Take Flight

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Although she supposed that taking Elvira ice skating in the holidays technically counted as planning a date, Lizzie hadn't thought of it as such at the time, and it had dawned on her very quickly after asking Hayley out that planning a date wasn't really something she actually knew how to do. There was one thing Lizzie did know how to do quite well though, and Hayley had definitely enjoyed the beater practice on the day they met. Hopefully Hayley would find the idea of a lakeside flight as romantic as Lizzie did. Lizzie had her own broom in her hand, and a school broom for Hayley under her arm as she waited for the other girl to join her, shifting from foot to foot and trying not to let her heart's nervous thumping unsettle her. This would be fine. Hayley had definitely seemed as eager about their date as Lizzie had felt.

Lizzie's face split into a broad grin as she saw the other girl approaching, waving excitedly with her free hand. "Hey!" She said happily, holding out the school broom. "Ready to go for a fly?"

 

[Hayley Elridge]

This was real. She was actually, really going on a date. A gay date, with a girl. With Lizzie. Hayley had hung out with Lizzie casually a few times since the Gryffindor had asked her out, but now they were officially dating. Hayley buzzed with energy as she hurried across the lawn to the lakefront where Lizzie had said to meet her. She'd never been on a real date before. She was sure Lizzie had been on plenty, and her own inexperience made her nervous. She hoped she didn't make a fool of herself. Then again, it would hard to make as much of a fool of herself as Lizzie had at Pride.

Hayley's heart was pounding and her face felt hot as she approached Lizzie. She grinned and ran the last few steps towards her, taking the offered broom and then sweeping her into a hug. The hug was somewhat unwieldy with both of them holding brooms, but Hayley didn't care. It was worth it. "Hell yes I'm ready!" Hayley knew she wouldn't be as confident on a broomstick as Lizzie was, but she had enjoyed the flying lessons in first year and looked forward to the adrenaline rush of being in the air again. She let go of Lizzie and mounted her broom. "Let's go."

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie laughed when Hayley greeted her with a hug, pleasantly surprised, and hugged the other girl back the best she could with a broom in one hand. "Hey!" She said happily, immediately relaxing. What had she ever been nervous about? This was going to be fine. Hanging out with Hayley had been comfortable and easy from the moment they met, today wouldn't be any different. She was relieved that Hayley seemed as excited as she was about the flying idea, and laughed, mounting her own broom. "Alright, let's go!" She said happily, kicking off easily and flying a loop while she waited for Hayley to join her in the sky.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Of course Lizzie took off effortlessly, and Hayley watched, grinning, as she flew a graceful loop. She looked good up there, she looked at home. This was going to be a good first date. Hayley kicked off herself, her nervous energy making her a little clumsier than she would otherwise be, but not so much (she hoped) that Lizzie would notice. If she did, she could always ascribe it to the old school brooms. Lizzie's broom was well-kempt and shiny, and Hayley almost wished she had one of her own - but brooms were expensive, and she didn't fly often enough for it to be worth it. Hayley let out a small whoop as she did a loop of her own, then pulled her broom up beside Lizzie, grinning. "Anywhere particular you wanna go?"

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Hovering in wait, Lizzie watched Hayley take off, impressed by the girl's grace. She knew Hayley didn't play Quidditch and was muggleborn, so probably hadn't flown outside of flying lessons in first year. Maybe she could actually train the other girl up to play? Now wasn't the time to think about that though, and Lizzie smiled, looking around them. "I mean, I've flown around this place a bunch, is there anywhere you wanna go? I was thinking we could just fly along the lakeside, but the forest from above is really pretty too, or we could do some laps around the castle or something. Your choice." She smiled, eyes lingering on Hayley's smile.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

"Along the lakeside sounds nice, and I'd love to see the forest from above too." Hayley had been in the forest a few times, and it was a lot of fun, the thrill of the illicit, the beauty of the trees. Although seeing the castle from above would be great for sketching; she wasn't sure how interesting trees from above would be to draw - but she would certainly like to see them. Hayley noticed Lizzie's gaze on her lips and felt her cheeks heat up. "Um. Is flying above the forest against the rules too?" she asked with genuine curiosity, her widening grin showing that she would be even more eager to do so if it was.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie smiled at Hayley's choices, pleased that the other girl seemed to like the idea of the date. "That sounds great!" She said happily, and began to set a slow pace along the lakeside with Hayley. Years of messing around with friends on brooms made it difficult to ignore her instinct to race whoever was flying beside her but she kept her pace slow, flying along with Hayley and looking out over the water. The other girl's question made her laugh, and she shrugged. "Well, I don't know, but we wouldn't technically be in the forest, would we?" She grinned cheekily.

 

[Hayley Elridge]

Hayley smiled back at Lizzie as they flew leisurely along the waterfront. She stared out over the lake, admiring this beautiful and unaccustomed view and trying to fix it in her head so she could draw it later. She should really go flying more often - and now she was dating Lizzie, that seemed much more likely. Hayley was relieved by Lizzie's reaction to her query about the forest; her grin showed a healthy disregard for the rules to match Hayley's own, which was generally something Hayley hoped for in a friend. "Ooh, a good, plausible excuse," she said mischievously. "I like it." As she looked at her friend - her girlfriend? could she call it that? this was a date - she noticed a certain tenseness in Lizzie's body language. What could she do to dispel that? Hayley grinned suddenly. "Wanna go faster?" She wouldn't suggest a race; Hayley would inevitably lose, and while she didn't much care, an unfair contest wouldn't be good for Lizzie's ego. But the adrenaline rush of speed and flight could be just what they needed to override their nerves.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie grinned back cheekily, pleased that Hayley seemed as into the idea of rule-stretching adventure as she was. It meant there would be plenty of fun for them looking for things to do around the castle. Today had been relatively easy to plan, but Lizzie didn't really know what there was to do at Hogwarts for a second date - and she definitely wanted there to be one of those. She and Hayley would find something to do though, easily. Hayley's next comment caught Lizzie off guard and she laughed, a little surprised. "Always." She grinned and sped up, though still tried to keep control of her speed, making sure Hayley would be able to keep up. "Having fun?"