Nervous Yet Happy

[Ai Nightray]

It was once again the time of the year wherein the students of Hogwarts would gather for a big celebration of Christmas. The Yule Ball. And Ai was one of the students who were attending the said celebration. She had deemed herself lucky to attend such an event. Even though it was already her third year in the said school, it was only her second time to go to the ball. She had been sickly lately and has been growing thin too. She had been trying her best to eat, but it just doesn't settle in at times and she just can't seem to keep herself healthy.The young Hufflepuff was mad at herself for this as she had missed the Exams once again, but still, she was lucky to be able to attend the Ball. Even more so, she was lucky that she was attending with the person she likes. Heath James. Ai couldn't exactly remember the turn of events at the time, but all she knew and considered important was that she was going to be attending the ball with Heath and it made her very, very happy, indeed.

The night of the ball had already arrived and Ai had spent time preparing herself for it. She dressed and fixed her hair and she was glad that she was quite good at it. It would be a night she would surely remember. With a huge sigh, she smiled in front of the mirror, contented with her current appearance. Ai then trudged down the steps of the common room and what seemed to be the never-ending staircase of the castle before reaching the doors of the Great Hall. She would meet Heath there, and there she waited for the boy that made her heart race.

 

[Heath James]

Heath James hated this time of year. It was time for the Yule Ball, and he absolutely hated it. He had been irritated to the maximum lately, and he was not normally that way. His emotions had been unsteady. He had been pretty sad and angry. His exams didn't go as well as he planned, so he was now pissed. Luckily, he had Ai to cheer him up. Heath stood in front of his mirror. He was still him his pajamas, and he had to meet Ai soon. He was trying to decided what he was going to do with his hair. He had let it grow, and now it was down to his shoulders. He just tied some of his hair back into the ponytail and called it done. He got dressed and started heading down to the Great Hall. He sauntered down the steps with his hands in his pockets. He really couldn't wait to get home to his sister. But, he was more excited about seeing Ai. Being around Ai made him feel secure. He knew that he would act right when he was around her. She wouldn't tolerate his attitude if it was bad.

He managed to reach the Great Hall. He would be meeting Ai by the doors, so she would be easy to find. He did not like chasing after people. That was just pathetic. He was not wearing anything fancy, but he could have done better. He was a guy that did not really care about dressing up. That was more of Satsuke's thing really. He glanced around and smiled when he spotted Ai. He went and tapped her on the shoulder. "You ready, short stuff?" he gave a small smile. He really hoped that this would be fun because Heath did not like wasting his time.
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[Ai Nightray]

Ai didn't mind waiting at all for anyone. She guessed that it must have been a habit since she really didn't like being late, nor making anybody wait for her. She someone who'd rather wait instead of being waited for. And of course, that habit didn't change as she waited for Heath to arrive. She would look around endlessly, wondering if she would spot him before the boy could spot her. But then again, she was beaten in the game she was playing by herself as she felt the tap on her shoulder, signalling that Heath was already beside her. With a smile she said, "As ready as I'll ever be," she said as she looked into the Great Hall.

Ai had begun to walk alongside Heath as she took a look around. She wasn't able to attend the Ball last year as she had gotten sick that time too and was more than eager to see what the Ball had to offer this year. There was a lot of food present, but Ai decided not to try anything yet tonight as she had just recovered from her illness. "So, what do you wanna do first?" she asked Heath with a smile as she looked at him. "He looks gorgeous," she thought to herself as a small blush slowly crept to her face and her heart rate seemed to go faster than normal. Nervousness was once again creeping into her being but she was not about to let it get the best of her. "Talk, eat, drink or dance?" she said with a little smile. She wondered if Heath knew how to dance and she secretly hoped that he didn't want to as the young girl was not exactly good at it.

 

[Heath James]

Heath gave a faint smile. He walked in with Ai into the Great Hall. The same throw up decorations as last year. He wrapped an arm around Ai's shoulder. "I can't let you get lost in the crowd now can I?" he told her as an excuse to touch her. She asked what he wanted to do. He wasn't that hungry, and he was not going to bother trying to dance. "Something to drink sounds good." he said as he lead Ai over to the refreshments table. He poured two drinks and offers one to Ai. "I don't think anyone has done something to it yet." he told her in case she thought something was wrong with the drink.
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[Ai Nightray]

Ai was shocked with the sudden development as she felt Heath's arm on her shoulder. If it was from before, she might have shot Heath a glare or a questioning look, but at the moment, it was not the case as she gave a slight nod and a light shade of red crept to her face. "Yeah, I guess you can't," she said with a smile grazing her Asian features. As the two walked to the refreshments table, Ai watched as Heath poured a drink for each of them and she gladly accepted one. With a soft giggle at the boy's statement and a nod, Ai took a small sip and smiled at her companion. "It tastes fine. Try it," she encouraged the boy in front of her. It would be a fun night, she was sure of it.

