Closed Moving Forward

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose had been a little sad since Halloween, but had tried to keep it tucked away. She was up in the student lounge, coloring idly in a book Lily had sent her. Rose wished Lily was here, but she also didn't. She wanted so badly to talk to someone about Iris, and Roses feelings for her, but she doubted Lily would be the best person to talk to, since Lily was so close to Iris' brother. Rose sighed, and tried to just ignore it as she always did, noticing that the flowers she was coloring were all turning into that same fetching red of Iris' soft hair. Rose ignored that too, and continued coloring.

 

[Iris van Houten]

The semester was going by quite fast, and the yule ball would be upon them soon. Iris felt a little strange about it, as she knew she would be on her own. She couldn’t rely on Nicole for company after Iris had practically dropped a bomb on their friendship, and she knew Emma would likely go with her boyfriend as well. Things with Connor were a little strange too, and Iris guessed he likely had a boy to go with. Iris really had one person she would want to invite herself, but she was pretty sure the girl in question wasn’t single anymore. Rose was Iris’ friend, so she wasn’t sure if it was worth risking the friendship anyhow. But it still made her sad that Rose likely had something going on with Noel. Iris could in no way compete with the head boy. Iris was looking for a spot to read her book and saw Rose sitting by herself. Iris bit her lip for a moment, wondering what she should do. Then she walked over. Even if they couldn’t be more, Iris wanted to be a good friend. “Hi Rose, what are you doing?” Iris asked softly. “That looks relaxing.”

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose looked up, smiling softly as she saw Iris. "Hey," she greeted. She straightened, tucking her legs beneath her and making room for Iris to sit with her if she wanted. "I'm just coloring. It is relaxing," she smiled gently. "What brings you here?" She asks.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris smiled, noticing how Rose made room for her. She sat down, looking at Rose's work. "It looks nice." She said softly. "When I want to relax I usually work on my embroidery, but maybe I should try this sometime," Iris said with a gentle smile. "I was looking for a place to read, but now I'd rather hang out with you." She said softly, glancing at Rose.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose blushed at Iris' words, smiling softly. She hesitated a moment, before scooting over to sit a little closer to Iris. She opened the book to a few fresh pages and set the pencils between them. "We could color together, if you want?" She offered, tucking her hair behind her ear and smiling shyly at Iris. "If you want, we could trade the pages when we're done?" She suggested, liking the idea of having an excuse to give Iris a gift.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris was slightly surprised at Rose's offer, but the colored pencils looked fun. She hadn't done something like this since she was young. After hesitating for a moment, Iris nodded with a smile. "That sounds fun, if you're sure." She said, picking up a green pencil and twirling it in her hand for a moment. "That's a great idea, I suppose you're just full of them today." Iris said, smiling. She looked over the page she had in front of her now and started coloring in one of the leaves, turning it a dark green. "How have you been?" She asked the Gryffindor.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose chuckled, pleased that Iris sat down with her. She picked up the red again and started coloring in a flower. "Well, everyone is bound to have good ideas sometimes," she teased, winking at Iris before turning back to her coloring. She scooted just a touch closer, using the shared coloring book as an excuse to sit closer than she needed to. She smiled softly as Iris asked how she was. Better now, she thought to herself, but didn't say it out loud. "I'm okay," she replied instead, looking up to the other girl and smiling. "How are you?"

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris laughed softly and nudged Rose lightly. "Just take the compliment." She said with a small smile. Rose was always deflecting when Iris said something nice to her, and she wished she would be a bit kinder to herself. Iris was coloring the leaf quietly and listened as Rose answered her question. She nodded. "I'm alright." She said with a smile. Then focused on the drawing again. Iris had something on her mind she wanted to ask, but she wasn't sure how to go about it. She hesitated. "Can I ask you something?" She finally asked quietly.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose smiled a bit, and fell into an easy silence with Iris next to her, coloring the flowers on her page idly. She looked up again as Iris spoke, hesitating at the tone. "Of course," she replied gently, setting her pencil down and reaching over to tuck a stray strand of Iris' hair behind her ear, watching to make sure it was alright. "You can ask me anything," she added softly, a little worried now. Was something wrong?

