Moonlight Smoke *OPEN*

[marlene]

The night was a beautiful one. Crisp and cold, just the way that Marly liked it. She turned her head slightly upwards so that it caught the faint glow of the moonlight. Tonight, the sky was all lit up with the lights of a thousand stars, each one clearly visible against the blackness of the surrounding space between them. The moon was like milky lace, a perfect center piece for the entire scene. It was like a night made for her. She breathed in a deep breath to calm herself.

Marlene stood right outside of the Quidditch Pitch entrance, her hands stuffed in her pockets, ”Don’t do it, Doe. You don’t need it. You don’t need it.”

[/b] She tried to coax herself out of the feeling as she scanned the entirety of the pitch. It was late, a little too late, and she knew that she wasn’t supposed to be out. There would be hell to pay if any of the Prefects found her out at night. Then again, what was another detention on her record. She already had about a hundred to her name. She was trying to see if she could break two hundred in the next year. She figured that she had a pretty good chance if she managed to do everything awful that she could think of. Sneaking out was their favorite thing to bust her for...

She snapped out of her thoughts and realized that her body was shaking. Rather violently. All she really wanted was a cigarette. A bloody muggle cigarette. She had a few in her bag and she just wanted to get one out...She had been craving it all day. But she had also been refusing herself all day. It was a nasty habit and she knew it, but she couldn’t seem to kick it no matter how hard she tried. This was the closest that she had come to being able to deny herself and it had only been - she looked down at her watch, curious to see just how long it actually had been - six hours. She cursed under her breath. It felt like it had been an eternity already but in reality, it had only been 1/4 of a day. That wasn’t enough to be motivational.

Without allowing herself another thought about the cigarette, she flipped her broom up onto the top of her foot. Then she gave it a swift kick and it flipped up into the air. She caught it neatly with her right hand, her left stayed in her pocket. She turned the broom slightly in her hand, examining it. It had a small dent in the left from a recent Quidditch game. She was going to have to get that fixed and-

She couldn’t think straight. She threw the broom to the ground and let off a small yell of anger and grabbed her bag. She fished around until she found the comforting feeling of a cylinder of muggle tobacco. She grabbed the lighter that was in the front pocket and lit it up, inhaling the smoke deeply as it filled her lungs.

”Bloody Merlin.”[/b] She cursed as she took another breath in. It was comforting. Comforting and yet extremely unsatisfying at the same time. She sunk to the ground and leaned backwards, resting her weight on her elbows as she watched the nighttime sky.[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[lanceblackwood]

AND MY HEART TOLD MY HEAD
LET LOVE GROW, BUT MY HEAD TOLD MY HEART THIS TIME NO

It wasn't entirely uncommon for Lance to be found out on the Quidditch Pitch late at night. The sun had begun to set and even though the cold winter wind was starting to pick up, Lance nestled into the grandstand of the Quidditch Pitch, his copy of 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts' in hand.

It was rare that other people would venture out to the Quidditch Pitch at this time of night. Occasionally there were the lovers, who ran to the other side of the pitch and, well - you know. That proved to be entertaining on occasion. But tonight's entertainment was going to be a lot better.

Enter Marlene McKinnon. The Gryffindor half-blood that not only made Lance want to pummel her to the ground and hex her into oblivion, but perhaps explore that gorgeous body of hers before he did so. He laughed quietly to himself and set his book down by his bag. He jumped up from the bench he was sitting at and walked quietly behind her for a moment, inhaling the smell of cigarette smoke as Marlene sank to the ground and leant back on her elbows.

"You know that that's a filthy habit, right?" he raised his eyebrows as he stepped into view, standing tall above her as she took another drag from the lit cigarette.

[/justify][/size][/font]

[marlene]

The surprise of someone else on the pitch was enough to make Marlene fall backwards and stare up at the figure that had appeared behind her. She could feel her head thumping in her chest with dangerous excitement. Of course there was someone else here, there always was. She strained her eyes for a moment, trying to figure out who it was that had just snuck up on her.

