Open Lonely Heart

[Shane Ackley]

Shane liked the yuleball, he liked finding people, talking to them, kissing them. He thought it and the valentines day fest was a good occasion to meet new people. He knew that he liked it for the wrong reasons and most others would like these events for the company they could bring, but he was disinterested in any real relationships. The last yuleball he’d in theory attended with someone, but in reality hadn’t really. He’d wandered off at every occasion, so with this much freedom in this one, Shane almost felt overwhelmed. But he pushed that away, smiling lightly as he glanced around the room. He eventually spotted a girl, someone in his house but not his year, stood a little away from the food table. She had a slightly sad look upon her face, he didn’t like it there, the girl was dressed so beautifully. She was beautiful and the sad expression had absolutely no place on her face. So, Shane walked over to her, he had a flirty smirk on his features as he approached and said simply, ”You are too beautiful a person, to have such a melancholy expression on your face,” he smiled at her, keeping the flirty tone, ”I’m Shane,” he introduced holding out his hand to her. ​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia had told herself she could do this. She wasn't going to miss a ball like this because of a boy, was she? But as she stood here in her dress with all the familiar decorations, her resolve was crumbling rapidly. Every single thing here reminded her of Derek, of the many times they'd had a great time at the dance together. He'd helped her dance the first time, being so kind and gentle and patient with her. He had seemed like a real prince out of a fairy tale, but in the end, he hadn't been. Or maybe she simply hadn't been his princess. The thought made her want to cry. Deep down she knew she could never find a boy as good as him, she simply hadn't been good enough for him in return. The thought was nearly distressing enough to make her run from the hall, but she noticed someone approached her and tried her best to quickly compose herself. She must not have done a great job, because the first thing the boy commented on was her sad expression. Emilia looked at him with a weak attempt at a smile, which faltered when she saw who it was. Shane Ackley had a bit of a reputation in Hufflepuff, and Emilia knew he flirted with anyone and kissed a lot of people too. Was he here to flirt with her? The thought made her nervous, and her hand flew up to her braid automatically. She wished she could still hide behind her hair like she once used to. "Oh. I'm fine." Emilia said quickly, forcing a smile in place now. "It's nice to meet you Shane, I'm Emilia. Are you here with anyone?"

 

[Shane Ackley]

Shane watched the girl place a smile on her features and he couldn’t help the way his smirk seemed to grow, ”Sure,” he replied, Shane felt like the fine statement was a little lie, or a masking of real feelings, and Shane would be the last person to force anyone to be honest, ”It’s okay anyway, cause I’m here now, and I’m great fun,” he boasted with a suggestive tone. He nodded as she introduced herself to him, Emilia, ”Of course not, relationships are boring,” he told her plainly, since he did think that, ”And like I said, I’m great fun,” Shane had the same expression on his feature, letting his eyes gaze around her features, lingering a little on her lips, Emilia was certainly pretty and he would be happy to have a good time and encourage her to have a good time. If it ended with a kiss then who would he be to say no. ”Now, I can’t stand by while you stand in the corner, when you are just so beautiful. Dance with me, let me show some fun,” he offered to her with a hand held out to her. If she said no, he’d push a little but, if it seemed she wasn’t really interested he would move on, there were plenty of other people who might enjoy his company and his compliments. But, she was pretty and had a sad little expression, and he’d be happy to flirt and encourage her to have a good time because she likely needed that company. ​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia wasn't really used to any attention from boys, besides Derek. But Shane wasn't trying very hard to hide his intentions, and it was clear he was flirting with her. Emilia kept playing with her braid, averting her gaze. She knew how Evelyn would react to this, she knew her cousin would be confident and flirt back, but could she do the same? "Oh." She said when he said relationships were boring. "I'm not sure I agree." She wasn't sure what else to say to him, there was something intriguing about him, but Emilia felt a bit tongue-tied. She noticed how he was looking at her lips, and it made her blush. His words made her blush even more. Emilia wasn't sure what to say. "I... don't know." She admitted, her gaze scanning the crowd. She was looking for her cousin Athena, as she had the feeling she would feel more confident with her by her side. Maybe she could help her navigate this new boy, or at least be an excuse to leave Shane for now. It wasn't that she wasn't interested, but it was alarming to her, and she felt as shy as she ever had.

But then her gaze did land on Athena, and Emilia froze in place. She hadn't had much contact with her cousin lately, and she hadn't even known for sure if Athena knew about her breakup with Derek yet. But there she was, chatting to Derek. The two looked as if they were friends, and it mystified Emilia. They hadn't been that close before they had broken up, she knew that for a fact. So what happened? Why was Derek here with Athena. Were they... here as dates? The thought was too horrible, and she had to believe that wasn't it. But there was still an angry feeling that came to the surface, mostly aimed at her cousin. Athena hadn't taken the time to talk to her, even though Emilia was sure it had been clear she had been miserable. Even this stranger could tell, but Athena hadn't bothered to check in on her. If she was speaking to Derek, she had to know about the breakup, but she had decided to speak with Derek instead of Emilia, her own cousin. What did that say about her? She wasn't sure. Fueled by anger and annoyance, she turned to Shane. "Actually... let's dance." She said, her mouth set in a tense line.

