the slender, feathery item an experimental twirl, grinning slightly to himself as the end of it brushed momentarily against his face.

Now Adrienne wasn't exactly picky with whom she let borrow her quills but she was certain she was going to have to start. It seemed that lately her quill box had become the community quill box. Whenever someone asked her for a quill she would say yes, without even thinking. As it turned out she should have given a little more thought to some of those requests. Upon looking into her box this morning she came to the realization that she had only one left. She could have swore she had at least five yesterday but what could she do about it now, except for go and buy more quills? So in due coarse she headed to the school store.

After lunch Adrienne told her friends that she would catch up with them later and she then took in upon herself to complete the daunting task of walking up four flights of stairs. As she came up the final flight of stairs, leading her to the fourth floor, she saw a good friend, Cory. She smiled at him as she passed but didn't stop for a chat. It was true she had a slight thing for Cory but she was also a shameless flirt, after all if you could have that much fun with someone wouldn't you? This aside she didn't want to get off track so she pressed forward with a slight nod in his direction. After all if she stopped to talk to everyone she knew she would never get anything done.

When she reached the store she pushed open the door and smiled at the slight chime, for some reason it always made her smile. She took in a deep breath of the school store as the door closed behind her, it smelled like books in the store and that smell was always pleasant to her. The old shop keeper smiled at her and she smiled back to him. She hadn't really spent an abundance of time in the store in her six years but it was polite and a smile is contagious. “Good afternoon” she said to the old man before going about her business. She figured as long as she was here she might as well pick up some parchment as well. Since it was the first thing she saw she picked it up before continuing on to the quills.

Rounding the corner she saw a familiar face, it was Taylor Dalton. Taylor and Adrienne weren't exactly enemies but then again you could hardly call what they had a friendship. Taylor was quiet and reclusive and Adrienne was loud, outgoing, and bold. However, Adrienne had noticed a slight change in Taylor's behavior. He had become more reserved than ever, almost like he was avoiding her. Lately he had been talking less and less and Adrienne couldn't for the life of her think of anything that she could have done to offend the boy so she was left puzzled. She knew that there had always been tension between the two of them since her father died but it was time to put things to rest. She wanted to know if it was ever going to be a possibility for her to be comfortable around him.

She walked up to him with him rubbing a feather against his face, it was a bit quirky but it was cute. “Does the softness of the feather effect how it writes?” She asked picking up a feather with her right hand, parchment in the left, and rubbing it against her face to make him feel less awkward. There was a smile on her face as she did so, its sometimes easy to forget how much comfort the smoothness of a feather can bring you. In a way it lets you know that the world isn't all bad, lets you know there is something still worth fighting for. She then place the quill back and verbalized her thoughts, “Kinda weird what a nice soft quill can do for you isn't it?” She picked up another quill before turning back to him and twirling the quill in her fingers. If he wasn't so damn quiet all the time Adrienne could see them becoming good friends, and it isn't like he's bad on the eyes either. At last, she had done enough stalling, it was time to get to the roots of things.

“Have I offended you in any way?” She asked setting the quill down and picking up one of a different verity. She was a great multi tasker but also found that staring down the person you're questioning makes them feel more like a target. When you make them feel like they are being threatened they don't open up. When you don't stare them down they can do one of two things: they can sing like a canary or they can lie like a dog. Adrienne was pretty positive that he wasn't about to sing but she also hoped he wouldn't lie to her. Was there a happy medium between a bird and a dog? She tested the quills tip with her thumb as she looked up to him once more. It's really hard to look tough when you have to look up to someone. How would you feel if someone a foot shorter than you were asked you a question? Honestly, you would more than likely brush them off. However, Adrienne had had enough practice so she wasn't particularly worried. And its not like Taylor was an alpha male or anything.

