Closed Sparks

[Stella Wright]

Stella had realised gradually over the course of last year that she liked Fleur as something other than a friend. She was fairly confident that Fleur felt the same way, so she had resolved to do something about it. But now that that decision was made, Stella's mind flashed full of nervous thoughts. Her last relationship hadn't exactly gone well, and while she was back to being friends with Zoe now, the thought of something like that happening again haunted her. But the risk was worth the reward, she was sure. And this was the first time she'd been sufficiently aware of her own feelings to act on them; she had to, for the sake of honesty if nothing else. And she hoped there would be much more benefit than that.

Stella paced aimlessly along the lakefront as she waited for Fleur to meet her there. This was the first time they'd see each other properly, rather than just in passing at the prefects meeting, since last year. They'd exchanged letters over the holidays, of course, but . . . was this a good time to do this? Stella shook her head. She was overthinking this. Fleur wouldn't do that. And then, at last, she saw a blaze of red hair approaching across the lawn, and turned to meet her friend halfway, breaking into a sunny smile.

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur had had crushes before, but somehow it still took her a while to recognize the crush she had on Stella. It wasn't until the holidays had come around and she kept catching herself thinking of their interaction at pride, that it had clicked for her. Now that they were both back at school, Fleur knew that she had to do something about it. She had no idea if Stella felt the same way, but she knew there was just one way to find out. Stella had asked to meet her at the lake, which was making all sorts of butterflies in her stomach. She figured Stella probably just wanted to catch up after the holidays, but it still would be a nice spot to be alone together. Fleur was determined to tell Stella how she felt, for better or worse.

As she approached the lake, she spotted the Ravenclaw already there. Fleur's heart sped up, as did her steps. She was almost running by the time she had arrived at Stella's side, and she gave the Ravenclaw a hug. "Hi." She said, taking care not to linger too long in the embrace, even though she wanted to. "It's good to see you." she said honestly as she met Stella's beautiful brown eyes.

 

[Stella Wright]

Stella chuckled as Fleur ran towards her. Oh, how she loved her enthusiasm - and her smile, and her wit, and . . . by the time Fleur reached her, Stella was grinning like a fool. "Hi," she said happily, wishing the hug had lasted longer. "Same to you! I missed you," she admitted, then hesitated. Should she say something, now? No, it was too early, she couldn't just blurt something like this out of the blue. They should have a conversation first, they hadn't seen each other for weeks. "Good holidays?"

 

[Fleur van Houten]

As Fleur looked at her friend, she knew there was nothing she could do to stop herself from admitting how she felt. She nodded vaguely at Stella's question. "Yeah, it was good." She said quietly, her gaze moving over her face. She was incredibly nervous, but knew she couldn't hide it any longer. This might go terribly wrong, but Fleur would have to take the chance. "So uh, this is going to be very sudden and sound very weird." She started, nervously tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "But I just gotta say it, okay? Stella..." She faltered briefly. "I like you." She then blurted out. "Like, like like." She added. "Like... couldn't stop thinking about you all break and kind of want to kiss you now like." She added in a rush. "So uh, just... letting you know." She added a little feebly, wondering why she hadn't thought this through a little more.

 

[Stella Wright]

Stella nodded amiably as Fleur said her holidays had been good, fully expecting to spend a while chatting about them . . . but then Fleur kept talking. Stella gaped, then grinned. Of course the Gryffindor would make the first move, of course she’d just blurt it out in her gloriously endearing manner. “Oh, good!” she said clumsily. “I mean, I hoped so. I mean, uh, me too.” Stella shook her head, painfully aware that she had entirely failed to articulate her thoughts. She laughed softly. “I was going to say something today, you beat me to it.” Stella hesitated, leaned forward slightly, hesitated again. “So . . . about that kiss you wanted . . .”

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur's heart was hammering in her chest, and she resisted the urge to run away. Listenign to her own words made her feel a little embarrassed, and she knew she had been rambling. She glanced at Stella nervously, her eyes widening when the girl said it was good. "Oh." She said, listening to her. This surprised her, but then relief flooded in as well. Fleur grinned. "Oh! Wow!" She repeated. More words seemed unnecessary, and instead she leaned in to kiss Stella firmly. She hadn't kissed anyone before, not really. She had kissed at the spin the bottle game, but that wasn't anything like this.

 

[Stella Wright]

In these brief, precious moments, Stella's entire world revolved around Fleur. She was very aware of the look in her beautiful brown eyes, the way the breeze ruffled her hair as she leaned closer. There was nothing else in the world. Fleur's kiss was different from Zoe's, fierce and passionate like everything she loved about her, and for a blissful moment Stella lost herself in it. Eventually, reluctantly, she pulled away a little, arms still around Fleur, gaze lingering on her lips, then her eyes. "That was . . . good." Good was an understatement, but any coherent words she might have had always disappeared at moments like this. "So, you want to do this? Date, I mean?" Stella was sure that kiss couldn't have meant anything other than yes, but it was important to make sure.

 

[Fleur van Houten]

Fleur had never really expected kisses to be very nice, but this one was definitely proving her wrong. Maybe kissing someone you actually liked was different than simply kissing a boy because a bottle had landed on him, who would have guessed? Fleur was a little disappointed when Stella pulled away, blinking a few times to get back to earth. "It was." She said with a small laugh. She laughed again when Stella then asked if she wanted to date. It was such a practical question, and somehow very Stella. "Well, I hadn't thought this far ahead yet, my imagination usually stopped at the kiss." She admitted. "But yeah, duh."