Closed Absolutely Batty

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara slipped away from her brothers, pleased with her work that night. She wasn't actually sure what she was supposed to do now, but she was sure she'd figure it out. Tara trounced around a bit, swirling her skirts. She loved this dress, it was so- so foofy. She did a spin, giggling, but as she did she tripped herself, stumbling. She ended up against someone's chest, and she couldn't help but giggle when she looked up. "Well, there's a fun mask." She pulled back. "Should I just call you bat boy or do you have a name?" She asked him, one hand on her hip and a coy grin on her face.

 

[Stan Beckett]

When the twins left the feast to go and spend the rest of the evening at the student lounge, Stan decided to wander around the Great Hall a bit more in the hope to run into something interesting before turning in for the night. He was also looking for a away to distract himself from lamenting on the fact that this was his last year at the castle and that he would lose some of the protection the castle offered him as a werewolf. But he didn't want to dwell on that now, so instead he turned away from the snack table and walked over towards the games section. It was, however, becoming more and more difficult to see through the eye slits of his mask the longer he was wearing it, which resulted in him bumping into another person not long after he set out to play some games. It didn't take more than a second to figure out who he had just bumped into and so pulled the bat mask off, finding it almost instantly easier to breath. "Definitely beats any fur-related nicknames," the Gryffindor replied with a slight chuckle, thinking that she more than anyone else in the Great Hall would get the meaning behind the joke. "But Stan is fine, too," he added

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara's grin grew wider when the mask came off. "Oh! There's my puppy!" She recognized him immediately. "Now why would you go covering up that face with a mask?" She flirted immediately, lacing her arm through his and slipping more into his side. "You are taking me to the ball right?" She smiled. She'd focused enough on her brothers' love life for one night, it was about time to attend to hers.

 

[Stan Beckett]

''How can I be the puppy if I am older than you are?'' Stan asked mock-serious. ''Well, it does go well with the other parts of my costume, the mask does,'' he said, not catching on to the fact that Tara was flirting with him. ''I can take you as far as the games section, I do not think that there is a ball section here.'' He figured that her comment had something to do with the way she was dressed for tonight, even though he couldn't quite make out what she was supposed to be dressed as. ''Are you having fun at your first Halloween feast?''

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara laughed. "Wow, are all boys this dense?" She asked, shifting to stand in front of him. "I was asking why you would cover that cute face. You're my puppy and that's final. And you are taking me to the Yule Ball. I need a date, you know," She smirked, poking his shoulder. "I am having fun, yeah, even if I do have to spell everything out for you." Tara teased him with a smirk.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan was speechless for a moment. Tara's straightforwardness and determination reminded him somewhat of Allison's mannerisms, only Tara didn't seem to have a filter. ''I am sure that you do not want me to take you to the Yule Ball,'' the Gryffindor stammered as he was quickly trying to gather his thoughts. ''There are much better options, especially in your own year.'' He really did not know how to handle such straightforwardness. ''Besides, I am a very boring person to hang around with, and probably won't have the strength to go to the Yule Ball, if you know what I mean,'' he added in a low voice, gesturing to the moon in the enchanted sky above them.

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara raised a brow. "Um, no, I know exactly what I want." She quirked a brow. "We're going. We're going to dance at least twice, have a few drinks, then sneak off somewhere quiet to stretch out and just relax." She told him. She reached out to poke his chest. "You are stuck with me, batsy," She smirked. "Now come on, why don't you show me around. You can't just stand there looking pretty all night." She teased.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan sighed heavily at Tara's persistence. Did she really want to go to the ball together or was this something Casper and Linden had talked her into it? Yes, that was probably it! Why else would she want to go with him? They had only known each other for a couple of months after all. In fact, he was pretty sure that he just saw Casper and Linden talking to one another while looking their way. She also didn't seem to be getting his hint that they probably couldn't even attend the Yule Ball this year because of the full moon. She'd find that out for herself soon enough though. ''Alright, what do you want to see? '' he asked, thinking that it was better to just forget about her determination to be his date for the ball.

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Thinking she had won, Tara smiled, slipping her arm through his. "More of you," she retorted easily. "But I'll settle for exploring that spooky forest over there," She smiled, looking up at him. He was cute when he was flustered. Though, he was cute all the time. She was tempted to kiss him. But then, that would take all the fun away from getting him to make the first move.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan, remaining slightly oblivious to her many flirtatious attempts, decided that it was best to ignore Tara's comment and instead lead her towards the little spooky forest patch in one of the corners of the Great Hall. ''So, what do you think of Hogwarts?'' he asked curiously. ''Have Casper and Linden given you the full tour of the castle or are you still finding your way around?'' He wouldn't be surprised if she told him that she got lost every now and then, everyone had done so at some point while staying at the castle. ''I bet our Prefects wouldn't mind showing you around if you are not all too familiar with the place yet.''

