White Teeth Teens

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio was avoiding his usual set of Hufflepuff friends and he was unsure if his actions were obvious, or if he seemed busy with studying and his extracurriculars. Nevertheless avoiding them was his only option. The situation was too complicated for him to figure out and removing himself from the situation temporarily gave him a chance to gain an outsider's perspective, if not to give him a break from the stress so he could focus on school. Wasting the opportunities he had to learn to be a sucessful wizard would defeat the entire purpose of being in school in the first place, and despite the fact studying was stressful in its own right, it was a welcome change to him from the other stresses he was facing.

Although that day Flavio was not spending his afternoon studying and instead using the free time he had to tend to the wild patch. It was one of his favourite places in the Hogwarts grounds, and the first place he truly felt comfortable after arriving to school in the beginning of his first year. He was practically shaking in his boots when Pia brought him to the wild patch to introduce him to her friend Orwell, but then his worries disappeared when Orwell was nothing what he expected. The older boy had been kind, welcoming, and then he introduced him to an adorable bird, all of which convinced Flavio he could feel happy and comfortable in Hogwarts no matter how unfamiliar and confusing the new environment was. It seemed only natural that in the midst of the confusing and unfamiliar situation with his friends, he should return there, tend to the plants, and forget his troubles. As he knelt next to one of the shrubs pruning away the dead leaves, it almost seemed like forgetting his troubles was possible. That realization caused Flavio to smile as he continued his task, carefully cutting parts of the shrub away and discarding the dead leaves in a small pile next to him.​

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[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian still felt strange. He had had some time to process and accept what Tristan wanted their relationship to be like, but actually adjusting to the reality felt strange. Anyone they passed could be Tristan's other girlfriend or boyfriend, anyone Vivian talked to could be his next boyfriend. It felt... bizarre. And when Vivian didn't know how to make sense of what he was feeling, he wrote and wrote and wrote, until his feelings made sense to him. And so that was what he had been doing, spending days under their tree by the lake, writing and writing, but he was still no closer to the answer.

After struggling all afternoon with a particularly confusing stanza, Vivian gave up on his writing for the moment and decided to take a walk, exploring parts of the school grounds he hadn't really visited before. Maybe a new location would help him write about new circumstances. And that was how he wound up wandering through the Wild Patch gardens, a place he had never been before. The plants were pretty, and the air smelled sweet with all the flowers around. Vivian was so distracted by the beauty that he didn't realise he wasn't alone until it was too late. Staring in the opposite direction, Vivian's foot caught on the foot of another boy he hadn't seen kneeling at one of the plants and Vivian tripped over, barely catching himself from falling over completely. "Oh! Sorry!" He said quickly, voice soft even now. "I didn't see you. Sorry."

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Tending to the plants was an all consuming task. Flavio was too focused on what he was doing and distracted from his worries to hear the sound of footsteps coming closer until it was too late and someone stumbled over his foot. Flavio turned around and watched the person nearly fall, unable to do anything without making the situation worse. He sighed with relief when the boy caught themselves from falling over completely. After the ordeal was over and the other boy started apologizing, Flavio placed his pruning shears on the ground, before standing and holding his hands up defensively. "It is okay. I did not see you either, we were both not paying attention." He said, words ending in an awkward chuckle.

Until Flavio got a good look at the boy, he assumed they were another member of the wild patch club, there to take care of the plants. But when he did catch a proper glimpse of the boy's appearance he realized he did not recognize them at all. He looked around in case any other wild patch members were nearby, before looking back to the boy. "I have not seen you around here before." He asked, not waiting another moment to introduce himself, figuring that regardless if this boy was a member or not, it would be rude of him to be unwelcoming. "My name is Flavio. Are you new to the wild patch club?" He asked.​

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[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian scratched his arm nervously, completely embarrassed. He had wandered somewhere he didn't belong, bumped into a stranger, and distracted him from his work. About the worst he could have done. Whoops. "Sorry..." He mumbled, relieved that the boy didn't seem upset, and returned his laugh with a nervous smile. Until the boy asked if he was new here. Whoops. Vivian hesitated, then shook his head. "I'm not in the club." He said awkwardly. "I was just... going for a walk, I didn't think anyone was here. Sorry." He hesitated, looking around, trying to think of something less uncomfortable to say. "Your... gardens are lovely."

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

The boy continued to apologize and it caused Flavio to laugh again, thinking it was silly. But he wasn't judging the boy as he knew if their situations were reversed he would likely apologize repeatedly, too. It surprised him that the boy was not new to the wild patch as usually wild patch members were the only ones to spend time around the plants, though he was not about to kick the boy out as the wild patch club was meant to be welcoming to everyone. "It is okay, you are welcome to walk around if you are not in the club." He said, attempting to reassure the boy. "If you like the gardens, you are welcome to join me. I am just pruning some plants so you might think it is boring, but I think it is fun and a great distraction." He said, looking down to where he placed his pruning shears and wondering if he would be able to find another pair if the boy did want to join him. There were only a limited amount but he was sure he could find something else that needed to be done around the garden that the boy could help him with.​

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[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian relaxed a little, relieved that at least he wasn't somewhere he wasn't allowed to be. He considered the boy's offer for a second... Herbology had never been his best subject, but it felt rude to just... wander around and enjoy the plants while someone else was working so hard to make them happen in the first place. "If... if you would like, I can help a little..." He said shyly, looking around. "It must take a lot of work to take care of so many plants..."

 

[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

The boy agreed to help and Flavio nodded, managing to smile politely as he continued to look around, hoping to find something the boy could help him with. "It is not work if you enjoy looking after plants." He responded, stepping towards a different set of shrubs in an attempt to find something for the boy to do. There was work to be done although nothing that required more than one person at a time, unless there was a set of extra pruning shears to help remove dead parts from the plants. "Just a moment, I will be back." Flavio said, before walking towards the small shed and digging around at the various tools inside. He did not think there would be an extra set of shears but he fortunately found an old pair, and returned to the boy's side with them in hand. "These are old, but they should work." Flavio said, moving to kneel in the same spot he was when the boy arrived as he explained the task. "All you need to do is choose a shrub and cut away the brown leaves. This one next to me has some brown leaves if you want to start here." Flavio looked to the shrub he had been working on, and then looked back to the boy after realizing that while he had introduced himself, the boy had not said his name in return. It seemed only fitting for Flavio to know who he was talking to if they were going to work together in the wild patch. "What is your name, by the way? I did not catch it earlier." He asked, picking up his own pruning shears as he waited for an answer. ​

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[Vivian Brackenstall]

Vivian watched Flavio go, still feeling a little awkward, as though he was intruding somewhere he had no right to be. When the boy returned, Vivian took the shears gratefully, listening to the task carefully. "Thank you." He said quietly, looking down at the shrub Flavio had indicated. It did look a little brown, and though he didn't have a lot of experience gardening, Vivian crouched down and did his best to get to work. He looked up at the older boy when he asked for Vivian's name, face flushing as he realised he had forgotten to introduce himself. "Oh. I'm sorry... I'm Vivian Brackenstall." He said with a polite, nervous smile.