Riley Taylor
Hufflepuff
Fifth Year
Flippin' Riley, mothas!
Posts: 1,147
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Post by Riley Taylor on Apr 27, 2011 18:29:54 GMT -5
Riley walked slowly up to the Rooftop Lounge, a little afraid that there would be a mass of people up there. When there was no homework to do students were always hanging out here. Sure there were a few smaller students littered here and there, but the fifth year smiled as she noticed her favorite couch was open. She sat down slowly with her back against one arm of the couch, her knees pulled up close to her body. She played absent-mindedly with the slightly frayed ends of her jeans bear adjusting the dark, black t-shirt covering her torso. She pulled her curly hair back and to the side, tying it at the base of her skull.
Riley looked around the rooftop lounge, now realizing how long it actually had been since the last time she'd been here. She was sure she was probably all tangled up on this same couch with Jaegar Ansari. She had been back and forth with him for years, and finally she was happy to say she was going to completely. Totally and completely, let go of all of that. That was just a huge chunk of drama this free-spirited young woman didn't need in her life, especially now that she was getting older. She was only just two years away from graduating as she would be a sixth year in the fall, and was going to start studying straightaway to become a healer. She basically needed top marks in everything, so although a relationship would be nice - and trust me, she was looking forward to the next decent man to come along, someone with baggage like him wasn't for her.
She was only just about to turn sixteen after all. Riley Ann looked back to the partially faded jeans that now clouded her vision and couldn't help but smile as she thought of the relationship. It had been fun while it lasted, but it was time to grow up and go on. And she was sure tons of people around the school were going to be glad to hear that. She had even started to disgust herself with their public displays of affection near the end. Pecks and hand-holding were okay, but making out or .. anything else, in public was just wrong.
She smiled softly as she realized that she was finally, truthfully, over him. She could now reflect on it without being sad, only being happy at the memories it provided her. Now she knew that if he ever turned up again, she couldn't go back to that.
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Post by Giuseppe Gambino on Apr 27, 2011 19:25:17 GMT -5
Giuseppe tore his eyes away from the latest comic book he was reading to briefly glance at the newcomer. He didn't exactly know the girl, but he'd seen her around a couple of times and was sure they were in a class or two together at some point. Almost immediately, his attention returned to the comic, only to realize that the page he was on was actually the last, meaning the issue ended with a major cliffhanger. "Well that just sucks.." He stated, to no one in particular. Since there was nothing else for him to read and really nothing for him to do in general, Gio sat back in the love seat he was currently occupying and propped his feet up on the coffee table placed before him. It wasn't the most mannerly thing to do and his father would most certainly smack him upside the head had he been around to witness it, but Gio was his own man and dear old dad wasn't there to tell him what to do.
Now that he was sitting quietly with nothing to do, Gio once again noticed the girl sitting across from him. He had almost completely forgotten she was there. She was a total stranger to him, but he wasn't just going to just sit there staring at her all evening. He enjoyed a good conversation as much as the next guy.
"Are you just as bored as I am or is that your constipated look?" he asked jokingly, hoping she wouldn't take it the wrong way like some people, mostly girls, tended to do when it came to his sense of humor.
"
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Riley Taylor
Hufflepuff
Fifth Year
Flippin' Riley, mothas!
Posts: 1,147
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Post by Riley Taylor on Apr 27, 2011 19:33:55 GMT -5
Riley couldn't help but smile at his comment, having not exactly noticed the boy before. She thought he muttered about something sucking, but she had disregarded it to continue basking in the fact that she actually had a moment to relax. Once school started she would be entirely too busy, so this was nice. She settled back into the corner of the couch a little better, shifting her feet and legs slightly so that she could better see him as he spoke. She grimaced slightly. "I don't know my constipation face. I typically don't look in the mirror..." She couldn't help but laugh, knowing he probably wouldn't expect a retort like that. Okay and if he did, that wouldn't be too disappointing to her. It would just mean he knows what kind of company he likes to keep.
