Closed Matters of the Heart

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri was beginning to adjust to his new busy schedule, finding more time to fit everything in and take care of himself. He knew what he was doing, he was on track with his studies and prefect duties, and everything finally seemed to be clicking for him this year. Or so he had thought, until the Yule Ball. Kauri hadn't really liked anyone since Tristan, and hadn't really expected anything to happen in that part of his life any time soon, with his busy schedule and lingering anxieties about dating. And then he had seen Rose at the Yule Ball. He had liked Rose as a friend beforehand certainly, known she was funny and kind and pretty, but the Yule Ball had felt like he was seeing her for the first time.

And now Kauri had a crush. A real, proper crush on someone who hadn't flirted with him first, and he had no idea what to do about it. Asking Rose out any time soon was out of the question, she would definitely need some space for now, but when was the right time? And how did things like asking someone out work anyway? The way Tristan had asked him out had definitely felt good at the time, but Kauri didn't especially want to try mimicking anything Tristan had done when they dated. Questions and doubt plagued Kauri's mind, and the more he thought the less he knew what to do. Walking down the corridor, Kauri turned everything over in his mind for what felt like the thousandth time. What could he do?

 

[April Ward]

April had a problem, and that problem was Norton. Of course, Norton wasn't a problem, and THAT was the problem. She liked him! A lot! Too much! Alarmingly much! She didn't think she would ever fall into this trap of being a teenager, but she had, and now she was in big trouble. The yule ball had been a strange and awkward experience, but it had also been nice. As much as she tried, she had been unable to get the feeling of his hands on his waist out of her mind, and that frustrated her to no end. She didn't want to like Norton like that! He was her best friend. Besides, crushes and romance were dumb, and she wantd no part in it. But while she thought that, she also couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to maybe kiss him, and that was embarrassing.

She needed to talk to someone, and that was a very specific someone. Kauri would know what to make of all this. He would at least listen to her and not laugh at her, which was something she needed right now. Someone who had dated Tristan was maybe not the best source of romantic advice, but Kauri had learned from that. Besides, she was a little hopeful that he would tell her she was being silly and that her symptoms didn't indicate that she had a crush at all. Hopefully that would be the case. She was headed down to the great hall, eager to see if she could catch Kauri there. But then she spotted the back of his head, and knew that going to the great hall wasn't necessary at all. He was just wandering around out here, which was all the better. April rushed over to him, grabbing his arm. "Kauri!" She said, giving him a quick hug. "I need to talk to you!" She let go of him and leaned against a nearby wall, throwing her arm over her face dramatically. "The worst has happened." She whined. "And I need your advice." She peeked at him over her arm. "Your... advice on boys." She added in a softer voice, glancing around nervously. "But not here, somewhere private."

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri's thoughts of his problems were quickly interrupted by the one person he wanted to see more than anyone else. "April!" He said happily, returning her hug. Kauri couldn't wipe the grin off his face at April's theatrics. Whatever was going on, he could always count on his best friend to make him laugh. What April said next made his eyes widen though. "Boys?!" Kauri asked, shocked. "Is this about Norton?" He grinned. Kauri knew the two had gone to the Yule Ball together, something that had been a bit odd to him at the time, but the situation was quickly revealing itself to him. "Aaaaapril!" Kauri grinned, prodding her with teasing in his voice. "Oh my god!"

 

[April Ward]

April should have known Kauri wouldn't take this as seriously as she did. He was grinning, and infuriatingly enough he guessed right on his first try. "Shut up!" She said, weakly kicking at him. "Yes. But also shut up." She muttered, lowering her arm. As he prodded her, she swatted at his hand. "Stop it! It's not funny!" But she was smiling a little. Kauri was already cheering her up. "I don't even know for sure if I like him." She added quickly. "And I don't want to like him. We're friends! That's already great!" She realized Kauri wasn't going to talk her out of this, and had she ever really thought so? Maybe she didn't want him to, and that thought made her feel embarrassed. "How do you know if you like someone?" She asked him in a low voice.

 

[Kauri Morales-Tipene]

Kauri giggled as April tried to kick and slap at him, jumping out of the way quickly. "Hey, no hitting a prefect!" He teased, grinning. Kauri didn't tease people often, but April was his best friend, and they had always liked winding each other up. He listened as she went on though, his face falling a little when April said she didn't want to like him. "It's great if you like him though! Norton's great and you're great, you guys would be so great together! It's not a bad thing to like someone!" April's question gave Kauri pause for a moment, and reminded him of his own worries, a thought he quickly pushed aside to answer. "Well, you think about them a lot, and you wanna spend more time around them... you think about things like... you know, holding hands, kissing, that stuff. And you keep finding yourself looking at them all the time. Stuff like that." He blushed a little, his mind wandering back to how he had been unable to take his eyes off Rose at the Yule Ball.

 

[April Ward]

April stuck out her tongue at him. "I can hit whoever I want." She boasted, but she stopped swatting at him all the same. She was comfortable with Kauri, and knew he could take a bit of teasing. But then he talked about Norton, and she deflated a little. "I know he's great. I know I'm great." She said, gesturing to herself. "But that doesn't mean we should date! We're like, best friends." She paused. "You're also my best friend, of course." She said quickly. "But... it's different, with him." She added, sighing. As Kauri described what it was like to like someone, she groaned and covered her face in her hands. "Well, crap." She muttered. "That's pretty much it, I guess. Ugh. I can't believe I want to kiss his stupid face." She muttered, peeking through her fingers. "His stupid freckles are stupid and cute. And his laugh is too." She said in a small voice, as if she was horrified by her own admission. She dropped her hands from her face. "What do I do?!"