[Luc/Open] Back on Form?

[Luc Norwood]

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If Luc had thought falling hard against the grass had been painful, it was nothing compared to trying to get to his feet. His back ached from the landing and the shoulder James had hit stung a bit when he pushed himself to his knees. There appeared to be a bit of blood on his hands, but he couldn’t tell if it was from his raw knuckles or simply not his to begin with. Either way he swiped them clean on the legs of his jeans after he slowly forced himself to his feet. Despite the spreading tenderness from his quickly swelling eye, he could see out of the uninjured one without too much trouble. Sluggish, and maybe a bit unsteady, he took wary step forward towards Penny. Another coughing fit threatened to take him down again, but he managed to stay upright.

James was up now, Luc noticed, walking with something of a limp and maybe a slight hunch, but on his feet non-the-less. Some part of Luc felt a slight amount of relief, and a bit of guilt. With the rage that had overtaken Luc and the uneven physical match, the damage could’ve been worse. They both headed to Penny, who looked between them with what could only be fear. Shit He knew that look. He’d learned it the hard way during a broom closet incident from last year, he didn’t like to think about. She’d either had a panic attack, which explained the hole in the pitch now. Or… she was close to having one. Which didn’t make any sense, since they weren’t in an enclosed space, but very much outside in the open. “Don’t touch her,” Luc warned automatically, but it was too late. James reached out for her, before Luc even got halfway.

"Don't touch me! Back off." Penny snapped, taking a step away from James. Then a wall of fire roared up, forming a barrier between James and Luc, and more importantly, between them and Penny. He could hear Penny scream, but couldn’t see her beyond the flickering lines of fire. As quickly as the flames appeared, they just as quickly disappeared, leaving only a black line to mark they had been there at all.

Penny was on the ground, breathing much too quickly, and Luc tried to force the utter shock from his features. A shattered lantern and broken door hinges was all that had resulted from his last experience with this sort of thing, nowhere near this caliber of wandless magic. Then again they‘d hadn‘t been in the closet for very long… he shook his head, forcing himself back to the present. Now was not the time for jumbled thoughts.

"Don't come near me, you both need to get. Back." Her voice was slower this time, but it still trembled. Deep breaths, good girl, he encouraged silently as Penny dragged in air to calm herself down.

Luc closed the gap between he and James to stand by him, but did not go any further then the line in the grass. It represented the safe point until Penny fully calmed down, and Luc did not want to risk another attack. Who knew what could happen.

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Words: 563
Tags: James and Penny
Comments: I couldn't think of any good dialogue, sorry guys.

[James Potter]

James didn't know what to think when Luc told him not to touch his girlfriend. His girlfriend, not Luc's. He was too drained to feel any anger. But then Penny yelled at him to get back and not to touch her. His hand dropped immediately in defeat to his side. He felt like Gryffindor's sword cut him in two. His face glazed over as he stared questioningly at Penny. There wasn't much time for him to continue processing the pain he felt, when a giant wall of fire sprouted from the ground. James quickly turned to the side, his arm lifted up to try and shield himself. The heat licked at him, and the sleeve of his jacket became singed. The flames were gone immediately, opening to view to see Penny now on the ground.

It was impossible to read exactly what James' said. He looked frightened, guilty, ashamed, scared, and most importantly longing for Penny. His feet remained planted firmly on the ground, afraid to even make a move towards her. So that was it. She didn't want him near her. The wall of fire was proof enough of a subconscious barrier. His head slowly hung down as he stared at the crispy grass. His face read as if he were looking for something, but in his mind he was looking for nothing. Part of him felt like he should give up. He made a fool of himself in front of Penny, and now she wanted nothing to do with him. He closed his eyes a moment as he mentally cursed himself. What an idiot. What a dumb reason to fight. His stupid insecurities always had to get in the way.

"Don't come near me, you both need to get. Back."

