Closed One Way or Another

[Raawhiti Te Rangi]

Rāwhiti buzzed with nervous excitement as he waited by the door to the Great Hall. For all the ways his semester had gone wrong, there was at least one thing that was going right for him. The more time he spent with Dahlia, the more he liked her. She was fun and bright, and liked Quidditch almost as much as he did. Despite having finally made the team, Rāwhiti didn't know many people who cared about Quidditch the same way, and it was nice finally having someone to talk to who actually listened and had things to offer.

Not that he was ungrateful for Emery, of course, but Dahlia was different. She actually knew what he was talking about most of the time. So he'd been over the moon when she had agreed to go to the Yule Ball together, though Rāwhiti had realised too late that he wasn't actually entirely sure what this was. He had no idea if she liked him too - no idea if she even liked boys at all. He had forgotten to clarify whether they were here on a date, or just hanging out as friends. Either way was fine with him of course, but he couldn't help the nervous fidgets that overtook him as he waited for his.... date? to arrive.

 

[Dahlia Doherty]

Dahlia had lost the battle with her mother to get a real proper ball dress to wear to the Yule Ball ("it's summer, and you're thirteen, sweetheart, give it a couple of years and we'll get you something you can wear more than just once") but she did have a date. Well, maybe a date. Actually, Dahlia wasn't entirely sure what it was. Rāwhiti was super cute, sporty, fun, way more exciting than the boys in third year were. Though even Dahlia wasn't completely sure whether it was a crush she had or whether it was just genuine relief to have someone to share common interests with. Probably the former, but she was a year younger and on the same team, it would've been a bit awkward to outright say anything, right? It was something she'd just kind of...see how tonight went and work it out from there.

Though she did feel a bit of a flutter in her chest as she looked over at Rāwhiti and quickly jogged (well, as much as one could jog in a dress with fancy shoes could, at least) over to him. "Hi!" she almost squeaked, turning her head to clear her throat. She was a little more nervous than she realized. "Sorry to keep you waiting! Oh my gosh, I didn't think it would be this wintery..." she blathered, hoping her palms weren't too sweaty if they would end up doing something like holding hands. Was it too obvious if she rubbed her palms by her sides casually, just to make sure?

 

[Raawhiti Te Rangi]

Rāwhiti grinned when he caught sight of Dahlia, relieved that she hadn't gotten as glamourous as the older girls all seemed to be. They all looked very nice, of course, but he didn't really feel like he could relax around someone done up so glamourous. Dahlia just looked like herself in a dress, and it put him at ease immediately.

"Yeah, the cold is weird, aye?" He commented, looking around in distaste. He didn't think he would ever understand why Hogwarts put on so many winter Christmases, as though they were trying to imitate their northern counterpart. All it did was take him out of the Christmas spirit, and he was glad he wasn't the only one. Looking over at Dahlia again, Rāwhiti wondered what he was supposed to actually... say in a situation like this. "Your dress is cool, you look really nice." He tried, giving what he hoped was an easygoing smile. Manaia made the whole dating thing seem so easy, but how were you supposed to act if you weren't even really sure you were on a date?

 

[Dahlia Doherty]

Sure, Dahlia had read a few muggle books and watched movies where girls got the cute guy or girl in the end and ended up getting to have their moment in the end. But truth be told, it wasn't like she'd actually gone on a date before. Or a not date. Whatever this was. And seeing it or reading it was different to experiencing it. She hadn't felt this nervous since her netball team had played for the championship in her last season back home. And even that was different.

"Yeah, right? It feels like it should be, like, a daytime thing, with a beach and stuff." Without realising it one of her hands moved to twiddle strands of hair around her fingers, although that just made her feel very conscious of the fact that she couldn't really get a manicure at the moment when her nails had to be clipped for Quidditch. The butterflies in her stomach were threatening to riot at the compliment, but she beamed back in return. "Aw, ah, thank you, you, um, you look hot." She paled, realizing she'd totally overstepped. "I mean good! Um, have you ever gone ice skating before?" Smooth subject change. Nailing it.

 

[Raawhiti Te Rangi]

Rāwhiti nodded in agreement, suddenly yearning for beach cricket with his whānau. They'd be having a real Christmas on the beach when he got home, but the fake one only made him miss it more. "Yeah, that'd be way better." He said a little wistfully. He was distracted entirely when she spoke again though, unable to keep the brilliant grin off his face at the compliment. He didn't think anyone had called him hot before, and it echoed through his thoughts with a little thrill. Maybe this was a date. "Thanks." He said quickly, voice cracking a little on the A. He was a little disappointed by the change of subject but went with it, shaking his head. "Nah, have you?" He asked, eyeing the ice nervously. It did seem like fun, but if this was a date did he really want to literally fall on his arse?

 

[Dahlia Doherty]

Dahlia mostly just hoped Zinnia would be speaking to her this Christmas. Maybe she'd be over the no Hogwarts letter thing by now. Hopefully. If she was really lucky. There was a novelty to the whole white Christmas thing but really she just wanted to feel at home, which she struggled to do at Hogwarts. At least Rāwhiti made this year's a whole lot better. Even if she was being pretty awkward about it. "You're welcome," she responded as she almost pulled a lock of hair out of her head the way she was twirling it around her finger. Maybe she should've gone with it, since he was kind of into it, but she was hesitant to make it too weird too quickly. "Like, once in some winter festival back home? I don't think ice skating and balls mix, but I'd be down if you wanted. Or to dance, or eat, anything you wanna do, I'm like, totally into it."