Valentine's day held many cherished memories for Flavio, and on top of that he had received roses from many of the people he cared about. This meant that despite spending most of his day delivering roses to other people and then choosing to attend the valentine's dance without a valentine, he was in a good mood. To Flavio, Valentine's day was a reminder of where confidence could get him and why confidence was something he should strive for. First proven in the way he had mustered the confidence to ask Kylie to attend the valentine's dance with him in his first year, and secondly when he had mustered enough confidence to talk to Amber, one of the people that delivered him roses that same day in his first year who later became one of his closest friends. Because of this, Flavio was merely happy to play a part in making that year's valentine's day special for everyone else rather than having another magical Valentine's day for himself. To him part of this task was to not distract couples from having fun. So after arriving to the dance in one of his nicer outfits and making a beeline for the raspberry flavored punch, Flavio moved to stand against one of the far walls in an attempt not to distract or bother anyone else from their dates. No matter how the rest of his day went, he felt happy to simply play along with the festivities, watching the dance from the sidelines and reveling in appreciation he felt from the kind roses he had received from his friends.
November walked into the Great Hall. She hadn't ever gone to the Valentine's Day dance before but there was a promise of seeing her friends tonight and she didn't want to sit int he dorms alone. Especially with Amber there. She had gotten ready for this dance in the old bathrooms outside of the dorms and left her change of clothes there, no one would bother them there. Sighing she brushed her hair back a little as she looked around for a friend. She was surprised that the first she saw was Flavio. He hadn't bothered talking to her much since they returned to school and it made November wonder if she had done something wrong. But she had gotten a yellow rose from him which was really nice and she hoped he had gotten hers. Both of them. November knew Amber would have words to say about her dress if she saw it, but November thought it was a really pretty dress and she still hadn't bothered much with makeup and hair, just a little but not something that would take hours to do. Heading over to Flavio November felt nervous, the last time they had been at a dance was confusing. She thought they were going to kiss but he had run off, she wondered if he came tonight with the same girl or not. "Hey," she said quietly.
Flavio's eyes shifted between his glass of punch and the room around him, his mind focused on how nice his day had been. He wondered how November reacted to both his roses, whether she cared about his friendship rose more than the pink rose, and if she thought the pink rose might have been from him. These thoughts were so distracting to him however that he did not notice none other than November herself enter the hall and then approach him. Her greeting, although quiet, caused him to jump slightly as his mind returned to reality. "Gosh, November you gave me a fright." Flavio said, holding his free hand over his chest, recovering from the shock. He looked over his friend, taking in her appearance, smiling, and then greeting her back when he was able to breathe normally. "Hey. Happy Valentine's day!" He immediately wanted to ask if she had gotten both his yellow and pink roses that day to satiate his curiosity but did not want to make it obvious the anonymous pink rose was from him. In an effort to seem nonchalant, he looked out to the hall again and then back to his friend. He wondered how he could ask discreetly, eventually deciding to talk about the rose deliveries in general in the lead up to asking about the pink rose, if she did not mention it first. "I heard you were delivering roses today, too. Did you have fun?" He asked, pausing before asking the question he truly wanted the answer to. "Did you get any roses yourself?"
November was a little unsure about her dress. It seemed too revealing of her body, though when she had been home briefly for Christmas break it was the one dress her sister told her to wear. Saying out it showed off everything perfectly, like the girl's tiny waist and the other curves she was getting through puberty. Still it made November feel more shy than she normally would have as she approached Flavio. She wasn't sure what he'd think of the dress, not that he'd really tell her other than it looking nice. She found he never voiced too many opinions on women's fashion. "Oh sorry," she said hearing that she had scared him and feeling bad for it. November wasn't one to really like being scared and felt bad when she did so to others. She hoped however he hadn't been frightened because of her looking bad or something. Looking down at the ground as he spoke she bit her lip a little before turning her face back up with a smile on it. "Happy Valentine's Day to you," November was glad he seemed friendly. For awhile she thought maybe she had scared the Ravenclaw off, he hadn't seemed to talk to her or want to during the past few weeks of school. She wondered about her pink rose she sent him, if he had gotten it and what he thought. Did he know she had sent it? She hoped so but also hoped not. She sent a yellow one too, but it had been quite awkward she thought not really sure if he wanted to be friends anymore.
