Open My Dream of Love to Be

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia had been very occupied with only one thing lately, and that was Derek. He had been on her mind since the Halloween Feast, and it had only grown stronger after the yule ball and her date. Even when she tried to distract herself by doing other things, memories of their time together crept into her thoughts. It was now start of the second semester, and Emilia didn't have much to do yet. With no homework, it was hard for her to make herself look at her school books even to prepare for the new semester. That was something Analei would do, but Emilia was a lot less studious than her friend. She had still attempted to get something done, taking a few books and some parchment outside. But instead of reading about what she was going to learn this semester, Emilia was lying on her front in the grass and doodling on the parchment, her long blond hair spilling around her onto the grass. As she drew little hearts on the page, she knew she being was a little silly and probably a hopeless romantic. But in a moment of indulgence she wrote down 'Emilia Tahana' and drew a big heart around it. She was embarrassed by it even though she was on her own. Blushing, she turned the parchment over and wrote on the back of the page 'D+E' with another heart around it, which was only slightly less silly. She would have to destroy this parchment later, or at least hide it really well. But for now, she allowed herself to daydream about actually being together with Derek, and what that would be like.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

After a rather... Eventful break, Sapphire was looking to relax. Not particularly feeling like searching the library for Kira and not in the mood for boys, she wandered outside. After a bit of aimless roaming, she spotted a familiar blond head on the grass. With a smile, Sapph snuck up on her friend. She leaned over the girl and peered at the parchment. "Oooh, the mysterious 'D'. I wonder who that could be." She laughed. "Hiya Em. What you up to?"

 

[Emilia Manning]

With the sun shining on her head and the her thoughts far away, Emilia had almost forgotten where she was. So when she noticed someone standing over her and looking at the parchment, she jumped slightly and gasped, before looking up and seeing it was Sapphire. Emilia felt herself blush, but she managed a smile at her friend. Sapphire was someone she was feeling more and more at ease with, and the girl had been very nice to her in the past. She was still glad she had turned the paper over, but didn't think Sapphire seeing this was the worst thing in the world. "Hi." She said softly. "I... I think I can tell you know, if you haven't figured it out." She added shyly. "So much happened, and I wanted to talk to you since you know about this stuff..." She pushed some hair behind her ear. "If... If you don't mind, that is. We went to the yule ball together. His name is Derek and he's in your house." She sat up, though she kept a hand on the piece of parchment to ensure it wouldn't be blown away in the summer breeze. "He asked me on a date." She added, looking at Sapphire with wide eyes. "And we went over break." She added, biting her lip. She wanted to say more, but had to make sure Sapphire wanted to hear it first. "He was such a gentleman, like a prince." She added with a small sigh.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel had been spending a lot of time outside lately - not just because the weather was so nice, but because it was easier that way to avoid bumping into certain people. The list of people who disliked him seemed to be growing by the day. He didn't purposely try to get into their bad books. It just sort of happened - like he had a natural affinity for being annoying and unlikable. One person he didn't mind bumping into was Emilia. Since she and Analei had patched things up, Arvel had grown fonder of Emilia again by default. She was a nice girl. A bit mousy, but nice. But before he could reach her he realised that somebody else was approaching, too, and she had beaten him to it. Too close now to walk away without looking awkward, Arvel edged his way closer, listening for an opportunity to say hello. He didn't really know how to feel about Sapphire, but he did feel that around her he wasn't likely to be bothered by anyone he didn't want to talk to. "Is that Derek Tahana?" Arvel asked, forgetting his greeting. Derek was cute. Emilia was lucky.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire smiled wider as Em jumped. She nodded at the girls greeting. She had an idea, but she wasn't sure. As soon as Em said she wanted to talk, Sapph seated herself on the ground. She inched closer with each tidbit of information. "Tell.Me. Everything." She grinned widely at the other girl, encouraging her to talk. Before Em responded, a familiar voice chimed in. Sapph looked up to see Arvel. "Oooh, Arvel. Come on, sit." She scooted over a tad and patted the grass next to her. "Tell us everything." She amended as she looked back at Em. "Arvel's good. How was the date? Have you kissed. Details, Em." Sapph grinned. This was turning into a good day.