Yet Adrienne wondered if she should bring up what she thought was really bothering him. Taylor was related to death eaters and Adrienne's father was killed by one. Thus for the awkward relationship between them. However, she didn't want to bring it up if she had already offended the man. So for the moment she let it slide. If he wasn't mad at her for something else she would have to be sure to bring it up. She wasn't mad at him and she hated the tension between them. She hated it even more because it might all be because of nothing.

Utterly engrossed as he was in his task of testing out the selection of quills before him, Taylor completely missed hearing the soft chime ring out again, nor did the polite greeting that was uttered register with him. The brush of the quill's feather along his skin was somewhat amusing, in a soothing kind of way. His small smile widened ever so slightly as he flicked it lightly against his face again, crinkling his nose at the ticklish sensation. This was a side to Taylor not many people saw, one that found fun and amusement in the simplest things, one that was completely at ease at being plain silly. The sixth year tended to keep that part of his nature under wraps, except around those he trusted wholeheartedly. To the public however, Taylor Dalton was nothing other than reserved and obliging, part of the crowd, nothing special. Well, besides his being a Parselmouth obviously, but that couldn't be helped. Otherwise, Taylor had pretty much gotten the part down perfectly.

His head jerked up in shock as someone suddenly spoke up from right next to him, startling him right out of his inner musings. Reflexively, Taylor leapt backwards and away, dropping the quill he had been holding and spinning to the side at the same time to see who it was. His eyes and expression were clearly wary, and his left hand - his wand hand - had gone automatically to the pocket of his school robes, where he'd left his wand. It was an instant reaction; and in the next second, when he'd realised just who it was, he immediately relaxed and stepped forward once more. "Sorry, Adrienne," he offered quietly, smiling a little sheepishly. "You startled me, is all." Bending down hastily, he retrieved the quill he'd accidentally dropped onto the floor and watched as she picked out one as well. Slight surprise crossed his features when she rubbed it against her face, but was quickly replaced by an amused quirk of his lips. He let out a brief chuckle, recognizing and appreciating the gesture she was making for his sake. Outwardly and to the casual observer, his stance made him seem completely at ease; anyone looking closer however would easily see that his eyes were still guarded. "Weird, yeah," he agreed with a nod, trying not to sound too mechanical and not quite succeeding.

Running a hand through his dirty blonde hair once, he let out an inaudible breath, shifting on his feet as he continued to watch her silently, at a loss for what to say next. His hand clenched momentarily into a rigid fist as he let it fall back down to his side, before he hastily forced it to relax. The signs were minute, but they were inevitably there every time he was around Adrienne, and he only had the faintest of hopes that she hadn't noticed by now. Taylor sighed softly again, his gaze lowering briefly to the floor before darting watchfully back up again. It was almost ridiculous how tense he was feeling around her, and yet he couldn't help it; he just couldn't help feeling awkward in her presence these days.

As if on cue, Adrienne turned to him, quill in hand, and met his glance. Taylor kept his gaze even for several seconds, before looking away uncomfortably. Then the unexpected question came, blunt, direct, and unhesitant. Caught by surprise again, his eyes shot back to her, but Adrienne had already turned away, focusing on the quills again. There was no doubt she was waiting for an answer from him, though. Helplessly, Taylor stared at her, wondering why she had decided to suddenly spring the question on him now - why she had decided to spring it on him at all. Surely things were already awkward enough as they were? He glanced around the store, as if it would provide him with a way out of answering her.

Nothing. As he'd already known was the case, anyway.

He looked back at Adrienne once more, and found her looking up at him expectantly as well. Taylor cleared his throat uneasily. "Offended?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow at her and attempting a confused smile. In reality, he could easily guess why she was asking this; the awkwardness between them had led to him doing his best to avoid her as much as he could, and it was only logical for Adrienne to think he was upset with her. He wasn't, but it still didn't help things that she'd come right out and asked him about it. Sighing silently for a third time, Taylor shook his head lightly and answered with the truth. "No, of course not." An ordinary response would have included him asking her why she'd think that, he knew, but Taylor held his tongue after the less-than-adequate response, hoping she would leave it at that and knowing that at this point, that was the least likely thing to happen now.

