No Flower Nicer Than Your Rose

[Rose Holland]

Rose had received a few roses during Valentine's day, but only one hadn't been yellow. The pink one Charlie had sent her had been delivered via owl, which had been surprising. She knew a pink rose didn't necessarily mean anything, but she still couldn't help but wonder if it was his way of showing that he liked her. As for herself, she was starting to realize she did like Charlie. Spending time with him was a lot of fun, and she had really liked being with him at the yule ball. Even if it felt strange to see a boy that way, she wanted to pursue this. It wasn't in her nature to back down and wait, so her first step would be to talk to Charlie.

The gardens were nice, and it was one of Rose's favorite places at the school. She had used her brand-new owl to send a note to Charlie to meet her here, and she hoped he would come. She was holding the rose he had sent her in her hand as she waited for him, twirling it slightly. Seated at a bench, she hoped he would be able to spot her, she needed to talk to him, even if it made her nervous.

 

[Charles Abberline]

He didn't realise that he liked his friend until he asked his father about it over Christmas. It was weird thinking of Rose as someone that he liked in that way as he wasn't used to feeling that way for anyone at all. At the suggestion of his father, because he himself did not know what to do with the feeling in the pit of his stomach, the Ravenclaw had sent the girl a pink flower rather than talking to her about it in person because he did not know where to even begin, also he didn't want to embarrass himself in case she didn't like him back in that way so sending a rose to Rose was much safer. Charlie had been trying to avoid his friend as much as possible the days after Valentine's day because he was a little too nervous to know what she thought of the flower and the note he had written. He had been doing a good job of avoiding her too until he received a note by owl from his friend asking if he could meet her in the gardens. The boy knew that he couldn't keep this up and so decided to meet her there. Charlie made his way out of the castle and towards the gardens. ''Hi,'' the Ravenclaw said softly once he spotted Rose sitting on a bench. ''You wanted to meet me here?''

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose felt her nerves increase as she waited for the boy to arrive, she looked down at the rose in her hands a she spun it, it really was pretty, though if she kept playing with it like this it might not look this good for much longer. She didn't look up until she heard a familiar voice, and when she did she smiled as she spotted Charlie. He looked kind of nervous too, and she was glad she wasn't the only one. "Hi." She said too, nodding at his question. "I did." She got to her feet, feeling strange to be the only one sitting. But as she stood in front of him, she really wasn't sure what to say. Rose really wasn't the best with words, and she was aware of that. Should she just say that she liked him? After a moment of hesitation, she opened her mouth only to close it again. Maybe it was better to say it without words. With a deep breath, she stepped closer and pressed her lips to Charlie's. It was only a light peck, but she hoped it would be enough.

 

[Charles Abberline]

Charlie smiled at the sight of the pink rose in her hands, happy that it had reached her since this was the first time he had ever used the flower delivery service. It made him realise that if she had the rose then she must also have the note which she would have undoubtedly read by now. His thoughts started racing as he thought about what her reaction to it would have been when she first read it. It made him question the reason as to why she had asked him to meet her in the gardens. He stood in front of Rose and watched as she stepped closer to him. His eyes spread wide when she pressed her lips to his and his cheeks flushed red. Did this mean what he thought it did? Had she just admitted that she liked him back? And why couldn't he think properly? It was just a kiss, there was nothing special about that, right? Charlie blinked a couple of times whilst he tried to fully realise what had just happened and then asked, though with great difficulty, ''How-... You-... I-... Do you?'' It wasn't a proper question but he hoped that she knew what he meant by it.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose broke the kiss, stepped back slightly, and and looked at Charlie. Her own actions had startled her slightly, but it also disappointed her that it apparently hadn't really solved the issue of having to say anything. Charlie's red cheeks and confusion were pretty adorable, though, and she giggled at him even though she felt her own cheeks heat up as well. "I like you." She said, fairly sure that had been what he was meaning to ask. "And I thought since you sent me a pink rose, maybe you liked me too." Glancing down at the rose, she realized that perhaps it hadn't been the reason he sent her this. Maybe he just liked pink. He hadn't actually said anything good about the kiss, what if she had startled him in a bad way? "If you don't, you should probably say that now so I can die from embarrassment." She added, her voice less sure than before. Her nerves were showing in the way she was spinning the rose around in her hands again, barely caring that the thorns pricked her once or twice.

