Midnight Snack [Daphne]

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke slowly sauntered down the long hallway back the kitchens, the house elves had still had food laid out for them, and what was better than getting your grub on at two am? Very few things in Zeke’s opinion. He had gathered himself a heaping plate and was on his way back to the common room, even after the three large plates he had eaten at dinner he had loaded this plate up with enough to feed a small family. He always got like this the night before quidditch matches, it was like his body knew he was going to need the extra calories and fuel for the upcoming event and it wasn’t satisfied until he had eaten enough to fill a baby whale.

He slipped into the common room taking notice that it was completely empty, which wasn’t shocking, most of the party animals were on the quidditch team and they were already soundly asleep; resting up for the big game. Zeke could never do that, his nerves were always pulsing, he kept thinking about all of the defensive strategies he’d seen from the teams, strategies he’d seen watch the professional league, etc. Zeke always had a hard time shutting his mind off for bed anyway, so once you add in the excitement of not only the first match of the season, but a match against Gryffindor none-the-less and Zeke knew that it was a recipe for insomnia. So, after about ten minutes of trying he had decided it was Nom-Nom time and had headed down to the kitchens.

Zeke settled back down in a leather arm chair at a table eyeing his plate of food, he might have gone overboard when it came to how much he grabbed, but it was better to have too much than to not have enough and have to go back to the kitchens again. Zeke looked over at the fire place which was still smoldering, reaching into his basketball shorts he pulled out his wand, and with a swish and a flick sent two quick balls of fire back towards the fireplace, giving the common room a warm glow. Zeke had started to get chilled down here in the basement without the fire, it was part of the downside of having your common room in the dungeons, the winters were brutal and Zeke hated wearing layers so he was almost always cold. Zeke heard footsteps and whipped his head around to see who else could possibly be awake at this time of night…

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[daphne]

Daph couldn’t sleep. It was as if her body was rebelling completely against her. She could feel tired seeping into her veins, but the harder she tried, the better sleep was at eluding her. She knew what it had to do with. She had to know. The Vivian fight. The Theo blow. Her bruised and battered ego was keeping her awake. She had all but lost Theodore Nott to a stupid Veela. Vivian was stupid. She knew that her lack of insults for the girl stemmed from her inability to get over how pretty she was, but it didn’t matter. She hated her. Daphne Greengrass hated Vivian Blackwell because she had kissed Theo. She closed her eyes, trying to feign sleep. Perhaps if she feigned it for long enough then it would become a reality...But her head was already awake with possibilities. Not to mention the claw marks all down her arm and the bruise that had neatly formed on her ribs was keeping her awake with the gentle throbbing of pain. And the fact that tomorrow was the big game of the season. All of it was a recipe for a sleepless night for Daphne Greengrass. She rolled over on her bed, facing empty bed to her left. She wondered where all her roommates were off to. Probably trying to sneak off to the Room of Requirements for some more firewhiskey. Or taking secret passageways toward Hogsmeade for parties. They were all bloody idiots. The entire lot of her house were bloody idiots.

She swung her legs off of the bed and grabbed her robe from the post next to her. She shrugged it over both shoulders and then fascinated it tightly around her waist. ‘When did it get so chilly in here?’ She wondered absentmindedly. She walked quietly toward the door to the common room, desperately needing to get out of bed and clear her head.

Her feet padded along the tiled floor of the dungeon, her eyes glancing around the room without any real purpose. No one was up, that much was for sure. She stopped at the opening to the fireplace room and stared at the fire. Surely someone had put that out before they had gone to bed, right? No one would have been stupid enough to-

Then she saw someone. Sitting in her favorite leather armchair was a tousle-haired Zeke Maxwell. She walked toward him, trying to keep quiet, but in no time, he had whipped his head around and was staring at her. She stopped dead in her tracks, her hands immediately wrapping themselves around her wrists as she rubbed the claw marks, ”Shouldn’t you be in bed.”

[/b] It wasn’t really a question, more of an amused statement. Zeke was her fellow chaser, but she knew that he rarely slept before a match. Archer was always scolding him about that. Her voice was tired and soft, unlike her normally loud and confrontational tone. She felt like she was utterly spent, but she knew that sleep wasn’t an option. She was just going to have to push through until tomorrow. When she finally felt like she was in control again, she walked forward, perching herself on the arm of Zeke’s chair, leaning over him so that her face was close to his, ”Well? Did you hear about the latest and greatest? Daphne Greengrass, duped and dumped.”[/b] Her voice had a tone of mock-bemusement...one that was more characteristic of her than her previous inquiry into why he was still awake. She felt her eyes cloud over for a moment and had to look away. She grabbed a piece of toast from Zeke’s plate and took a bite, backing away from him quickly.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