"I'm Riley. Riley Ann Taylor actually, but Riley or Ry is preferred." She smiled, feeling as though she was rambling a little, so she ceased talking. She studied him, knowing she'd seen him before. Probably in the corridors, maybe in a mixed level class. She was sure he wasn't in her house, as more students in Hufflepuff spent time in the Common Room instead of their dorms and she'd never seen him there. But she couldn't deny the fact that she thought he was handsome.
"And you go by?"
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Post by Giuseppe Gambino on Apr 27, 2011 20:02:53 GMT -5
He was pleasantly surprised when she didn't scoff at his joke. It really annoyed him when people gave him the "look" and went about their business, pretending to be busy to avoid further conversation. He even laughed a little at her response. "Ha, I think I'll stick to Riley for now. Calling you 'Ry' would only make me hungry every time I see you." he replied, not really sure if she would get the whole Rye bread thing, but it didn't matter too much. "I'm Giuseppe, but you can call me Gio. No one but my sister really calls me Gio, although I would prefer they did." he said, trying to emphasize as much as possible how much he disliked his first name. Riley was a pretty girl indeed and Gio didn't often make direct contact with pretty girls. He wasn't exactly still in the 'girl are icky' stage of boyhood, being fourteen and well into puberty, but he was somewhere towards the middle where he could recognize a pretty girl and still manage to think with his head and not below the waist. He couldn't deny, however, that she was a hell of a lot better to look at then his cousin Maria who he had the misfortune of visiting for a week at the start of summer holiday. "So what are your plans for the new term? Are you going slack around or really hit the books?" He really hoped she wasn't one of those overachiever types that was into all the clubs and school activities and taking a million classes at once just because they can.
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Riley Taylor
Hufflepuff
Fifth Year
Flippin' Riley, mothas!
Posts: 1,147
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Post by Riley Taylor on Apr 27, 2011 20:51:02 GMT -5
"Actually, that's exactly why my friend Jay wouldn't ever call me Ry." Riley couldn't help but laugh. "But that's why I spell it without an e." She chuckled softly and nodded as he gave her a name to call him. She could understand wanting to shorten such a long name, and it really was a mouthful. If she had a name like that, she would do the same. "I like your name. But Gio is a lot less air usage." She shook her head, knowing she probably just sounded like a complete idiot, but who cares? She was her and that was enough to satisfy herself. She had to do things for herself now, not for other people, although being selfless had always been her thing.
Riley sighed as she pushed the ponytail she'd tied at the base of her skull behind her shoulder so she wouldn't play with it so much as she talked. Instead, she played again with the frayed base of her jeans, tilting her head slightly as she attempted to hear him from his place just across the room. Of course, it wasn't far to the other side of the room, the lounge was giant.
"Uhm, I am going to hit the books a little more than I used to. I'm studying to be a healer now that I've passed my O.W.L exams." She nodded a little, the disappointment at having to give up time spent having fun for time studying. "I hate studying. That's certainly why I'm not a Ravenclaw. But I at least have to get decent N.E.W.T's. They expect top marks, but I can still work my way up at St. Mungo's or work for Hogwarts if I don't get perfect marks. I would very much like to work in the Janus Thickey Ward though, so I need top marks for that." She rambled. "Sorry, talking about the future gets me excited. Although that's the only part of the future I really know anything about... I don't know anything about who I'll be around, who I'll be with.. nothing."
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Post by Giuseppe Gambino on Apr 28, 2011 12:12:51 GMT -5
He could recall someone in the family feeding him some bull about Giuseppe being a common name, but he had yet to meet anyone who shared his first name. Riley, on the other hand, he'd met a couple of those but they were all guys. Until now, he had no idea it was also used for females.
