Valentine's Dance [Term 4]

[Drew Thornton]

As she took her bite, Drew grinned and did his little happy dance, swaying in place to some unheard tune. When she was done, he popped the rest in his mouth, savoring the raspberry filling and licking his fingers to get a few stray drops of the cream.

"One more," he answered with a wide grin, wondering if she wanted the honors, He followed her little dance with a repeat of his own, feeling a little giddy having her in his arms as the chocolate high kicked in. "We finish this one and then go inside, okay?"

[Felicity Hjort]

"Sounds good to me," she answered with a smile. Then again, it was chocolate, and dancing with Drew, and then a surprise gift she couldn't wait to get her hands on. What could go wrong? Well, lots of things but she was hoping for none of those to take place. Waiting to see what he was going to do with the chocolate, take the first bite, eat the whole thing, let her have first tastes, Felicity danced back and forth, anticipation building. The last dance they'd gone to, Felicity had run into him with a tray full of food, and when they'd danced in the rain she'd broken up with him, but she was hoping tonight would go well, no hitches.

"So, candy, dance, present?" she asked hopefully, going over their agenda quickly aloud. She couldn't wait to see what he got her, as she wasn't really expecting anything and thought the rose was absolutely lovely. The previous year he'd given her the necklace she had yet to lose, and she loved it, expect had wanted nothing to do with it in the beginning because of the bear he tried to give her on top of it.

[Connor Manning]

In a way Connor was kind of relieved that the Gryffindor girl didn't ask about it, and he sent her a silent ' thank you ' in the form of a small appreciative smile. It wasn't much, but he hoped his new friend got the message all the same.

He turned to glanced around, completely agreeing with Sophia that it wasn't what he had expected either. He had been to a couple of Hogwarts dances, and he guessed it was usually like this, he just never paid much attention and noticed it so much. " Well, hey, sorry it's turning out to be such a big disappointment and all. " So far, though, it was a disappointment to him, too, probably for different reasons was all. He silently wondered if Sophia had many friends around the school. He had seen her talking with Eaden, but he didn't see either of the Gryffindor girls enough to know if they were friends or just talked occasionally in lessons.

He nodded his head, moving towards the refreshments table with Sophia. " Want anything in particular? I believe we have... " He scanned the labels of drinks before announcing, " Pumpkin juice, punch, or butterbeer. " He was surprised to see the third option, but then again, it was a common drink in magical communities.

[Sophia Crawford]

" Want anything in particular? I believe we have... Pumpkin juice, punch, or butterbeer. "

The girl looked at the table, a little confused. "Butterbeer? Here? That's weird. Well, you can never go wrong with good old punch." Her first dance was turning out to be a little uneventful, but a lot better than some other students' nights. She scanned the room and saw there were many very depressed-looking students, a lot of younger ones, just walking aimlessly through the dance. In comparison to the happy lovey-dovey couples, they looked simply tortured. Her heart went out to them, realizing that she too would be in that boat if Connor hadn't been there.

"Hey...thanks for hanging out with me for the time being. It was really sweet. I know you probably didn't picture your Valentine's Day like this." She kept the thought of Celina in the back of her mind as she said this. She couldn't thank him enough for being so nice to her. She had no clue where or who anyone else really was, and it took courage to talk to an almost stranger. She noticed that there really weren't a whole lot of Gryffindors present and wondered if they all had a big house party without her. It wouldn't be surprising. She wasn't exactly 'in the loop' of things just yet.

[Beau Hopkins]

Beau's eyes took care to drink Autumn in slowly, his ' I'm the luckiest guy in the world ' grin was clearly there as the Ravenclaw girl walked towards him. Her dress looked lovely on her, and it's shade of light blue matched almost perfectly with his own silver dress shirt. As he stepped towards her, he planted a small kiss on her lips. He didn't want to be too kissy out in public and in front of all those people, but he indulged in little kisses instead. " And you look amazingly beautiful. " He said with a cheeky grin, handing the flowers and chocolates to Autumn. He was surprised to see she had a present for him, as well, and he took it when she offered it to him.

" You shouldn't have, really, I don't need anything... " He muttered to her, although a shy smile was still on his face as he accepted the gift graciously. " Thanks, hun. I love it. " He said as he unwrapped his gift, a Death Cab shirt. He smiled slightly, remembering back to when they first met and talked about going to see a concert together. Now it didn't seem like such a far fetched idea after all.

" Do you... like yours? " He asked, tucking the shirt under his arm as he nodded his head towards his small presents in her hands. He hoped she did like them, because he hadn't been sure what to get her or if he should have gotten something more. He was kind of clueless when it came to these kinds of things.