"It was alright, only one seemed kind of rude about the rose but I looked back and saw him with a smile on his face reading the note, so," November said with a shrug of her shoulders. The guy had intimidated her a lot being taller and scarier. Flavio was taller than her, but he was friendly enough to not be scary. "Oh, I did get a yellow one from a guy named Flavio who said we are really great friends, you don't know him do you? I haven't really gotten the chance to speak with him yet this semester," November said shyly, although it was clear she did feel hurt by his action. Flavio was really the only friend she really counted on nearly everyday to be a friend and so far since coming back from break he hadn't been one. But there was Ainsley, November wasn't so alone anymore she wondered if her friend came to the ball and when she glanced around she saw her with Amber. It didn't surprise November and she sent a small wave towards Ainsley when she was certain Amber was looking a different way.
Flavio smiled down at his friend, almost too distracted by her appearance to give his full attention to what she was saying. Though he fortunately tuned in on the tail end of her story and chuckled awkwardly when she mentioned the rose she received from him. At least the rose he signed with his name. The pink rose he sent her was still a question on his mind, lingering even as she joked about his distance from her that semester. He looked from November, to his glass of punch, and then out to the hall while formulating a response. He did not want to say the whole truth and bring up the problems with her and Amber, but he also did not want to lie to November, either, and eventually settled on telling her enough of the truth that would hopefully keep her from asking more about it. "I do know him. He is the guy who cares about his friends a lot, but also wants to focus on his studies this semester." Flavio said, before looking back to November, again trying to move the conversation to the rose he sent her and thinking the only way to bring it up casually would be to mention the mysterious pink rose he had received himself. "I actually got an unusual rose today. It was pink and from a secret admirer. The note had a poem about a crush on me, but I think it was a joke." Flavio did not believe that anyone he knew would have a crush on him let alone enough of a crush to send a pink rose on valentine's day. As far as he knew his friends were honest enough to mention a crush to him directly which was part of the reason the rose did not seem genuine to him. Though it was a contradicting thought of his considering he sent an anonymous rose himself, he could not create any other logical explanation for his pink rose other than that it was a joke. "If this note was real, I would think the person would just tell me about the crush, you know?" He said with a shrug.
November finished her previous question and stood waiting for an answer. Her eyes watched Flavio as he glanced away towards his cup and then the room. She could feel her chest tighten fearing the worse possible answers he would say in response. He didn't want to be friends, or he was dating that girl was had been busy. So his answer naturally shock her a little, she hadn't known him to seem so serious about school before. It was a relief he hadn't said their friendship was over. And if he had it would have contradicted the yellow rose he had sent her. "We can always study.....together," November said as she look down away from him. His words felt harsh to her, but she knew that she probably wasn't worth the attention he gives to her anyways. Moving back a little she listened to what else he had to say surprised he brought up her rose of all things! November gulped down some pumpkin juice while listening to him continue. He thought the friend should just tell him about the crush, did that mean he knew? Suddenly November felt very self-conscious about her dress, and about her letter. What if Amber had told him about her crush. "Maybe they are nervous because they believe you might not feel the same way?" November said glancing away from her friend. Looking back she gave him a half smile, "I think sharing feelings like that would be rather scary. After all, you never know who really likes you...like that." It made her wonder if she should tell him it was her. But she had similar thoughts earlier about the pink rose she had gotten. But Amber had convinced her it probably was real, and more than just a friendly comment. "I got a pink rose too. It was really weird. I don't think the person has a crush on me so much, just saying they think I'm lovely in every way. So obviously not someone from my dorms who has seen me in the morning," November said with a nervous laugh. She put her hand to her neck with her arm over her chest and bite her bottom lip unsure what she should say. "But it wasn't signed either, so I thought it was a joke. But...actually Amber said it was probably real and from someone who might want to be more than friends. She said I should try to see if there is someone who, uh, tries to hang with me a lot? Well, that's tough because I don't really hang out with a lot of people, ya know? It doesn't seem likely one of my friends sent it though," she said admitting to her close friend. She had mostly convinced herself it could be from anyone and it wasn't worth trying to seek the writer out. They wanted to remain a secret. She would take the compliment and leave it there.