Gio's current sitting position was beginning to feel uncomfortable so he pushed himself up and decided to sit properly like a good boy, while listening to Riley discuss her plans for the future. "Yeah, studying sucks but at least you know what you want to do. My dad's always telling me I should be this and that, but to be honest none of his plans for me are realistic because I'm not exactly the best student." he admitted. Gio knew there was no way he could ever be a healer or an auror, or any type of high paying job. He was aware of his own limitations even if his father wasn't. "It's not like I'm super lazy or anything, it's just that none of it really sinks in and I can only remember things long enough for tests. After that the info just poofs from my brain." He making himself sound more and more like an idiot. "Sorry, I'm really bad at explaining things.." Gio sighed and absentmindedly began fiddling with his fingers, a behavior that usually indicated nervousness. He regretted bringing up school and grades since it usually left him feeling like crap. At times like these it was best to change the subject, he thought.
"So what about your summer holiday? Are you enjoying it?" he inquired, knowing she was probably having much more of a good time than he was.
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Riley Taylor
Hufflepuff
Fifth Year
Flippin' Riley, mothas!
Posts: 1,147
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Post by Riley Taylor on Apr 28, 2011 13:08:34 GMT -5
"It's convenient at times to know what you want to be. But then again I feel like if I end up not meeting that goal and having to settle for something different, I'll be too disappointed. So sometimes I wish I just... studied a little bit of everything and chose in the end." Riley shrugged. She had thought for many months that she should have decided this instead of going straight into Healing, but the Head of House almost encouraged going against going in 'undecided'. She sighed softly as she contemplated what the two years ahead of her were going to hold. She knew it would be a challenge, but hopefully she would get a new, good friend base going, for support.
"And no, you're not bad at explaining things, I understand what you mean." Riley gave him a reassuring smiling. Had he been sitting next to her, she might have patted his hand or his shoulder like she would do to anyone she was trying to reassure. She very softly sighed as she studied him momentarily. "Have you any idea what you might like to do? Sometimes I feel it would be easier and less studying if I would have just decided to shopkeep somewhere. And other times I feel like I'm still slightly interested in wandlore, so I could have been a wandmaker." She shrugged. "But I hear that's one of those.. the older the wiser things and people won't buy wands from young wandmakers at first." She shook her head. People these days.
"I am a little. I mean, it's rather boring. It's so quiet around here. One of my very good friends got pulled out of school last year by his parents, so he won't be around. And he was basically the glue holding the rest of us together. So.. I don't really have anyone around here anymore." She tried to put the thought aside.
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Post by Giuseppe Gambino on Apr 29, 2011 12:38:39 GMT -5
Gio found himself becoming quite comfortable with Riley. She was easy to talk to and actually seemed to be interested in what he had to say. He could see them becoming friends once they got to know each other a little better, but he didn't want to get ahead of himself. " To be honest, I haven't really thought about it too much. I guess it's about time though since I'll be starting my fourth year this term." Everyone in his year had at least some idea of what they wanted to do after graduation, but he didn't have a clue. " I'm not going to stress it too much right now though. I have at least until next summer to decide. Might as well enjoy what time I have left before school work gets ridiculous." he added, reassuring himself more than anything. He felt like the biggest ass in the world after she explained her situation. " Oh, that really sucks. Sorry for bringing it up." Gio didn't want the atmosphere to be ruined by awkwardness, he'd had enough of that crap in the past. " So what kind of stuff do you like to do? I'm sure bumming around school grounds isn't your top priority during summer holiday. he laughed. It sure as hell wasn't his. (Bleh, my posts will be better after this. I've been busy with school and I didn't want to leave you hanging all weekend )
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Riley Taylor
Hufflepuff
Fifth Year
Flippin' Riley, mothas!
Posts: 1,147
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Post by Riley Taylor on Apr 30, 2011 0:53:00 GMT -5
"That's a good idea. Take your time deciding. I felt a little rushed, but that's because I procrastinated doing my research and stuff. Just, be careful in your decision." Riley nodded with a wide smile. She wanted to be there for him if she could, even though they didn't know each other really well yet. She could see herself forming a relationship of sorts, but most importantly a friendship, with Gio. He was really nice to talk to, and she was already enjoying the conversation they were having. She was looking forward to having these types of conversations with him in the future as well, she didn't plan on this being a one time meeting. Of course, she had at first, but now that she was beginning to learn a little more about him, she couldn't help but want to continue learning more.