 

[Charles Abberline]

Still rather confused because of what had just happened, Charlie tried his best to listen to his friend without his thoughts distracting him from doing so. He didn't think it was even possible, but when she told him that she liked him, the boy could feel his insides twisting around funnily. He chuckled slightly at Rose's remark. From her point of view, he could understand the embarrassment if he would tell her that he didn't like her like that. Luckily, though, he did, so she had nothing to worry about. He looked down at the pink rose she was holding in her hands, relieved that she had caught onto the true meaning of the message as it'd be awkward to tell how he really felt about her directly to her face if she came to ask him about it. He nodded his head before saying the words out loud. ''I do like you,'' Charlie said, feeling his cheeks turn scarlet once again. He had never actually said them out loud before so hearing himself say it was odd. He looked up again and smiled shyly at his friend when his eyes met hers.

sorry for the delay!

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose felt her stomach flutter as she waited for Charlie's response. She had put it out in the open now, but he could easily turn her down with just a few words. What if he did? Their friendship would probably become super awkward. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Why didn't she ever think before she spoke? It was going to get her in big trouble one day. Perhaps today was that day. But he soon eased her nerves by saying he liked her too, and she couldn't help but giggle at the way his cheeks turned red at the admission. She grinned. "So you like me and I like you!" she said eagerly, putting her hands on his shoulders. "What do we do now?" She asked a little nervously. A part of her wanted to kiss him again, but she wasn't sure. Maybe she should let him decide what to do now instead of barging in headfirst with the first thing that came to her mind.

 

[Charles Abberline]

Charlie couldn't help to smile at Rose's eagerness and said. ''It seems like that's the case, yes.'' He was relieved that the best case scenario had worked out and that sending her the rose had actually worked, too. He shrugged his shoulders at the question. When he imagined how this would go in his head, Charlie hadn't actually thought about what would happen after the two of them would admit their feelings for each other. He thought of the kiss that had happened moments ago and if she would want to do that again but because he wasn't sure whether she had liked it or not, didn't want to ask her if she wanted to do that again. ''Do you, like, maybe want to try the whole dating thing?'' the Ravenclaw asked, a little uncertain. A couple of students in their year had started dating each other, so Charlie figured that perhaps they should too since they both liked each other. It was all rather exciting, though he couldn't help to feel a little nervous. ''We don't have to if you don't want to,'' the teen added just in case Rose thought that doing that was taking it a step too far.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose laughed at Charlie's serious way of phrasing his words. She had a feeling he was nervous, just like she was. She just hoped he was as happy as she was too, mixed in with the nerves. She watched his face closely, and couldn't help giggling at his question. She still had her hands on his shoulders, though she wasn't sure why. "I do like maybe want to try the whole dating thing." She said with a nod, unable to help herself in teasing him a little by repeating his words back to him. "I just told you I liked you, silly. You can kiss me if you want." She then paused. "Or I can." And without waiting for a response, she leaned in for her second kiss.

 

[Charles Abberline]

He smiled at Rose as she watched him, feeling happier than ever before, and couldn't stop himself from grinning at her words. ''Alright, so it's official then?'' Normally Charlie would have teased her back right way but with so many thoughts running through his head, he was unable to come up with something funny to say to her. The Ravenclaw was about to say something about her comment of him kissing her when she once again leaned forward to kiss him before he could say or do anything. He kissed Rose back softly. Charlie felt a little awkward whilst the two of them were kissing because he wasn't sure if he was doing it correctly, though he figured that he did something right as she wasn't stopping him, and what he was supposed to do with his arms that were still awkwardly positioned by his sides. He was rather enjoying this, and though it was all new to him, could see him get used to being this close to Rose.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose beamed happily, feeling like she was floating on air. If this is what it was like to like someone and be liked in return, she finally understood why all the older students seemed to be dating all the time. Though she hoped she wouldn't cause as much drama as they sometimes seemed to. If this ruined her friendship with Charlie, that would make her very sad. They had been friends since first year. "It is official!" She said eagerly. "Let's do something fun together soon! I still want to show you the forest, I promise its not that scary." She grinned at him. "Or we could do something more boring if you want." She teased gently, hoping it wouldn't make him more upset now that they were dating or anything.

 

[Charles Abberline]

He grimaced at the mention of the forbidden forest and thought about it carefully. He hadn't dared to enter the forest as other students had told him stories of monstrous beasts residing there but with Rose there next to him surely it wouldn't be that scary. He got the feeling that she had been in the forest before so figured that if she wanted to show the place to him, she'd know her way around it. ''If you promise me that nothing will jump out from behind a tree to murder us, I'll go with you into the forest.'' the Ravenclaw replied. ''For now, however, do you want to accompany me to the kitchens to get something to eat? I'm starving.'' Though without waiting for Rose to answer him, the teen grabbed the girl's hand and led towards the way to the kitchens. All this talk had made him very hungry.

Fin​