Summer Plans (Victoria)

Hey Victoria!

How are you? I hope that you are doing okay after what happened at the ball. I'm sorry I didn't write for so long, Brooke said to give you time to get over the incident. I'm not sure what that means...

Anyway, it's been a month since the start of the holidays and I was wondering if you had any plans. I know we talked about visiting each other before. I wanted to ask, do you want to come down to Cornwall, England and spend a few nights at my place? My dad and mum say it's okay with them and they want to meet you.

There will be lots to do. There is a lake next to my house and we can go swimming if you like. Or we can go down to the shops. Or the forest next to my house. I hope to hear from you soon!

Love,
Tristan.

Excitedly, Tristan tied the envelope to the leg of his owl and watched it fly away. He knew it would take a few days for her to get it, and he wasn't sure if she would reply, but he was hopeful anyway. Merlin knew why he decided to sign with 'love', because that was just not something he did, but for some reason, it had felt right. Now all he had to do was wait for a reply.

It was the Friday morning that Victoria was supposed to arrive, and he was completely and utterly hyper. Brooke was woken up at 9am by a practically bouncing Tristan, who insisted her help in making sure the house was 'alright'. A semi-reluctant, semi-amused Brooke played along, moving from room to room and humouring his questions. Finally, an hour later, they sat in the kitchen eating breakfast, while he continued to bombard her with his ideas of what he and Victoria could do.

At noon, Tristan moved to the living room with his sister, trying to be patient, but it was obvious that he was beyond excited for the Wormwood to arrive. He had changed numerous times, from shorts and a t-shirt to track pants, and back to shorts, before finally settling on three-quarter pants. Each change was met with a raised eyebrow from Brooke, who didn't say much but chuckled to herself every time. She wasn't going to tease him, however, because she had pretty much done the same before going on one of her dates with Joe.

When the soft knock on their door was heard, Tristan jumped up from the couch and made for the door, hesitating for a split second before opening it with a smile. Brooke slowly walked over to join him.

"Vic!" he greeted, slightly louder than necessary in his excitement to see her again. "How're you?"

Behind him, Brooke gave him a quiet nudge; in his enthusiasm, he had forgotten to invite his guest in. Picking up on his sister's hinting, he blushed a little, stepping back and added hastily, "Please do come in."

"I'm excited! And you?"

A grin to match the one on Victoria's face began to form. "I'm really excited, too!" he replied, doing his utmost best to stay still and not start fidgeting. As the suitcase was brought in, he couldn't help but start at the size of it; his whole family were efficient packers, usually taking the bare minimum, and to see such a large suitcase for a three day trip was a new things to him. Still, he didn't say anything about it, although he was curious as to what his friend could have brought with her.

He had just been about to invite who he assumed was Victoria's father inside, when the man left, and, with a tiny shrug, he turned back in time to see Vic greeting Brooke with a hug. The older witch, surprised at this show of affection, hesitated a split second before warmly hugging the girl back. "Hey, Victoria," she said, smiling. "It's nice to meet you. You're all Tristan has been talking about for the past few days!" With a quick wink towards her blushing brother, Brooke made to move back to her room, but paused, and turned back. "Do you need help with your bag? I can bring it to the guest room for you, if you want," she added, noting that it might be too heavy for both Victoria and Tristan to carry without the use of magic, and she wasn't sure if Victoria was of age.

"He'd thrown it in the laundry yesterday by accident!"

Chuckling, Tristan smiled. "It's alright. My dad does that sometimes. You'll get to meet him and my mum later tonight. They're out working at the moment, but they should be back by dinner time." He paused for a few moments before asking, "So, what do you want to do first?"

Turning slightly, he saw Victoria wearing a similar blush and he sent her an embarrassed smile. As much as he loved his sister, she could be rather cheeky at times, liking to tease him about whatever she could. Of course, he teased her back, about Joe mostly, so they was more or less even.

When Vic said she didn't need the help, Brooke nodded and left with a smile to the both of them. "Have fun. Dinner is at seven, if you are thinking of playing outside," she added over her shoulders as she headed up the stairs. The shut of her door signaled that they were alone.

Tristan listened to her suggestion. "Sure! I've only been there a few times before. There's a treehouse in a clearing; Brooke showed it to me the last time. She said she goes there for quiet. I might be able to find our way back there, if you want. We can have a mini picnic?" he inquired, knowing that dinner was still a few hours away. He waited for her answer with an excited smile.

"I think food will be a good idea! Just in case we get lost for a little bit!"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "We won't get lost," he assured her. "I don't get lost easy. I can't promise I'll find the tree house, but we won't get lost." Already he was forming the path in his head, trying to recall the way Brooke had led him. It was in a secluded area, that much he remembered. He could only hope that, once he was in the forest, things would be clearer to him.

"Do you want me to come help you get some food ready?"

"If you want to," he said with a smile. Mentally going through the items they had in their kitchen, he wondered what they could bring along with them. Nothing too heavy, he decided, but nothing boring like fruits, either. Did they have any junk food? He made a mental note to check the pantry once they got there.

Turning towards her so he could lead her to the kitchen, he saw her suitcase beside her and only then did he remember that he was supposed to show her to guest room. "Do you want to put your stuff in your room first?" he asked. "Then we can go and see what food we can gather ?"