Closed Not Strong Enough (to be your man)

[Rene Tofilau]

Rene had been so wrapped up in Quidditch and fighting with Louis this year he'd almost entirely forgotten about the fact that this would be his last semester ever at school. That tonight might be his last night dancing and going out with Gwen even. He refused to believe the crap that Louis thought he knew about Gwen, he wasn't the one dating her, but he had to admit there was still a quiet voice in the back of his mind telling him that there was no way he and Gwen could last once he'd graduated. Not unless he pulled something really special.

He glanced down at her, having gamely headed out to the dancefloor together, if only for an excuse to hold her a little closer than normal without having to look her in the eye, and gripped her hand as they swayed, petals dropping in the air around them. Maybe he should say something romantic, something important, like a reminder of what they had together. If there was a night to do it, it would be tonight. "I um," Rene faltered, frowning and looking at the ceiling. Should he tell her he loved her? Did he love her? He certainly liked her a whole lot. "I l-uh. I like what you've down with your hair tonight," he said, fumbling at the last second and sighing. He needed to get it together.

 

[Gwen Goodwin]

Gwen was a little sad about tonight. It would be her last dance with René, and she wondered what would happen next year. She was pretty sure she wasn't in love with him, but she didn't know if they should break up. Going a whole year without a boyfriend was annoying, but if René managed to play professional Quidditch she wouldn't want to let him go. Not yet, at least.

She followed René to the dance floor, noting how distracted he looked. She figured he was thinking along the same lines as her, though Gwen doubted he would ever even consider breaking up with her. There was a small part of her that worried about it anyway, remembering Akihiro. But she pushed that down. Gwen smiled at his compliment, but couldn't help feeling that hadn't been what he had wanted to say. "Thank you, it's very simple though." She said. Then she reached up and touched his cheek lightly. "Are you alright?"

 

[Rene Tofilau]

Rene brought back from his thoughts by a gentle touch on his face, looking back at Gwen properly this time, his smile feeling more genuine. He'd be the first to admit that Gwen wasn't exactly known for being comforting, but he also knew people didn't know her like he did. It was a thrill sometimes to imagine that maybe there were parts of herself that only Rene was allowed to see. The feeling came again then, like he should say something important here, the moment was right, they were dancing, it was Valentine's, he should say he loved her right? The thought lingered as Rene just stared at her for probably far too long, eventually clearing his throat as if to dislodge the words before laughing vaguely.

"Well, even simple stuff looks good on you," he said, trying to recover before simply pulling Gwen a little closer. Hopefully none of the chaperones got on their case for dancing too close he thought distantly, tucking Gwen under his chin. "It's nothing, just. You know," Rene shrugged. "You wanna hang out tomorrow? Or maybe make some plans for Brightstone?" If Gwen was planning on dumping him at the end of the year, maybe he should at least make the most of it.