Thomas had left Alice with his mother because he could not allow his daughter to become a distraction from his goal. His lips twisted in frustration and he knocked rapidly on the front door of Rose Knightley's house.

He had--Thomas has reasoned that he had been very good at giving her space and privacy to figure out whatever it was that she needed to figure out. He understood privacy, he lived in it. But--but she had missed the first game of the season. That was! That was serious. The whole lineup of the Catapults was in shambles, but he only gave a damn about Rose. If she was pregnant, then yes, that was understood. Wonderful, even. Thomas had found himself excited at the idea of Alice having a cousin of sorts so close in age, if Rose was indeed pregnant.

But he didn't know. Rose had always been very quick to run to him with her problems, her concerns, her secrets. It startled him that he couldn't get a straight answer out of her and he feared that his indiscretions from last year had irrevocably ruined their friendship. Was there a lack of trust? He had been so sure that they'd rectified the damage he caused, but now he didn't know. What could be serious enough that she couldn't talk to him? He felt terrible.

His mind drifted to Brookstanton; he was the change in Rose's demeanor, Thomas knew. He had kept his distance from the relationship, but if the Kestrel was doing something to her that could cause her any sort of pain, it--it would not be pretty, Thomas could assure. He made to knock again, but the door opened. Thomas pressed his lips together.

"You missed opening weekend," he stated as he looked over Rose. She didn't appear to be dying, but that didn't stop his mind from continuing to fret that might indeed be the case.

For a small slice of time, Rose believed she had everything under control. Kendall had left St. Mungo's in a hurry, but that was fine, for his quick departure had given her the opportunity to fall back into her seat and process what he said. Not completely, of course, because it still very much felt like she had unknowingly stepped on a time-turning exploding snap, but enough that she could temper her emotions, think, and eventually disapparate home in one piece. She'd even managed to walk through the house calmly and quietly, repeating to herself that a good night's sleep would provide clarity for her overturned and perturbed thoughts. Yes, that would definitely help, and she would wake up in the morning with a clear mind and the ability to deal with every single emotion that was whirling through her mind.

And then, that slice of time ended, and Rose found herself standing awkwardly in her own bedroom, blankly staring at her semi live-in boyfriend. It had been decided that all thoughts of sharing tonight's events could wait until tomorrow, after already previously decided upon good night's sleep, but now, she could tell that wouldn't be so. The sight of Axe propped atop the bed (she would ignore the harem of cats he had surrounding him for the time being) made her mind sputter, and almost instantly her tightly packaged box of emotion within sprang open.

“Kendall just kissed me,” she blurted, and clutched her belongings closer to her chest. It was only now dawning on her just how upset she truly felt, how unsure and how... mislead? She felt. Her bottom lip wibbled as her mouth turned into a deep frown. What Kendall had said, and done, would change everything, their friendship wouldn't be the same now, and it made her sad to think--- guilty to think---

Her face felt hot, not out of embarrassment, but of misplaced hurt. Why had he--- how could he---? Despite trying very hard to fight against it, Rose's eyes turned watery. More words poured out of her mouth. “And told me he thinks he's in love with me,” she burst, finding that her voice sounded quite miserable to her own ears. Rose swallowed thickly in an attempt to mask it, but that just resulted in it sounding cracked and confused with her final words.

"What should I do?"

Who: KENDALL BROADMOOR AND ROSE KNIGHTLEY
What: !!!!
Where: MUNGO'S
When: FLUID TIME

( Why is that so hard to believe? If you had been around at all the last six months, you would know that I don’t just sit around doing nothing all the time. )

Who: Thomas McCormack & Rose Knightley
What: omg they can really be precious sometimes
Where: Mungo's!
When: maybe a week or so after their thread with Kendall?

( They told each other everything, so why hadn’t Thomas told her about this? )

She had to sit down upon Holly Troy's unveiling of Thomas' last twelve hours, and Rose found that she was too far stunned to do much else than continue to sit after the story was over.

Thomas had been...

But then last night when...

And now he was...

