Closed Flight of the Desmodontinae

[Stan Beckett]

After some back and forth banter, it didn't take long for them to decide to make their way back to the Gryffindor common room, both thinking that the Halloween Feast was starting to get rather boring and that they would rather spend their time talking to each other somewhere else. Tonight definitely wasn't going how he had envisioned it but for some reason he didn't really mind it. It was nice to spend time with someone who didn't feel like punching him every other minute. By the time the two of them had left the Great Hall together and were climbing the many stairs, Stan still wasn't completely sure whether to take Tara serious or not. The only thing he did know for sure was that Tara did not seem to have a problem with letting him know what she wanted from him which took him aback slightly, even if he was used to this kind of behaviour thanks to the twins. ''I'm happy that you are enjoying your time at Hogwarts,'' Stan said as they reached the fifth-floor corridor.

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara had been only too eager to leave the feast, claiming Stan's arm right away as she walked beside him. "I'm certainly enjoying my time with you," she countered with a playful smirk. He still hadn't kissed her, but that was alright. For now. She didn't mind waiting a bit more, she was almost certain she'd get through to him eventually. "I'm looking forward to the Ball."

 

[Stan Beckett]

''Did you not hear me when I told you that we might not be able to go to the Ball?'' the Gryffindor asked, ignoring the smirk she showed him. ''Unless you want to go all sick and frail?'' Knowing how he normally felt either before or after the transformation, Stan really wasn't sure if going to the Ball was such a good thing to do. ''Why are you so set on going to the Ball, anyway? It gets really boring really quick, you know.''

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara looked up at him. "Of course I heard you. I'm also ignoring you." She replied snarkily. "This is my only chance to go to the ball with you. You're graduating, remember? I want to wear a pretty dress, take pictures, dance with you." She told him honestly. She stopped, looking up at him. "It won't be the same next year without you."

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan shook his head at Tara's comment. They wouldn't be doing much dancing at all if he was right about this, but she didn't want to hear about it. "Okay," he began, "Sure, if we still feel up for it, we'll go to the dance together," He usually avoided the Ball, thinking that it just wasn't for him, but the girl in front of him was really determined to go with him. "And I will not be that far away, you can come visit me when you are allowed to go to the village. I work at the Three Broomsticks."

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara pouted for a moment, rubbing her thumb on his arm. "I guess that's better than nothing, but I'm going to miss you every month." She sighed. "It's gunna be cold without you," She laid her head on his shoulder.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan smiled at Tara's touch. ''If I can survive years alone in that cave, then I am sure that you can survive one year before you graduate yourself,'' he told her, not really catching on that she was still trying to flirt with him. ''And, as I said, I work at the Three Broomsticks, so you can always visit me there. It is definitely warm enough there. And if not, I am sure that we can give you some hot cocoa.'' He wondered if she was really going to miss him next year since it would be rather nice to have to cavern all to yourself, at least he thought it was.

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara laughed at his comments, shaking her head. "At least you have your looks," she chuckled. She turned to face him, trying to get him to stop. "Okay, let's try this differently. Stan, you big dolt. Why haven't you asked me out yet?" She asked him. Maybe he needed to be walked into this.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan furrowed his brow when she laughed at what he said, wondering what was so funny about that. Was she scared of going through the transformation alone? Was that why she was so determined to have him around all the time? Surely not, she'd been through countless transformations alone in the past. ''I thought that I just said that we could go to the Yule Ball together?'' Stan answered. ''Or have you already changed your mind about going with me?''

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara smiled and shook her head. "I don't mean just for one date, silly." She gave him a playful grin. "I meant, why haven't you asked me to be your girlfriend?" She clarified for him. "I've been flirting with you for months but you never seem to catch on. I was hoping since you agreed to the dance you're at least interested." She brushed her hair back, studying his face.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan grew silent for a moment, finally connecting the dots and understanding what she was saying. ''I don't know,'' Stan said softly, shrugging his shoulders. ''I have just never had a girlfriend before, so I don't really how that all works,'' he told her truthfully. He felt like a loser for admitting such a thing, especially since he was already of age and knew that pretty much all of his friends had had girlfriends or boyfriends before.

