Closed Once upon a Time

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia had felt like she was living in a dream since the moment Derek had asked her to the ball. They had danced together at the Halloween Feast, and that had been surreal enough, but now he had asked her to go to the yule ball together and that felt a lot more grown up. Emilia felt very lucky, having the boy she liked ask her to these things and wanting to spend time with her. Sometimes, she actually allowed herself to believe for a moment that maybe he liked her back, but then she dismissed the thoughts quickly. It was too strange to imagine that being true, even if deep down she was hoping for that. At the same time, Emilia felt comfortable with her quiet crush on Derek. If things were to change between them, would she be able to handle it and go along? She always felt like a nervous stuttering mess around Derek, even though he did always manage to make her feel at ease with just a few words. The thought of things ever changing between them was both terrifying and exhilarating. Emilia stood waiting near the entrance of the great hall, looking for her date for the night. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she hoped she would see Derek arrive soon. She also hoped he would like her dress, and that he wouldn’t think she looked silly. She was sure he would look amazing as always, and looked forward to spending the evening with him.

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek finished getting his tie on, he was looking forward to spending the time with Emilia, he’d always liked the girl and he had spent time with her at the other school celebrations, but this time it was actually with her and he was very eager for it. Emilia was nice, she was polite and nervous but he liked her a lot. He certainly liked leaning into her ideas of princesses and princes, into the fantasy world that she liked. He hadn’t read anymore books of hers or followed up too much on them, but he was quite happy to give it a try. Quite happy to spend the time with her, she was a lovely beautiful person why wouldn’t he want to spend this time with her. The boy finished getting his tie on, slipped on his fancy dress shoes and then headed out of the door. He got to the great hall and very easily spotted her in amoungst the rest. He smiled as he headed over to her, looking up and down at the long floor length dress, it was lovely, he liked it a lot. He thought it suited her exceedingly well. Derek smiled at her, ”Emilia,” he said as he got close enough that she would hear him, he accompanied it with a little bow, as he stood back up to his proper height he held out a hand to her and gave a little smile, ”I’m sorry I’m a bit late, but let’s dance,” he said to her, though of course when he said dance he didn’t mean that they would be out in the middle of the dancefloor, it would be where Emilia felt most comfortable.​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia was waiting by the door, looking hopefully at every boy in a suit that looked around the right age. But when she saw Derek, she knew that none of those boys looked as nice in their suits as he did. Emilia was unable to help the bright smile that spread over her face, and she clasped her hands together as he approached. She tried in vain to get her hear to beat a little less loudly, as she was half convinced Derek would be able to hear it from where he stood. "Hi." She said a little breathlessly. He bowed, actually bowed. He really was too good to be true. Emilia took his hand, the bright smile never leaving her face. "I didn't notice you were late, I wasn't waiting long. You... you look nice." She told him quickly, not wanting him to feel bad. "And... yes, let's dance." The nerves she usually felt about dancing weren't here. With Derek, she felt steady and secure in a way she rarely did. She knew he would never do something she didn't want to do, and she was very grateful for that. They entered the beautiful great hall, which was already filled with couples. Emilia wanted to dance with her prince, and she decided to make a choice. "Maybe over there?" She said hesitantly, gesturing to a place at the side of the hall that was less crowded. Normally, she was one to follow and let others make the decisions, but Derek made her feel confident enough to suggest something. She knew he would take her seriously no matter what she said, and that was a feeling she didn't often have. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and waited for his response, her blue eyes wide and full of excitement about the night.

