Closed Surprise!

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn had a pretty great surprise in store for Sapphire. All morning he'd been running backwards and forwards from the great hall, sneaking croissants and scones and pastries and fruit into his pockets and depositing them in his dormitory. Once he had enough to feed his entire house for a week, he wrapped everything up in a blanket and carried it down to the edge of the lake. The sun shone brilliantly on the dark water. Mervyn tried not to think about what horrors lurked within the depths of the lake just meters away from where he was setting up his picnic. Once the blanket was lain and the food piled up neatly in one corner he sat down and waited for Sapphire to arrive. He'd told her to meet him here at mid day, so he didn't suppose she would be long. He wiped his forehead, already starting to sweat. A nice cool breeze wouldn't have gone amiss. Unfortunately, the air was still and thick - almost oppressive. Mervyn was just beginning to wonder if he should move the picnic into the shade of a tree when he saw a familiar figure walking towards him across the lawn.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire was bored out of her mind. And that was never a good thing. It almost always resulted in her getting into trouble, which was especially bad considering she was trying to behave. So when Mervyn had invited her to the lake, she'd jumped on the opportunity. Even if the waiting part drove her batty. She made her way down to the lake as quickly as she could manage without looking like she was in a hurry. She also made sure to dodge anyone that resembled her brother. If there was one distraction she didn't want today it was Onyx. It seemed to take longer than it usually did, but eventually, she spotted her favorite distraction. On a blanket. With loads of food. She grinned widely, hands in her pockets, and sauntered over. "Hello," She greeted cheerily. She folded herself down next to Mervyn. "Ain't seen you in a bit. What've you been up to?" She wasn't sure if she was supposed to eat yet, or if he had something else up his sleeve, so she decided to just wait and see what he had in mind.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn grinned, watching Sapphire for a reaction as she made her way over and sat down. He leaned forward and pecked her on the lips before sitting back on the blanket. "Wot do yoo fink?" he asked. "This grub didn't just materialise out of thin air, you know. I been runnin' round, slavin' away, getting this picnic ready for you. Do you like it, then?" Reaching for a croissant, he offered it to Sapphire, wiggling it in front of her face.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire felt herself turn bright red when Mervyn kissed her. Her breath hitched in her throat and it took her a second to pull herself together. "Cheater," she grumbled under her breath. He went off about the food and wiggled a croissant in her face. She laughed and snatched the treat from him. "Its alright," she conceeded, nibbling on it as she looked at the lake. She wasn't really used to being flustered. "Here," she grumbled, fishing the small box from it's place in her pocket. "It's stupid but I can't carry it around forever." She didn't look at him as she spoke. She'd had the stupid necklace since the beginning of the last break. She'd just... Never gotten around to giving it to him.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn picked up a scone, though he wasn't really hungry. It was too hot to eat much. He watched with curiosity as Sapphire fished a small box out of her pocket and offered it shyly to him. "Woss this?" he asked. As he took it, something inside rattled. He put down his half-eaten scone and prised open the box. "What?" This wasn't, like, their anniversary of dating, or something, was it? Mervyn hoped he hadn't forgotten some significant event. He lifted the chain and held it up in the sunlight. It was a pretty awesome necklace, but he felt wrong for some reason taking it - like he didn't deserve such a nice gift, and especially not for no reason. "Woss this for?"

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire finished the last bite of her croissant before answering. "It's, ah, heh," she ran a hand through her hair. "I got it for your late birthday last year, but, uh, never really, I dunno." She stood and wandered over to the lake. She wasn't sure why she was being so weird today. "It's stupid, just, uh, found it when I was out and thought it was cool." She picked a rock off the shore and twirled it between her fingers. "And I mean, you're cool, so, ah, I dunno," she bit her lip to shut herself up and skipped the rock. Four splashes, not bad. She looked at the water thoughtfully. Maybe a dip would clear her head.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn watched Sapphire, wondering why she'd become so flustered all of a sudden. He'd definitely forgotten an important date. He put the box down and climbed to his feet, following her to the edge of the lake. A grin slowly spread across his face. "Aww," he said, "you're well cute. Fanks, Sapph." Reaching behind his neck, he clipped the chain on, examining the little compass charm for a moment. He didn't feel so bad accepting the gift now that he knew it was a belated birthday present, though he hoped Sapphire didn't make a habit of buying him things. It wasn't fair that he couldn't always afford to do the same for her.

