Getting Closer

[Daniel Rosemary]

Dan was having a stress free break, which was needed after the overwhelming amount of work and responsibilities he had this semester. He was able to handle it, the school would not have chosen him if they hadn't thought he was able to keep up with everything. Not to mention the fact that Matt was at Hogwarts too now and he just hoped he wouldn't get himself into trouble, because seeing as he was not in his house it wasn't as if he could deal with whatever he got himself into. Of course, it relieved him to know he didn't have to bust his cousin and at the same time he was lucky he could still have a chat with him if it ever happened. The boy wanted him to have the best time, even though he was bound to be in the middle of some drama at some point.

After greeting his sister, Daniel closed the door behind him and headed to brightstone, where he'd meet his friend. He smiled a little, it would be nice to catch up properly again without having to worry about school and prefect duties, because both him and Charlotte were extremely busy and most of the time she was spending her free periods with Maddie. Dan sometimes worried when she had so much going on in her life, not that he actually knew half the things that happened. Of course, he'd be there for her as he was for his sister and all of his other friends. The sound of the bell rang as he entered the small cafe, his eyes brightening when he spotted Charlotte. "Hey," he greeted her, sending her a smile as he sat down opposite her.​

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[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte was glad to be on a break after everything that had happened. She was very much over what happened last year with James and was happy that she was able to talk to Maddie again, but it somehow wasn't enough. Luckily, the prefect was becoming closer with Dan and she couldn't be more excited about that. The pair of them had planned to meet up at Brightstone during the holidays and Charlotte was so excited that she had readied herself early and quickly said goodbye to her family before heading out, almost skipping the whole way. When she made it to the cafe it was almost empty except for a couple of tables and so she made an effort to pick the perfect one for them, not too far at the back but not too close to the front. The girl ordered herself a drink while she waited, and when she saw Dan finally enter, she practically beamed, sitting up straighter in her seat. "Hey Dan!" she replied as he sat down. "How have you been?"

 

[Daniel Rosemary]

The reaction he received from Charlotte was not one he was expecting. Still, he found it somewhat satisfying that she beamed as soon as she saw him. Grinning, Daniel responded, "Stressed, if we're being honest," he sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "I mean, apart from school. I've been trying to keep an eye on my cousin, which is never easy." He let out a chuckle and looked at her. "What about you? Everything okay?" He asked the question, really worried something might be up. Knowing their grade, there was always something going on, some type of drama. Somehow, he found Charlotte stuck in the middle of it. Not that it was necessarily her fault, because he knew it wasn't, but he didn't like the amount of trouble there seemed to be every semester. Dan had a concerned expression on his face and as he was watching her, he couldn't help but notice how good she looked today.​

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[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte blushed slightly as Dan ran his hand through his hair and nodded when he mentioned he was stressed. Truthfully, Charlotte felt bad to hear that from him but she couldn't help but agree. School was getting a bit too much now for all of them, especially considering it was their OWL year but she was positive that they'd all get through in one piece. "Is your cousin going well?" she asked, hoping she'd get to meet all of his family one day. The Rosemarys Charlotte had met so far were extremely nice and so she wouldn't hesitate meeting more. "I'm good! I just can't wait for this school year to be over." Charlotte liked that Daniel was concerned. It meant that no matter what she'd always have a good friend to stick by and that was all that she would ever need. The Slytherin took another sip of her drink. "Did you want one?" she asked him, feeling quite selfish only getting one for herself.

 

[Daniel Rosemary]

</COLOR>

<COLOR color="black">It was relief that Charlotte agreed with him, when he said that school was getting rather stressful. At least they were on the same page. He smiled once again when she asked about his cousin.​

"Yeah, I'm sure he's had no trouble finding at least a friend by now," he chuckled. "What's not surprising is that he's in Gryffindor. He's one of few people in my family who has been sorted into that house." His parents were former Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students, whereas Daniel's aunt and uncle - Matt's parents - were Slytherin and Hufflepuff respectively. "I'm just hoping he'll actually study and not become lazy this coming semester," he told his friend, meaning what he was saying. "And I'm really glad to hear that," Dan winked and then after a few minutes of silence, he added, "Same. It just seems to be packed full of stuff and responsibilities. It never ends."

