Closed To Dance Alone

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily wasn't exactly sure why she'd come here. She had never come here alone. She had always been with Elliot or Ren, or even Mihail. The thought of him made her sad. She sighed, standing alone by the drinks. Elliot was with Lars. And Ren had a date. She bit her lip, a little jealous. She was surprised by the emotion. It must be because everyone seemed to have someone but her. Lily bit her lip, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Being here was almost sadder than being alone. Maybe she should just go back to the dorms. She watched the crowd, debating braving them a second time to leave.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper had always come to these events to have some fun and stir up some trouble. He'd been caught last year, though, so he didn't really have an outrageous plan this time. He was half expecting Professor Pendleton or someone to tap him on the shoulder and demand to see the contents of his pockets, after he had tried to put stink pellets in the punch last year. So he had no plan this time, but he also wasn't planning on being boring and mushy like almost everyone else in the hall. Sure, some of the girls looked kind of pretty in their dresses, but... he wasn't going to dance. He wandered around the edge of the hall with his hands in his pockets, glancing around for anyone to spend some time with. He wondered if all his friends had dates, he hoped not. Finally, he spotted Lily and stared at her for a moment. She looked... pretty. Jasper thought that was a dumb thought to have, but he couldn't help noticing it. He headed over to her and tapped her shoulder. "Hey Lily, what are you doing? Are you here alone?"

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily jumped a bit when someone tapped her shoulder. She turned, blue eyes wide, to see Jasper. She relaxed, a soft smile on her face. "Hi, Jasper, " She greeted gently. "I don't know," She answered honestly. "Though I am by myself. Everyone had a date, but... I just didn't want to sulk alone in the dorm." She shrugged, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "What are you doing, Jasper? Looking for more trouble?" She teased lightly to try and cover her sadness.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper grinned at Lily's surprised expression, but wasn't sure what to make of her answer. "You don't know? Did you sleepwalk here?" He joked. But when she said everyone had a date, Jasper quickly shook his head. "I don't. I'm pretty sure that jerk Tyler doesn't, and plenty of others don't. Wait, who does? I don't know anyone in our year who has a date." He was rambling a bit, but he hoped Lily wouldn't notice. He laughed softly. "Hey, if I was looking for trouble, I wouldn't have ended up here with you. You're the opposite of trouble." He told her with a small nudge to her shoulder.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled a little sadly at her friend. "Elliot and Lars are here together. And my brother is here with a girl from his class." She looked away. "Mihail probably has a date, too," She added softly. She wished she had been able to be more comfortable for him. But it hadn't worked. Lily was just too shy. She shook her head, brushing it off and turning back to Jasper. She couldn't help but smile a little at his joke. "That's probably why I'm so boring." She offered, only half kidding. "I had my daddy help me dance, and look at me." She gave him a small twirl, dress swishing around her legs. "All dressed up and no one to dance with." She came to a stop again, brushing her hair behind her ears. "It's okay though, I'm probably a rubbish dancer." She didn't know why she felt so down this dance.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper raised his eyebrows as Lily said who was all on dates. He hadn't realized Elliot and Lars were here together, and he understood that if your little brother had a date and you didn't, that had to hurt. "Oh." He wondered if she minded that Elliot had a date. They were often together, but Jasper had thought they were just best friends. He had plenty of girls who were just friends, though one of them had kissed him which had confused everything. Maybe it was just as confusing for Lily. He scoffed when she mentioned Mihail. "Yeah well, who cares about him." He muttered. He frowned when she called herself boring, nudging her shoulder again. "Stop it." He said firmly, repeating the motion when she said she was a rubbish dancer. "Lily, stop it. Stop saying bad things about yourself." He told her. "Look, you actually learned how to dance, I haven't. So if either of us is a rubbish dancer, it's me." He held out his hand, not sure what came over him. "I'll show you how bad I am at it, then you'll feel better." He said, his cheeks turning pink.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily looked back to Jasper, surprise clear in her eyes as he reprimanded her. But if she was surprised before, the feeling intensified as he held out his hand to her. Her mouth fell open just a touch and she felt a slight blush on her cheeks. She did really want to dance. "Are you sure?" She asked softly, hesitantly setting her hand in his. She didn't mean to force him. She felt a little guilty now for being so sad when he was here, but also very grateful to have a friend like him. She had the odd urge to kiss his cheek again, but she held it back. Jasper seemed uncomfortable when she did things like that.

