The Pages Are All Torn And Frayed....

Patty Morgan sat with a friend in the library, using a book to stifle their giggles as they gossiped about god knows what. Her friend was named Milly, and they met in their first year of going to Salem Academy of Sorcery. They became friends instantly, both getting into Burkenshire. They rarely fought with each other, but sometimes a fight between one of them would ensue with a different friend.

"I can't believe it, either!" Milly whispered, her bold, blue eyes wide. Patty crossed her legs, tapping her foot on the ground. She was wearing a bright neon blue shirt with text all over the front, skinny jeans with holes, and converse. Milly had on a black button up top, a checkered skirt, pink leggings, and white vans.

"Ssh!" The librarian ordered, her finger on her lips and a stern expression pointed at the two laughing girls. They pursed their lips, trying not to grin at each other.

Patty's phone lit up beside her, indicating what time it was. I really outta change the settings on that thing for when I'm not going to class. She thought, watching as her Droid's screen went black after a few seconds.

Patty noticed a fourth year sitting at a table across the room. Blaire something or another? She thought, staring at him for a moment before turning back to Milly. She had noticed him too. Shrugging it off, Milly looked back and smirked.

"Interested?" She said, raising one eyebrow. Patty rolled her eyes and pulled her long, dark hair back into a pony tail after setting the book (all on the best way to learn German, she might add. Sometimes she actually goes to the library to learn something) back down on the table.

"No. I can't even remember his name, but I know enough about him that he's in a different house. I do remember hearing a conversation between him and another student, and he seems nice enough. Pulled back from other people, sure, but he can't be a total bummer." Patty remarked, shrugging. Milly winked at her, stood up, and walked over to his table, placing her hands on it.

"Hello." She said to him. Patty watched in amusement. Milly was always doing crazy things, though this wasn't too unusual. Then she got up herself, and slid over to Milly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, is she bothering you?" Patty said, raising her own eyebrow to Milly.

Patty noticed that either One; Blaire was shy and uncomfortable, or Two; he was nervous. Figuring it was all of them rolled into one, she pushed the thought aside and replied.

"Milly is a little... overzealous. You'll get used to her after awhile." Patty said, smiling kindly at Blaire. "I'm Patty. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand to him, showing that she was wearing a leaf ring on her ring finger. There was a black bracelet on her left arm, and a necklace that had a ladybug on it hung down from her neck.

Hm. He's pretty nice looking. She thought, studying Blaire. Milly thought so, too, it seemed. She had pulled a chair to her and sat down, her elbows on the table as she leaned forward. I'm glad to see that she's trying to get back out into the dating world... That last boyfriend was an awkward break up. Patty had a few boyfriends in the three years that she has been in Salem, but nothing too serious. They were all duds anyway.

Patty noticed how his clothing styles were slightly similar to hers and Millys. He had on all black clothes, and the same brand of shoes as Milly. I hope he's nice. She said to herself.

"Oddly enough I hate the summer. And, yes. Burkenshire, third year." Patty said, pulling back from his handshake. His hand was warm and strong, despite his pale skin that nearly matched her own. "Hi, Blaire." Milly was still gazing at him, but her face went slack when he asked the question of what her name stood for. Patty giggled, biting her lip to keep from laughing too loud.

"Milly stands for Milly. If Milly had actually been named Millicent, she would have killed her parents." She said, reaching back to tighten her pony tail and move her red colored bangs out of her face. Milly nodded, her face going back to the odd look it had before his comment.

"I would have. Or just gotten my name changed." She shrugged, smiling slightly at Blaire. She's acting oddly around him. Usually she's all over a cute guy by now, and Blaire is certainly nice looking. Maybe she is still hurt over the last one... Patty thought, glancing back at Blaire. He almost seemed to shrink under her gaze. It was a rather creepy look she was giving him...

Patty kicked her under the table, sending her a look that said Careful.

Patty glanced at Milly, saw her eyes light up, and turned back to Blaire. He looks a little scared. I would be, too. She thought, pursing her lips.

"Sure." The girls said in unison, shrugging at each other. Patty and Milly stood up, walking back over to the table they were at before. Picking up their packs, Patty put her book about the German language back into the bag before grabbing her phone and glancing back over at Blaire.

