I dare you to let me be your one and only

[Calum Lloyd]

Calum had many thoughts running through his head for the past couple of days. After hearing the truth at the Halloween party the teenager had felt a little bit better about himself and the whole situation, but that still didn't mean he felt his best. From the moment he met her, Pia had been on Calum's mind and, throughout his whole Defence Against The Dark Arts lesson, he could not stop thinking about her and if she had ever felt the same way. By the end of the lesson he knew he had to do something about the thoughts in his head, and so he quickly kept himself together as he walked out of the classroom and waited a bit up the hallway for her, leaning casually against the wall and hoping everything would turn out like it played over in his head.​

 

[Pia Morales]

There had been a lot on Pia's mind lately and her interaction with Calum at the Halloween feast didn't help one single bit. Pia was torn between feeling confused towards Calum's reaction to her friendship with Orwell, and feeling flattered that he cared about her enough to react to the friendship in the first place, regardless of the fact it was a friendship to begin with and nothing more. Either way, it caused her to think about Calum endlessly throughout the week and even distracted her from class that day. A horrible circumstance as she had a career goal in mind and needed to focus and study without her personal life distracting her. By the time she was halfway through her class, Pia had decided enough was enough and though it was out of her comfort zone, she ventured to find Calum as soon as class was dismissed. She was both surprised and relieved to find him waiting slightly down the hall of the classroom, leaning casually against one of the walls. It contrasted to how nervous Pia felt about speaking with him however she wasn't about to let her nerves get to her, and shook any negative thoughts from her head, keeping her goal in mind as she approached the Slytherin boy and asked "Is it okay if I talk to you about something?" as confidently as she was able to. Pia had not even thought about dating since her transfer from Castelobruxo so she hoped this interaction would not play out as awkwardly as it had in her mind.​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

Calum stared at the ground as he heard the hustle and bustle of students walk past him and presumably to their next class. He instantly felt small butterflies in his stomach as he heard the sound of her voice next to him. Calum perked his head up, wondering what on earth Pia wanted to talk to him about. Was it obvious that he was waiting for her? Did she think he was being a bit of a stalker lately with the staring during class? The Slytherin tried to keep his cool as negative thoughts ran about in his head. "Sure." he said simply, leaning off the wall and giving her his full attention. Whatever it was about, Calum hoped it wasn't anything too serious so he could tell her everything he wanted when she was done.​

 

[Pia Morales]

Pia sighed with relief when Calum agreed to talk to her as it meant she could finally confess her feelings and admit everything that was stressing her out so she wouldn't be distracted whenever she tried to study. However she still felt self conscious talking about her feelings even with the knowledge it would help her in the long run. Opening up had always been difficult for her though she tried to not back out now as it was simply impossible when Calum was standing in front of her and providing her with his full, undivided attention. Her mind flashed back to the last time she opened up to a friend and how it lead to her having a reliable and kind study partner. Hopefully this interaction would go just as well, if not more so as Pia knew she wanted to be more than study partners with Calum. At least temporarily.

Her hands anxiously balled into fists at her sides as she mustered the final ounce of courage she needed to speak, not knowing how else to say everything she needed and wanted to say without blurting it out all at once. "I have been thinking about what happened at Halloween, and I want to tell you that I like you as more than a friend. You're a very good friend to me so I will understand if you do not feel the same. But I just want you to know this." As she spoke her gaze moved from Calum's face to her shoes. She was scared to meet eye to eye with him again because she had no way of predicting his reaction and didn't want her confession to ruin the friendship they did have.
​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

Calum tried his best to always be brave, whether it be during a dueling match or at times like these where he could no longer bottle up any emotions. Usually the teenager was extremely reserved. He never told his parents, or even his grandparents, about anything that happened in his life. This hadn't bothered them too much, and nor was it any problem to Calum, but when it came to situations like confessing his love for someone he had only known for a little while, he had to do something about it. It was too much to keep bottled up this time.

The Slytherin looked directly into Pia's shiny brown eyes as she spoke. The words that came out of her mouth were shocking to Calum to say the least. He hadn't expected her to say anything of the sort. What did she mean 'more than a friend'? Did she perhaps mean a best friend or did she really like him the same way he liked her? The whole world seemed to turn into a dream in that moment and he was really second guessing whether or not he actually fell asleep as he leant against the wall. Calum nervously played with his fingers behind his back. He hadn't felt so anxious since his last big match and he hoped that he wasn't going to mess anything up. Calum cleared his throat, "Uh... I like you more than a friend too." he told her, keeping his voice down slightly so no passersby could get what they were talking about. "I-I'm sorry for not telling you sooner." Calum took a deep breath, wondering how on earth he would be able to ask her the question. He waited to see what Pia would say as he wondered how he would do it in the moment.