 

[Jasper Night]

As it dawned on Jasper what he had just offered to Lily, he half hoped she would say no. But he could see she wanted to dance, and found it difficult to take back his words. He hesitated, then nodded as she placed her hand in his. "Yeah, but I wasn't kidding, I don't know how to dance." He told her, meeting her gaze. "I mean, I really don't know. So don't hate me if I step on your foot, or make a fool of myself." He said, then grinned. "But at least you'll look good in comparison, right?" He joked. Then, without allowing himself to think on it any longer, he pulled Lily along to the dance floor. It would be fine, he told himself. If everyone else could do it, why not him?

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

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Lily giggled as Jasper continued. "I could never hate you, Jasper." She told him gently as they came to a stop again. "Here, I'll show you." She placed his hand on her waist and placed hers on his shoulder, leaving a bit of space between them. She held his other hand in hers. "Follow my lead. Two steps forward, one step back. 1 2 3, 1 2 3," She encouraged, delighted that after a few moments he seemed to catch on. "You're doing great," She smiled at him. "Now hold, I spin," She kept hold of his hand, doing a slow spin before coming back to where they were. The song ended and transitioned into another, one she knew. She hummed a bit as they danced. As Jasper took more of the lead, Lily began to sing along without a thought, her voice soft and sweet.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper was oddly reassured by Lily's words, even though he hadn't meant it literally. He knew that Lily wouldn't hate him for dancing badly, but it was still nice to hear it. Lily placed his hand on her waist, and Jasper cast a quick glance around to see if other people were doing that before he relaxed a little. She started to lead them, and Jasper mouthed along to the count as they moved. He made a tiny mistake once or twice, but for the most part he was following. He grinned at Lily when she said he did great, and then watched as she spun. He was slowly starting to relax as they kept dancing, getting more and more used to the steps and the rhythm. He realized Lily was softly singing along to the new song, and listened for a bit before he finally commented on it. "Am I such a good dancer that it's making you sing out of joy?" He teased her gently, looking up from his feet to shoot her a grin.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily blushed as Jasper called her out, but giggled lightly. "Sorry," she told him. "My mama plays this one a lot." She bit her lip and smiled at him, sky blue eyes dancing with mirth. "You are getting rather good, though." She reassured him. "I'm sorry I was so moody before," she apologized again. "Rose and I have barely spoken since... Well, the forest." Lily shook her head sadly. "I'm glad you're here, though," she told him softly.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper shrugged as she apologized. "Never said I didn't like it." He admitted with a touch of shyness. "You sing pretty well. I'd join in, but then I think people would run screaming." He joked. It was easier to joke around than to focus on the fluttery feeling inside him. He listened as Lily explained why she was moody, then faltered in his step. "Sorry." He said, hurriedly looking at his feet. "But... I think your sister was being kind of dumb. No offence." He glanced at her face again to make sure she wasn't upset. "You're smart, and you're capable of making your own decisions. The way she treats you makes it seem like you're a baby or something. Like you can't think for yourself. Doesn't it bother you?"

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled as Jasper complimented her again. He was being so sweet. She bit her lip as he spoke honestly. She sighed. "Yes and no," she decided to be honest as well. "Her behaviour... Isn't completely unfounded. Before school, I... I was bullied pretty badly by the other kids. Gum in the hair, my things going missing. Aside from Ren and Rose, I didn't really have anyone." She shook her head. "Rose worries. She's irrational and doesn't believe anyone cares the way she does. But you and Elliot... I've never had anyone in my life like you before." She looked up at him from under her lashes. "Rose just... Can't accept that yet."

