Closed She Can Call Me Anything

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah wasn't a stranger to spending alone during the Yule Ball. The only time she had gotten a date for the dance was when it was organized by a club. There was that time with Hester which didn't feel much like a date in the end but it did make things a bit clearer for her. But tonight she kept a cautious distance from the dance floor and held a cup of punch as if it was some kind of protection. The summer decorations were nice even if she had enjoyed the winter theme because it always reminded her of home even if New Zealand had been her home for nearly as long as England had. She was trying not to feel too sentimental about the night since it was her last ball. But she had been slowly coming to the realization over the past few months that school isn't actually that important after all. It had been a hard lesson to learn. But even with that lesson learned she was trying to at least enjoy what little time she had left. She scanned across the hall looking for familiar faces and she stopped when she saw Ana Sophia. She was beautiful like always and Delilah felt herself stand up straighter without thinking about it. She smiled and nodded at the other girl from across the hall. She probably had friends to meet up with but a selfish part of her wanted the other girl to choose her instead.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Ana Sofia would be lying if she said she wouldn't have liked to spend her last yule ball with her friends. She had doubted for a second whether she should ask them or not but she knew they all had better people to attend with. Or perhaps not better, just different people. Dates. It wasn't anything different from the previous years and still she couldn't help but to be slightly disappointed by the idea. Somehow the idea of everything special she did this year being the last time she'd do it at the school was already making her feel nostalgic and they still had half a year to go. Ana had decided to put on a yellow dress and stuck a flower in her hair just to brighten things up. Her face lit up when she reached the great hall and noticed the summer decorations, staring at the flowers in awe as she made her way through the hall. The winter theme always made things look really pretty but she liked the idea of switching it up every once in a while. Maybe the school should just alternate between the themes each year. After admiring the decorations Ana glanced around, smiling when she caught Delilah's eye from across the hall. She offered the other girl a small wave and looked around before making her way over, just to make sure she wouldn't bump into someone when she suddenly started moving. She liked Delilah. Thought she was nice. And pretty. Definitely pretty. If anything, the idea of spending some time with her sounded more fun than twirling around the dancefloor on her own. "Hi!" Ana smiled when she had succesfully made her way across the hall. "I love your dress. Very sparkly."

 

[Delilah Thorne]

Delilah hadn't actually expected Ana Sophia to do anything more than to smile politely back so when she started to cross the hall her heart started beating faster and suddenly felt like they way she was holding her arms was all wrong. "Hi." she said back reflexively and glanced down at her dress as the other girl paid her a compliment. She had practically forgotten what she was wearing. "Thanks." Delilah said lightly and remembered how awkward it had been to buy it with her mom over the break. It wasn't usually an activity they did together but her mother had insisted. She had been dreading it. Her mother was always more critical than she liked but this time had been different and she didn't say anything when Delilah drifted towards the darker dressed instead of the softer looks her mother tried to steer her towards.

"You look..." Delilah started and struggled to compete the sentence in a way that wouldn't come off too strong. Of course Ana looked beautiful. She always did. "Seasonal appropriate." she finished with a laugh and feeling her cheeks warm as she averted her eyes to the decorations instead. "The flower is a nice touch. Did you know it would be summer themed this year?" she asked and took a sip of her drink, grateful to have something to keep her hands busy.

 

[Ana Sofia Burleigh]

Ana Sofia wasn't sure if she knew exactly why she had made her way over to Delilah. It had been more of an automatic response to seeing the girl across the hall. Perhaps it was just because she was looking for company or maybe something inside her hoped she wouldn't have a date either so they could hang out. Either way, she was here. Ana smiled when Delilah took her compliment, shifting from one feet to the other when she took a second to finish her sentence. "Thanks." She giggled at Delilah's words, instinctively touching the flower in her hair to make sure if it was still there even if it had just been mentioned. Perhaps she would've done well to secure it in some way. "Not at all, just a happy coincidence." Ana beamed. "Summer colours just suit me better. Or I'm just made to believe that because I like them more.." She trailed off a little, glancing around at the decorations. "Either way, I love the summer theme. They should do it more often, don't you think? I mean not that we'll be here to notice if they do.. but still."

 

[Delilah Thorne]

"No, they definitely suite you!" Delilah said rather quickly when Ana Sophia mentioned liking summer colors. She felt her cheeks warm slightly but at least she hadn't said something about her looking good in anything. At least she hadn't been that embarrassing. Thankfully the conversation moved on and she relaxed slightly. "Yeah." she said with a quiet laugh when she mentioned noting being here next year to notice. "I do like the summer theme. But I grew up with cold winters and it was kind of nice to be reminded of that." she admitted a bit wistfully. She didn't think she had really told the other girl much about herself, let alone her life before Hogwarts, but it was kind of nice. Their conversation lulled for a moment as the music shifted to a slow song. Maybe it was the reminder that this year was their last that was making her brave, or maybe she was simply dreaming and none of this was real? But she felt slightly outside of her body when she nodded at the dance floor. "Do you want to dance?" Delilah asked, her voice surprisingly clam. "With me." she added quickly as if that wasn't obvious. But she held her hand out tentatively even though her heart was pounding.