Guess who's back? (Back again... okay I'll stop)

[Kit Kierson]

Ladies and gents, Kit. Was. Back.

Cue the raucous applause, those weird pointed wizard caps that were only ever worn in the Sorcerer's Stone thrown into the air, bursts of red light and stars from wands lifted high above heads, people dancing on tables as though possessed by a craazaayyy god, screams and songs of jubilation, first years weeping uncontrollably at her feet as they screamed, "KIT, KIT, WE CAN'T BELIEVE IT TOOK THIS LONG TO MEET YOU… WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE STAYED, KIT? WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE GRACED OUR FIRST YEAR WITH YOUR WONDROUS PRESENCE?? WE ARE NOT WORTHY!!!"

… JAYKAY. Nah, none of that happened. In fact, when Kit burst into the Great Hall looking like her usual hot frazzled mess of a self (and I say "hot" as in "hot mess," as in, "not lookin' too great," not "LOOKIN' SMOKIN'") and blushing awkwardly as though people were going to make a scene of her return, all that happened was that the smattering of people at the tables turned their heads, raised their eyebrows, and then went back to their meals. Actually, one or two gave a nod of acknowledgement before relapsing into conversation, and one even scowled and muttered under his breath as if her arrival offended him. Rude.

The Gryffindor stood there for a moment, waiting awkwardly for someone to shout, "Hey, look! Kit is back!" and greet her with a hug or at least a friendly handshake, I mean come on, but everyone's lives seemed to have resumed impeccably without her. In fact, maybe now they'd she'd interrupted their ~PRECIOUS MEALS~, life was resuming a little LESS impeccably for everyone. Maybe she should've just STAYED HOME.

Oh, who was she kidding? Kit couldn't give a flying Fizzing Whizbee. It didn't matter to HER that people couldn't care less about her return. All that mattered was that SHE was glad she was back, damn it. Back in a castle where she could just think about herself and her own affairs and not have to worry about taking care of anyone else, back in a castle where she could be away from illness and pain (for the most part), and, most importantly, back in a castle that had delicious food that didn't come from the bowels of a St. Mungo's cafeteria!

Huffing and sticking her nose up into the air like a stuffy old poodle, Kit marched her way over to the Gryffindor table where she sat herself down in front of a plate full of hot roasted chicken and corn, with treacle tart on the side. YUMMMMM. She then totally just stuffed her face. Like, if you thought she wasn't attractive before when she was described as a hot frazzled mess, well… yeeahhhh.

NOW she was getting the attention she'd expected, and not because her return was being met with glee, but rather because she was disgusting anyone within five feet of her. "SO?!" Kit yelled at a staring first year, chicken bits flying out of her mouth, and she waved a drumstick around for emphasis. "WHATRGG YOUPGHH LOOKIN AT, FIRGHGHSTIE?! I'M HUNGRPHY!" She took a generous gulp of pumpkin juice before splashing the rest onto his face. "WOOOO, I'M BACK! I'M BAAACKK! AREN'T YOU HAPPY!" Ehh, screw it. Maybe she'd just have her own celebration! Determined to enjoy herself, the seventh year hopped up onto the table and danced around, splashing her pumpkin juice into the face of any poor student within range. "PUMPKIN JUICE FOR EVERYONE!!"

[Cory Benson]

Cory was currently in the Great Hall, yes I said IN the Great Hall. No, he was not going to make some sort of grand entrance and begin to poke fun upon the inevitable shenanigans that were most likely occurring at that very moment. He was simply in the Great Hall eating...Dinner or lunch...or whatever this meal happened to be. Cory didn't really care what it was... all he knew was food was in front of his face, and it was most definitely going to be eaten. "...So we meet again..." Cory whispered to his plate full of food. "Fork!" he said loudly grabbing it off the table and holding it up high as if it was his weapon of choice in a fight to the death. "Fork... meet food!" He added stabbing it into a piece of chicken. "Food...meet face!!" NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

But as Cory was savagely gracefully NOMing his food. The Great Hall door happened to swing open. Now when this happens it is customary for all the students to turn and stare at said person interrupting their delicious meal. Cory had eagerly partaken in these stares quite a lot for the past few weeks/months always secretly hoping to see someone just a tinsy bit familiar walk through that door. And he was met with nothing but disappointment week after week. One week it was just this girl, he didn't know her name, but he liked to call her Rat Face. Because the expression on her face always happened to remind him that of a rat. Sooo it was a little pet name (See what i did there? No?...Alright then) he had for her. Of course she was completely unaware of this name as Cory had never spoken to her before in his life... but that was the nickname his brain liked to call her. And don't get him wrong... he was sure Rat Face was a lovely lass...but she was no Kit Kierson.

