Teagan was sitting quietly at the foot of a tree as she wrote a letter to her family.  Teagan had the habit of writing them every week and they responded just as often.  She was super protective of them but, considering the circumstances, over-protectiveness was understandable.  Teagan had a depressed mother and a drunkard father: more often than not, her two sisters had to fend for themselves despite their young age.  When Teagan was around, it was different: she took care of them all.  So whenever she was at Hogwarts...needless to say, she worried daily about all four of them.

Teagan had been avoiding her friends recently, seeking solitude as she brooded about her family's current circumstances.  Her step father had just lost his job and right now, their level of poverty was breaking a new record.  Teagan sighed.  If only she had already graduated, she could get a job and help them out.  Leaning back against the tree, she tried to listen to the birds' chirping and relax.  Her shoulders felt rigid and tense, her neck was sore, and she had a headache.  She had to do something, anything, to get her mind off this gloomy track.  But what? she wondered. 

Teagan began singing, something that always cheered her up.  There was no one in sight, so she let her melodious voice fill the air around her.  Teagan was oblivious to Sky approaching.

"Cut it out Bell, you're scaring the wildlife." came Sky's sarcastic remark as she rounded the tree where Teagan was sitting an unceremoniously plopped herself down in front of her.  "Where you been girlie?" she asked.  Teagan had been avoiding all contact with Sky, and as most people did that when she got too crazy for them, her brother had said that the girl was avoiding all her friends, not just Sky.

Teagan nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Sky.  "Oh!  It's you!" she said.  "You almost gave me a heart-attack," Teagan said, pink with embarassment.  She giggled at Sky's comment.  "Too bad it didn't scare you though," she replied, shoving Sky playfully. 

When Sky asked her where she'd been, Teagan averted her eyes.  "Oh..busy studying.  You know how it is," she said, twirling her long hair around her finger.  She glanced at her friend.  She probably wasn't fooling anybody.  "Just... being loner me," she said with a sheepish grin. 

Despite all her social avoidance, Teagan somehow felt glad Sky had arrived.  "What's new with you?" she asked, slightly forcing a smile on a decidedly gloomy face.  She wouldn't - no, couldn't - confide in Sky.  It's not that she didn't think Sky would listen..well, she had her doubts.. but it was mostly because certain things felt too personal, too emotional for her to share.  When Teagan was sad, she closed off from the world. "Ooh!  I heard you're going to the ball with Josh?" Teagan said, hoping to distract Sky away from the topic of her Teagan avoiding her friends.

"I do what I can." Sky said to Teagan about the heart attack comment.  "Studying Teagan, really, are you sure?" Sky could be a bit of a bother when she was sure someone wasn't being entirely truthful and she was sure that Teagan wasn't right now, but she knew when to not push things so she dropped it.

"Nothing much, you know, same old game of hiding from Shade." Sky grimaced, "He's trying to get me to study again." If there was one thing in the world Sky hated, it had to be studying.  It seemed irrelevant to her when she knew she could just get her brother to show her how to do it.  "Yeah, but only as friends.  I didn't really want to go, but he needed someone because the champions open the dancing or something." she shrugged, "I don't mind though, it's one less thing that Shade has to ask me about."

Teagan giggled at Sky's comment on heart-attacks.  "You'll have to try harder next time," she said.  She then blushed, realizing Sky knew she was lying.  "Oh..I guess I'm not fooling you," she said sheepishly.  "Um, well I'm just kind of worried.  My Dad lost his job a few days ago."  She looked up at Sky to see her reaction.  "I'm..kind of freaking out," she said softly.  "I guess that's why I've been kind of distant." 

Sighing, she added, "Actually..I'm kind of glad you showed up.  You managed to shake me right out of my gloominess."
Then, glancing at Sky, she said: "Don't tell anyone, ok?  Please?"  She didn't want to talk about it any more than necessary.  So the less people knew, the better.   At least Sky wasn't the type of person that would pity her too much and make a big deal about it, Teagan thought with relief.  In hindsight, if anyone had to know, she was glad it was Sky.
 

Teagan shook her head at the mention of Shade.  "I really like your brother, but..he needs to give you a break."  She knew that Sky didn't like to study and, in her opinion, no one should be forced to do something they don't want to do.  "Besides, I'm sure his insistence just makes you feel even less like studying, right?"  Smiling mischieviously, she said: "Hmm. Maybe I could tell him we studied together.  Would he lay off then?" 

       

 

Sky looked at her, being serious for the few seconds it would take to tell Teagan what she had to say, "No biggie, it's already forgotten, I'm sure things will get better soon." And with that she flicked a tiny pebble towards Teagan, Sky could never stay serious for long.  It was boring.

"Shade won't believe you unless you told him you used the leg-locker curse or something to keep me in a chair and told me to read a chapter before you'd let me up.  He's skeptical that way." she told Teagan as she crossed and uncrossed her legs.  "So, why are we out here, I'm bored." she announced.

Teagan gave a big smile to Sky.  That's the Sky she loved.  Not making a big deal about things.  She preferred that attitude, because it meant the subject could be dropped and they could go back to happier things. 

"Awww, you think?  I could totally jinx you, it would be my pleasure," Teagan joked, giving Sky an evil smile and flashing her wand menacingly.  "Seriously though, I wonder if Shade would buy me jinxing you.  Would he believe Teagan being mean?" she wondered. 

Teagan then sighed at Sky saying she was bored.  "Tsk, tsk.  Typical Sky," she said, chuckling.  "I can get boring, can't I?  How long have I been brooding?"  After a pause, Teagan decided it was too long.  Stuffing her things in her backpack, she got up and said: "So.  Sky, what shall we do?  I want to stop being gloomy 'ol Teagan for once," she said with a smile.  "Let's do something fun!"

Sky perked up when Teagan mentioned doing something fun, "Whatcha have in mind girlie?" she asked.  Truthfully she was up for anything that the other girl would like to do.  That's what happens when you are born bored.

"You lead, I'll follow." she said as she stood up and brushed the seat of her pants off. [1]

1.	sorry it's short

Teagan smiled mischievously, something that was actually rather rare for her.  "Let's prank someone," she said.  "You're pretty good at stuff like that, right?  Maybe we could prank your brother.  Where is he?" 

She stood up in a flash, dusting off her skirt, and smiling broadly at Sky.  Teagan grew up with a master prankster, Derry Flanagan, and although pranks were never her thing, she suddenly felt like giving it a shot.   She placed her backpack on her back, her eyes twinkling in anticipation. 

This is where Sky stopped short.  She loved her brother, hated his overprotectiveness, but rarely pranked him.  However, on this occasion she decided, "Okay, as long as it's not harmful and doesnt' last too long." she told Teagan as she began to think of things that they could do to her brother.

"Any ideas, I mean, I have some but I would like your input as well." she said to her friend, all business-like.  For unlike some other pranksters, Sky made sure everything was right before she pulled a prank.  She may not have excelled in her classes, but she knew enough to plan a prank perfectly and have nothing go wrong.

"Me?" Teagan asked, surprised.  "Input?  No, no, I've never done this before," she said, shaking her head.  She blushed slightly at having admitted she never pranked anyone.  No, boring old Teagan never did a prank in her life!  "I...I was just kind of hoping you could tell me how a prank is done," she said shyly.  "But yeah, I agree.  Nothing too harmful.  Just something all it good fun," Teagan said.  She hoped Sky would have an idea for the both of them, because pranking wasn't exactly Teagan's area of expertise.