when i'm with you || [OPEN]

Atlanta heard the throngs of people rushing through the hallway as she sat there, eyes boring into the wall that was in front of her, despite the fact that people passed in and out of her line of vision. In fact, even though her ears were attuned to the sounds of the hallway, she never actually heard anything specific. It was like a dull drone of a beehive that shook the nerve endings in her brain. She watched someone fall and pick themselves back up - only blinking when she felt the burn of her eyes drying out. Finally, the hallways seemed to clear and Atlanta saw that there was only one other person left in the hallway. The brunette tilted her head slightly to the side, trying to figure out the words that she was saying.

Kneeling down to her level, Atlanta suddenly became very aware that it was Andromeda Black that she was staring at. She remembered her from their childhood - Purebloods always ran in the same circles and they had suffered numerous play-dates because of their status. Not that she particularly minded Andromeda. It was only then that she realized that the girl was asking her if she was alright - asking her if someone had done this to her, “No.” She paused and shook her head, “Yes.” No, that wasn’t right either. Her fingertips reached up and touched the choppy edges of her hair, running her hands through it delicately, “I’m fine.” That was a lie - she wasn’t fine, she had never been any further than fine.

She was a Black sister. Atlanta knew about the Black sisters and where their affiliations lay - at least where Bellatrix’s laid. They were aligned with the pureblood elitists, the very people who had put her in this compromising position. Maybe someone had done this to her, then. Maybe it was the rest of them that had put her in this very place, huddled up on the floor with her hair lying in piles all around her. Atlanta wondered if Andromeda was the same; another face in the crowd that had put her in this place. Someone who believed that bloodlines ran thicker than anything else in the world. Gulping ever so slightly, suddenly she wished that she wasn’t as close to Andromeda - she might throw up.

Watching the girl with intent eyes, she saw compassion in her eyes - something that she had sorely been missing - this was someone who genuinely cared about her feelings - not just another face in the crowd. A small smile appeared on the girl’s lips and Atlanta pulled her cheeks back ever so slightly, attempting the same pleasantry. It didn’t last long, though - and she immediately let it fall, “Shouldn’t you be in class? Or have you decided tending to the crazy Hufflepuff is a better waste of your time?” It was the only thing that she could think to say, the only thing to talk about that she thought wouldn’t make her lose it again.

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tag; @andromeda

notes;  this isn't very good! apologies, love!

A couple of seconds went by of stunned silence as the middle Black sister admitted that she would rather be doing anything than studying. It seemed a little out of character, considering she thought the middle one was famed for her intelligence. Maybe she had been wrong - after all, Atlanta herself had even proved that Hogwarts stereotypes never stick...at least, they didn’t before. Once she had been stone cold, head of the Hufflepuff ring, and on top of the world - then she renounced her title and now here she was...exactly where she had begun, “Never thought I’d have heard that from you - I feel like you’re probably always studying. But-” The hair. She had almost completely forgotten about the hair.

Her fingertips reached down and picked up a few stray tendrils off the ground, staring at how much she had cut off. A couple of inches? Maybe more. She couldn’t be sure as she stared at it, “I-” For a moment, she wasn’t sure that she should admit that it was sheer anger and lack of judgement that had pushed her into this decision but - staring at Andromeda as she breathed in - she almost felt as if she could trust the girl. Letting go of the cut hair, she reached up and pushed her hand through her new short style, “Thought it was time for a change.” It was weird - she hadn’t seen it yet, but it felt strange, “The long hair just didn’t feel very me anymore.”

Atlanta’s eyes were drawn to the girl as she spoke about darkness. She seemed to get it - the ever looming sense that something was going to happen to all of them. As if they were contractually bound to this darkness and evil that was swirling around them. Their blood might have once been a source of pride for the Purebloods, but now it condemned them to a life of turmoil. You’re being dramatic. She reminded herself, trying her hardest not to think of the real reason that she was so upset. Breathing in, she nodded along - as much as Andromeda thought that she was preaching to a congregation that didn’t necessarily understand her, Atlanta felt as if she was very much hitting the nail on the head in that moment. She wasn’t like Bella - and perhaps that was exactly what she needed. If Andy was roped into this mess too, maybe they could use each other.