In order for Adrienne to be anymore relaxed she would have had to have been asleep. She often found that staying calm was the best way to handle Taylor, if she got over excited or too defensive then nothing got done. So she acted as if nothing was wrong as he jumped away from her and his hand went for his wand, after all he wasn't really going to hurt her. She knew it was purely reflex and that she probably would have done the same thing. After all she had never seen him do anything that didn't follow suit. He was just a wall flower, just an average Joe. Actually Adrienne was pretty sure and average Joe wasn't as submissive as Taylor was. Plus the more she thought about it the more Adrienne realized: that little display of quirk was the most she had ever seem from him. So what was Taylor, if not an average Joe? Quite possibly he was in category all his own, him and well..only him at the moment. It never had occurred to Adrienne but she had to hand it to him, Taylor confused her. She was sure he would open up sooner or later after all didn't wall flowers still bloom?

A smile spread across her face, no teeth, as she saw her quirky impression had done its trick. Normally when you get someone to laugh they relax a bit but this didn't seem to be the case with Taylor. It really had always been this was with him but Taylor was that lock Adrienne wanted to crack. Much like him she didn't trust easily so maybe she just wanted someone to connect to. Maybe it was like being allergic to something. After a life of hearing 'no nuts' or 'you can't have that its got milk in in' sooner or later you crack. Sooner or later you find yourself on your coach with an epi-pen and a chocolate chip cookie just so you can say you did it. The more every one tells you no and the more every one keeps it away from you the more you want it. Rebels aren't always that because they're bored you know? Taylor was that cookie she couldn't have, she didn't even have and epi-pen, she just wanted the damn cookie.

She sighed a bit wishing he could just relax. She wondered if it was against the rules to slip someone a potion against their will if it ended up benefiting them in the end, probably. At least she wasn't staring him down and she gave herself a mental pat on the back for that one. Yet no matter what he was still shut up, like fort Nox. After she asked her question he seemed shocked. True she hadn't beaten around the bush but she always found that to be a waste of time.

She smiled back at his wasted attempted to seem confident and comfortable. She was also smiling due to the fact that she hadn't offended him, that meant she could get down to asking what she really wanted to. “Good” she said setting her quill down and walking past him slightly to look at the other quills. “Because I would hope that if I ever did offend you that you would come to me and talk to me and let me justify myself. Or apologize, which ever was in order.” she said this looking at him and not at the shelves. “I think we're at that point in our friendship where we can expect that yes?” She hadn't picked up another quill yet, instead she moved her parchment from one hand to the other.

She was in a way forcing him to open up a bit more. Normally there was Cory in between them to act as a median of some sort but now he had to speak for himself. Now she wondered why she hadn't thought of it sooner. Without Cory there there was no one to protect Taylor, not to say Adrienne was attacking him but she did seem a bit less rounded without Cory there. She began looking up and down at the hawk feathers now in front of her before she continued to speak. “Now about what I think is really bothering you” she paused, offering him only a sideways glance. Her father was still a sensitive subject but keeping this bottled inside was killing her. Yet still, she staled, her brain caught in a battle of tug of war an whether or not to speak. While her brain debated she picked up a quill, she had always liked hawk feathers better. No particular reason really, smaller feathers for smaller hands maybe.

She looked down at the feather and sighed, it was time to suck it up. “It's about my father, isn't it?” She didn't bother looking u[, she knew she had his full attention now. She knew he was looking directly at her and she knew his brain was screaming 'run!' She hoped he wouldn't but she couldn't stop him.” I'm not really sure what message you're trying to convey by ignoring me but what ever it is it isn't being received.” The statement sounded like it should have been said in a harsh voice but her voice was just as cool as it was when she started. She looked up at the shelf once more but she didn't dare look at him. She would get around to it, but she wasn't there yet.

