Closed On My Own

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper wasn't sure why he had come here tonight. Sebastian had been avoiding Casper since that first meeting here at school. It had hurt Cas, a lot. He had left the last break thinking that maybe he and Sebastian really had something, but it had become apparent that the Slytherin was like pretty much everyone else in Caspers' life. He was just an afterthought that no one ever really wanted to keep around.

Cas sighed, watching all of the happy couples out on the floor and feeling just a bit jealous. He wished there was someone who looked at him like that. He leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets. He idly wondered if he just wanted romance, or if he was just looking for somewhere where he felt like he belonged. He considered that, not really paying attention as he watched the people dancing on the floor.

 

[Lysander Summers]

In lieu of a date, Lysander often found himself taking one of his familiars to the dances. Typically, this would be Fuzzfeathers, but the owl had been in a bad mood that evening, so the Gryffindor had opted to bring his rat along instead. He'd fashioned the rodent a small bowtie and tucked him into his jacket pocket, to peer out from at the decorated hall. Yule was different this year. More familiar, Lysander thought. It reminded him more of Christmas at home, without all that magical snow. He couldn't have complained about it, the winter theme was fun, but it wasn't what he'd grown up with. He did think that maybe he should have left his jacket in his dorm, but surprisingly, it wasn't too warm in the Great Hall.