notes - Did you actually just write “it was Nom-Nom time”? CLICK ME

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke looked up at Daphne and closed his eyes in annoyance. The two of them hadn’t always gotten along, he had found himself in the middle of the Astoria-Daphne war and it had caused more than a couple of insults to be thrown his way from the lips of Daphne; but Zeke was a forgive and forget type of guy so he had never really paid it too much attention. He was a little perplexed though that Daphne was still awake this late before a quidditch match, after all that was not like her at all, she was typically the type to follow Archer’s words to the letter. “You know me Daphne… always trying to piss ole Archie off. Plus, I wanted some food.” Zeke gave her a wink as he took a bite of bacon and gave her a small smile, there was something different about her tonight, she seemed almost…defeated? Daphne typically would have come and yelled at Zeke for still being awake and not getting enough sleep before the match, but here she was sitting on the arm of his chair leaning her face close to his. Zeke studied her eyes, his relationship with her sister had brought the two of them closer, added to the fact that him and Daphne were chasers together on the quidditch team it was a recipe for the two of them to be close. Maybe not close in the fact that they hung out 24/7 but they understood one another. Zeke knew Daphne and knew how to read Daphne with minimal effort. There was a look in her eyes tonight, she was wounded, something or someone had hurt Daphne. Sometimes it was easy to forget that they all had feelings too, the slytherins all walked around together acting as if nothing could hurt them, but deep down inside they were all just teenagers trying to act as if they were adults.

Before Zeke could even ask what was wrong she gave him his answer, “Duped and Dumped” the words echoed in Zeke’s head, he wasn’t aware that her and Theo had actually been an official couple, but that was the only person she could have meant. Zeke of course, had heard the rumors about Vivian and Theo, as had most of the school; which of course meant that most of the school knew that Theo had cheated on Daphne. ouch. “With the fish?” Zeke asked softly, looking into her eyes sympathetically. He knew that having her breakup and betrayal being so public must make it cut even deeper.

Zeke knew Daphne though, and he knew she wasn’t the type for long sympathetic talks about how bad it hurt, she would want to try to act as normal as possible, to keep normal conversation; she wanted companionship but she didn’t want to be coddled right now, and Zeke would make sure he didn’t. “I’ve got more than enough for the two of us if you care to join me?” Zeke made a welcoming gesture to his plate. “That way you don’t have to back away every time you want a piece of toast.” Zeke gave her a small wink, he knew that teasing her would make her feel more relaxed and would let her know that he wasn’t going to coddle her all night.

[daphne]

Daphne could see the annoyance written all over his face. Zeke and Astoria had a past between them, meaning he had gotten his fair share of many of the Greengrass sister feuds. And yet, they had a strange bond. One that could only be explained by the camaraderie of the pitch. The constant passing back and forth, the tedious Quidditch drills. The chaser exercises that forced you to get up close and personal with everyone on the team.. She was thankful for that in this moment, knowing that if it would have been anyone else up at this time of night, she would have been giving them the cold shoulder. Perhaps actually having a conversation with someone was what she was desperate for. She didn’t have the energy to chastise him about his being up past curfew. As much as she wanted to complain away about his lack of ability to follow the Slytherin Captain’s orders, Daphne Greengrass found herself staring at the plate of food on his lap in longing. Yes. She was starving indeed. She rolled her eyes though, at his childish nickname for Grayson, ”I’m sure Archer just loves you for that.”

[/b] She returned and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

Daphne managed to lean back slightly on the armrest of the chair, feeling the wind rush out of her lungs. Of course he had heard...everyone had heard. It was as if someone had tacked it up on a board for all to see. It was as if it had been written all over the walls in blood. Vivian Blackwell had pulled Theodore Nott away from Daphne’s grasp. Just as easy as ever. She grimaced slightly and then focused back on Zeke, ”The fish?”[/b] She wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but she was willing to bet that it was Vivian. It had to be. There were only so many people that could have gotten that close to Theo and Viv was on the top of that list, ”If you mean that harpie of a woman, Vivian Blackwell, then you would be correct, sir.”[/b] Her voice was strained, slightly cold and distant as if she couldn’t quite find her normal footing. This entire situation had gotten her off balance. Her eyes had tried to avoid his up until this point, but she looked down for just a moment, surprised by how much sympathy she saw when she looked at him. Zeke looked like he might actually care. It reminded her a lot of the way that he used to look at Astoria when they were together...and sometimes now, even, ”The whole school knows, don’t they.”[/b] It wasn’t really a question, more of a statement of fact. She knew that the rumors had been circulating since it happened and she had been one of the last to know.

The invitation was out of the blue. But not an unwelcome offer. She was happy that Zeke was here, when she let herself think about it. She hadn’t really gotten a chance to talk to anyone about the whole thing yet. After it had happened, she had spent the rest of her day in the girl’s dorm, counting the number of mirror pieces that AJ had smashed her vanity mirror into. The count was up to 243. But she was sure that she had lost a piece in there somewhere. She hadn’t spoken to anyone...She hadn’t breathed a single word until now. There was something so...public about this breakup. Everyone knew. Everyone was judging her.