He liked to think he was on top of things, but now as he watched Charlotte take a sip of her drink, he suddenly realised that maybe he'd been a little too isolated lately, meaning his social life wasn't up to date even though his school work might've been. He was missing the time he spent with his friends. "Nah, don't worry I'll order one" he smiled, unable to help it. She was adorable when she did that, being concerned about the smallest of things. He pushed the thought out of his mind. What was going on with him today? "I have to admit I've missed spending time with you and our other friends." The words tumbled out of his mouth faster than his brain could catch up to what he was saying. He sat there smiling sheepishly at what he'd just said, hoping he wouldn't have to feel embarrassed for too long.​

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[Charlotte Owens]

Daniel's confidence that his cousin would have found a friend by now made her smile. She liked confidence in a guy, but tried to push that thought to the back of her head as she continued to listen to him speak. "Really? Gryffindor is very common in my family. It's Slytherin that's different. What house were your parents in?" she asked him, sitting on the edge of her seat now as she spoke. The prefect wanted to know more about him and his family and she wasn't too shy to hide it. "Yeah, school's hard but it will be over soon. Lots of people have been able to get through it so we can too." She smiled reassuringly, trying to be positive about the situation. After all, it was supposed to stress them out and there was no need to be worried.

Charlotte nodded when Daniel said he would get himself his own drink, yet she still felt obligated to do something. However, she stayed where she was, knowing Daniel was perfectly capable of getting something if he really wanted to. "What do you mean?" Charlotte asked him when he said he missed spending time with her and their other friends. She missed it too but they were spending time together now and she didn't know why he'd even be thinking of anything else.

 

[Daniel Rosemary]

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<COLOR color="darkgreen">"Yeah,"​

he smiled, nodding. "Guess our families are opposites, but hey, opposites attract right?" He chuckled, and listened to her speak. "My mom was in Ravenclaw and my dad in Hufflepuff. We're like a variation of colours," he told Charlotte, liking the fact that she'd asked. He now realised that he didn't know too much about her family, though he hoped that would change soon. "Thanks for that," he said sincerely, not being sarcastic and was actually grateful she was trying to make school seem more optimistic than it really was. At least out of the two of them there was still some hope of the drama at Hogwarts decreasing, and not even just about their grade but throughout the years.

Daniel had to think about the answer to the question, because he wasn't entirely sure how to put it into words. He realised then than his statement he'd said so impulsively could've been taken in more than one way. "I just feel like I don't see you often enough. It's weird, I guess, I see you every day at school but we don't actually get to spend enough time together," he shrugged, a small smile at the corner of his lips. Dan didn't miss how this sentence had also sounded strange but he'd let his best friend know exactly what he meant if she asked him. He wasn't about to shy away from the truth that he knew, about how he felt. There was literally no way he was able to wait until next semester and now was a pretty good opportunity. As long as he didn't rush anything. "I don't know if that makes sense," he finished, leaning slightly forward as he spoke. ​

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[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte didn't particularly understand why people believed opposites attract, but smiled nonetheless. She found it interesting that Dan's family were a mixture of all of the houses. It meant that everyone was most likely different to one another and Charlotte supposed that would make family meetings quite interesting and it would be more of a wonder as to which house someone would get sorted into. Charlotte wished it was like that with her family as that way she wouldn't have felt so bad about being a Slytherin when she was first sorted. Despite this, she was different and there was nothing wrong with that.

As Daniel elaborated what he meant, Charlotte agreed with him. "Yeah, this might sound weird, but I don't really like not spending time with you." she told him. "I feel quite... empty without you." Charlotte took another sip of her drink, not really sure where she was going with what she was saying. However, that didn't really matter as she noticed Daniel slightly moving closer. She hesitated before she did too and giggled, her cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink.

 

[Daniel Rosemary]

Dan had to take a couple of minutes to think of what he wanted to say next. When Charlotte stated that she didn't like not spending time with him a warm feeling spread throughout his body and he couldn't stop smiling at her. "Is that so?" He wiggled his eyebrows and without realising he was doing it he took one of her hands and held it. He smirked at her next statement, she really was cute. "I feel the same," he admitted, and took a deep breath as he was going to say something else. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now." The Slytherin hadn't missed Charlotte leaning in and he glanced down at her lips, also not overlooking the blush that had crept onto her cheeks. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as he leaned in more, this time it was close enough for him to kiss her and so he went through with it unable to help it, his lips meeting hers gently. He hadn't even known it was something that felt this good that he had been missing this entire time.</SIZE>​

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<SIZE size="50">Just for vibes: http://claimingdarkness.tumblr.com/post/135290923762/chloe-grace-moretz-x-nick-robinson

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte had never met someone so caring. There was something about the way Dan smiled at her that made her feel happy to be alive and happy to be where she was, not wishing for anything else. When He touched her hand she felt more butterflies in her stomach than ever before and she didn't want him to let go. The prefect nodded, agreeing with his words and let him put her hair behind her ear and lean in closer, until their lips finally met. The feeling was strange, but she didn't want it to go away. Her heart danced around her chest and she felt all the negativity slowly leave and there was not a care in the world. She couldn't have imagined a more perfect moment. When they parted, she hid her face in her hands and for the first time in her life she was left speechless. She wondered how Dan had felt. Was he as embarrassed as she was? After a while, Charlotte spoke. "Thank you." she said, a smile forming.

