Open At Seventeen

[Aine Thompson]

No matter what Aine tried, she always felt like she wasn't quite right. She'd tried to embrace her cattiness and just felt awful for it, but whenever she tried to be nicer it always felt somehow dishonest. She had to have been missing something, she thought, as she felt an awful embarrassed feeling rise up in her stomach. Going to the Yule Ball was never something Aine looked forward to, but now she was in sixth year and felt like one of the few people in her year without a date, Aine just felt like there really had to be something wrong with her. Then again, she wasn't pretty or nice or anything special, so the question was more what was right with her. She sighed, pressing herself up against a wall so she could claim to be doing her duty as a prefect by attending while doing as little as possible and hoping the night would be over soon.

 

[Todd Cobbler]

Todd was a perfectionist and liked to fix things. Most people carried their wand in their back pocket, whereas Todd carried a screwdriver. And his wand too of course, but he always did prefer the muggle way. However, one thing Todd couldn't quite fix was his awkwardness. Todd felt like a rusty cog, his words often stumbling over each other like a runaway train. He had a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, derailing conversations and leaving people with awkward silences instead. He was hopeless with girls in particular and he had no clue how to get a date and no one to share this special night with. His blue suit, neatly pressed and starched, seemed to emphasise his lanky awkwardness rather than mask it. He moved to the edge of the room to stand somewhere where he wasn't getting in everyone's way. He inadvertently stood directly in front of the prefect, his back turned towards her.

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine's elbow was itchy, and she was going to have to move her arms at some point. Unfortunately, someone decided to stand right in front of her. She hadn't accidentally on purpose used a disillusionment charm on herself, had she? No, looking down, she could still see her limbs right there. Maybe she was just that unremarkable that she really did blend into the wall. Aine wasn't sure how to feel about that. She gave a slightly more exasperated than she intended sigh before clearing her throat, completely unsure how to go about this and more than likely going to say the wrong thing to come off more hostile than intended. "Excuse me," she started, shifting a little on the spot. "Can I help you with something?"

 

[Todd Cobbler]

At first, Todd dismissed the voice as background chatter. But then, a prickling awareness came over him that the voice was indeed directed towards him. He turned around, his heart pounding in his chest, and found himself face to face with a girl. He took a large step back, realising that they were stood quite close together.

"Uh," Todd stammered, his words caught in the labyrinth of his throat. He was flustered, unsure if he needed her assistance or not. He couldn't think of anything specific that he might need help with, but he also didn't want to seem dismissive. "Uh - I don't think so?" he replied. He paused, wondering if he had misheard her, perhaps she was asking for his help. In which case it was very rude of him to refuse. He took a deep breath to gather his composure, "Sorry, d-do you mean you need my help?"

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine tilted her head a little, looking at the boy. She didn't really recognize him, he must have been in a different year she supposed. Unless it turned out he was actually a sixth year, and then she'd be horribly embarrassed. More so than she was already. "Well, either you're doing me a service by blocking my view so I don't have to see my classmates making out, in which case, thank you, or you're stopping me from seeing a heap of drama and actually getting some entertainment out of this hell." She narrowed her eyes. "Or you just didn't notice I was here at all. In which case, rude." She shifted her arms a little, scratching the itch on her elbow and then moving her hands to awkwardly twiddle her fingers in nervousness, realizing how weirdly close this boy was to her. Though, the way she carried on, he'd probably run away soon enough anyway. "Um, sorry," she quickly added, feeling like she had to apologise for some reason.

 

[Todd Cobbler]

The girl's slightly aggressive tone sent a jolt of anxiety through Todd's already jittery nerves "I'm so sorry, I didn't realise I was blocking your view." He hadn't seen her but not because he had been trying to be rude. She apologised, which Todd had not expected as he was the one in the wrong. He shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. I was trying to not be in anyone's way and in doing so, got in your way." He confessed, feeling embarrassed. He paused for a moment then asked, "Uh, can I get you a drink?" He asked, a friendly offer which allowed him to temporarily get away from the situation.

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine wished she wasn't so terrible with people. She knew she could've just said something less rude in a nicer way but words just never seemed to come out the way that she hoped they would. It didn't matter if she was caught on the spot or had had time to rehearse what she was going to say, every time the words just sounded wrong. "No, it's okay, there's not a lot to see anyway," Aine replied, as though that would somehow help matters. "It's just like...why do we have to have dances for Christmas and for Valentines? That one's just some commercial cr*p anyway. D'ya think the teachers get some sick enjoyment from student relationships? I wouldn't put it past them." Now she was just making it worse by oversharing her overthinking. No doubt he was wanting to leave, if he went to get her a drink either it'd be poisoned or he'd just never come back. "Uh, you don't have to get me anything, I'm fine. Sorry."

