Take Two

[Andi Forstrom]

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Andi was a farm girl at heart and dressing up had never been her forte. Choosing a dress, styling her hair, and applying make up all to make her look like a person she wasn't, was simply too much effort and she never usually understood the point of it. Attending her first yule ball had shown her that the glitz and glam, while enjoyable for other girls (and something Andi respected them for) was simply not for her. Although given she was not near as clumsy and lanky as she used to be, the Gryffindor made a decision to dress to the nines and attend the yule ball that year, partially for the memories but mostly because she wanted to say she tried for an occasion once in her life. At least with some sense of co-ordination she wouldn't break her ankles from the simple act of walking from one place to another, and she wouldn't be walking alone in her endeavor the same way she would have any other year with her boyfriend by her side. Aodhan was the one person she was happy to convince to join her as a date to the ball again, and she was optimistic in the idea their night would be worth more of a fuss and less painful for her feet than the first time they attended together all those years ago.

Wanting a moment to ground herself, Andi detoured to a bathroom for a last check of her appearance instead of waiting for Aodhan in the common room. With a final fluff of her curled hair and a last smoothing down of her dress, she nodded at her reflection in the mirror, looking more confident than she felt when she finally headed down to the great hall. Heels clicking against stone floors announced her presence moments before she arrived, but luckily with the few other girls around her also wearing heels she did not feel too out of place in the crowd as she stood against a nearby wall to wait for her boyfriend.​

 

[Aodhan Kaelen]

Aodhan sighed whilst looking at his own reflection in the mirror. He looked absolutely ridiculous and was sure that his girlfriend was going to make jokes about his suit and slippers throughout the evening. He had eventually said yes to the idea of going to the Yule Ball again after she'd been bugging him about it whilst he was trying to get some shut-eye in between classes. He ignored the looks people were given him the moment they realised that he wasn't wearing proper shoes but couldn't care less about the opinions of others right now. He was perfectly aware that he looked silly but he hadn't actually expected Andi to convince him to join her as her date. Had it been up to him, the two of them would be spending the next couple of hours in the common room while the rest of the Gryffindor students were down in the Great Hall dancing to stupid slow songs and what-not. Aodhan smiled weakly when he arrived at the hall, adjusting the sleeves of his jacket before looking around for his girlfriend. She honestly couldn't expect him to be comfortable in this ridiculous, hopefully, she would want to leave again once she'd find out how boring it actually was - unless they had sweets again of course. When Aodhan finally spotted his girlfriend he walked over towards her. ''Hello, gorgeous,'' the Gryffindor said, smiling more widely. ''You look absolutely lovely tonight,'' he added, and then kissed Andi on her left cheek. Hopefully, she wouldn't mind his attire too much.

 

[Andi Forstrom]

It didn't take long for Andi to spot her boyfriend in the crowd, given his attire, and not by the same description of 'gorgeous' in the way he addressed her. Fashion was not Andi's strong suit and this was evident in her everyday dress, but it didn't take an expert to look at the suit he was wearing to know it was hideous, the shoes adding to the careless aesthetic of it all. Though as much as she was stunned by his fashion choice, she also wasn't surprised by it since the way it looked fished from a relatives wardrobe was still undoubtedly Aodhan. "And you look, like yourself." She commented. When he placed a kiss on her cheek she leaned closer, in turn placing her hand on his arm affectionately, not removing it as she leaned back a moment later to look him up and down a second time. Her nagging about trying to dress well and make an appearance to the yule ball now that they were an official couple wasn't last minute, and it did bother her a little to stand next to someone that didn't seem to make as much effort as she did for the night, especially since she was standing uncomfortably in heels while he got away with shoes that wouldn't leave his feet hurting for days after, but for that moment, she was able to look past it. When she saw their pictures together in the yearbook and their outfits clashing horribly she was sure it would be a different story, but that was a thought she could dismiss for another time on a different day.