Soooo after countless disappointments Cory had decided NOT to partake in this little stare/glance ever again. When the doors opened Cory just simply continued eating, because that WAS the objective after all was it not? And today was no different. This chicken was going to get in his stomach whether Rat Face or anyone else decided to walk through that damn door or not. He could feel the faces in the room turn as the door was opened but he simply continued on. Besting his plate of food unlike any other eaters had done before him. Ohh today he was a warrior. But his focus was slowly being pried away from his foe of a fowl. And to someone yelling about at the Gryffindor Table mere feet away from him.

"WHAT THE BLUDGERS?!?!" Cory managed to get out as he swallowed what was left of the food currently in his mouth. He swayed back and forth as much as he could to try and get a glimpse of the person causing such a ruckus. But he was unable to get a clear image of the person, he just saw the few first years looking dreadfully frightened for their lives. He also noticed Rat Face looking particularly Rat Face-y today. That's when things went from a small ruckus to quite the spectacle of shenanigans. As the person began to jump up onto the table, inevitably kicking over food or drinks onto poor kids laps whilst showering the table in perfectly good pumpkin juice.

Cory's face (And food ) was splashed with the said pumpkin juice and he wiped his face with his hand in order to get a look at the culprit. The sight was mesmerizing...it was the most terrifying, yet exciting thing he had ever seen. It was Kit Kierson. Though what most of the Great Hall was seeing at that moment, the chicken likely hanging out of her mouth, her terrible excuse for hair, waving a drumstick around as if she was some sort of mythical obese food villain, her robes now somewhat covered in pumpkin juice....Cory saw all of this... Don't get me wrong... it was hard to NOT see this... but he also simply saw one his absolute best friends...someone he cared about more than perhaps anyone he had ever met...Someone he hadn't seen for quite some time.

Without thinking Cory hopped up onto the table, accidentally kicking some kids plate into his lap. He just meagerly cast the kid a somewhat of an apologetic expression but he was visibly not concerned with him at the moment. "KIT?!?!?!?!" he said loudly hoping to get her attention, as if standing on top of the damn table wasn't enough. "Since when did you get back?!?!!??!!?!?....And Why are you throwing Pumpkin Juice on people?" he asked attempting his best at a disapproving look. But then it quickly turned into a smirk as he added "...Without inviting meee!!!!" As he accidentally poured the nearest cup of pumpkin juice on Rate Face. Sorry Rat Face , he thought to himself.

Ohhh what a scene it was this day... Kit Kierson a mythical Food villain with hair more messed up than a hoarder's garage, returning from an extended hiatus. Cory Benson a young Food warrior covered in pumpkin juice being reunited with his long lost friend. What a pair they were indeed. "....We should probably get off the table now though..." he added as he looked around somewhat awkwardly. He really just wanted to sit down with Kit and have a conversation...but this was going to prove to be quite awkward. As going from destroying Dinner/Lunch/Whatever the hell it was, to sitting down and enjoying a polite conversation in front of many bystanders covered in food and pumpkin juice, seemed like it would be an interesting turn of events.

But eventually Cory could not control himself any longer, he needed to embrace his friend that he hadn't seen in months. He kicked over plates and glasses on his way as he awkwardly attempted to get over to Kit. Students growled in protest as Cory mumbled "sorry" countless times as he made his way across the table. Finally he got within reach of Kit and pulled her into a very awkwardly executed hug as he attempted to blow her insane hair out of his face. See in movies this would normally be where all the students would partake in a simultaneous "D'awwwww" but this was not the case as he was sure plenty of them simply wanted to Crucio them both.

[Kit Kierson]

Yep, Kit was having her fun, all right. Of course, it was coming at the expense of poor students' faces, but what the hey. It's not like they ever showed HER any appreciation, and now she was going to show them by making their faces all sticky and orange and pumpkin-flavored! But, unfortunately for Kit (although when is anything just plain old FORTUNATE for Kit?), the one person in the entire school who HAD shown her appreciation also happened to be among the pumpkin juice-faced numbers, and that person was none other than Cory Benson.