James followed Penny's orders and stayed put. He heard Luc approach from behind, causing him to open his eyes and give a side glance. He noticed Luc's eye starting to swell, but James was too down to feel proud. Maybe Luc was right. Maybe James didn't deserve Penny after all. He looked back up at Penny, finally lifting his head. His expression was apologetic now. He at least wanted her to forgive him. Right now, he just couldn't find the right thing to say.


WORDS: 447
TAGS: Penny and Luc
COMMENTS: emo James
OUTFIT: Here

[Penny Matthews]

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Breath, just keep breathing... Penny mentally coached herself, now finally starting to feel somewhere near calm... Her eyes remained fixed, staring at the grass just infront of her while she calmed herself down. She didn't want to risk looking at the boys, or the scorch mark in the grass a little further up, just in case it triggered something again... In all honestly she wished that she could just disappear. An invisability cloak would be handy right about now. If only she had one, or knew someone who did, then she could just keep it on her for times such as this, so that she didn't have to face the humiliation caused by her freaking out. For all her wanting to be treated equally to everyone else, regardless of her house, sex, size, intelligence, whatever. Here was proof that she wasn't equal, this was proof that she was weak and out of control when put under pressure. How could she ever hope to succeed in life, in a career, in friendship, in relationsips when this would get in the way every time she saw something slightly shocking?

Taking one more deep inward breath, Penny looked up at the boys. "Alright.. I-I think I'm alright ... now." She said quietly, before trying to push herself up from the ground. Her hands and arms were still shakey, and she still felt a shot of anxiety when she looked at the boys' hurt faces, but there wasn't the pain in her chest, or the pressure that had felt so frightening before... "Are you, alright?" she asked the both of them, a slight frown appearing across her features, indicating her concern for them both...

"I'm sorry for being such a freak.." She blurted out after a moment of quiet. Yes originally it was one of the boys which was in the wrong, which one had started it again? either way, it was then the others' fault for escalating the situation, then it was both their faults for engaging in a physical fight... But then Penny lost her cool, she freaked out and but them all in more danger than afew stray punches could cause...

Gingerly, she took a step forward, over the scortched line in the grass towards James, who was looking more lost than anything.. Penny glanced across to Luc for a moment before she looked back to James and reached out for his hand...

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Words:461
Tag: Luc and James!
Comments: sorry it took a while, been busy and shizzle!

[Luc Norwood]

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Penny looked up again and Luc released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. "Alright.. I-I think I'm alright ... now." She got to her feet without nearly the amount of trouble Luc had, he noticed. Hopefully, she would be okay after all, hopefully this had only been a fluke. "Are you, alright?" The question was direction at both of them.

Covered in dirt and grass and more banged up then he thought he ought to be considering his opponent, he was otherwise fine. Luc swiped uselessly at his dirty hoodie and gave her a half-hearted smile. “I think I look worse then I am,” he teased.

"I'm sorry for being such a freak.."

"I don't think..." but Luc never got to finish, because Penny stepped across the safety line towards James. Despite being upright, her breathing normal, and above all else, speaking... it made Luc faulter, just the tiniest amount. Penny glanced over to Luc, before effictively dismissing him and reaching out for James as she turned her attention back to the other boy.

Well, that was that then, wasn't it? She was choosing James, her boyfriend, over Luc, one of her best friends. Sure, James looked a bit worse off, but he had started this whole thing to begin with. He practically begged Luc to give him a good beating. The tracks of blood from James's nose did not make Luc feel any better at the moment. More then anything he just felt very tired. The day was barely beginning, and all Luc wanted to do was go back to his bed. Even if that meant a jumbled brain. Anything had to better then this nauseaous feeling spreading through him.

He wanted a shower, as well as a change of clothes, and maybe a pack of ice for his swelling eye. A myriad of excuses, just to get off the green and away from this. Luc glanced back to his discarded quidditch gear and wondered if either of them would notice if he just left, or if he should say something instead.

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Words:360
Tag: James and Penny
Comments: Emo-Luc, lol.

[James Potter]

In the moments it took Penny to finally speak, James felt like an entire day had gone by. It was so hard for him to stand there in the heavy silence, not knowing what was going to happen next. There were really no clues as to how Penny would receive James. Still scarred by her first reaction, he stood still and only looked up at her through his lashes.