Andi finally moved her hand from his arm to intertwine their fingers together as she nodded towards the inside of the great hall. There was no point delaying going in now that they had both arrived. "Should we go in and see if the snacks are still as good as they used to be, then?" She asked, expecting him to lead the way because the answer to her question was obvious.​

 

[Aodhan Kaelen]

Now that he had seen how much effort she had put into her appearance, the boy felt a little guilty for not trying harder. He grinned when she said that he looked like himself and thought that the comment was fair game seeing as he normally wore these kinds of shoes as well outside of class. ''I tried, Ok?'' the Gryffindor said, knowing that somewhere she did not approve of the way he dressed for the night. She could have expected that laid-back person like himself would not worry much about things such as this, but now realised that he could have at least tried a little harder for her sake. Aodhan smiled when she intertwined her fingers with his and walked together with her into the hall. It looked like it did every time the school hosted the event, which didn't surprise him at all after having been to most of them. ''I thought you would never ask.'' He said, grinning at the girl as he led them to one of the three tables with food and drink. ''How much do you think I can store in my pockets this time?'' Aodhan then asked, fondly remembering the amount of sweets he had taken with him for them to eat after the ball ended the last time the two of them went together.

 

[Rory Fergusson]

Rory had a date to this event, but he'd left her after a few minutes to do a couple of other more interesting things. He was still looking for an opportunity to cut her loose but he had never been particularly brave and unlike with Anabelle he didn't really want to hurt Therese's feelings. He liked Therese even if it wasn't entirely in the same way that she had liked him. Even if it wasn't in the same way he was acting and feeling. Regardless the boy had a small mission to complete before he went back to her, like finding Evelyn, giving her a compliment hopefully in front of whatever terrible boyfriend she had picked for herself. There were a few others, just for the fun of it, but there was one girl in particularly that he definitely wanted to see, and the boy would be lying if he didn't admit that she had been on his mind like crazy. He could barely get her out of his mind. The boy was wandering around until finally he spotted her with a boy who appeared to be wearing flip flops. Rory couldn't help the little scoff that emitted from him.

Rory was wearing a suit, tailor made for him by his family, because of course it was, the inner lining was the family tartan, and he'd washed up nice. Utterly refused to wear a kilt at this occasion, he refused to be that scottish when no one else was. Rory found getting ready near effortless when it came to these events, it really wasn't that hard to find an outfit suitable for this place. Rory couldn't help himself and walked over to the pair, "Ah beautiful lady like yerself shouldnae be wae a guy that doesnae show the same amount ae effort back," he kept his gaze upon the girl and then looked to the boy, "Word ae advice mate, dinnae be wearin' shoes like that wae a partner as beautiful as yer dear girl here at an event like this," He always made an effort at these events and he always expected his partners to do the same for him, and well, she looked amazing, world stopping beautiful and he was just in flip flops.
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[Therese Fergusson]

Therese was on her way to the Great Hall. Since they weren't in the same house she and Rory would meet up there. Therese liked Rory still very much and he made her happy. Lots of people wouldn't understand she figured, but she liked him and she saw a side of him that nobody saw. The brunette walked into the Great Hall and smiled as she saw the happy couples or friends dancing together or just chat. The brunette looked out for her boyfriend, and knew he would spend time at his looks. That was just Rory, he would try to impress people she figured. It made her laugh mostly and she thought it was cute.

Therese found him a while later and smiled as she saw him chatting with a girl and a boy. Therese thought it was nice to meet more people so arrived with a smile. She didn't heard what Rory had said to the girl and boy but came standing next to him. '' Hi there!'' Therese said with a big smile. The brunette gave Rory a kiss on his cheek, because she didn't want to interrupt the conversation so badly. She looked over to the girl and the boy, who seemed a bit older than she was. Perhaps Rory knew them out of his year. '' Are you enjoying the Ball so far?'' she asked friendly to the two.