After Professor Josephs speech, Lysander wandered around the hall, taking in some of the new sights. He reached a hand to poke at one of the small, magical lights floating overhead, hoping to be able to pluck it out of the air and show Remy, but his fingertips passed through them like they weren't really there. The old snowflakes had been the same, it had always been difficult to really get a handful. He dropped his hand back down, giving the rat a small ruffle between the ears, and spotted someone standing by themselves, not seeming to really be enjoying the celebrations all that much. He recognised the boy as the club leader Kiara worked with, and sidled up beside him. "Are you waiting on anyone?" He asked to be sure, though it hadn't seemed like the boy had been looking for anyone in particular. Rarely did he himself come to these kinds of events with dates, but even if he was going alone, he needed to find company. He couldn't imagine spending the whole night on the sidelines.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Cas looked up, surprised to see Lysander there. "Oh, hello. No, it's just me." Again, he thought to himself, but he didn't say that. He gave the boy a shy smile. "I see you brought a date," he commented, nodding to the little rat. "Most beautiful thing I've seen all night," he teased lightly, though he was half serious. Rats were adorable, sometimes. This just happened to be one of those time.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander opened his mouth in a small silent 'o' of understanding, and joined Casper in leaning against the wall. More people needed to bring backup dates, even if they were just a pet. He did wonder if Freya had ever gone through with asking a house-elf to one of these dances. Lysander looked down at Rembrandt, peeking out from his pocket, and chuckled lightly. "Are you flirting with my date? In front of me?" He laughed. He plucked the rat out, letting him sit in the palm of his hand to get a better look around. "Looks like I've got some competition. But I'm still your favourite, right?" He muttered to the rat, whose squeaks did little to reassure him.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper smiled lightly as Lysander leaned on the wall next to him. "What can I say? Your date is hard to resist," he teased, looking to the rat. "What's it's name?" He asked, curious now. Casper had never had a pet of his own. He was curious if it would be something worthwhile, but he couldn't help but remind himself that now was probably not the best time to be thinking about getting a pet.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander chuckled to himself, shaking his head softly at the rat, who no doubt would have been basking in the praise, if he'd understood it. "This little guy is Rembrandt. Remy, this is...Casper." He introduced the two with a wave of his hand, hesitating briefly on the boys name. He was fairly sure that was it, from what he could remember about his talks with Kiara, and seeing him on the list at the club fair. "Did you want to grab some snacks or something? Me and Remy were going to dance later, if you wanted to join. Fair warning, he does step on toes." He warned.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper smiled at the rat, then at Lysander. "Remy, huh? That's a pretty name," he complimented. He was a little surprised that Lysander wanted to hang out, but Cas could honestly just use the distraction tonight. "Sure, yeah, snacks sound good." He laughed a little at the comment about the rat dancing. "I bet he still dances better than I do," he grinned impishly, sticking his hands in his pockets and turning more towards Lysander.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander beamed. He hadn't been the one to name Remy, but he would take the compliment. This seemed like a good opportunity to get to know the other arts club leader, especially if they were going to end up working together. "I think they have pavlova this year." He commented, pleased to see it. He lifted Remy to his shoulder, letting the small rodent clamber on to roam around. "Probably, I've shown him some of my best moves." Lysander joked. Those dance lessons with the professors had not paid off, but he still went for it. "You're going to have to show me yours now. They can't be that bad." He gestured with his hand, as if he wanted to see a preview for himself.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Cas looked towards the snack table as Lysander spoke. "Oh, that sounds good," he murmured, thinking he needed to get his hands on one of the treats. He looked to the other boy again and winced dramatically, shaking his head. "Fine, but you asked for it!" He moved forward a bit to give himself some room, turning back to face Lysander. Cas listened to the music for a moment then started to dance, clumsily, being a bit dramatic just to put on a good show. His added flair and attempts to be bad actually tripped him up, and before he knew it he had lost his balance and hit the floor. He lay there, the wind knocked out of him, and let out a breathless laugh.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander certainly had asked for it, and Casper definitely delivered. He watched the boy with an amused grin, bopping to the music slightly himself. Yeah, those moves were bad, and he let out a hysterical laugh when the Hufflepuff managed to land himself on the floor. "Looks like he's fallen head over heels for you already, Remy." He commented loudly to the rat on his shoulder, laughing lightly. He bent down, extending a hand to help Casper up. "I'm sorry I asked. You doing okay?" He chuckled. The other boy seemed to be in good spirits about it, so he guessed he wasn't too hurt. "I think you were right. I've never seen Remy fall over quite like that when I've had music playing. I can put in a good word for you, get you set up with some lessons from the professional himself." He nodded, giving the rat a light scratch between the ears.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper chuckled, taking Lysanders' hand and letting the boy help him up. He dusted off his trousers, smiling. "I'm fine." He reassured the boy. "I did warn you," he chuckled. He straightened his tie, offering a wink to the little rat. "I hope Remy is a good teacher," he winked playfully.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander laughed, extending a hand to brush some lint that had collected off the other boy's shoulder. "He's learned from the best." He grinned, with a jerk of his thumb at himself. The magical rats from the menagerie were pretty smart, and Lysander had to wonder if he could manage to teach Remy some choreography. Project for the holidays, he decided. "Come on. Let's grab a drink." He said, gesturing with his head toward the snack table. He poured himself some feijoa juice, and indicated with the jug to ask if Casper wanted any. "So, are you not much into Yule or something?" He asked, curious why the Hufflepuff had just been hanging out on his own.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Cas couldn't help but smile. Lysander was a pretty cool guy. He walked with the boy, taking him up on the offer of juice. He hadn't had this kind before, but he was willing to try it. He blinked as Lysander asked him a question. He shrugged. "I'm not like, really crazy for it, but I'm not against it," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Why do you ask?" He returned the question, taking a sip of his drink. It was pretty good, he made a note to drink this more.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander nodded slowly, blanking for a moment when Casper questioned his question. It was awkward to ask about it. "Uh, well, you know. You didn't look like you were having too much fun before I came over." He began, interrupting himself with a long drink from his cup. Some people were just total grinches, but it hadn't really seemed to be the vibe he'd gotten. He didn't know a lot about Casper, but with him being a club leader, he had to imagine he had a lot of friends he could have been hanging out with.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper blinked at Lysanders words and smiled shyly. "Oh, right, yeah," he blushed, looking away. "That was just- I was just... pouting, I guess," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't... really have any friends I can go to the dances with," he admitted. "I'm not really a memorable guy, I guess, I've never managed to snag a real date for these things," He gave a self-deprecating smile. "I convinced a few guys to come with me when I was younger, but it didn't really work out either time," he sighed.