It's worth it... [Faye]

[cremefilled]

Sev sat on the window glancing out at the grounds. He had heard that Dallin Tower was the highest part of the castle. Indeed it was pretty high. In fact, Sev was a little nervous about sitting on the window when he could easily fall. Especially because of the fact that he was shaking. He thought back to the message he had sent Faye earlier, asking her to come up to Dallin Tower. Hopefully she would find it. Sev hoped she would not get lost on the way.

Trembling slightly, Sev decided it was best to get off the window and leaned against the wall. He had almost no experience with girls and this would be the first time he actually asked a girl to a dance. What if she said no? What if she had other plans? For the first time, Sev really loathed the fact that he was homeschooled until now. This had totally ruined his social skills. But his mother had kept him sheltered so he would not be like his father. And Sev wanted to be nothing like his father.

[wolfeh]

"I wonder what this is all about..." the gryffindor girl mumbled incoherently to herself as she thought about Sev's message for the umpteenth time. Not that she minded; Sev was her only friend, and she was glad for some company whenever he felt like delivering it. She stopped on the stiars at the bottom of the tower to put her hair up in pigtails before continuing. Of course, she was trembling a bit. Heights terrified her, though she would never admit it. "Of course, the tower. Why not the dungeon? On second thought, towers are better than dungeons..." she muttered to herself to calm her nerves.

As she reached the top, she took a moment before speaking. "I think...I'm out...of shape. Don't comment." she said with a grin. "Hey Sev. What's up?" she asked, walking over to her friend. "You okay? You don't look too good." she commented on his slight trembling with a raised eyebrow. "So, what did you want to talk about? Is anythign wrong?" Always the worrier, Faye's eyes showed her concern as the corners of her mouth tiled down a bit.

[cremefilled]

The thought of all those stairs did not come to Sev's mind when he had climbed them. He was thinking more of the event ahead of him. When he saw Faye come in, he took a deep breath. This was definitely a weird feeling for him, liking a girl. But he was enjoying it all the same. He smiled and shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine," he quickly said. He glanced at her worried expression and quickly stood up straight. "Don't worry, there's nothing wrong. I just wanted to talk to you."

He glanced out the window again. It was a fairly cloudy day. He had thought of talking to her outside but the weather definitely would not have put her the best mood. He needed things to be just right. So he figured up on the tower overlooking the grounds was the coolest. His hands shaking slightly, he beckoned Faye to look out the window with him. He was not exactly sure what to say. Or if he should even speak right now. His words would probably get jumbled up.

[wolfeh]

Faye relaxed as Sev explained there was nothing wrong. "Well that's okay then." she replied with a smile. She was just glad there wasn't anything wrong. As he motioned for her to look, she did so with much curiosity. "Oh wow, the veiw is...it's wonderful." she breathed, looking down at the grounds. It was like something from a painting, and she made a mental note to come up again to paint it.

Faye sat with him in silence for a moment, enjoying the peace she always seemed to find with him. She turned to Sev, almost reluctantly away from the window. "anything in particular you wanted to talk about, or just nothing in particular?" she asked cheerfully. She felt so relaxed, but curious all the same. Was there a reason to be up there, or was it purely random?

[cremefilled]

Way to rush a nervous guy! Sev could not make Faye wait too much longer. He figured that he better get it over with. Perhaps it was the fear of rejection that kept him hesitant. Well, it was better to find out and continue on with the outcome instead of feeling his heartbeat throbbing in his ears. He stepped back from the window and smiled at Faye.

"Well, you know about the Halloween Ball?" Sev asked slowly, scratching the back of his head. He held his breath for a moment, trying to figure out how to form his words. He really only had one shot at saying it right. "I, uh, and I was wondering, you know... erm. Would you like to go with me?" There he said it. But he still had the answer to anticipate. This was a lot harder than he ever expected. Now he was really upset that he had never gained the experience by living a normal teenager's life at a normal teenager's school

[wolfeh]

Faye raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know about it. Why?" she asked. As he continued, her eyes widened slightly. Was he really asking her, or was she imagining it? She thought for a moment. It wasn't that she didn't like Sev, but it was the fact that she did that made her think before she answered. She bit her lip, unable to speak.