 

[Todd Cobbler]

Todd, taken aback by the sudden launch into a tirade about the various school events and the teachers' involvement in student relationships, didn't know what to say. Todd didn't think it was as sinister as that and thought it was an attempt to build a sense of school camaraderie, even if it did all feel a little orchestrated. He couldn't bring himself to disagree though, this girl was far too confident in her theory for Todd to have the nerve to disagree with her. "I don't know, I have never really thought about it." Was the best he could muster given the circumstances.

"Sure?" Slightly disappointed that she didn't want a drink, he nodded awkwardly, feeling himself quite parched. "That's okay, I'm not that thirsty either." He replied pathetically. Gah! He felt so pathetic!

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine brought her hand to her mouth, groaning at her own awkwardness. She wanted to bite one of her nails in discomfort, but knew she had to not do that in front of people, especially not at a ball. "Sorry. This is me attempting to make conversation. You can see why I'm standing against a wall instead of out dancing." Her mouth was dry, she could've really used a drink, but still wasn't sure the boy wouldn't poison a drink he brought her. Or throw one over her, that felt entirely possible too. Maybe she should've just cast a disillusionment charm on herself and run out of there, surely she'd done enough as a prefect for one night. But she didn't want to be that rude.

 

[Todd Cobbler]

Todd noticed the girl's hand rise to her mouth and he assumed it was a yawn, a subtle indication of her waning interest in their conversation, he expected. He couldn't blame her since he was finding it difficult to keep the conversation going, his thoughts tumbling over each other like a jumbled mess.

"Sorry - I'm not very good at this conversation stuff either," he confessed, "I'm not really into the whole dancing thing either. I'd rather be reading or fixing things." Todd found himself opening up to this person and felt a small weight lift from his shoulders by sharing his own awkwardness with her.

 

[Aine Thompson]

Aine gave a rather surprised look at the comment. "You could've brought a book." She only barely managed to stop herself from making a comment that he could've just not been there, actually managing to realize that would sound rude regardless of her intention. "Or make galleons fixing shoes. I'm sure someone breaks a heel each dance." She pressed herself closer against the wall, silently willing herself to sink into it. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be, but the whole prefect thing," she explained, shrugging. "Um, fixing things sounds interesting, though."

 

[Todd Cobbler]

A slight smile played on Todd's lips as he shrugged at her suggestions. “I might as well not come at all if I’m going to bring a book,” he summarised. In a dream world, he would be at the ball having fun dancing or ice skating with friends, but that wasn’t his reality.

He smiled and shook his head, “They can use reparo to mend their shoe, that’s not interesting to me.” He explained, his voice gaining momentum with every word. “I like fixing things like cars, wirelesses, and muggle technology. I like taking them apart and putting them back together. It’s challenging, and I get to see how everything works to fix them. I don’t use my wand either. It’s much more personal with muggle tools. I'd love to figure out how to get muggle technology working at Hogwarts!" That was his ultimate goal, but he hadn't figured it out yet.

Todd’s eyes lit up talking about his passion, his voice filled with enthusiasm and his awkwardness was momentarily forgotten. It was as if he was a completely different person for a few seconds. His enthusiasm was leveled out by her saying she was only here because she was a prefect. “Why? Is the Yule Ball mandatory for prefects or something?” he asked, puzzled.

 

[Aine Thompson]

Despite herself, Aine found herself actually interested in what the boy had to say. Maybe it was just the sheer passion behind it, but also the fact that he preferred not to use magic and wanted to get muggle technology working...she couldn't help but give an actually genuine smile. "That's an awesome goal," she said, enthusiastically. "Like, the wizarding world should embrace muggle technology more. I hope you can get it working somehow." She wanted to go into a rant about it, but she figured when she did it, it was scary and intimidating. She just didn't know the right kind of things to ask. Plus, she'd also probably deflated it all anyway. "Uh, well, it's more like, it's a bad look if we don't go, that and professors probably want to shove the supervision work onto us." The more she talked, the more crazy she probably sounded, though she was also very much convinced that she was right. "Who knows what dumb things the first and second years might pull?"

 

[Lucy Montague]

As if on cue, a second-year student standing off to the side pulled out their wand sneakily, aiming it a piece of mistletoe she'd been concealing in her pocket. Lucy had to remind herself to breathe as she cast the levitating charm on the plant, watching as it raised higher and higher, then, once out of any reasonable person's eyeline, she moved it to above where the two older students were chatting. Slowly, and with much concentration, Lucy lowered the mistletoe until it was hovering above the pair. Lucy managed to suppress a giggle, remaining quiet as she waited for the events to unfold.