[Jeremy Taylor]

Jeremy wandered around the hall for a while, noticing the others who seemed to be actually enjoying themselves. Boys with girls, people talking with friends, all of them older than he was. He wasn't sure why he even bothered coming.

Of course the food was pretty good. When he got bored watching the older kids make goofy love faces at one another, he took a plate of cookies and ducked under the table where he could enjoy it in piece.

[Autumn McLoughlin]

As she walked up she could help but grin like a loon. Beau looked so handsome, so perfect. She didn't hide her excitement as she walked forward toward her boyfriend. She got within smooch range and he leaned in to kiss her. Since she was wearing heels she didn't have to get on her tippy toes to kiss him back. A series of short, yet very sweet kisses were made bringing a red tinge to the girls face as they finished. He brought the best out of her; she hoped he could see that.

" And you look amazingly beautiful. "

With her free hand she touched her dress lightly, looking down. She felt a bit out of place in the dress. Until her meeting with Beau she wouldn't have been caught dead in something as nice as this dress. It felt right on her body now. If only her sisters could see her. They'd cry tears of joy saying she finally transformed into a girl. Her eyes met his, not sure what to say. Such a small compliment filled her with something she couldn't define. "Thank you. I feel a bit silly, but I think I'll fit in."

She handed him his present, her eyes watching him as he unwrapped it. The fact that he called her 'hun' didn't go unnoticed by the Ravenclaw. She glanced around the hall for a second, looking at the rest of the people there. Everyone seemed to be paired up also. Only a few people came dateless, something that Autumn would have done if she wasn't dating Beau. Autumn looked back over at Beau and saw the grin on his face. "I had to. My sisters was going and I told her to pick it up for me. I didn't know which one you had so I asked her for the newest one they had."

She looked down at her presents, grinning lovingly at them. She couldn't have asked for more. Tiger Lilies were such a gorgeous flower and candies, well, Autumn did love her some sugar. Looking back up at Beau she kissed him lightly again. "Thank you. Everything is beautiful."

Holding the flowers and candy in her arms she looking into the Great Hall for a second. We should probably go in. Don't want to miss all the fun that is going on inside." She freed one of her hands and slid it down to his, holding it. Autumn took a few steps toward the doorway so they could make their 'grand entrance' to this night of love.

[Dante Vroom]

His head instinctively went behind his head as he laughed. “Don't worry about not having a gift. I just wanted to surprise you with something nice.” His hand scratched the back of his head, “I was not expecting anything” was said with a smile and a head shake to show he meant what he said.

It truly did not bother him, as he was completely content watching the girl's reaction to the candies. It was all he wanted out of them. Well not everything, but he must have messed up the spell to hold a sealing of the box. Not that it mattered much, it was just a minor thing he had attempted to do.

This party was slow to start, no one seemed to be doing anything particularly exciting. So he wondered how to get the party going. He figured if he did anything with his wand he would probably get in trouble, and that was not really an option tonight. But what else was there? The dance floor remained fairly empty, the music barely louder than the conversations going on between people. Were all the parties held by the school this boring? He did not remember them being so dull.

Even more, with all the couples staying to themselves he noted some that were being left out. Most notably, a girl in a red dress, he figured she was younger but not by much. She looked out of place standing alone, and he hoped that would change.

His thought could not find something exciting to do, he hoped something would come to mind, or perhaps someone else would spark something up. For now though, he just focused on the girl before him. “So what would you like to do first? Grab a table, get some food, a drink, dance? Or we can stay here and talk some more.” He smiled at that thought, “or of course we could try and mingle with other people. Tonight, it's your call.” He wanted to make sure she had fun tonight, after all, originally she was the one that wanted to go to the dance.

[Beau Hopkins]

As Beau pulled away from a short kiss he had placed on Autumn, a small blush appeared, tinting his cheeks a light pink color. He grinned in a playful manner as he looked her over once again. " Don't worry, you look great. " He said to her comment about feeling kind of silly. She looked really good, and he was glad to just be there with her. He hoped he had conveyed that much through the candies, the flowers, the extra showers he had taken, the cologne he had put on, and how his appearance wasn't ruggish or a bit messy like normal. He had wanted to look nice for her, and he really hoped she liked it.

Beau unfolded the shirt Autumn had gotten him and looked at the Death Cab logo. It was from their most recent album, Narrow Stairs, and was in Beau's opinion one of their best yet. " No, I don't have it. Well... I do now. " He corrected himself as he folded the shirt back up, smiling widely at Autumn. She was thoughtful like that. " Then tell your sister I said thanks. " He mentioned as a bit of an afterthought, nodding slightly.

