Closed Trusting

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose was nervous. She really was. She hadn’t ever gone to the ball with a date before. That by itself was nerve racking enough, but this… going with Apollo, it was almost enough to do her in. Part of her worried this was just another prank, but another part also worried it wasn’t. She had been doing so well ignoring that she liked Apollo, had even started to think maybe she was beginning to get over it. But Rose was nothing if not stubborn. She took a deep breath and walked down the stairs from the girls dorms, unsure if Apollo would meet her in the common room.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

Apollo's Yule Ball attire was a bit on the smaller side but he still thought he looked alright in it. If only he hadn't worried so much about exams and whether Rose would call it off or not, maybe he would have had time to go to Brightstone village and look for something new. All of that didn't matter now though, what mattered now was a hopefully fun time with the girl he really liked. Distracted by a conversation with one of his dormmates, the boy had failed to notice his date walking into the common room.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose bit her lip when she spotted Apollo, a bit nervous. He was talking to someone else, should she go over there? She glanced away, tucking her hair behind her ear. This would be a lot easier if he didn’t look so cute. She took a deep breath, straightening her dress a little. She could do this, right? She straightened her shoulders, trying to look more at ease than she felt as she sauntered over. She lightly placed her hand on Apollo’s arm, smiling at his dorm mate before turning her eyes to Apollo.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

Apollo turned to look over his shoulder when a hand was suddenly placed on his shoulder. He smiled when seeing who the hand belonged to and couldn't help to be a little speechless. Rose looked really pretty. "Hey…" the Gryffindor said once he became self-aware enough of the fact that he had been staring at her for a moment or two. "You look good," he added to it.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose smiled, nodding at the other boy as he left before turning her attention back to Apollo. She giggled at his words, setting her hand in the crook of his elbow. “One of us ought to,” She teased lightly, knocking her hip lightly into his. “I suppose you look alright,” she hesitated a moment before leaning over and kissing his cheek. She was almost as tall as he was, which was part of why she had chosen to wear short heels that night. “Shall we?” She asked, smiling a little shyly. She didn’t want to hang out in the common room too long, it was too easy for Arthur to find them here.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

Apollo turned red in the face when she kissed his cheek. Honestly, it had been a very bold move to tell Rose how he really felt about her, and sometimes, usually when he was lying awake in bed at night, he wondered how wrong it could have gone had she not liked him back. At least he thought that she did. He nodded and led her out of the Gryffindor common room. He didn’t really care if Arthur saw them or not, the only thing he could hope for was that his friend would be able to behave himself when he did see them together. ‘’So, excited about tonight?’’ Apollo asked as they walked down the grand staircase.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose smiled, following after him as they made their way down the stairs. “Maybe a little,” She smiled, linking her arm through his. “We’ll see how the night goes,” She brushed her hair back. “It’ll be better if they have good snacks,” She laughed lightly. “What about you? Excited?” She asked.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

Apollo smirked at Rose’s response. ‘’Why, it almost sounds as if you’d rather spend the evening in the common room,’’ the boy teased. He nodded once more. ‘’I think I am, yeah. I’ve never been to the ball before but I’m sure it’ll be fun!’’ he told her. He was a bit nervous as well but he wasn’t going to admit that to her, she probably thought he was a puss for being nervous about something like this.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose laughed. “What, and leave this fabulousness away from the crowds to adore?” She teased, motioning to her dress. She smiled at his words, moving her hand down to his. “Hey, we’re together. It’s bound to be fun,” She promised as they reached the bottom of the stairs, looking up to him with a smile.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