Patty's thoughts swirled around him. He was a nice enough boy, and she had seen him around the school sometimes, but he was rarely with someone. A loner? She questioned, deciding she was going to become his friend. It seemed as if he needed one, and Milly wasn't exactly the perfect person to be one for him. It almost seemed she wanted to be more than friends.

Milly leaned over to Patty, a grin forming on her face.

"Oh my god! He is gorgeous!" She squeal-whispered to her, holding her hands close to her chest. Patty rolled her eyes.

"Calm down, Milly. He probably thinks we're so weird by now." Patty remarked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Tone down the flirty-ness. We don't want to chase him off of a cliff, now do we?"

Patty watched as Blaire spoke uncomfortably. She smiled sadly mentally, a little angry that such a nice boy like him had no friends. It was unusual.

"Well, Milly and I have the same schedule, so I speak for the both of us. We have English, Trig, Potions, Physical Education and Defense Against the Dark Arts, Politics and Government, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Ancient Runes and German, and Theater." Patty spoke, nodding. "It was hard work, us getting into the same classes, but I have my dad to help with those types of things." Patty laughed, glancing over at Milly.

"You got that right. He was able to convince the school that putting us in the same classes would help improve our grades, as we would know whats going on. Studying and all that. He has them wrapped around his little finger." Milly pushed Patty jokingly, but almost shoved her into Blaire. Patty righted herself, and pushed Milly a little back, grinning.

"Yep. I mean, we don't usually pay attention in class anyway, but our grades are pretty good. The school actually thinks that us being all day works with learning. Its awesome."

Patty was a little disappointed that Blaire didn't say anything, but shook it off quickly. At the moment it seemed as if he really disliked them, the look in his eyes and the air around him seemed tense and maybe a little angry. She couldn't understand why, but hoped maybe he was just having a bad day. Patty didn't feel as if she was being too annoying, but wasn't making any promises about Milly.

Was it her? Is she the cause if his discomfort? Its plausible, but she didn't know if Milly truly was the cause. She hoped not.

Patty, Milly, and Blaire walked to the cafeteria, and Patty pushed the door open for the two. Waltzing over to the table, she sat down, ignoring the looks of disgust she was getting from a few students who really disliked her. Milly sat beside her, eyes following Blaire. Patty waved to another friend who was two tables away before turning back. She glanced around the food that was placed on the tables, looking for something that she might like.

Carrots? No. Celery? No. Patty thought, humming to herself. AH! Kiwi!

Patty grinned back up at Blaire, noticing that he had a cup of steaming black coffee in his hand.

"Yes, kiwi. Most likely my favorite fruit. Its delicious and amazing." She said, biting down on the soft piece of fruit. "Black coffee, huh?" Patty joked back, pointing the piece of kiwi at him. "Attractive." She was glad that Milly was off getting something else, Blaire seemed much more at ease without Milly's bright blue eyes fixed on his every move.

Patty looked around the table, looking for any other food that she might like to have. Now that she actually thought about it, she was pretty hungry. Finishing off the kiwi, she found a bunch of grapes sitting by the apples. Reaching for some, she plucked the purple fruit off its vine and plopped it in her mouth before turning back to Blaire, one hand rested on the table, the other on her hip.

"Whats your favorite fruit?" She asked, her head tilting to the side slightly. Yes, he seemed much more comfortable, and she could see Milly's foot tapping impatiently as she stood in line. Might as well get as much conversation out of him before she came back...

((You know what I just noticed? There has been like no mention of magic yet! HUH!))

"Yes, fruit. Its very good for you, you know. You should try it sometime." She said, chomping on a few more of the seedless grapes as she watched him grow increasingly freaked out, it seemed.

Patty pursed her lips in order to keep from giggling, the look on his face and the tone of his voice were priceless. I wonder why he asked that... She wondered, a tiny smile playing on the corner of her lips. He truly was freaking out over some unknown

"No, no. Milly doesn't really excel in anything but talking. Potions is probably her worst subject, and she wouldn't go near a cauldron if she could help it." She answered, nodding. He looked quite frazzled. Patty would have to talk to Milly about how she looked at him; she didn't want him to have a stress-related breakdown.

Yes... That would be rather fortunate.