You see your eyes are a wonderful thing. They can portray all your emotions and right now Adrienne couldn't shut hers off, she didn't like that. All they were doing was showing she was hurt and she didn't want Taylor to think that he had hurt her by ignoring her because he really hadn't. What had hurt her was her fathers death and that was still on her brain. But after a few moments she looked back to Taylor, eyes just as cool and collected as when she walked up to him. She pushed her hair behind her ears with her left hand, the hand the quill was in and sighed. “So would you mind clearing things up for me?” She knew it was a lot to ask for but she could try right?. She only hoped this cookie would taste as good as it sounded.

Taylor had been prepared for further questioning from Adrienne, albeit unhappily so. While they were only casual friends and classmates at best, he knew enough about her to be able to tell that this particular conversation thread wasn't about to end anytime soon. She was clearly taking advantage of the fact that no one was in the store besides the two of them and the storekeeper; and while Taylor was grateful that that meant there were no eavesdroppers around, he didn't think he could also take for granted that what either of them said would continue to be something only the two of them were privy to. The latter was enough to give him pause under normal circumstances; this however, wasn't what he would term 'normal'. This went under the 'difficult' category. He had been spending his energy on avoiding Adrienne since school started; he didn't want to have to deal with an inquisition. Still, from the way she said the word 'good', Taylor instinctively knew that whether or not he wanted to he would have to deal with one. It was only a matter of time.

And apparently where Adrienne was concerned, time wasn't much. Once again, she jumped straight to the point, without the slightest hint of uncertainty or nervousness. Her entire posture radiated cool confidence, genuine unlike his at the moment. Her eyes held his as she spoke, and Taylor hid a wince. Yes, she was right up to a point; their friendship was solid enough that he would tell her if she had offended him in any way - but so was his friendship with a lot of other people. That was how it worked. And if he was honest about it, he wouldn't speak about it unless it ended up crossing some line, or becoming unbearable; otherwise, he would normally let insults slide past him. It was only logical, of course, given his unusual ability. If he collected a Knut each time he let a scathingly whispered 'Parselmouth' offend him, he would be swimming in bronze coins by now. She appeared to be expecting an answer, though, so eventually Taylor gave a short nod in response. "I doubt you'd need to do any justifying or apologizing anytime soon, but yeah. If it happens, you'll know." His words were carefully picked, ensuring that he was tellng the truth - limited and edited, but still the truth - and also giving her what she wanted to hear.

When she turned away again to face the row of quills in front of her, Taylor allowed himself a relieved breath, but stiffened abruptly upon catching the sideways glance she flicked at him, and the words that accompanied that look. He kept his mouth firmly shut, not saying a word, simply waiting and hoping frantically that she would guess wrong. Once again it proved to be a futile hope; while she posed it as a question, an underlying tone to her words suggested that she meant it more as a statement. Frozen, Taylor could only stare at her, continuing to listen as she continued to speak. For a flustered moment, Taylor wondered if he ought to run, before rationality reasserted itself. With that rationality, his defense mechanism kick-started back into action. "Maybe it's not a message at all, Adrienne," he suggested quietly, making no mention of her father. "Really. I can tell you I'm not trying to convey anything, so there really isn't anything to receive." It was much easier to respond when she wasn't looking at him. As she turned back to face him, and walked up to him again, Taylor tried to maintain eye contact with her, hoping it would convince her enough to let the subject drop. "Honestly, Adrienne-" okay, so maybe he shouldn't have added in the 'honest' bit, since technically he wasn't being totally honest at all "-this is nothing to worry about." And maybe he shouldn't have said that either. All of a sudden, Taylor had a sinking feeling that he was going about this all wrong.

Once again Taylor defended himself by telling Adrienne that she wouldn't have anything to apologize for or justify but Adrienne just didn't know what to say to that. She was glad that Taylor didn't think that she would insult him, because she wouldn't, but what was she suppose to do now? Even though they were alone Adrienne still felt like she was struggling to keep the conversation alive. She felt like she was was preforming CPR on a crash test dummy. Even though there was no one listening Taylor still kept his answers short, sweet, and avoiding the point as much as possible. That was another thing that Adrienne and Taylor didn't have in common, he snuck around like a cat and Adrienne was pretty much blunt, kind of like a bear. She didn't like beating around the bush, like previously stated it wasted time.

