everyone_takes | Valentine's Day

It wasn't that Kate was one of those people who totally hated Valentine's Day and everything it stood for, but she'd never really cared much about it either. It was nice to get presents, but she'd lived on the island long enough now that she didn't expect anything.

Usually, what she expected on a day like today was something weird. The fact that she woke up in her own body had been nice and so far nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She didn't feel the need to tell everyone she loved them or act out of character. She didn't feel weird at all.

"I guess nothing is going to happen today," she said to Chang. "I should probably take you outside to play."

The dog bounced around the living room while she collected his ball and a pair of sandals, then raced through the door ahead of her when she opened it. Kate dragged her chair down off the porch and set it up in front of the hut, then began to throw the ball into the jungle for Chang.

"I'm glad you don't eat all my stuff," she said to him. "You know I'm not very good at being tough."

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Harry had a pretty poor track record when it came to Valentine's Days, and that was before the island became a factor in his life. He regarded the approaching day with trepidation, disliking the treacly kind of sweetness that usually permeated the holiday and anticipating some new interference from the island. Turning everything into candy was well and good. But you couldn't trust the island magic to be that kind always.

When he woke up that morning, everything felt wrong, but that was only because Hermione was still gone. That feeling had yet to leave him, even months later, although it did seem to be fading, easing to a dull ache in his belly. Other than that, there was nothing. Nothing had transformed: not the environment and not Harry. A quick walk through the Green Arrow Estates confirmed that no one else seemed to be suffering of anything. It was early yet, but usually people switching bodies or changing personalities entirely got found out fairly quickly.

Harry's hopes were steadily creeping upward as he approached Kate's place and saw her simply playing with Chang. He checked his back pocket once again to make sure her gift was safe and sound, then dared to give her a grin.

"Hey!"

At the sound of Harry's voice, Kate looked up and smiled, tossing the ball for Chang again. "Hey," she greeted him, watching as the stupid dog crashed into the jungle. "Come to play?"

She was teasing, of course, knowing full well that Harry wasn't there for the dog, as much as Chang might have liked that. He retrieved the ball and bounded back out of the trees, looking from Kate to Harry and then back again, his entire body wriggling as he tried to decide what to do. Eventually, he trotted over to Harry and dropped the ball.

"He totally loves you best," she said, surprised by how much that actually worried her. "I shouldn't even care, he's such a pest."

Harry had come to really like Chang, despite his name and ridiculousness. An owl was better than a dog; this he had to believe otherwise he was sure Hedwig would know his feelings and shun him. And a hippogriff was better than a dog, because he was sure Buckbeak would have been insulted otherwise, too. But the dog was definitely his third favorite creature on the island.

"He does love me best," Harry said, kneeling down to give Chang a scratch. That wasn't actually what he had meant to say at all. He had meant to reassure Kate, but the words just slipped out. He frowned slightly and tried to take it back a little.

"I mean, I think it's totally true."

..That wasn't right.

"Hey, rude," Kate said, sitting up in her chair with a frown. "Come on, dude."

And she was still doing that, too. It seemed like no matter what she tried, everything was coming out in rhyme. And everything was coming out as the truth. It was weird and she didn't like it much.

"Have you noticed anything weird about today? This keeps happening, no matter what I say."

It was rude as well as not at all what Harry had meant to say, but when he opened his mouth to try to explain that to Kate, the words twisted and got caught in his throat.

Frowning, he shook his head. "Nothing weird," he said, which was again, wrong. "Everything's normal."

This was already starting to get on his nerves.

"Well, I'm glad you're all fine and dandy," Kate said and although it sounded a little sarcastic, she actually meant it. It was good that nothing was wrong with Harry, especially when everything that came out of her mouth sounded like a stupid kid's poem. Chang bounded toward her and flopped against her lap, covering her in dirt.

"Ugh, he's all sandy," she said, then groaned and rolled her eyes. "I'm seriously over this crap. I need to sleep away this day, take a fucking nap."

"Well, I didn't have anything planned."

Lie. Absolute lie. Harry didn't have a lot planned as he wasn't a huge fan of Valentine's Day, but he did have a present in his pocket and the intention of spending the entire day with Kate. The last thing he wanted was for Kate to spend the day holed up in her hut.

"I couldn't care less," he said, his voice rising in frustration. What was wrong with him?

"Okay," Kate said, dragging out the word as she looked at Harry. Something was weird with him, too, though she couldn't tell what it was. At least she was just doing this rhyming bullshit. He looked like he was getting more and more frustrated by the second. "Bad day?"

If he said no, then she'd know something was up.

"Just great," he said with gritted teeth. Harry couldn't control his voice. Nothing that he wanted to say was coming out and he couldn't tell why.

Except, of course...

"The island isn't doing anything for this holiday," he said with a dark, very obvious scowl.

Kate stared at Harry for a long time, because she knew he was trying to tell her something even if his words weren't necessarily making any sense. Nothing he said made sense, especially with how annoyed he seemed by everything he kept saying. She couldn't lie and it seemed like Harry could only lie.

"Nothing you say is right!" she said, feeling pleased that she'd figured it out. "The stupid island wants us to fight."

It wasn't Kate's fault that she could only speak in rhymes. Harry reminded himself of that. But the couplets were not helping his mood at all. This was frustrating to him and the sound of her words felt like jeering.

"I-- I-- This is great," he said, throwing his hands up in the air. "This is just how I wanted to spend the bloody day."

"At least now I know you mean the opposite of that!" Kate said, still feeling pleased that she'd figured it out. "One step ahead of the island, take that." That wasn't a very good rhyme either, but at least she could blame the island for being a crappy poet.

Valentine's Day

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