Patty watched him, but not in the weird way Milly did. Her eyes were studying Blaire, trying to figure him out. It would be a challenge, as he did seem to have random bouts of emotion that remained unexplained.

Patty looked at him for a moment longer before turning back to the table, picking more grapes off the vine.

"So. Do you excel in anything?" She asked, only slightly interested. Patty looked back at him, one eyebrow raised in question as she waited for a reply. He still looked a little scared.

She heard rapid foot steps behind her, and something slammed into her shoulder, causing her to pitch forward and fall into Blaire. The person muttered a sorry, continuing racing through the room and bursting out the doors. Patty blushed a little, trying to get back up and right herself before too many people saw and got the wrong idea.

Milly was still at the stand, but she had noticed the fall. Her mouth hung open, and it almost seemed like she couldn't tell whether she wanted to laugh that Patty fell or be angry that Patty got so close to him.

"Oh, god." Patty said, feeling him help her straighten up, his hands placed lightly on her shoulders. "I am so sorry! Are you okay?" She said franticly, blinking up at him.

It seems as if Milly decided to me mad, and she grabbed her food, starting to make her way over to the table they were at. It was going to be at least thirty seconds before it felt like something bad and possibly explosive was going to happen.

I hope she knows that I didn't mean to fall into him. Patty thought to herself, just a little worried. She was more worried that she had hurt Blaire in one way or another, it was a pretty hard fall.

He looked a little scared (AGAIN) when he had caught site of Milly's furious face. Patty hoped that Milly wasn't going to overreact, but the chances of that were slim.

Milly was a little bit on the melodramatic side.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." He coughed. Awkweird much. He pulled away from Patty so their bodies were no longer touching. His mind wandered; of course he would be okay! Patty was 50 pounds less than him, not to mention a good 6" shorter. "What about you, you okay?"

He turned his attention to Milly. Crap. That girl looked pissed, and like a walking time bomb, KABAM! any second now. He turned to Patty, his eyes questioning. He noticed that her own eyes were locked onto Milly.

"Should we...run?" He asked, not even joking. This girl scared the bejesus out of him. He placed his hand on his wand, prepared for an epic battle.

"Uh, yeah yeah. I'm good. I so did not mean to do that, I swear." She panicked, patting dust off his shoulders. Patty glanced over, seeing Milly.

Oh... "Yeah, erm, running. Or hiding. Or possibly disappearing into thin air." Patty grimaced, biting her lip. "But, uh. All three of those things might be...might make the situation a but worse. I say we put a lid on them and face the devil first thing?" It came out as a question, and it did seem as if the devil was about to make an appearance and eat anything in her path.

...Yay.

Blaire pursed his lips. “So we have to face the beast?” An absence of fear of took him, and though his hand tightened on his wand, his eyes had a wry grin in them. “Let’s do this.” He sent Patty a knowing look, right as Milly came to a stop before them.

Before she could even say a word, Blaire reached out and put his arm on Milly’s shoulder. He sent her a small, flirtatious smile, and attempted to lead her away towards the tables. “Have you gotten your food?” He said in a soothing voice. “Cause I think it’s time to eat.” He smiled as he said this, and winked.

Milly stared at him, her mouth agape.

Patty watched as Blaire quickly slid into "smooth guy" mode. The look on Millys face was one of pure joy as Blaire put his arm around her. Patty felt an odd pang. Jealousy, perhaps? Blaire was rather good looking, and slightly goofy, but kind of cold hearted and shut off. Blaire winked and seemed to flirt with her, and as he walked her to a table, Patty trailed along behind, confused and maybe a little hurt. In the back of her mind she knew that this was the best to deal with the situation, but Blaire suddenly went from cringing away from all human contact to acting like Milly was his long lost love...

Okay, so maybe she was over thinking this. Patty muttered something under her breath, and Milly cast a smug glance over her shoulder, earning her a signature "enough before I eat you" glare. No need to rub it in.

Milly was often the one to attract guys attention, although she constantly claimed to not look as good as Patty. And it would be just awkward if they asked some random stranger (which would be hard to go, the two girls know just about everyone at Salem).

Patty stared at the back of Blaires head, looking at his dark hair. It was a tad messy in the back, most likely from Patty crashing into him.