Flavio's eyes returned to his drink as November suggested they study together. He felt his heart sink realizing how much his intentional distance seemed to bother her and twirled the straw in his glass while considering her suggestion. Studying with November seemed like as much of a double edged sword as all his interactions with her as of late, all of his interactions with Amber included. But it seemed that his hands were tied, with closeness to his friends eliciting problems he was still unable to understand, and then distancing himself from the problems causing them to feel sad. No matter what he chose to do it seemed like he was losing a battle he wasn't involved in yet somehow felt responsible for. He shook his head from his thoughts, before looking from his drink to November. "Of course we can study together again. It is always fun to study with you." He said, falling back into his stressful place of wondering what the problems between his two friends were, and holding back what he truly wanted to say.
The stress intensified when November spoke about his rose and he in turn tried to hide it. She was speaking about his rose as if it were genuine, and from someone too shy to share their real feelings. But even with that reassurance Flavio could not help but believe it was nothing more than a joke sent to him by Rory or one of his other, more inconsiderate friends. Flavio was at a loss of how to respond to November's comments about the pink rose he received without outing himself as her pink rose sender and a hypocrite so he chose to stay quiet, continuing to feign calmness when November finally mentioned the rose he had sent her, saying she had thought it was a joke before Amber told her otherwise. That rose he could guarantee was not a joke, and he was glad that Amber convinced November it was real. "I think it sounds real, too. The person who wrote that note was not lying." Flavio said, still attempting to seem nonchalant. "Maybe look for someone that is quiet about their own feelings, like you said." He suggested, shrugging again and hoping he seemed as relaxed about the situation as he wanted to be.
It felt awkward for November to sit and wait for Flavio to answer her. All she did was suggest they study together, something they had done many times. It made her really believe he knew about her crush and maybe he was trying to let her down in the only way he knew which was put distance between them. November wished she hadn't come to the stupid dance or put on a dress at that moment. She wouldn't ever admit it to his face, not that she liked him more than just friends. Taking a sip of her drink was just about all she was capable of doing in that moment. He finally answered and she looked up at him while he did. It made her wonder if he could see her nervousness in her eyes. She hoped she didn't look like a deer caught in the headlights. Of course, Flavio wouldn't even understand that saying, not being English nor probably knowing what headlights were. "Thanks," she responded. Glad the conversation moved on to roses, rather than their friendship.
Flavio's response in turn didn't make November feel as though he believed the pink rose letter she had sent him. But, she was quite certain of her feelings that she had put in it. She wondered why it was hard to convince him otherwise, of course it had been hard for Amber to convince her and now she was doubting it again. "Or it could just all be a joke and someone out there sent us both fake pink roses for a laugh," November said with a shrug of her shoulders. It would be nice if someone did like her but she didn't have the energy to defend her pink letter without Flavio figuring out it was her, in case he didn't already know. "If you thought I was lovely in every way then why have you been avoiding me Flavio?" She asked, her voice sounding brave and fierce even though she wasn't. Her attitude quickly change. "You don't have to answer that. You were trying to focus on things I know, with Quidditch practice and classes and the Wild Patch. I'm fine, really don't worry about me if you're too busy," November said feeling the hurt she had been feeling from him ignoring her building back up again. Both him and Noemie had seemed rather busy for her lately. She had no where to turn, she'd talk to Ainsley but as the girl seemed to patch her relationship with Amber, Amber always seemed to be around her now. "I'm going to, uh, go. I'm rather tired, long day delivering roses when I shouldn't have, I feel exhausted. I just..need a moment to breathe," November said towards Flavio but never looking him in the eye. She paused for a moment giving him the chance to say anything.
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