 

[Daniel Rosemary]

As soon as the two broke apart, Dan couldn't stop smiling and his face went pink at what he'd just done. Although Charlotte didn't seem to mind that he kissed her, which made his heart swell even more. Daniel cleared his throat and said, "Thanks to you too." He winked at her and didn't let go of her hand because for a change it was nice to distract himself from others goings-on in his life. "Um- would you like something else?" He asked her, referring to the drinks in front of them or even if she wanted to eat something. He was still a little flustered from what had just happened but also relieved that Charlotte seemed to have enjoyed it as much as he did, he liked the effect he had on her. ​

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[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte was glad Daniel didn't let go of her hand. Holding his hand made her feel protected, like nothing could touch her. She hadn't realised how much smaller her hand really was. It was a simple thing, but it felt like home. When he had asked if she wanted something else, Charlotte was unsure what he meant at first and hesitated before answering. "Oh, no that's okay." she told him, chuckling slightly. She didn't feel like eating any food right now and was perfectly content with them just sending heart eyes to one another. "What about you? You haven't got anything yet." She wanted to ask him if things were different now, but held herself back. She didn't want things to get worse and figured that keeping the moment light was all she wanted and needed.

 

[Daniel Rosemary]

"I'm all good," he answered, unable to break eye contact. It was strange, how whenever he felt something for someone - anyone - else, it could never compare to what he was feeling now. He liked it though. It was new but also amazing. "So, um, since we're all good here," he said, barely managing to make his brain form proper sentences that made sense, "would-do you want to take a walk, or something?" Technically anywhere was fine with Dan, he wouldn't mind staying here too but of course he also felt like he could go running with how much energy had sparked between the two just a moment ago. ​

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[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte nodded when Daniel said he was all good. She didn't understand why they planned to meet there if he wasn't even going to get anything but shrugged nonetheless, figuring that she couldn't force him to do anything he didn't want to. "Yeah, we can go for a walk if you like." she said, finishing off her drink and standing up. She brushed off her robes. "Where did you want to go?" Truthfully, Charlotte didn't care where they were going to go as long as they were together.

 

[Daniel Rosemary]

Dan didn't want to break the gaze, but he sent Charlotte another small smile as he paid for the drinks, not wanting her to worry about that. "Sure," he agreed easily. "Thanks," he told the waiter before getting up himself as well. "How about we just walk around the village?" Dan suggested, knowing how lame that sounded. The two walked to the door of the restaurant, and as he held the door open for her and they walked out he said "So, Char, can I ask you something?" Well that was random. Smooth, Daniel. Real smooth. He didn't wait for much longer before asking what he'd wanted to ask for a few minutes now because he did not want to chicken out of this one. Besides, the Slytherin really needed to know. "I know we've been friends for a while, but do you want to like, go out on a date sometime?" ​

 

[Charlotte Owens]

Charlotte watched as Daniel paid for the drinks and felt slightly guilty that she didn't do anything about it. She should've paid for them herself. After all, it was all on her and Daniel didn't even get anything. The Slytherin smiled however when Daniel opened the door for her and was glad that they could just walk around together. When he wanted to ask her a question, she looked up at him curiously, wondering if perhaps she had done something wrong. But as he spoke, she couldn't help but be confused. Weren't they already going on a date even if it was just as friends? Or did he mean something else? "Of course I'd want to go on a date with you." she said. "But do you mean... like boyfriend and girlfriend or... friends?" She didn't want to get the wrong idea, even after he had just kissed her, and so she thought that asking him would be the best way to clear it up.

 

[Daniel Rosemary]

Every time he looked at her, he was reminded by how attractive she was, which meant that he couldn't stop smiling like an idiot. As they walked, Dan realised how vague he'd sounded and he pursed his lips when Charlotte wanted him to clarify. "I mean...as more than friends," he said slowly, still figuring it out himself. He wanted to ask her out, but he didn't want to ruin his friendship with her, they were best friends after all. Or they stood at a point between friends and being in a relationship together. Dan never liked to rush things, as badly as he wanted something more to happen. "I'm not an expert in labels, but maybe..." he trailed off, leaving the possibility open. Maybe there was something that could happen between them soon.​

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