‘You know that’s a filthy habit, right?

The voice sounded strangely familiar...and yet -

He stepped into the light. It was Lance Blackwood. That stupid bloody Slytherin that she had spent years trying to figure out. He was always up to something, ”No more filthy than you are, Blackwood.”

[/b] She muttered and managed to get back up on her elbows again. She took another long drag from the ciggy that was in her mouth and then blew it in his direction. This would either annoy him extremely or make him sit down and join her, she honestly wasn’t able to tell. And she wasn’t able to distinguish which one she wanted him to do either. There was something strangely attractive about him. Maybe it was the fact that he was so...vile. Marlene had always had a thing for abhorrent gentlemen.

”You know it’s extremely rude to sneak up on people when they’re alone?”[/b] She countered and turned her face away from him so that she was looking straight on. There were days when she thought that she was going to go insane if she couldn’t have him. But there were also days when she knew that she hated him more than anything else in the world. It was a regular Catch 22, in her opinion. He was every bit as vile as she could be on a good day, but they had never gotten along. Never. Ever since the day that she had run into him in the hallway her 3rd year and made him lose all his books across the floor, ”They might decide to hex you into oblivion. Or turn you in to the bloody Prefects for being out past curfew.”[/b] She muttered under her breath. Her eyes were locked on the moon again, admiring the grooves that she could see on it’s surface. She wondered if the moon was somehow closer here at Hogwarts than anywhere else.

Without her eyes ever leaving the safety of the moon up above, she addressed him, ”If you want, there’s some in the bottom of my bag,”[/b] She held up her cigarette to point to the leather satchel that sat a few feet away from her. She wasn’t sure why she was offering him her cigarettes. They were a little hard to come by these days, especially since there weren’t really many muggle stores around Hogwarts that sold them. She had to have them sent to her by her older brother. Thank Merlin for Bradley, she thought with a dim smile.[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[lanceblackwood]

AND MY HEART TOLD MY HEAD
LET LOVE GROW, BUT MY HEAD TOLD MY HEART THIS TIME NO

Lance chuckled. For as long as he'd known her, Marlene McKinnon had always been quick with her comebacks. "Nice to see you too, McKinnon," he said, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. The air around them billowed with soft grey smoke, stemming from the cigarette that she had in her hand.

He raised his eyebrows. "It can hardly be called sneaking - I'm sorry that you weren't observant enough to hear my footsteps," he retorted, suddenly fully aware of just how alone the two of them were. Still standing above her, his fringe fell into his eyes. "I highly doubt the Prefects will come out here," he said quietly. He knew that Narcissa and Granton were patrolling the corridors tonight, so at least he'd be able to get back into the castle safely.

McKinnon lifted her head to talk to him and offered him a cigarette. For whatever reason it was, Lance took the offer. He sat down next to her and pulled the leather satchel closer to him and took out a cigarette and her lighter. "Thanks," he said as he held the cigarette in his mouth and lit it with his other hand.

He took a long drag and watched as the smoke billowed out into the air surrounding him. It wasn't his first time having a smoke. He, Evan and Augustus had tried them out the last time they'd gone away for the holidays.

"So what are you doing out here so late? Felt like being rebellious for once?" he jabbed, pulling the cigarette to his lips once more.

[/justify][/font][/size]

[marlene]

Marlene rolled her eyes; she was pretty sure that he had made an pretty large effort to not be heard or seen when he snuck up on her. That counted as sneaking in her book. It definitely counted. But of course, Lance would adamantly deny the fact that he had tried to freak her out, no matter how many times she brought it up. So she figured that it would probably be best to let it just go, ”Whatever,”

[/b] She muttered under her breath, too engrossed in her cigarette to come up with any sort of valiant attempt at a comeback. She shook her head when he denied that Prefects would come out here, ”You forget that the Gryffindor Prefects know where I like to hang out in the wee-hours of the night. They like to bust me.”[/b] Marly had received a hell of a lot of detentions over the past year, most of them had come from her sneaking out and getting caught.

