Closed Afterwards

[Corrine Lagos]

The dance had proven to be every bit as magical as she hoped it would be, and she had danced and laughed and had a lot of fun with Cullen. They'd remained for most of the dance, leaving just before they knew the rush would. As the music faded behind them, Corrine felt content. She had a pleasant expression on her face as she and her boyfriend began to walk up the steps and after a moment she leaned her head against his shoulder. Being only a bit shorter than her partner had its good points and this was one of them. Corrine had never been a fan of her height until she'd begun dating Cullen and realized how well it seemed to work. He was going to drop her off at Gryffindor Tower before continuing on to his own space. "So...should I run up to my room and grab your present or will you have time in the morning?" Corrine didn't look at her boyfriend as she spoke, not wanting to betray her excitement with her expression. Still, her smile had grown, her eyes twinkling a bit mischievously as she spoke about this gift. Having a job had proven to be a lot of work but came with the payoff of galleons that she could spend without explanation to anyone. It was easily the best part... along with all of the samples.

 

[Cullen Yeong]

Cullen hesitated as he listened to Corrine ask about his present. He hadn't thought to give it to her now, otherwise he might have brought it to the dance. "I'll have plenty of time in the morning if you want yours at the same moment," he replied taking her hand as they walked up to the Gryffindor Tower. He was happy with Corrine and her friends were nice which was a plus. They seemed to like him as well which meant he had more friends through her. "Actually I did want to ask you about future, we haven't talked much about maybe visiting during break and also after school ends ." Cullen was hoping that they'd stay together after school even though their career choices were quite a bit different, he thought it would be really nice if they did. He wasn't really sure what Corrine was thinking since they hadn't conversed about it before. He wondered if that was weird, half way through their last year at school and they hadn't talked about what they wanted to do afterwards. He half wondered if proposing at the end of school would be the right step, or if they should wait longer. What if Corrine didn't even want to be with him forever? If this was just a school romance and she was hoping in the future to marry someone better? All the thoughts plagued his mind as he waited for her to reply that she was opened to talking about it.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

"Ok" she nodded, happy that she'd get to see him one more time before they parted ways for the holidays. Corrine wasn't expecting what he said next. She'd mentioned that she was going home, to Greece, for the holidays, and she hadn't even thought to ask him about joining her. But, it was the rest that set her heart beating very quickly. Corrine had been thinking about the end of school and what her future career might be and whether or not to simply remain at her current job while she figured it all out. There were a lot of decisions to make, and Corrine had certainly spent many a night and day dreaming about being in a wedding dress walking down the aisle towards Cullen. The images had crossed her mind far more when they'd begun dating but resurfaced every now and then when she was having a particularly rough day. It was comforting to think about, Cullen was her comfortable place. But Corrine knew that not all school relationships survived into the real world. Corrine lifted her head from his shoulder, giving him a look before she nodded slightly. "Ok..." she said repeating the same word she'd just spoken though far more quiet, not sure she wanted to have this conversation. Cullen's sister didn't like him very much. What if that made him think about how the rest of her family might take her? What if he decided it wasn't worth the risk? Cullen was far more cautious about things than she was. Corrine tugged him towards a small alcove with a little seat. This felt like it was going to be a long conversation. "Do you want to visit me during the break? I'm going to be in Greece..." she trailed off, knowing it was a far trip and it would mean meeting her parents, something she'd never suggested and he'd never asked.

 

[Cullen Yeong]

Cullen was excited to give Corrine her present, it was small but he was glad she had time for him tomorrow to give it to her. "Good, before breakfast we can meet," he said also hoping they'd sit together on the train back to the real world outside of the school. "I don't want to pressure you and if you're not up to anything it's okay. You don't need to worry for my feelings, you understand?" Cullen said wondering how well he might get his meaning across to her. "If this is something that's for here, that's how you feel, it's okay," he said feeling that might be the case for her. Considering how she was phrasing about him visiting in Greece. He knew she was from far away and did not spend all her time in New Zealand. On the other hand his entire close family was living in New Zealand now.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine nodded, liking the idea of exchanging gifts in the morning. It would be a fun way to start the day. Corrine had been wondering about Cullen's gift, curious to see what he might have gotten her. She'd been dropping hints to everyone about different things she wanted, hoping to make Christmas easier for everyone. As Cullen continued to speak, Corrine's smile froze on her face and then fell off completely, replaced by a frown. She disagreed with him completely. "No. I don't understand" she stated bluntly. "Of course I need to worry about your feelings, Cullen" she added, not liking the direction this conversation was going. Corrine kept her frown, her gaze on the small part of her shoes she could see. Corrine heard his next words and tried to sift through them. Was their relationship something for here? Corrine hadn't thought so before right this minute. Now she was worried that perhaps it was how Cullen felt since he was so easy to accept it. Perhaps he wasn't willing to push it or her because he liked their relationship being just for school and he wanted her to feel that way too.

