Closed An Astonishing Evening

[Eric Holland]

Eric was still half-certain this was some sort of mistake, or some sort of joke. Even though Minnie had said yes when he'd asked her to the dance, Eric had trouble believing this was really going to happen. He hadn't thought of much else lately, his mind going over the possible outcomes of this evening even during the exams. His grades were never that great, so it wasn't a big loss. The Gryffindor was nervous, more nervous than he'd ever admit out loud. He liked Minnie, a lot. That meant there was a lot on the line here. If he somehow screwed this up like he usually did, Eric didn't think he'd forgive himself. He had put on the same suit he'd worn last year when he'd taken Nicole to the dance, hoping Minnie wouldn't notice or care. Who had more than once suit lying around, anyway? He waited at the entrance of the great hall, fidgeting with his cuffs and glowering at anyone who looked at him. With every passing second, Eric was more and more convinced Minnie wasn't coming. He knew deep down that she wasn't cruel enough to pull a joke on him, but what if she had changed her mind? He couldn't really blame her for that, could he? He scanned the sea of students, growing increasingly anxious.

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Minnie had been surprised when Eric had asked her to the dance, but she had also been rather pleased that he had. She liked him and this was a little confirmation that he liked her back. He had asked her to the dance after all. Minnie knew that she didn’t have to make a good impression but she wanted to be pretty for him. She had found a nice dress, and done her make up as perfect as she could, she had perhaps done it a few times but she was pleased with how it had eventually turned out. She had styled her hair and just hoped that he liked it all. She knew that as long as she liked it it would be fine and she thought she looked pretty but it was always nice to get validation from someone else. She had worn red, mostly, she knew it was a colour that suit her and she thought Eric might like it too. The Ravenclaw walked down the steps to the great hall, she was running a little late having spent a little longer making sure thedress was perfect. She spotted Eric immediately, and smiled fondly, she made her way over to him, "Hey Eric, sorry I got a little caught up," she apologised with a little smile, she felt suddenly nervous, unsure of if she was wearing the right thing. What if he thought it was too much.​

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric's eyes widened as he finally spotted Minnie making his way over to him, almost as astonished by the smile she was giving him as he was with how beautiful she looked in her red dress. He was utterly speechless for a moment, staring at her in shock. Then he finally got himself together. "Uh, no problem." He said, taking her in for a moment longer. "You look beautiful." He said, the words leaving him before he could catch himself. He flushed a bit. He then offered her his arm a little stiffly, mostly because he knew Nicole had liked to hold onto his arm at these things. "Let's go in." He said quickly, eager to move on from that moment.

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Minnie blushed lightly at his compliment, "Thanks," she touched the skirt of her dress lightly and the took his arm. She leaneded into his arm maybe a little more than she had ever done with Noel or Blake and nodded. "You clean up really nice," she said to him with a little smiled. She was maybe leading a little as they walked in, she a little nervously looked towards the dancefloor and wondered if he would be willing to dance. "Could I interest you in a dance?" Minnie asked, "If you don't want to...that's okay...," Minnie didn't want to pressure him at all, if he didn't want to then she would be okay with it. ​

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric nearly stumbled over his own feet when he felt Minnie leaning into him, suddenly flustered. He hadn't imagined she would do that, even though he had offered his arm. Clearly, he wasn't thinking clearly. "Thanks." He croaked out, feeling like he wasn't being nearly charming enough. How long until she got tired of it? Eric wished he could freeze time for a moment so he could clear out his head, he was overwhelmed. As Minnie asked him to dance, he gave her a nervous look. He hadn't wanted to admit it to Nicole when she had asked him, but Eric really didn't know how to dance. Another thing he hadn't considered. When he had pictured this night, he'd just pictured him and Minnie standing around and talking, with her maybe laughing at his jokes a few times. He finally realized he hadn't answered her and found himself nodding. "I'd like to." He said, fighting the rising panic in his chest. "But I"m not... good." He admitted. "I don't really... dance, usually."

