Extreme Thought[Matt(if possible)]

[london kale]

London almost sighed as she settled against the cool grass of the Quidditch Pitch. The wind was strong and it calmed her as her hairs floated around. The sky was full of clouds and they distracted her for a moment. How could something so beautiful be out of her reach at the moment. A lot of things were out of her reach, including her old Quidditch obsessed self. She missed the sport but she wondered if she would ever play again. It had once been her passion, but now..? After everything that had happened to her she didn't know if she could be as competitive as she used to be. She didn't know if she would have the same flame that drove her before. She had been thinking a lot lately, and her thoughts rarely turned to quidditch. While thinking over her time alone she came to one conclusion; She had grown up. She hated it, she absolutely despised that she had matured. When she first though of it she was shocked and stubborn not to believe it. Then she found herself thinking differently. Not that different was a bad thing. It was just...Different.

It wasn't an instantaneous transition. It actually took months for her mind to even acknowledge a slight change. She had lost people, gotten them back, and then was rejected. It wasn't as if she regretted any time that she and the lost had spent together. She actually cherished it but the thought lingered in her mind that maybe what she was meant to do was think for herself. Sure, it was an elementary epiphany, but it hit her like a ton of cauldrons. She didn't want to joke around when everything else was going bad. She could find one exception for this. As she had always considered one person an exception to everything that got on her nerves. And that person was her best friend, Matt. He probably didn't know that right now she was clinging onto him as if her life depended on it. He was her best friend. She sighed as she shook her head. Why did she always have to let her mind run away in thought. She missed when she didn't have a care even when a trouble threatened her. But just because she missed it didn't mean that it was going to come back.

London ran her hands over her face, breathing deeply and hoping for some sort of release. She seemed to be turning into a young adult and she was not clear on whether such an attitude suited her or not. Was it actually who she was or was it some cheap imitation of her in her own body? She almost laughed as such a thought crossed her mind How stupid... Ah, there she was. The old London was there...But barely. The old her was there enough to bring back a little bit of the attitude she used to have. The old London was there to fool people into thinking she was the same, to give them some sort of fallen hope that had diminished from their sights. If London could still be positive, why couldn't others? She didn't really know what the purpose of that was but she believed that it would be determined in time. Maybe it was time she didn't have to spare...

A scream rang through the air as London finally let her frustrations out. So much had changed in so little time and it was driving her insane. She needed saving. She needed a break. She closed her eyes, pulling them together as tight as she could as she remembered the past few months. She had lost them. Matt...She had lost Matt for a little bit. Mac...Yes, she had lost him. He had spurned her. Lisette...Lisette was a tougher case as to the reason of being lost to her. Yet, in all of this it had never occurred to her that she had lost herself in the haze. With this she rose to her feet and pulled out her wand in anger. Numerous curses struck the ground. She was thinking to fast that she had no idea what spells she had even cast in her foolishness. The ground, which was magical of course, regenerated any lost grass or dirt that she caused it to lose. And yet she continued with the curses. She didn't deserve this. She needed someone to tell her that this was all happening for the better. She needed someone to tell her that she wasn't crazy. Whether it was truth or not ceased to matter to her. She just needed to hear it.

[matt brookes]

Matt needed to get out of the castle. Not that he didn’t love it inside the castle, but sometimes being cooped up inside got to him. Matt was an active person and he couldn’t stay still for more than two seconds. In addition to this, he also needed to think and there was really no place inside the castle to do that quietly. The common room was far too full of people to get any alone time, although that was completely normal and Matt preferred it that way. He smirked as he looked at the charmed stars on the ceiling of the common room and realized how much home this place seemed. It was almost as much like home as his own house back in Edinburgh. He felt like he was at least on the road to belonging when he was in Ravenclaw and could forget about all the people in this world who didn’t think he should be a part of the world. It wasn’t much better at home, Felicity kept coming for favors from their parents and of course she always made sure to point out Matt’s freakish ways. He had learned long ago to ignore this kind of talk, but sometimes it still annoyed him. Especially since Felicity had been getting in trouble and using the family to bail her out. He didn’t know the older girl had turned out the way she had, but it was kind of pathetic. She was always out late partying, doing things she shouldn’t, getting in trouble, and pulling the family in for her benefit. John and Catherine put up with it for who knows what reason and Matt was beginning to get rather annoyed at the whole deal.