"KIT?!?!?!?!" Kit stopped in her tracks, caught off guard to hear someone actually call her by her name. Wait, really? She'd expected the most she'd hear during these shenanigans was some angry name-calling that didn't involve her ACTUAL name but involved references to blast-ended skanks and crumpled whore-kacks. Or, at BEST, a Gryffindork, although that was slightly cute and endearing and probably wouldn't be reserved for some obnoxious chick trampling on everyone's meals and throwing sticky drinks in everyone's faces. Never in Merlin's pants had she'd expected to hear her own name, no less called by a voice she'd know anywhere.

Kit turned around looking utterly sheepish, no less meek and terrified than the trembling little first years at her feet were. "Yeah… SO!" she squeaked defensively, preparing herself for the worst. Oh boy. This was it. She'd gone and made a fool of herself, ruined Cory's meal, and made his face sticky and gross. He was probably angrier than a tomato-faced Vernon Dursley. And now he was on top of the table and approaching her, demanding to know when she'd come back and why she was doing what she was doing, and SURELY she had offended him by returning and acting like a moron, or at least he was going to think that she should go back to St. Mungo's for reasons that didn't involve her family or anyone else she knew…

But instead all he did was complain about not being invited and throw some pumpkin juice onto some girl who looked like a rodent! Kit visibly relaxed and grinned before he was suddenly pulling her into a hug, which she accepted and returned with glee. Oh, boy. She suddenly remembered how wonderful it was to be back.

"Yeahh…" she said, looking sheepishly around at the still-staring table, "getting down would probably be a good idea." She could see the Unforgivable Curses glowing like Fiendfyre in their eyes (HOW MANY HP REFERENCES CAN I MAKE IN ONE SENTENCE/POST?!) and she wasn't willing to let them cozy up to that idea, no sirree. She moved to hop down the table but naturally wound up tripping over a plate and falling onto a screeching first year, who then pushed her off her lap onto the ground. "Ow," Kit complained, frowning up at the great sky ceiling.

[Cory Benson]

Kit was somewhat defensive at first and most likely a little scared/surprised/nervous to see Cory there. But the tension quickly subsided especially after the two embraced for the first time in months. Well now that they got their pleasant greetings out of the way... the next step was to make it out of this without some sort of angry mob beating them to death with clubs. Cory never really thought he would ever have to fear that scenario described above...but alas here he was. Standing on a table with Kit surrounded by angry Gryffindors covered in all sorts of deliciousness.

Kit agreed that the first step in defusing the situation was to get off the table. But of course... it was Kit sooo she slipped, falling into someones lap and then being plopped onto the ground. Cory's response was of course sincere stress about her well being laughter.....Followed closely by somewhat sincere stress about her well being. "Are you okay?" he managed to get out between laughs as he jumped off the table next to Kit. "I would help you up....But actually I think this is a better idea..." he said looking back at the table. He was pretty sure the chance of sitting at the Gryffindor table now without any problems was quite slim.

So Cory sat down next to Kit right there on the floor. "We might have to try and sit at the Hufflepuff table or something for at least the next few weeks." He said forcing a chuckle at his own lame joke. "But seriously though... When did you get back? Why was I not told?" He asked accusingly. He would have expected to have been the first to know... Honestly he didn't know when Kit was going to be back in school at all. He wasn't sure if this meant her brother was better....or...well yah know... the other option. He wasn't sure if he should even bring it up. I mean if her brother had....yah know... stopped being alive... or whatever... would this really be the time to remind her of it and make her all upset in front of everyone?

Yes for her sake he had to avoid that topic... But how? With a change of subject of course... but what should he change the subject too? The dance? Nooo dances weren't really Cory and Kits strong suit. Mention the last time they were together? Ohhhh dear god no... that was... just crazy... I mean it was cool, Kit was really like open and more touchy-feely than usual. But Cory wasn't sure if she even remembered that... and bringing it up just might embarrass her. DAMMIT. Well he did have one thing he could say to divert the topic. "You look just absolutely stunning!" he said with a smirk... of course he was teasing her... I mean... don't get him wrong... she often did look amazing to him.. but I mean.. well come on... the girl looked down right silly at this particular moment.