"That's alright, you didn't know." Riley smiled at him, having already started pushing the thoughts from her mind. She was pretty much done with all of those people who had created drama in her life for the last several years. She was ready for things to calm down, she should focus on her studies, and meet new people. New people like Gio here, who was providing great entertainment at the moment.
"Uhm, well during the summer I like to swim. I like to meet up with people and picnic on the grounds. It's always fun to go bug the house elves for food. Uhm, I like to spend random nights at the Leaky Cauldron or the Three Broomsticks Inn with friends. Like a few of us will go rent a room for a night or two just for fun, since we have no school to prevent it." Riley thought carefully over what she did like to do. "And I play bass, I love to do that, but that's really about it." She shrugged. She did bum around the grounds a lot, although it wasn't her preference. She would much rather be running and jumping and doing something entertaining.
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Post by Giuseppe Gambino on Apr 30, 2011 1:54:43 GMT -5
Gio couldn’t help but feel a litte jealous. While Riley was free to do just about whatever she wanted during holiday, he was forced to spend three miserable weeks with his aunt and cousin Maria (who he had several not so nice nicknames for) and dragged back and forth to all parts of Italy to visit family he couldn’t stand. When he finally is able to stay home, there is absolutely no privacy because he’s stuck having to share a room with five cousins while his parents play host to his freeloading aunt and uncle. It was all rather exhausting and he would much rather be in Riley’s shoes.
“Man, you’re lucky. My parents like to take a million trips to Italy to stay with family and of course, drag me and sister along. It’s supposed to be nice and relaxing, and it is..but it’s also really boring.” he explained. “When I was younger though, we used to go on real vacations, like Papa would rent beach houses and stuff like that." He shrugged, not really knowing why his parents never things like that anymore. It wasn’t like they couldn’t afford it. “Hey, it’s really cool that you play an instrument! I tried piano when I was little, but I really don’t have the patience for things like that, and I get distracted easily anyway.” He thought about the piano collecting dust in one of the guest rooms of parents home and for a split second considered perhaps taking up lessons again.
While the two chattered on about this and that, Gio’s stomach felt the need to remind him, rather loudly, that he skipped breakfast that morning and was in dire need of some grub. He was certain the grumbling was loud enough for his new acquaintance to hear, and was embarrassed because of it. “Heh, sorry about that. Guess I’m a little hungry…”
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Riley Taylor
Hufflepuff
Fifth Year
Flippin' Riley, mothas!
Posts: 1,147
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Post by Riley Taylor on Apr 30, 2011 11:00:04 GMT -5
"Sorry, Gio. But I understand a little. I remember when my Dad used to take me on vacations during the summer." Riley scrunched up her nose at the thought. It was always fun to spend time with her Dad, but when her Mom died, she hardly enjoyed them. Her Dad was always depressed and although he would try to take her on vacations and enjoy them with her, it was more like he would watch while she enjoyed them, and it didn't make it enjoyable for Riley at all. "I guess I don't really understand, it's a different situation that I don't really want to get into. But when my Mom died my Dad didn't really want anything to do with having fun on vacations, so we quit taking them." She shrugged it off, looking up as he spoke again.
"I could possibly teach you how to play bass if you wanted. I have two electric basses and it's a lot easier to learn with frets." Riley knew she would really enjoy teaching him. She'd tried to teach someone before, but he was a frustrating boy and didn't take anything she said seriously. She remembered having to place two strings on her spare bass because he didn't take it seriously. "It's really very easy to learn, but very difficult to perfect." She nodded at him. She remembered that it hadn't taken her long at all to learn. It was being a decent bassist that she had trouble with. Over the years she'd been doing better and better, and she really thought she was to the point where she was happy with her playing.
