Hiding, Obviously

[Sapphire Michaels]

Any other night Sapphire would be out swaying and dancing to the music. It still spoke to her from where she sat. But tonight she had a black haired menace chasing her down. So she had sought refuge here under this table in the farthest corner of the room. She challenged her brother to find her here.

She took a bite of her cookie, triumphant, when suddenly a long pair of legs began to slide under her table and lift the tablecloth. She panicked and kicked at the intruder. Not hard, of course, but enough to get them away. Hopefully.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn didn't often get the opportunity to wear a suit, and he was loving every minute of it. He felt... smart, and grown up - even if he was still one of the youngest in the room. Leda was busy sulking somewhere about something or other, so Mervyn had gone to the ball by himself. He didn't really mind, other than that he didn't want his bestie to miss out on the fun and festivities. Still, if all she would have done was grumble in his ear the entire night, perhaps it was best she hadn't come.

With nobody to dance with, and no friends in sight, Mervyn eventually drifted towards the tables at the end of the room, sliding into one with his drink. No sooner had his bum hit the seat than someone kicked him! He frowned, pulling up the tablecloth and leaning down to look beneath it. The last person he expected to see crouched under there was Sapphire. "Oi," he said. "Choo doin' under there?"

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire was surprised to see Mervyn of all people to duck under the table. She couldn't help but stare a moment- he looked fantastic. But movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention and she almost panicked. "Shhh!" She chided, pushing him back. She shoved her cookie into his hand and pulled the tablecloth back down, effectively pushing herself out of sight. Hopefully he could play along.

 

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx was a little irritated now- where could she be? He caught sight of a particular Gryffindor in the corner. Maybe that was a lead. He hurried over. "Aha! There you-" He began, before noticing Mervyn was alone with a cookie in his hand. He groaned in frustration.

"Great. You see my sister, Strangeways, and let me know, yeah? It shouldn't be this hard to make a girl that loves dancing to dance with a guy." He ran a hand over his face. "I'm going to try to cut her off at the door before she attempts to escape. Remember, tell her I'm looking for her!" He took off in a jog, hurrying away.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn looked down at the cookie in his hand and sat up again, bemused. Clearly Sapphire was hiding from somebody but who, and w-?

Ah. He ought to have guessed. He lifted his cookie in acknowledgement of Onyx's request, though he had no intention of telling him where his twin was. "Yeah, I fink I saw 'er somewhere near the door," he added, just to keep Onyx on the wrong trail. He waved the younger boy goodbye, waiting until he was well lost in the crowd before lifting the tablecloth again. "Bloody 'ell," he said. "Ain't he got business of 'is own to stick 'is nose in?" It didn't appear that way. Mervyn wanted Leda to have fun, but he wasn't forcing her to dance with people against her will. Onyx didn't seem to have the same kind of grasp on courtesy. "You can come out - 'e's ages gone."

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire waited under the table, her heart pounding and her breath in her throat. She couldn't quite hear anything over the music. She flinched a little when the tablecloth lifted again but quickly let out a sigh of relief when it was just Mervyn again. She slid quickly out the other side and stood, straightening her dress. "Bloody hell," She complained, rubbing her neck as she took a seat. "He's relentless." She reached for one of the drinks on the table. "So where's Leda?" She asked idly, trying not to stare too much. He looked better upright. She wondered if he could see the blush on her cheeks.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

"You could say that," Mervyn agreed, though he had a few other words he'd rather have used to describe Onyx. He tried not to stare at Sapphire or her dress too much, though she really did look incredible. More incredible than usual. When she asked him about Leda, he took his turn to blush. "Dunno," he admitted, picking up his drink to give his hand something to do. "'Avin' a mope somewhere, last time I saw 'er." All of a sudden the Gryffindor felt conscious of all the tiny creases in his suit, and of his tangled curls, which had probably long fallen out of place since he'd adjusted them in his dormitory. "Er... you wan' a drink, or summink?"

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire winced, running a hand through her hair. "She's been hard to find," She commented dryly. "I still need to apologize," She muttered before shaking her head. She would have to find the girl later. She started twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Mervyn asked if she wanted a drink and she chuckled. "Nah, I found one." She wiggled her cup a bit. "Would like my cookie back though. I have a whole one to trade for it." She teased a bit with a small smile.