It wasn't like she asked him, so she really had no reason to be nervous, and started to feel bad for making him wait. Her thoughts drifted to negative things, like how he probably thought she was annoying for not answering right away, and how it isn't hard to make a decision. Why did her thoughts drift that way? Shaking it off mentally, she smiled warmly at him and nodded. "I...I'd l-love to go with you Sev." she finally answered. She was glad he asked; she wouldn't have gone if she wouldn't have had a date, and she wastoo shy to ask Sev himself like she had wanted to do.

[cremefilled]

Sev looked down at his hands as Faye remained silent. He kept glancing up at her nervously and began stood on his toes, just waiting for the silence to stop. His heartbeat quickened as every second passed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was about about to say that she didn't have to when she said she would go.

Sev's eyes brightened and his smile widened. "Really? Wow," was all he could say. Every ounce of nervousness suddenly flew from him and onto its next victim. His stance was more relaxed and the beating of his heart beat slowed and quieted. "This is great," he said, breathlessly and stepped forward to hug her. Afterwards, he stepped back and leaned against the wall. "So," he said, still with a goofy grin on his face, "Uh, how has the term been for you so far?"

[wolfeh]

Faye smiled as he hugged her and hugged him back, unable to keep herself from smiling. Not that she wanted to. She felt light as a feather, nothing could bother her. Shrugging, she grinned back at him wolfishly. "Meh, better than last term. It sucks that I'm stuck in first year again though. I came in way to late to move on to the next year in the last week of a ter,. I told my mom to let me go earlier, but she wouldn't let me." she said, shaking her head.

"What about you?" she asked, alternating between pulling and twirling a strand of one of her pigtails. "Last term ended so fast, but then again, I wasn't there long." she rambled with a slight flush. She tended to ramble and it made her uneasy sometimes.

[cremefilled]

"Hey, at least you're here," Sev shrugged. "I'm lucky to be here myself. And luckily I just found out that I just made it to my second year." He smirked. "I'm sure you'll be fine. And besides, I heard it's best to start out at the very end of the old term because you'll have been a while when all the new kids come for the new term. I guess it makes sense."

He glanced at her smile. He really liked how true happiness could be seen through that smile. It just made him smile even brighter. "Yeah, last term was short but we've still got a lot to go. I can't even imagine things on the other side, like when we start getting taught by professors instead of TAs." Sev was more excited, though, for the fact that the classes would be a little more challenging that last time. It must have been his inner Ravenclaw nerdiness but he could not stand being bored in a class being taught something he already knew.

[wolfeh]

"I guess you're right. At least I know where everything is. I won't be as confused or lost as I was before." she nodded in agreement. "Hopefully I'll pay attention and pass this time." she laughed. Failing again would crush her, and she forced herself not to dwell on the possibility.

Faye loved his smile. His smile made her smile, something that had been a rarity when she first arrived at Hogwarts. "Being taught by actual professors sounds a bit nerve wracking, as if T.A.'s didn't scare me enough. I can't imagine graduating. That's a scary thought. Out on my own. I hope I'll be ready for it. I know I have a while, but still."

[cremefilled]

Sev scoffed. "Of course you'll pass," he smirked. "You just came a little late into the term, it's a legit excuse." He enjoyed how it was so easy it was talking to her. Perhaps this was why he liked her more than any of the other girls he had come across. He no longer trembled and his words were coming out perfectly. It was like they had been friends forever and they only met a few weeks ago.

Sev laughed. "Yeah, I guess it would be pretty intimidating to have the professors, but I'm sure they're all awesome. Most of the TA's rock." He thought back to the HOM teacher who yelled at him last term. Still, that was behind him and when classes started again, he'd make a good impression. "And we've still got a long way to go, you're right," he sighed and pushed his bangs out of his eyes. "I say we enjoy each moment as it comes," he added with a warm smile.

[wolfeh]

"Yeah, you're right. I hear everything is easy at first, so I'm not too worried." Faye nodded in agreement. It seemed so odd that she was able to talk to him just fine, when she had trouble even opening her mouth arund most people. It didn't bother her though; everyone needs friends after all. "As long as I pay attention, that is."