"If you want, we could go to the kitchens and get some food?" Riley shrugged, looking up and realizing that night had fallen. "Then we could sneak out of the castle and picnic on the Quidditch Pitch or something?"
(We can do that all here, we don't necessarily have to make new RPs.)
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Post by Giuseppe Gambino on May 1, 2011 14:30:58 GMT -5
Gio felt terrible about her mom and was curious as to how she passed, but felt it might have been rude of him to ask, and besides Riley herself said she didn’t really want to get into detail. It was probably for the best anyway. He would hate for their conversation to turn sour when they were having such a good time. “It’s okay. Once we’re out of school for good, we’ll just have to go on a ton of vacations to make up for the ones we’ve been missing out on the last couple of years!” he smiled, and as if he quickly realized something, added, “Oh but don’t think I meant go together! Separately..you know, on our own time. Unless by chance we do wind up going together, then that’s okay.” Mama always felt the need to remind him that English girls were loose and if he was ever to run away with someone, let it be an Italian girl. Riley didn’t seem like the type of girls his dear mama always told him about, but he still didn’t know her very well and anything was possible.
“Me? Bass?” It was really nice of her to offer him lessons, but Gio knew he was impossible to teach. It would send the poor girl to the madhouse. “I don’t know so much about you teaching me, but it definitely be cool to hear you play.”
Going to the kitchens was an excellent idea. He was starving and if she hadn’t mentioned getting some food, he probably would have left her to get some in the next couple of minutes. He hadn’t actually been to the school kitchens before, but he heard it was fantastic. Gio didn’t quite understand how so many students managed to get in without being caught. Someone HAD to notice it at some point, but maybe the staff didn’t mind too much. After all, it was just food. It wasn’t like they were stealing answers to tests. “THAT is a brilliant idea, Riley…I’ll race you there!” and he was off.
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Riley Taylor
Hufflepuff
Fifth Year
Flippin' Riley, mothas!
Posts: 1,147
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Post by Riley Taylor on May 1, 2011 14:47:04 GMT -5
Riley watched him, wondering if he might be wondering how her Mum died. Everyone did, and sadly.. Riley never talked about it. Since she'd returned to Hogwarts after the few weeks of being away when she did die in the last school year, she never made a peep about the whole ordeal. She didn't know why it depressed her father so much, as her mother hadn't ever been around for the Taylor family anyway. Once she found out Riley's father was a wizard, being a muggle she ran off, terrified of what her husband and daughter might be capable of. Two very gentle people who would never harm a fly, now who could be afraid of them? "Haha, I guess you're right. We will have to make up for them." She nodded, not having thought of them going together on these vacations, even though he had worded it that way. "No, not at all, uhm.. but yeah if we did go together I wouldn't mind." She nervously looked away from him for a moment. She was trying not to let their entire night be run by the fact that he was male and she was female. She was interested in getting into another relationship, but she had just met Gio after all.
"Haha, alright. I'll have to play you something sometime then. But if you ever get the itch to learn, you know I'm always available to help." Riley didn't necessarily mean giving him regular lessons, but if he wanted them, that was always possible for her too. And something regular fit into her schedule better. She knew her schedule would be hectic when she started classes again. She hoped that if... definitely an if something happened between her and Gio, or between her and someone else for that matter, that she had plenty of time for them outside of her busy classes and homework schedule. "But yes, I love to play, so I would be more than happy to have a chance to whip out my personal bass and play for you sometime."
Her stomach started to rumble a little as well as they started to talk about food. She'd eaten at lunch, but hadn't bothered to stop for dinner. She'd come up here instead, it was so much more peaceful than the crowded Great Hall. Even in the summer months when not many students were around on the grounds, there were still plenty of students who came out of the woodwork during the day to eat. "You race...?" She had barely sputtered out a few words when he was already off on a race to the kitchens. She smiled a little sinisterly as she took off behind him, trying to catch up, laughing a little as she moved quickly, the ponytail she had pulled back to the base of her skull flying a little behind her.