"So, uh," She started, twirling the same strand some more as she looked away. "You look really nice," She managed, blushing furiously. Why was it so hard to focus right now? Stupid boy. She couldn't bring herself to be mad though.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

"What for?" Mervyn asked. He couldn't see what Sapphire could have done to make Leda grumpy, though guessed it had something to do with Quidditch. Mervyn didn't really follow the games all that closely. All he cared about was Leda coming back to the ground afterwards in one piece - something she'd only narrowly managed last match. Glancing down at the cookie Mervyn had forgotten he was holding, he made a split-second decision and shoved it in his mouth. "Oops," he said, voice muffled as he chewed, grinning idiotically. He managed to swallow just in time not to choke at Sapphire's next remark. "Fanks," he said quickly, taking a sip of his drink to buy himself time to think. Should he compliment her back? Or would that make her think that he'd been looking at her? In a panic, all he could eventually think to say was, "'Ow come you ain't got nobody to dance wiv?" Surely she'd been asked by, like, all the boys in her year?

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire looked at Mervyn, a little unsure. It still surprised her he wasn't mad. "Merv... it's my job to keep her in one piece during the game. They put me in and she still got taken out. I never even got hit." She grimaced, running a hand through her hair. She still felt really guilty over the whole thing.

She was promptly distracted when he ate her whole cookie, and she couldn't help but burst out in laughter. "Well," She gasped after a moment. "How rude! I hope you know I licked that," She teased, blue eyes sparkling. She hadn't, of course, but she couldn't resist teasing him.

He asked her why she didn't have a date, and instead of stating any of the obvious reasons that came to mind, she decided a joke would be better. "Oh, no one bothers looking down. I blend right in with the floor, don't you know." She teased, sipping at her own drink. "Did you bring a date?" She couldn't help but ask, the hint of jealousy she felt at the idea surprising her. Why should she be jealous? Mervyn could do whatever he wanted with whoever he wanted.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn didn't know why Sapphire put so much responsibility on herself to keep Leda safe. She was only an alternate, and there were two beaters per team - right? It wasn't worth getting stressed over. Quidditch was supposed to be fun, and the injuries were the price you had to pay. That was why Mervyn stayed well away from the sport. Leda wouldn't have chosen to play if she couldn't handle it.

"Eurgh, you're well nasty," he said, though he was teasing Sapphire back, knowing full well she hadn't really licked it. He laughed at her joke, though being about the same height as her, felt slightly embarrassed at the same time. Glancing over at the dance floor, he shrugged. "Maybe I 'ave. Why? Is you jealous?" He took another sip of his drink as he watched for her response.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph snickered as Mervyn told her she was nasty. She liked the easy way he teased her back sometimes. She took a sip of her drink, pausing as he said he may have a date and asking if she was jealous. She took another moment on her drink before setting it down slowly and glancing out on the floor herself. "Yeahhhhh, I'm choosing to remain silent on that." She told him. She couldn't really say 'no' and be convincing but she didn't want to just come right out and say it either. She let her dark hair fall to cover her face so Mervyn couldn't see how bad she was blushing.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Oh. Sapphire was jealous. Or at least, she wasn't denying that she would have been, if Mervyn had a date. That was awkward. The Gryffindor tried to play it off with a laugh, but a tremor betrayed his nervousness. He cleared his throat. "Well, I ain't got a date," he said. "Not that no-one asked. Loads of people asked," he assured her, lying through his teeth in an attempt to regain some dignity. "Jus' didn't feel like goin' wiv no-one." In his defence, even if anyone had asked him, he'd have turned them down, though that was less because he wanted to be alone and more because he had two left feet and couldn't dance to save his life. "Wossup wiv Onyx? 'E 'angs around you like a fart. You should tell 'im to do one, 'stead of 'idin' from him." Failing that, Mervyn would gladly tell Onyx to get lost on Sapphire's behalf.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire was a little concerned about this whole thing. She wasn't usually a jealous person. She didn't really like it, and she didn't want to see how Mervyn reacted. She could tell by his laugh that he was nervous. She hated doing that. She was also a little relieved that he didn't have a date. The main question in her mind though was why. Maybe he just wasn't interested in anyone like that? It wouldn't surprise her. He didn't seem like the kind of guy to need anyone, or even really look at anyone.