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Minnie wasn’t too surprised when upon asking to dance he appeared a little more nervous. She didn’t think he would say yes, but he nodded and then said he wasn’t very good. ”Well, the good thing is, I’ve read at least five books on how to dance,” she said it in a lightly joking tone, though really she had read books on how to dance. ”One of the books unhelpfully was about dance crazes of the last century,” she had a little smile, and was keeping her gaze on his features. ”I can show you something really simple, the dancing equivalent of a simple blanket fort,” she was trying to assure him that she wasn’t asking for a waltz, but just a little dancing and she was sure she could lead on it and it would be fine.​

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric laughed, relaxing a bit as Minnie talked about reading books on how to dance. Of course she had. "Only you would try to learn how to dance from a book." He said, shaking his head with a grin. "Well, I expect you to show me at least one of those dance crazes then." He said, meeting her eyes and smiling. He still felt nervous, but the more he talked to Minnie the more at ease he felt. He snorted when Minnie brought up the blanket fort, thinking back to that time fondly. "Fine, show me." He said, trusting her to teach him something he could do without making a complete fool of himself.

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Minnie gave a little smile at his retort, she shook her head, "Maybe later," Minnie joked, she wasn't sure she was actually going to show him any of the dances, but it was easy to joke. She nodded, and move a little to stand in front of him. She kept a hand lightly on his arm, and moved it to her waist, doing the same with his other hand. She moved her hands to his shoulders. "So, this is a sway," Minnie told him. "it's simple, all we do is sway," Minnie told him with a little smile. The position was a bit different, she was looking at him, unable to really look anywhere else. She was still smiling fondly at him, "Not too hard right?"​

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric couldn't help grinning, which was a rarity for him. It was just so nice to be here with Minnie, and he was managing to make her smile. He let her put his hands on her waist, meeting her gaze as she explained. "Well, you found something on my level." He said, starting to sway a bit. "This I can do." He said, and he thought it was rather nice to look at Minnie like this and be so close to her. "Thanks for saying yes." He found himself saying. "I usually hate these things, but I think I see the appeal now."

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Minnie gave a little smile, this was definitely not the sort of place that Minnie had ever imagined Eric would come, much less that they would ever come togher, but she could admit it was nice. She appreciated the effort, the fact he was actually doing this, dancing with her at this celebration when she was sure that they weren't a thing he would otherwise enjoy or go to. "Thanks for asking me," she replied easily. She was never sure where they stood but she liked him a whole lot. Minnie gave a little smile at his statement, "They can be fun, if you've got the right company..," she blushed lightly, "And if you've read the right books on proper ball etiquette,"​

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric had barely even looked around yet, all his attention focused on Minnie. Normally, he would be very embarrassed about dancing so openly in front of everyone, but right now he didn't really care. Eric grinned slightly. "Well, I didn't read any books on proper ball etiquette. So it must be the company then." He said, finally averting his gaze from Minnie, a little embarrassed. He took a moment to look around, glad he didn't spot Kas anywhere. Things had been awkward between them and Eric definitely didn't want to think about him now. He frowned when he saw Noel with Nicole, confused at the combination of those two. But he had more important things to worry about, focusing his attention back on Minnie.

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Minnie laughed a little at his words, she knew that others didn’t always appreciate Eric’s company, but she always found his presence good. He was a little blunt or quick to anger but he was the only person who really consistently made her smile, who made fun of her in a way that was playful and fun. Noel had been a gentleman, really, someone her parents would be so proud of if he were their child, but he had been….too by the books. Being around him had never once made her want to stop studying without knowing she’d feel bad. With Eric, in his company, she didn’t feel bad if she didn’t think once about studying. Minnie glanced where he was looking for a moment and spotted Noel with that girl, that Eric had been with. She was sure it was the random pairings. Minnie turned her attention back to Eric as he did with her and she smiled at him, one song changed for another, another slow one where their dancing fit. Her hand moved slowly resting on his cheek and she was smiling lightly. ”I’m going to kiss you now Eric,” Minnie told him, before hesitating slightly, giving him the space to say no before she went to lean in and kiss him on the lips. ​

