Closed Opposites Attract

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick felt like he hadn't been home for a while with all of the studying he had been doing lately in preparation for his exams. But now that his exams were over and he was finally a fully fledged Auror, he felt a lot of pressure off his shoulders. At least for now until he was assigned his first task. He had a bit of a break between now and then though, and was excited to see Twila again after so long. He wasn't sure what the two of them were, if they even were anything, but she still made him feel some type of way that he hadn't felt with anyone else. She was different to him, but that was what he liked the most. Somehow he felt really comfortable around her and he couldn't explain why.

With his parents having a dinner together and his siblings quite content at home with some takeout, Patrick was quick to excuse himself and leave for Twila's house. He loved how she lived next door as there wasn't much travelling to do at all. He rounded the fence and walked up her driveway to the front door. He couldn't see her through the window and didn't know how else to get her attention, so he just knocked on the door before then quickly putting his cold hands into the pockets of his jacket.

 

[Twila Whitlock]

Twila liked Patrick. She knew she did. She just hadn't had the chance to tell him as much. He was busy studying, which she was proud of. She saw him enough to know when he graduated at least, and was pleased to think that she already knew he would be by. She'd picked up their favorite takeout, before taking the time to set up the living room. It was a huge blanket fort, with one wall open to the t.v., full of pillows and snacks and drinks and dinner, fairy lights along the top of it. She had just pulled out a collection of the Alien movies, ready to binge, when she heard the knock at the door. "Seriously?!" She peeked her head out the living room door to yell at the entrance. "How many times do I have to tell you? Just come in, Ricky!" She rolled her eyes, leaning in the doorway.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick jumped when he heard Twila's voice shout out from inside. His hands flew out of his pocket, punching the door handle in front of him with his right hand. "Ow." he said before shaking it. Why did he always have to injure himself like this? He used his other hand to turn the handle and stepped inside. Twila was in the living room, and so Patrick made his way over there. "Hey." he said, before peering around the corner at what she had set up. She even had his favourite food there for them. "Wow. This- You didn't have to... you know... put in this much effort for me." He was flattered to say the least. He hadn't expected anything of the sort.

 

[Twila Whitlock]

Twila rolled her eyes again, this time more fondly, and grabbed his hand. "Oh, shut up," She teased him, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the fort, pulling him down next to her. She curled up against him, pressing play on the first movie. They'd already seen this series, but that was alright. It made it easier to eat and talk and poke fun at it. "Mr. Fancy Auror Man, you want some pop?" She asked, offering him a cup of his favorite.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick allowed Twila to take him into the fort she had set up. He imagined it would've taken her a while to get it perfect, and it made Patrick feel special for once. No one had ever put in this much effort for him before. He sat silently as the movie began playing. He rather enjoyed this one, no matter how many times he had seen it. Most muggle movies were interesting anyway in Patrick's opinion. As Twila offered him a drink, he nodded. "Oh, yeah." he said, taking it from her. "Thanks." He took a sip from it. "How long did this take you all to do?" he asked, hoping it wasn't too long at all.

 

[Twila Whitlock]

Twila relaxed, offering out his plate, hers in her lap. "That is a trade secret, boyo. Eat your food," She bossed him around, and once they were both settled in, she laid her leg over his. "You going to have more time now, or are you still planning to hide away for months on end?" She asked, hoping that the man might have a bit more time to be around now that he'd finished his studies. She would be patient if his schedule hadn't changed, but she could still hope.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Twila didn't seem to want to answer his question, not that it mattered anyway. He just stopped talking and ate the food like she told him. There was something attractive about the way she bossed him around though, because at least he knew that she truly wanted him there, and there was nothing really awkward about it. She was the type of person Patrick had been wanting to befriend for a while. At her question, he shrugged. "Well, I don't really know. It's going to be a tough job, maybe a little unpredictable sometimes, but I promise I'll let you know when I'll be around and when I won't." Patrick told her, before taking another bite of his food. "Or, you know, you can just continue to cry when I'm not here or something." Patrick chuckled a little, hoping she would appreciate the little bit of banter.

 

[Twila Whitlock]

Twila ate her dinner, swallowing quickly at his joke. She put the back of her hand to her hand, pretending to be in distress. "Oh, the agony," She collapsed against his shoulder. "To be left all alone with a broken heart," She pouted, before peeking an eye open to see if he was going along with her teasing.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick couldn't help but laugh at Twila's reaction to his words. He was barely watching the movie anymore and was just focusing on her. "You poor thing. How do you even cope?" he asked sarcastically, placing a hand on her shoulder as he pretended to feel bad for her. Part of him knew that she really missed him when he wasn't there, and the thought of that made him really happy. He took another bite of his food before asking seriously, "What have you been up to though? We haven't spoken in a bit."