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek was pleased that she hadn't apparently noticed that he had been late, it was only a few minutes but he felt like he should still apologise. He took the time then to look at what she was wearing and nod at her, "You look like a princess," he replied, maybe it wasn't like the princesses in the books but he thought a princess was really just a very pretty girl, and that was the easiest way he knew of expressing that to Emilia. He waited for her to pick a place to dance and nodded, he didn't want to force Emilia into a place to dance where she wouldn't be comfortable, of course that would be unkind. Of course that would be the wrong thing to do, Emilia was his friend first and foremost and she was a good friend and he would want her to have a good time, when he was going to too. Even if it was a little simpler for him to do so. The boy took her hand with a little smile and began walking over to the spot that she had pointed to. "I hope you've been practicing," he said jokingly as he walked towards it. he kept his tone light hoping that she wouldn't mind his little jokes until he got to the spot and just smiled, "Shall I lead then?" he held out his other hand to her so that they could dance together, it maybe wasn't the best music for dancing but he could happily get behind a little light more formal dancing, they were dress for it of course. ​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia didn't care that she'd had to wait a few minutes for Derek, as things were perfect now. She blushed when he told her she looked like a princess, and looked down for a moment. "Thank you." She muttered, feeling pleased by her choice of dress. She had been a little unsure about it when she tried it on, but it was clear that it had been the right choice. As Derek took her hand, a tingle went through her arm. She wondered if she would remember this night forever, and rather thought she would. She glanced at Derek through her eyelashes as she followed him, the smile still in place. When he joked that he hoped she had been practicing, Emilia laughed slightly. She didn't feel self conscious about his joke at all, and even made one in return. "Maybe princesses don't have to practice." She joked lightly, though she couldn't quite look him in the eye as she did so. She nodded when he asked if he should lead, and took his other hand. The fact that the music didn't entirely fit this style of dance barely registered in her mind. To her, this moment was perfect. She looked at Derek, their eyes meeting again, and gave him a shy smile. "Thank you, for asking me." She said softly as they started to move. "This is already so much fun..."

 

[Derek Tahana]

The boy couldn’t help but laugh lightly at her comment, she was of course right, a princess didn’t have to practice. The teen was sure that she didn’t need to practice, he had never thought her a bad dancer so there was no way that she wouldn’t have still improved. Derek smiled at her as he began dancing with her. The slytherin moved easily to the music and danced easily along, it was nice. He smiled at her, ”Of course!” he would always want to invite her to these events. They always had fun, and he always tended to seek her out. So, he cut out the middle man this time and had just asked her. ”I really like you Emilia, of course I’d invite you along,” the boy told her honestly. He liked Emilia a lot, she was a good friend, and he could admit that maybe he liked her a little more than just friends, but he didn’t want to push too quickly with her, he wanted to be sure she was happy and comfortable always. But he knew that maybe he needed to lead a little bit, ”This is very nice though, I like spending time with you,” he was largely repeating himself but he just liked her and he liked this, it was easy and fun. It was good. He made to twirl her under his arm and laughed lightly as he did so, ”You’ve certainly improved a lot,”​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia wondered how Derek knew how to dance so well. Her comment about not needing to practice had been a joke, but she had at least watched some movies over the holidays were people danced for inspiration. Had Derek done something similar? Or was he just naturally that graceful? She admired his dancing a lot, and watched as he moved to the music. She flushed as he told her he really liked her, her eyes widening as she looked at his expression to see how he meant it. Did he like her the way she liked him? He said it a little too casually for that, but she still couldn't help hoping. "T-thanks." She said quickly, stammering for the first time in a while in his presence. She silently cursed herself and looked down, focusing on the steps. But as Derek said it was very nice and that he liked to spend time with her, Emilia felt her knees grow weak. Was he trying to get her to stumble? But as he let her twirl under his arm, Emilia felt her confidence grow again. He wouldn't be saying these things if he didn't mean them. "I like spending time with you too." She said, though it came out a little rushed once she had found the confidence to say it out loud. "And ... and I think I've improved because you're always helping me. You're so sweet, and you look so nice tonight, and... and..." She faltered, losing the words she wanted to say. She ducked her head slightly, hiding her face with her hair. "I just... really like you too." She said in a quieter voice, wondering how he would think she meant this. She liked him as a good friend, but it was also more than that. She just didn't know if it was more than that for him too. If Derek chose to take her meaning as friendship, that would be okay, maybe even for the best. She did value his friendship a lot. He was one of the people Emilia had grown to trust the most.