Rose looked up at Holly with desperate eyes, wishing very much that there was more for her to tell, a better ending to leave off at for this almost unbelievable tale. It felt like fiction in her ears, the entire thing, and if this morning hadn't turned so strangely so fast, Rose wouldn't have believed it. All of it, from the idea of Thomas having a secret pregnant girlfriend to being frozen in Nott Manor as an almost stranger informed her and Kendall that their best friend was now a single father to a premature child felt... it felt...

It felt like she and Kendall were on the outside looking in to this whole other world Thomas had created for himself, and it was only through a tragic string of events that they were included now.

And then, immediately, Rose felt guilty for her thoughts, for now, out of all times, was not about that. It was about helping navigate her friend, her very best friend, through something that she could quite certainly say the three of them never thought they would have to face in their lifetimes. It was about ensuring Thomas would come back from this, helping him return to as much as his former self as possible. Was that possible? She didn't... she wasn't sure about much of anything at the moment.

Holly had escorted them to Thomas' room, and it was with a wary glance at Kendall that Rose raised her hand to knock on the door.

"Thomas?"

She spoke softly, pressing closer to the door only when there was no response. Her free arm clutched her opposite elbow, her back curled in a wounded manner. "It's us," Rose continued, her brow permanently furrowed. "May we come in?" It was entirely formal, of course, because all three of them knew she and Kendall were going to barge on in regardless of Thomas' wishes, but they always played this game.

While she wasn't particularly keen on parties, she was set on saving wildlife. Everyone else seemed to rake in the galleons by throwing large events, no matter the scandals that erupted from them, so why couldn't they? Nora had conservatory's committee for quite some time now, and being the youngest by a good forty years, had devised this plan as a new and fresh way of funding. It helped greatly that she had friends that had access to some of the best party planners (or that she could twist Charlie Spinnet's ear until he helped her out), and things seemed to have turned out well. So far.

For the brave at heart, there was a grand maze that made its way throughout the haunted castle. Guests would be offered clues to get themselves to the ballroom, and if they were truly lost (as Nora was sure was to occur), for just a small donation (it's for charity), any money dropped into a clue box would light up a blue path down the correct route to lead the way out. With all the Gryffindors that Nora had put on the guest list, she was sure they were going to triple their goal.

There was a simpler route than the maze, which was simply to walk through the double doors to the dance floor. Nora was currently wavering between the two, having run out of pamphlets to give out at the front entrance therefore giving her no excuse to join the festivities. She felt rather exposed, as Delilah had stolen her cloak, and when someone tapped her shoulder she jumped nearly a foot in the air.

"Bloody hell!" she let out, spinning around. "You scared the life out of me!"

She wouldn't say she was ignoring their loss to the Kestrels, but more of... choosing to not think about it. What else could you really do to help ease the sting of yet another added failure to the pile the Catapults had created with their abysmal losing streak? This season had been horrible, and it was to say the least that Rose was looking forward to the relief that came with an off week. Maybe it could help rejuvenate some morale, help make a fresh start. That was actually possible, and maybe with a last-ditch trade before the deadline this weekend, it was entirely conceivable that they could come back for the second half of the season.

Rose immediately slammed her locker shut, feeling guilty for entertaining such a brutal thought; she wasn't exactly supposed to want for one of her teammates to get traded, was she? But, it was entirely too easy to, knowing that the main reason for the team's perpetual losing had a bit to do with a lack of snitch-catching action.

But there was nothing that could be done about it now. All she could do was head home and prepare for the remaining week's practices, perhaps paint another room in her house, or---

A loud crash interrupted Rose's thoughts, and with a preserving curiosity, she popped her head to catch what had created the noise. Her brow furrowed slightly as she squinted her eyes. She would have sworn she had been the only one in here, having taken the time after practice to organize her belongings in her locker, which had become quite messy.

Another crash, though this one a bit less violent, pulled Rose forward. Walking toward where she thought the noise had originated, with wand in hand, she moved slowly in case... well... she supposed they hadn't had any strange break-ins by unwanted guests, but Rose had heard of it happening at other stadiums, so it would be not smart to approach a situation unarmed. Almost slipping by the captain's office, something caught her eye that made her arm drop and her back straighten like a board.

