Closed Heart Made of Flowers

[Poppy Perkins]

For the first time Poppy had really considered not going to the Valentine's dance. The semester was already taking a toll on her and even without delivering roses she was tired. But when she tired to tell herself that she would just go next year she realized that next year was her last. Her time at school was quickly running out and she didn't want to waste it. So she put one a dress and decided she'd make the most of it. She did love the decorations for the holiday and was mesmerized the the sight of petals falling from the ceiling. They seemed to disappear before they reached the ground which found disappointing. But after a second she considered that if they were real they'd fill up half the hall by the time the dance was over. She laughed to herself imagining her classmates swimming in a pool of rose petals as she reached for a heart shaped cookie with pink icing.

 

[Shale Night]

Shale didn't really have any plans for the ball. That felt a little sad, for her last school dance ever, but it was what it was. The end of her time at Hogwarts was approaching much faster than she realised, leaving her to face the reality that she had no idea what to do with herself once school was over. That thought hurt, and Shale did her best to just... not think about it. Much easier to distract herself with things like school dances. And... the people who attended them. She hadn't been planning to approach Poppy again, but as soon as she saw the Ravenclaw standing by herself, her legs started to move almost of their own volition. "Hey." Shale said with a slightly awkward smile as she approached. "Enjoying the dance?"

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy had just put half a cookie in her mouth as Shale greeted her. "Hey!" she tried to say but came out a mumbled mess. She laughed and swallowed her bite quickly before sheepishly smiling. "I am!" she said brightly and realized her mood and increased significantly by the other girl's presence. "Happy Valentine's Day!" she said. "How are you enjoying the dance so far? Got any plans?" Poppy asked curious about what Shale might be up to. Their interactions always felt so brief but she had enjoyed them all the same.

 

[Shale Night]

Shale was relieved that Poppy seemed happy to see her, giggling slightly at the younger girl's struggles with her mouth full. "Thanks!" She smiled a little awkwardly at Poppy's well wishes, shrugging slightly in response to her questions. "It's alright so far, but.... no, yeah, no plans really." She paused for a moment, realising that if she was smoother it would have been the perfect opportunity to say the dance was better now that she was with Poppy. It was true, but it hadn't come to her in time, and even if it had, Shale knew it just would have come across awkward. "How, uh, how about you?"

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy felt her face heat up as Shale admitted she had no plans and returned the question at her. "No." she admitted a bit sheepishly but shrugged. "But it felt wrong to miss it you know?" she asked looked to Shale expectantly. This would be her last dance so Poppy hoped she understood what she was talking about. "Well if you want you can hang out with me?" she suggested a moment later. She hoped she wasn't being presumptuous but it felt a bit like fate that then seemed to run into each other again. "I'm sure you don't want to waste your last dance on me though." she said with a laugh and waved off her earlier suggestion and proceeded to shove the rest of the cookie in her mouth to keep her from saying any more embarrassing things.

 

[Shale Night]

Shale nodded when Poppy said it would have felt wrong to miss the dance, quietly feeling exactly the same herself. It would have felt silly skipping her last school dance ever, and if she was honest with herself, she had been quite looking forward to seeing Poppy here. That was a detail she would keep to herself, though. She brightened when the Ravenclaw invited her to hang out, nodding quickly. "Sure, that sounds great." She said with a small grin, though her face slipped and she shook her head as Poppy went on, giving a small snort. "It'd be wasting it to just stand in the corner by myself." She said in a slight grumble, thinking back on earlier school dances when she had done just that.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy smiled when Shale said spending the dance with her sounded good. She was a little surprised at the other girls answer. She wasn't used to being people's first choice, and she felt her ears grow hot from the sudden attention. "Well in that case we should really check the snack table at the front of the hall. I've heard that's where the really good stuff is." she said with an excited giggle and grabbed Shale's hand to drag her along. She did her best not to think too hard about this could almost be counted as a date, but she banished that thought quickly knowing she would get far too nervous if she let her mind get ahead of her.