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara smiled. "Well I've read enough romances," She tried to act confident, putting a hand on her chest like she knew what she was talking about. "You go to the girl you like and ask her to be your girlfriend, then you kiss and go out on dates and things," She told him, trying to act like she knew all about it.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan could not tell whether or not Tara was really as experienced as she wanted him to believe but what she said seemed to be making sense to him, at least a bit. That meant that, per her logic, he was supposed to ask her to be his girlfriend and then kiss her. And then he could suddenly feel his heart start to beat rapidly in his chest. It took him a several moments to muster up the courage and find the words before finally asking, ''Would you want to be my girlfriend?''

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara was about ready to start pouting. Why was he being so difficult? It shouldn't be this hard to get a guy to like her, should it? Was he not interested? That would be horrid, she had been sure there was something there. Her worries were quickly set aside however when he finally spoke. Her eyes lit up, and she smiled coyly. "Obviously," she replied immediately, reaching up to brush his hair back. "You are so hopeless," she teased him fondly, tracing her fingers down his cheek.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan let out a sigh of relief when Tara answered and smiled brightly at her as she brushed his hair back and touched his cheek, feeling all kinds of funny things happening in the pit of his stomach. ''What are you talking about?'' the Gryffindor said, regaining some of his confidence now that all of his nervous feelings had vanished. ''I just asked you to be my girlfriend, did I not? It was not that difficult.'' In fact, now that all the nervous feelings had vanished, he thought that it was actually pretty easy to get a girlfriend. Had he known that it would be this easy, Stan might have asked her earlier. ''Anywho, shall we continue to walk to go to the common room together?'' he asked.

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara laughed lightly, shaking her head. "Absolutely not." She replied with a cheeky grin. "I said 'ask them to be your girlfriend, then kiss.'" she smirked. "I still haven't gotten my kiss, batsy." She teased him, enjoying her new nickname for him.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan had hoped that Tara would forget about the kissing part when he suggested that they should continue to head for the Gryffindor common room. Unfortunately, she hadn't. The truth was that he didn't know how to kiss and he didn't want to make a fool out of himself even more so than he had already done by admitting to her that he had never had a girlfriend before. Did she really have to kiss now? Instead, he opted for a quick peck on the cheek and, without waiting for Tara, resumed walking. A peck counted as a kiss, right?

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara pouted as he kissed her cheek and walked off, but decided not to push it. She hurried after him, lacing her arm through his. "Your costume tonight is rather ironic, don't you think, batsy?" She teased him, not bothering to mention hers would be just as ironic. She was still just thrilled that he'd finally made a move. She couldn't stop smiling, or help the blush that tinted her cheeks.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Glad that Tara did not try and push him out of his comfort zone, the boy let her lace her arms through him as they continued to walk to the Gryffindor common room. ''Look who is talking,'' Stan replied. ''But it is ironic, indeed. It's funny, though, that we decided to dress up as creatures often linked together.'' It was almost as if they had planned it in advance. He didn't really know how to act like a boyfriend but the fact that wasn't stammering and stuttering at the moment at the moment was a big win in his books. ''Did you have fun tonight?'' he asked, completely forgetting that he had already asked her this back in the Great Hall because he was still a tad bit nervous.

 

[Tara Hawthorne]

Tara smiled. "I went as a group costume. You did that all on your own," She teased, bumping her hip against his. She giggled at his comment. "It was fate, batsy. And gave me the perfect nickname for you," She teased him. She leaned her head on his shoulder a moment. "I've had a wonderful time tonight," she told him, squeezing his arm gently.

 

[Stan Beckett]

Stan smiled. ''At least I look hot,'' he joked. ''You look like a depressed vampire.'' He wasn't sure if he was such a fan of his new nickname but it was definitely better than the one Allison had chosen. Stanis, it reminded him too much of a life he did not want to be reminded of any longer. He smiled again when she squeezed his arm, happy to hear that she had enjoyed their time at the Halloween feast. While he was never a big fan of school-wide events such as Halloween of the Yule Ball, he was actually looking forward to going to the Yule Ball together with her.

It did not take them very long to reach the Gryffindor common room, but they had talked to one another the entire way up. And in the end, Stan did not feel as awkward talking to Tara as he did before.

Fin