The sun beat down as relentlessly as ever, and Mervyn started to grow self-conscious that he smelled sweaty. All that running around the castle had exhausted him, and he hadn't thought to change. "I am pretty cool, aren't I?" he said, grinning. It was sort of a rhetorical question, meant to make Sapphire laugh, but he wouldn't have minded her answering it. He would never tire of hearing her compliment him.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire was too mischevious for her own good. She knew this. But starting at the water, an idea started to form in her head. She was tired of being so... Boring. She turned to Mervyn, a twinkle in her eye and a sly grin on her lips. "I think we both might need to cool off a bit," she winked, and with a quick movement she grabbed his arms and attempted to throw them both into the lake.

She emerged, wet and spluttering a moment later. Sapph let out a delighted laugh. "Well that did the trick alright." She pushed her hair out of her eyes and got to her feet. The water was up to her knees. "Huh. Deeper than I thought it'd be." She turned to Mervyn, a happy smile on her face.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn barely had time to register what Sapphire said before he found himself hurtling into the lake. The water was warm, but that didn't lessen the impact of shock as Mervyn broke the surface. Unable to immediately feel the bottom, he started to panic, flailing around, spraying water everywhere, searching for something solid to grab onto so that he wouldn't drown. A thick tuft of grass on the bank gave him the means to pull himself out of the lake, coughing and gasping like he'd inhaled a pint of water (he hadn't). His sodden clothes dripped on the grass, making a puddle beneath him. "Wot choo do that for?! I could have died, I nearly drowned!" he spluttered, crawling backwards on his hands in case Sapphire tried to pull him in again. Only then did he see that the water only came up to her knees. Well. It had seemed a lot deeper when he'd been in it. He stared at her, wet and horrified, not sure what to say. He couldn't believe she'd done something so mean.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire's smile faded as Mervyn pulled himself out of the water. A sickening sort of deja vu swept over her and she felt her stomach drop into her knees. Not again. She bit her lip and looked away. Tears pricked her eyes but she ignored them. "I-it was just a joke," she replied lamely. She felt like she was going to hurl. "I-i didn't mean... I didn't think..." She nearly scoffed at the words. She didn't think. That was the problem right there, wasn't it? She walked out of the water, not looking to Mervyn as she went and gathered her bag. She wanted to cry, to kick herself. How could she have done this again? The reminder if how this had happened with Oliver didn't help. He was gone. And thanks to her own stupidity, she wouldn't doubt Mervyn was all but gone with him. She hiked her bag up over her shoulder, dejected, defezted, just... Deflated. "I'll go," she spoke softly, willing herself to forget.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn watched as Sapphire collected her things, making as if to leave. The cheek! Surely she didn't think she was going to get away with leaving him after she'd pushed him in the lake? The least she could do was get him a towel. "Nah, don't go," he said, though he didn't get up to try to stop her. "It's my fault, innit? I dunno 'ow to swim." There. He'd said it. He cringed at how silly it sounded. It wasn't his fault. Nobody had ever taught him, and he'd never had a good reason to learn. "You awright?" he asked, frowning. Sapphire seemed almost more upset about the whole thing than him. He'd already recovered from the shock, though even in the midday sun he was going to take a while to dry off.

