Totally Not a Date

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper had to admit, he was nervous. Lysander had surely only asked him here as friends. Cas knew that. Lysander was a million times too good for Cas. This was just a friend's thing. Cas tried to convince himself as he walked down to the Great Hall. He didn't like Lysander. He couldn't. Cas reached the doors and stopped there, deciding to wait for the other boy outside. He fiddled with his sleeves. After tonight, he knew he needed to try and avoid Lysander more. Cas knew very well that liking anyone never went well for him. He'd been hurt so many times already. It would be better if he just broke away from himself now. He sighed, unthinkingly chewing his lip and not paying attention as he waited.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander was not as on time to the Valentines' dance as he would have liked. Without needing to figure out which of his familiars to bring as a date this year, or which tie they'd wear, he'd managed to leave his dorm quite early to get down to the hall, only to be stopped by his dad on the way down and forced to fix his hair. Apparently, he hadn't combed it nearly enough, and his shirt was one button too low. It was embarrassing, having his dad comb back his hair in the middle of a corridor, and he'd gotten away as soon as he could, somehow feeling more disheveled despite looking more groomed. He spotted Casper, and jogged the last few steps, as if it'd make up for being a few minutes late. The other boy looked really nice, and suddenly Lysander felt grateful to not look too unbrushed in comparison. "Hey!" He grinned, offering a rose as if it were an apology. "Got you one of these. The rosebushes were spared from the Valentines' messengers this year." He chuckled. He loved receiving messages, mostly because he seemed to always get so many, but the headless rosebushes always looked a little worse for wear afterward.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper blushed as Lysander appeared, pushing back the thought that the other boy looked really cute. "Oh, t-thanks," he stuttered shyly, smiling nervously. He took the rose and slid it through one of the button holes on his jacket, at a loss for how else to stick it to his person. "Er- shall we?" He asked, pointing with his thumbs to the Great Hall behind him. Casual. Stay casual. Cas could absolutely do that. Couldn't he?

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander smiled to himself at Casper's nervousness. He tried not to take these events too seriously. He was here to have fun, and he wanted to make sure Cas had fun as well. "Looks good on you." He complimented as the other boy hooked the rose through his jacket button. Casper's whole outfit looked good on him. Lysander had forgone a jacket, with them still coming off the tail end of Summer. These dances tended to get hot, with so many people pressed close together in one room. That, and he didn't want to miss an opportunity to show off his arms after all his beater practice. "We shall." Lysander chuckled, hooking an arm under Casper's to lead the way into the hall. "What are you feeling first? Drinks? A dance?" He asked, teasingly twirling Casper on the spot. Lysander definitely had still needed to brush up on his dance moves, but after seeing Casper fall over himself during Yule, he knew they didn't have to try too hard.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Cas blushed as the boy linked their arms, letting himself be lead into the room. He laughed as Lysander spun him. "We could try dancing," he offered. "Then relax and drink after," he thought it sounded like a good idea. He walked a little closer to Lysander, blushing when he caught Lindens' eyes on him. "People are going to talk, you know," he peeked to the other boy. "It's not every day that the kings wonder out together," he tried to make it sound like a joke, smiling shyly.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander chuckled. There was a definite emphasis on the try when it came to dancing. "I didn't bring Remy this time, but I think we can make do without his sweet moves." He joked. He followed the boys gaze, unable to help but notice Linden and Lucas very obviously talking about them. He raised a hand to give them an emphatic wave from across the dancefloor, and turned his attention back to Casper, leaning closer with a mock gasp. "I know, what a scandal. Two rival kings, out for a dance in the public eye. What will the people think?" Lysander tutted. He placed his hands on Casper's shoulders to lead the dance, trying to remember the steps the school staff had taught during their lessons. "Let them talk. We're royalty, who else are they going to want to talk about? If we're lucky, we could end up on the front page of the next Monthly." He said playfully. Probably under a scathing review penned by Sydney, but the front page nonetheless. "Just, you know, don't fall over your feet this time." He teased. He was eager to put on a show for anyone standing around and watching, and really play it up now that Casper had pointed the fact out. It was some silly fun for the night.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Cas scoffed a little bit at Lysander's words, smiling and shaking his head. "Rival? Right, totally," He agreed sarcastically. "I don't think rivals would have spent the last week making you that epic flower covered dragon painting I promised," He teased the boy with a sly smile and a wink. "It's almost done, too." Cas sighed dramatically. "I suppose I'll just have to keep it to myself." He pouted.

