Open A Rose Tinted Lens

[Nixon Mercury]

Nixon never thought he would experience a valentines day that rivaled if not exceeded the one from his previous year, but as the sun set and the dance was due to begin he stood well and truly corrected. The pink rose sent to him by a secret admirer he was yet to discern played on his mind more than anything else, the possibility of who it could be still lingering in his thoughts as he arrived to the dance. He decided to dress neatly but comfortably, with his camera hanging from his shoulder hoping he would look unassuming enough to blend in. One benefit of working for the yearbook at events was the chance to be a fly on the wall with students ignoring him to focus on their own lives, knowing he was on a mission to take photos. It was the perfect opportunity to eavesdrop and watch situations unfold from afar through his lens, something he was aware of but did not intend to actually use to his advantage until that night because he intended to look for his admirer between capturing photos of the dance. Whoever they were, he thought he might catch them giving him repeated glances from across the hall, as if the roles were reversed he would be doing the exact same thing. He hoped he didn't appear too boring that this admirer wouldn't notice him, but just in case he decided the best place to begin his mission was next to the dance floor. It was a main focal point of the room, and as he brought his camera to his face and took his first set of photos for the night, he was sure whoever he was looking for had the chance to notice him.​

 

[Marlowe Moors]

Marlowe trotted around the dance floor in her sparkly bright outfit daring to stand out and not caring. She knew what she liked and liked what she wanted to. Speaking of liking she could see Nixon taking photos out near the dance floor and wondered if he ever thought about her. She certainly thought about him but most of the time felt as though he was out of bounds. Her older sister and him were the best of friends so she was sure Jocelynn must like him though they never went to anything together. She honestly wasn't even sure if Nixon liked girls but Marlowe certainly liked Nixon. She smiled and made her way behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Dance with me handsome?" She asked in a teasing kind of way, she didn't want to give off her secret for real. She was happy to crush on him and wait for him to look back at her. It made her wish she had sent him a secret rose, but she'd made the thought too late and missed her chance this year.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel knew that wandering around aimlessly on the dance floor didn't make him look cool, but he'd sort of stopped caring. Plenty of people were standing around, chatting, drinking their drinks, doing everything except dancing. The only difference was that they weren't by themselves. He wondered if he should go and look for Analei. But she might be talking to somebody else, and then he would cramp up her style and make things awkward. An invisible force suddenly bound his feet to the spot. He had just spotted Nixon; with him, Marlowe, who Arvel knew vaguely from his classes. His heart twinged as he recalled the way he'd responded to seeing Nixon with Tristan. No. He was better than that. If Marlowe and Nixon chatted or danced or kiss, Arvel would just look away. Except he couldn't. Mostly he was just curious. He felt sorry for Marlowe. The way she looked at Nixon, he could tell she liked him. Who wouldn't, based on appearances alone? Nixon was cute. Would it have been just as immoral as jinxing Nixon to warn everybody that went near him what a horrible person he was? Probably. He turned away, as if turning to chat to a friend, though of course there was nobody there.

 

[Nixon Mercury]

Turning his camera lens, Nixon focused on the atmosphere of the hall, beginning by taking a wide shot of the students against the brightly coloured decorations. It was then he saw Arvel walking around, and lowered his camera a little as he pondered whether to approach the younger boy or not. He had sent Arvel a pink rose without a note, too scared to sign it with his name but intending for it to be a subtle apology for his actions in his own weird way. It had occurred to Nixon that an entire year had passed since he first met Arvel and with that year filled with negative interactions and the particularly traumatic experience of being hit with a boil jinx, he had been moved to try and fix what was wrong. The problem was one he still couldn't figure out but he knew trying couldn't hurt, and it was this thought process that convinced him in the moment he should talk to Arvel, and at least attempt to make amends properly. Fully lowering his camera and adjusting the strap, Nixon was about to step forward but found himself tense up when he felt a tap on his shoulder. The person behind him could have been who he was looking for, and figuring out who his admirer was took priority over chatting to Arvel, so Nixon slowly turned his head to see the person standing behind him. He immediately relaxed again when he realized it was just Marlowe and turned to face her fully, an easy smile on his face. There was no way Mars of all people could have been his admirer and he quickly dismissed her 'handsome' comment as politeness. "Oh, hey Mars." He greeted the girl. "Can you hold that thought? I just need to talk to someone. Won't be a few minutes, I'll dance with you afterwards ." Nixon said, hoping she wouldn't mind waiting a moment.​