His cheeks burned a deeper shade of read as the Ravenclaw girl placed another kiss on him, and he sighed slightly, knowing that everything was perfect for tonight. " My pleasure. " He said, a smile tugging at his lips and lighting up his face as Autumn slid her hand into his. " Yeah, let's get going then, shall we? " He asked as they moved towards the entrance way.

[Drew Thornton]

She was waiting for him and as much as he wanted her to take the last candy to share, he knew it was his present so she probably wouldn't. "That sounds good to me," he told her, sensing her excitement and feeling it himself. As much as she wanted the present he had in his pocket, he wanted to give it to her, hoping she'd like it better than his attempt the previous year.

With a wide grin and wanting to move the evening along, he took the last candy and held it up to her to take the last first bite, no teasing this time.

[Felicity Hjort]

"Me too," she confirmed with a smile. They were still standing outside the Great Hall, and she recognized a few faces as they passed to enter, either because of classes or her House, but she didn't give much of her attention to any particular person other than the most special in her mind. When Drew offered out the candy, she smiled at him, waiting for something to happen. Was she suspicious? Yes, always of Drew, but only because she expected him to pull little laughs on her.

After a moment's hesitation, she leaned in and grabbed a small nibble off the end held out to her, enjoying the dark chocolate filling. Really, she just wanted to hurry and go in and dance so she could have her gift. Reaching out and grabbing the piece of chocolate from Drew's grasp, Felicity started taking a few steps backwards, using the sweet as bait to make Drew follow her at least into the dance.

[Drew Thornton]

She hesitated and Drew knew she was expecting the tease. He just grinned back and held the chocolate out to her, waiting patiently for her to take the bite. He was surprised she only took a nibble instead of the half, and when she took the candy from him and held it out to him, he broke out into a wide grin. They probably looked like cheesy dorks, but he didn't care. If you couldn't be a mushy goofball with your girlfriend on Valentine's Day, then when could you?

He was about to take his part of the chocolate from her when she slowly moved away. Drew followed for a few steps before realizing what game she was actually playing and again, he grinned back at her, his broad smile spanning from ear to ear. "You're teasing me," he accused as he continued his approach, loving every bit of it.

[Layla Jimenez]

Layla had been in her room, reading silently and watching the other girls get ready for he dance. She had been excited about the dance, up until the actual day of. She was ashamed to admit that she was a bit tiffed that no one had asked her. She wasn't too keen on having boyfriends, they were few and far between, but not even a friend had asked her... just to go. It took another hour after everyone else had left for her to realize she was being ridiculous and that she was missing out on a perfectly good party... dateless or not.

She quickly put on a knee-length black skirt and a lacy, pink blouse. She was going to enjoy the evening, even if it was just by stuffing her face. She make it down the stairs to the ground floor in record time and stepped into the decorated Great Hall, immediately happy that she had decided to stop being such a girl and just make it there. Seeing familiar faces, she grinned knowingly folded her hands as she made her way to a nearby table, scanning the available sweets. She leaned in a bit to take a better look at a plate of heart-shaped chocolates when her foot bumped into something... alive under the table. Her brow wriggling, she stepped back and lifted the table cloth, spotting a familar Birdbrain. Ah, Jeremy. Probably the quietest Raven she'd met thus far. It was so hard to get the boy to talk to you, but it didn't stop Layla from trying.

"Hey mate, are you gonna share?" she asked with a giggle.

[Jeremy Taylor]

Jeremy felt someone kick him and he scooted farther under the table, not wanting to be discovered. It was too late. Someone pulled up the tablecloth and peeked into his hiding place. Thank goodness it was just Layla. Jeremy didn't know her too well, but the few times she had talked to him, she seemed nice. She wasn't one of those mean rock-throwing, hitting girls, and she didn't seem overly kissy either.

His mouth was full of cookie, but he still smiled at her and offered her the plate he had nabbed. He figured she wouldn't stick around, being a seventh year and all, but he didn't mind sharing.

[Layla Jimenez]

Taken by surprise by a lovely smile he'd been hiding and the cookie offer, Layla returned her own smile and took the one at the edge in the shape of something at looked like it was supposed to be a cupid. "Thanks," she said, still a bit surprised. She took a big bite and took a better look at his hiding place. "So why are you hiding? It can't be that bad, the food's great?" She looked over her shoulder and saw the look on everyone's face and realized that she had just answered her own question. She rolled her eyes a bit and turned back to Jeremy. "Is it at least comfy down there?"