Looking around, the hallway was empty - everyone was already in class. Could she trust Andy? Could she really trust anyone? Zeke had told her not to speak a word about the whole thing, “I think that it’s time-” She clenched her eyes closed, “I think that I might have to-” She couldn’t tell her the whole story. Even if she wasn’t aligned with Bella, there might be someone else that she would tell, “Andy, how do you break up with boys?” Merlin, that sounded childish. She shook her head as she put her hands up to her face in exasperation.

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tag; @andromeda

notes; ahhh sorry this took so long! loves you reese!

Merlin, she made it seem like all she was worried about was a boy...it was so much more than that. She wasn’t entirely sure how to express that this was a matter of life and death. She was making this choice because there was no other option - she could either break Mikael’s heart or watch him die because of her. How had she managed to get mixed up in all of this?! She put her head in her hands and then ran her fingertips through her short hair. Suddenly she was rather glad that she had cut it all off - it was weighing her down.

Direct. Lanta suddenly imagined how that would go. Oye, Mikael, I can’t see you any longer because the Death Eaters are mad that I’m seeing a half-blood and they decided that if I continue to see you and disobey my parents they will have you murdered at my feet. Oh yes, that would certainly go over well. A distant frown found its way to her lips as she shook her head. There was no way that she could actually be direct about it. There was no way that she could tell him the truth. The only thing that she had left was to lie to him - and it would have to do. She would have to become the very thing that she swore she would never be again. Atlanta imagined going back to being the ‘old’ her: caught up with societal advances, alcohol, and sometimes drugs. She could so easily get sucked back in...but she had no choice. That was the only way that Mikael would believe her.

Andromeda asked if that was what was bothering her and Atlanta just shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t want to talk about it. She had bottled it up for a couple of weeks now, not bothering to see Mikael at all, avoiding him at all costs, knowing that any sight of him could set her off, “Yes and no. I mean, I don’t know.” She was sure that she was being confusing and Andromeda probably had no idea what she was talking about, “It’s not that I don’t like him, I’ve just got a lot on my mind and I’m not sure that it’s going to work out. I swear to god everyone’s so caught up with blood...my siblings, my parents. They don’t approve.” Oh god this was turning into one big cliche. Plus someone is threatening to kill him if I continue down this path, but you know. It’s fine. It’s casual. It’s not a big deal., “Do you want to sit?” Lanta patted the ground next to her as she tried to gather her thoughts.

“I miss the old days when we were allowed to play dress up in our mum’s clothes and nothing had to mean anything, you know?” It seemed like now that they were getting older, everything had implications. Everything had other strings attached to it, pluck one and you might as well have been playing a whole chord. The brunette laughed slightly as she played with one of the strands of her short hair, “How’s your family holding up?” She asked, sort of anxious to talk about something else. That was the only thing that she could think of - talk about their dad’s funeral that she had been forced to attend.

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TAG; @andromeda

NOTES; apologies for my lateness...again O.o

Atlanta was suddenly very thankful that it was Andromeda that had found her in the hall...She wasn’t sure that she would have spoken to anyone else as much as she already had. There was something so reassuring about having the Slytherin girl there. As she sat down, Atlanta forced a small smile onto her lips.

Hearing her voice the same thoughts that had just been flowing in her head made her actually smile and Atlanta turned her head ever so slightly so she could watch the girl’s expression. The sister of Bellatrix Black seemed nothing at all like her...and it was so refreshing, “Right?!” Putting on her best impression of her mother, she chose her next words carefully, “But Atlanta, dear, have you considered the implications of dating someone who’s fifth cousin four times removed was a half-blood? What an atrocity! What a blemish!” She cracked another smile and then rolled her eyes about it. They were all so caught up - so caught up that they didn’t realize where this was sending them. Straight into the open arms of a full-fledged battle. Atlanta’s smile began to fade as she realized the ramifications of such a situation. People were at risk of dying; not just Mikael, but people in all of her classes, the quidditch team.