"The only class I really paid attention to was History of Magic, and we kinda got in trouble. I suppose it's time to make a second impression and hope it's twice as good as the first one." she laughed and nodded at his last comment. "Live life to the fullest, enjoy each moment, and regret nothing." she agreed with an equally warm smile. As long as she had a friend, Hogwarts would be a piece of cake.

[cremefilled]

"I'm sure you'll pay attention just fine," Sev smirked, stroking his fingers through his hair. "'Cause you don't have me in your classes to distract you any more." He chuckled. It did feel weird for him though, that they were not going to be in the same year any more. Sure it did not make much of a difference since they were only off by a year but that still meant he could not spend more time with her in classes. They would just have to make do outside of class.

"You know that sounds really poetic," he said after Faye made her comment about how to live life. "I like it." There were some things in his past that he could regret. Usually he just repressed them in the back of his mind. Perhaps it was just time for him to forgive and forget those things. He had the future to look forward to now. But he could not look too far into the future or he would not notice what was in front of him right now. And in front of him was a beautiful thing to his eyes.

[wolfeh]

"I know. You're so distracting, geeze." she joked, face slightly scurnched as she stuck her tongue out at Sev playfully with a light laugh. She would miss him in class, but had a feelign it was probably better this way, since he was, in fact, very distracting for her. She doubted she would be able to concentrate on her classes if she had the chance to look at him through the whole thing.

She took a small bow, giving another small, floaty laugh. "It popped in my head when you mentioned enjoying each moment as it comes. I thought it sounded pretty nice." she grinned. "My mom always said to never regret anything, because at one point it was what you wanted. I think she's right about that." she said with a small smile.

[cremefilled]

"To be honest with you," Sev's face turned slightly pink. "I did not want to pay attention in class the day we met. I wished I had a better reason to talk to you despite the fact that the teacher yelled at us." Embarassed by the slight blushing, Sev glanced out the window again. But he still listened to Faye explain where she had heard that awesome saying.

For 16 years of his life, most thought it was physically impossible for Sev to smile any wider than he was doing at that moment. And then he defied all science by smiling even wider and brighter. "Well, I tell you one thing," he said, softly. "I don't regret anything right now and I know I never will." He liked how smooth he was talking. Perhaps Faye would not even realize that she was the first girl he ever talked to in this way. He never realized, though, how natural it was. Especially around someone he could easily call his best friend.

[wolfeh]

Faye listened to Sev's little confession, but could only bite her lip at how adorable he looked when he blushed. She didn't want to say it, but she definately thought it. "Yeah, I didn't want to pay attention either. You really are distracting you know. I'd much rather talk to you than pay attention to class, and I think that's the only time I've been glad I talk to myself sometimes."

His last comment made her flush slightly, and Faye wondered if he talked like that to anyone else. She doubted it though; he didn't seem like a smooth-talking player, which was one of the reasons she liked him. "I don't regret anything either."His smile was to infectious to ignore, and soon hers was as wide and bright as his, resulting in laughter. She wasn't quite sure why she was laughing, but everything felt so natural, and she knew she could be herself around Sev. Laughing randomly was just something she did.

[cremefilled]

OOC: I say we end it here and start up the next thread [for the ball] tomorrow.

Sev laughed and shook his head. "Well, we'll definitely have fun at the dance and not have to worry about being distracted," his eyes smiled at Faye. "Come on. Let's get out of this tower and hang out outside." He put his arm around her shoulders gently and walked with her down the stairs toward the great hall.

Sev decided that he was glad to have come to Hogwarts when he did. If he had come when he was supposed to, when the school first reoppened almost three years ago, he would not have met Faye and would not have experienced the moment before him. He would not have been able to live in this moment right now.

[wolfeh]

OOC: That works. xP

"Outside sounds perfect. I haven't been outside all day." she agreed, nodding. She looked at him with a sweet smile as he led her down, loving the tingling sensation she got as his arm rested around her shoulders. If she could be outside all the time, she would.

She was grateful that Sev had talked to her. Right abou now she would have felt extremely lonely, but his presence kept her far from lonely, and happier than she had been beforehand. If her brother were at Hogwarts, life would be perfect.