Forces of Attraction

[Fleur Worth]

Fleur had been pondering something she discovered over break. She wasn't sure what to do with the information and wanted to talk to Riley about it before she spoke with anyone else. She liked him, definitely was interested in the boy but she wasn't sure anymore. She didn't think her parents would approve and he wasn't the guy she had really envisioned for herself. Really, he would have been the perfect guy next door type that would love her eldest sister Anna-Jo. She was sweet and didn't care about blood and that sort of thing. It made Fleur wonder why she did care. But it reminded her of hearing that she had an Aunt who was cut off from the family when she married a muggle. Her own brothers, Fleur's father and Uncle, didn't go to her funeral and the guy she married, Fleur had no clue. He was a muggle, that's all she knew about him.

Sighing Fleur looked around the classroom that none of the teachers used. She wondered why it hadn't been transformed into a second lounge for them, instead the staff left it pretty bare and kind of spooky. But Fleur thought it would be a good meeting place for her and Riley today. They could talk away from the eyes of the other students who'd be in the Lounge. Things would have been simpler if she managed to catch a guy like Rory, instead her roommate did. She was very jealous about it, she was certain Rory hardly cared much for her roommate, so really she just felt bad for the girl, who she did want as a friend as she seemed very nice. Fleur was having this conflicting thoughts as she stood in the middle of the room waiting for her friend to show up.

 

[Riley Wespurt]

Making his way up to the second floor after lunch, Riley was excited to meet up with his friend again. He hadn't seen much of her over the holidays since he went back home to his parents so was eager to talk to her about all kinds of stuff. He had missed her company a great deal over the holidays as she had quickly become the one person he'd go to if he needed to talk to someone about literally anything. ''Hi,'' Riley said as he entered the abandoned classroom and saw his friend standing there, smiling brightly at her. ''Why did you want to meet up here?'' It was a little odd that Fleur wanted to meet up with him here out of all places in the castle - maybe she wanted to tell him something that was supposed to stay between the two of them. Whatever it was, Riley was waiting eagerly for her to reveal the reason why she had asked him to come here.

 

[Fleur Worth]

Fleur looked around the room which was in an obvious need of a cleaning with a hint of disgust on her face. She should have picked somewhere nicer in the castle but she figured less people would run into them here. Turning when she heard a person enter the room she smiled seeing it was Riley. She couldn't shake the turns her stomach were doing but she still had doubts she needed to confront him on. "Hey. I thought it would be a nice meeting ground between our common rooms," she said answering his question ignoring the fact he'd have more stairs to walk as it wasn't nearly in the exact middle of their common rooms. "Well, actually I just thought we wouldn't want anyone to overhear our conversation. I stumbled on something during the holidays and I wanted to ask you about," Fleur said glancing at the door before her gaze settled on her friend. He was a really nice person and she found it easy to normally talk to him about a lot of things. But not this time, she felt awkward and uncertain about how the next few minutes of their lives were going to play out.

 

[Riley Wespurt]

Riley stepped forward and closed the door behind him as she explained to him why she'd asked him to meet her in the abandoned classroom. ''Okay,'' the teen said while nodding his head, curious to know what she had found out over the holidays. He figured it would be something bad since she wanted their conversation to stay private but couldn't think of anything that had happened Quidditch related, which was usually the topic of their discussions. Riley also didn't think that it would be anything school related, as they had never really discussed classes, and if they had it would usually be about cool spells or other interesting things. There was one thing that did cross his mind but the change that she would figure that out about that were very, very slim as it was not something his family would often talk about.

 

[Fleur Worth]

Fleur sighed wondering what she was doing. She knew it couldn't possibly be true. But she wasn't very sure about Riley's bloodline and she had a feeling he was exactly who her parents wouldn't want her to marry. Not that she was really looking to marry him, she wasn't sure why her parents pressured her to think about things that like so much. "So, uhm," Fleur started glancing up as her friend closed the door behind him. Her hand brushed dust off a desk before she leaned back and sat up the desk letting her feet dangle. "You're not a muggleborn are you?" She asked glancing over at him wondering if it was true or not. Fleur wasn't even sure if she should be friends with people who were muggleborns, she knew she couldn't marry one, but she thought maybe even just as friends might be pushing her parent's limits. And she didn't want to be out like Anna-Jo had been when she started her campaigning for Equal Rights for all magical people and creatures like Centaurs.

 

[Riley Wespurt]

Riley frowned at the question. ''I'm not,'' he answered somewhat defensively. It was an odd thing to ask out of nowhere but he was aware that the girl's parents valued blood status and that she herself was struggling with what to think of it. It made him wonder if she had found out about the Squib in his family and what she was going to do with this newfound information. He hoped that it wouldn't change anything in their friendship because she was the first one he'd ever opened up to at Hogwarts. ''Is that why you asked me to come here?'' Perhaps she just wanted to be sure that he was OK to be friends with...

