It was time they settled this.

Mason had sent an owl to Rohan, Chloe, and Thea.

It's time for a confrontation.
Meet me in the seventh floor corridor.
Sunday, November 15th - 7.00 pm
Bring a favorite item or photo graph.
-Mason

For the past few days, Mason had been losing sleep over his romantic issues. He wanted all of them to figure this out, what was going  on between the four of them. He had been snooping around all week, looking for the perfect room for them to piece this together. The empty classrooms were much to public, and there had been myths, but he had never bothered to check it out until now.

The rumors said that when someone needed something, the room would fufill the seeker's needs. Mason had snuck away from astronomy one day and decided to check it out. He paced back and forth in front of a large wall on the seventh floor. He thought about what he needed, a place to reveal and confide, a comfortable place.

A door appeared, a small dark wooden door. he turned the bronze handle. It swung open soundlesly. He stepped in, it was a warmly lit room, with bean bag chairs and lamps, it would suffice. He stepped out and scurried back to class.

Now it was 6.59, and Mason was waiting eagerly for his friends to show up.

Rohan was laying in his bed, trying to fall asleep early for lack of a better activity to partake in.  He suddenly heard the soft coo of his owl, Peregrine.  The brown bird had a scroll wrapped in its talons.  Peregrine promptly dropped the letter, and requested a treat.  Han dug around a bit in his trunk, grasping a bag of owl snacks.  He tossed a treat in Peregrine's direction, and the owl caught it.  "Every time." Rohan's owl mever ceased to surprise him.  As his bird flew out his open window, Han opened the message.  It was the handywork of Mason, and it read:

[insert Mason's note here]



Prior to reading Mason's note, Rohan immediatly expected the worst, something along the lines of: "Rohan, I'm afraid that you need to go drown yourself in the lake to preserve my 'friendship' with Thea." Rohan felt a little bored, so he brought a thread that he had pulled from his shirt for his favorite object, but he also brought his actual favorite object, an amazing painting Rohan had made about two years prior of the sunset; a cliche thing to paint, but no matter.

 Rohan made his way to the seventh floor from his bed in the Ravenclaw tower and as he did, thoughts of the confrontation bounced around his mind.  The vast majority of them were very unhappy.  Reaching the floor Mason had designated, Rohan began to scan as he walked around floor #7.  Spotting Mason, he meandered in his direction.  "Hello, Mase, ol' buddy ol' pal.  Got any more potions for me?" Rohan made sure to make his words downright mean.  Here gors nothing, Rohan thought as he reached Hawkins.

Thea was curled in a common room armchair, hunched over her homework, when Mason's owl arrived. That, she told herself, was the only reason she bothered to look at the note it carried. She had been making a conscious effort to ignore Mason since the horrible misfire of a prank that was the Amortentia mishap, while she tried in vain to sort out her feelings towards him. She was furious with herself for reacting so emotionally at the time of the event, and she'd been trying to make up for it ever since with relative aloofness.

She sighed and unfurled the note from the owl's leg, rolling her eyes at it and muttering, "I haven't got any food, and you only had to fly in the castle. Get over yourself."

It's time for a confrontation.
Meet me in the seventh floor corridor.
Bring a favorite item or photo graph.
-Mason

"A confrontation," Thea repeated to herself, raising an eyebrow. Mase didn't do confrontation. Or at least he hadn't, until he'd slapped Rohan and kissed her. After only a moment of indecision, Thea pursed her lips, packed her things, and climbed the creaky old stairs to her dorm. A favorite item? What in the world did Mason want with such a thing? Was he going to follow his new aggressive path and burn their most precious belongings or something?

No, that was ridiculous. Thea took a deep breath and dropped onto her bed. She didn't have much of anything that was particularly important to her. She didn't have much of anything that she brought here at all, really. Though there was something...

Thea pulled open the drawer beside her bed and removed a small blue book, the type of cheap journal that could be purchased at a muggle drugstore. Within, just poking out around the edges, lay nestled a well worn clipping from a newspaper. It was a photo of a woman holding up a wand  and smiling widely. Her blue eyes sparkled and every now and then she would tilt her head or flip her smooth brown hair. Thea had had the picture for years, returning to it whenever she felt at her worst. The woman's face held comfort for her, familiarity, belonging.

Thea had no idea who the woman was. She had found the photo in a wizarding newspaper that had blown into the gutter in Diagon Alley when she went for her school supplies. She had glanced down and seen the picture and thought: This generic random stranger could be anyone. She could be my mother. And so little Thea had ripped the photo from the newspaper and tucked it into her pocket, reaching down to worry it on that day as she did now, on her way to the seventh floor corridor as per Mason's instructions. Despite her best instincts.