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire froze as Mervyn said he didn't know how to swim. He had to ask if she was alright before she could muster up a reaction. She groaned and plopped down, burying her face in her hands. "Brilliant work there, Sapphire. Throw him in the bloody lake, it'll be good for a laugh! Ugh," she scrubbed her face with her hands. "You can't swim." She confirmed aloud. "Great. And Oliver was afraid of water when I threw him in." She groaned again, falling back so she was laying down and covering her face with her hands. "I really am bad luck," she muttered, half to herself. Her mind racing, she could only come to one conclusion. "Well, ah, it's been a bit since I've done it, but, ah, I could teach you to swim?" She cringed. That sounded just as lame as she thought. Why did she always have to embarrass herself in front of the one bloke she absolutely adored?

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn couldn't help the smile that crept over his face when Sapphire spoke her thought process aloud. Sure, it hadn't been her best idea, but in hindsight it was pretty funny. Except Sapphire didn't seem to think it was. Apparently throwing Oliver in the lake and discovering he was afraid of water had traumatised her, or something. Still grinning, Mervyn lay down on the grass beside her. For a moment he thought they were going to move on from the subject. Then she offered to teach him how to swim. "Um," said Mervyn. "Well. I dunno." Admitting he couldn't swim had been embarrassing enough, but he definitely couldn't tell Sapphire he was nervous about water now that she'd told him about Oliver. Then again, being nervous of water seemed like a reasonable response in somebody who didn't know how to swim. "I really ain't never swum before, ever. I dunno if I can do it."

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire peeked through her fingers to see Mervyn beside her. Quickly shaking off her overreaction and deciding to focus past it instead, she propped up on an elbow. "Aw, c'mon. Mervyn the indomitable Strangeways not able to do something? I don't buy it." She offered him a sly grin. "'Sides," she teased lightly. "Don't you 'member how we met? If you're worried about embarrassing yourself, it'd be pretty hard to top hurling on my boots." She laughed at the thought. It seemed like forever ago that Solomon had pranked him in the Great Hall.

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn laughed and rolled onto his back. Sapphire remembered his 'full name.' He hadn't called himself that for a while. He cringed as she reminded him of the unfortunate way they'd met. It was true - he couldn't embarrass himself any more than he'd done on the day he puked all over himself in the great hall. "Awright," he said. "But I ain't goin' in the deep bit. There's well loads'a creepy fings in there." He stood up and offered Sapphire a hand to her feet. "If I drown, I'm gonna come back and 'aunt you."

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire laughed with Mervyn. "I don't think Onyx is down there," she teased, taking his hand and letting him help her up. She didn't let go once she was on her feet, though. She moved quickly, threading the fingers of her free hand through the hair at the base of his neck. She stood on tiptoe and spent a few moments kissing him thoroughly. She pulled back with a saucy grin. "Oh, I think I'll let you live today. Hard to kiss a ghost." She teased before sashaying towards the lake. "C'mon then. I'll bet you pick it up quick enough."

 

[Mervyn Strangewayes]

Mervyn laughed appreciatively at Sapphire's joke, though he couldn't fully relax - not knowing he was getting back into the water. Her kiss came so unexpectedly that he took a moment to kiss her back. He always wondered whether he was supposed to feel something more when he kissed her. He did like her. But all the stories about warm tingles and fireworks were either made up, or Mervyn just hadn't got the hang of kissing yet. He grinned as she pulled away, following her to the edge of the lake. The dark surface rippled ominously. "I 'ate it," he said. "You can't see the bottom or nuffink. You dunno 'ow deep it is." Tentatively he sat down on the bank, dangling his legs in the water. "There, I'm swimming!"

 

[Sapphire Michaels]

Sapphire chuckled and continued out into the water. "Mhmm. That's why I'm going first. That way if anything decides to eat us, the pretty one can escape." She teased, turning and holding her hand out. "C'mon. We're only going in till the waters just above your waist. I'll stick close the whole time." She smiled warmly at him. Something about being around Mervyn always made her feel more at ease. It was probably why she was so ridiculous around him.

They spent probably an hour in the water before Sapphire took off towards the shore again. She thought they'd made some progress. "I dunno bout you, but I'm starving. Let's have some food now, yeah?" She pushed her hair out of her eyes. Somehow she was just as wet as she'd been when she'd pushed them in the water in the first place. Ah well. She'd dry.