”Thanks.”[/b] She muttered under her breath, not one for being overly gracious. She snagged another piece of toast and then folded her legs underneath her body, watching the fire crackle in front of them. Slowly, she slid off of the side of the arm chair and nestled herself into the seat with Zeke. It was close for comfort, but the closeness made Daphne feel a little better. A little less like she was spiraling out of control, ”Are we going to rip ‘em a new one tomorrow?”[/b] She asked, remarking about the Quidditch match that was set for tomorrow. It was a little better than opting to discuss the weather.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke couldn’t help but notice that Daphne’s typically cool exterior had faded away tonight, the two of them had never really been enemies, but he definitely would never have called her his friend. They had a weird relationship, even though they were close, the two of them had never really sat down and had a conversation the two of them. In fact, this is the first time Zeke could remember the two of them spending time alone. Zeke rolled his eyes back at her as she corrected and emphasized Archer’s proper name. “Yep. Me and the Arch-mister are super close His voice dripping with sarcasm as he shot his reply back at her.

Zeke’s hand moved without his permission or thought as it reached out and gently laid on top of Daphne’s. “I’m sorry Daphne.” Most people that had met Zeke would say he’s a sociopath, incapable of human emotion; but those who know Zeke know that it’s not true. He’s actually a very caring person, but the list of people that get to experience that side of Zeke is very limited; he’s guarded, and extremely picky about those he allows to be close to him. But once Zeke cares about someone, he’s loyalty is fierce; and he develops a close bond to that person. Daphne is definitely in Zeke’s circle despite their limited time together alone. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as he looked up into her eyes; the typical ferocity was vanished, replaced with a soft and scared look that Zeke would have never thought he’d see in Daphne’s eyes. “I’m afraid they probably do… I heard it from a Hufflepuff, and if the hufflepuffs know, well… Everyone knows.” Zeke felt bad for Daphne, she was such a strong individual and to see her like this, like a…well, a shell of her usual self. It pained Zeke, he hates seeing her like this.

Zeke felt Daphne slide into the chair with him, they were close, much closer than Zeke had ever been with Daphne; he didn’t mind, he actually enjoyed the intimacy. Through all of his female escapades that was the one thing Zeke always craved: Intimacy. The girls were just a means to an end. He didn’t care about them, he couldn’t get attached to them and get the intimacy that he actually wanted; so he would settle for the next best thing. But feeling Daphne there was relaxing, and he felt his shoulders sag slightly as his muscles relaxed, “Of course we are. Is there ever any doubt that we’re going to beat them? Hopefully stupid Malfoy can do his part and not let Potter beat him to the snitch too fast.” Zeke knew that quidditch was just a safety topic she had chosen, but it was comforting for the both of them; it wouldn’t lead to too personal of a conversation. He reached down and grabbed a spear of asparagus and bit the head off, giving Daphne a smile as he chewed.

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[daphne]

Daphne looked down at his hand that was now resting on top of hers. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but she was too emotionally torn up to tell him anything about it. She just stared at it for a long time, until he offered his apology. Zeke Maxwell, the boy that couldn’t feel was telling her that he was sorry? What was the world coming to? The gentle squeeze of her hand brought her back into reality and she offered him one back. It was her way of acknowledging that she was thankful for him being there, despite the fact that this was the weirdest experience of her life. ’Great,’ she thought with a groan. Now her sisters ex-boyfriend was consolling her. Could things get any worse today? She wasn’t sure that they could, nor was she even sure that she cared.

’Hufflepuffs knew? Surely the world was coming to an end,’ Daphne thought as she sat there, her mouth slightly hanging open, a piece of toast threatening to fall out. She felt her shoulders sink drastically as she lost every last shred of her self-dignity. This was it. She was a wash-up. She thought that she had had something with Theo and now? There was nothing. Everyone knew that her first try at a real relationship had been a failure. A complete and utter failure. She managed to close her mouth and finish chewing the toast, but it felt so dry...Her eyes fell back to the fire in front of them, trying to put some of the pain at bay, but it felt like it was getting worse. She swallowed, then looked back at Zeke and studied his profile, trying to get her mind off that tosseled hair, brown eyes, soft lips, and five-o’clock shadow that belonged to Theodore Nott. Trying to keep her mind off of the man that plauged every thought and dream that she had, “Guess it’s all over then.” She said with a cold laugh. It felt distant, just like the rest of her speech. Disjointed from her normal speech patterns.

Being close in the chair felt weird for Daphne. She could feel Zeke relax next to her, but she couldn’t look at him, not yet. She just stared at the fire, waiting for her own body to relax. This was such an odd situation, was the only thought that kept passing through her mind. Here she was, in the middle of the night with her little sister’s ex-boyfriend, snuggled up in a chair with him? Certainly things could not take a turn for the more weird and strange. Slowly, she felt her muscles creaking out of their tensed up positions, her smile faultering for a moment and then dropping completely and then her fists unclenching. She turned slightly, allowing herself to look at him and found herself smiling. Quidditch was a safe-zone, one she was more than happy to play into, “Malfoy is such a prick. Almost as big of a wash-up in Quidditch as I am in the relationship department.” She realized what she had said too late and could feel herself closing up again, retreating back into the shell she had spent her last couple of days in.

Instead of allowing herself to fully retract, she leaned forward and bit the next piece of his aspargus off, followed by a cool laugh as she chewed. There. Now she hadn’t pulled away competely. She was making progress.