If the previous change of colour on his cheeks had gone unnoticed, this time it surely couldn’t. He wasn’t able to suppress his smile as she took his hand. ‘’You do look great,’’ Apollo told her, smiling widely. It was at that moment that he saw the entrance hall and a glimpse of what was awaiting them inside of the Great Hall. He had never come down here during the previous Yule Balls, so to see the castle like this, well it was odd but also somewhat magical. He led Rose inside the Great Hall but then let her do the rest, as he did not really know what to do next.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose smiled a little, sticking close to Apollo as they came into the hall. She felt a little shy about just immediately dancing, so she pulled on his hand a little. “How about some snacks and something to drink first?” She asked, thinking it would give them time to settle down a bit.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Apollo replied, thinking that having something to eat and drink would calm his nerves a bit for sure. He didn't know why he was so nervous about tonight but it annoyed him. It was just Rose and himself tonight but they had been alone together a lot ever since that afternoon in the student lounge, so there really was no need to worry about anything. "Oh, look, they've got white chocolate," he said, pointing at the bowl filled with white chocolate pieces and grabbing a handful of them once they reached the table.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose smiled, looking around as they got to the tables. "Ooh, look." She walked over and got a few cups before returning. "Trade? I'll trade you hot chocolate for some white chocolate," she offered.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

Apollo traded her hot chocolate for some of his white chocolate pieces and smiled, blowing into the cup to cool it off. ‘’Oh man, it’s busy here, isn’t it?’’ he said as he was looking around the Great Hall. He was impressed by it if he was being honest, should he have gone to the Ball sooner?

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose smiled, taking the chocolate. She ate a small bit, sipping on her cocoa. "Mm," she shut her eyes, relaxing as the warmth spread through her. "This is nice," she murmured, leaning her head on his shoulder. "It is pretty busy," she agreed, shutting her eyes. "I'm glad we came together," she said shyly, looking up at him.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

Apollo hadn’t been able to stop smiling ever since they had come down here, and when she laid her head on his shoulder, he was still smiling brightly. ‘’Me too,’’ the boy said, glancing down at her after taking a sip. ‘’Do you want to go dance after we’ve finished these?’’ he asked, gesturing to their cups of hot chocolate.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose smiled warmly, heart fluttering a little in her chest. She let herself really relax, trusting him completely. "That would be nice," she murmured, straightening a bit and sipping on her cocoa some more.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

Apollo waited until they had finished their hot drinks before taking Rose's hand and leading her onto the dance floor. He wasn't a particularly good dancer but something in him told him that there'd be no need to fake it when being with Rose. Moving to the beat, Apollo moved around awkwardly whilst smiling widely, enjoying himself a lot when around her.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose smiled as Apollo lead her out onto the dance floor. She giggled, sticking close and letting him pull her into a dance. She was surprised how easy it was to be with him, but she couldn't deny that it was nice. She giggled, dancing easily with him. They weren't very good, but that didn't matter so much to her. She smiled happily at him, giggling and doing a little twirl.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

Apollo took Rose's hand again after she twirled around, swinging around back and forth with her and laughing softly. He liked this and he didn't care what anyone thought about them dancing together - he liked her and tonight was all about showing that he was serious about it.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose couldn't help but giggle as Apollo took her hand, greatly enjoying herself as they danced. She could see why her siblings enjoyed these things so much. She was glad she had decided to ignore the advice in the Hogwarts Monthly. Looking over all the answers, Aunt Agony had just sounded bitter and biased against romance. Rose wasn't the romantic her sister was, by any means, but even so she didn't have such a negative outlook on the idea itself. She spun a bit more, laughing as she came back around and put her hands on Apollos' chest, her dark eyes sparkling. She laughed lightly, leaning in and quickly kissing him before falling back again and swaying her hips as she danced.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

Apollo turned red when Rose kissed him, though did not pull away when she did so. ''So, you finally trust me?'' he asked, hoping that she could get the thought of all of this being just a bad prank out of her head - it was far from a prank to him.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose laughed, stilling again and stepping forward, draping her arms lightly over his shoulders. "Yeah," she replied, smiling warmly up at him. She reached up and brushed his hair back, letting her hand fall to hold his face lightly. "Yeah, I do," she repeated, running her thumb lightly over his cheek.

 

[Apollo Bixby]

''Good,'' Apollo said with a smile. ''Because I do really like you.'' He pressed his lips onto hers for a moment. After reading the Monthly and particularly the one bit from Aunt Agony over and over again, Apollo was sure that she wasn't going to go through with their date.

 

[Rosalind Lockwood]

Rose giggled a bit, kissing him back and lacing her fingers through his hair. She smiled, not opening her eyes as she pressed her forehead to his. "So," She started, relaxed against him, "What next? More dancing, back for drinks, date next week?" She added casually, curious where this left them.