Open First Dance

[Lars van Houten]

Lars hadn't attended either of the Hogwarts dances last year, and now he remembered why. Even while wearing a basic button down shirt and a tie that was only slightly crooked, Lars felt very out of place in the great hall as couples danced on the dance floor. He had no idea how to dance, or what to do with himself without someone to talk to. He was rather hoping to run into Elliot, even though he was nervous about their next encounter too. He had slowly started to realize he liked the boy. Liked him, like a crush. Elliot was just so nice to him and always seemed to know exactly what to say. It was something Lars admired a lot. He had asked Agony Aunt in the paper for advice, and she had told him to tell Elliot about his crush. That... seemed like a rather extreme step to Lars, who found normal conversation difficult enough. He didn't think he was brave enough to tell Elliot he liked him, but he still hoped they could spend some time together at the dance.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Big parties would never be Elliot's style, but he figured he'd always be a sucker for the holidays. He loved the familiarity of celebrating, no matter which part of the world or who he happened to be spending it with, though he did question the snowy decorations at school when it was very much already summertime outside. Still, he appreciated the Great Hall being decked out in all its Yuletide glory, and made an effort to get down to the ball again this year, even if he was on his own for the time being. He hadn't made any solid plans with Lily this year, always worried about how anxious these events made her, but Elliot was pleasantly surprised when he realized the thought of going to the ball alone didn't scare him as badly as it might have last year. He'd found he'd managed to make a decent group of friends, and with any luck at least one of them would be around to spend time with.
He was pleased when he spotted Lars fairly quickly after arriving, snagging a pair of candy canes from a nearby table and making his way over. "Hey, Lars, happy Yule" he greeted with a soft smile, holding out a candy cane and trying to smother the strong urge to reach out and straight Lars' tie.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars poured himself a drink, mostly to give himself something to do as he stood there by himself. He tapped his foot to the music quietly, and then jumped a bit in surprise as he heard Elliot's voice. The Hufflepuff looked very nice, and Lars only stared at him in silence for a moment before he noticed the offering of a candy cane. His heart lept at the sweet gesture, and a smile spread over his face. "Oh. Thank you." He took the candy cane and tucked it behind his ear for safekeeping. Then his smile faltered. "I didn't get you anything...." He added, looking around as if hoping something would pop up. "I could get you a drink." He added as the thought came to him, and he turned abruptly to pour another one. Too abruptly, it turned out. His own drink sloshed over the edge of the cup, staining a part of Lars' shirt and dripping down onto both his and Elliot's shoes as well. Lars felt himself turn crimson, and wished he knew how to sink into the floor. "Oh no." He said softly. "I'm sorry..."

 

[Elliot Briar]

Lars always seemed to have a tendency to be lost in thought and Elliot forgot how easy it was to catch him by surprise because of it. He gave Lars a sheepish smile as he took the candy cane, waving off Lars' dismay at not having anything in return. "It's fine, or, yeah a drink that'd be fine-" Elliot watched in quiet dismay as Lars his drink, staining his nice shirt and getting more drink on both of their shoes. One look at Lars face and Elliot felt worse for Lars than he ever could about his shoes. "Ops, here uh, hang on," Casting around Elliot grabbed a nearby pile of napkins, starting to help pat down Lars shirt before pausing suddenly concerned maybe Lars didn't want Elliot touching him. Straightening up, Elliot handed over the rest of the napkins abruptly. "Here. Sorry," He tried for a smile, hoping it didn't come across strained.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars was still wondering why the ground didn't swallow him up when he really needed it to, and he was sure Elliot was going to be mad at him for ruining his shoes. But then the boy grabbed napkins and started to help clean his shirt, which made Lars' heart do all sorts of things Lars was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to do. It was just doing what felt like a somersault in his chest, when Elliot abruptly stopped touching him. He blinked, then flushed deeply as he wondered if Elliot had noticed Lars' weird reaction. He nodded shakily. "Thanks." He mumbled, ineffectively dabbing at his own shirt with the napkins, not noticing that he dropped two in the process. He then placed the messy pile of napkins on the nearby table, as he didn't know what else to do with it. "Sorry." He mumbled again.