[/justify][/size]

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke felt something inside of him, something he couldn’t quite explain… he felt… pain? Sorrow? He wasn’t sure how to describe it, but he knew that he was feeling it because of what Theo was putting Daphne through. “It’s his loss Daphne.” Zeke said timidly, he wasn’t sure how to help her; but he knew that it was Theo that should be upset, he was the one that was missing out. Despite all of the arguments he’d had with Daphne, and all of the complaints he’d heard from Astoria… Zeke knew that Daphne was a catch.

Zeke smiled at her as he could feel her body relax, but her facial expression confused him, it was almost as if she was fighting to keep her body tense and rigid. She smiled at him, catching Zeke off-guard; he wasn’t use to her smiling at him and typically when she did it was because she was about to do something vicious to Astoria. But this smile was so…different. It wasn’t a vicious or malicious smile, it was a happy smile. She was relaxed and Zeke returned her smile, with a genuine smile back at her; it was such a rare thing for Zeke to do, it almost felt uncomfortable for him to smile like that but tonight it was starting to feel natural. “You’re not a wash-up in the relationship department. You’re just switching teams; you need to find a better team that fits your style of play a little bit better.” Zeke’s smile grew slightly, starting to reach his blue eyes that reflected the light from the fire back up at her. He reached out once again and cupped her hand, gently caressing his thumb over her knuckles. He wasn’t good at relationship advice but if he could relate it to quidditch, it all made sense to him, it was what he knew; Quidditch and Politics. Daphne just needed to find someone that fit her better, and he knew that they’d be out there, a girl like her wouldn’t stay single for long unless she wanted to.

Zeke gave her a look as she leaned closer to him, noting that she hadn’t pulled away from him. He gave her a grin, his eyes finding hers as he leaned down and took the next bite of her toast, his eyes not leaving hers while he did. As he recovered he let his face stay a little closer to hers than his original starting point. They were intimately close at this point but Zeke didn’t feel nervous, he felt… relaxed and at ease. He chewed slightly, never letting his eyes leave hers.

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[daphne]

His loss. Zeke’s words seemed to echo in the back of her mind for a few moments, hanging in the delicate silence that she had enforced in her thoughts. Theo’s loss. Not hers, but his. The prospect was a different way of thinking about the entire situation. One that made her feel...slightly less insane? Not better, most certainly not better, but it made it easier. Daphne took a moment to consider this, her eyes carefully trained on the fire that was in front of her. Theo was missing out; he was the one who had show interest and then throw it all away, ”Thanks.” Her voice broke out of her thoughts and she turned her head slightly to the side, although her eyes never left the licking flames in front of her. She uncocked her head moments after adapting the pose and went back to sitting as rigid as she could next to him. But the rigidity only lasted a few moments longer.

Natural was the only way to describe what happened between them next. They both smiled and relaxed into each other as if they were old friends. Daphne felt it echo from the center of her being outwards, the state of normalcy that they were both echoing, ”Switching teams?” Daphne questioned and then laughed loudly. She laughed so hard that she had to put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle some of the laughter, but it seemed to come even louder then. If Zeke thought that she was going to ‘play for the other team’ then he was sorely mistaken. She had tried that route...once during a summer in Hawaii with her family, but the whole being with another girl thing hadn’t really been for her. Sure, Kaluah had been pretty and all, but there was a certain spark missing there. She was a man-eater and that was something that would never change in Daphne Greengrass’ DNA, ”Do I honestly look like I would bat for the other team, Maxwell? I was made for the benefit of man and man alone,” Her voice was teasing and slightly patronizing, but it had returned some of its normal edge. The added wink on the end of her sentence was even more of a surprise to Daphne than it was to him. Perhaps Zeke was drawing her out of her depression-

She leaned back slightly against the back of the chair and drew her legs up, putting them across Zeke’s lap. She narrowly avoided the plate that was also occupying his lap, but happened to get very very comfortable in a quick amount of time. His thumb ran across her knuckles and she felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. ‘Take that, Theo,’ She thought to herself as she sat there, enjoying the feeling of much needed physical contact.

Daph was surprised when he bit down on her toast, but she couldn’t say that it was all that completely unexpected. One-upping the other one back and forth sounded about right between the eldest Miss Greengrass and Mr Maxwell. They played that little game at the pitch all the time. If Zeke scored a goal not holding onto his broom, then Daph would have to score a goal holding on backwards. The fact that he remained in such close proximity to her was, however, unexpected. She could feel his breathing on her face. She could smell the slightly sweet smell that seemed to be coming off of his skin in wafts. She felt her fingertips involuntarily reach up and brush across his chin as he chewed her toast, feeling his jaw move with every chew. Zeke Maxwell, what an interesting character. His blue eyes were carefully trained on her, seemingly watching every movement that she made, so she chose to turn slightly to her left, looking at the small table in front of them upon which lay a wizarding chess set. Which brought to light a few choice ideas that peaked her interest. ’A interesting idea, indeed, Miss Greengrass,’ She thought smugly to herself, ”Do you play chess, Zeke?” His first name rolled of her tongue naturally, although she was sure that it was the first time she hadn’t referred to him using his last name.