 

[Andi Forstrom]

Andi allowed Aodhan to lead her into the hall, relying on him for both stability in her heels and simply because she wanted to as they headed towards the snack table. It was still surreal for her to realize Aodhan was not only her best friend, but now her boyfriend. They could feel comfortable stuffing their faces with sweets while also holding hands in public and it was a combination Andi still felt she needed to pinch herself over. Having a boyfriend let alone anyone feeling attracted to her was never something she envisioned, being once an awkward and overly angry girl. But now she was dating her best friend and knew he wholly accepted the best and worst parts of her personality, she couldn't imagine her life any other way. Feeling giddy, Andi was tempted to silence Aodhan's question about sweets with a kiss but before she could go through with it or say one word in response the worst person she had ever met interrupted her.

Andi's smile turned to a scowl at the sight of Rory Fergusson. It was just her luck that on a night where memories with her boyfriend were Andi's priority, and she dressed to the nines for the occasion, he of all people would show up and try to ruin it. Making comments about her boyfriends appearance no less in what looked like an attempt to rile the pair of them up. Being called beautiful by someone else was hardly a concern for Andi because she knew it was an attempt for Rory to use her like the other girls unfortunate enough to fall for his lies. Her main concern was Aodhan as she let go of his hand and stepped in front of him, assuming a defensive position. She thought Aodhan dressed terribly as well but being his best friend, only she had the right to comment on it. How dare Rory show up and try to taint what was meant to be a special night by insulting him!

Andi opened her mouth to throw insults right back at the obnoxious Slytherin but found herself frozen when a girl approached Rory, greeting the group and placing a kiss on his cheek. If Rory's previous actions weren't enough to make Andi reach her boiling point, knowing the girl by his side was ignorant of his comments towards other women and blatant attempts to use her definitely was. She looked from Rory to the younger girl, expression softening slightly out of pity. "I'm not enjoying the ball thank you very much!" She answered, the level of her voice rising with every word. "All thanks to your date that has nothing better to do than flirt with me and insult my boyfriend." Andi felt her cheeks flush with anger saying all that was on her mind. It was infuriating. She wanted to have a great time at the ball with her boyfriend, and had no interest in being dragged into Rory's drama and attempts to use her like he was clearly using the girl by his side but it happened anyway and she had no control over what was unfolding.​

 

[Aodhan Kaelen]

Aodhan did not care what Rory's opinion on his attire was, as he knew perfectly well that he looked ridiculous in the outfit he was wearing tonight, but the fact that he dared to insult him in front of his girlfriend was something the Gryffindor couldn't just simply ignore. He didn't even know who in Merlin's beard this boy was or why he was talking to Andi and him so what in the world gave this prick the right to start flirting with his girlfriend and insulting him? ''One more word and I swear I will be sticking these shoes so far up your ass that you'll start to love them.'' He said, though before Aodhan could do anything Andi stepped in between the two of them and assumed a defensive position. However much the Gryffindor appreciated that Andi didn't want anything bad to happen, he really wanted her to step aside so he could show this boy how pretty these flip flops were from up close.

And then another person joined them, again it was someone Aodhan did not recognise. He watched as the girl kissed the boy on the cheek, which maddened him more than it should. He knew that he could be an insensitive prick at times but this boy was unbelievable. The girl next to him was clearly unaware of the boy's behaviour towards others. He snorted when she asked if they were enjoying the yule ball and shot the boy a dirty look. Despite him knowing that Andi did not like what he was wearing, he liked to think that they were already enjoying themselves even though they stepped into the hall only a couple of minutes ago - until he showed up. Though Aodhan chose not to reply to the girl, his girlfriend did and he listened to what she said whilst still looking at the boy. He grinned slightly at her words, which reminded him of an Andi he had met when he accidentally spilt water all over her homework assignment, an Andi he'd rather avoid from that point on. He would like to see the boy make another nasty comment now.