Chloe was sitting on her bed, an easel, some paint, and a few brushes littered the area around her. She was racking her brain for inspiration. Just something to paint. Something to do on this boring night! She wrapped her legs around the edge of her bed, dangling her torso from it. Sometimes, all she needed for inspiration was a different perspective. I'll go hang out with Heinrich! She thought, but then disregarded the thought. She didn't want to seem as a bother to him. So, she'd just see him tomorrow, at breakfast like she always did.

Chloe slid off the bed, hitting the ground with a little thump. "Oops." She said, standing up, and seeing the red paint cascading down her quilt that her grandma made her. "No!" She said loudly, trying to brush it off with her hand, only making her hand dye red. She rolled her eyes, as Chloe reached for a towel, trying to blot it away. She was able to get most of it off, but there was still an ugly red stain on the mostly green and blue blanket. She shrugged to off, before she went to wash her hands. Just then, a little owl flew into the closed window by her bed.

She rushed over to it, opening the window, and holding the small owl in her arms. "I'm sorry little fella." She said. Attached to his leg was a note from Mason. She put the little bird down on her bed, and covered him with her quilt, before reading the note. By the time she finished, the bird was up, and hopping around, so she opened the window and let him out into the cold night air.

Chloe scoffed. She knew exactly what this was about. He was going to get all defensive about her dating Heinrich, and then try to ruin her favorite thing or something. And after he burned all of his poems in the fire after the joke with Rohan, Chloe was not going to risk her first paintbrush. So, she grabbed one that looked old, and slipped on her shoes before heading out the door.

It wasn't far from the dorm to get to the corridor spoke of in the note. And when she was there, she saw two other raven claws that were not mentioned in the note. So, she was able to rule out that he was going to make it a direct attack on her, since he'd usually only do it in private. Never in front of others.

"Hello, Mase, ol' buddy ol' pal.  Got any more potions for me?"

"Ummm...no, sorry" He said half jokingly, "You bring your item?" He said looking at the canvas that Rohan held in his hand, Thea and Chloe came from the same direction. All four of them stood outside of the doorway. "Okay, go on in, you can hand your item on the bulletin board, put it on one of the pillows or whatever, it's just so you feel a little more comfortable."

They migrated into the room. His poem from the newspaper was already tacked up on the board. His happiest memory, right there. He plopped down in a bean bag chair, and wrapped the cotton blanket at his feet around him, "Take a seat" He said, gesturing at the bean bag chairs.

He really hoped this worked out, if not, all of his friends would be gone POOF, all he would be left with were Sasha, Eli, and Peyton. He shuddered just thinking of it.

 "I, umm, I'm sorry." He said, trying to break the ice, not sure how well it was going to work.

"Ummm... no, sorry." Mason's words infuriated Rohan.  He didn't think that his sarcasm or the situation it spoke of was a laughing matter.  Mase's tone was half-jokingly. 

Rohan could only guess what Mason had in store in the room of requirement.  Thea, Mason, Chloe and Rohan stepped into the room.  Bland white beanbags sat on the floor, along with plush cotton blankets; they were begging Han to sit in them.  Three tall lamps lit the room and gave it a dim yellow look.  A lonely bulletin board was hung on the wall, and Han pinned up his painting on it. 

"I, umm, I'm sorry." So that was the purpose of this meeting.  Mason wanted to apologize for his stupid actions.  A nice thing to do, but Rohan was not very pleased.  He invited them to the Room of Requirement to say sorry.  But why?  "You're sorry.  And I, am the queen of Pakistan."  Han shot out in reply.  He was still angry with Mason.

"Sorry to whom?" Thea asked absently as she stepped into the room, examining the surroundings. She stood stiffly, despite the comfortable looking seating that had been somehow provided. "Or are you just issuing a blanket apology? Think that expunges you?"

Mason instructed them to hang their important item on the bulletin board tacked to the wall next to the door. She glanced at it and saw, already posted, the poem that Mason had gotten into the newspaper when he was younger. Rohan stepped up to the board and pinned up one of his paintings. Instinctively, Thea's hand found it's way into her pocket and began worrying the photo again. She didn't want to part with it, didn't want to field questions about why a seemingly random picture of a woman mattered to her, nor did she want it out of her grasp. However, this seemed to be an honest attempt at a apology by Mason, and the idea of bringing along a comforting posession to make them feel more at ease was admittedly thoughtful. Thea wasn't quite ready to sabatoge it...yet.

She sent Mason a disdainful look to show exactly what she thought of this idea, and quickly pinned her photo to the board. Looking at it there made her feel raw and uncomfortable, so she averted her eyes.

