There You Are!

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx was eager to be back. Not for the classes, or even his sister. Okay, partly for his sister. But there was another part of him that had missed one boy in particular. Trying to keep the peace between him and Sapphire, though, had kept Onyx from seeking him out sooner. He tried to find ways to keep busy- he would run into him eventually.

Today's distraction was a Stephen King novel he'd beought from home. He flipped the page as he rounded the corner onto the Gryffindor hall. He glanced up and paused for a moment, a wide smile spreading across his face. He shut the book with a decisive snap and darted forward.

"Jacob!" He called happily, a light blush coloring his cheeks as he caught up to his fellow Gryffindor. "You disappeared at the ball." He pouted for a brief second before continuing to chatter happily. "I caught Benji Walden, he's in our house, and convinced him to dance with Sapphy. She loves to dance but she didn't have a date. Have you seen her dance?" He hardly considered he hadnt paused to let Jacob say hello.

"Not like getting her to dance with him was easy." He rolled his eyes dramatically. "She's on her own for the next dance," he grimaced, but continued to shrug. "Ah well. How were your holidays?"

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Wandering around the castle was one of Jacob's favorite ways to spend time in the castle. He almost always ran into something interesting and this time had been no different. So, he was walking back to Gryffindor Tower with a smile on his face until he heard his name. Jacob slowed down and then eventually stopped when Onyx caught up to him. His head cocked back a bit at Onyx's accusation that he'd disappeared from the ball. That wasn't exactly true. Not when he'd been disappeared on first. Onyx continued on and Jacob stood there listening, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Normally, he liked Onyx but he hadn't liked being left alone. Not at all.

"Uh, they were alright, I guess" he shrugged. Onyx didn't know that Christmas and his aunt's death had happened almost simultaneously, making the holiday an unpleasant one. Still struggling with whether or not to say anything about everything else Onyx had mentioned, Jacob stood around still looking uncomfortable. As usual, though, his mouth led the way, pushing his brain and reason to the side. "You know, you disappeared on me. I wasn't going to keep sitting at the table alone just waiting for you to come back when you went off with Mervyn or whatever his name is" he said, slightly irritated that it was being put on him. "I didn't even know if you were going to come back."

 

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx blinked when Jacob seemed to be mad at him. Oh, he hadn't even thought of it like that. He turned and put his hands on his hips. "You are absolutely right. I never even stopped to think what you would think of the whole thing. I was an ass." An idea popped into his head, and much like his sister, he didn't bother thinking it through.

"Let me make it up to you. The Valentine's dance is coming up, right? Let's go together. No Sapph, I promise." He crossed his heart dramatically before pausing, another thought crossing his mind. "I mean, unless you had a girl you wanted to ask or something. I mean, I want you to come with me, but uh, I mean, like, you don't have to, uh, I know guys think I'm wierd and all, I mean, crap." Onyx ducked his head, blushing furiously.

What had he gotten into? No turning back now, he might as well get it over with. "Alright, Sapph told me to behave and I've been trying to, I swear. But I really like hanging with you and you're a fun guy. Maybe, uh, if there isn't a girl and it's not too weird for you we could, um, you could, uh..." Onyx glanced up at Jacob with big blue eyes.

"I'm making a mess of this aren't I? Normally I'm more smooth, I swear."

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob calmed down somewhat as Onyx admitted he was right. It wasn't something he was used to in any debate. He certainly hadn't expected this, and he definitely didn't expect what came next. An idea of going to another dance with Onyx was intriguing. They'd been having fun during the Yule ball before Onyx and then he had left. And this time there would be a confirmed agreement that they were going together. Suddenly what Tristan had told him made a lot more sense, and he could see, maybe just a little, how he had been to blame too.

As Onyx continued, stumbling along, Jacob found himself smiling. He didn't really know what the other guys thought of Onyx. He hadn't ever asked anyone what they thought of him, content to form his own opinion of the second year.

"Yea, you are" he finally laughed. "But this is fun, keep going' " he teased. "I haven't asked anyone. The Valentine's party is kind of..." he paused, trying to find a way to fill in the blank. "But if you wanna go, ok" he shrugged, trying to play far more casual than he actually felt. "You know what people will think if we go together though, right?" he asked. The Valentines day party was notorious as a couples event.

 

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx let out a choked laugh. "Shut up, Kingsley," He griped playfully, rubbing his neck. "That may be... I mean, that's what I'm... crap, okay..." He sighed, and without thinking, he stepped closer and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the other boy's cheek. "Look, I don't know if Sapphire told you, but..." He trailed off, stepping back and running a hand through his dark hair. "I'm... I'm gay. And I like spending time with you. If we go to the dance together, I... um, I want it to be with you as my date. If that, um, weirds you out, then that's okay. No hard feelings. But I'd rather be upfront about it now." He looked away, blushing furiously. He didn't think it would be this hard to ask the other boy out, but it was. Sapphire may or may not be mad at him for this, but he didn't care right now.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Jacob was only barely trying to bite back his laughter as Onyx continued to stumble along. It was nice to see the usually suave boy actually seem normal and not freakishly perfect. Jacob thought he could get used to this Onyx. Even before Onyx continued, Jacob had a feeling he knew what was going to be sad especially with that lead up. Jacob had never been kissed before by a non-family member and now he knew why Noah had laughed when he'd asked what the difference was once. He'd been eight, to be fair, but the point was...Jacob realized he had lost his train of thought and he also knew Onyx was baring his soul and he should pay attention.

Tristan was definitely right about one thing. Knowing that he was being asked on a date did make all the difference. Jacob took a moment and then nodded his head. Then he realized Onyx wasn't looking at him, and he kicked his sneaker against the boy's foot. "I was trying to nod at you. Yes, I'll be your date but only if you stop looking so stressed out. You're making me anxious " he joked.

 

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx jumped, abruptly shutting up when Jacob nudged him. He let out a strained laugh at Jacob's response before finally looking up, his sapphire eyes brimming with warmth. He let out a shaky sigh, relieved. "Then I'm the luckiest guy at the dance," He gave Jacob his most charming grin. He hadn't thought the other boy would say yes, but he had still hoped. "Hm," Onyx let out a little laugh before stepping back in and wrapping his arms around Jacob's shoulders. He buried his face in the other boys neck, holding on tight for a long moment.

What he really wanted to do was smother the other boy in kisses, run his hand through Jacob's soft hair, but he didn't want to screw things up by rushing in without thinking- like he had done to himself and his sister so many times before. "Thank you," he breathed, reluctant to let go, his heart racing. But if there was one thing he had learned spending time with his sister it was that other people didn't share his idea of personal space.

Much too soon, in his opinion, he released Jacob and took a step back, smiling shyly at his fellow Gryffindor. Onyx didn't often feel out of place, but he couldn't say he wasn't enjoying himself all the same.

 

[Jacob Kingsley]

Before he knew it, Jacob was wrapped in a hug. His arms hung useless, first surprise and then awkwardness filling him and causing his inaction. The twelve year old eventually reached up and patted Onyx's back, but all the while he was looking around and hoping no one was paying attention. Thankfully, two second years didn't warrant a lot of attention.

Jacob returned the smile, his hand nervously scratching at the back of his head. Then he dropped his gaze, suddenly shy. "Ok, so I'll see you at the dance. But I'll see you before then too because, y'know, we share a room" he chuckled. He took a step back, something holding him back from just turning around and walking away. Jacob would have to ponder this all later. Maybe he'd see what Jemma thought about it all. "Ok. Bye Michaels " he said again.