Closed Halfway there

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan didn't know if he really wanted to come to the Yule Ball this year. It was the same thing at every event and he didn't really see the point if there was nothing new to be celebrating. He'd come down thiugh because of Lilith. He knew she liked these sort of things, and having spent years trying to get comfortable with the prospect of dancing in the first place it would have been a waste not to use it. "Are you ready?" He asked, lingering outside the Great Hall, fiddling with his sleeves as it gave him a reason not to look at who else was in attendance. Things had been strange with a few of his classmates recently, and even though this semester he thought he was getting more established with his peers, it was recently clear he was still an outcast from those around him.

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Lilith had sort of wanted to not go to the Yule Ball, the falling out with Felix had broken her usually festive spirits. In a way she felt she'd failed her boyfriend and one of her best friends, but there also wasn't much she could have done in the situation. It was something they'd needed to talk about and nothing she could have said would have been able to stop that volcano from erupting. She just hoped they could fix it one day. "Not really, but it's fine we should go in and at least see the night through and what's going on around." She didn't want to admit her apprehension to anyone but Eoghan in the moment. She'd always liked these events but right now she felt apprehension, she'd talked with Amory but that'd left her feeling more clueless than she'd been before. "Let's go," Lili said putting on a smile and grabbing her boyfriends hand to pull them both in.

The hall looked like it always did during the ball, but it still didn't amaze her any less. It was just so pretty every time. The fourth year tried not to scan the area to see which of her friends would be around and what was going on with them, instead she just turned to look at her boyfriend with a smile. "I like going to these events with you, thank you for coming with me." She said knowing full well he didn't like them the way she did, it meant a lot to her he bothered to go with her.

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan wasn't quite sure when things had changed. There was a period of his life where he would have just refused to go to these events and that was the end of that. Right now he could have been curled up in the common room with a book, but he was forced to put on a show instead. He couldn't tell if it was better or worse that Lilith felt the same way. The Ravenclaw followed her into the Great Hall, taking in the decorations that had once again been set up and turned the typical room into something that looked like it was out of a story book.

As Lilith turned towards him, he did his best to make his face turn into a smile, but in truth he just looked like he was in pain. She may have thanked him for being here but he didn't feel as though she would actually appreciate his company given the mood he was currently in. He said nothing but nodded, glancing across the space to see who else he could turn the attention of conversation towards. He saw a few people he could have pointed out, but frankly he wasn't sure he had the energy. What was the point? When it spoke up, people got hurt, that's how it had always been. So instead, he just kept his mouth shut.

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Eoghan clearly wasn't feeling it and Lilith felt like maybe the fact she had liked these events was forcing him to go to them. That did very little to make her feel like being here right now. With every passing second the good mood she was trying to put on was deflating. Something was supposed to be fun and nice seemed to be an inconvenience. Even the smile on her boyfriend's face was fake. Everything had turned into a big pile of, well something Lili didn't want to call it, after the whole talk with Felix. It'd been something that had needed to happen way before clearly and she could only hope going home and having a little time away from the castle would allow her and possibly the boys too to come back with a clearer view of things.

As Eoghan said nothing, Lili felt terrible and her own smile disappeared. Was she forcing him to come to this event when he clearly wasn't in the mood? Was that what their relationship was? Him trying to please her and her just not caring for how he felt? She always thought she was looking after others, but how much of that was true? "Do you want a drink?" She asked, trying push the other thoughts into the back of her mind as she glanced towards the tables.

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan didn't mean to put a damper on Lilith's mood but he also couldn't just pretend he was having a good time to appease her. "No not really," he responded flatly, a glance in her direction in case the use of English was intentional. Perhaps she was talking to someone else, or wishing she was. Maybe it would have been better if she was here with one of her friends instead. He was sure Felix would probably have loved to take her to the dance. Eoghan sighed, long and slowly as he cast his eyes around the room at the other happy couples or friends that were making the most of the night. He knew he should be really, he didn't want to look back and remember that one year he'd ruined things for his girlfriend. "Maybe you should go," he said after a moment, "with someone else, I mean." No doubt a handful of their friends would be looking for dance partners anyway and she was bound to have a better time without him there dragging her down. He was feeling a little trapped in his outfit, uncomfortable in most senses of the word. He'd joined her for almost every event for the last four years, surely there was at least one where he could bail. "I'm sorry, I should just go back," he knew Lilith liked the dances, and sometimes he did too, but tonight wasn't the night for festivities and Eoghan didn't feel like being around the others.

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Lilith had almost pulled out of coming this year at all and in this moment she wished she had because unlike what she'd thought going to the ball wasn't serving as a distraction. However what Eoghan said next made her frown and she turned to look at him with a questioning tilt of her head. Did he think she wanted to go with someone else? "No? No I shouldn't, I don't want to." She said softly taking his hands to hers, these events were fun yes she enjoyed them, but big part of her enjoyment had always come from the fact she was getting to go to them with him. Not because of the events, sure in the first year it had been all new and exciting, but by the time second year rolled around what made the events worth it was the company. Was that she got to spend the time and do he things around them with her best friend, her boyfriend.

"Don't apologize, never to me." There was no reason to apologize right now. "If you are not in the mood for these events don't think you have to attend just because of me, I am more than happy to not attend. If you want to stay in for the evening just reading, I am more than happy to." She needed him to know that his company was what made the most impact for her. "I like the school events sure, but after first year the became less about the excitement of all things new and more about getting to spend every last second with you. Going to these events with you is why I like them." They should have just stayed in for the night. "You want to leave? Then lets, there's always next year." Not to mention she'd already been bordering on not going tonight.

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan wasnt sure what he expected from Lilith, perhaps that she would ask him to stay, that they could do anything he wanted while they were here or she'd catch up with him later. He didn't think she would have suggested the both of them leaving. "But you love it," he told her quietly, a feeble protest to try not to ruin her night, although he could see it written across her face that if he wasn't happy then she wouldn't have been either. It shouldn't have surprised him because she'd proved time and time again that she cared about him, but it did, because frankly he wasn't sure whether he was worth the sacrifice, not after recent discussions.

The Ravenclaw knew what she meant when she told him the events became more about spending time together than they were what was going on though. He squeezed her hand, moving a little closer and kissing the top of her head. He wanted to apologise, for his mood, for the time and energy wasted on getting ready only for this to be the outcome, but he believed his girlfriend when she told him not to. He did want to leave, and it only solidified the idea that Lilith was the closest person to him, the one that actually understood. "Can we go back to the common room?" He asked, voice barely more than a whisper, trusting that she wouldn't view him as weak as he currently felt.

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Lilith shook her head slightly as she spoke. "Not without you," If he wasn't attending, she didn't mind spending the evening with him elsewhere. A soft smile pulled at her lips as the blonde moved closer to her and kissed the top of her head, Lili loved the small shows of affection he did. It wasn't showy or over the top like some other people, but it was always soft and meaningful, which was something their relationship had always been. They didn't have to put on a show for anyone else, or for each other for that matter.

As Eoghan asked to go back to the common room it felt as though a weight had been lifted off of the fourth year's shoulders, a weight she hadn't even realized fully was there. With a nod she got up on her toes and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. "Don't have to tell me twice Antares," She said before pulling him along with her out of the great hall, but not before grabbing some snacks with her just because.