Green Light

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi sat anxiously in the student lounge, time nearing to when she was supposed to meet with Alessio. She had arrive half an hour early morning to set up her books and brought with her some drinks from the kitchen. It wasn't as if this was a date, but she wanted to seem hospitable if she was going to at least be friends with the man she'd been crushing on since the previous year. Tugging on her sweater sleeves she wished she didn't always feel so chilled. It was the middle of summer, perhaps sitting outside would have been warmer, but if she were any warmer her face would reveal nervous blushing. She just needed to take a few deep breaths, and wait patiently, pretending she didn't suspect Leo would follow them and watch them. He thought he was so clever for pairing them - but it wasn't as if Alessio would be interested in her. She was plain compared to his old flame after all.

 

[Alessio Benivieni]

Alessio had set up a time with Celebi where they were to study together, and he was happy that they had, as it was another way to spend some time with a new friend. He couldn't figure out why she always seemed so nervous around him and he hoped to find out soon. It would put his mind at ease. After gathering all of books, the seventh year headed to the student lounge, and smiling a little once he saw Celebi. He went over to where she sat and took a seat on the chair next to her, before he placed his bag next to him and pulled out his Care of Magical Creatures and Charms textbooks, placing them in front of him. "Hey. So, what do you want to start with first?" he asked. Al really didn't mind.​

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi, upon noticing Alessio smiled wide. Why was it he could make a simple clothing choice look so good. She trained her eyes on the books once he sat down, trying not to make any sort of staring obvious. She looked at the Care of Magical Creatures books he laid out in front of them, it must have been a subject he really liked, since he was still taking it in his seventh year. She leaned on her own hand, propped on her knees as she sat criss-cross. "I don't mind. How have you been?" She asked, though she felt the small talk was pointless, they were supposed to be studying, not asking about each other's days.

 

[Alessio Benivieni]

Even though they'd decided to study, Alessio was glad for the distraction, in other words the small talk. He knew his workload was hardly anything to stress over, and since he didn't know that much about Celebi they could talk in between as well, surely. "Good. I think," he replied as honestly as he could. "I mean, not good, but better," he said simply, glancing at Celebi. "What about you?" he asked back, and when she responded he nodded towards the Care of Magically Creatures one. "Why don't we start with this?" But as work-focused as he tried to be, Alessio wasn't really in the mood to have his head in a book today.​

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi smiled, glad to hear he was better. It was obvious from what he'd said at the dance that he had taken his break up hard, and a pang of sadness hit Celebi as she remembered how glad she was that they had split up. Not that she'd ever be willing to take a chance only to be turned down. If he made a move on her however.... no that wouldn't happen. "I'm good. My sister wrote to me the other day that she made a new friend at school. Which is nice. Mel doesn't talk to anyone." She said with a laugh. Celebi looked at the book he was pointing to. "Do you want me to quiz you on this stuff, or...?" She asked, her brown orbs searching his for a second, before her cheeks heated up and she found herself unable to continue to look.

 

[Alessio Benivieni]

Alessio was relieved when Celebi didn't try to bring up why he was feeling the way he was, as his breakup with Cyan had hurt him, something he naturally wasn't used to. She had been his first girlfriend after all. Instead, he concentrated on what she said about her sister and smiled. "At least she made a friend, so that‘s a positive step towards socialising." He wondered, once he'd said that, if his words sounded a bit rough or implied that Celebi‘s sister wasn't sociable, but he was being honest. Alessio hardly used to speak to others when he was much younger, unless his twin was around, because she made it a lot more fun. Now however he enjoyed speaking to new people. "Uhhhhhh....okay, sure. If you don't mind," he added, not wanting to make her feel obligated to do so. "Otherwise we can, um, talk about stuff other than school." He cleared his throat when he noticed Celebi‘s cheeks turn red, which was actually kinda cute. Wait, what?​

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi nodded in response to the boy statement about her sister socializing. Mel wasn't shy perse. But she was not social either. She often distances herself and focused so hard on her studies. The blonde nodded and grinned at his questioning pause. She was completely willing to help him with just about anything. However Alessio spoke quickly after and while she still held a small smile on her lips, her face pointed down as it heated. The blush that was moments before pale pink was now Gryffindor Red, matching her sweater. "I-other stuff?" She squeaked. Suddenly she wasn't a good conversationalist. Suddenly words were foreign and the Irish girl felt her heart quicken. She toyed her her own fingers getnly, picking at the floral manicure left over from the ball.