"So do remember the last time we hung out... at all?" OHHH DRAGON POX THE OBJECTIVE WAS NOT TO MENTION THAT. Well go ahead... stammer and backtrack now at the realization of that stupid question. "I MEAN...Cuuuuz it was a while ago... HA...Itdoesn'tmatterthough!...I was joking... Yeaah.. SEEE... I totally got you!!!...Haaaa......" He looked around awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. Sighhh, not even five minutes into the conversation and he was already stammering like stupid faced dumb head!

[Kit Kierson]

Of course. Kit lies there in pain, horrible, horrendous, CONSUMING PAIN!!!!, and Cory just laughs! LAUGHS! Well, actually, if Kit were to be completely honest, the pain wasn't all that horrible, horrendous, or consuming. It was mostly just annoying and uncomfortable. But he didn't have to know that, right?!

"Ohh the agony!" Kit yelled monotonously and unconvincingly. Acting never was her forte. "Oh, no, I think my everything is broken! I feels like I'm living in CrucioWorld." She frowned, thinking that would be a terrible idea for a wizarding amusement park. "What kind of rides would that place even have… ?" she asked skeptically, mostly to herself. Huh. Lying on the floor and looking up at the magnificent sky that was the Great Hall, broken up by floating candlesticks, actually managed to stimulate some provoking inner thoughts and self-reflection…

Oh, right. But now wasn't the time for such things considering the scene she'd just made and the hatred everyone in this room, with the exception of one person, was harboring for her right now. In fact, Kit was pretty sure that the longer she lay here, the likelier it was for someone to be stomping her face in with their foot at any given moment. So she pushed herself up to her feet unsteadily, catching herself on Cory's shoulder for support. "Thanks, armrest," she said with fake sweetness, batting her eyelashes at him.

But now the questions were returning in full force… When did you get back, Kit! Why didn't you tell Cory, Kit! In all fairness, these questions were perfectly valid and sensible, but Kit couldn't help feeling overwhelmed. "Just a little while ago, I threw my things in my room but I was starving so I came straight here… You weren't in the Common Room and I didn't know where you were or how to find you, so I figured I should probably eat before I went on a Cory scavenger hunt," she blurted, hoping she hadn't forgotten to answer anything. "You look just absolutely stunning!" Kit's feeling of overwhelm gave way to annoyance and indignation, and she shoved him in the shoulder, pouting. "I know I do, jerkface. I always look stunning." She reached up to pull some chicken skin out of her hair, blushing a little before adding, "Obviously, I was just getting hair and makeup done for a couture photoshoot… you know how crazy those high-fashion photographers are… yeesh."

"So do you remember the last time we hung out… at all?" If she hadn't gone completely pink before, her face was certainly glowing now. "Of course I do!" she snapped, inwardly replying, Most of it. She was embarrassed at first, wincing as she remembered how utterly sloppy and ridiculous she had been and thinking how grossed out Cory must have felt by her. But then… Kit didn't care. No! Kit didn't CARE! If she wanted to get completely sloshed, she'd do it, damn it, and she didn't have to apologize to NOBODY! A new feeling of unabashed Kitness came over her and she took a deep breath before bellowing, "I… AM A BEAUTIFUL ANIMAL. I… AM A DESTROYER OF WORLDS. I AM KIT. EFFING. KIERSON."

Just kidding. She didn't really bellow that at all. Come on, she wasn't a lunatic (okay, maybe this entire thread completely disproves that argument, but she wasn't THAT kind of lunatic… maybe. At least not yet). But Kit was feeling a little less ashamed of herself, so instead she just smiled at Cory and shrugged a little. Nuttin' she could do about it now. Might as well just embrace it, even as Cory was trying to run away from it. They'd tried the whole awkward-not-dealing-with-things-thing before, way too much times, in fact, and if Kit had learned anything these past few months, it had been to own up to every crazy and gross part of you and not try to sweep it under any rugs, because there was just too much at stake, too much that mattered to waste time being awkward and embarrassed all the time. "Yup. I was a mess. A messy mess mess. A gross mess. Maybe messier than even now, in fact. But I regret nothing! Well, maybe some things. I regret getting sick, and everything that made me do it in the first place. But nothing else!"

[Cory Benson]

"Oh, no, I think my everything is broken! I feels like I'm living in CrucioWorld."