[/justify][/size]

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke gave her a smile, he wasn't exactly sure how to describe his current mood with Daphne. She was wounded and he wasn't use to handling her like this with… care? Typically Daphne had always been strong and independent, but tonight she was hurting, she was a shell of herself after Theo had ran out and fooled around with the harpie. Zeke felt anger rising up in his stomach towards his fellow house-mate; but why? Theo had done nothing to Zeke, he had only hurt Daphne; who in all reality, typically was a pain in Zeke’s ass. But for some reason, seeing her hurting like this wounded Zeke, he wanted to make amends for her. He listened to her voice, and felt another wave of sympathy and anger rush over him, “My Pleasure.” he whispered softly, unsure of what to say back to her.

Zeke felt his body un-voluntarily curl towards her, as he laughed slightly, “No, I didn’t mean you turning gay.” Zeke smiled and shook his head, “I meant, you leaving Theo. It’s just like finding a new team. You just have to find the right fit for you; someone you can trust, that you know will have your back… That’s going to be there when you miss and make you look good while doing it.” Zeke’s eyes locked with Daphne’s as he finished his statement, realizing the severity of what he was saying to her; Zeke had been her team-mate for four years now, he would always been there for her, and part of him knew she would always be there for him. “Maybe I could… Zeke started to think to himself before he forced the thought from his mind. He couldn’t think like that, this was Daphne Greengrass after all. But he couldn’t help himself as his eyes quirking up as she explained what she had been made for. Zeke smirked slightly at her with a playfulness in his eyes, “Benefit of which man?” Zeke wagged his eyebrows at her playfully before nudging her slightly with his shoulder.

Zeke shifted slightly as she wrapped a leg around his lap, the gesture had taken him off guard, but he quickly realized it wasn’t unwelcome. His free hand reaching up and resting on her thigh as he studied her; he was pretty skilled in reading people, but right now in this moment, he was having a hard time figuring out exactly what she was trying for, he couldn’t figure out what her plans were… even more, he couldn’t figure out what his own plans were. So in that moment, he decided he had no plans, he would allow the evening to progress however it may, and he would worry about the repercussions in the morning.

His body gave an involuntary shudder as she placed her hand across his cheek and he leaned his head into her touch, smiling softly at her. He couldn’t explain to himself why her touch felt so intimate, he could feel small sparks traveling through his body, radiating from the point of contact with her hand. He swallowed and turned into her hand, nuzzling it slightly as he closed his eyes. “What’s going on Zeke? What are you doing?” he asked himself, he couldn’t explain this feeling, but he knew that surely she must be feeling it too; there was no way to explain this. Her voice broke him from his trance and his eyes once again returned to hers, “Of course I do. Why do you ask?” Zeke asked perplexed, it hadn’t exactly been the topic he was expecting for her to bring up, especially not at that moment… Perhaps she hadn’t felt the same thing he was feeling? Was it only him that had felt the connection between them? Was Wizard Chess her way of distancing herself from him? Zeke looked up with confusion trying to figure out what Daphne was trying to get at.

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[daphne]

Daphne was satisfied that he didn’t think she was going to go out and bat for the other team; she didn’t think that Zeke thought that of her. After all, he had been along on the vacations to Hawaii and he had seen her with the famed Kaluah, and he knew how well that had worked out. She felt herself roll her eyes, gaining some of her regular confidence back the longer that she stayed around him. She had spent the past week being such a zombie in every aspect of her attitude. She couldn’t eat, she couldn’t sleep, she felt like she was constantly treading on thin ice about to break through and fall into the waters that were below. But tonight with Zeke, all of that seemed to be put to rest. She wasn’t sure how long it was all going to last, but it was good to have someone that she could talk to during her time of need, that much was for certain, ”Theo and I technically never had anything-” Except for that one kiss, she finished her sentence mentally and grimaced with the thought, ”And you can’t leave someone you never had.” Her voice was barely more than a low mutter - she tried to sound as resolved as possible, but she was sure that some of her ever-present anxiety was leaking through her words.

She listened to the rest of his explanation of ‘switching teams’ as he called it and became increasingly concerned. What exactly was he suggesting? Because the way that he talked about it made it seem like he was the obvious switch. This caused Daph’s brain to go a little fuzzy. This was her sister’s ex-boyfriend that she was getting cozy with. Wouldn’t that be the blow of all blows. The thought was mildly amusing to her, and as she locked eyes with Zeke, she could feel her malicious smile gaining momentum. She raised one eyebrow and leaned back against the arm of the chair, ”Like for example when the center chaser misses the right goal during the final seconds before the snitch was caught and the daringly beautiful right chaser just so happens to knock it back in by chance?” She offered him a wicked grin as she recalled the event from a Quidditch match a couple of years back. Zeke had been lucky that she had been in a random position at the time or he could’ve lost the entire game for them. Then again, Daphne wasn’t sure that luck had anything to do with it.

”For the benefit of all men, mind you.” She had quite the reputation, Daphne Greengrass did. That much was for certain. She probably fueled most of her it herself, throwing casual remarks about her history out there for consideration. Not that she minded of course, being the center of attention was, after all, what she did best. Just the same, she reached up and playfully punched him back, enjoying the ever present back and forth that they had been going. She was feeding off of him like a moth to flame and she could only hope that she wouldn’t be burnt tonight.