 

[Alessio Benivieni]

Finally, he got her to grin! That hadn't been so bad. He refrained from teasing her however, since he doubted it would make things less awkward. Though, he wasn't sure as to why she had bent down her face. His eyes widened a little and he placed a hand on his mouth when he realised how vague and ambiguous his suggestion had sounded. Then, after a minute of silence, he burst out laughing, holding his stomach from how much it hurt. "I didn't mean it that way," he said once he had recovered from his outburst. He wasn't even sure in what ‘way‘ she had taken it. "I just meant, normal, basic things. To get to know each other better," he explained, hoping at least this would put her mind at ease.​

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi was quiet until she realized her own reaction had allowed Alessio's mind to think too much. The moment he mentioned what way he thought she thought, her face became brought all around, and her whole body felt like it was blushing. "n-no I didn't.. i didn't think that!" She hissed in a whisper, trying to save some face. She buried her face in her hands to hide the shame she felt. He thought she was a deviant, that much was clear now. What was she supposed to say now? She could barely muster the courage to look up, let alone talk. What was she supposed to do for small talk? She thought for a moment adn asked Alessio the same question she'd asked Leo when they met. "wh-what's your favorite color." The last word was nearly a squeak, trying hard not to reveal just how nervous she was after the misunderstanding.

 

[Alessio Benivieni]

If it was even possible, Celebi turned more red, and Alessio stared at her for a few moments, he probably looked like a creep, but before his gaze turned away from hers he muttered, "Stop being adorable", quite impulsively. It was more to himself, but Celebi probably heard him, if she didn't, then it was a good thing. He shook his head with a grin. At her question, he thought about it for a moment. "Yellow. I also like red." Oh. No bias intended. Since he was a Hufflepuff and she was a Gryffindor. "What about you?" he asked.
​

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

If Celebi could have passed out from pure embarrassment it would have happened right then and there. As suddenly the word adorable left the mouth of the older student. The older student she had a crush on. Her face burned so hotly tears were nearly in her eyes. She couldn't look up there was no way. His answer did little to smooth her irregular heart beat. She was wearing red. She'd accidentally worn his favorite color? Did Alessio think it looked good on her? Or was he overwhelmed by the fact her face most likely matched her shirt. Steadying herself with a few deep breaths, Celebi looked up with large green eyes through blonde eyelashes trying hard to hide her embarrassment whilst still giving Alessio the common courtesy of answering. "I uhm. I like Yellow. And Blue." She spoke. Really any color that was bright was a favorite of the easy-to-please Gryffindor. "Do you uhmmm, i uhm." She tried to catch her breath while thinking of another question. "Do you like the weather. Lately. No snow... on Christmas?" She spoke in broken sentences, her thick Irish accent most likely making her hard to understand.

 

[Alessio Benivieni]

When Celebi replied, Less nodded his head. "Hey, we have something in common," he commented randomly, just for the sake of him not wanting the conversation to die right there. Since she still wasn't looking up, Alessio sighed slightly, glancing at his textbooks. Should he put them back in hid bag if they weren't studying? Then again, that might seem as if he was about to leave, so he left them on the table in front of him. Maybe, if the conversation got too awkward or did in fact die out, they could turn to studying. He chuckled at her next words, and looked up at her once more. "Sure, though it is really hot here, in New Zealand, right now. I am so used to the cold during Christmas in Italy." It hardly snowed in December anymore in Italy, that was for the later months, so he couldn't comment on snow. "Where are you from? I mean, do you miss home?"
​

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi smiled at the comment. This one was not out of shame, but out of genuine joy to hear he was at least listening to her. She carefully heard his words, and shrugged. "I am always cold. It's crazy, even now." She managed to speak a full sentence with a laugh at the end that wasn't forced or nervous. When asked about Home, Celebi attempted to be more confident, and sat up a bit, without meaning to inching just a bit closer. "I'm from Ireland." She spoke proudly. "I miss it a lot, my mom especially. but I really like yo-it here so it's not a big deal." She stammered through her sentences. "Uhm, so you uhm your brother did he tell you why he thought we would make friends?" She asked, wondering if Leo had revealed her secret yet. She hoped that he hadn't, hoped that he was a genuinely good person like she believed. Leo was her friend after all, he wouldn't betray her trust. Though she wondered if he would if he thought it was for a good cause.

 

[Leo Benivieni]

Leo had made sure to know the exact time and place that his brother and Celebi were meeting up, actually, he had sort of hinted at the girl and his brother (at different times, obviously) to study together. He hadn't expected them to actually do it. After he was all ready and set, Leo made his way to the student lounge, as quietly as he could, and when he arrived, he noticed they were settling themselves down at a table. Leo smirked to himself before he went the opposite way around and hid himself behind the bookshelf closest to the table where they were at. Then, calculating the right time to jump out after having listened to the conversation long enough, he slyly stood up, brushed himself off and walked past them swiftly. As he passed, in a deep, rough voice, while looking straight ahead of him, Leo said clearly, "Get a room you two!" before walking away.​

 

[Alessio Benivieni]

"Do you want my jacket?" Alessio asked automatically, indicating to his own jacket that he had placed around his chair earlier. When Celebi told him about Ireland, Less smiled, happy to see how proud and confident about it she was. "I miss my hometown, my parents work almost all the time so its nice going back home to cousins. And of course, I get to spend more time with my siblings," he added. At school he hardly saw them, since they were literally in all four houses. Before he could reply to the girl‘s next question however, someone passed by them and something looked vaguely familiar about the person. But when the voice, clearly a dude‘s, said to ‘get a room‘, Alessio‘s ears turned red and he glanced at Celebi apologetically, but he wasn't sure why.
​