Cory would be fooled by such a lie, however she didn't follow Cory's intricate steps to creating a perfect lie. She didn't really use an accent, or say things super duper loud or make a loud and abrupt change to the subject. Nope... It was such an amateur attempt. What a rookie. But Cory decided to go along with it... because welp... because it seemed like fun. "OH NO NOT YOUR EVERRRRYTHINGGGG!!! PLEASE LORD ANYTHING BUT YOUR EVERYTHINGGG!!!!" Cory shouted dramatically. "Well we need to get you to the hospital wing straight away!!! CLEAR THE ROOM FOLKS WE HAVE SOMEONE WITH A BROKEN EVERYTHING AND SHE WILL NEED IMMEDIATE ATTENTION!!! FOR ONE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT AN EVERYTHING!!"

But just then Kit managed to push herself up, with a little help from Cory's pure existence at that exact moment. "Welp look at that, you bounced back." He said with a smirk. "And any time, I'm pretty good at being an armrest... It's one of my many skills...right alongside being a genius and fighting crime. " He added jokingly as he continued with his questioning of her sudden unexpected appearance. But his mind was in another place as she began her response. He was thinking about what it would be like to be a genius…but more of what it would be like to be fighting crime! He could wear a cape… And wear his underwear over his pants OH EM GEE IT WOULD BE AWESSSSSSOMEEEEE!! But then he realized he sort of missed Kit’s little explanation and decided to respond with a pleasant but effective. "Well I'm glad you're back." He said with a smile before making the snarky comment about her current looks.

"Obviously, I was just getting hair and makeup done for a couture photoshoot… you know how crazy those high-fashion photographers are… yeesh."

"...Really Kit? A photoshoot?... Right and I’m writing an intellectual piece for the Daily Prophet." He said and laughed. "Can I see the pictures though? I'm sure there going to turn out just wonderful. Surely we can like post them all around the school... You could be somewhat of a sales pitch for Hogwarts." He digressed as he brought up the stupid awkward question followed by the stupid awkward stammering. And as if these two statements didn't make Cory feel stupid enough... Kit's response made him feel even stupider.

"Yup. I was a mess. A messy mess mess. A gross mess. Maybe messier than even now, in fact. But I regret nothing! Well, maybe some things. I regret getting sick, and everything that made me do it in the first place. But nothing else!"

Kit was so much more confident now a days... She wasn't afraid to talk about things... she wasn't that somewhat shy, awkward girl he'd known for so long.... she was growing up. And... Cory felt like he was being left behind... Was he really growing up too? Transforming into somewhat of a man instead of a boy? Was he more mature now compared to simply a few years ago?...He didn't really know. He didn't FEEL grown up... or at some sort of higher maturity level. But at the same time he'd done things in the past 6 or 7 months that he never would have expected to do... he told Kit everything he felt about her... got his heart broken... Went to a dance feeling shameful and alone... This was all new... And a big part of him missed the past... This new phase of loneliness and heart-break... was something he'd never have thought he'd have to experience.

And looking at Kit... seeing how much time and her recent rough experiences had changed her... And how his recent experiences and time had changed him. He couldn't help but wish things were the way they used to be. But that was all a part of growing up he supposed... and the biggest part was growing up together. Being able to talk about certain things without awkward avoidance... Kit seemed to have already grasped this... and Cory was just going to have to attempt to keep up....or he was gonna get left behind, and possibly replaced by someone wiser, more mature than him. Possibly another Paul... Round 2.

"...Haha...Well it wasn't that badd... You were quite entertaining, it was fun really. But if you do it to me again, I'm just gonna leave you there in the street...Maybe some roaches will come hang out with you in the middle of night." he said jokingly sticking his tongue out. “…Sooo…Were you able to meet up with anyone while you were home?....or were you just always at the hospital?” Thumbs up for subtly hinting at if she happened to meet another Paul of sorts in her absence again. YAY FOR SUBTLE HINTING.

[Kit Kierson]

"OH NO NOT YOUR EVERRRRYTHINGGGG!!! PLEASE LORD ANYTHING BUT YOUR EVERYTHINGGG!!!! Well we need to get you to the hospital wing straight away!!! CLEAR THE ROOM FOLKS WE HAVE SOMEONE WITH A BROKEN EVERYTHING AND SHE WILL NEED IMMEDIATE ATTENTION!!! FOR ONE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT AN EVERYTHING!!"

