Closed One Step at a Time

[Gabrielle Sylvie Durand]

Gaby was actually glad that Enzo invited her to the Yule Ball, it pretty much helped her to finally start to settle down at least a little bit. Enzo always tried, he was always there for her since the first day, he actually made an effort to spend time with Gabrielle, he always made her feel so good about herself. Enzo actually was the perfect guy, sweet, shy, smart, pretty, he was everything that she could dream of but it still wasn’t enough for Gaby to settle down already. She liked him, God how much she liked him but she still wanted to feel the attention and affection from other people. It was fun after all.

Yet, here she was, waiting for him to come over, impatient to actually spend some good time with him knowing that it was gonna be the best time she could actually ask for. She dressed up cutely, did her hair and makeup, everything she could just to look even prettier than usual.

 

[Lorenzo Vero]

Lorenzo was feeling more comfortable with the idea of just embracing who he was. Dances used to be something to dread - he had to worry about who his date was, what he wore, the impression he made to others and whether that would impact any future views on his siblings or the family. But things had changed significantly. He didn’t quite understand what had happened, but he wanted to embrace his newfound freedom as much as possible in case it all came crashing down one day.

Even with all that, there really wasn’t reason to worry. He always made an effort to look his best at dances, especially when it came to impressing Gabrielle. And she was the perfect date. He knew many other his age were in these silly or serious relationships, but his non-relationship with Gaby was different. They were dating, but they enjoyed spending time together. And while Enzo very much wanted to pursue things further, he was perfectly content this evening being enchanted by his favorite Ravenclaw.

As he made his way into the Great Hall, he locked eyes on her immediately. He adjusted his jacket and cleared his throat as he made his way over, trying to give a confident smile. “You look beautiful tonight,” he said. “Thank you for coming with me. I thought you might be bored with me at this point,” he teased, hoping that she would reassure him that he wasn’t just a last minute choice, even if he had asked her a month ago.

 

[Gabrielle Sylvie Durand]

Gaby looked at Enzo once he entered the hall immediately breaking into a sincere, soft smile. He was beautiful and there was no way for Gaby to deny it. He was so cute when he tried to look so confident. “So do you,” Gaby returned the compliment coming closer to him, fixing his jacket once more just because she wanted to be a little closer to him. Before giving in to press a little peck on his cheek. “I could never! I would never find any better date than you,” and it was true. She had one person she’d like to spend time with but she was not Enzo, the feeling with Enzo was just better. He was the perfect friend she could ask for, a perfect guy as well but she much preferred to look at him as her closest friend, at least for now. “Wanna grab a snack? I saw a few cupcakes, they looked sooooo tasty!”

 

[Lorenzo Vero]

Enzo tried not to blush as Gaby came closer to him. He was never one for public displays of affection, even if that affection was straightening out his suit. He barely had time to process her sudden kiss on the cheek as she continued talking. He heard what she said, but he was struggling to focus on anything but how she stood out among the crowd. He knew they were just friends, and he knew he wanted more; it was hard to just embrace the friendship part sometimes when she looked so beautiful. But he also valued her intellect and wit and pretty much everything else so he just had to reframe his mindset for the evening. He could dwell on his puppy love feelings later. “Cupcakes sound great,” he agreed, leading her over to the the snack table. He grabbed two of the options. One had blue shimmery sprinkles with white icing, the other was decorate with snowflakes that melted just as quickly as new ones replaced them. “I wonder what flavor they are,” he said to her, holding out the sweets for her to choose.

 

[Gabrielle Sylvie Durand]

Gaby smiled at him confidently straightening up. Gosh, there just was something so beautiful about Enzo, maybe those were his curls, or his eyes, maybe it was his shyness. Gabrielle couldn’t put a finger on what it was that she was so attracted to but to her Enzo was the most beautiful person alive, he made her feel alive. She loved playing a cold girl that can’t feel love for one person but there she was, just quietly adoring the boy and his every feature. The thing was that she was scared to commit. God how she liked Enzo but the fear was there and especially the fear to hurt him. Hurt him as a friend was less of a chance than hurting him as a girlfriend. She just knew she couldn’t sit still yet. When he offered her the two cupcakes, Gaby just melted looking at him and then took the one with melting snowflakes. She fastly put her finger into the icing and then tapped on his nose. “Reach it and you’ll find out!” She teased him, he was pretty either way.

 

[Lorenzo Vero]

Enzo laughed as Gaby playfully placed the icing on his face. He thought it was rather silly, but as he looked down at her, he swiped some of the icing off his nose and tasted it. "Coconut?" he questioned, feeling like there were other flavors involved but not being too concerned. He looked down at the other cupcake in his hand, switching to the hand he'd just used for the icing, and ran his finger across the top of the sweet treat. He looked at Gaby, pretending for a moment to go for a taste before wiping it on his date's cheek. "Care for your own taste test?" he joked, hoping that she wasn't someone bothered by her make-up being potentially messed up.