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric made a point of no longer looking in the direction he'd spotted Noel in, not wanting to see his face. He knew the other boy would think he had some sort of horrible reason for taking Minnie to the dance, and he didn't want to deal with that at all. He wanted to focus on the Ravenclaw, on their date. It wasn't difficult to focus entirely on Minnie, especially when she put a hand on his cheek. Eric thought his heart might explode, especially when she said she was going to kiss him. Eric made some sort of affirmative noise, not sure if it was even really a word. Then he leaned in, pressing his lips against Minnie's as she moved closer. He spared a thought for Kas, who had kissed him out of nowhere fairly recently. He hadn't talked to the Hufflepuff about it and he could only hope Kas wasn't watching. Even though he felt weird about the whole thing, he also didn't want to hurt him. But then any thought of Kas was wiped from his mind as he realized he was kissing Minnie Calida, and it was wonderful.

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Having gotten an affirmative from Eric, Minnie had leaned in and kissed him. It was immediately softer than she had imagined, but it nice, it was good. It wasn't like anyone else she had kissed, it just felt good and right. Minnie pulled away after a moment, ending the kiss almost reluctantly and keeping her face close to his, her hand still on his cheek. In the moment she didn't think she'd ever given much thought to how blue his eyes were. She liked Eric, liked liked him, but as much as she'd come to find him handsome, it had always been more than that for her. But now, she could see it too. "Oh no, I got a bit of lipstick on you," she smiled apologetically.​

 

[Eric Holland]

The kiss was sweet and soft, and Eric completely forgot they were in a crowded hall of people. He had to resist the urge to lean in again when Minnie pulled away, and he blinked a few times after she broke the kiss. He wasn't sure what this meant, but he knew it made him very happy. He couldn't help grinning at Minnie. "Huh? Oh." He said, wiping at his mouth absently, not getting all of it. "Don't care." He decided. "That... uh, it was..." Eric shrugged, unable to come up with the right word. "Nice." He finally said quietly.

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Minnie smiled at him and nodded, watching as he wiped it away. She thought it would be a pointless to wipe too much of it away when she definitely intended to kiss him again, after all, it was as he said nice. She nodded in agreement. ”Yeah, nice,” she wasn’t sure what they should do now, kissing again was what she wanted but that wasn’t perhaps the thing to do. ”I really like you Eric,” she said, she liked to think given that he’d just kissed her back he liked her too, but Minnie had never been one to wait and see what someone else said. ”Really like you. I’d like to keep being able to kiss you,” Minnie keeping his gaze. She wanted to add that she knew she was difficult that she wasn’t good enough for him, but she wanted to stay positive and stay well, happy.​

 

[Eric Holland]

Eric felt like he was in a bit of a daze, unable to look away from Minnie. He flushed when she said she really liked him, his heart speeding up even more. If it didn't stop doing that, he needed to sit down soon. "I like you too. " He finally croaked out. "That's why I- I asked you." He admitted. "I would like that too." He added quickly. He wondered if that meant they were... dating? But even uttering that word seemed terrifying, so instead he leaned in to kiss her again.

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Minnie wasn’t sure if she did the right thing in saying it. It was true, it was how she felt but she wasn’t really giving him the space to be unsure. Perhaps he was just figuring everything out in his own time and she was forcing the hand a bit quickly. What if she was misreading or reading into the situation a little much but he said the same, perhaps him asking her to the dance had been her own tip off to maybe come clean about how she felt. She nodded at him, he’d like it too, and though she wasn’t sure whether they should put a label on it, he leaned in to kiss again and she gladly kissed him back. She knew she was likely getting lipstick on his again, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care about who could see them, she was solely in this moment, kissing him back.​