 

[Heath James]

Heath had grown up a little bit. He had opened up his boundaries. Before it was only Luvesha who could touch him, but he now had no problem with Ai touching him. Heath knew she was cautious about touching him, but she didn't have to worry anymore. Not like she had figured that out yet though. He took a sip of juice. "See anyone you know, short stuff?" he asked looking around the Great Hall. He could not spot very many people. He was very unwilling to meet others at school.
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[Ai Nightray]

With Heath's sudden question, Ai was caught off guard. She was much too focused on the Hufflepuff boy with her that she really didn't bother to look on who was in the celebration. And with that question, she decided to look around a bit. She nodded at Heath to partly answer his question. "Yeah, quite a number of them. I've gotten on the nerves of most of them, though," she replied honestly. Well, it was true and she was sure that Heath wouldn't be too surprised at all that she had managed to annoy quite a number of students at Hogwarts. "How about you? See anyone you recognize?" she asked as she focused her gaze on her companion.

 

[Heath James]

Heath chuckled. He was not surprised. There was a time when Ai even annoyed him. Now look at him. He was crushing on the girl. She hoped that was not going to be the case for the others she had annoyed. He would not tolerate that at all. He did not like competition. It annoyed him. Heath shook his head. "Nope. I don't get around much. I don't consider very many people friends anyways." he told her honestly. He took a sip of his drink. This school made him feel stuffy. He felt like this school was sucking all of the air out of him. He wanted to leave. Not just for the holiday but for good. He had really grown to hate his school. "How would feel if I left here, Ai?" he asked seriously. He had a feeling this would go sour. He did not want Ai to jump to conclusions. He would never want to worry his girl like that.
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[Ai Nightray]

"Not really a surprise. You weren't exactly the sociable type when we met too," Ai said with a little giggle as she recalled the night she and Heath first met, first got into a fight and formed the relationship they had. Of course, it was mostly Ai's fault for that time as she knew that she had a really bad attitude. Well, it wasn't so bad admitting it now. If Ai was drinking her drink, she was sure she would have spit it out in surprise of Heath's sudden question. She knew the reason of the sudden pain present in her chest. She was scared. Scared that Heath would indeed leave. "I... I guess... Wrong choice of words," she said. "I know I'll feel horrible if you do that," she said sadly. Ai knew that she wouldn't be able to take it if Heath would indeed leave her. Leave her? Was she really in the place to feel horrible if Heath did leave? It didn't matter to her at the moment, all she knew was she didn't want that to happen. "You... Won't leave... Right?" she asked, the words barely escaping her mouth as she couldn't afford to look in the boy's face as tears were threatening to surface. Tears that she wasn't about to let go until the end of the ball.

 

[Heath James]

Heath nodded in agreement at Ai's statement. He was never very social. That was a well-known fact that he was proud of. Heath looked down at Ai. She sounded frightened at the thought of him leaving. He never thought he was that important to her. "Oh my gosh." he said when he noticed Ai was on the verge of crying. He set his drink on the table, and he carefully pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry to bringing it up, Ai. I never thought you would react like this." he told her softly. He petted her hair. He must have gave her a serious scare. How could he even think about leaving Ai? He must be insane. "I won't leave you, Ai. I promise." he bent down to whisper in her ear.
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[Ai Nightray]

The word surprised would be an understatement to what Ai felt at the moment Heath pulled her into a hug. Mixed emotions had swelled up inside of the young girl. Confusion, nervousness, happiness, shock. It came into her in a swirl. At the moment, she didn't know the right way to react, the right thing to say, the right thing to do. All she knew was that she wanted to hug back the boy important to her at this very moment. "It's alright," she said with a little nod. What he whispered in her ear must have been the final straw for Ai. She didn't realize how happy she felt to hear that, the words just kept on repeating in her head that she didn't know what to say except she could only close her eyes and give out a very small whisper that she hoped he wouldn't be able to hear, "Don't say things like that. It'll make me like you more."