 

[Todd Cobbler]

Being told his passion was "awesome" brought the biggest smile to Todd’s face. Finally he has met someone who wasn’t rolling their eyes when he talked about it. '"Thanks. I agree, wizards are missing out on a huge opportunity. I've experimented and tried to figure out why phones don't work here, but I just don't understand it." His frustration was evident, but his tone laced with determination.

Her response about prefect duties barely registered as Todd's attention was drawn to something above their heads – a sprig of mistletoe, suspended mid-air. His heart pounded with a mix of excitement and apprehension. "Oh look, mistletoe." He met her gaze, his eyes searching hers for a sign of encouragement. Could he, should he?

 

[Aine Thompson]

Contrarily, Aine's reaction to the mistletoe was primarily blind panic. Surely this was some kind of prank specifically designed to humiliate her. So she could be bitterly rejected by someone she'd only just met and hadn't had time to figure out any strong feelings for in public - as though anyone else actually cared about what it was she was doing. "Oh...so there is," she stammered, her palms suddenly sweating. "W-well, this is what I was saying, you know, how the school body takes way too much interest in the love lives of the students, a-and we've only just met and I don't even know your name, and..." she realized she was rambling, barely able to stop herself with the panic still rising in her chest. She cautiously met his gaze, looking at him with something of a mix of curiosity and utter fear.

 

[Todd Cobbler]

Todd could see her point about the school body taking a strange interest in the love lives of their student now, but that didn't really answer his question about what on earth he should do right now. Should he walk away, ignore the mistletoe, or... you know? It wasn't that he didn't want to kiss her; if anything, the thought it sent a jolt of excitement through him. But he'd never kissed a girl before, and she was right – they didn't know each other's name yet.

“What is your name?” he interrupted, trying to maintain his composure despite the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. “I’m Todd.” Once they were acquainted, Todd made his mind up. He leaned forward, his heart pounding in his chest, his lips poised to touch hers.

 

[Aine Thompson]

What kind of girl considered kissing a complete stranger at a school event? Not the type of girl Aine thought she was, but that type of girl was boring and dull and a know-it-all and had only ever kissed someone at the spin the bottle game, which barely counted. That was the kind of girl whose friends made comments about how immature they were, who was technically an adult but sure didn't feel like it, and who was always going to be the butt of every joke in moments like this. Right now, she felt like someone was waiting to laugh at her at best, to pour blood on her and make a whole scene of her at worst.

Or maybe it was just a sign she didn't have to be boring miserable Aine for just a few moments. Maybe she could be that type of girl. Next year she'd spike the punch, perhaps. "Hi Todd, I'm Aine," she replied, leaning forward and ignoring the dizziness and panic as best she could as she closed her eyes and waited for the penny to drop.

 

[Todd Cobbler]

Todd wasn't really listening to her name. His mind was whirring with anticipation and then it happened. It didn't last long, a few seconds at best. A feather light touch upon his lips, a gentle caress that sent a jolt of electricity through his veins.

Todd pulled back slowly, his face aglow with a triumphant grin. "Erm, thanks, Anna," he said, his voice laced with a mixture of disbelief and elation. Who knew mistletoe could be so effective?

 

[Aine Thompson]

Maybe Aine wasn't that kind of girl after all. That had felt weird. But not terrible, like she'd achieved something by doing something she normally wouldn't. Stepped out of her comfort zone. She almost wanted to correct the pronunciation of her name, but thought better of it, it was better that he knew as little about her as possible. And she hadn't been cursed...yet. That was good, right? "Well. I think I've done my part tonight," she stammered, trying to sound cool and not quite managing it as she looked at her watch. Or where a watch would have been, as she wasn't wearing one.

"Merry Christmas, Tom," she gave a raise of her eyebrow, pulled out her wand, and as coolly as possible and as though her hand wasn't shaking, cast a disillusionment charm on herself so she could invisibly half jog outside the hall and escape to the dorms. Sometimes, magic was really helpful. Even when the charm half wore off when she stumbled into the corner of the drinks table and spilled some butterbeer on her leg. Cool as could be.

 

[Todd Cobbler]

"It's Tod-oh!" And with that, Anna vanished. Todd's shoulders slumped, the familiar pang of rejection echoing through his chest. He narrowed his eyes, searching for any telltale signs of the Disillusionment Charm, his gaze finally settling on two younger students huddled nearby. One of them held her wand aloft, levitating the sprig of mistletoe. A blush crept up Todd's neck as he realised he'd been pranked. Clearing his throat, he straightened his suit, his dignity slightly dented but it could have been worse, he took the positives of having had his first kiss away with him. With a determined nod, he turned on his heel and strode away from the scene, leaving the younger students behind.