 

[Twila Whitlock]

Twila settled in closer to Patrick, eating her food. "The usual, just testing video games. I've been taking classes, I'm going to start school to be a game designer next semester," She told him. "The classes are all online, I can go as fast or as slow as I need, so long as my work is consistent," She smiled, taking a drink. She leaned her head on his shoulder and shut her eyes. "It's nice to have you around again, Ricky." She told him.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick listened as Twila told him about her plans to become a video game designer. He'd always admired muggles and the way they did things, and video games definitely sounded interesting. It really seemed like she was getting her life on track too, and Patrick was happy for that. "That's really good. Now you will be the one too busy studying to hang out." he said jokingly. As she said it was nice to be hanging around with him again, he smiled. No one had ever said something so nice to him before. Usually he thought his company was nothing special. "You too, Twila. You're really nice." he said honestly, glad to just be in the moment with her after such a stressful last couple of years.

 

[Twila Whitlock]

Twila smiled. She was tired of dancing around. "Really nice, huh?" She shifted, setting her things down before turning to face him. She didn't bother asking, or waiting to see how he might react. Instead, she just leant in and kissed him. Not shyly, either, but a solid, longing kiss that she poured her emotions in to. One hand drifted up, brushing her fingers gently against his jaw. After several moments, she pulled away, giving him a coy yet tender smile. "Tell it to me straight, Ricky," She reached up to brush his hair back. "We've got something going here, don't we?" She asked, looking for clarification on something she already knew.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick was barely sure what happened when it did. Before he could even say anything, Twila was kissing him, and without even thinking about it, Patric was kissing her back. He didn't think it would be this easy, but it was, and thinking about it just made it more difficult. It was a feeling he'd never felt before, and despite feeling tense, he was happier than he had felt in a long time. When she pulled away, he felt his face grow hot, and he was stricken, unable to move. At her question, he hesitated before responding. "I uhh... I guess, yeah. M-Maybe." he stammered, not really sure what sort of response she wanted. The movie was still going, and Patrick hadn't even finished his food, but he supposed none of that really mattered to Twila, and perhaps it didn't matter much to him either.

 

[Twila Whitlock]

Twila laughed lightly and shook her head, settling back down against him. "You are so hopeless, Ricky," she teased him. "You're cute though. You're also my boyfriend now, mmkay?" It was more like she was telling him, not really asking him, as she picked her food up again and turned her attention back to the movie. She wasn't one to wait around, and she already knew how he felt. Though it would be nice to hear him say it, Twila knew sometimes boys just needed a little nudge in the right direction.

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick was never good with awkward situations. In fact, he was always the one to make them more awkward than they needed to be. But Twila was very chill, and didn't seem to think any of this was awkward at all. She used the word boyfriend, and Patrick was a little taken aback at this. He liked it, there was no doubt about that, but he had never been anyone's boyfriend before, at least not officially. What if he messed it up? "Oh, ahh... okay... that's good." he said, trying his best to settle in beside her. He wasn't sure what to do now. He wanted to rest against her or something, but wasn't sure what was too fast, and definitely too scared to speak up and ask her about it.

 

[Twila Whitlock]

Twila smiled softly. He was so easy to read. She scooted over, pressing into his side, munching on her food. "Just cuddle me, dummy. We're dating. That includes kisses, cuddling, hand holding, hair touching. It's a free pass for you to invade my personal bubble." She winked playfully, nudging his side. "Don't stress so much, Ricky,"

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick couldn't help but be relieved as Twila told him exactly what being in a relationship entailed. Could she read his mind or something? Was she a legilimens? He hoped not. That wouldn't have her sticking around for very long. "I'm sorry, I just... I've never really done this before. I've seen a couple of girls in the past, but... one I wasn't really into that much, and the other was when I was like fourteen, which hardly counts, even though she was great. I just don't know what to do, I guess." Patrick sighed, hoping he wasn't going to be too forward with his next question. "Have you ever had a boyfriend before?"

 

[Twila Whitlock]

Twila smiled, pleased when he opened up to her. "Thank you for telling me," she told him. "Not officially," she returned. "I've just always known what I wanted. And none of the rest of them were you," she replied honestly. "There's something about you, I don't know, I just love being with you."

 

[Patrick Vernier]

Patrick smiled to himself as Twila thanked him. He did his first thing right without thinking about it too much, and he was happy for that. He listened as she answered his question, being able to relate quite honestly. "I love being with you too. I don't know why, I just do." Patrick hesitated a little before continuing. "And... you're really pretty." He blushed a little, hoping this wouldn't scare her away.

 

[Twila Whitlock]

Twila smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Aww, thank you," she reached for his hand, lacing her fingers through his. "You're pretty good looking yourself," she countered with an impish grin.