"Alright.. I-I think I'm alright ... now."

James looked up fully and expectantly. A bit of him felt relieved knowing that Penny was okay. The only problem now was that James didn't feel okay. He just wanted to run across the line and hold her, tell her he was sorry. But part of his was still afraid that she wanted nothing to do with him.

"Are you, alright?" she asked the both of them.

"Fine, fine." James said plainly after Luc spoke. He shook his head dismissively, like it didn't matter how he felt anyway. All that mattered was that Penny was okay now. He gave himself a look over, noticing the burnt up sleeve of his jacket. He shrugged it off quickly and held it in the crook of his elbow. He was glad to see his shirt wasn't burnt through. Then he did a quick swipe of his sleeve under his nose to get the remnants of blood off.

"I'm sorry for being such a freak.."

"Penny, you're not-" James tried to object at the same time Luc spoke. He stopped his sentence abruptly just as Penny made a move to walk across the line. And she moved towards him. His breathing stopped and he gulped. Then she reached for his hand.

Feeling like he could explode from relief, he reached out for her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. Subconsciously he gave a quick glance over at Luc. Then forgetting about him, he turned back to Penny. He pulled her in closer, his free hand lightly holding onto her waist. His eyes looked down at her, looking her over to see if she was alright. She did take a few falls. Then he remembered her wrist, the whole thing that started it all.

"Penny, your wrist. Is it okay?" he asked quietly. "I mean... of course its not okay. Is it hurt... more?" A twinge of guilt went through him again. The hand that was on her waist trailed to her hurt wrist. His finger traced lightly over it. "I'm so sorry Penny," James said in almost a whisper as he pushed hair from her face.

WORDS: 514
TAGS: Penny and Luc
COMMENTS: ---
OUTFIT: Here

[Penny Matthews]

* * *

Penny was somewhat releived when both boys objected to her being a 'freak' though she knew that they were just being nice about it... As James pulled her closer she wanted to just throw her arms around him and hug him tightly, but then she thought about it and she thought about how this whole thing had started. James didn't trust her being around Lucas, and that couldn't go unaddressed...

Glancing across to Luc again, he was looking decidedly sorry for himself. And that made Penny feel even more guilty. He clearly thought she was takng James' side... She just didn't know what to do for the best. What ever she did, someone was going to be upset, and she knew by trying to be diplomatic and fair about it, everyone would end up being upset!

"Penny, your wrist. Is it okay? I mean... of course its not okay. Is it hurt... more?...I'm so sorry Penny,"

James gently touched her wrist and for the first time since everything had quite literally 'exploded' Penny remembered to the full extent how much her wrist hurt when she felt a jolt of pain, shooting up her forearm... She tried to mask the evident look of pain on her face as James gently shifted some hair from her face. Her eyes fluttered slightly, partly from the pain of her injured wrist and partly from the drained feeling she always experienced after a panic attack...

"It'll be alright." She said quietly, really wanting get the subject of conversation away from her and her multitude of silly problems... Taking a breath she searched for some strength in her voice, "James, you can't go around picking fights with my friends just because they happen to be a boy..." She tried to find that balance between being stern and being gentle, but she was increasingly feeling drowsy so she really wasnt fully aware of how exactly she was coming across...

"Lucas is one of my best friends, but thats it! he's my friend and he's not going to stop being my friend just because you might not like it..." She said looking across at Luc, hoping that he still did indeed want to be her friend after this whole mess... "And-" She was about to continue, but she came over light headed, wavering in her stance and having to grab hold of James to support herself with her injured arm. "-I need to lie down..." She said quietly, only just above a whisper, "I'm going to go to the H wing now.. can you guys not fight while I'm gone please?" She tried to smile.

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Words: 510
Tag: Luc and James!
Comments: soz for the delay!!