Kit immediately recoiled, wincing as she held her hands over her ears. "Merlin's Pants, Cory, you are going to actually break my eardrums if you keep that up!" she snapped. "I mean, not that my eardrums are like, EVERYTHING to me… but I would appreciate it if they stayed functional. Being deaf would suck. I MEAN NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH BEING DEAF…" Wow, okay. She was acting like there were deaf people here to offend (like they'd be able to hear her anyway… too much? Well, maybe they could read lips, but then they'd have to find her interesting enough to focus on, and, well, the complete boring ramblyness of this paragraph shows just how interesting Kit and her thoughts are on a day-to-day basis).

As she rose to her feet and collected her bearings, Kit played like Cory for a change and ignored his usual word vomit of his varying degrees of "awesomeness." She didn't really pay attention to what he was saying, but if he'd asked her to rehash it for him, she would have said something along the lines of "I'm Cory and I'm really awesome and cool and can do everything good and you are so lucky to have me around and you'd cry and die without me, in that order, or at least you'd do one of those things because I'm just so amazing and you should be so happy to spend any amount of seconds with me," and she probably would have been at least somewhat right. Or at least the sentiment would be there. Looking at him as he finished his (much shorter) thought, Kit smiled. "I'm glad to be back, too."

As Cory mocked her made-up photoshoot that she totally didn't make up, the seventh year rolled her eyes in mock-exasperation. "Tell you what, I'll show you those beautiful pictures when you show me that intellectual Daily Prophet article, 'kay?" But after she'd said her whole "I WAS A MESS!!!!111" bit, Kit was surprised to see Cory not react with relief she'd taken it so well or amusement that she could find humor in the situation. No… instead, he seemed sort of taken aback, sheepish, like a dog caught peeing on a rug. She wondered what it was about what she'd said that had unnerved him so much. If anyone should be embarrassed, it should be her… right? So by being not-embarrassed, wasn't she giving him permission to laugh at her and be not-embarrassed himself? The Gryffindor frowned a little as she looked at her friend. It was almost as if Cory found her blatant, unabashed confession more awkward and alarming than some nervous laughter or a frazzled subject change followed by some fake conversation would have been. But within seconds, he was back on his game, fielding her admission by poking some fun at her.

"I'm glad I at least gave you some entertainment," she said sheepishly, wincing a little. "Sorry… other than that, couldn't have been too much fun. You have my full permission to leave me on the street if that ever happens again, which hopefully it NEVER will, and HEY, STOP, DON'T JOKE ABOUT ROACHES LIKE THAT, THAT IS NOT FUNNY!!" she shrieked. Call her insane, but just the mention of them sent shivers up and down her spine which made her think those shivers were actually roaches that secretly lived in her hair crawling up and down her spine and YAAGGHH. Kit gave a little spaz before regaining control of herself.

“…Sooo…Were you able to meet up with anyone while you were home?....or were you just always at the hospital?” The seventh year frowned a little at this, not fully understanding where this was heading. "I mean, no… not really. I didn't get out of St. Mungo's much, and when I did it was mostly to sleep in my own bed for a change or pick up non-hospital food. Just a lot of family time," she said quietly, shrugging and frowning in thought as she brought herself back to those days. Things were getting better now—her brother was recovering and seemed to be returning to himself again, or at least a somewhat world-weary version of himself, but it was better than having a mentally broken brother who was barely a shadow of his former person. He was still there, still teasing, still obnoxious, just… a little damaged, was all. But she guessed they were all a little bit of a damaged family now. At least they were working through things together. Remembering herself, she shook her head and smiled embarrassedly at Cory. "Sorry."

[Cory Benson]

"I mean, not that my eardrums are like, EVERYTHING to me… but I would appreciate it if they stayed functional. Being deaf would suck. I MEAN NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH BEING DEAF…"

"No i would never break your eardrums. Those are too important to me! ...Because you need those to hear me when I am teasing you... I mean what fun would teasing be if you couldn't even hear me... I'd have to try to mime my pranks...which would be sooo much more effort on my part, and well yah know... I am quite lazy." Cory responded to her overreaction to his overreaction to her overreaction... Well, hopscotch n' humble pie, this was a lot of overreacting wasn't it? It's fine though... Cory can play that gameee!! He is such a skilled overreactor. Kit won't even KNOW when he is overreacting thats how good of an overreactor he could be. She could be allll 'is he?' and the world could be all 'Who's Cory Benson...it's hot here now, the ice caps are melting ' and she could be all 'hummmmmmunnnaaa hummmunnaa blahbitty blah blee blaahhh' And then everyone would live happily ever after....Or everyone would die... really it's one of the two yah know, we can't be sure which.

