Open Round Two

[Rowan Baros]

The last time Rowan had attended a Valentine's Day dance had not gone particularly well for the then fourteen year old. But Fifteen was a new age, and she was hoping that this dance would not be ruined like the last one. Of course she doubted that would happen at all, since things were definitely different now. The dress Rowan had chosen had red and purple flowers on it. Not quite roses but it was a dress for the occasion. She had chosen to straighten her hair this time. Normally her hair was quite curly or wavy and this time she'd changed up the style a little. She didn't like it all that much if she was being honest, since it now looked all kind of dead, but it wasn't horrible to look at, she hoped. It was a bit of a shame that Alice had chosen not to join them, she didn't know Alice very well, but she would have liked to. Rowan wasn't very good with people like Elsie was, she still wasn't quite sure how she'd managed to get Elio to like her, though she was pretty sure it was more Elio than anything she'd done specifically. Most people didn't like her brand of mocking humour, she had basically lucked into Elio that way. She really had Astronomy to thank for that. She finished fussing with her hair, it wasn't going to look any better or worse at this point and took the stairs down to the common room two at a time. She was feeling a little bit nervous, since something always seemed to happen at these things. Whether it be her cutting ties with Elio, not talking to him at all, Elsie and Vegeta interrupting her fun, she was extremely apprehensive, but she knew that being with Elio would calm her down. She wasn't normally anxious, but when she was, he always knew what to say or do, somehow. "Does my hair look okay?" She asked, frowning at Elio. It looked stupid in her opinion. "Be honest, it looks dead doesn't it?" She asked as they headed down to the Great Hall. She didn't want to look like a corpse with hair like this and that was definitely what she felt like.​

 

[Elio Zephyr]

Elio wasn't sure that he would have ever managed to get back here again after everything that had happened last year. It had been dramatic to say the least, but now that they had a second chance ahead of them to enjoy their evening he was looking forward to it. He'd dressed reasonably casually compared to the ball, this time opting for a black jacket and jeans and white top since Rowan had liked him with short sleeves last time and he planned to tease her with it. When Rowan had finally come down from the dorms though, he had been waiting round the corner of the staircases for the last few minutes, jumping out when she reached the bottom in an attempt to shock her, leaving him cackling in the common room for a few minutes for he finally resigned to wipe the tears from his eyes.​

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The prefect looked up to see Rowan fussing with her hair as they were walking up to the Great Hall. "Babe please, it's gorgeous. It does not look dead." he said, running one hand through it as he inspected it. It was a bit different to what he was used to but she could pull it off. He slid one hand into hers, "You know, maybe we'll actually get through one school event without something happening," he grinned, although honestly he didn't really believe it himself, there was always something going on. "But, I do know that I want to dance and I want to eat some jelly so, as long as we can do those two things first please then it will be a good evening," he added, giving her hand a squeeze.​

 

[Rowan Baros]

Probably the most annoying thing about Elio knowing Rowan as well as he did, was that he had free reign to tease her essentially whenever he wanted and there wasn't a damned thing she could do about it. She makes one or two or ten comments constantly about his arms and all of a sudden it's like his new thing. She pouted lightly at him as she took in his outfit all together. It was very Elio, like the very thought of his name brought certain images to her mind of his aesthetic and really it did. She looked over at him as he tried to assure her that her hair was fine, but honestly she was sure he was just trying to appease her. It didn't work, but she stopped fussing anyway wanting nothing more than to just get to the Great Hall and have an amazing time. Dwelling on the past had never done her much good before, but that didn't mean she was easily able to avoid it. She did allow a soft smile to sit on her face though as he ran his hand through her hair once. It was the little affectionate things he did that really endeared him to her. Not that it helped her situation or made anything any less confusing of course. She clutched his hand tightly as he mentioned getting through a school event with nothing happening. Merlin, she would have loved that, but she was afraid the results would not work out in their favour as they so often didn't. She turned to look at him, her sentiments matching his when he continued and she let out a small laugh. That was her Elio, immediately cheering her up before he ever realised there was a problem. Preventative measures and all. Every girl should have herself an Elio. She was glad this one was hers. "Look at you, Mr I don't dance. Changed your tune a bit have I?" She asked, looking up at him with a big smile. That was the thing with Elio. He was willing to try anything if Rowan really asked it of him. The power. She laughed low. "Hehe, of course, babe, dancing, jelly, what eeeeever you want."​