 

[Rory Fergusson]

Rory rolled his eyes at both of their reactions, he could tell that the girl didn't want to see him at this, nor did the boy whose name he didn't care enough about to learn or find out. He looked at the boy as he tried to insult, "Aye, sure ye will," he said in a disbelieving tone. He knew in theory that it was always wrong of him to play about with the people he was seeing, that flirting with other girls wasn't the most appropriate way of being but it didn't matter, he wasn't going to make a move any bolder than flirting in front of this girl's boyfriend, he did respect a girl's choice, he just liked the thrill of flirting, it didn't matter anyway, once he left school he'd be set. The whole flirting though was interrupted by his current girlfriend, reaching them and kissing Rory on the cheek. He leaned into it, he didn't want to hurt Therese's feelings and he wondered if these two would at least respect her enough to be kind about it. But, Rory didn't expect Andi to be. It was entirely why he could feel himself building a crush.

Rory still rolled his eyes at her dramatics, not enjoying it because of him, as if he could ruin an evening unless it had already been ruined. He was certainly innocent in all this, but he couldn't exactly get in a fight, if he did, Styx was certainly going to murder him. He didn't want to be murdered by that boring old man. "Ach, she's makin' a bigger deal oot ae this," Rory looked at therese with a little smile, he hoped to reassure her, that he definitely wasn't doing exactly what Andi had just accused him of doing. He wanted to not break up with her at a yuleball, Anabelle hadn't mattered when he did it, with Therese he wanted to do it somewhere more private, when he finally figured out both how to do it and the courage it took to do it. Rory had known this thing with Therese would end, but he could admit he'd stuck around far longer than he might've thought. In another situation, in another life maybe he would've ended up with her, but he wasn't going to in this one. The teen looked between them all, he wanted to just argue that he hadn't been doing anything wrong, and they were overreacting, but he figured that if he did, Andi would definitely want to punch him, "Ah wasnae insultin' him nor wis ah flirtin' wae his bird, ah just dinnae 'hink she shouldnae know how beautiful that dress is on her and that he coulda made more of an effort fae her," He was pretty much admitting in different words what he'd said and was being accused of, he was hopeful that Therese might agree with him, and was hopeful that with her agreement the other two would hold back.
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[Therese Fergusson]

Therese noticed she was coming between a conversation and didn't even heard all was said. She was just excited for the Yule Ball and would spend it with Rory and her friends. The two people didn't seemed to be that happy with Rory standing with them. Therese knew that many people didn't liked her boyfriend, but she knew him differently. Rory went through a lot in his life and he was kind to her. Aodhan the boy from Gryffindor said something to Rory about his shoes and something not nice. Therese looked confused for a moment and didn't followed where this was going to. Than the girl Andi answered her question and that she wasn't enjoying the ball so far. Therese looked at Rory for a moment and was wondering what was wrong or what happend. She didn't easily became mad or anything, she was just asking why Rory or someone would say or do what they did. Andi said that Rory was flirting with her and that he insulted the boy what was Andi her boyfriend apperently.

Therese sighted for a moment. She didn't judged because she wasn't in the middle of it so she just nodded and looked sorry at the girl. Rory looked at her with a smile and Therese looked worried for a moment. She knew Rory was a flirter he did that with the Gryffindor prefect too she knew. Therese wasn't a jealous type, but she would want some explanation or didn't liked it when the other person wouldn't like it. Therese smiled as Rory explained, he just didn't picked the right words usualy. He was a boy that put much effort in his looks. Therese looked at the girl for a moment. '' I'm sorry that you are not enjoying it so far. I'm Therese. I didn't heard what was all said. But I'm sure that Rory was trying to compliment you in his own way. Right Rory?'' The brunette looked at Aodhan than and smiled shortly. Therese figured they should leave the couple and let them enjoy together. Perhaps Rory was just bored and wanted to do something, but now she was here. Therese didn't think Rory was a bad person, not at all. She had a weak spot for him. Therese didn't exactly knew what was said to Aodhan but she remained silent to him. '' Shall we get some drinks? We let Aodhan and Andi spend some time together? And perhaps we can do a dance?'' Therese put her arm into Rory's and smiled at him. She winked at the couple a time, hoping they could enjoy their evening together still.