She raised an eyebrow when he sat down next to her. That was an unexpected twist. She had never had an actual conversation with him where they weren’t at each other’s throats. Most of their time spent together was with wands drawn, spouting spells or exchanging profanities about each other’s families. It was a bloody mess when they were around each other. Perhaps it was the fact that they were alone that was provoking a sort of cordiality between them. That, or Lance had done a lot of LSD before he came out to play, ”Don’t mention it.”[/b] She muttered to his apology - she was rather uncomfortable with the idea of him actually offering her words of thanks. What was the world coming to?

She turned her head slightly so that she could watch him. He seemed to know what he was doing, something that surprised her, ”You realize that you’re smoking a muggle cigarette don’t you?”[/b] She snickered and then turned back to face the moon. He wouldn’t like that, not one bit. Lance Blackwood didn’t do muggle things, she knew that for sure.

Marly let her elbows give out and she fell backwards, now staring straight up at the sky with interest. She was pretty sure that she had just seen a shooting star. That, or the cloud of smoke that was appearing around them was making her see things. She supposed that it could have been that too. She smiled to herself and stuck the cigarette in her mouth, taking in a deep breath, ”I resent the fact that you’ve ignored the rebellion that I’ve been staging since year 2,”[/b] She said as she let her eyelids flutter close. She knew that it was probably a bad decision - with her eyes clothes, Lance would be able to surprise her and Doe didn’t do surprise.

”I was-”[/b] She managed to shrug her shoulders, still keeping her eyes closed, ”Trying to kick this filthy habit, actually.”[/b] She admitted and took another drag and then lifted the cigarette out of her mouth so that she could be better understood, ”See how well that worked out.”[/b] She opened one of her eyes so that she could judge his facial expressions, ”What were you doing, Slytherfreak?”[/b][/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[lanceblackwood]

AND MY HEART TOLD MY HEAD
LET LOVE GROW, BUT MY HEAD TOLD MY HEART THIS TIME NO

As Marlene rolled her eyes at Lance, he couldn't help but smile. She disapproved of everything that he did; if anything, she was his biggest critic. Of course he'd snuck up behind her, but she didn't have to know that.

He rolled his eyes in return. "You're so predictable," he said in response, holding the lit cigarette in his fingers. "If the Gryffindor Prefects know where you're going to be, why don't you move?" He raised his eyebrows and turned his head to look over at her as she lay down on the grass, her eyes shut. "Or maybe you just want to get caught," he said out loud, taking another drag from the cigarette.

For somebody who could be so annoying, she certainly looked amazing. She had curves in all the right places and Lance's mind couldn't help but wander as she stretched out next to him with her eyes shut. No, he thought. He had to stop this.

He laughed. "Of course I know," he said in his usual stubborn manner. If there was anything to be said about Lance Blackwood, it was that he always had to be right. Of course it was muggle; it wasn't like the wizarding world had anything on par with cigarettes.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lance mocked, holding his hand out in front of him like a stop sign. "Perhaps you just haven't been noticeable," he said, although he begged to differ. Marlene McKinnon had always stood out from the crowd - at least to him, anyway. "A rebellious Gryffindor; someone alert the Daily Prophet," he chuckled at his own joke.

Lance frowned. Trying to kick the habit? Well, she was sure doing well. "And I thought we were past the nicknames," he said, his voice flat and bored. He shifted his weight so he was technically closer to Marlene, although he was leaning away. "I was reading, if you must know," he said, unwilling to say any more. After all, it was none of her business.

[/justify][/font][/size]

[marlene]

Marlene laughed when he called her out on wanting to get caught. It was true, she loved getting caught doing things she wasn’t supposed to do. Prefects were always talking about that Marlene McKinnon and her blatant disregard for all the rules in the castle. She was a mess. And that was just the way that she liked it. If she wasn’t breaking the rules than she wasn’t having any fun. And if she wasn’t having any fun, well hell, all the rest of the world would know it, ”I love getting caught, Blackwood.”