 

[Pia Morales]

Pia finally looked up from her shoes, mouth parted slightly in shock as Calum admitted that he also liked her as more than a friend. It made partial sense due to his reaction to her friendship with Orwell but Pia was still shocked that the way she thought, and felt about Calum was mutual. This was the first time since castelobruxo that she had ever consciously thought of someone romantically and she wasn't sure of how to handle the situation, if she should ask Calum out or if she should stay single as the extra responsibility might be too overwhelming on top of her head girl duties and classes. But regardless of her responsibilities she never wanted to miss an opportunity.

She pouted her red lips together and looked back towards the ground, thinking about what to do before she looked up to meet her eyes with Calum again as she said. "I'm not sure what to do, now. I did not think of what to do further than this. I did not think you would like me back." Pia chuckled, attempting to hide how well and truly she was out of her limit while in the middle of a school corridor, nonetheless. Where students were easily able to overhear their conversation despite their hushed voices. She shook her head slightly before adding "What do you think we should do?" hoping the two of them could think of a way to make the most out of this situation. This wasn't exactly new to Pia but she had not dated in years and did not want to overstep any boundaries with Calum because she did value their friendship more than anything.​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

Calum did not know what to think when Pia confessed her doubts about the situation. He had doubts about it too but he still felt like he was dreaming. Pia liking him back was definitely not what he expected, but it was definitely what kept playing over and over in his head. He didn't want Pia to feel so doubtful and looked closely at her, forgetting about the other's walking by. "You're very brave." he told her gently, trying to be honest. He wasn't trying to flatter her and smiled, hoping she would trust what he was saying. After all, as much as Calum liked to think it, he was definitely not as brave as her and wouldn't have musted up any sort of courage if it wasn't for her wanting to talk to him first.

The next question Pia asked was slightly overwhelming, and Calum hesitated, unsure what to say. Was this when he was supposed to tell her that the next thing they should do is ride off into the sunset with happiness and rainbows? Calum didn't particularly like that sort of thing but he was unsure whether or not Pia did. Was love to her like it were in fairytales? If it was, he promised himself he would try to make it that way for her. "Pia, I want you to be my girlfriend." he said confidently in an effort to try and not be shy again. "I mean, if you want to, of course." He took her hand in his and kept his eyes fixated on hers, hoping her head girl responsibilities wouldn't jeopardise their chance together.

 

[Pia Morales]

Pia's immediate reaction to being called 'brave' was to shake her head again and smile in amusement. She was no Gryffindor, and had never considered herself brave in any respect but she did appreciate the words and the gentle way in which Calum uttered them. Calum was rough around the edges and introverted. Pia had known this since the moment they met, but she also knew that he extended an amount of kindness to her that she initially never expected from him that always seemed to surprise her in the best ways. This was one of those times and as she thought about this, her amused smile turned into one that was more heartfelt.

Calum asking if she wanted to be his girlfriend, however, completely interrupted her thoughts as it seemed like such a sudden leap to go from close friends to boyfriend and girlfriend immediately after a single confession. She at least assumed they would have some sort of trial run and go on a date or two with the pretense of being boyfriend and girlfriend before the label was thrown around. But this was clearly not the case and before Pia could answer, Calum had already taken her hand in his. The gesture was sweet of him and Pia looked down at their hands for a moment, before she returned her gaze to his and said. "I would like to be your girlfriend." Then adding "I don't know how good of a girlfriend I can be because I am so busy, but I can try." This would be an extra responsibility to juggle, and a burden of a responsibility at that because Pia had not been in a relationship since the end of her fourth year. But that didn't mean she couldn't at least attempt to fill the role of girlfriend, regardless of how scary it sounded. Pia then chuckled to make light of the situation and said "Now I need to figure out how to break this news to Kylie."​

 

[Calum Lloyd]

Not many people had ever seen Calum smile but he was definitely not afraid to show it to Pia who just so happened to now be his new girlfriend. He was no longer afraid of his toothy grin as he looked down at her, not imagining any moment better. How someone so organised and petite like her was attracted to a rough and selfish man like Calum was hard to get his head around, but Calum was definitely not complaining. He finally had a girlfriend that he actually was eager to learn all about and he couldn't wait to start. The sudden mention of Kylie however tighened his grip on Pia's hands. Kylie was Pia's best friend but Calum hated everything about her. He didn't want Kylie to get in the way of their relationship and hoped that whatever she says won't manipulate Pia into disliking him after finding out. "Just tell her." Calum said. "If she doesn't approve then she can... go stuff herself." The teenager didn't want to say much more than that. He respected Pia and Kylie's relationship but nothing could ever stop the hatred for his fellow duellist.