Corrine could feel her heart beating faster as her blue eyes looked up at her boyfriend. "Why don't you want me to? Are we just for here?" she asked, horrified. Corrine had always imagined walking across the stage and then watching Cullen do the same and then...she realized she hadn't really thought anything specific about their real life after school. Sure, she'd dreamt of wedding dresses but had she ever really thought of them living side by side doing mundane things like going to work or grocery shopping or going to the Healers? No she couldn't really say that she had. She'd thought about herself dressed in work clothes, off to a job, often enough these days trying to get some comfort with the image. Corrine's horror increased as she realized she may have put an expiration on their relationship herself. "I...I can't talk about this now" she stood up abruptly and attempted to move past Cullen to walk away. This was not a conversation she wanted to have after all, and Cullen bringing it up had only served to confuse her when she thought she'd had a clear vision of her life after school. How she could have missed a gaping hole the size of Cullen was beyond her and disturbed her a great deal. She loved her boyfriend so so much, but if she couldn't even think of him, she just knew he deserved far far more than her. That her disturbance about all of this could prove just how much she did actually think of him in her life, both now and in the future, didn't seem to cross her mind as tears welled in her eyes.

 

[Cullen Yeong]

Cullen had never been good at reading the tone in conversation in English. It was one downfall of being a foreign speaker and possibly also his nature guy nature of not noticing the subtle hints women give off in their speech. If Corrine was ever passively angry with him he probably wouldn't notice it. But he did notice her tone now. It seemed hurt which hadn't been what he wanted. He didn't want her to feel pressured in staying in a relationship he wasn't sure she was wanting to keep after school. After all he thought maybe her mentioning it was Greece was a way to say she didn't want him to meet her family. Which might imply that she didn't think their relationship was good enough for that step. But maybe he misheard the conversation about the break in his ears. "I don't want you to feel like you have to stay with me if you want to move on, you're too nice I can't see you breaking up with me even if that is something you want. Do you want me to meet your parents? I thought there maybe you didn't, but I'm not really sure," he spoke finishing in Korean.

Cullen watched her face as she seemed to process some thoughts to herself. Then it seemed as though maybe she realized that he had noticed the end of their relationship happening without her knowing, or something like that. As she suddenly stood and began to take off. He paused for a moment unsure what he should do, was this it? Should he fight for them? He knew he loved her, he couldn't imagine life after school apart from her. He had hoped maybe they'd be getting more serious now that they'd been together for so long but she seemed to not push their relationship forward, instead it stayed the same, which wasn't bad but it made him unsure what she was looking for in their relationship. "Corrine-ya, wait! Ack!" Cullen yelled after Corrine running to catch up with her. It was good that she was so short and in a dress making her much slower than him. He caught her elbow and pulled her back hoping she'd stop. "Wait," he sighed out trying to catch his breath back. "I do want to meet your parents. I want to be with you after school, I want us to be in the future, I want us to have a future after this. Do you want me too? This too?" He asked looking into Corrine's eyes not wanting her to walk away again. He couldn't chase her again tonight, he already felt too flooded with emotions if she left him this time then he didn't think he could try again, not tonight. He didn't mean to ruin their relationship and communication over and over.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine was just about to turn the corner when she heard Cullen yell out for her. She looked over her shoulder, pausing as she watched her boyfriend run over to her. She stared at his face, her blue eyes taking him in. Even in her confusion, she knew that this was one of her favorite things to do, take in his features. But it was his words that she really wanted, really needed to hear. Corrine had never heard Cullen be so straight forward with her, and she listened, knowing these words would replay in her mind time and again. Corrine wasn't entirely sure how her parents would react to Cullen. She'd spoken about him, they knew he existed but she got the feeling they expected this relationship was only a school thing, a way to pass the time.

"Yes...I want that too, Cullen." A small smile crossed her face but grew as she considered it more. Corrine wasn't entirely sure what the future would hold, not in her career or with Cullen, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She realized that maybe not having a specific image was better than having one and possibly being disappointed by it all. Still, she knew that she at least wanted to give it a try. She couldn't imagine a life without Cullen and that was enough. "But your sister hates me. What if your parents do too?" she frowned, turning more so she was facing him directly. Corrine didn't think Cullen would stay with her if that happened. She also wasn't entirely sure his sister hated her but was feeling pretty emotional at the moment.

 

[Cullen Yeong]

Cullen sighed as he heard Corrine say yes to him. He wasn't crazy about thinking their relationship would go past school. He had hope so for awhile now and hearing say she thought the same was a relief on him. He wasn't sure what she meant about his sister not liking her. Bada hadn't said anything about Corrine to him other than the one time she was rude to his to girlfriend at a school event. She looked a bit sad about it so he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. He didn't want her to be sad over something his 11 year old sister said to her.

"I wouldn't believe was Badaya says about you. She thought I'd have more time for her than I do. She forgets this isn't like home, so she was blaming you for me being busy. Not you, she fine now with you," Cullen said trying to reassure Corrine that his sister didn't hate her. "I doubt my family would have the same reaction as her, my other sisters will probably love you, you'll be the biggest sister they've always wanted instead of me. My parents will be poliete, you wouldn't even notice if they didn't like you."