[/b] She breathed into the night air, her breath letting out a small puff of smoke with it. The predictability quip struck home though, Marlene had never thought of herself as predictable. Sure, she snuck out all the time, but she never once did it the same way. She would show him later just how unpredictable she could really be. Her lips curled slightly upwards into a malicious smile as she thought about it.

”If you know it’s muggle, then why are you still doing it?”[/b] She countered and put her cigarette to the side of her body so that she could tap off a few of the excess ashes along the side of her body. She hated when the cigarette got too ashy. It was a personal preference thing. Not that she was afraid of the danger that it presented. She placed the cig in the corner of her mouth where it hung lazily, ”In case you can’t quite remember, you don’t do muggle things,”[/b] Marlene reminded him as she grinned to herself. He was going to hate that she was calling him out. Lance Blackwood didn’t like to be wrong and he didn’t like to be toyed with. Those were the kind of things you learned about people when you spent a lot of your time trying to learn how to best push their buttons.

”You don’t think I’m noticeable?”[/b] She pulled herself up so that she was again on her elbows and stared at him intently. She couldn’t help but smirk at him, knowing full well what she was about to throw at him, ”I’m sure your teammates would beg to differ.”[/b] She raised one eyebrow and cocked her head to the side, ”What was it that happened at the Gryffindor/Slytherin scrimmage again? Oh that’s right. Someone was so distracted by the incredibly attractive Gryffindor Seeker that they forgot their job was to hit the bludgers. Not get hit in the face.”[/b] She turned her face toward the moon and admired the pretty fog that was beginning to encircle it, ”Perhaps someone better alert the Prophet about that.”[/b] She was beginning to get snarky and she knew it, but she also knew that she was feeding off of his attitude. It seemed like that always happened.

She watched with curiosity as he moved slightly closer to her, but tried to lean away so that it wouldn’t appear that way, ”You mean to tell me that you can read?”[/b] She asked, feigning disbelief before laughing loudly. She sat up so and turned to face him, her eyes all lit up by the night sky. Her fingertips inched slowly toward his, appearing as if she was going to try and hold his hand; she turned her head slightly downward so that she could see what she was doing. Right before she reached his hand, she paused, unsure what she had really wanted to do there. In a quick moment, she had grabbed the book that was under his hand and had placed it in front of her eyes so that she could see the title, abandoning the thought of ever touching him again.

”The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts,”[/b] She rolled her eyes. It sounded like a big waste of time to her, ”Sounds...horrid, actually.”[/b][/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[lanceblackwood]

AND MY HEART TOLD MY HEAD
LET LOVE GROW, BUT MY HEAD TOLD MY HEART THIS TIME NO

There was a tinkle to Marlene's laugh that churned Lance's stomach. It was infectious - one of those laughs that made you laugh, even if you didn't know what you were laughing at. He shouldn't like it that much. But, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, there's your problem, McKinnon," he said as he flicked ash from the end of his cigarette, nearly finishing it. "You're predictable because you like to be seen being rebellious. You love the spotlight too much." His voice was steady, trying to gauge what kind of reaction his words would have from her.

Lance put his finished stub out on the back of his hand and shoved it deep into his pocket. He would dispose of it later, in a place where it couldn't be traced back to him. He didn't want the other knowing he'd smoked muggle cigarettes - even if Rosier had a thing for it himself. "Why do you want to know?" he retorted back just as quickly as Marlene had asked the question. He frowned and turned his head to look back at her. Was she trying to work him out?

Lance had to laugh at Marlene's statement. "You're so full of yourself, McKinnon," he said back, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "It's all about you. You won that match for Gryffindor simply with your good looks." He scoffed loudly. "Maybe I will alert the Prophet - and let them know about what a stuck up seeker the Gryffindor team has. I'm sure it'll make front page - just where you want to be, right?" He raised his eyebrows as his eyes met hers. Sometimes he just couldn't stand her. Ungh - why did she have to look so good...

