King and Queen

[Tristan Collins]

The yule ball was coming up, which meant Tristan had to get himself a date. He hadn't gone on his own since his third year, and wasn't about to start now. For a while now, he had set his sights on one person. October Alcott. The girl was beautiful, smart, on the Quidditch team and now a prefect too. And she kept him on his toes. The two had had a rivalry about their grades for a little while now, and he really enjoyed competing with her. He was sure he would enjoy dancing with her even more.

After the Ares fiasco from last year, Tristan had learned his lesson about asking people out in the Great Hall during meal times. It was too public, and it was too easy to get humiliated that way. So this time, he decided to ask after Transfiguration class. He caught up with October in the hallway after the class had finished, tapping her on the shoulder. "Hey, October." He said, flashing her his most charming smile. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" He knew she would be a challenge, unlike Kauri. So he was a little nervous, though he tried not to show it.

 

[October Alcott]

After the stress and pain of the holidays, October was having, for the first time ever, a relaxed time at school. She hadn't realised just how deeply unhappy she had been her whole life until now, feeling actual happiness for the first time. She enjoyed her classes, for the most part. What was more important was that she actually had the time to work on them without pulling constant all nighters to keep up with the work, and even had free reading time to look into things she was interested in on her own. She had time for her violin, time to dance, and time to practice Quidditch, which was going surprisingly well for her first year. She had made up with April and Matt, and part of the additional free time meant that she was actually able to hang out with her friends properly. Everything was different. Everything was better.

Even as she was thinking of her friends, October heard one of them say her name and turned to Tristan, giving him a small smile. Although everything else had changed, Tristan still brought out a competitive, aggressive side of October, and she always felt like she had to be somewhat withholding around him, always keep some of her cards close to her chest so she had something else to counter him with. It was... challenging, talking to him, and October liked a challenge. "Hi, Tristan. What did you want to talk about?"

 

[Tristan Collins]

The smile October gave him as he approached was a little encouraging, though he still felt nervous about this encounter. If she said no to his face, he would be very embarrassed. Even moreso than with Ares last year. He actually really liked October and wanted to go with her. Sure, it was great that she was a prefect and on the Quidditch team and gorgeous, but she was also just smart and funny and nice to spend time with. Their friendly rivalry was great, but he hoped it would be possible to be more. He slowed his pace to walk with her, surprised to feel his heart pounding in his chest. "The yule ball." He said, figuring it was better to get straight to the point. "Would you like to go with me? As my date?"

 

[October Alcott]

October was surprised that Tristan got right to the point, no talking around what he wanted, but the question he had come to ask her was even more surprising. Tristan was... handsome and popular, and though October could tell he respected her as an academic rival, she didn't think he had seen anything in her romantically. Nobody had ever seen anything in October romantically before. It was difficult to know how to react. "I... oh..." She said quickly, mind racing. Tristan was... handsome and charming, if challenging, and... he wanted to date her. "I... yes!" She smiled a little nervously, still completely caught off guard. "Definitely."

 

[Tristan Collins]

As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt unsure. Should he have talked her up more? Been more polite? Maybe it was a little rude to walk up to a girl and ask her to the yule ball without talking for a bit first? Tristan never felt uncertain anymore, and he both hated and liked that October could so easily bring up those feelings in him. It was refreshing, someone that wasn't easy to keep up with. Someone not totally impressed by him but still interested enough that he had a shot. Her initial reaction worried him, but then she said yes and his face broke into a smile. It seemed he had taken her off-guard, which he liked too. He thought he had been obvious about his interest, maybe a little too obvious. Apparently not. "Great, I was hoping you'd say yes." He said, then laughed with a slight shake of his head at the silliness of those words. "Of course I was, why else would I have asked?" He was joking more than he normally would, but it was the relief of her answer that made him forget about his usual composure. "I look forward to it. Let's meet each other in the entrance hall?" He paused, giving her a smile that was almost shy. "I bet you'll look beautiful. You did last year." He decided he didn't mind her knowing he had noticed her looks now that she had said yes to this date.