 

[Fleur Worth]

Fleur couldn't help but squint her eyes towards the boy in the room with her when he answered her. She was trying to figure out if he was telling her the truth or not. "Yeah, that's why I asked you here," Fleur said glancing around the room wondering what class used to be taught in there before focusing back on her friend. They spent a lot of time together, she didn't think he would hide it from her if he was muggleborn. But, she had told him her great grandfather had married a muggle and since then the family has only been marrying into pureblood families trying to fix the Worth family name among the purebloods. "My brother Parker is a really big MMA fan, did you know that?" Fleur asked glad she was sitting on top of the desk. Her brother had actually told her about a man with the last name of Wespurt once she had shared the names of the friends she had made at Hogwarts. Her brother had been surprised and wondered if the two were related, and if this MMA fighter was perhaps Riley's father making him a muggleborn or even halfblood which of course wouldn't be a good enough suitor for her. Fleur tried to convince her brother they were just friends and nothing should be wrong with being friends with a halfblood.
​

 

[Riley Wespurt]

He couldn't believe that she didn't want to have this conversation with him in public. He wondered if she was scared that people would find out she was hanging out with a muggle born if he really was one, which would be quite pathetic to be honest. Riley turned his head away from the girl, thinking about his next words and whether or not he should walk away from her and forget that this conversation ever happened, as he didn't like where it was going. However, when she mentioned that her brother was an MMA fan, he turned his head back to her. ''I did not know that,'' the teen said, curious to know where this conversation would be heading to because he wasn't sure what she was going to do now that she basically hinted to him that she knew. He had figured that she'd eventually find out about Ailbhe and his lack of magic abilities, but that she wanted to talk about it, and question his blood status came as a surprise to him. Perhaps she couldn't be trusted after all? ''So now what?'' Riley asked.

 

[Fleur Worth]

Fleur sat on the desk watching Riley's reaction to her words. It made her curious why he would hide a muggle from her. She had told him about her family's wish for all of her generation to marry with purebloods and bring the Worth name into the pureblood lineage again, of course, when she got married her children wouldn't have the Worth name. So sometimes it made her wonder why she should bother trying to marry a pureblood. The only one she knew she thought would be worth her time was Rory. But, he was a flirt and didn't give her enough attention, especially when Evelyn was around. "I thought you had two magical parents? Yet there is a muggle in your family?" Fleur asked calmly and cooly towards her friend. He was one of the nicest guys at the school, she wasn't sure she wanted to ruin their friendship right now. But, honesty was important to Fleur. "I got in a lot of trouble when I got home because you hadn't told me. I was going over my friend's names at the dinner table and I said your name and Parker piped in saying how he followed a fighter guy with the same last name. You two even look similar." Fleur was unsure what to do. Valentine's Day was coming up and she thought they'd go to the dance together if he asked this time around as friends at least, but now she wasn't sure if she wanted to be friends with him. "Now? Maybe you share the other secrets you have been hiding? You know where I am coming from, but I feel like I don't even know you anymore Riley," Fleur said upset remembering how her parents told her she couldn't be friends with Riley when she was home. She didn't want that, she didn't even think she wanted to marry a pureblood, Anna-Jo said she wasn't, but she was cast out of the family for that. Fleur wanted to be in her family still, she was meant do as she was told. And the teen was struggling with it.
​

 

[Riley Wespurt]

Riley was not sure what she wanted him to tell her exactly. How was he supposed to know whether or not there was a muggle in his family? He hadn't even met half of them. He wasn't even sure how to respond to the question without Fleur questioning whether his answer was honest or not. He turned away from the girl, annoyed that he found himself in this stupid and quite frankly unnecessary situation. ''This is idiotic,'' the teen muttered. Riley listened to the girl as she told him that she got into trouble at home for being friends with someone with a squib in their family and couldn't believe how stupid it made her, and her family, sound. He huffed and turned back around when Fleur said that she felt like she didn't know him anymore. Did she really think that he was hiding stuff from her? Had he not been truthful this entire time? Were all girls this confusing or was it just Fleur? Well, to be honest, there was something he'd been hiding from her but only because he did not want their friendship to change because of it. However, if she really wanted him to reveal his secrets to her... Riley walked towards Fleur and gently planted his lips on hers.