Time was obviously something Taylor had a lot of. That or he had little of it, she felt that even now Taylor was trying to shew her away. But not in a polite I-have-to-go sort of way it was more how you shew a dog away from your favorite food. Not very polite and generally rough. She wanted to shove her hands in her pockets but she had things in them, she thought about going up to the desk but that might give Taylor the impression that this conversation was over and Adrienne was far from it. She didn't want to pry or look too deeply into Taylor's personal beliefs or anything but this did involve Adrienne so she had the right to know right? Yet she couldn't help but feel like she was the bad guy in this situation, not to say Taylor was or that he was suppose to be, just that she felt like one. She felt as abrasive as sand paper and about as friendly as a bee. If this was how Taylor was all the time then she could see how rumors get spread about him, sometimes you have to have the balls to speak up and defend your honor. Taylor seemed much like a pussy cat, not an alley cat at all, just a prim and proper house cat.

When Adrienne turned away she realized Taylor spoke much more freely, like he was afraid any words said directly to Adrienne's face would be heard more then the ones he said whilst she looked away. Taylor was as stiff as a pole yet tried to seem calm, tried to seem in control, tried to come across like every other guy Adrienne knew. They always wanted to be in control, they always wanted Adrienne to be submissive, and they always seemed to believe woman should be seen and not heard. That never really sat well with Adrienne and she never really listened to what the men wanted, independence was too much for some men to handle. For some reason Adrienne pegged Taylor as being one of those guys. It was probably just Adrienne he acted this way around but too little to think too late. Then he confessed that there wasn't a message to receive. So what the hell did that mean, he had been ignoring her for no reason? For some reason that didn't sit right with Adrienne and she was tired of this little game of I'll-give-you-a-hint-and-you-guess. Adrienne was never very good at guessing, she liked it when the answer stared her in the face.

So while she was looking at him she asked, “but I was right in saying you've been ignoring me.” She couldn't grasp why he would just ignore her, did he feel awkward because of her dad or was it something different. Did he not like how she had a little thing for Cory or something? “How can you ignoring me be nothing to worry about? I'm sorry but that's not normally something that happens between my friends and I.” As Adrienne spoke she realized her words were coming out a bit harsh and she thought maybe she should turn away from Taylor to give him the chance to speak clearly but she wasn't used to turning away from people she talked to. She was brought up upon the principal that you look at people when they talk to you, it was considered respectful, Taylor hadn't done anything tragically horrible, he deserved respect. “I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, Taylor. What I'm trying to do is fix this. I don't like the tension between us and I want to know if it's something we can do away with.” She sighed and figured she probably hadn't helped her cause any. Normally guys viewed this as thinking she had a crush on them, was it really impossible to just be friends with someone? She put a hand to her forehead and turned to the shelf behind her, the one stocked with ink. Now Adrienne didn't really need ink but it was something else to look at.

The more she thought about it the more this was turning into a game of cat and mouse. Adrienne would come out of her little hole at the first sign of a treat and then Taylor would follow suit by taking the treat away before she reached it. Or maybe Adrienne was the cat and Taylor came out when she looked away, only to be snatched up and eaten by the questions of Miss. Adrienne Taylor. She knew Taylor felt uncomfortable and she figured maybe she had already trouble him enough. She didn't like this feeling of being the bad guy so before anything got any worse she tried to defend herself. “You're right, it's probably nothing.” she said looking at him with an apologetic smile but then turning back and talking to the ink as she continued. “I'm probably just blowing this whole thing out of proportion, I'm sorry.” She said hoping he didn't think of this as a sign of weakness. She didn't try to look pathetic or anything. Hopefully it wouldn't come across that way.