His breath caught a little as they turned to each other and Lysander put his hands on Caspers shoulders. Cas put his hands on the other boys waist in return. He swayed lightly, laughing at Lysanders' words. "Aw, come on. You should be used to the spotlight by now." He teased. He rolled his eyes as he was told not to fall over. "Aw, why not? It would be such a dramatic rescue. You'd catch me if I fell, wouldn't you?" He asked, then immediately blushed as he caught the double meaning he'd unintentionally put into his words. He just hoped Lysander didn't notice.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander gasped with feigned offense. In all honesty, he hadn't been too sure how seriously Casper would have taken to painting something he'd mentioned as an off-hand comment, but the fact that he was actively working on it had him excited to see the finished product. "Well I can't let you do that, it'd be such a waste. You have to show off your art. To me." He nodded decisively, grinning all the while. Now that Casper had mentioned the painting, there was no way he'd let him get away with keeping it to himself. "Besides, rivals makes for better story-telling. The people will eat that up." He shrugged lightly and chuckled to himself. It was always more fun when the truth was twisted a bit. He was fairly certain most good tales were.

They swayed around the dancefloor, Lysander stepping in slow, lazy circles. Was this the first time he'd actually properly danced with someone at one of these events? He'd only ever gone with friends, and they'd mostly danced separately, together. He didn't have time to reflect on it, instead he rolled his eyes with a laugh at the suggestion he was used to the spotlight. He supposed he was by now. It came with the territory. It had stopped becoming a surprise to see his name in the student paper, and the novelty had long since worn off. "It's true. There's a gaggle of photographers waiting for me outside, as we speak." Lysander teased, lowering his voice to just above a whisper, as if it were some secret he was letting Casper in on. If Casper were trying to bolster his ego, it was certainly working. He glanced at the boy's feet, and back up at his face. "'Course. I'd sweep you off your feet before you even hit the floor.' He winked, raising one of his arms off of his shoulder to jokingly flex his muscles. Yeah, the short sleeves had been a really good idea.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper laughed. "I'll bring it with me to the club event, and give it to you then," he promised. He shook his head as Lysander defended the rivals idea. "Well, then, your majesty, how do you go about being rivals?" He asked. "I could attack you with paintbrushes at random, you look like you could use a bit of color," he teased lightly.

Cas pretended to pout as Lysander said there were photographers waiting for him outside. "That's too bad, then. I'm so handsome no one will even notice you," he teased the Gryffindor with a playful wink. His smile faded a little bit though, and he couldn't help but blush and look away when Lysander flexed. "Well, glad to know I'd be safe then," he tried to continue the joke, hoping it wasn't obvious how his voice faltered. Lysander was really very attractive, and Cas tried to push away thoughts of how strong the other boy must be. Cas had always been cuddly and affectionate, and combining teenage hormones with an acute loneliness didn't really do him any favors.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander couldn't help but laugh at Casper's idea of what being a rival meant. It sounded like another reason to steer clear of the arts room, though most of his clothes were grass-stained or mud-ruined enough that some paint wouldn't have made a difference. "I need more colour? But I already have such rosy cheeks." He chuckled, pressing a finger to said cheek for emphasis. He let out another laugh at Casper's claim that he'd draw the photographers away, briefly pretending to be insulted at the very thought, though his expression quickly changed. "Yeah? What a relief. It'll be nice to have them off my back for a while. It's exhausting being so popular and in-demand all the time, you know?" He said, shaking his head with a light snicker. "I guess there's no denying it, you do look pretty handsome in that suit. I think it's the rose. Really just finishes the whole look. You're welcome for that." He grinned, thumbing at the rose petals in Casper's jacket. There was something different about Casper's demeanor, though Lysander couldn't quite put his finger on it. "You haven't stepped on my toes yet, so I don't think you have anything to worry about." He pointed out. Their dance was nice, definitely more coordinated than Yule had been.​

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper laughed lightly, shaking his head. "You could always use more color," he told the boy. "Maybe a nice blue," he mused. He came out of it a little as Lysander joked about being popular and in demand all the time. That was really true, wasn't it? Cas was reminded then of how vastly different the two of them were. Lysander could have anyone in the entire school, that he was here with Casper was really just a passing whim.

Cas pushed the thought back, knowing he would dwell on it later. He was completely distracted as Lysander said he was handsome, and thumbed the flower. "What can I say? I'm an artist, I know how to paint a nice canvas," He teased. He laughed as Lysander mentioned not stepping on his toes. "Private lessons with Remy. Really doing wonders," he winked playfully.