Closed So now what?

[Jacob Kingsley]

It was finally happening. Although they'd planned to meet during the Brightstone weekend, their plans had been forced to change when Jacob had woken up feeling under the weather. And through a series of unfortunate timing, they'd been unable to reschedule until now. Jacob left the common room with more butterflies in his stomach than he'd expected no doubt due to the many delays. It had made him nervous about how this would all go.

But here he was. Jacob was in one of the empty rooms in the north tower, just across from the owlery. He could hear the soft hoots from the owls as he unfurled a blanket he'd taken from the linen closet in Gryffindor house. He'd pocketed some extra desserts during lunch too. It wasn't the same as being able to walk around in the village but he'd hoped he'd done enough. Jacob couldn't sit just yet though. He was far too antsy so he took a lap around the room, stopping at one of the windows to watch the view.

 

[Abian Hunter]

Sometimes Abian still couldn't believe he had actually confessed his feelings to Jacob, nor that the other boy had agreed to go on a date after it. When Jacob had gotten sick during the next Brightstone weekend and their date had to be delayed, he had been very disappointed. Even a bit worried that Jacob had made it up to get out of their date without hurting his feelings. But Jacob really had been sick, and he had insisted they reschedule. So now... their date was at Hogwarts, which was both strange and nice. At least here they had all the time in the world, and it might be less awkward than sitting across from each other in that frilly teashop in Brightstone village.

Abian headed over to the room Jacob had indicated, a room in the North Tower. He had tried to style his hair, but in the end had just ruffled it and left it messy as it usually was. He didn't think his hairstyle was going to be the deciding factor today, and if Jacob liked him, he wanted it to be for who he was. He had grabbed some biscuits his mother had sent him not long ago, hoping Jacob would like sharing them. He entered the room, spotting Jacob staring out of one of the windows. He laughed a little nervously as he closed the door behind him. "I should have made a grand entrance and flown in on my broom, through that window." He said, gesturing to the window. "I can't believe I didn't think of that before now." He joked, glancing around at the blanket Jacob had spread out. "Hi." He added a little nervously.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

"Missed opportunity, Abian" he shook his head, chuckling as the Hufflepuff announced his entry. The noise from the hall and the rooms beyond immediately muffled, the small creaks and moans of the castle amplified only within the room as Jacob turned to face Abian. "Did you get a haircut?" Jacob asked as he took a step away from the window, his eyes darting to the closed door.

He looked at the blanket, instantly wondering if it was too much or perhaps not enough. "Is it too much?" he eventually blurted out. " We can also just...uh...walk around the castle if you want? See who knows more secret places?" he added. Jacob had spent his years roaming whenever he could and while he knew he'd learned a great many of the castle's secrets, he in no way thought he knew them all. "I brought some food..." he trailed off. Jacob didn't know why he was being so awkward. This was Abian.

 

[Abian Hunter]

Abian was still a little tense, but glad that his joke had landed. He blushed a bit as Jacob commented on his hair, running a hand through it before shrugging. "No. I, uh, was trying something before giving up." He admitted, smiling sheepishly. He shook his head as Jacob asked if it was too much. He grinned slightly, then moved over to the blanket and sat down. "I think it's great. We could eat first and then do that." He said with a small shrug. "Or whatever we feel like But you have a year advantage on the secret places, so that's not entirely fair." He joked with a smile, looking up at his friend. He could tell it was a little awkward, and he felt it too. But Abian was determined to make something of this. It couldn't fail, or things would perhaps be awkward between them forever. He held up the biscuits he'd brought. "I brought food too, my mum made these." He said, putting it down next to him. "We could just... eat and chat? I think that's what dates boil down to most of the time anyway. Though I'm no expert." He said with a slight shrug.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob was pleased that Abian didn't think it was too much and settled in. He gave a small shrug, a smirk on his face as Abian pointed out the obvious advantage he'd have. He had spent much of his first years searching for hidden spots, and though he'd fallen off of this hobby over the past two years, he was still sure he knew a number of the school's secrets. After a second, Jacob did the same and crossed his legs under him. It felt better to be looking at Abian eye to eye and not from far above.

"Eating and chatting sounds...great" he agreed, reaching for one of the biscuits. He remembered Abian's mother having been a good cook. "So...how's quidditch being going? I hear your captains are pretty tough" he asked after a moment. Quidditch was a pretty safe topic. He knew they both enjoyed it. It was an easy go to, for sure.

 

[Abian Hunter]

It felt nice to have Jacob join him on the blanket, and he grinned at the other boy as they sat together. He was glad he seemed to think eating and chatting was fun, it seemed like less pressure to Abian than anything else he could think of. He reached for some of the food Jacob brought, making himself more comfortable. He told himself this would go great. "It's alright." He said in response to Jacob's question. "The captains are fine, they just want us to try hard." He said, then grinned teasingly at the Gryffindor. "And I've seen you, don't pretend you're not a tough captain yourself." He told him, nudging him lightly. "How else is your team winning so much? It's so unfair." He pretended to frown, though it was clear he was enjoying himself. "I wish we would play against each other... but I guess we'll have to settle for third place." He paused, then brightened. "Though did you know we actually made second last year, because of one goal I made? We had ten points more than you guys in the end." He said with a grin, sticking out his tongue playfully. "Bet you never guessed I was your biggest Quidditch rival all along."