Tune Away the Darkness || St. Rose
Who: Jesse and Marley
What: Music listening
When: Thursday Evening, February 6th
Where: Room of Requirement
Notes: Jesse needs some really good music… and maybe some talking. Who knows what else?
It didn’t help that Quinn had been mysteriously flighty ever since her interrogation about the library books, nor that he felt he couldn’t go to the one person he really wanted to talk to, Cooper. Flo and Finn seemed to happy and he didn’t want to damper their bliss. There wasn’t really anyone else, a drawback of hating nearly everyone.
When the loneliness became too much to bear and his books failed in giving him an escape, he turned to music. Wizardrock wasn’t particularly emotional though, and it frankly surprised Jesse how limited the realm of magical music was. But Marley offered an alternative, and a promising one at that. Which is what led him to the Room of Requirement.
Jesse willed the room into being occupied with mountains of plush pillows with earthy, arabesque patterns. Bright colours would’ve just exacerbated his turmoil, and dark colours would make it too easy to wallow. Calm and soothing earth tones would surely do the trick. But as he waited for the young Hufflepuff to arrive, he realized they had no effect. Well, it was better than an adverse one.
Marley: Marley has always been the kind of person that cares deeply for people, Jesse was no exception. As the time passed by she felt herself getting more and more fascinated with the Slytherin boy. She couldn’t deny the small crush she had on him, but that’s all it was- a small crush. There was no need to bring it up.
Because of this fascination, Marley couldn’t contain her excitement when Jesse asked her to show him some Muggle music. As much as she loved the Wizard World, the Muggle world was her first and current home. Muggle things are some of her favorites, even when some of the other students have no idea what she’s on about.
She gathered her records with an air of excitement, priding herself in finding such good ones for such low prices. Most people in her area were so focused on the new things that they skipped right over the old ones selling for a pound. Though that was to her convenience, without it she wouldn’t own what she did.
When her arms were full of albums she made her way to the Room of Requirement, stopping only a few times to keep the stack from falling. After the door presented itself she headed inside, taking in all the lovely things Jesse had made appear. The table to her left turned a neon blue as she set down the records, feeding off her excitement. “Hi Jesse,” she smiled, rushing over to give him a hug. “I brought all the best records, I promise.”
Jesse: Looking up from fidgeting fingers, Jesse stood as the young girl entered. Instantly her cheer seemed to fill the air, combining thickly with his gloom. He feigned a smile in a return and a masterfully acted chuckle as she rushed over to him.
"Hey, Rose!" Her hair even smelled happy. "I’m glad. I’ve been hankering for something to fill the quiet other than Christmas carols, and classical music, and whatever inane drivel they put on the WWN."
Jesse looked over Marley’s shoulder as he pulled shortly away and noticed the table had changed colours. “Hey now! Thirty seconds and you’re already disapproving of my choice in décor?” His tone was playful, but the blue did glare in his eye against all the mild hues around it. It didn’t help that the blue reminded him of Cooper.
Marley: She held onto him tightly for a moment, her cheeks red when she pulled away. “I do have a first name, you know. However, you’re excused since you’re letting me introduce you to some amazing music.” she grinned, following his gaze over to the table.
"Sorry, it’s just… gloomy in here. It’s happy music, therefore things should be cheery." she willed the decorations to change color, watching as the ones on her side of the room turned into pastels. A small laugh escaped her lips, grinning over at him.
Making her way over to the record player, she plucked out her favorite Billy Joel one. “Billy Joel is the best, even if his music is kind of old. Well, it’s all kind of old, but he’s one of the oldest. Next to the Beatles of course.” She grinned and put the record in, listening as Uptown Girl floated through the room.
Jesse: As she went on, moving around the room and brightening up the space with her infectious, Huffepuff joy, Jesse bit back a sigh. It all glared painfully in his eyes with its neons and fluorescents. It was colourfully garish and it started to make him sick.
He didn’t understand why she was changing it. Earth tones weren’t gloomy, they were relaxing. They were neutral and natural, and anything else was just too much for Jesse to handle right now. But he held his tongue because he wasn’t sure if they were at the point where they shared dark secrets and painful feelings.
"I’m not big on first names. I only call C-" he shut and pursed his lips, catching himself before he went too far. A second later the record started playing, just as upbeat and cheery as the colours Marley favoured. "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, rushing over to the record player to take the needle off. "Turn that off, it’s far too chipper!"
Marley: Marley jumped when Jesse yelled, her eyes widening. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with him, or nothing was wrong at all and she had annoyed him. “I- I’m sorry,” she stammered out, pulling the record out of the player gently. She let the room fall back to the colors it had been previously, nervously thumbing through her records.
"Maybe you should pick one instead," she suggested, her face already bright red. She nudged the pile towards him cautiously, Jesse’s shouts still echoing in her ears. She didn’t like being yelled at, she didn’t think anyone did. But yelling had always been something particularly touchy to her. Of course, Jesse didn’t know that. It wasn’t his fault.
Jesse: Noticing the way she looked so startled and embarrassed, Jesse sighed and turned to her. “I’m sorry,” his tone dropped to a sad murmur. “I’m just.. I don’t know, not in a very cheery mood. I was hoping for something more… I guess melancholy? Calmer, cathartic, expressive.”
He turned back to the phongraph, it’s cartoonishly large horn towering over him as he put the needle back on. “So this is the famous Billy Joel, is it?” He had never been very good at segues.
Marley:
"It's- It's alright," she said gently, touching his shoulder briefly. "Do you want to talk about what's got you upset?" she asked, "Calmer? I can do that." she plucked another record off the stack, starting the record player back up and listening as Let It Be by the Beatles started playing.
"It was, yes. But this... is the Beatles. They're even older, but they'll never go out of style. Everyone can relate to something they've written, even if some of it makes no sense."
