prompt three: the end of all things

[Mia Green]

july fifth, 1953
the interior of pixie hollow
lunchtime

He was alone, and that was the first thing she noticed. She could not remember seeing him before, and that was the second thing she noticed.

"Hi," she said by way of greeting, "Have we met?"

[Adam Hoying]

Of course he was alone--who would he sit with?--but he had expected to remain so, and been fine with it. Apparently, this was not to be the case.

"Um, h-hello," he muttered under his breath, then, reminding himself to raise his voice in order to be heard, "I d-don't think so?"

[Mia Green]

He stuttered, the poor thing. Was stuttering a sort of natural phenomenon? She hoped that it was, and her suddenly appearing was not the cause of it.

"I'm Mia, then," she told him, "Mia Green. I came over here because you look rather lonely. Are you waiting for someone?"

[Adam Hoying]

Mia Green. It was a pretty name, short and sweet, sounding almost poetic. It would make a nice character name.

At the notion that he was waiting for someone, he frowned down at his plate.

"N-not quite," he replied at last, "I'm Adam--Hoying. Adam Hoying."

Internally, he cringed.

[Mia Green]

Subconsciously, her eyebrows furrowed at his response. Surely he had to have some friends willing to eat with him? He seemed a quiet sort, yes, but also one that it would be interesting to get to know, one consisting of more than what was on the surface.

"Why not?" she asked then, taking a seat in the spot beside Adam and putting down her plate. (No one should have to eat alone--it just seemed too sad.)

[Adam Hoying]

Such a simple question, requesting such complex answers--of which he had many, none of which he could really give.

"I suppose because there's n-no one to w-wait for."

[Mia Green]

"You don't have a friend who'll eat with you?"

She seemed baffled by the very notion of such a thing.

[Adam Hoying]

"Not r-really," he replied, knowing he was seeming more and more pathetic by the second and hating it. "H-he's probably busy."

He, as in one. He was not sure how many at this camp he could count as friends after the disaster at yesterday's party.

[Mia Green]

"He?" she asked, probably prying a bit too much and not caring about it a bit, "There's not--more than one?" How could one not have at least more than one friends? She had more than one person she counted as her best friends, for Merlin's sake!

[Adam Hoying]

He stared down at his plate for a moment, poking at his pork absentmindedly. Adam had been wanting some pork for a couple days now, but he wasn't so sure he was hungry anymore.

"I g-guess," he shrugged, "I d-don't really know."

[Mia Green]

"You should have more than one," she murmured, more to herself than to him, "It's not right."

It appeared Mia and Adam were complete opposites, and she wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Well, who is he?" she replied at last, "I can go find him for you, if you want?"

[Adam Hoying]

He chose to ignore the older girl's mutterings--was anything in this world really right?

(As all children are constantly told by their parents, life isn't fair.)

"N-no," he responded quickly, trying his best to dissuade her, though he somehow got the feeling that she was not a girl to be easily dissuaded. "H-he's a counselor, I w-wouldn't want to distract him from...w-whatever counselors d-do at mealtimes." Adam did not know all of the counselors' special responsibilities, after all.

A beat passed, and then he spoke up again, before he could regret it, in response to her first question. "Aiden Duncan."

(Was it sad, that his most-likely-only friend at camp was his counselor? Probably so.)

[Mia Green]

"Oh, we don't do anything special at mealtimes, there's no issue with that. I'm a counselor too, you know," she grinned, "For Team Lost Boys." If he was one of Thijs' kids, she probably would have already seen him, so he must be on one of the other teams. Was he new to Hogwarts, perhaps?

"Aiden?" At this, her smile grew even wider. "I didn't even know that! That's perfect! He's one of my best friends, I'm sure he won't mind." And if he did mind, it would not make the slightest bit of difference.

[Adam Hoying]

Adam had thought he'd heard a similar name before. That explained it, then.

"No, no," he said hurriedly, sounding almost panicky--he did not want Aiden forced to hang out with him, he was still surprised that the enthusiastic, energetic boy chose to hang out with him as it was. "I'm fine, r-really."

[Mia Green]

"It's really not a problem, Adam," she tried her best to reassure the younger boy, who (for some unfathomable reason) almost seemed panicky at this point. "Aiden's great, he'll definitely come back here and sit with us." Her smile softened a bit. "You don't have to sit alone, you know."

[Adam Hoying]

"I know," he muttered, and forced a piece of meat into his mouth to accompany the lie.

(She did not understand, not in the slightest.)

"Y-you can go s-sit with h-him, if you want. I'm f-fine back here."

[Mia Green]

Mia grinned at him, settled further into her seat, and dug into her meal, obviously not intending to leave anytime soon.

[Adam Hoying]

july eighth, 1953
the interior of pixie hollow
the same table as before
breakfast

She was back.

He stared at the seat next to him, rather surprised that it had again been filled.

[Mia Green]

"Hey, Adam," she greeted the boy nonchalantly, "Sleep well?"

(He had been left alone again.)

[Adam Hoying]

He hated that phrase, that question--it seemed so innocent, yet for him, it was terribly tainted.

"Um, okay, I g-guess?"

(It was a lie.)