Sorry this is way long

 

[Shane Ackley]

Shane could figure from her words that perhaps she had just been in a relationship, which would also explain being at the yuleball and looking not too happy. He could sense that she was a little unsure about him, but his words were having the desired effect. The words were not a no, but perhaps she just needed a little persuading, ”I promise it’ll just be nice and easy,” he said with his continued light tone, but silence somewhat took over, and he followed her gaze over to where a girl and a boy were talking. He had to assume this girl had dated one of the them, whichever one that might be he didn’t much care, but it seemed to spur the girl on, and she agreed to dance. He held out his hand to her and led her out to the dance floor. He put his hands on her waist and danced with her to the song, it was a relatively fast paced one but good to dance to. He had an eager gaze and a flirty smile, ”Now see, you might be prettier than me, but I’m the better dancer,” he said, leaning in closely to talk in her ear over the music. ​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia was trying her best to keep her gaze away from Athena and Derek now, as she tried to rationalize it in her mind. Maybe they just ran into each other. Maybe they weren't even talking anymore. Maybe... maybe Athena was telling Derek off for breaking up with her? But it hadn't looked like a negative conversation. Emilia took a deep breath, and focused on the boy who was leading her to the dance floor. She danced with him while her mind still raced, but focused on him as he spoke. The words were unexpected and got a surprised laugh out of her, and she relaxed despite her worries. "You are." She admitted. "Dancing has never been my strong suit." It felt weird to allow a boy so close to her, to lean close and whisper in her ear. But a small and vindictive part of her hoped Derek was seeing this, even though she didn't look in his direction again.

 

[Shane Ackley]

Shane smiled at her, keeping his face close to hers, letting his gaze run around her face. The gaze lingering on her eyes, on her lips. ”It’s okay, why would you ever need to be good at dancing when you have eyes so beautiful,” he complimented, he reached up with one hand and let it run along her cheek softly. He was enjoying this, it was definitely something that she seemed more interested in. Shane was pleased about it, she was beautiful after all, and he had to imagine that it would be a decent enough kiss, or well, he’d be able to teach her a little. ”Dancing isn’t my only talent, I’m also really good at kissing,” he told her with a little smirk on her features, letting his gaze move to her lips and back to her meet her gaze. He knew it was a rather bold statement, maybe she wouldn’t be that interested in kissing, perhaps dancing was the stretch of it. ”I can show you, but only if you want to,” he told her, he didn’t ever want to force someone into doing something they didn’t want to do, He would let this be her choice. ​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia's breath caught as Shane looked over her face, his gaze once gain lingering on her lips. His words were a little alarming, but also oddly thrilling. Emilia lowered her eyes and smiled shyly, not sure what to say. If nothing else, this whole experience was helping her forget about Derek, and keeping her distracted from looking at him again. Emilia exhaled a breath she had been holding, and pushed away the small voice in the back of her head that was asking her what she was doing with a boy like this. He didn't actually like her, not in the way Derek had, but at least he saw her. He had to think she was pretty, otherwise he wouldn't have asked her to dance. She met his eyes again nervously as he mentioned kissing, and bit her lip uncertainly. Dancing was one thing, and drinking in his compliments another. But kissing? "I don't know..." She said uncertainly. "It's very public here." She wasn't sure what she wanted. A part of her was curious what kissing a boy who wasn't Derek was like, but there was a part of her that was scared too.

 

[Shane Ackley]

Shane smiled at her, but he could sense she was a little uncertain, so when she said that it was all a little too public, he had to smile, ”Oh, we can go somewhere quiet,” he told her with a flirty tone, but a sense in his face that if they were to kiss, he would rather she felt comfortable. If she felt ill-at-ease and unsure that would just be an unpleasant experience for the two of them. He didn’t want her to have a bad kissing experience that would surely dampen his reputation. His gaze lingered upon her, he knew exactly where the little quiet corners of this hall were. Where best to kiss if you don’t want people to notice. He could do that, easily. He couldn’t help but wonder why she would want that, she was pretty and if she’d just broken up with someone what bolder statement was there to declare how fine she was than to. ”But, you have nothing and no reason to hide, even if kissing someone new, there’s nothing wrong with being that bold,” Shane said but he pulled away lightly, ”But, let’s go somewhere private,” he said, looking for a last confirmation on her features before he found a little area for them.​

 

[Emilia Manning]

This entire experience was so unlike her, and she still felt unbalanced as Shane kept moving close to her and whispering to her. It was at once similar to Derek, and completely different. She didn't think anyone would mistake Shane for a fairy tale prince, as charming as he was. She flushed as he told her they could go somewhere quiet, and then said they could kiss here too. Was he right? Wasn't it bad? But no. As upset as she was with Derek, she couldn't hurt him like that. Dancing was already something she felt guilty about. She couldn't. And the idea of going somewhere private made her nervous. It was going too fast. "Do... do you mind if we dance for a bit longer instead?" She asked him quietly.

 

[Shane Ackley]

Shane could sense her hesitance, as if this sort of thing had never happened to her before. He didn’t want to push her at all, he would be content to dance with her and let his own flirting always remain. He nodded at her, ”Of course, we can dance for as long as you want gorgeous,” he told her with a sincere tone, he would never want to make anyone do anything they didn’t want to, if she didn’t want to kiss, but did want to dance, he’d dance with her, he didn’t lose anything from it. He was happy to keep the flirty smile on his features and spend the time with her, she was a gorgeous person, at this wonderfully fun event for him. ”What do you do in your spare time then?” he asked her, keeping the conversation both going and light, his flirty tone remained but he wasn’t asking anything that was particularly flirting, it was just his tone which remained. ​