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara considered his question. "It's big, definitely." She offered, a bit unsure of how else to describe it. Overwhelming would be admitting defeat. "Linden showed me around when we got here, Cas is mostly holed up in the arts room on commissions, and I have been hanging out a bit with that boy Lumio." She told him with a shrug. She gave him a coy smile then. "Why don't you show me around then, batsy?" She asked him.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan smiled when she described the castle to him. To call the castle big was an understatement. It was enormous. He made a mental note to remind himself to get Casper out of the Arts room every so often, being holed up in one place all the time wasn't good for you, and he should know, he'd spent most of his third and fourth year holed up in an abandoned classroom. Stan smiled again when she mentioned one of his dormmates. ''Oh, Lumio is nice!'' he told her. ''He's in my year and way better equipped to show you around since he is a Prefect. Well, apart from being able to show you shortcuts to use if you want to avoid patrols at night, because it would be inappropriate for him to show you those, I'm sure he would show you everything if you'd ask.'' They then reached the spooky forest, which made him chuckle to himself, as it wasn't even that scary to him. ''Is this what you were looking forward to?'' he asked, grinning at her.

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara listened to Stan, smiling at him as he talked about the castle and Lumio. She looked around the little forest, raising a brow. This had looked more intimidating outside than it did now that they were inside. But, it did provide a hint of cover. "Mm... yes," She countered, but not for the reason he was probably expecting. Tara wasn't clueless, she had noticed that most of her flirting was flying over his head. She pushed up on tiptoe, trying to press a kiss to the corner of his lips. Close enough that it couldn't be confused as being friendly, but not enough to be considered a kiss.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan frowned at Tara's answer and gave her a somewhat questioning look as he glanced around the spooky forest. He thought that it was far from scary and was almost certain that she did too since she wasn't being overly excited about it. What she did next caught him by surprise and made him turn red in the face almost immediately. ''I... eh...'' It also left him a little speechless. She must have been really thankful to him for walking her to the spooky forest. ''You are welcome, I guess?'' he said confusingly. Girls were weird.

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara's brow furrowed. "You are so clueless," She rolled her eyes, almost playfully, and poked his shoulder. "This is supposed to be the part where you, y'know, kiss me?" She hinted, a coy grin on her lips. "You boys are so dense. I'm trying to get you to ask me out, dummy." She told him. Maybe nudging wasn't working, but a good push should do the trick.

 

[Stan Beckett]

It took Stan a moment to comprehend what she was saying to him because he did not expect her to say such a thing so directly. ''You want me to kiss you?'' the Gryffindor repeated, a little dumbfounded. ''Why?'' Sure they had spent a lot of time together in the hospital wing and the common room due to their shared monthly problem, which did do quite a lot to establish a friendship between them, but kissing? Wasn't kissing something for couples? The fact that Stan was asking himself such a question was a testament to how little he actually knew about girlfriends, couples and relationships. Then again, he did have other, more pressing matters on his mind a lot of the time, which was why he had never been that curious about other things in his life.

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara couldn't help but laugh, setting her hands on his arms. "Well, duh." She countered, giving him a smile. "I want you to be my boyfriend too. But it's so much more fun if you make the first move." She laughed lightly, shaking her head. "I've been flirting with you for months though and you don't seem to be getting it. So maybe you need a bit of encouragement." She teased him.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan stared at her in disbelief, half thinking that she must be joking and that this was all just a dumb thing from Casper, Linden and quite possibly Allison. ''Oh, come on, really?'' he said with a hint of sarcasm. ''Me? Surely you see that the two of us dating would only be trouble, given our little furry problem,'' he added in a low voice. ''And you have been flirting with me for months and thought that I would make the first move all this time? And you call me dense,'' Stan joked. It did explain why she was so handsy with him lately. But how in the world hadn't he noticed anything?

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara put her hands on her hips. "Yes, you," She threw back. "And please, if anything that makes it easier, don't you think?" She asked. "And you are going to make the first move. I haven't done anything yet. Maybe clued you in a bit, since obviously you need a bit of a push." She bit her lip, putting a hand on his arm. "Come on, batsy, you can't tell me there's nothing here."

 

[Stan Beckett]

''Why do you want me to make the first move so badly?'' he asked her, giving her a questioning look. If he was really as clueless as she said that he was, then why didn't she just make the first move if she liked him. Why were girls so confusing? ''Also, by clueing me in, is that not technically you making the first move?'' he added, grinning widely. He smiled when Tara placed a hand on his arm. ''Well, I will not deny that I find you pretty,'' he replied.

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara laughed at his question and shook her head. "Because I'm a girl Stan, and its no fun if I have to do it all by myself." she countered. She smirked at his question, rolling her eyes. "No, making the first move would be pushing you into a tree and kissing you," She put a hand on her hip. The thought was still tempting. She laughed when he called her pretty, flipping her hair a bit behind her shoulder. "Of course I am, I'm gorgeous." She slid her hand over his. "And so are you. Even if you are a bit clueless," She teased him.