New connections
The trio stayed in Estelles room for a while packing things up and moving furniture around and Estelle getting the boys to do the stuff she can’t quite reach.
The room is finished way before Estelle was thinking it would be. Guess it does go faster having two people helping.
“Looks like we’re all finished up here.” Estelle announced, looking around proud of how it turned out.
“Awesome. It looks spectacular.” Cosmo beamed at the other two. “What now? Wanna go down to the others?” He questioned shifting his gaze between them.
“No thank you. I’m staying hidden here for as long as I can get away with it.” Estelle dismisses the purpose, instead throwing herself down on her bed with all her pillows.
“I’m inclined to agree. It was getting overwhelming when we left and I don’t think it’s gotten any better.” Luke looked at his best friend and cousin hoping he would agree.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Is it okay if we stay up here with you Estelle?” Cosmo asked politely hoping for a yes so they could stay in their new little bubble they have going on up here.
“Hmm…? Yea sure." She looked up distracted from the book she had grabbed and started reading as they were speaking. “I was just gonna read so feel free to grab a book and join me if you want too, or do something else, just try to not be too loud.” She dismissed them and went straight back to the book in hand.
“You don’t have to tell us twice.”
Going over to her bookcase they took a look around for a book each to read from her collection. It was quite a big one with a variation of genres and both wizarding and muggle books and even some in different languages. The only ones they could define tho were english, french, german and some that probably were some sort of scandinavian language. For other people it would seem like she was just ambitious in learning new languages but the ones that knew her knew she had to learn some of them from birth. English because that was her main language and both her parents. But then French from Evans side and the fact that she grew up in france. Then German from Bartys side, he spoke it and had distant family there and therefore wanted to teach her. The Scandinavian part was from many of her friends in her old school. They were from different Scandinavian countries so she picked up some stuff and then decided to learn more of it for fun and to be able to keep up with her friends.
When they got a book each they settled down in the room, Cosmo on a bean bag Estelle had and Luke on the window seat.
It was a quiet read as they had promised. It was a nice atmosphere they created, each sucked in their own world of reading. A nice type of bonding where you don’t actually get to know each other but you get comfortable.
Estelle was pleasantly surprised by this. She knows how her dads are and thereby has a picture of how their friends are (even if it maybe isn’t completely right since she doesn't actually know them and don’t really remember them), but with this picture in mind she thought their kids also would be somewhat the same. Hence loud and not knowing of boundaries. But they’re the complete opposite, or at least two of them are. Maybe she had shut down Dawn a bit too fast. But oh well nothing to do about that now.
As they sit reading they lose track of time sitting in their little bubble. But as all good times it was to come to an end at some point. That point being a knock on the door that burst the bubble following with Evan popping his head inside.
“Hey Estelle hav-” He comes to a complete halt as he lays his eyes on the two boys, the two boys everyone had been searching for for the last 20 - 30 minutes. “Nevermind found them. How long have you been up here?” He asks, pointing a finger between the two.
They look at eachother, then over to Estelle who's already looking at them. Shrugging their shoulders at the same time looking back to Evan. “Since you told Lily to get Estelles' last stuff up. She got distracted so we got it instead and helped set the last up.” Luke offered an explanation. But this somehow seemed to only make him more confused for some reason. It really wasn't that complicated they thought.
“You let them help you?” He asked looking at his daughter as this concept was completely foreign. She nodded in turn with a blank expression. “Willingly? With no force?”
“Yes papa. I’m not completely unable to make human connections, you know?” She rolled her eyes at her dad.
“I know that . It’s just… You know…” He gestured towards her, as if that would be an explanation. To Cosmo and Luke it wasn't, they just looked at their uncle oddly. They had no idea what he meant. Estelle had been perfectly nice to them ever since she opened the door for them. But to Estelle this was an explanation she understood just fine. She wasn't great with new people and she wasn't great at accepting help and for some reason she had crossed both these lines with these two boys. But she didn’t need to explain herself, she knew that so she didn’t. She just looked at her dad with a blank expression. “Anyway, we were looking for you two and I was coming up here to tell you that we have ordered dinner downstairs. So come eat.” He said and left to assumably go back downstairs.