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek was pretty happy to be spending the time with her, and he enjoyed that she took the offer of twirling under his arm, he couldn’t help but think that a dress like hers deserved to be shown off and danced in, in all the possible ways. The teen was pretty happy to be dancing with her, to get this opportunity to spend that time with her. It was also nice that she was saying the same words back to him, even adding in a few more compliments to him. He kept his smile on her and nodded along, maybe she liked him back? Maybe he should just ask her out? There were other couples in their year and he did like her a lot, he couldn’t help but think that it would be quite nice to actually date her a bit, try and see how that was with her. He’d never dated before and he couldn’t help but think that it would be nice to do with her. He smiled at her and decided he would just ask her out, roll the dice and see if she wanted to give them a try. He was a big believer in jumping into things, in maybe being cautiously careless. ”Do you want to go on a date?” he asked her, ”Be the princess to my prince?” he was sure that in her stories that maybe wasn’t how it worked but he thought that it would be nice to tie it in. He knew that she liked that, and Derek did really like making her smile. ”I might not be prince charming but I think with your help I could be,”​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia wished she could somehow capture this moment so she could look back at it forever. Her memories didn't seem like enough. With everyone dancing around them and the snow falling down, this really felt like something out of a fairy tale. More than anything, Derek was making it wonderful. She was nervous about telling him she liked him, and her heart was pounding hard enough for her to think it was trying to escape. But then she glanced at his face and saw the smile there, and felt a little reassured. He wouldn't smile at her if he was angry or annoyed with her. Though she also didn't think he would be mean to her even if she said something wrong. That was why she liked him so much, he was very understanding and patient. But the next words out of Derek's mouth brought her to a halt, literally. She stopped dancing for a moment, her eyes growing wider. "What?" She asked, wondering if she had misheard. "Yes! I-" Then she flushed, and started second guessing herself and the situation as usual. "I mean, are you sure? I want to, but only if you're sure." She felt like it was important to give him a way to back out again, even though he had been the one to bring it up. What if he already regretted it? But then he said he wasn't her prince charming, but could be, and Emilia felt like she could cry. "You are already like a prince!" She insisted, shaking her head. "You're always so nice to me, and so sweet. I would.. I would really like to go on a date with you, if you really want to." She said softly, her gaze meeting his shyly. Everything about this felt surreal, and she waited with bated breath to hear him confirm that he had meant his words.

 

[Derek Tahana]

Derek was for the first time in while nervous, he could imagine that Emilia liked him and he liked taking the leap when it was the right thing to do, and though he would respect her and her wishes if she wasn’t that interested, he knew that it was better to give a try and follow how he felt than to not. He liked Emilia a lot and he was sure that she liked him. He kept his gaze on her as she replied, seeming very surprised by what he had said, ”I’m asking..,” he started answering her what question and then smiled at her as she continued agreeing with him, he nodded again, ”Of course I’m sure,” the boy was certain of it, he wouldn’t have asked if he wasn’t certain. He smiled at her, ”Why wouldn’t I be nice and sweet to you Princess,” he thought it was odd that anyone wouldn’t be kind to her, or nice to her. He didn’t see the point of not being nice to the people who surrounded him,. He might be a slytherin, and he knew slytherins had a bad reputation but he didn’t agree with being like that. He liked being the best sure, and coming out on top of others, but that didn’t mean he was actively cruel or mean to anyone else. It’s a date!” he said and excitedly leaned in and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.​

 

[Emilia Manning]

Emilia was sure her cheeks were bright red, as she could feel them burning. She looked at Derek nervously, wondering if he was about to say he was joking or hadn't meant it. When he said he was sure, she was surprised all over again, as well as relieved. A weight lifted off her shoulders, but at the same time it was scary that this was real too. She had never been on a date before, and wasn't entirely sure what to expect. But she was sure Derek would make it wonderful, the way he made everything wonderful. She blushed even deeper when he called her princess, and was honestly at a loss for words. So when he leaned in to kiss her cheek, she almost automatically pulled him in for a hug, as it was the best way she had to express how she felt in this moment. She hugged him for a little while, then let go and kissed his cheek in turn. "It's a date." She repeated, a smile growing on her face. "A... A real date." She added, almost as if she couldn't believe it.