being alone.... and hating it

As Sydney entered the Common Room, she sank into the leather sofa. She was so tired. With her arms hanging on her side, she started to cry, silently and softly. She didn't know why she was crying, but she felt like crying. She didn’t know why she started crying out of nowhere. But something had snapped in the last few moments. This was the only time Sydney had been by herself, and it scared her. Hogwarts wasn't like New York. She could only wait for someone to arrive. She could only wait…..

Leonardo walked into the Ravenclaw Common Room, accompanied by his cat, Link, when he saw the girl he met before, Sydney Hale, crying in the sofa. Leonardo walked up to her and said: "What's wrong?"

Sydney looked up, “oh. Hey Leo. Its nothing. I just miss my brothers.” The last time she told someone this, she got called a spoiled brat for missing them. She curled up into a tighter ball and wiped her eyes. “I’m fine. Really.” She did her best to force a smile up at him and sighed.

Leonardo could see that Sydney was ashamed of telling him. "You know, you don't need to be ashamed of telling something. It's natural missing your family and friends."

“Thanks Leo. I just really need my brother right now. I miss Jace more than anything.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and sighed. “I miss him. I miss his hugs. he always knew how to cheer me up.” She let a rogue tear roll down her cheek and didn’t bother to wipe it away.

Leonardo understood that Sydney miss her brother. But what could he do to cheer her up? Suddenly Link jumped up next to Sydney. He laid down next to her hand, trying to get petted."Awww, Link likes you!" Leonardo said.

Sydney giggled and pet the cat. “Link, huh? You are so cute. Yes you are.” Sydney picked up the tiny creature and held it in her arms. “I had a puppy back home. His name was Rocket. He was my best friend, besides Jace.”

When Sydney mentioned that she also had a pet, Leonardo said: "Well, I can understand you. Having two of you best friends away from you, that is harsh..."

Sydney scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You honestly have no idea. Not only do I not have my two best friends, I don’t have 5 of them. I have 3 brothers, our best friend, and Rocket. It hurts being away from them for so long. I wish I could see them again.”

Aylee walked down into the common room, bored from being in the dormitory for too long. She much preferred sitting by the warm fire. Sighing to herself, she entered the common room and the first thing she saw was Sydney holding a cat in her hands while talking with Leo. Confused, Aylee just walked up to them and pointed to a couch next to Sydney.

"Can I sit here?" she asked a bit too formally.

Sydney looked up as Aylee entered the room and asked if she could sit on the couch beside her. She silently nodded her head and continued petting the cat. “So…. How have you been Aylee?” She asked shyly. She and Aylee had been on kind of rough terms lately.

Aylee shrugged and flopped down on the armchair. "OK," she said, not wanting to reveal a lot. Last term, and also this one, she had been super bugged out by Sydney's behaviour towards every boy she met. It was tiring for Aylee.

"You?" she asked. Then she noticed that Leo hadn't sat down yet. Flashing him a quick smile, Aylee motioned for him to sit in a chair by Sydney.

Sydney saw Aylee smile at Leo but decided to ignore it. She didn’t wanna fight tonight. She was too upset. “I’ve been better really. I’ve missed you.”

"Mhm," Aylee said, raising an eyebrow. She highly doubted that Sydney missed her.

"Fine. be that way." She scoffed whenAylee rolled her eyes and put the cat down on the floor. She went into her natural defense positiona dnpulled her knees up to her chest.

"Fine, I will be that way," Aylee retorted, standing up. She had expected that Sydney would tell her that she really did miss her but nooooo! Too busy chasing after Leo, I expect, she thought angrily. Without another word, Aylee just made her way back up to the dormitories.

“Aylee! Wait!” Sydney shouted after her friend. But she heard no response. She hid her face in her knees and started to cry. “I hate this. I hate it here!”