"Tell you what, I'll show you those beautiful pictures when you show me that intellectual Daily Prophet article, 'kay?"

"DEAL! I'll get it right nowww. Pfffshhhhh." He said confidently and pulled out his wand...which was awkward cuz he was kind of feeling every pocket for it.... So instead of a snappy draw of his wand it was more of a 'where are my keys' and pat every orifice of his clothing type of dealio. But eventually it was found and he blew the dust off of it first because god knows it hadn't been used in months perhaps years. "Accio intellectual Daily prophet article thing... that i wrote... myself... with my own special quill... that i got from my grandmother for christmas...!!!!" But sadly nothing arrived. Color me surprised.

"Well it must have disappeared...or is bewitched with some sort of anti-accio charm of some sort. This happens all the time yah know." He said shrugging. "But I can recite it for you... yah know some what of a summary..." He said making hand gestures that his creator is currently mimicking but cannot successfully describe due to his lack of articulate expression so use your god dang imagination for Dumbledores sake! "Pretty sure it was all about really high-level magic stuff... Yah know like the... sectumsumblesiplesslytin...SPELL!!!" trailing off toward the end of his own made-up spell word.

"Sorry… other than that, couldn't have been too much fun. You have my full permission to leave me on the street if that ever happens again, which hopefully it NEVER will, and HEY, STOP, DON'T JOKE ABOUT ROACHES LIKE THAT, THAT IS NOT FUNNY!!"

"...You know I wouldn't leave you on the street..." he mumbled under his breath in response, unsure if she'd hear it or not... it didn't really matter to be honest. Then he proceeded to laugh at her little freak out over him mentioning roaches. He wondered if the word sent shivers up and down her spine and then made her think that those shivers were actually roaches that lived in her HAIR............crawling up and down her spine... Which in THAT case... makes Cory wonder how Kit acquired so much back hair. "Ohh it soo ISSS funny though!" He said grinning. Kit would surely regret ever letting Cory see her intense fear of roaches. As he was likely to use them in any sort of sentence possible.

"I mean, no… not really. I didn't get out of St. Mungo's much, and when I did it was mostly to sleep in my own bed for a change or pick up non-hospital food. Just a lot of family time,"

Let me present Cory's thoughts: WWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MATHEMATICALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL SUCKKK IT NON-HOGWARTS ATTENDING LOSER FACESSSSS ;D ;D ;D ;D
Now Cory's actual response:
"Ohhh I see... yeaah well I'm sorry that it's been such a rough time for you... I'm sure it hasn't been any fun..."

Kit was visibly upset now and even apologized for it. Cory wasn't really sure what to do... was he supposed to see if she wanted to talk about it?...Or try to cheer her up?... Or was she not talking about it just because she really didn't want to talk about it?...Or because she wanted him to press her about it?...Or did she want him to just like kiss her right now?...Or like rub some honey on her thighs?...Or punch Rat Face in her rodenty exterior?... Or perhaps force feed her a chicken wing to forget all of her troubles?... He wasn't sure how any of these questions were relevant but each thought did legitimately enter his brain.. and that is the sad part.

He was sure a mature Paul of sorts, would press on and sit down and discuss all that is life and his theories on the world. And as Cory pondered doing such a thing... he finally realized... he couldn't attempt to be somebody he is not just because he thinks those are the kind of people Kit might be attracted too. He had to be himself... if Kit was going to truly like him... she would have to like him for him... not because he was able to play the part of some sort of intellectual mature ultimate wizard of the century.

So he smiled at her, acknowledging her sadness and apology...but he wasn't going to feed it...if she wanted to talk about it... they'd talk about it another time... right now...all Cory saw was a girl who hadn't had fun... and I mean real genuine... Child-like fun... in months. And sometimes... that's just exactly what you need in life....

Cory reached over to the table and took two platters, dumping the full chickens that were left on them onto Rat Faces plate. Then he dropped the platters to the ground and reached for the juice. He poured the juice all along the aisle in between the two tables. Walking back to where they originally were, and where he dropped the platters... he began to take his shoes and socks off. "Well... don't just stare at meeee. Don't you care to join me in some Chicken platter snowboarding." he smirked jumping to his feet and stepping on his platter. "We'll go together, try and hold onto each other so one of us doesn't die. If one dies, we both die. We'll go down together."