Her eyes were unfocused until she realized that Andromeda was staring at her as well. Lanta shook herself out of it, running a stray hand through her short hair. Wow, that felt different, “Merlin, we were so weird!” But she did remember. The Blacks were always a good time to hang around, even if it meant hiding from Bellatrix until the girl threatened to use spells on them if they didn’t let her win. She shivered at the thought, “Crazy isn’t it? We grow up thinking one thing and then we get here and discover that there’s so much more.” Record players, arcade games, comic books. The Muggle world was hiding so many well-kept secrets. And it seemed as if Atlanta was never going to get to see them all with Zeke holding the key to her future. She blushed when she realized she had probably prodded too far into their business. Pureblood families could only go so far before pleasantries became absolute.

“Wasn’t afraid.” She corrected and then shook her head. She had had a solid two years where she didn’t care at all what other people thought of her. She had been free. Free to meet new people, experience things she hadn’t even dreamed of...fall in love, “Brave.” The word seemed so profound to Atlanta and she wondered if she actually was brave in this moment. Brave for saving Mikael’s life and breaking his heart? She only wished that it could be different, “Des and Orpheus don’t care much for me anyway - they’re way too caught up in their own lives.” She muttered about her older siblings. Des played pro quidditch and Orpheus prided himself on being a ‘banker’ - which Atlanta knew couldn’t be entirely what he did, “I wanted to know what it was like being away from it all.” She looked over at Andromeda and smiled a bit, “It was worth it.” Even if it couldn’t continue, “But I guess it’s hard with Narcissa and Bellatrix breathing down your neck here, eh?”

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TAG; @andromeda

NOTES; --

She thought about Des and Orpheus: Des was busy coaxing her career and Orpheus always seemed to be broom-setting to another country. She knew they were mixed up in the Death Eater situation, too, but so far she had no idea to tell how deep they had managed to get themselves. They only had time to pester Atlanta about trivial things when they bothered to talk to her, “Not so much breathing down my neck as picking at my scalp every time they get the chance. Merlin, they’re awful. Siblings are the absolute worst.” There was a forced laugh that followed - it was the only way that she could describe their relationship. They picked at the surface of her skin, wanting only the answers that they deemed acceptable. She was lucky they weren’t lurking around the halls of Hogwarts to hear her sub-par review.

It was hard to defy family more than anything else - the hardest part of it all had been the look on her mother’s face when she told her that Mikael Erixon had invited her to spend the better part of the Christmas holiday with him and his family in New York. Mrs. Vaisey had looked crushed...of course, at that point Lanta had reasonably convinced herself that her mother was simply mad because she wasn’t spending the winter with them at their estate, but now she knew it was something so much more. They had forged a letter from Mikael detailing that he didn’t want her to come to New York after all and he didn’t so much as want to speak with her, just so she wouldn’t be seen prancing around with the ‘bottom feeders’ of society.

“Kind of, I guess?” Atlanta knew what Andromeda was getting at. When someone said it out loud, it sounded so stupid. It sounded like she was just another one of those pureblood bitches that she had sworn she wouldn’t be, “There’s a lot more going on.” She wanted to tell Andy what was going on - the strange situation that she currently found herself in...but she knew that the very mention of such things could possibly ruin the deal that she had made with Zeke. She had to be quiet, leave Mikael alone, and hope that it was enough to convince the Death Eaters that she wasn’t going to pollute their line with ‘impurities.’

“It’s strange, my parents don’t see it the way that I do.” She could at least be honest about her parents and family, if nothing else, “They don’t see that they’re just people too...instead they see a pedigree. It’s like we’re animals.” She breathed, barely more than a whisper as she shook her head, “Mikael’s great - he’s funny, smart...dorky.” She smiled ever so slightly, “But he’s not what they want.” She left the party ambiguous, both implying her parents, siblings, Zeke, Purebloods, and the Death Eaters, “And if it comes down to life and death-” She pretended that it was a melodrama and not the truth...she didn’t want to scare Andy, “I’d rather duck out to save his life rather than watch my parents spontaneously explode and take him with them.” Atlanta forced herself to smile, but it was hollow. She knew she was only cementing what she would have to do - crush Mikael completely in order to keep him safe. Her eyes were begging her to understand - to grasp that there was something more - but her silence would only get her so far.

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TAG; @andromeda

NOTES; --