 

[Emilia Manning]

As Emilia started talking about Derek and what had happened between them, she had found it hard not to gush on and on about it. But if that would annoy Sapphire, she didn't want to do that. So when her friend encouraged her, Emilia gave her a smile, happy to keep talking. Nothing as magical as this had ever happened to her. "Well-" But before she could get started, they were joined by Arvel. Emilia looked at him, a little startled by his sudden appearance. He asked about Derek, and she flushed, realizing he had overheard some. "Oh, uh, yes." She said softly, immediately growing more timid again. She nodded slightly when Sapphire said Arvel was good, as she knew the boy was a friend of Analei's and was nice. But she was a little more shy about opening up in front of him. She blushed, looking between them. "The date was nice. We went to Madam Puddifoot's." She said softly.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel stared at Sapphire. She was inviting him to stay? Hesitantly he shrugged off his bag and sat down, hoping Emilia didn't mind his intrusion. He wouldn't have been surprised if she'd decided she didn't like him any more, either. Word travelled fast around the school, and if people were talking about him, he highly doubted they were singing his praises. But she didn't seem to mind. He waited for her to elaborate on her date with Derek, though as the pause drew out he realised she'd reached the end of her sentence. "What's he like?" Arvel prompted, keen to hear a positive story about love for a change.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire laughed when Emilia confirmed it was Derek Tahana. "You know how I met him? He just about pegged me with a rugby ball." She snickered, thinking back on it. Arvel sat next to her and she grinned. "Ooh, sounds fancy. How long have you and Prince Charming been dating?" She asked, encouraging Em to continue. "Nothing you say will go past us and maybe Analei. Right?" She winked at Arvel. She didn't plan on sharing but she wouldn't exclude Arvel's bestest buddy.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia looked at Arvel a little uncertainly. Would he really want to join them to talk about silly boy stuff? He had always seemed so... serious to her. But she didn't mind talking to him, and she gave him a small smile to show him that. His question made her blush, and she clasped her hands together. "Oh, he's so nice." She said softly, a dreamy expression on her face. "He's always been a gentleman to me. When I felt a little overwhelmed at the Hogwarts events and dances, he usually comes to me and helps me feel at ease. He taught me how to dance, but only in a more quiet place int he great hall where not everyone is staring at us. And at the Halloween Feast we were dressed as a princess and a prince, by total accident, and he treated me like a real princess all night." She smiled as she thought back to it, it had truly been a wonderful night. "He helps me step out of my comfort zone." She added, returning to the question at hand. "But always helps me when I do feel like I need help." Sapphire's comment made her frown a little, and she glanced at Arvel, wondering if he would really tell Analei. It wasn't like she didn't want the girl to know anything, but she would prefer to tell Analei about this herself. She ducked her head slightly. "We went on one date." She said with a shrug. "He asked me at the yule ball. But I ... I don't know if that means we're dating now."

 

[Arvel Ayers]

"I won't tell her," Arvel said quickly, a little indignant that Sapphire had implied he might. Yes, Analei was his best friend, but he didn't go sharing other people's personal stories with her without permission. He quietened down to let Emilia tell the story they were both waiting for. Derek really did sound lovely. Why couldn't Nixon treat Arvel like that? Was it Arvel's fault? Emilia probably had never done anything wrong in her life. She deserved to be treated kindly, like a princess. But Arvel had been awful. Maybe now nobody would ever be kind to him, and he would have to carry around for the rest of his life the knowledge that it was all his own fault. "Maybe you should ask him," Arvel suggested, with an awkward shrug. "He probably likes you if he wants to hang out with you."

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire listened intently as Em described her relationship with Derek. She'd looked like she'd been wanting to talk about it for a while. She laughed lightly at Arvels response. "I was teasing," She nudged his foot slightly. "You're cute when you smile." She couldn't help but tease him a bit more. Something was bound to make him laugh. Right? She silently made a resolution to make the boy laugh at least a little. Or smile. Or smirk. Or something. She leaned in, nudging Em's arm. "He's right, you should totally ask. If he asked you out on a date and you guys had fun you should ask him to be your boyfriend. He's bound to say yes, you're gorgeous and sweet and awesome." She smiled at Em, sapphire eyes sparkling.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia felt a little relieved when Arvel said he wouldn't tell Analei, and she shot him a small smile. She was happy she could talk a little about her date, and her feelings for Derek. She had kept it all inside for so long that it felt almost like a relief to really talk about it now. When Arvel told her she should ask him, she blushed and shrugged. "I don't know." She said softly. "That's... kind of terrifying. I really, really like him. What if he doesn't want to?" She looked at him with wide eyes, and then moved her gaze to Sapphire. She was teasing Arvel and it surprised Emilia a little. She didn't know the two were friends, but it seemed that way. As Sapphire complimented her, Emilia ducked her head, then hid her face behind the parchment she had been doodling on. "Stop it." She said, though she was smiling slightly as she peeked from behind the piece of parchment. "Thank you, though." She added softly .