“Urgh!” Was all that came from Estelle throwing her head back as the other two stood up.
“Come on Estelle, knowing everyone down there if we wait too long there won’t be anything good left by the time we get there.” Luke commented, giving her knee a small ecuregin slap.
“I’m good.” Was all she said before she got her book back up from her lap to read.
“Come on, you need to eat. You have been working hard up here all day and need to get energy back into your body now.” Cosmo tried to get her to come with them.
“No I don’t, If I get all that energy you're talking about how will I sleep?” She tried to come up with an excuse, failing miserably might be added. They both gave her a look that said, really? That's what you're going with? “What?” She exclaimed under the pressure from their eyes.
“Come on. They're not all that bad. And if you want we don’t have to necessarily sit by any of them.” Luke commanded as he took her book out of her hands.
“Hey!” She gave him a glare trying to get the book back. But he just gave it to Cosmo and used the opportunity to grab her hands to drag her up from her bed. “You know I’m not sure I like you two anymore.” She complained as they led her down stairs.
“Sure, keep telling yourself that.” Cosom threw a smirk over his shoulder to her. To which she just let out a huff.
“You are mean. You know that?”
“Who’s mean?” She heard an unfamiliar voice from the living room they entered.
“Ahh yes. Luke and Cosmo are probably so mean for getting you downstairs to eat for the first time since breakfast.” Barty said in a sarcastic voice from the couch he was sitting on.
“Okay, now you're the mean one.” She gave him a glare ignoring all the people she didn’t know in the room moving on to the kitchen to grab some of the food.
“Wait, since breakfast?! That’s worse than we thought!” Their eyes went wide going after her to the kitchen. “Since breakfast? Really?”
“Yeah, so what?” She knew she had a bad habit with food. No need for people to point it out. It’s not that she was actively choosing to skip meals, she just got caught up on things and forgot time and with that sometimes normal human functions. But she couldn’t help it, she just couldn’t feel it most of the time.
“So what? You need food. It’s your fuel, what makes you keep going.” Luke argued. He was right, she knew he was. But as already stated, it’s not that easy.
“I know. Okay? It’s just…” She doesn't know how to explain it. She has never been able to. Not to anyone, not even explain it to her own parents and she can talk to them about most things. "I just. I kinda just forget, okay?” She can see that they want to say something more, but she’s done with this topic for now. “Can we just drop it please? I’m going to eat now, right?” They nod. “Okay so drop it.”
She walks out of the kitchen being done with the conversation momentarily forgetting there is a bunch of people in her house she doesn't know and turns right back into the kitchen. She sits down by the breakfast nook by the window and starts eating.
Zoning out she gets in her own bubble forcing everything around her out of her mind and just focusing on the greenery outside. But that bubble does not last nearly as long as she would want to as Luke and Cosmo sit down on the other side of the table by her.
“We’re sorry. We didn’t mean to come off so strong. We will drop it, promise.” Cosmo seemed sincere and with Luke right beside him nodding in agreement they all dropped it. They took the time in the kitchen to talk and get to know each other. Or Estelle getting to know Cosmo and Luke and them two getting to know Estelle so to say.
It was an enjoyable meal they shared between them and a surprisingly undisturbed one. They had thought people would come in a lot to get more food and some of them trying to join the conversation, but no. Some had grabbed more food, but no one disturbed. Estelle was wondering if her dads had said something to everyone about it or they just had gotten the vibe from the short interaction she had in the living room. Either way she wouldn’t complain. She got some peace from it and was able to focus on the two people in front of her who she thought would become great friends.
And just as she thought, she was right. For the next couple of weeks she grew close to the two spending most days together. Sometimes doing elaborate activities and sometimes just sitting reading together. They were content like that.
Estelle also now has at least said hi to everyone of her dads friends and their kids. But none of them have clicked for her like that.