"Ha ha, very funny," he said as he snatched the book back from her hands. "Of course I can read. Actually, it's not horrid. It talks about the Great Wizarding War of 1776," he said, flipping open to the page he had last bookmarked. "but I don't suppose that would interest you." He snapped it shut and tucked his fringe out of his eyes, setting his book back down on the other side - away from Marlene's prying hands.

"So how long do you plan on staying out here for? Until you get caught?"

[/justify][/size][/font][/blockquote]

[marlene]

Marlene didn’t like the way that he joined in with her laughter. It made her want to hit him, pummel him to the ground, do anything to make him stop. But she couldn’t find it in her to attack him right now, hardly provoked. She would have to wait until he did something truly awful, ”Then how do I-”

[/b] She paused and looked up at him, her eyebrows drawn together into a tight furrow, ”Lose the predictability and keep the rebellion?”[/b] Was she actually asking for advice from Lance Blackwood? She certainly never thought that this day would come...not in a million years. But here she was, asking him what he thought she should do to be seen the way that she wanted to. To be seen as the rebellious girl that she wanted to be without overly broadcasting it. If she was more clearheaded, she knew that she could have come up with a good plan herself, but right now if felt as if she couldn’t think straight. Nothing was coming out right when she tried to think about it.

Marlene watched him with increasing curiosity as he shoved the tiny end of the cigarette into his pocket. She secretly hoped that it would catch fire and torch his entire ensemble. He definitely didn’t want people to know what he was doing, and yet, here he was, doing it right in front of her. It was as if he knew that she wouldn’t say anything to anyone. Which probably wasn’t far from the truth. Doe didn’t go around broadcasting the fact that she was seeing the male Blackwood twin outside of Hogwarts...even if it was a spur of the moment, accidental meeting, ”Why don’t you want to tell me?”[/b] It was a constant back and forth between them, barely enough time for Marlene to catch a breath, but just enough time for her to get out a snarky come-back.

She tuned him out as he yammered about her wanting attention. She wasn’t in the mood to hear him talk about her like that. She rarely was. The only time she listened to his monologues was when she was waiting to retaliate, ”So you admit it - it was my good looks that won you over.”[/b] She, too, rolled her eyes at him and then placed her hand on his chest for just a moment. She could feel the thump thump of his heart as she did so. Doe’s eyes scanned his face, trying to decipher those dark eyes of his, before they landed on his lips. The lips that she so wanted to experience for herself. Excitement seemed to fill her veins in that moment and he breathing sped up, but then she realized what she was doing: She was fantasizing about Lance Blackwood. Her fingers trailing his shirt collar before she let her hand fall back down to her side. Marly turned her head to the side so she was facing the hoops and didn’t dare look back, she didn’t want to risk him seeing her moment of vulnerability.

”1776.”[/b] She repeated and then pressed her lips together, trying to think. These were the days she wished she attempted to pay attention during History of Magic. However, it was hard for her, considering that History of Magic involved no spells and no wand, which left her virtually uninterested in everything and anything the Professor had to say, ”I’m not much of a history buff myself. But I’m sure it’s riveting reading about the mass homicide of innocent witches and wizards.”[/b] She growled low. She tried to keep her voice monotone, trying not to let on just how much wars bothered her.

”As long as the moon’s out to keep my company.”[/b] She said with a grin. She still hadn’t bothered to look over at him; she figured it was better to keep her distance after her stupid little slip up, ”Bit of a night-owl.”[/b][/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[lanceblackwood]

AND MY HEART TOLD MY HEAD
LET LOVE GROW, BUT MY HEAD TOLD MY HEART THIS TIME NO

Was Marlene McKinnon really asking for Lance's advice? His eyes widened, and almost too bewildered to answer, he stuttered. "I, um -" he scratched the back of his head and sat up a bit more, crossing his legs. Right. An answer. "Well, for one, you could shake things up a bit. Do something you haven't done before. You can hardly be rebellious when you're doing the same thing the same way over and over again," he started. Where was all this coming from? "Sneak out to Hogsmeade or the Forest or something." Although, if she opted for the Forest, who knew who she would come across. It was a popular spot for the other Slytherin boys to try out new jinxes... He shrugged and turned to look at her. He still couldn't believe that she was asking his advice. Had the world just caved in?