Sighing, Matt grabbed a light jacket and headed out the door, he just needed to clear his head. Just a week before he had come back for school Felicity had reached an all time low in his book. Claiming that she needed money for some food, she had gotten her parents to write a check. However, she had changed the amount and stolen about 800 dollars from the family. When Matt heard about this he fairly blew up at Felicity, but she just told him to shut his freakish trap and butt out. He would have pursued the situation if her sketch boyfriend hadn’t pulled a gun on him and told him to back off. After all this his parents still didn’t do anything about their daughter, and Matt had gotten in a huge fight with his parents about not letting Felicity take advantage of the family that way. Needless to say, when Matt had come back from school he and his family weren’t on the best of terms. Ben agreed with Matt but was too passive to argue his parents, and Angelle was only two she had no opinion. It was all too confusing for words and Matt was still trying to figure out how it all happened to his family. This occurrence at home made him a little spaced out at school, but nobody had said anything about it. He was still friendly and cheerful, just not as much as he normally was. Matt wasn’t one to let his problems affect the mood of everyone around him, so he tried to just distract himself with schoolwork.

But now he needed a break from school. He needed a break from everyone, really, something uncommon for him. As he stepped onto the grounds the fresh air made him feel slightly better and he breathed in deeply. It smelled like it might rain soon, not within the next few hours, but soon. Matt loved that smell and the feel of a coming storm. There was something oddly right about that feel, something that matched his mood and his life. It was not like him to be so serious, but things at home were not normally that bad. “Bloody good day for a storm.” He mumbled and kicked a nearby tuft of grass. A gust of wind suddenly blew and Matt acted on impulse, jumping with the wind and breathing in. “I sound my barbaric yawp.” He quoted one of his favorite poets and laughed a little. Feeling like he needed to release energy, Matt took off running and closed his eyes as he pushed against the wind.

Once he had run off steam, Matt stopped and brushed his hair out of his face. “That’s much better.” He nodded in satisfaction. He felt more like himself. Like his mother, Matt had always said that there was something almost therapeutic about the wind coming off the moors--something renewing and invigorating. He firmly believed this now and smirked to himself. Sure things weren’t exactly ideal at home, but he was at school now. No longer could he mope around being all serious. He wasn’t that kind of person. No, he always joked things away, and that’s what he would continue to do. As he decided this he heard a loud yell come from nearby. Worried that someone might be in trouble, he took off running towards the sound. When he found the source of the sound he almost started laughing. Of course London would be the one randomly yelling outside. “Sounding your barbaric yawp too, eh? I bet you mine is better.” He joked loudly as he approached the sitting Gryffindor. As he saw her troubled look, however, his tone changed and his eyebrows knit together in concern. “You okay, Lon? You look….down.” He finished lamely. Yes, brilliant, Matt. Just the perfect way to describe her. No wonder he was in Ravenclaw.

[london kale]

Over the next few moments London managed to calm down a little but still had a thorn in her side. Before she had time to think on it she heard a familiar voice and a smile threatened to cross over her face. She turned her head to see Matt heading toward her. Barbaric Yawp? That was from a poem or something. She remembered hearing something about it once. She looked her friend over before taking a breath. "How much do you want to bet?" She asked quietly. She was usually loud around Matt but it didn't seem like the time to be loud and outgoing. She looked him over as if she hadn't seen him in months. This was Matt. Dependable and loyal Matt. She was thankful for him as he could understand her short temper and deep thoughts most of the time.

She looked down? This time London did smile. Good old Matt. "I'm frustrated, my good sir." She let go and suddenly her back made contact with the ground again. She looked over the clouds once more, hoping that it would rain while she was out there. "What brings you out here, Matty?" She questioned with a sly grin. She had forgotten how nice it was just to be around him. He had a bit of a calming effect that she didn't really couldn't understand fully. Maybe it was the stability. She had known him since first year and she was comfortable with letting him into her usually guarded life. She knew he wasn't going to leave suddenly. It might have just been his attitude. Matt could probably calm anyone down with his jokes and witticisms. It seemed a little childish but she found some logic in it.

The clouds faded into black as London closed her eyes again. Her breathing slowed as she allowed her mind to roam. This only made her brain hurt. She had been thinking too much lately and it was starting to bother her. Her eyes opened again and she sighed, almost helplessly. "I think I'm going mad...Bonkers...In the loony bin." Insanity would be a nice cover up for growing up. Unfortunately, she didn't think she could really pull insanity off. Insane people didn't know they were crazy. And she was just hoping for some sort of disorder of the mind to give her a reason to be like this. She sighed once again and turned her head to look at her Ravenclaw friend. "I think I'm growing up. It scares me." She ignored how ridiculous that statement sounded by picking at the grass, knowing it would grow a new blade every time she pulled one out.