 

[Arvel Ayers]

Arvel looked at his foot, surprised by the contact with Sapphire's. Her comment brought a deep red blush to his cheeks. Had she ever seen him smile? Suddenly he felt self-conscious that she'd been watching him. Maybe other people watched him, too. Maybe other people had noticed he rarely smiled. Before he could get swept up in his worries, Sapphire moved on. Arvel had meant to suggest Emilia asked if they were dating, not that she asked Derek out, but he was too shy to correct her. Instead he made it seem like his second suggestion. "If you hang out again, you can just ask if it's a date," he said. He knew it wasn't really that easy - not for people like him and Emilia - but he didn't really have any other practical solutions.

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek had been keen to get back with the quidditch, he'd been working in the warm summer sun, it was a little more exhausting to practice in the summer than in the winter but he still very much enjoyed it. he found quidditch a lot more freeing than rugby though his allegiance to the older sport was still strong. He'd likely give up quidditch for rugby since he could continue to just fly whenever he wanted to. The boy had a lot to reflect upon after the holidays, his first date with Emilia had been rather amazing, he thought he'd aced it and he liked the time they'd spent together to, Derek really liked Emilia, they would have another coffee date soon, he would make sure to ask her about it, follow up with her about it. The boy knew he had to just find her in the school. He hadn't quite made things official not wanting to be too forward with Emilia in case she didn't actually want that. Or in case she just wasn't ready for that next step in whatever their growing thing was. He had finished up on the pitch and decided to go seek her out or at least send a owl to her about this next meeting so that they could spend the time together. He was changed into his usual clothes, out of the quidditch gear and into his normal summer clothes. He was walking around the great lawn, when he spotted a small group of vaguely familiar students, he decided that going to say hi would be a good thing, but when he got closer he realised that he knew most of them, he certainly knew one exceedingly well. "Emilia, hey," he greeted softly with a warm friendly smile, "Hey guys," derek waved at the other two with a friendly though maybe a little less warm smile than he'd had for Emilia, he knew at least one of them a little better than the other, though they were all in the classes with him, "What are you guys up to?"​

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapph smiled as Em suggested Derek might not want to date her. "Don't be ridiculous, of course he does." She encouraged. Her smile widened as she noticed Arvel's blush. Well, it was a start. She laughed as Em hid behind the paper. "Nope," She responded brightly. "Someone has to remind you you're fantastic." She winked playfully. It was at that moment that Derek wandered over. She knew immediately Em wouldn't want to admit they were talking about him. She thought of a lie quickly. "Hey Derek," She greeted him with a smile. She noticed he looked at Em differently than he did her and Arvel, and a little smirk crossed her lips. "We were just talking about Quidditch," She said smoothly. "Arvel and I are both alternates for the house teams. Aren't you a chaser for Slytherin?" She asked, giving the other two an easy way out of embarrassing Em.

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia smiled shyly at Arvel. "We sort of planned our second date already." She said quietly, wondering if that was a weird thing to say. "During the first date." She said softly. Sapphire was a nice friend, and she was definitely sweet. She encouraged Emilia a lot, and Emilia liked that very much. "Thank you." She said softly. "You're fantastic too..." She added, giving her friend a shy smile. But then the worst happened. Derek appeared. Of course, him appearing was never really bad, but this wasn't a good time. Emilia squeaked in alarm, and quickly lowered the parchment she had been hiding her face behind. Had he seen? Had he heard what they said? She stared at him with wide eyes, unable to speak for a bit. She did notice how he greeted her first, and how he smiled at her. But she was too busy worrying about what he might have heard to focus on that. Sapphire seemed to think fast, and while Emilia hated to lie, she nodded numbly at her words. "Yes." She said softly. "I liked watching you play, in the Hufflepuff match." She said, looking at Derek shyly. Then she turned to the other two, her face flushed. "It's so impressive, of all of you. I can't imagine playing, it seems so scary." It was weird to go along with the lie, but better than telling Derek the truth about what they had been talking about. She gave Sapphire a grateful look, before daring a glance at Derek.

 

[Arvel Ayers]

If Emilia and Derek were already planning their second date, Arvel wasn't sure how much more obvious the Slytherin could make it. He definitely liked her. At that very moment, Derek materialised, and for a split second Arvel panicked on Emilia's behalf. Fortunately, he hadn't appeared to have overheard their conversation - or if he had, he was gracious enough to pretend he hadn't. Arvel nodded along as Sapphire made up something about Quidditch. Actually, Arvel had a permanent position on the team, now, but saying so felt almost mean while Sapphire was only an alternate, so he stayed quiet. He supposed Quidditch was a scary game, though he'd never been afraid of falling or getting hurt. Only losing. Not sure that he could lie and sound sincere, Arvel said nothing, picking at the grass and rolling a blade between his thumb and forefinger.