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Nixon ignored the feeling of his nerves returning, and quickly made his way over to where Arvel was standing, uttering his name to get his attention. "Arvel." He tried to plan out what he wanted to say in his head, but when he spoke again he sounded unrehearsed, unsure of his words. Emotions were difficult for Nixon generally, talking about them was another level of difficult and he never knew how to handle it. "Did you uh, get my rose? The pink one that didn't have a note?" He asked, keeping his attention on Arvel.​

 

[Marlowe Moors]

Marlowe smiled as Nixon turned and looked at, he didn't seem too disappointed when he did. Which only gave her more hope for the future. He was certainly the cutest guy in either her or the year above. Of course there was some cute guys in both those years but Nixon easily topped them all. Plus he never really treated her like his best friend's little sister but more like a friend. At least she thought that was how he treated her. She was glad it didn't seem like Nixon came with anyone which meant it'd be easy to steal more than one dance with him. As long as he let her, she hoped she danced well and looked pretty. She knew her outfit choice and style was rather what the people from the 1990's thought the 40s might look like, but Marlowe like it, made her happy. "OH! Uh okay," she said sad that he was leaving her as soon as she got there, but happy that he'd be back to dance. She watched her crush walk over to a boy in her year, Arvel. He always seemed like a quiet guy, someone that she didn't find herself wanting to hang out with. She hearing range from the two boys and just stood still trying not to stare at the exchange they were having curious though.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel turned around, surprised to hear Nixon say his name. He glanced at Marlowe. Had Nixon just left her to come and talk to him? "Hi," he said, averting his gaze. He'd spent the last half hour trying to avoid running into Nixon, and now here they were, talking. His question made him look up. "I didn't know it was from you," he said. That was one mystery solved, though a new one was rapidly evolving. Why had Nixon sent him a pink rose? He definitely didn't admire Arvel. He had proof of that from the way he'd practically ghosted him ever since their kiss. Was this just another way to toy with Arvel's feelings? To get his hopes up again, so that he could break his heart the next day? He waited silently for an explanation.

 

[Nixon Mercury]

Nixon did not know what he expected to happen during his conversation with Arvel, but he knew it wasn't for the younger hufflepuff to act civil. Out of anything he assumed there would be dismissal, some kind of insult thrown his way instead considering their history. Arvel simply greeting him and then commenting he didn't know the rose was from him put Nixon through a bit of a loop, though he tried not to show his surprise too obviously, intent on continuing and making his apology as quickly yet sincerely as possible so he didn't keep Mars waiting too long. "I sent it because I um, wanted to say sorry, but I didn't know how to." He admitted, still wanting to look anywhere else but willing himself not to look away regardless of how uncomfortable he felt. "It's just been a year since we met and it's been really bad, and I don't want either of us to have another year of problems. I think you deserve to like, go on without worrying about me, you know? I'm sorry for what I've done and that it's been hurting you." Nixon was still unsure of what exactly he was apologizing for. Over the past year he had gathered enough bits and pieces of the situation to assume Arvel was hurting and holding onto something, because there was no other reason Arvel would have jinxed him on the night of the ball, or for him to start crying over the quidditch article in the monthly, and he knew he wanted to apologize to Arvel for the part he had played in everything. That was all Nixon thought that mattered, that he wanted to make amends for what had happened, and as he waited for a response he hoped Arvel felt the same.​

 

[Marlowe Moors]

Marlowe continued to wait for Nixon, eyeing Arvel.


Marlowe stood her ground as she waited for Nixon to return. She wondered what the older boy had to say to her classmate. Although she supposed they might be on Accio! together. She wasn't really sure but continued to wait wishing she had a drink or snack or a friend to help pass the time until Nixon returned to dance with her.