A smile spread across his lips, and Lance gave a breathy laugh. "Save it, McKinnon,"

[/color] he said, his eyes meeting hers. "I don't trust you, for one,"[/color] he said after a short pause. "And besides, it's more fun this way,"[/color] he laughed again and sank back down towards the ground, propping himself up on his elbows. The more evasive he could be, the better. What ever kind of information that Marlene had about him could - and most likely would - be used against him at some point or another. The less she knew, the better it was for Lance. Plus, there wasn't a real reason for why he had taken the cigarette. Most likely because she had offered it to him.

All of a sudden, Lance came to the realisation just how close the two of them were. Their elbows were basically touching, and as Marlene leant towards him, Lance almsot stopped breathing. Her hand was on his chest and her eyes were focused on his lips. Without thinking, Lance leant in so that their faces were just inches apart, but as Marlene's hand trailed up towards his collar, she looked away.

Whoa. That was a close one.

Lance hated the way that Marlene did this to him. He hated the way her curves invited him, or the way that her lips formed a perfect heart and made him want to press himself up against her and ...

No. He couldn't go there. She changed the subject and Lance was grateful for the distraction from his own intrusive thoughts. "I wouldn't call them innocent,"[/color] Lance said, knowing full-well that he and Marlene didn't see eye-to-eye on this subject. "Mudbloods aren't exactly the innocent ones. They got what was coming,"[/color] he flashed a small smile in Marlene's direction, even though she wasn't look at him.

His lips turned into a frown. A night-owl? Huh. "I see,"[/color] he said, biting his own lip. Why did she have to look so good...[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/size][/font]

[marlene]

Marlene wasn’t very patient when it came to waiting for Lance to answer her. She yawned, stretched her hands over her head, and then settled into the silence - grateful for a moment in which she could think for herself. But just as she had settled, he broke the night air with a stuttered statement. She laughed, ”I suppose doing the same thing over and over again does get a little tiresome.”

[/b] She shrugged her shoulders, trying to leave the conversation all behind. She still couldn’t believe that she had asked for his advice. What did she care what he thought anyways...? Hogsmeade was a valid idea, which she expressed through nodding her head at the suggestion. The forest on the other hand, not so valid. She had spent one too many nights there. Had one too many encounters with the low-lives that liked to spend their evenings amongst the trees, ”And risk running into Rosier or Carrow? I think I’ll pass on the forest, thank you very much. Those pricks wouldn’t know class if it hit them in the arse.“[/b] Slytherin scum, She thought to herself.

In that moment, she was tempted to wipe that bloody smile off of his lips with a slap or perhaps a carefully calculated right hook, but his statement made her laugh, ”Not trusting me is something I can respect.”[/b] She hadn’t exactly been the most trust worthy person in the entire school. She was a loose cannon and even some of her friends knew that she couldn’t be trusted with secrets. As for their little game being more fun this way, she was pretty sure he was bluffing. From the looks that he was giving her, she thought there might be something a little more fun that the pair of them could do together. Something involving him, her and a little something that she had learned at -

No.

She was busy thinking away as she had her head turned away from him. She couldn’t be completely certain, but she was beginning to think that he had learned in to try and kiss her. Then again, it could have been her imagination playing tricks on her in this light. There was no way of knowing what had almost happened. No way at all.

”Of course they’re innocent,”[/b] Marlene turned sharply, eyeing him as she did. She caught the smile at the end of his sentence and felt her blood run cold. Her pulse How could he think that? ”The muggle-borns-”[/b] She was sure to emphasize the politically correct term for those of magical decent who had been born to Muggle parents, ”Didn’t ask to be born into this world the way that they were. They were blessed with a gift. A rare gift that deserved to be trained and cultivated like any of the other Witches or Wizards in this world, Blackwood.”[/b] She clenched her fist and scanned his face, looking for some sign that he was even still listening to her. Knowing him, at the first mention of blood-relations, the pair of them would be at each other’s throats.

