It Doesn't Matter If You're Shy

Jack heard her voice being called and she winced. She saw Aurora and forced onto her face a happy smile, though her eyes darted around to make sure that no one was here that would recognize her name. At least, no one that she could not deal with. Had Andrew or Chase been in the pub, she knew she would have been in trouble by Aurora's greeting.

But it seemed like there was the all clear. Aurora's companion, Brienne, made her way over to JAck and asked her if she was okay. She forced on a confused smile and answered swiftly, "Okay? I'm dandy. I'll join you guys." She glanced down at the ice cube and snorted with laughter, though she said nothing else.

She grabbed her mug and stood from her booth, walking towards Aurora's booth, gesturing for Brienne to follow. She walked slowly towards them, noticing how old she seemed in just the way she walked. That's what stress did apparently...

She slipped into the booth and offered them both a faint smile. Putting all her usual cockiness into her words, she said, "Hey guys. How's it hanging?"

"Nothing is really going on. Just chillin, Eating excetera." She yawned for a long time. "We need something to do besides sit here and eat though. I have nothing to do on my mind which sucks alot more than ever. " Aurora got up and threw her trash away and when she came back she sat back down, took out her cell phone and started to text for a long time with some muggle friends

Brienne went back to the table, "Well, I'm waiting for my shift here, gotta earn a living somehow. I'm the pianist here, and I take requests from all sorts of people that come in here. One day someone wanted me to do a piano rendition of their favorite pop song! It was a bit hard to do but I managed". She went back to eating her food, and she glanced back at the cube that laid on the other table.

"I found a fly ice-cube in my drink, earlier. One of the waitresses must be having a bad day and taking it out on the customers. I hope she gets canned for it."

Jack nodded at both Aurora and Brienne's explanations of their presences here at the Leaky Cauldron. She nodded. She really had no reasons for being here, besides the fact that it was a lonely solace that was Chase-, Andrew-, and Vito-free. In many ways, that was a bad thing, but it so many more ways it was a blessing.

"That's really cool, Brienne," Jack said distractedly, her eyes once again scanning the crowd. One would think that she seemed to be looking around almost hopefully, and even she did not know for herself what exactly she was looking for. Anything really. At this point, anything was welcome. She smirked to herself at Brienne's words and said calmly, "Tough luck, mate."

"That must suck that you have to work. Im glad that i dont have to work until im older because being a child and all with no job is alot more fun than anything else in the whole entire world." Aurora smiled slightly. It was soooo much fun to have no job. She might do chores and all but those didnt count as jobs did they? She totally hoped not cause if so that would suck

"Yeah, they're always doing stuff like this to me, and making me look like a fool", Brienne said, she rubbed the patch of soreness that was covered up with gauze on her arm. She had a new tattoo, and she had to keep it covered for a little while before she could show it off. It was sore, and any light could damage it as well. She picked up Stanley's journal and leafed through several pages of writing from the time he met Daniel.

"Work doesn't suck that much. Just when there's jack-arses on staff that like to make people's lives hell. Including when they encourage the customers to ask me to play ANY songs at all. Even ones not meant to be played on a piano."

Jack was staring off in the distance when she realized with a jolt that they had carried on the thread of conversation without her and would probably soon be asking what was wrong with her, and that would not do at all. "Huh? Oh right, yeah that sucks." She nodded as sincerely as she could.

She took a deep drink from her mug of hot chocolate, enjoying its soothing, calming effects that spread throughout her entire body. She smiled and said, "So how have you guys been, eh? Ready for school? Good summer? All that jazz.."

"Are you alright jack? You look more bumbed than the time I learned exactly how my parents died." She looked at jack more confused than ever. She could tell there was something wrong with jack she just hoped she could figure out what and soon. She hoped that she could hopefully help with the whole thing.

"Well, somewhat, I stayed with the Dents for a little bit, as well as Daniel. Had to lie to Luna though, or else she'd get worried about me. I didn't want her losing sleep over me" Brienne said. She stared at the clock again, a few more minutes and her shift would start. She heard Aurora's question and added "Yeah, I'd like to know, you're my friend after all".

"She resumed reading the diary she'd "inherited", she giggled at the part about the first night Stanley and Daniel were together.

Jack looked at Aurora and Brienne, both people she considered acquaintances. She knew she was a friend to them, but Jack did not readily let people get close to her, and she did not identify people as friends easily either. It was nothing against them, it was just the fact that Jack did not trust.

And they were entering waters that Jack just did not want to discuss. She had neither the time, the patience, or the resolve to explain exactly why she was so upset or different than usual. She shook her head. "Nah, I'm a little tired you guys. That's all. Really." She nodded and sipped her cocoa again, hoping they would not pursue the topic.