 

[Fleur Worth]

Fleur was beginning to wonder if her family was right and that she should be aiming higher for her friends. However, she had done that the first few years and had hardly made friends during that time. This year she stepped out of her comfort zone and was making more friends than ever. Before her list was counted on one hand and now she felt power. With Evelyn, they could easily become the power duo of the school and be on top, everyone wanting to be just like them. It made her wonder what was going to be more important to her, her friends or family. She didn't really hear what Riley had muttered and had just continued on with what she had been saying. He even turned away from her, making her think it wasn't really a relationship he wanted to continue to have with her, not if it seemed like this much trouble. Sitting on the desk Fleur watched as Riley turned around, she thought she might finally get some real answer out of him, maybe the guy wasn't part of his closer family, maybe he wasn't actually a muggle, just a wizard who liked fighting. But, instead Fleur got something she hadn't expected, her first kiss. She wasn't really sure how to react, it was a surprise and she had seen plenty of the older students making out but in the moment Fleur didn't even know what she was meant to do. The idea of kissing back came to her but she realized after thinking about guys and kissing so often she didn't have the first clue about how to actually go about it. She wished she had previously talked with Evelyn about this sort of thing, she was sure the girl and Noah had kissed by now in their relationship. "I.....," Fleur stuttered out after pulling back from her friend. Her eyes felt wide as she took in Riley from closer than she had ever been to the guy. She and this moment felt very vulnerable to her, her breath felt like it was taken out of her. She just continued to stare into Riley's eyes, edging slightly forward. Fleur leaned forward her lips connecting with Riley's once again.
​

 

[Riley Wespurt]

At first, he was worried what she would do as he figured that it must have come as a surprise to the girl but when she pulled back from him and stared into his eyes the teen was glad that he didn't stop himself from this rather impulsive decision. Riley felt a warm sensation going through his entire body as he stared back into Fleur's eyes and watched as she leaned in to kiss him. Whilst kissing the Slytherin back, he couldn't believe that this was truly happening. He had thought about kissing her for some time now but never thought that he was actually going to do it anytime soon - he figured that he'd make the first move once he was sure of the girl's feelings towards him but with his lips on hers for a second time wondered if perhaps she had been feeling the same, odd feeling in the pit of her stomach like he had. Riley opened his eyes and then slowly pulled back from the kiss, his cheeks reddening as he looked at her. ''I... uh, hope you don't mind me doing that.'' the Gryffindor said a little awkwardly. She had kissed him back so surely she didn't mind, right?

 

[Fleur Worth]

Fleur hadn't ever been in this situation before. She was sitting there kissing a guy! And not only that it was her closest guy friend, it felt odd but also right to her. The teen pulled back nearly at the same moment Riley had from her kiss. There he was standing in front of her, she hadn't ever thought he would be so brave, she had been thinking about him for awhile wondering if she felt something more from him. It took this moment for her to really experience what she thought she felt for Riley. She had a crush on him, it couldn't be helped. "I don't," she answered quickly after Riley spoke to her. She looked down at the ground her feet hanging and swaying slightly, the girl felt excited. There was an energy in the room that hadn't been there before. One moment she thought she was going to be watching him walk out on her and the next they were kissing. Looking back up at Riley with a smile she brush her hair out of her face. She felt a bit silly, feeling all sorts of emotions rising up in her and she laughed. "I didn't, I..I just didn't expect that. I thought you..and then you just..," Fleur responded feeling slightly flustered as she tried to explain why she was laughing. She was happy, this was a good moment and she really liked this, it would be one of her favorite memories of the guy later in life no matter what happened between them in the future.
​

 

[Riley Wespurt]

His lips curled into a slight smile when Fleur told him that she did not mind that he kissed her on the lips. ''I'm glad that you don't, it would have been a little bit awkward if you did,'' he said. Riley could not stop looking at the girl, even when she turned to look down at the ground. He grinned slightly at the girl's comment and said, ''I thought I was going to leave too but when you asked me if I was hiding something from you I just... Well, you know the rest.'' with a nervous laugh. Riley wasn't quite sure what this would do to their friendship but was hoping that perhaps they could become something more than just friends. So once again asked, ''What now?''

 

[Fleur Worth]

Fleur smiled, it was kind of exciting. Kissing a boy, it seemed rather fun. She didn't mind the kissing but she did wonder what this was going to mean for them. Did she want to risk her parents being more upset with her by having a relationship with this guy? They were friends and she didn't want that to change, but it would if they dated and broke up. She knew most people were not able to be friends after they dated. She laughed with him feeling his nerves hanging in the air. She didn't want to appear nervous herself, her reputation she thought was of a more cunning figure than weak. But it was just Riley, no one else was there for this moment which she was glad for. They seemed like two awkward teenage kids not knowing what they were doing, which was very true. "What now? You're asking again?" She said in reply surprised that was all he seemed to be able to come up with. She certainly wasn't mad with him but there was still the talk from before. Fleur wondered if she was meant to just forget all that now. "Are we boyfriend and girlfriend now? I know you asked me to go to the Valentine's Dance as friends, do you still want that?" Fleur said trying to see where their next step would be. They could go to the dance as friends and possibly explore their future as a dating couple. It all seemed a little complicated. But they could try to stay friends for now, but Fleur really did want to kiss him again.
​