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Post by Giuseppe Gambino on May 2, 2011 21:04:27 GMT -5
Running around the castle after nightfall to have a snack with a pretty girl certainly sounded nice when he pictured it in his head, but it turned out to be a pretty bad idea since Gio was asthmatic and became winded quite easily. The running slowed down until it was more like a fast paced jog and eventually he gave up on the idea all together and walked the rest of the way. "Don't worry, I'm not using a charm to conceal my five hundred pound gut or anything." he assured her, jokingly. "It's just my asthma. I mean, it's under control and almost never bothers me. I just can't overexert myself." He hated explaining that part about himself to people. It made him sound like a weak little prissy boy who can't do anything without assistance. He would rather have just told her he was obese, at least then he could just shed the pounds and not have to worry about it again.
When they reached the kitchens, Gio took the liberty of tickling the pear that appeared on the portrait and just as everyone had described, it turned into a door knob, which he then turned and let Riley enter first before entering himself. The place was quite huge, more so then he expected and he never imagined there would be so many elves. It really made sense though, once he thought about it. The elves had to prepare enough food for several hundred people three times a day, so a couple dozen wasn't going to cut it. "And we can just take whatever we want? Won't they report us or something?" he asked, at risk of sounding like a goody two shoes. " It's not that I'm some 'Johnny Do Good' or anything, but my parents over-react to EVERYTHING and I'd rather not have to deal with that crap." Then again he was so hungry and all the food laid out before him looked and smelled so good, he suddenly didn't give a rat's arse about his parents, and began helping his new friend gather enough goodies for their impromptu outing.
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Riley Taylor
Hufflepuff
Fifth Year
Flippin' Riley, mothas!
Posts: 1,147
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Post by Riley Taylor on May 4, 2011 18:34:48 GMT -5
Riley made sure that from her current position, slightly following him as they ran through the castle, she noted how cute he was. It was quite interesting how attractive she found him, how undeniably attracted she was to him overall, but how - unlike before - she didn't want to rush a moment of it. She just wanted to enjoy his friendship first and then... if things fell that way of course, they might get into something later. As he slowed down to a walk, she did the same, listening with a nod as he explained his asthma. She was hardly winded, but Riley had been the crazy girl who had enjoyed waking up early and running two laps around the entire lake through their entire third and fourth year. Fifth year she'd let it go, as late nights staying up studying prevented the early rise. She rubbed his back gently, patting him softly as they moved down the corridor and finally he was reaching up and tickling the pear. She walked into the kitchen in front of him as he allowed her and made sure to say a quick, "Thank you, Gio!" Before moving into the kitchen.
Riley walked immediately up to the first house elf who greeted her, patting the small creature on the back as she knelt a little closer down to its level. Now, any normal witch or wizard would find this weird, but Riley was so gentle and kind to all creatures. Her second plan after healing would have to be magizoology. She'd always taken an interest in every creature, even those who could communicate, like House Elves. She asked the house elf a quick question, to which the house elf responded by scuttering off and returning in a few moments with a picnic basket, complete with a blanket for them to use, sitting on top. She set it onto a counter and started to take a few things from Gio's hands and placing them gently into the basket. "Of course we won't be reported. The House Elves do their job simply for the pleasure of pleasing the students. That's in their nature." She shrugged.
"Most of the food is made by magic, so it takes them little to no time to whip up some more. Of course, food can't be conjured by magic, but it can be prepared. Well you know what I mean." She shut up, realizing how much she was rambling. She made sure to use the two thermos' that had been inside the picnic basket to pack them each some soda. She put it into the basket with the rest of the food and made sure to find two glasses, so they wouldn't look so foolish drinking out of the thermos. She smiled at him. "If you'd like anything else, you'd better make sure to get it."
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