[Luc Norwood]

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His quidditch gear offered no solutions and Luc resolved himself to stick around for a few more moments. That decision however, resulted in being forced to watch James hold Penny as the older boy appealed to his girlfriend. "Penny, your wrist. Is it okay? I mean... of course its not okay. Is it hurt... more?...I'm so sorry Penny," James probed Penny’s wrist, and Luc could tell Penny was fighting against the pain.

The tiny spot of guilt that pierced his heart began to flood within him. It may have been James that picked a fight, but it had most definitely had been Luc’s negligence that had aggravated the injury. He should have known better then to agree to the race. He should have been more careful, steering her away from being on her broom before she was cleared to do so. Maybe none of this would have happened at all…

"It'll be alright." Penny said quietly. She took in a breath and the next time she spoke there was a not so subtle sternness to her gentle voice as she spoke. "James, you can't go around picking fights with my friends just because they happen to be a boy..." Was Penny reprimanding James, for staring a fight? That was what it sounded like. Penny cast a look in his direction and he gave her a smile. “Lucas is one of my best friends, but thats it! he's my friend and he's not going to stop being my friend just because you might not like it..."

Ha! Told you I wasn’t going anywhere, Luc thought. Except the relief Luc felt eclipsed any smugness he might have had about James being put in his place. There was an odd whisper in the back of his brain that he quickly silenced, saying something about not liking being referred to as just a friend. Whatever that meant, he didn’t particularly want to explore at the moment. At least Penny wasn’t nearly as upset with him as Luc originally anticipated. After all, Luc had given her boyfriend a bloody nose. Not entirely undeserved, but it shouldn’t have escalated to that point, and Luc was ashamed he’d let the other boy get to him.

“And-" she trailed off and seemed to grasp ahold of James, she said something about lying down, but it was too quiet for Luc to hear. He opened his mouth to say something about going to the Hospital Wing after all, but she spoke again. This time her voice was loud enough for him to hear. “"I'm going to go to the H wing now.. can you guys not fight while I'm gone please?"

“Yes’m,” Luc smiled again with a nod, “No more fighting, got it. Did you want one of us..." He cast his blue-gray eyes to James for a moment before looking at Penny again, "Did you want James to go with you?" Luc felt like her could pay a visit to the school nurse himself, but he didn't want Penny to feel crowded again. She needed some quiet and more importantly some rest. A couple packs of ice and a nap, and Luc would be just fine, James on the other hand, could use a bit more attention.

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Words: 545
Tag: James and Penny
Comments: Sorry this took forever, and not a lot actually happened. :/

[James Potter]

As James inspected Penny's wrist again, he caught notice of a tiny flinch which instantly caused him to pull his hand away. If he wasn't hurting her in one way, then it was another. He sighed. Everything seemed like it was his fault today, because well... it was.

"It'll be alright." she said. James nodded, unable to voice anything. Then something changed with Penny's stance. "James, you can't go around picking fights with my friends just because they happen to be a boy... Lucas is one of my best friends, but thats it! he's my friend and he's not going to stop being my friend just because you might not like it..."

James' eyes grew wide with her tone. Never mind the gentle and soft voice, she was reprimanding him. Hell, he felt like a scolded child. His eyes wandered everywhere but her face for a moment, looking meek. James just wanted to shrink into himself and forget this all even happened. He took a chance to look back up at Penny, just in time to see her looking over at Luc. James followed her eye-line, noticing the almost smug look on his face, though he looked more relieved than anything. That aggravated James again, but he tried his best to push it away for the time being.

"And-" Penny started, but the wavered. James supported her as she leaned on him. His arm snaked around her back again to help keep her steady. Concern now spread across his previously guilty face. "-I need to lie down... I'm going to go to the H wing now.. can you guys not fight while I'm gone please?"

"Well, uh-" James began. "There won't be any fighting because I-"

"Yes’m, No more fighting, got it. Did you want one of us..." Luc said over him and cutting him off.

James shot him a look. If only he had gotten one more punch in before Penny exploded the place. He grumbled under his breath, trying to not be annoyed again, though it was barely working.

"Did you want James to go with you?"