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

At the idea of wearing Alessio's jacket Celebi nearly agreed immediately. However she knew how it would look, what if his ex-girlfriend walked by and saw the pair, sitting a foot or so away from each other, her in his jacket. However the Irish girl sheepishly nodded, despite the growing worry in her stomach. The jacket slipped over her, dwarfed her arms in length, though fit rather well everywhere else. If they were the same height it would fit her well. The girl couldn't help but wrap herself up in the material, it was warmed by having been worn moments ago - and it was a warmth she enjoyed. Perhaps it was devious to say yes for her own agenda, but she didn't think long on that considering the male voice that reached her ear only moments after. The statement made her face turn back to a tomato and she hid her face again, this time using jacket sleeves to help cover the blush. "Merlin." She muttered, so horribly embarrassed she thought about leaving right then and there, but when she peaked at Alessio, she saw the pink on his ears and wondered if it was for the same reason. No, she doubted it. "I'm sorry." She apologized for the 'stranger' a sinking feeling in her stomach telling her she knew who it was. "I think that was your brother." She murmured.

 

[Alessio Benivieni]

Alessio handed over his jacket to Celebi and once she did so, he kept his eyes on her for a few minutes unable to help it. Someone else finally looked better than him in his own jacket. Even though it was clearly a lot bigger than Al had anticipated, he couldn't remember being that much taller than the Gryffindor. "Why are you apologising? It should be..." Oh. Leo? Oh. Now everything finally made sense. He was trying to set them up, and not only that, but he was following them too? Alessio smiled as if to say 'I'll ruin him', though he probably would never do such a thing. Well, revenge was going to be sweet. "Celebi." He had to ask what was on his mind, because at first he thought it was just the fact that she wasn't a social person but after he'd connected all of these dots and her blushing whenever something about or between them came up... "Can I ask you something. Why are you so nervous?" There, it had been asked and there was no going back now.
​

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi wondered if Leo was intentionally trying to kill her through embarrassment. Perhaps it was from the last time she'd hogged all his treats. It wasn't her fault the hiding places he had were easy to find. The blonde finally turned to face Alessio when he said her name, her heart skipping a beat. Why did his accent fit the curve of her name so well? The blonde only flickered her eyes to his for a moment before looking at the books as if they were the most interesting things in the world. It became even more apparent that she was avoiding contact with his umber orbs when he asked her a question she didn't want to answer. The blonde felt her heart stuttering in her chest. It was a dumb crush, she didn't know that much about Alessio. It was only because he'd been so nice to her to help her with her books and he'd smiled so sweetly at her when he handed the papers back to her. Finally, unable to hold all her anxious energy inside of herself she blurted out her secret before she could stop herself. "Because last year you picked my books up in the hall when I dropped them everywhere and you didn't laugh at me and you have a nice smile and I think you're so much more attractive than your brother I didn't even know he was your brother and I'm a total idiot who has no idea how to talk to anyone I think is.... cute." The word cute left her lips as a squeak, and she looked at her own hands with wide eyes, willing herself to sink into the couch and disappear.

 

[Alessio Benivieni]

Alessio's thoughts were still on Leo, and how clever he had been in following them, which made him think it pushed him to ask the question on his mind about why Celebi was always so nervous around him. He'd never admit it out loud, the fact that his own younger brother thought this all through. Of course to a stranger or someone not involved it was simple to figure out, but Less had not even considered the idea. When the Gryffindor finally opened up however Alessio smiled softly, mentally praising her courage to actually tell him the truth instead of trying to come up with a lie or a half truth to avoid embarrassment, or worse - rejection. After thinking for a minute, he glanced at Celebi again with a smile. "That's sweet," he commented. "You're not a total idiot. It's normal to feel that way." The tips of his ears went pink at her compliments, because those were the kindest compliments he'd heard in a while, and they sounded genuine. He could feel warmth spread across his body as he finally realised Celebi had a crush on him. "Hey, you don't have to feel that nervous, it's okay really," he said, trying to make her feel better. "I don't mind," he added, in a sincere tone as possible, his gaze on her the whole time. If the seventh year was being honest, Celebi was pretty, and he started to notice it a bit more now that she revealed how she was feeling towards him.​

 

[Celebi Kovalenko]

Celebi's stomach felt like it was going to escape her body through her mouth. the blonde had of course had crushes before, but she'd never been made to confront them and they generally passed as such.This was different, Leo had put her in a position where she had no choice but to confront that she had strange and exciting feelings. Finally Alessio spoke, which did not ease her stomach but at least it eased her mind. Her face continued to be a heated vermilion, not fading even slightly as he spoke. It was okay? He didn't feel the same then, of course not. It would be shallow for him to like her, they'd only interacted twice. Celebi thought she was shallow for liking him as it was, since what had sparked the student's crush was simply his smile at her when he helped her with her books. At the end of his statement telling her her crush was okay, Celebi felt as if she should leave. What if he was just being polite and she was making him uncomfortable. "M-maybe I should go so you can study." She said, trying hard not to look pathetic, however she couldn't quite bring herself to look at him.