Was he nuzzling her hand? The reaction took Daphne off guard for a moment and she sat there stunned. Her mouth fell open in a slightly upturned grin as she watched Zeke close his eyes. Was he....enjoying this? Daphne was beginning to wonder if Astoria had ever actually touched this boy. He was like a love-sick puppy-dog, fighting for attention like she had never seen before. But she was also in awe, he looked so sweet, so innocent. She could feel the heat radiating from his cheek, the spark that seemed to travel down her own hand, keeping her fully aware of what she was doing at all times. There was something odd that was drifting between them, something she hadn’t quite figured out yet. She managed to recover some of her composure, however, and then tapped his face before she spoke, alerting him to the fact that she was about to change directions fast, so he better be on his toes, ”Because I want to play.” Daphne said, grinning wickedly at him and then slipping off of his lap. She walked to the other side of the coffee table and sat down on her knees, keeping herself perched on the ground.

”Here are the rules-” Daph took the white pieces and began to assemble them on the board. In all honest, Daphne had never played chess in her life, so she had no idea what she was doing. She had the queen on the edge, the knight in the dead center, and the rest of the pieces assembled in a radical array across every square on her side. She looked up at him expectantly, ”No rules.” She laughed loudly and then rolled back on the ground so that she was more comfortable. She was secretly hoping that he wouldn’t see through her thinly veiled attempt to disguise the fact that she had no idea how to play wizarding chess. Or chess in general for that matter.

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[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Watching her roll her eyes Zeke felt himself grin, this was the Daphne he knew; sarcastic and playful. Zeke felt his mood lighten, he wasn’t in a bad mood by any means, but seeing her return to her usual self was pleasant for him. He reached up and took her chin between his thumb and index finger, moving her face towards his he looked into her eyes, “Well; if he had the chance to have you in some way, he was a fool to let the opportunity slip away.” Zeke’s voice was soft and sincere, a warm smile creeping onto his face.

Zeke gave her a puzzling look as her smile broadened, listening to her question he shook his head. “Or maybe, as you’ve been corrected before, it’s when the dashing Center chaser executes a perfect pass to the right chaser to set up the winning goal seconds before the snitch was caught.” Zeke gave her a mocking glare before laughing slightly at her. It felt…strange…natural… it felt good to laugh. Zeke couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed, it hadn’t been since before the war. Laughing was so care free, and he couldn’t remember the last moment he’d had where he’d been able to be carefree. Yet, tonight here he was with Daphne Greengrass… laughing and smiling. What was he thinking? What was he doing? Zeke stopped to try to evaluate the situation but then looked at Daphne, and once again felt a smile creep onto his face. He wasn’t doing anything really, he was just talking with a longtime friend; trying to help her get over her breakup like any close friend would do. Right? He questioned himself. Of course that’s right.

“All men? Well now…” He purred playfully at her sending her a wink. He winced with fake pain as she punched him and brought his hand off of her thigh to rub his shoulder as if she had hurt him. “The Benefit of all men, mind you”

[/color] The words still echoed in his head, trying to wrap his mind around that statement. Sure, Daphne had a little bit of a reputation, but after seven years who didn’t? Especially when you’re a slytherin. But he kept his eyes are her’s, trying to see if he should read between the lines; trying to see if she was sending him a subliminal message somewhere in her response.

Zeke felt his face drop as she pulled her hand away, and he realized how much that the contact had meant to him; his eyes followed her hand as she pulled it away from him. Her sudden change of direction caught him off guard and his brows furrowed together, confused as to why she wanted to play chess all of the sudden. He slid out of the chair and sat down cross-legged on the floor, laughing slightly. Moving his food out of the way he looked at her pieces and shook his head. “Ok… no rules? But Here…” Zeke reached across the board and delicately and skillfully rearranged her pieces to the correct order. “There. Now you’re not at a disadvantage.” Zeke smiled politely before finishing, “At least not physically.” He felt a grin creep across his face as he quickly arranged his pieces in their correct order. Zeke had been introduced to chess at a young age, his Father instilling it in him, ”A thinking man’s game.” He always called it. Zeke looked up at Daphne and felt a wicked grin creep across his face. “Care to make it interesting Ms. Greengrass?”

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[daphne]

Daphne rocked back and forth on her knees, trying to figure out how Zeke was so apt at moving around the chess pieces. She couldn’t even remember which ones were called what. It was a horrible predicament, she knew before the game even began that she was going to lose. Her eyes were trained on his skilled hands as they darted in and out between the squares of the board, picking up on piece and replacing it with another in quick succession. There was something about the way that his fingertips passed over the pieces that caused her to zone out for a little while. She watched his fingers dance across the board, moving her pieces left and right, assembling them in an army of sorts that was about to do battle across the checked board in front of them. She wondered where he had learned to play. Who had taught him? How had he become so apt and familiar with the board? Did he play at home? In his free time? And then, without warning, Zeke stopped moving around the pieces. They were in their battle-positions, ready to attack each other as soon as their masters said the word. She found that she was strangely disappointed.

