It was inevitable.  Despite his defiance on the matter, time marched onward and Summer's demise hung heavy on his chest.  Or that might be the hammering of his heart.  So... the energy drink might have been a bad idea.  Really, unlike his recent string of backfired ideas (the likes of which he was still beating himself up about), having a perk up been something he'd done before.  Shopping with his cousin and sister for school supplies was generally an all day affair and preparation was key.  Maps needed to be drawn, routes planned, lists gathered, budgets decided (in the case of he and Caity); it was a bit like tackling a city take down.  Too bad he'd forgotten the side effects. 

Somewhere in the last hour, the buzzing energy in his system turned against him.  No longer did it work to harness his substantial, if unfocused attention.  Instead, blue eyes darted about landing here and there, only to move on before it could be registered as an option.  According to the itinerary, they should be heading to robes right now, but grabbing a new black robe didn't seem all that appealing at the moment.  Dress robes even less so.  Needless to say, his lists and things were all but forgotten in his back pocket in favoring of eyeballing the quidditch wares from the street window.

No, he perhaps didn't need anything pressing, Luc kept himself pretty well stocked after all.  It didn't stop his eyes from landing on something shiny in the window display, an exploded snitch.  Did he have a place for it in his Ravenclaw dorm?  Probably not, but he did beg for him to come buy it anyway.  Maybe he could use some wax, or maybe they put out the new line of brooms already.  He could always grab a magazine, or pick a jersey or two. 

"I need some things," he announced to the two girls.  They should stick together, he told himself despite the fact that more might be accomplished if they just separated.  "Come on."

Odette really hated shopping... It was something engrained into the fabric of her being. Shopping was okay for the first five, maybe six seconds. And then it was mind numbingly boring. Mind decaying, actually. So why then, was a mischievous looking grin plastered across the brunette's face?

It was stupid really. Just the knowledge of what happened whenever Lucas ingested something with more E numbers in than water. And then waiting out the effects with a bubbling inner hyperactivity that only formally represented as a bright and slightly obnoxious grin.

So the two siblings and the cousin meandered through Diagon Alley, with a plan mapped out for where to go at what time and to purchase which items, so that they all managed to obtain what they each needed for the new school term. Of course, if it were up to OJ, she would simply not bother, she opened her books a handful of times (bar for the odd topic she found particularly interesting) and by all accounts could probably sell many of her old school books for new. Hm, maybe then she could afford a new broom!

A mental note was born.

Soon, brown eyes were drawn surreptitiously across to the Quidditch supplies store, unbeknownst to the brunette, the boy beside her was eyeballing the very same destination. Though while she still retained the willpower to at least get as far as new robes, Lucas it quickly became apparent - did not.  This of course, was much to Odette's pure  and unadulterated delight.

"Me too." Odette quickly added, to no one in particular, though still feeling the need to announce her whole hearted agreement to deviating from the 'plan'. And so she happily followed her cousin over the street to the store they both adored... If you could in fact adore a store- ... Skipping alongside him and clapping her hands in childish joy.

Unlike her two companions, Caity loved to shop... or rather if everything in her life did not involve budgeting down to the last knut she would have loved shopping. That really was the problem in her world; lack of disposable income. Even though she'd taken up babysitting two summers prior and she scrimped and saved her allowance it just never put her enough ahead. She wanted to be able to afford freshly tailored robes, an extensive shoe collection, really just the ability to not look at price tags and base purchases completely on how it felt rather than the effect it would have on her account at the bank. She knew it was frivolous, she knew people had it worse - she was even aware that there were people in far worse positions. It didn't change the sort of wistful gaze she gave to the robe shop as Odette and Lucas decided to detour from their carefully laid plans.

This was nothing new, between the two sixteen-year-olds there was maybe a ten minute attention span. Caity was the one - for as long as they'd been allowed to do their own shopping that had to keep everyone to task. Being the responsible one was a pain in her ass that she really didn't feel like dealing with on that particular sunny afternoon. She had felt a sort of dread knot form in her stomach the second she'd spotted Luc with an energy drink. There would be absolutely no reigning him in - which meant that she'd end up doing her shopping and his - OJ could fend for herself. The only reason this was really a problem was the lack of robes, which was something they always bickered over anyway because Luc was a basic function over form kind of guy...and Caity liked a little embellishment. Also she felt how he looked reflected back on their twin-ness to a degree.

"Guys, come on just a quick stop to get robes and then you can run around with the oh!shinies all you want," it was a completely lost cause though. They were already half way across the street while Caity stood there, hand on her hip and huffed silently to herself. Two against one  (and it was almost always two against one when it came to the three of them) won out over practicality. Cait did appreciate the irony of it, on some level, because no one had ever really accused her of being the least bit practical. She was though, really, under all the bubble and giggles. It was how she knew that, realistically, the course had been set for the day and she might as well toss the maps, commandeer everyone's lists and go off on her own. Of course she was too stubborn to do that - and also she didn't have enough arms or the required upper body strength to carry it all.

So instead she settled on being a bossy-pants, "Fifteen minutes, that's it guys. If we don't get our robes they won't have time for alterations and I am too short to buy off the rack and you're too tall Lucas," she said all of this knowing it would be ignored. At least when their mum demanded to know why they were both late and didn't have everything they needed she had plausible deniability - that was always the most important thing with their mother. So long as she put up some mild protest she could just blame Luc and sigh heavily. It was one of the few perks to the current family dynamic.

With or without Odette's support, Lucas would have gone in anyway, but it did help having his cousin back him up on something important.  Caity didn't play quidditch, so she just didn't understand.  How in the world the bug skipped over her entirely, he was never quite sure.  Their aunt liked to joke that Lucas sucked it all up before Caity had a chance.  If it weren't for the fact that came into the world about the same time and from the same person, Lucas would likely claim her to be adopted. 