Chloe walked into the room of requirement, looking around happily. It was nice. A nice room with bean bag chairs, and blankets, and she felt at home a little. However, with the people she was with, awkwardness hung in the air. Each person went to the board and pinned their thing to the board. Chloe looked at her paintbrush. "I guess I can't really hang mine up, so, uh," She placed it under the board. "There."

Chloe sat down in a chair, crossing her arms. "So. What are we doing?" She asked. "Or are we just going to let the awkwardness float?" She looked at each of them, before wrapping herself up in a blanket.

"Sorry to whom?"..."Or are you just issuing a blanket apology? Think that expunges you?"

"Blanket, and in no way do I want you to accept it until I explain everything to everyone."

"So. What are we doing?" ... "Or are we just going to let the awkwardness float?"

"Ummm... I thought we could all play a nice game of truth or dare, you guys wanna play?"

The game was pretty much a cover for the big issue, his explaining to Chloe about Thea and his kiss, and Rohan and all that shit. His life was really going to go down the tubes if he didn't fix it.

"Um, I'll start, Han, truth or dare?" He said, knowing that Han would injure him severely if he ignored his presence.

"Ummm... I thought we could all play a nice game of truth or dare, you guys wanna play?""Um, I'll start, Han, truth or dare?"   Of course Rohan would get chosen first.  Rohan thought that Mason probably had truth or dare all planned out to reveal everyone's true emotions or some shit like that.

Rohan knew would probably end up doing something dumb if he said this, like kissing Chloe, licking Thea or some other strange and unusual punishment, but Rohan simply stated: "Dare."

Thea was incredulous. Truth or dare? What was this, some kind of summer camp? They weren't pre-pubescent, and they certainly weren't all the best of friends, and she was in no way comfortable participating in this. She was, in fact, all prepared to get up, snatch her picture off the board, and return to her dorm to read. She even went so far as to move her arm towards the picture of the woma with her dazzling smile, but then she caught sight of the woman's eyes.

One of the things that had attracted Thea to the picture so long ago were that her own eyes were the exact same shade of icy, pale blue as those of the woman in the photograph. That, and the similar hair, was enough to allow her little-exercised imagination to create a universe in which this woman was her mother.

And now, her mother seemed to be laughing at her. Calling her a coward, for wanting to run at the first feeling of discomfort. It wasn't that, Thea told herself, just that she didn't want to be here, why should she? It was below her? But the feeling of being scruntinized, mocked, continued, and Thea steeled herself and remained seated, returning her attention to the dratted game just in time to hear Rohan choose dare.

Truth or Dare. What an idea. Usually, Truth or dare was for the bad kids growing up. Since it usually included humiliation and stupid acts. Chloe leaned back in her chair. So, this was what she was going to do with her night? This was it? She scoffed. Well. Let's get this over with. She thought.

Chloe watched as Rohan chose Dare. Not suprising, knowing his personality, but she was half frightened about what Mason would say to him. He seemed angry, so she was half afraid to hear.

Mason knew that Rohan would pick dare, it couldn't be too fruity, but not to creepy. He had a box of markers underneath his beanbag chair. "Okay Han, let Thea draw a mustache on your face" Mason reached underneath the bean bag chair can pulled out the box and handed them to Thea, "Here you go"

He didn't want it to be awkward, but he wanted them all to calm down enough so they wouldn't kill each other.

Rohan was no longer afraid of Mason's dares.  Let Thea draw a mustache on his face?  He knew that that night would be particularly boring, and Rohan could swear that his bored emotions were read on his face.

"Awesome dare, genius.  I'm so afraid to get stache'd by Thea.  Trembling."  Han needed the sarcasm to push himself through the night.  Some kind of sick pleasure was received for doing so.  "Can my mustache be yellow?"  Rohan's request was only to spice up the evening a bit. 

And Rohan thought that game of truth or dare played in this fashion would have him snoozing by 10.00 PM.   

The glared at Mason. "Why would I want to draw a mustache on his face?" She inquired, reluctantly taking the box of markers that Mason sent her way. For a moment, she just stared at them. Good, old fashioned Muggle Crayola.

The sight made a smile twitch about her lips as Thea recognized that this event was, in fact, a very Muggle thing to do. A game she likely would've played countless times in some other reality where she'd grown up with friends instead of nannies. She couldn't see herself getting out of here in the forseeable future, and after a moment she picked up on Rohan's strategy: heavy sarcasm. She snickered a bit at his response to the dare, and complied when he requested yellow facial hair.

The leaned over and traced a heavy, maniacal looking handlebar mustache onto Rohan's face, curling it at the ends for good measure "There," she said, keeping a straight face. "You look positively dashing."