Daphne realized that she had been staring at his hands and she immediately looked up, a light blush evident on her cheeks. She stared at him and forced a semi-awkward smile. She wasn’t even sure what she was blushing about, she just felt embarrassed. She hadn’t been doing anything wrong, just watching him fix her childish chess set-up. That was all. ‘That is all, Daph, Her mind was already over thinking things. She guessed that it had something to do with the fact that she was still upset about Theo. She was over-thinking everything because everything affected her these days, ”Thanks,” She said with a small laugh and picked up her queen. She tossed it back and forth between her hands, smiling at Zeke from across the table, ”Very chivalrous of you, I would’ve let me lose.” She raised both her eyebrows. She hadn’t expected him to level the playing field, but she wasn’t complaining. She would rather have a fair chance of winning than none at all.

”At least not physically...”

”And what, mentally is another story?” Daphne rolled her eyes and set her queen down in the proper spot. She leaned forward so that she could speak a little lower. There was no way that anyone could have overheard what they were saying, but she felt the need to be quiet and secretive with him, it made everything a bit more fun - that was all tonight was really about for Daphne, fun, ”I’ll have you know that I passed my OWLs with flying colors and I’m supposed to pass my NEWTS the same way.” She growled and then leaned back, picking up Zeke’s queen and staring at it for a moment before throwing it back in his direction, ”There’s a reason the most important piece on the board is a queen, Maxwell, darling.” Not necessarily a woman-supremacist, Daphne couldn’t help herself. She hated being insulted, even if it was just for play. And she knew that right now, that’s all that Zeke was doing: teasing her.

His suggestion as to upping the stakes took her off guard for a second. She felt her mouth fall open in a lopsided grin and then she laughed, ”What did you have in mind?” She asked aloud and tilted her head slightly to the side. She hadn’t expected Zeke to be like this. When he had been with Astoria, Daphne was utterly bored of him. All he used to do was follow her little sister around like a lost puppy dog looking for his home. It was pathetic really. Back when Zeke had come on vacation with them a couple of years back, Daphne had almost strangled him. But the more time that she spent with him outside her sister’s sphere of influence, the more that she realized that the pair of them could, in fact, get along. Quite nicely, to boot.

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ooc;; sorry so short and awkward...I was struggling O.o[/size]

[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

“Oh, I’m still going to let you lose. But I at least figured I should give you a fair chance.” Zeke smiled playfully at Daphne. She had been watching his hands weaving in and out of the board while he was arranging both of their pieces, it had perplexed Daphne, she almost seemed… in awe of him?

Zeke studied her and found himself long to have her hand on his face again, he wanted to be back in the chair with her, feeling her body wrapped into his their warmth combining to help keep each other warm. What are you doing zeke?” he questioned himself. He was sitting here with his ex-girlfriends sister wanting to nuzzle into her hand and cuddle with her, for the second time tonight. But, he found himself caring less and less about things as the night progressed, he began to only focus on Daphne. His eyes fell to her hand, remembering the warmth that had spread through his body as she touched him, the feeling of her soft skin against his cheek, her…

He shrugged it off, trying not to think about it, he couldn’t think about that. He had to focus on something else, he forced his mind away from her hand as he leaned forward to get closer with her as well, listening to her whisper about her OWLs and NEWTs he gave her a devilish grin, as she continued to ramble on about how the Queen is the most important piece on the board, he gave her an acknowledging nod and a fake look of being impressed.

Catching his queen and putting his queen back in its rightful place he just shook his head, “You may be smart when it comes to your OWLs… you clearly know nothing about chess.” Zeke reached over and delicately picked up her queen once again, showing it to her. “The queen is just another tool in your arsenal; nothing more than a pawn with more freedom to move about the board.” Zeke placed the queen back in its spot and picked up her king, “The queen’s only job however, is to defend and fight for her king. Which is actually your most important piece, because without it… you lose.” Zeke skillfully placed her king back in its rightful position and grinned at her.

Zeke grinned wickedly at Daphne, “Well, since it’s late and we have our privacy, I propose we play but what is commonly referred to as ‘Hufflepuff rules’” Zeke’s grin grew slightly, “The rules are the exact same, with one major exception. When you lose a piece of your army…” Zeke motioned toward her chess pieces for clarification, “You lose a piece of clothing, first one naked loses. Of course… if you lose your king, you lose everything.” Zeke smirked at her, wondering how daring she was willing to be tonight.

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[daphne]

Daphne rolled her eyes, ”And what? You’re the king of all things chess?” She chided and then pursed her lips. In fact, she knew that Zeke was pretty good when it came to the chess board. A lot of times when they were in Hawaii, she would see him playing with random people on the beach. Of course, he had to disenchant the board when they were in muggle places, but she assumed that the rules remained the same whether the pieces were moving themselves or the player was doing the moving. Daph wasn’t sure what the appeal was when it came to the game, nor why she wanted to learn how to play now, but she found that once she had started, she wasn’t about to back down from the challenge that this entire situation was posing. Then he started lecturing her on the importance of the king, ”You know-” Daphne picked up her king and held it in her hands for a little while, staring down at it and laughing slightly, ”I think that the Queen is a strong and independent woman and she doesn’t need a man.” She placed the king back onto the board where he belonged and he grumbled and shook a fist at her. Daphne stuck out her tongue at him and then laughed, ”He’s salty because he knows I’m right.”