 

[Heath James]

Heath was surprised. He had never seen Ai like this. He had seen her cry, but he had never seen her act like this. He'd never saw her look like she was going to lose someone close to her. Heath always belittled he and Ai's "relationship", but now it was different. He couldn't pretend hat Ai did not mean anything to him. She was special, and she meant a lot more to him than even he knew. She he apologized she seemed to relax. Heath smiled. He reluctantly released the girl from his embrace. "You would be lonely if I left, right?" he asked and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He had heard the girl mumble something g, but he was not able to understand what she had said, so he just left it alone.
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[Ai Nightray]

Ai knew what Heath meant to her. From her own point of view, Heath was now more important than Conan ever was. Sure, it felt bad when she and Conan started fighting, but she realized when Heath had asked her that question she would feel very horrible if he indeed left. And Ai, was not just any normal girl even from before she came to Hogwarts. She was a girl afraid of separations, and she knew that if Heath were ever separated from her, it would almost impossible for her to recover from the wound it would create in her very being. "Yeah, I would be. So, don't do it, okay?" she said with a voice that may have made her sound like a little homeless child. But she didn't care, all she cared about at the moment, was that Heath promised that he wouldn't leave her.

 

[Heath James]

Heath never though he was very important to anyone. Ever since his parents disowned him, he started to see people as shallow. His parents were like that. Heath was not the perfect son they wanted. He was not crazy smart like Luvesha or outgoing and confident like Vincent. Heath was just Heath. He looked down at Ai. She looked wonderful. He never thought he would think of her like that, but it was happening. Heath nodded. "You can't leave either, okay? It's only fair, short stuff." he told her and picked up his drink again.
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[Ai Nightray]

It would never occur to Ai that she was important to Heath in any way. She would always think that it wouldn't matter to him if she disappeared any time or any where. Even until now when Heath told her that she can't leave him either. And if it weren't for the situation they were in, Ai would have laughed at Heath's statement of being fair. "Yeah. I promise not to leave," she said with a smile. After a sip of her slightly forgotten drink, she spoke once more. "Hmm... Should I go visit you during the Holidays? Or should I come with you?" she joked. "After all, you did say that I can't leave you," Ai teased him slightly putting her tongue out. She wasn't that serious though as she really didn't want to annoy the said boy, but then again, she was a slightly unpredictable girl.

 

[Heath James]

Heath rolled his eyes at Ai's jokes. For a moment he thought the girl was serious, but her tone made him realize she was only joking. Heath mentally slapped himself. How could she be serious about something like that? It was insane. His sister did not need another mouth to feed anyways. Heath was already a handful. He was a tall guy, so he needed to eat more than his sister or Ai. He had seen some girls with big appetites. He did not know how popular that was though nor did he care. "That would be a bad idea. My sister would get curious." he said and took another sip of his drink. Heath poked Ai's nose. "You know that is not what I meant, short stuff." he said. He looked at the table again. He was kind of nervous, so he was starting to feel hungry. He pushed his bangs out of his face. "Are you hungry?" he asked and turned his attention back to Ai.
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[Ai Nightray]

"Curious?" Ai wondered out loud. "About what?" she asked following her previous question. Sure enough, Ai's childish curiosity had been sparked. Sure, she was rarely like this but then again, at times she is a naive little girl. And her curiosity had been increased by Heath's next statement. "What did you think it meant to me and if that was not what it meant then what does it mean?" she asked not stopping for a breath until she fully asked the question that formed in her mind. But in a moment's time, she realized quite a funny thing, "Did what I say make sense?" she said for a moment. It took a moment for Ai to realize that she was a bit hungry, but then again she had made a decision to herself that she wouldn't try anything to eat yet until tomorrow as she had just recovered from her illness. She shook her head in response, and asked the boy in front of her, "How about you?"