"What are you doing?" Rose demanded of the poorly hidden Charlie Spinnet. She peered through the doorway, unwilling to get much closer than she already was. Why was Charlie Spinnet in Caerphilly?

His grin couldn't be any wider.

"I'm pretty sure she's going to beat my score," Vinny said with an extreme nod to the group of onlookers that were watching his lovely and adorable girlfriend Gleny score as many goals in the miniature hoops that were set up. Vinny had quite purposely aimed a bit far to the right as to not completely run away with the game, but Gleny was putting up a rather good fight regardless.

It was a fun day, weekend, really, of games and events that he thought were going to be a bit of a chore but had ended up being remarkably entertaining. The fans that were participating were the ones who truly loved the game and were great to have conversations with. It was a very unique way to interact with them in a way Vinny had never really gotten a chance to, and he did not feel overwhelmed in the slightest. Hosting the weekend's bigger attractions had seemed daunting, but it was going swimmingly.

Mostly in part to his, once again, lovely and adorable girlfriend who had just ended the round of Quick Quaffle with a tie score!

"Great job!" Vinny said with honest excitement as he happily hugged Gleny in celebration. Merlin, quidditch and his girl, what more could a bloke ask for?




OOC: Click here for ideas of what could be going on at Falmouth Stadium! These fun days dated from the 27th - 31st! List of Teams!

Charlie was literally bouncing around like a school kid. How was he so keen on the ways of excited, shriek-filled Hogwarts students? Why, he was surrounded by a gaggle of them! Bouncing, the lot of them, and all donned in red and gold! It was a beautiful sight, really, and it made the slightly overcast day seem bright and sunny and warm. He wanted to hug each and every one of those kids, so he did and it was a good feeling to be recognized as some 'Gryffindor Hero!' A Gryffindor Hero! Legend, some were saying. Some teeny, tiny voice in the back of Charlie's head knew that legend, even hero was pushing it a bit far, but he would happily accept the compliments because they made him feel damn special.

He hadn't been much of a standout in school, popular enough not to lurk around the corridors without anyone noticing you were there, but he was no quidditch captain or head boy. He was just Charlie, and even if his quidditch fame and popularity had skyrocketed these past few years, he was still very much in awe of the fact that people could be impressed by him.

"All right, all right!" he laughed, prying off the clamped fingers of a young third year girl's off his arm. "I'll be back, I promise!"

There was a chorus of moans, but soon the group had spotted yet another player to lay their tremendous excitement and focus on, and Charlie was free. He bounded down the pavement, Gryffindor scarf proudly flapping in the wind behind him, and dropped down onto a wooden bench beside his very Hufflepuff-y girlfriend.

"The kids," he said, waving his hand out toward the crowd before dropping it down onto the back of the bench behind Penelope, "They dig me."

Who: Kendall Broadmoor & Rose Knightley
What: they place nice
Where: Kendall's!
When: Sunday!
Status: FINISHING IN COMMENTS!!

( Fork already in hand, Kendall stared at the door, wondering if it was really worth answering. )

He blinked up at the ceiling of the hospital room, arms lifted over his head as the nurse examined his slowly healing wound. She was making some idle chatter about how good it was looking, and how he'd regained so much color back in his cheeks, and just how strong he was! Thomas rolled his eyes in plain sight of the woman, and he was glad that she'd taken slight offense to it and opted to finish tidying up his bandages and pulling his shirt back down. Thomas' crossed his arms over his chest as soon as the examination was done and rolled to his side, away from the open doorway.

As much as he was physically feeling better, he was still mentally exhausted. His parents had been hovering nonstop, his sister had managed to release a statement about how she was doing, and the long nights alone had let his thoughts wander, and wander, and wander.

A knock on the door startled him before his thoughts could trail off like they had been, and he peered over his shoulder to tell the nurse to leave him be, but was surprised to see that it wasn't the handsy nurse, or his parents. He turned over completely and gingerly pushed himself up on his elbows.

"Hey," he said, surprised.


( ...but she felt... fine. )



ooc: so apparently Thomas and Saoirse are popular people and instead of flooding the comm with a million threads, Emma came up with the idea of a 'group' post of sorts where the two can have various threads with whoever wants to visit.