 

[Riley Wespurt]

Riley shrugged when Fleur asked him if they were boyfriend and girlfriend now and thought about it for a second. Did he really want to date the girl and have their entire friendship change? What if they would break up and neither of them would talk to the other one, he did not want that to happen. But then again, everything had already changed between them the moment he kissed her on the lips. ''We could be?'' the Gryffindor said, though figured that if the two of them already liked each other than why not try it out, see how it would go - if there was something they didn't agree with surely they could talk about it and figure out what to do next. ''I do still want to attend the Valentine's dance with you, though instead of friends why not go as boyfriend and girlfriend? It could be fun, right?'' he said, wondering what she would think of his suggestion and whether she wanted to date him or not.

 

[Fleur Worth]

Fleur was excited about all of this. Since she had met Riley she had thought he was rather cute and it was nice he was a Gryffindor like Evelyn. The other houses were filled with annoying people she thought. She wondered how much this was going to change things between them and her friends. She didn't really know if he had a lot of friends and was determined to make sure at least Evelyn liked him. If she liked him then everyone would like him. She wondered how funny it seemed like he didn't know what he was doing with her. It made her think that the kiss must have surprised him as much as it surprised her. After all he had said he was going to leave and then he kissed her instead. "Alright, it's settled then. Boyfriend and Girlfriend at the dance, it shall be fun," she said hopping off the desk and moving up to give Riley a kiss on the cheek.
​

 

[Riley Wespurt]

Riley smiled at what she said and was looking forward to the dance already. It was funny was someone could do to you - before meeting the Slytherin the boy never really the need to get himself out there and attend all these fun activities the school's staff organises but ever since he met her, the teen had been to pretty much every dance or party. Riley's cheeks reddend when she kissed him there and asked, "What do you want to do now?" still kind of speechless and surprised at what he'd done.

 

[Fleur Worth]

Fleur was sort of proud of herself, she managed to get a boyfriend. Although there was the possibility that he was related to muggles more closely than herself. It was a concern, but for the moment it really didn't mean anything, the muggle part. This would be her first boyfriend and now she could hang with Evelyn and Noah with Riley there and not feel awkward about it. Two couples, hanging out it sounded fun to her. She was looking forward to the dance and wanted to be there already. "I don't know. I can watch you practice Quidditch if you want?" She offered, knowing people would think of him as being cooler if he made it on the team. Which would be good for her, plus he wanted to play Quidditch already. It would be hard when Slytherin played Gryffindor next year, if they were still a couple then. She wasn't really sure if he or herself really knew what being a couple was going to mean for them. She was certain that she should stop flirting with Rory whenever she hung out with him. Which made her think of the rose she had sent her Slytherin friend, to have breakfast with her on the 22nd. Surely that would be okay with Riley. She did hope he didn't plan on joining them, Rory had a bigger problem with muggles than she did.
​

 

[Riley Wespurt]

He nodded at the girl's suggestion of him practicing Quidditch and her watching him doing so. Riley had been doing lot of practice lately to get ready for his try-out next year, which was going better than he expected it to go. He figured he could show Fleur the progress of training weekly and hear her thoughts about it. ''Sure, we could do that.'' the Gryffindor said, ''I would need to get my broom, though, which is back in the common room.'' he added. ''Do you want to walk up with me, or do you want me to meet you downstairs?'' Riley asked, hoping she'd come all the way up with him as that would be more fun for him instead of walking all that way alone.

 

[Fleur Worth]

Fleur really didn't have the desire to walk all the way to the top and then be left in hallway. But it would be nicer than waiting downstairs on her own. "Sure, I'll come up with you," she said with a smile. This was a new experience for her, having a boyfriend. She wondered if Evelyn would be cool with him or not, as the two hadn't really interacted as far as she knew. She hoped her friend would like the boy. "You know, I'll still cheer for Slytherin, even if you're on the team next year," she said with a teasing tone and grin as she headed out of the room.
​

 

[Riley Wespurt]

Riley smiled back at the girl when she told him that she would come with him. ''I would have dragged you along with me if you had said no,'' he said with a grin on his face. It was still odd to him how this whole conversation had turned into this but he wasn't complaining. He laughed at what she said about cheering for her house and jokingly replied, ''Sure if there'll be anything to cheer for.'' while stepping out of the abandoned classroom with her next to him as his girlfriend.