 

[Heath James]

Heath had brought up a awkward topic. He did not know whether he should answer and embarrass himself or ignore her questions and save his pride. Maybe he should just save his pride, but this was Ai. His pride did not really matter anymore. He shook his head. "Most of the time you don't make sense, Ai." he said jokingly. "I don't what her to think we are anything more, than friends." he said and took a big gulp of his punch. Now he was really getting hungry. He looked over Ai. She looked like she need to eat something. She did not look very good, and that worried him a lot. He needed to care for her when Conan didn't. He nodded. "I'm hungry." he said. He was hungry, but he did not really want to make himself a plate. He really didn't want to, but he was hungry.
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[Ai Nightray]

"Hmm... Yeah, I know that," she replied to his joke. Ai knew for a fact that she really didn't make sense most of the time. But who could blame her? That was just who she is, and she can't just change that so easily. "Oh... I wonder what Oba-chan and Oji-chan would think if I brought you home," she told him. Well, she had a vague idea of what would happen if that happens but then again, she wasn't really sure. Ai looked over at Heath as he answered her question. She nodded and said, "Alright, what do you want to eat? I'll get you some food," with a smile. She really didn't want to make Heath hungry so she decided to just get the food for him, after all she won't be having anything tonight.

 

[Heath James]

Heath smiled. He was able to be natural around Ai. It had taken awhile for Heath to start understand Ai. He thought that she talked in a poetry type form of speech. Maybe it was because her first language wasn't English, but Heath did not want to stay on the topic for too long. He liked the way Ai spoke. It was nice. "I hope they wouldn't be okay with it." he said in a concerned tone. He hoped that whoever watched Ai did not let her run around doing whatever she wanted. That was just not how Heath thought kids should live. They needed to have some authority or disciplinary figure in their life. Luvesha was like that with him. She was constantly curious about what he did and how he acted. It was only out of love."Anything strawberry, except actual strawberries." he told her. He hoped that he had made sense. It was rare when Heath was confusing. Most of the time, he was just difficult.
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[Ai Nightray]

"I think they'll be quite happy if I did, since you'd be the first," Ai commented with a giggle at Heath's concerned tone. The young girl would almost never admit it out loud but she liked it when Heath acted concerned for her, after all, what's there to not be happy about? What she said was quite true though, as Heath, if ever, would be the only friend Ai ever made that came to their house, and a boy at that. She figured that her aunt would be thrilled about it, since Ai wasn't really sociable except towards Conan's friends at the time. But at the moment it didn't matter to her. Ai's train of thoughts was halted by Heath's answer of what he wanted to eat and Ai only answer in a playful voice, "Hai, hai (Sure, sure)!" The Hufflepuff left her companion and went towards the table were all kinds of food were laid out and from there, she grabbed a plate and began to look for anything that had the flavor strawberry. She picked out cupcakes, cookies and tarts. As she was looking for her companion, she wondered if Heath would eat the treats she got, after all, they were strawberry.

 

[Heath James]

Heath sighed. He hoped that would never be the case. Why would he go over to a girl's house anyway? It did not make any sense to him. He shook his head slightly. What a mess she was, but there was something about her that attracted him. He really hoped that she wasn't part-veela or anything. Then he would feel betrayed. He would be confused on whether he was in love with her or her charm. He did not want that. It would be too difficult that Heath wanted. Without Ai by his side he felt awkward. Ai was like, the thing that made him comfortable. But, she was a person. Heath shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground. It had suddenly become very interesting. What was taking her so long? He thought she was quicker than this.
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[Ai Nightray]

Being away from Heath in a crowded place made Ai feel lost and lonely. The young girl wondered if that would always be the case whenever the boy would be away from her. She certainly hoped not, she didn't really want to keep herself in a down mood frequently. Holding the plate of strawberry treats, she scanned the area, looking for the refreshments table, the place which she left just a few minutes ago. And luckily, after a few tries, she had managed to find her way through the crowd of dressed up students, probably earning glares as she bumped into other girls as she accidentally bumped into them. Nevertheless, she was glad she found Heath as she offered him the plate of strawberry treats she had gotten him. "Here ya go! Sorry I took a while. And I think I took a bit of everything strawberry there," she said with a smile while waiting for the boy's reply.

 

[Heath James]

Heath really did not want to be here anymore. The only reason he was at the Yule Ball in the first place was because Ai asked him to go with her. He was surprised, but it did not really matter now. He was here, and he needed t deal with it anymore. Ai came back over with the treats. He wanted some real food. Meat, vegetables, fruits, entrees, or something other than sweets. However, Heath took the plate and thanked Ai. He set his drink back on the table. He picked up a cupcake. "Are you not going to eat, Ai?" he asked the girl. She was avoiding food. What was wrong with her? Food was amazing.
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