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris felt a blush creep up her neck. Why was she going to bring this up? But she wanted to know, if nothing else... for her own peace of mind. "Just... wondering," she said slowly, focusing her attention on the page she was coloring. "Are you and Noel like... together? I've seen you together at two events, I was just curious." She said, not looking up from the leaf she was coloring in.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose's brow furrowed at Iris' question, and she couldn't help but smile a little bit. "Wait, Noel?" Rose shifted a bit, turning a little more towards Iris. "No." Rose replied softly. "He and I- no. We're just friends." She bit her lip, wondering why Iris would care. Rose looked away, dismissing the thought immediately as silly. Maybe Iris just liked Noel? That made more sense. Rose reached up, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger and looking away shyly. "I'm... too shy to go to events by myself." She admitted gently. "Noel is... he's just the only person that's asked me to go without it being a prank." She bit her lip, untangling her hair and picking up her pencil again. She colored at a flower, not really seeing what she was doing. "We talked about it, but we just don't like each other that way."

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris was slightly surprised by the relief she felt when Rose said she wasn't dating Noel. She finally glanced up, giving the Gryffindor a small smile. "Oh, I see." She said softly. "Sorry for assuming, and prying." She said. Then she hesitated as Rose said she was too shy to go to events by herself. She was a bit angry to hear someone had apparently asked Rose out as a prank before. "That's awful, who would do that?" She said, frowning. "That's not a funny prank." It was even more of a relief to hear confirmation that Rose didn't like him that way. It was the push that gave Iris the courage to ask her next question. "Well, would you... go with me? If you want? To the yule ball?" She asked, heart fluttering. "If you're too shy to go by yourself, I mean. If you have no one else yet."

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose gave a soft smile, setting her pencil down. "No, you don't need to apologize," she murmured. "I... like to think we're close." she looked down, fiddling idly with the edge of her paper. "I like it when you talk with me," she admitted gently, peeking at Iris. She gave a dry smile as Iris asked who would do that. "Apollo." She sighed. "I had a crush on him once, and it... I don't know. I was nervous, but I was so pleased he asked me to the ball. But... we danced, he kissed me, then... my cousin snuck up and dumped his drink all over my dress." She grimaced and looked away. "They were always pranking me when we were younger. I'm afraid of frogs, I can't count the times they slipped live frogs and toads into my bag." She shook her head. "I punched Apollo in the face and left. I didn't go to events for a bit after that." She admitted.

Rose's eyes widened as Iris asked her to the ball. Was... Iris nervous? Why? Without thinking, Rose leaned over and kissed Iris' cheek. She lingered a moment, caught in the sweet smell of the other girls shampoo. She came back to herself after a moment and sat up, bright red. She swallowed nervously, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I, um- I mean, yes, I would- I would love to go with you," she agreed quickly. She winced at how eager she sounded and looked away. "Like- I would like to go with you," she tried to tone it down a bit.

 

[Iris van Houten]

Iris smiled at Rose, feeling her heart flutter slightly. "We are close." She agreed. "I enjoy talking with you too, so that's convenient." She added with a gentle smile. But as Rose explained what had happened to her, her smile faded away and was replaced by a frown. "That's horrible." She said. "I can't believe someone would do that to you." Iris shook her head, clearly disgusted. "I'm sorry that happened, Rose. You didn't deserve that." As Rose explained her cousin and his friend had been pranking her since she was young, Iris' frown deepened. She had never much liked pranks, especially not mean-spirited ones like the ones Rose was describing. "It sounds like he deserved that," Iris said. "Even if I usually don't like violence." She added with a slight smile. "I'm glad you go to events again, though."

She was fidgeting with her hands nervously as she awaited Rose's answer. What she hadn't been expecting was for Rose to lean over and kiss her on the cheek. She froze for a moment, feeling herself blush. Everyone in her family blushed a lot when they were embarrassed, which had never bothered Iris too much. Now, she really wished she wasn't beet red. "Oh, I'm glad." She said quickly, as Rose finally gave her response. She felt a little breathless but quickly gave Rose a smile. "I promise, no pranks." She added. "And no frogs."