Strip Chess? Was that was Zeke was suggesting? Daphne felt her palms go a little sweaty, unsure of what she should say here. On one hand, she was more than happy to agree to stick it to Theo...make him feel the same pain that she had. But on the other, more rational, hand, she knew that it was wrong and she knew that it would hurt him. She didn’t want to hurt Nott. As much as she was hurting in this moment, she couldn’t imagine putting him through the same pain. No, she didn’t want to imagine it and she hoped that she would never have to. Instead, she chose to simply laugh. A small giggle escaped her lips, it wasn’t meant to be flirtatious, but she was sure that it came off that way, so she countered with a pursing of her lips, ”I’m not sure that’s wise-” She said and nodded toward the staircase to the boy’s dorm, ”Arch is a light sleeper. He might hear us.” ‘Not to mention Theo is right upstairs...’ She could feel her heart practically beating out of her chest as she sat there in front of him, looking like a fool and turning down his offer to up the stakes, ”And trust me, I would be laughing so hard that we would wake them up. I’ve seen what you look like without a shirt, Maxi, and it’s just-” She gave a mock shiver and then laughed quietly.

”We could always, you know, bet something else.” Daphne tried to suggest, hoping that she wasn’t coming off as too lame. The more that she denied playing strip-chess, the more that she felt like Astoria. A lame, old, boring washed-up Slytherin. In all honest, in this moment, Daphne felt a little pathetic. She felt like she should just go upstairs and crawl into bed instead of embarrassing herself more by staying with Zeke. But she found that she couldn’t move. She was rooted to the spot as if by unseen tethers. She had spent most of her life developing a reputation that probably made Zeke think that she was up for anything and now here she was, turning him down. Of course, there was some hesitation, but she chalked it up to her old habits dying pretty hard. She bit down on her lip to try and hide the smile, she was proud of herself for saying no....it was probably the one time in her life that she had ever actually done so.

Without really waiting for an answer to her alternative suggestion, Daphne pointed her pawn to a square that was in front of it and then looked up at Zeke expectantly, ”Your move, Maxwell-” She was trying to lighten the mood that she felt like she had drug down. They had been having such a good time and she just...well, she couldn’t let it keep going. There weren’t any real feelings there anyway, it was just residual Theo feelings...right? ‘Right,’ she confirmed mentally and nodded her head. Daph leaned backwards slightly and then cocked her head to one side, ”Who taught you how to play?” She asked, gesturing to the board in front of them as she not-so-patiently waited for him to make his first move.

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[ZEKE ANTHONY MAXWELL]

Zeke laughed slightly, “No, I am not the king of chess. Not yet at least, although I do hope one day to be the King of my own army.” he shrugged as he studied Daphne, she was so…complex. She had so many different levels and layers to her… she was like an onion. Watching her hold the king in her hand he shook his head, “You obviously don’t get chess.” Zeke chuckled slightly as she put the piece down. “The whole concept of the game is to eliminate the opposing King. The King by himself is actually quite useless. He’s helpless and defenseless. His army must protect him, the King must assemble the most loyal and fierce army he can, he must have Rooks, and Knights that are willing to protect him with their lives.” Zeke reached across and tapped each piece accordingly, discretely giving her a chess lesson. “Bishops that are fearless and ready to attack for him.” Once again, he tapped the pieces accordingly, giving her a sly smile, “Pawns that are willing to die for their Lord, hoping to be noble enough in battle to be promoted.” Zeke drew a line with his finger across the front of her pawns. “But.” Zeke reached over and picked up Daphne’s queen and held it in his Palm as she strutted slightly in his hand, sashaying back and forth, “The most important selection he must make is… His Queen. She must be loyal to her King, willing to listen to his every command, she must be willing to trust him, and most importantly. She must be willing to kill for him. She is his sword, and his shield. Without her, he stands no chance.” Zeke’s eyes had travelled up to Daphne’s looking deep into her eyes, trying to read her every thought. “Until he has the proper queen; No man can call himself a King.”

Zeke pulled his head back in surprise. He had never expected Daphne to be the skittish type, in fact; he knew she wasn’t. She was just trying to get out of playing. Zeke felt a wicked grin cross his face, “Oh well. I guess I can understand that you are scared to play.” Zeke shrugged, looking down at his pieces, “It’s just odd, because I always thought that Astoria was the prudish one in your family. Must be a family trait then I guess.” Zeke smiled to himself, knowing what he was doing, “Check-mate.” he thought to himself.

He nodded at his Chess pieces as they started to come to life, preparing for their war and then looking back up at Daphne he smiled politely at her move, “Knight to F-3.” he said with a short and authoritative voice as his Knight began the slow move to its new square. “My Father. He called it a thinking man’s game, said it was important for me to learn it. It’s true though, a lot of things in life can be compared to a chess game.” Zeke thought back upon the war, and how he felt that Voldemort had played a poor chess game. He had gotten over aggressive and gone for check mate before he was ready. He left himself vulnerable and his army was now in shambles, running for their lives. It just reminded him that one poor move could be the difference from complete victory or a total loss. Zeke studied the board with its new changes, he was pretty sure that Daphne had never played before, but he still needed to take precautions. “Your move, Love.”

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