She leaned back again, her head resting in a pile of her blonde hair. She turned to face him, a small twinkle in her eye, “Lancelot-”[/b] She used her own personal nickname for him with such ease and hilarity that she couldn’t help but laugh herself, “I hate you.”[/b] The statement itself was true. She did hate him. But it always felt like there was something else there. Something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Something she wasn’t sure she wanted to discover.[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[lanceblackwood]

AND MY HEART TOLD MY HEAD
LET LOVE GROW, BUT MY HEAD TOLD MY HEART THIS TIME NO

So, she knew about the Forest. Lance made a mental note to let Evan know. They would have to find another spot to try out their jinxes. He couldn't help but smile at her last jab. Amycus, for sure. He was dumber than a brick at times - but, he did make an excellent wing-man. As for Evan.. well, Lance didn't feel like correcting her on the subject.

Why was she laughing? Lance didn't understand. Was it part of her rebellious nature not to have people trust her? Given, Lance trusted people few and far between, but wasn't it in a Gryffindor's nature to be good and trusting? Or was that Hufflepuff. Lance didn't care - if they didn't have a drop of magical blood in their veins, then they weren't worth his time. He stared her down, trying to figure out why exactly she found the matter so funny, but nothing came to him. "So you're not to be trusted by anyone." It wasn't a question, but more of a statement. Hmm, well, this could prove to be interesting. "And it's of no consequence that I don't trust you." He frowned.

Lance had to laugh at Marlene's comeback. "Sure," he said, his voice thick with sarcasm, "Whatever you want to believe, McKinnon." His eyes flashed at the sound of her deadpan voice. He had really started to rile her up - the only problem was, he was starting to get off on the idea of pissing her off. "If that's the sludge they're force-feeding you at school," he said, sitting up straight and leaning in closer to her. "Then of course that's what you're going to believe. Don't you like coming from a long line of witches and wizards? We're special for it," he sped up his words, feeling like they were gushing out of his mouth. He could argue about this all day. A small part of him wanted to - there was something about the flash of venom in Marlene's eyes that turned Lance on like nothing else. She was powerful when she was dangerous.

"No you don't," he whispered back, his body still tense from the argument they'd just been having. Marlene lay there on the grass and Lance sat close, their bodies millimetres apart. What Lance wouldn't give to just have her then and there... Ungh.

[/justify][/size][/font]

[marlene]

”I don’t need you to trust me with your petty little secrets, Blackwood. They’re not worth my time,” Marlene rolled her eyes. She wasn’t entirely sure why she kept pressing the subject, it was obvious enough that the pair of them would never see eye-to-eye on anything and that was just the way that it was going to have to be. There was nothing that she could say to change his mind or trust her. But she felt like she wanted to know for some reason. She wanted to know more about him, but at the same time, she was appalled by everything she already knew. It was impossible.

Marlene was frustrated with him. Something about his tone was definitely irking her tonight and she wasn’t sure how to make it go away. She narrowed her eyes and then shook her head, ”They’re not force-feeding me anything. At least no more than those Death Eater scum you hang around are force-feeding you.” She turned away from him, suddenly not sure she could even look at him. His views were repulsive. There was no way that what he was saying could be true. Muggle-borns had ever bit as much of a right to learn magic as Purebloods did. It wasn’t their fault. It never had been their fault. Lance was ridiculous. She turned her head slight so that she could see him out of the corner of his eyes as he asked her if she liked her heritage. So he didn’t know. He didn’t know that she was only a half-blood. That she was only part of the ‘superior race’ that he thought so highly of. Well this would certainly be an interesting discovery on his part, ”Blackwood, I don’t come from a long line. I’m not like you.” She breathed, turning her face so that she was completely facing him. She could feel her heart thundering in her chest, threatening to expose just how nervous she was around him, ”Hate to break it to you, but I’m a Halfblood, love.” She breathed into the night air, watching her breath disappear into the nighttime sky as she spoke.