He brought up Onyx and she shrugged. "I don't want to disappoint him, I guess. He needs to stop trying so hard. I want him around, just... a bit mellower. I just wish he would stop tripping over himself trying to get onto my good side and just talk with me. I want a brother, not a cuddly man-servant." She snorted. "I'm only hiding tonight because he's trying to set me up again. He gets too close and I may just hit him." She rolled her eyes and offered Mervyn a playful smile. "I don't have any chess sets to throw at him this time."

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn could understand where Sapphire was coming from. "Maybe you should talk to 'im," he suggested. "Tell 'im wot you just said to me." Onyx wasn't a mind reader - nobody was. Sometimes being upfront was the only way to get through to someone. "Still can't believe you did that. I ain't replacin' it, you know, if you lost sum'a the pieces." Smiling, Mervyn looked over at the dance floor. He wished he were any good at dancing himself, so that he could ask Sapphire to go over there, instead of sitting looking like an idiot. Words had already started to fail him. Part of him just wanted to go back to his dormitory, away from the noise and excitement, but he couldn't leave Sapphire by herself. He fidgeted awkwardly, running a hand through his curls and trying to flatten them against his head. No matter what he did, his hair would always look like a bird's nest.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire was quiet as she thought over what Mervyn said. Onyx never really stopped to listen, but had she ever really tried? She glanced sideways at the boy next to her. Sometimes she had to work really hard to not just grab him and kiss him senseless. Now was one of those times, but thankfully for her, he continued with a joke that distracted her. She grinned, leaning forward a bit on the table. "Oh, everything's still there. We actually played a game yesterday. I won." She grinned proudly. "Did I ever thank you for showing me how to play?" She asked, honestly not remembering. Her blue eyes sparkled with mirth as she looked at Mervyn.

"Maybe with a bit more practice I might win against you," She teased, enjoying herself. Sure, her heart was still pounding furiously, and Mervyn was still even more appealing than usual, but when she was able to work past herself he was good company. She would like to think they were friends, at least, but she didn't have the best history of friendships that succeeded so she ignored the thought.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn grinned, glad his lessons had helped Sapphire beat Onyx. "S'awright," he said, not really wanting her thanks. He'd enjoyed teaching her, so it hadn't really felt like a favour or a chore.

Noticing her lean toward him across the table, Mervyn eyed Sapphire nervously, hoping she wasn't planning on making a move. He liked her, but he didn't really understand the appeal of kissing. Who wanted someone else's spit all over them, even if they were pretty? "Stroll on," he said, with a laugh. "I'm a grand master, I am. You can try if you want, but I ain't gonna go easy on you just cos we're friends. 'Ere, back in a sec." Mervyn got up and wandered off, returning half a minute later with two fresh cookies. He offered the bigger one to Sapph as he sat back down, grinning.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire couldn't help but laugh as Mervyn walked off, an earsplitting grin on her face. Friends? She'd never actually thought she could be more than the stupid kid, but somehow hearing him say otherwise just made her really happy. Which was almost instantly followed by a small twinge of fear. She and Oliver were friends too, and she hadn't seen him in coming close to a year. Her eyes quickly scanned the room for the blond, a hand drifting up to touch her hair. Last year she'd been here with Ollie, and he'd brought her a yellow rose. She still had that stupid hoodie she'd made him.

Before she could get too sad dwelling on the loss of her best friend, Mervyn returned with cookies. She sat up, grinning again. "Well aren't you a gentleman," She teased, but no sooner had she taken a bite of her cookie than she heard a familiar voice yell her name. She nearly choked on her cookie and leaned over the table coughing. "I... don't need... a date!" She managed as she felt her brother draw near.

 

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx had just about given up when he saw Mervyn at the snack table. The boy looked a little redder than he had last time Onyx had seen him, and that could only mean he'd seen his stunning twin. He followed after him and sure enough Sapphire sat at the same table Mervyn had been at before. The traitors! "Sapphire!" He yelled, grimacing as she began to choke on her cookie. He came up next to her and patted her back.

When she had finished coughing and was taking a drink, he rolled his eyes at her. "I'm not trying to set you up on a date, Sapphy. I know you don't have any reason to believe that, but I just ran into Benji and he wasn't here with anyone either. I thought you'd want to chat at least. You two are chums, yeah?" He asked, sliding into the chair next to her and turning to pout at Mervyn. "I see your loyalty doesn't lie with the charming, pretty twin," He feigned hurt, placing a hand over his heart.