"You'll give yourself wrinkles if you keep making that face," Luc warned without even really needing to look at his sister.  Was that even still an issue, he wondered.  It was so hard to keep track of the numerous Witch Weekly covers in his head, much less what was currently relevant.  What he did know was girls like Liviana didn't express enough emotion to cause the sort of stress line Caity feared.  The one time Liviana actually cracked her porcelain veneer, it only been long enough to smack him repeatedly with her yearly.  It frustrated him, to say the least, even as it intrigued him.  Although at this moment, he'd put that particular puzzle to the side.

There shouldn't have been much room for her at the moment, not with the bits and baubles consuming his attention.  Even still, his eyes wandered to the broom display, landing heavily on the one her brother used during games.  He never did get to meet Dominic, or show him the designs Luc been working on so painstakingly.  Forcefully, Luc shook his head and looked away to something else.  Paraphernalia, professional grade gear, biographies of his heroes.   He wanted it all, even he knew very well he couldn't really afford it.  Doing off hand jobs for his uncle over the summer didn't exactly keep him rolling in much more then the occasional trinket. 

"Do I need a jersey," he wondered aloud.  Jerseys and sweats were always more comfortable then whatever Caity thought he should be wearing.  Most of the time he ignored her, but at the moment he sort of wanted to antagonize her. From the jersey, he tugged on the sleeve of a printed hooded pullover.  That, he probably did need, someone had never given him back his. It was only recently Luc could be arsed to care, and even then it hadn't yet sat well with him.  In his head, Luc liked to think he favored girls who were as casual as he was, but in reality, the poshies seemed to be catching his attention.  Even Gracie, who wasn't so much apart of the Monarchy, did keep herself fairly put together.

"What you think OJ," he asked looking to his brunette companion.  The longer he drew this out, the longer they delayed playing dress up.  Knowing Caity, she'd probably be paying back the favor by putting them both into over the top things. "Jersey or hoodie."

Odette grinned as Caity was begrudgingly dragged inside the shop with what seemed like some kind of invisible rope tethered around her waist. You could tell she would really rather not, yet her legs were still moving in that general direction anyway. "Come on Caitlin you love shopping! Ergo, shop!" Odette could command such a charming smile for what some deemed to be a total brat. Of course the current display of complete joy was the very best side of the girl. The other side emerged all too often for many people's taste.

A familiar voice called to her attention and OJ snapped her head around, absorbing Luc's pertinent question. She eye'd the two garments for a split second, "Hoodie." there was no hesitation. "You totally need to get a hoodie. That hoodie." a skinny yet strong arm snatched a hanging off the rack before holding it up for them to admire. Brown eyes shifted to Lucas, "I'm so right. Right?"

Now then, as Lucas had decided that he was making a purchase today, that clearly gave Odette official permission to make one herself. After draping the hoodie across the top of the whole rack, she happily made her way over to the quidditch supplies section, shooting a cheeky smile towards Caity on her way. "What do you think, Caitlin?" She questioned brightly over her shoulder, "New leather gloves with the golden G's on the cuffs, OR a winter weather CAPE?!" and out whipped the cape, swirling around her shoulders showering the room with a red glow whilst also managing to cause numerous quidditch ornamentals to quiver ominously with the sudden breeze.

Odette continued undeterred, as she twirled in the cape once more for good measure, "I mean it is going to get cold soon, and I didn't really treat my old one all that well last year... But then I'd have to get my name embroidered again..." The brunette bit her lip for a moment in thought. Suddenly, she snapped to gaze towards Caity once more, "Caitlin! Do you reckon you could embroider 'Ford' on the back?"

This was a tough decision for a whirlwind of thought attacks...

"Or maybe I should get shin pads..."

Cait automatically relaxed her features as Luc threw out the word wrinkles, she refused to be like her mother and have creases by the time she was twenty. She took a deep breath and let it go slowly, her lips and forehead settling into a more pleasant arrangement. Maybe it was silly, to be worried about dermal imperfections at sixteen (especially, when by all accounts her complexion was perfect) but an ounce of pervention and all that sagely wisdom. The better care she took of herself now the prettier she would stay. Of course being pretty wasn't all she worried about - but it was something that nagged at her; like those last few baby pounds that never really went away or how depending on the angle of her head she looked like she had no chin.

Still sulking as she wandered after her brother and O.J., she kept glancing at her watch and sighing. Stupid detours for things that were not remotely important. She had never developed the love of the game her brother or cousins had. It was one more way she tried to set herself apart from them probably - what with Dean going pro and their aunt being a coach. She went to matches sure, but it was more to gossip and check out cute boys than anything else. She was standing with arms folded as Luc actually uttered the phrase Do I need a jersey. She almost gagged and answered with a firm resounding "No," then followed with a curt, "you need new robes. I can't keep patching up your old ones because you refuse to act like a civiliz-" she was cut off by his question about the hoodie.

Though she didn't mean to she answered in unison with Odette, "Hoodie," though she added, "since you can't seem to hold on to one to save your life. Wiedman still have the last one"? There was a sort of glint to her eye as she smirked at him a little. Crazy as he made her, Caity was equally as skilled at getting under her brother's skin. Of course now O.J. was off doing whatever it was she was going to do and making a ruckus while doing it. Caity sighed and pulled her blonde hair over one shoulder, trying not to glower (because glowering really gave you wrinkles). She was the first to admit she was fairly handy with a needle and thread. She had to be, it was the only way to stay remotely fashionable. Still, she was not anyone's personal seamstress, and she was just about to tell Odette that but instead smiled sweetly and said, "For a tenner and the two of you getting your asses out of here in the next fifteen minutes".