Closed In Person

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko had been building up the courage for this moment all break. He had written to Estella a few times and had been so excited every time he had gotten a response. The weeks he was away from school seemed to drag on painfully slow. He usually never looked forward to the new year quite so enthusiastically and he was starting to hardly recognize himself as he paced around the entrance hall waiting to run into Estella. He hoped he would seem natural and casually cool, but the way he kept glancing at everyone walking by made sure that wasn't going to happen. Nikko still had a little voice in his head that told him that he was silly for thinking Estella liked him but he didn't have any reason to think she didn't. It was the first bold romantic move he ever made and his palms were sweating like crazy. With Connor things had just happened and it wasn't like that had turned out so well for him. He sighed and tried to push Connor out of his mind completely. There was no way this would turn out like that. For one, Estella was much kinder and a better listener than Connor could ever be. With out realizing he had stopped his mad pacing around the hall and glanced up one more time, just as Estella walked in. He perked up when he was her and waved. "Hey!" he called out, hoping to get her attention.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella had enjoyed her break, however looked forward to getting back into the swing of things at Hogwarts. She enjoyed attending her classes, and knew that she was going to have to focus really hard this year in order to get good grades for her OWLs. She didn’t want too many things to be distracting her, however that was proving to be quite difficult. She and Nikko exchanged many letters throughout the break, and Estella enjoyed replying to them. She was beginning to really like him, but Estella didn’t think she could ever have a shot with him. After all, he was so much better than herself. He was older, more experienced, and probably didn't want to involve himself with someone who didn't know what they were doing in that regard.

Estella was making her way to the Great Hall for a meal when she was stopped by Nikko in the Entrance Hall. Her cheeks turned a shade of pink as she felt some butterflies in her stomach. It was an odd feeling, but the Hufflepuff tried her best to shake it off as she turned around and smiled at the Gryffindor. "Hey! How was your break?" she asked, wondering what he had stopped her for.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko was glad to see that Estella hadn't gotten tired of him yet. They had written to each other over the break and part of him had was worried that he had some how scared her off. "It was good, fine." He answered, fumbling his words slightly. But he recovered and continued talking. "Glad to be back though. Are you heading to the great hall? I can walk with you." Nikko offered. He could feel himself rambling and it felt like he had to slam on the breaks before he said too much and embarrassed himself even further. He could not believe how nervous he was. How did people in movies make this seem so easy? "I was wondering if we could talk?" he asked sheepishly.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella could tell that something was up with Nikko. She raised her eyebrows at him as he fumbled with his words, wondering if perhaps something was wrong. She was suddenly scared that he was about to tell her not to send him letters ever again. It had been good while it lasted. Instead however, Nikko asked to walk with her to the Great Hall and she smiled. "Yes, of course." she said. Her heart sank a little as he then asked if they could talk. A million thoughts ran through her head of what it could be about. She knew she could be annoying sometimes, and maybe this was what he wanted to talk with her about. She had ruined her chance of friendship with him let alone anything else, and there was nothing she could say now that could change his mind about whatever was coming next. "Yeah. Is everything okay?" she asked softly, clearly concerned.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko smiled and fell into step beside her. "Yeah everything is fine." he said quickly when he realized his question made her start to worry. "I was just thinking...I really like you." he blurted out and felt like he was going to be sick. But he took a deep breath and kept talking, not wanting to chicken out now that he had gotten this far. "I'm not sure if you feel the same way but if you did and wanted to maybe hang out some more, that would be...really cool." Nikko finished awkwardly. He knew he wasn't as smooth as he had been when he had practiced in his head. But the truth was out now and he waited with baited breath for her response.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella nodded when Nikko said that everything was fine. A weight had almost been lifted until he uttered the words that Estella thought she would never hear. It made her stop in her tracks as she wondered how someone so much better than her could ever really like her. It seemed too good to be true. He was one of, if not the most, attractive person in the school, and he wanted to hang out with her. Estella almost pinched herself before hesitating at his question. "I... um... I really like you too." she smiled shyly, her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink as she looked towards the ground. She thought she was really embarrassing herself now. "I'm more than happy to hang out with you... a lot... if that's what you want too." Estella wasn't exactly sure what this meant, but despite how shy she was, she wanted to ask. She looked up at him. "So, does that mean... you wanna go on dates and stuff?" Estella bit her lip a little awkwardly, figuring that was quite a weird thing to say, but she couldn't turn back on it now.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko had been tense, ready to flee the scene if things didn't go as he indented. So it took him a few beats for him to realized that she said she liked him too. With that confirmation he felt himself let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "That's...that's good." he said lamely and laughed at himself. Now it was his turn to turn red when Estella mentioned going on dates but he smiled and nodded. "Yeah that's the idea." he said. "I could even be like, your boyfriend." he suggested and ran nervously ran his hand through his hair.

 

[Estella Fuentes]

Estella would never have believed that Nikko liked her back until this very interaction. He seemed a little different when he was nervous, and she was wondering if perhaps he thought the same of her. As Nikko offered to be her boyfriend, she couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face. "Yeah, so I guess that makes me your girlfriend." she said, happy that she had finally got what she wanted. She couldn't wait to tell Ana and Rose all about it, however wasn't sure how brave she was to be able to tell them right away. She knew Rose sort of had a thing with one of their classmates and didn't want to take the spotlight from her. She just would need to find the right time to tell them before telling everyone else. "Your friends... do you plan on telling them like right away?" Estella asked, unsure who his friends even were. She didn't want to be the only one holding back on telling anyone simply because she was too nervous to do so.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko was feeling like he was on top of the world. He had done it, he had asked her out and she had said yes. The relief he felt now rivaled his happiness when Estella said the word 'girlfriend'. "Good." he said and reached out and took her hand gently. But when she asked about telling his friends he paused. He hadn't really thought about that. He wasn't about to run off and tell the whole school or anything. He would probably tell Aubrey right away since they came to an agreement to ask out their crushes before the break. "Well I wasn't planning on not telling them." he said tentatively. "Did you want to wait?" Nikko asked. He wasn't sure why she'd want to but maybe there was something she wasn't telling him.