 

[Ren Lockwood]

Ren had easily convinced Lily to come to the dance with him. He held her hand as they went to the Great Hall, happy as he looked around at the decorations. This would be really fun to draw. Once the Headmaster had finished talking, he whisked Lily onto the dancefloor. They laughed lightly as he led her in a smooth waltz. His mother had taught all three of her children to dance properly. Lily looked so bright and energetic in his arms. He liked how comfortable she was with him.

After the dance, she laced her arm through his and he began to lead her towards the drinks. They spotted the pair at the same time, and Ren stepped over to the boy he didn't know. "Whoa, dude, that's brutal. I can go grab you another shirt," He offered, wondering how the kid had managed to make a mess this early in the night.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily was both a little relieved and a little disappointed to go to the ball with her little brother. She really hoped she'd see Mihail there, but she wouldn't focus on it. She let Ren lead her around, giggling at his stories. She forgot sometimes how much she had missed being away from her brother. It was as they were heading for drinks that she saw the mess. She gasped softly and hurried over to Elliot's side. "Oh, El!" She studied his shoes, unconsciously placing her hand on his arm. "I can get your other shoes from the dorm..." She murmured, glancing up as her brother spoke to see Lars. "Oh!" She held her hand over her mouth for a moment. "I think Ren has a pair in his trunk that was a little too big for him that might fit you," She thought to herself, peeking at her brother for confirmation.

 

[Elliot Briar]

There was an awkward beat of silence after Lars finished up doing what he could to salvage his shirt with the napkins, Lars still clearly embarrassed, and Elliot floundering for anything to try and cheer Lars up. It was broken when Lily and Ren arrived, Elliot was grateful for the distraction, though he hoped Ren and Lil's comments didn't make Lars feel any worse. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Elliot was a little jealous at how relaxed Lily looked to be at the dance with Ren. She always seemed so nervous at the last few events they'd gone together, but Elliot tried to remind himself he couldn't really compare himself to how comfortable she was with her own brother.
"Oh, it's okay, uh, it's not that bad," Elliot said with a weak smile, trying to brush off Lily's assistance in the vain hope of making Lars feel a little better. It really wasn't that bad, and he could always clean his shoes later, but right now he wanted to do what he could to make Lars stop making that mortified face. "Hey, Lars, it's probably a bit small, but here," Elliot said, shrugging off his jacket and holding it out for Lars. It was probably a little short on Lars, almost definitely short in the arms at least, but it was a quicker fix than leaving to get changed. Hoping to steer the conversation away from the mess, Elliot turned to Ren and Lily. "Are you guys having a good time? Maybe we could uh.. All dance a little later?" He glanced at Lars, unsure how he'd feel about dancing under normal circumstances, let alone right now.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars was feeling horrible about the whole situation, but glad that it seemed like Elliot was ready to forget about it and pretend it didn't happen. Maybe the evening could be saved. But then two people came up to them, and Lars cringed as the boy told him it was brutal and offered to go get another shirt. He looked at him with a startled expression, as he had no idea who the boy was. "Uh." He simply said, a little panicked. He only then noticed the girl he was with was Lily, and felt even more embarrassed as she offered to get Elliot's shoes. Was it really that bad? He guessed so, if they were both making a big deal about it. Now it was even more apparent he had messed up, and while he understood that they were trying to help, their concern and kind offers were only making things worse. He swallowed, blinking rapidly as he shook his head. "I-It's fine." He said very quietly, not quite looking at either of the two. Elliot saying it wasn't that bad was a big relief, and he gratefully took the jacket. He looked at Elliot and gave him a tiny, grateful, smile. He felt a bit more at ease, though he still felt quite close to tears. He put the jacket on, not seeming to care or notice that it was definitely a bit small on him. "Thank you." He whispered to Elliot, subconsciously moving closer to him as the only person here right now who seemed to understand that he wanted to move on from his mistake instead of dwell on it. He was quiet as Elliot talked to Lily and the boy she was with, but then realized Elliot had asked them all a question. "Maybe." he said softly, still feeling embarrassed. "I've never tried to dance at a ball before." He admitted quietly.