[matt brookes]

Matt laughed when London informed him that she was frustrated. "Couldn't tell. I mean, I assumed it was normal for people to go around yelling. Maybe that's just because I'm Scottish or something." He winked at her and sat down next to his good friend. "Me? Oh, I just needed to clear my head. Being doing too much brooding for my taste." This confession was accompanied by a shrug and Matt once again brushed his hair out of his face. Brooding was the perfect word, why hadn't he thought of that before? Stupid Felicity could always make him brood. He didn't understand how someone so thoughtless could come from the same family as him. Not that he was a saint, but hell, he knew better than to treat his family like crap. "Life can be a bitch, you know." Matt said suddenly, giving a slightly bitter laugh. Whoa, there went his cheerful mood. Pull it together, man.

"So what are you frustrated about?" Matt used his best therapist voice and squinted at the brunette sitting beside him. When she started talking about being insane, Matt raised his eyebrows and scooted away from her. "Well don't pass it on." He commented and then cringed. "Sorry, that was insensitive." He apologized. How come he always put his foot in his mouth? Why could he never have a normal conversation? "Well, there are places to go for being crazy. They're not here, so I don't think I'd appreciate you going there, but that's definitely an option." He smirked. That was better, way more helpful. He knew that London didn't really think she was crazy, but at least giving helpful suggestions was kinder than his last comment. "I don't think you're crazy, if that's any consolation." Another good one. He was on a roll.

Hearing London's confession made Matt smirk a little. "Growing up? I hear it's a pandemic going around the school. No cure either." He sighed, wishing there was a cure. Growing up sucked, there was no way around it. But it was one of those things that you had to do, and in the end you came out stronger. Matt felt that he had grown up quite a bit as well, he was better at being serious more often instead of joking around all the time. "Growing up is scary. There's a lot out there to be unsure of. I mean, we only have one more year before we're supposed to fend for ourselves. It's a scary thought." He nodded. Really scary, but it was better to grow up than be an immature child all of your life. "It's one of those necessary things, though. You don't want to end up like my older sister. I think she missed the memo about growing up." He laughed sharply. Why did he bring Felicity into this? His sister was his own problem, why did he feel the need to talk about it?

[london kale]

Matt was as he always had been; Just what she had needed. His sarcasm was timeless in the effort to calm her down in a way that no one else could. Was it because he was like her brother or was it some sort of deeper meaning in truly having a best friend? She didn’t know and she didn’t always like thinking that way. She cracked a smile as he joked with her. “I could have sworn it was normal but it’s probably just because I hang out with you too much.” Brooding… It was almost the right word for London as well. She assumed that she was just throwing a hissy fit over maturing a bit and that she would be over it soon enough. At his bitter laugh she cast him a weary look. Matt had never really been in a brooding mood in front of her. She loved him as he was when he was happy but she wasn’t going to be the one to rob him of his right to be in a crappy mood. It’s not like he had to be in a good mood all the time. “I concur,” She commented before taking a deep breath “Maybe we need a vacation. Some place where we can forget everything and just be smart asses all day.” That sounded like heaven to her. Some place where she could just be whoever she damn well wanted to be.

Another staring contest with one of the quidditch goals had London thinking that she just needed to stop being such a baby and get over all of this. She looked back at her friend for a moment before choking on a laugh. “Don’t apologize, Matty. It’s a sign of weakness.” Her brothers had always said that to her for one reason or another. It was just natural to pass it on. “If insanity was contagious I’m pretty sure I got it from Sirius Black.” She smirked at her little joke. But then she put a studious looking face on. “I think Hogwarts is appropriate for the insane. They can talk to portraits, ghosts, and they could get along with Peeves great.” At Matt’s next comment London felt some sort of girly emotion build up in her. “Matt,” She started with great difficulty “You’re my best friend.” She then turned away as if she had lost some sort of strength she had. She knew that he knew but she guessed it was just nice to hear every once in awhile. “Ever since first year, you pain in the neck.”

With an annoyed sigh she felt her body fall back until she made contact with the grass. “Man, I should have gotten the immunization for growing up. They offered it a few months ago and I just made some sort of comment about how no sickness is going to get me.” She smiled, closing her eyes. She listened to him for a moment before nodding and muttering something about life sucking. It really frightened her that she would have to take care of herself. As much as she said she was independent it wasn’t all the way true. She always fell back on her friends. Her eyes opened slightly to look at him when he mentioned his sister. It bothered him. Anyone could see that. And sometimes when people had something that bugged them it was all they wanted to talk about. “What’s going on with that b-“ She cut herself short, remembering her whole mature talk “Girl…Anyway?”