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper frowned a little as Lily explained she had been bullied pretty badly before Hogwarts, his grip on her waist tightening just a little. When she finished speaking, he sighed. "Well. That sucks, yeah. I mean, that's pretty terrible. But you've been fine on your own here for the past two years. You made friends... and you going into the forest with me has nothing to do with bullying. You decided you wanted to, and you went." He said, glancing at her face again. "Her saying that was a bad decision kind of makes it seem like she knows better than you, and that's not fair." He shrugged. "But... I don't have any siblings, so I don't really know. I just think it would be annoying." He said softly.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled up at Jasper warmly. "It is. I... Was starting to wonder if maybe she was right, even a little, after Mihail broke up with me. But... I have you, and Elliot, and Lars now too I suppose. And that's enough." She tilted her head to the side a bit, giggling softly and smiling up at him. Jasper really was a good friend, even if he could be a bit thoughtless sometimes. She would have to make him something to make up for all the trouble she caused him. And to thank him for being her friend.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper scoffed. "Mihail is just an idiot, you can't take what he thinks personally." He said, though he barely knew the Hufflepuff. Just the fact that he'd made Lily so insecure made him dislike the guy. He wondered if he could prank him subtly, even if Lily wouldn't approve. "You have plenty of friends, Lily... and if anyone gives you a hard time, just say it to me. I may not be as scary as your sister, but I can still help." He joked lightly. He looked at her as she smiled up at him, and a blush started to cover his cheeks. He quickly averted his eyes, looking down at his feet again.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled a little at Jasper. "It wasn't just Mihail though." She returned to the earlier topic and bit her lip. She hadnt told Jasper who had jinxed her. Or why. She was hesitant, but tonight had been going really well, and they'd both been completely honest up to this point. She sighed. "I... Know who jinxed me. And I know why. I deserved it for what I did. It was brash and thoughtless. I guess I... Just had to wonder if I'm just some shy, stupid girl." She blew her hair out of her eyes. "Silly, isn't it?"

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper frowned when Lily said it wasn't just Mihail who had made her feel bad. He resisted the urge to interrupt her to ask her who she meant, thinking back to how her sister had treated her like a little kid. He didn't want to do the same. But when she told him who had jinxed her and why, he couldn't help it. "Who? Why? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked her, stumbling in one of the steps because he forgot to focus on his feet. He came to a stop, too distracted to keep dancing. "Lily, that is really silly. You're fine the way you are. I don't really get why you won't believe your friends when they tell you that."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily bit her lip as they stopped dancing. She took a step back, twirling a strand of hair around her finger nervously. "I-i didn't say anything because, ah, because I d-didn't want you to start a fight," She admitted, looking away. "Rose already... I didn't want to see you in trouble or hurt because of me, again." She shook her head. "I don't want to knowingly lie to you either though... I... I accidentally ran into... into Tyler." She continued. "He was really mean, and my cousin stepped in and told me to go find Elliot. I... I meant to leave, I really did, I just... I was so upset already, but when I walked by, he... he insulted Elliot. I turned around and slapped him,"

She winced, feeling guilty. "Tyler... isn't the type to forgive something like that easily." She didn't dare look at Jasper. "Just, please, don't do anything." She turned to look at him this time, stepping forward and putting a hand on his arm. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I know I don't always think the best of myself, but I really care about you, Jasper. If anything happened because of something I did, I... I could never forgive myself." She bit her lip, pleading with him silently not to get mad at the other boy.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper felt disappointed as Lily stepped back, but resisted the urge to step closer and close the distance between them again. That was definitely a weird impulse, and kind of embarrassing. She started to explain her encounter with Tyler to him, and he listened quietly, though he'd already heard about it from Emily. He realized as she kept speaking that Tyler had been the one to jinx her, and he frowned down at her. "Lily, you can't just take that! Did you see him? Did someone else? Why didn't you go to a teacher!" He shook his head. "Listen, Tyler can't do anything to me. I'm stronger and smarter than him. I wanted to take revenge on him anyway, for myself. It just has to be something worse now." He told her, trying to think of something good enough to get back at Tyler for being such a jerk.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily bit her lip. "I didn't see him. But he's not exactly the type to let something like that slide." Her eyes widened as Jasper continued. She took a step closer, putting both hands on his arms now. "Jasper, please, just leave it alone. All he cares about is how he looks. He can be petty and vain all on his own. Please?" She bit her lip to stop it from trembling. She didn't want Jasper to fight with anyone, no matter the reason. But she didn't know if he would listen to her. Her sky blue eyes glistened a little with unshed tears as she looked up at him.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper scowled. If Lily hadn't seen Tyler, he could understand why she hadn't gone to a teacher. He shook his head. "Look, bullies can't just get away with stuff. Someone has to teach them a lesson." He told her. "I'll be fine. I'm going to be smart about it. But he hurt me, he hurt you... he and Blake both need to know that they're not the kings of the school just because they think so." He was surprised by the intensity of her gaze, and laughed a little in an attempt to ease the tension. "C'mon Lily, you know I can handle myself. Don't you think I could take him?"