Well that was more like it. James raised his eyebrows at Luc before turning back to Penny. "Yes, I'll take you if you'd like," he said voice full of concern. "I don't want you wandering up there alone in this state." He started to turn her away to guide her back to the castle. He had one arm on her lower back and the other hand on her shoulder. Then he gave a glance behind him at Luc. It wasn't a hateful look. It was more of a you-annoy-the-hell-out-of-me-but-I'll-tolerate-you look. Somewhere in the back of his mind, James knew this wasn't over.



WORDS: 563
TAGS: Penny and Luc
COMMENTS: ---
OUTFIT: Here

[Penny Matthews]

* * *

Penny's eyes moved between the boys as they spoke over one another. Luckily for the brunette, she was far to exhausted to even care about any snidey comments or distainful looks going on between them. As James gently steered her and began walking in the direction of the castle, Penny didn't object, either to the walking away from the pitch, discarding her broom, which was still patiently floating there at waist height, ready to go, or for James accompanying her. To be honest, the girl did need the physical support and she breifly thought that if she had headed off on her own, then she might have ended up on her arse again...

Glanceing over her shoulder back towards Luc, she sent him an apologectic smile. An apology for her own rediculous behaviour, for letting herself get to that point on an emotional level, again. All resulting in loosing control. Not good. She felt selfish and ttention seeking, even though it was out of her control, she had managed to turn something that was between James and Lucas into something that was all about her. And now she was abandonning her broom in the middle of the pitch with Luc because she assumed that he would take care of it for her. There really wasn't anyway that Penny could look at it and not paint herself as being primarily a selfish and unreliable individual.

Turning back around to face their heading, Penny gazed ahead at the castle, breifly imagining the face of the mediwitch which she took in the sight of Penny walking in, aided by James, looking like the deshevilled mess that she presumed she looked like.

They walked in silence, Penny not bothering to try or even knowing what to say to James. All that could be heard was the crisp crunching of the dewy grass beneith their feet as they approached the big doors of the castle....

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Words: 370
Tag: Luc and James!
Comments: eh sozzy its abit lame haha!

[Luc Norwood]

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Penny looked back at him, apology written over her features. For the tiniest of moments, in a very dark corner of his mind, he’d hoped Penny would say she wanted him with her instead. Leave James with the mess and picking up the pieces, instead of the other way around. She turned her attention once again to picking her way back to the castle, and the tiny dark thought shattered. Luc sighed, shrugging off the vague sadness trying to creep in and grabbed up his own quidditch things as well as Penny’s. He was heading back to the castle when the rest of the Ravenclaw team finally appeared.

“Norwood,” his fellow beater crowed. “Where you going?”

“Back to bed,” Luc said simply as he started to walk away from them. The other boy opened his mouth again, but Luc cut him off. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well what the hell happened out here,” someone else asked.

“Nothing.”

“What you mean, ‘nothing’, there’s a hole in the pitch!”

Luc didn’t reply and kept walking. How was he supposed to tell them that their team captain had a fluke panic attack because their team mate got into a fight with her boyfriend. He couldn’t even work it out for himself, much less explain it to anyone else.

“Where’s Matthews?” A few people asked back and forth. “What about practice,” one of them called behind his back.

Luc turned and faced them, “Run some drills, do some laps, I don’t care, but practice is otherwise cancelled.”

The group started to grumble and object to this, but Luc had nothing left to give them. He walked away, ignoring the ones that continued to call after him and kept on going. In this condition, there was no way he could run practice in Penny’s absence. All the energy had been sucked right out of him as he watched Penny walk away with James supporting her. All that remained was the hurt from his body and from something else he didn’t care to contemplate too much.

Watching James steer a quiet Penny back to the castle had irritated him, though Luc had of course suggested James take her up in the first place. His fists clenched and unclenched as James had thrown a final glance in his direction. The look said a lot of things, but what it confirmed to Luc that he and the Gryffindor weren’t going to be on friendly terms any time soon. If ever. This thing that had started out as something small, a trivial annoyance, was only just beginning.

end

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Words: 448
Tag: -
Comments: Woots, that was pretty awesome, guys.