That was it. She had said it. She had told Lance what he had probably been dying to hear all along. That she wasn’t worthy. She was a half-blood that wasn’t worthy of anything.

”Yes,” Marlene said vaguely, answering his reassured voice that said she didn’t hate him, ”I’ve always hated you. Since the day we first met.” Her voice wasn’t nearly as confident and reassuring as she thought that it would be as she spoke; instead, she sounded like a little girl who was trying to deny keeping her teddy bear because she was afraid of the dark. Marlene McKinnon was not afraid of the dark...but she was afraid of the feelings that she was having. Especially the sped up heartbeat that she could feel in her chest. It was then that she realized what she wanted. What she really wanted in this moment. She pushed herself off the ground and grabbed his shirt collar, her lips hovering just inches from his. She could feel his breath on her face and she realized just how close they actually were. Just what she was actually doing. Without even thinking, she brushed her lips against his. She hoped that it would sting or burn; that something would happen to make it unpleasant, but she found that it was rather the opposite. It felt wrong and right all at the same time. At least for her.

[lanceblackwood]

AND MY HEART TOLD MY HEAD
LET LOVE GROW, BUT MY HEAD TOLD MY HEART THIS TIME NO

Lance had to roll his eyes. His secrets weren't worth her time? Lance had secrets that would make her toes curl. If she knew just how deep he was in with the Dark Lord's inner circle, there would be no way she would be sitting there having this conversation with him. Conversation? Who was he kidding. It was more of an argument. But they always argued - it was as close as the two of them ever came to a civilised conversation. "Whatever you say, McKinnon," Lance said, his voice monotone and bored.

He couldn't understand her flippant tone when it came to the issue of trust. Perhaps McKinnon was more like him than he had originally anticipated...

If there was one thing they were good at, it was agreeing to disagree. Lance wanted to push his point further, but he soon came to realise that it wouldn't be worth his breath. He knew that she was wrong and he was right, but there was no way to make her see it. "You're so annoying, did you know that?" He offered exasperatedly.

Ungh. Why was it so important to him that she understand him? Lance couldn't work it out. He'd never cared like this before. His thoughts were interrupted by McKinnon's revelation of the fact that she was only a halfblood.

Taken aback for a moment, Lance's mouth gaped open as he tried to find the words. What was he meant to say? To revel in the fact that he could now not associate with her at all?

And why the hell was his stomach doing a flip at the fact that McKinnon had just referred to him as 'love', even if it was meant in a sarcastic sense. It was starting to become bitterly cold, as was evident as their breath rose into the sky. Lance had a flashback to his childhood, where he stood out in the snow and pretended to be a dragon, breathing smoke into the night air. He shook off the thought and began thinking about how tainted Marlene was now.

Before Lance could separate his thoughts, McKinnon had grabbed him by the collar and, feeling her smoky breath, she pressed his lips to his.

Anger bubbled up inside Lance and all he could think about was pushing her off. She was tainted, for crying out loud. What would he ever want with someone like her? But, as their lips broke apart, ending their first kiss, all Lance wanted to do was go back for more. Their eyes met for a moment and Lance knew what he wanted to do next. He put his hands on the side of her face and brought her closer, his lips meeting hers; the kiss more urgent than the first.

A low fire lit at the bottom of his stomach as Lance's lips moved with Marlene's. He shifted closer to her, their bodies close. It was nice having the warmth to share between them as the night grew colder. He moved from her lips, planting kisses down her jawline and onto her neck. A low humming sound came from Lance's throat. It was becoming harder and harder to contain how much he'd desperately been hoping that something like this would happen.

He rolled over onto her, the two of them lying on the grass. Lance gave an involuntary shiver as he trailed kisses back up to her mouth, suddenly feeling the cold night's air as his jacket failed to do it's job and keep him warm. He shivered again and broke apart from her, staring down at her body beneath his. Yes, he liked her from this angle very much...

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