Closed Wonderfully Bizarre

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan didn't really have a plan when he asked Wish to go to the ball with him. But he was a fourth year now and he figured he should have a date at some point. And he liked the Slytherin and she seemed to tolerate him more than others. As they walked into the great hall he was happy to see it winter themed again. He knew not everyone was used to it but it was one of the things he missed most about home. He was tempted to think about his mom again but he shook it off before it could take hold. He had enough on his mind without adding her into the mix. Instead he pointed to the ice rink. "Oh they have ice skating again, are you any good?" he asked Wish. "I fell a lot last year." he admitted. He wasn't really sure how to handle a school dance with someone else. It was weird. But good so far.

 

[Wisteria Lacewing]

Wish had been surprised when Ethan asked her to the ball as she half-thought he didn't know she existed, which was completely irrational because he'd been one of the first people she met at Hogwarts. She knew she had friends, but sometimes her brain liked to trick her about that fact. She smiled as she saw the wintry decorations and felt a little nostalgic because it reminded her of her childhood Decembers on the other side of the world. "Oh, um, I'm alright at it?" she answered, her eyes flickering over to the ice skating. In truth, it was something she'd often done with her brother when they were younger, and Wish's parents would never allow her to be bad at something, so she'd had a lot of practice. "Shall we go see if you'll fall... less this year?" she asked Ethan, her lip twitching.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan nodded along to Wish's answer but had to take a deep steadying breath when she suggested he try again. "We...could." he said slowly in attempt to be diplomatic about it. And he would if she really wanted to. It was important to him that they both have fun. "And I probably would be better. Since I got some practice in." he tried to rationalize. "But... maybe we can get something to eat first?" he suggested and glanced longingly at the snack table.

 

[Wisteria Lacewing]

Wish's brain was doing some serious mental gymnastics as she listened to Ethan, trying to figure out if he was saying yes or no. Sometimes it was difficult to tell what people actually wanted, and the ambient noises of the hall were starting to be distractingly loud. She didn't have a burning desire to go skating and risk making a fool of herself immediately, and was perfectly happy doing whatever Ethan brought up. She didn't want to look like a complete doormat, thought, so she pretended to think very hard about Ethan's suggestion. "Only if there's tiny pies." Wish said cheerfully, stepping over and scanning the snack table hopefully.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan felt himself relax as Wish headed towards the snack table. "Well we'll just have to check." he said since he couldn't remember if they had pies. But he also was pretty sure she wasn't talking about the kind of pies he was thinking off. One time his mom had gotten a job at a dinner for a few months. It was one of his favorites since he usually got to sit in a booth in the back reading his book and eating slices of pie. "I really like those." he said said and pointed to one of plates of cookies. It wasn't pie but he thought they were good. A lull in the conversation followed and he suddenly became self conscious and wondered if there was something he should be doing to be more interesting. "Sorry if I'm not good at this. I usually just come by myself and watch everyone else." he admitted.

 

[Wisteria Lacewing]

Wish did not see any tiny pies immediately but picked up one of the cookies that Ethan had pointed out. "You have good judgement," she approved, finishing her first bite. She pretended to be absorbed in looking at the food in the following silence. A brief smile crossed her face as Ethan said what she was thinking. "I usually go to the forest," she responded, conspiratorially. Going there without being seen was usually a lot easier on holidays, as everybody was too busy with the events to be thoroughly patrolling the area for wayward students. "I, uh don't really know what I'm supposed to do at these things." she shrugged ruefully. Wish was sure that she was probably a very boring person to bring to the ball and hoped Ethan wasn't too disappointed to be stuck with her.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan smiled and felt pretty pleased with himself when Wish seemed to like his suggestion. He grabbed one too and started to nibble on one of the corners. He wasn't sure what kind of response he was looking for after admitting his discomfort but he blinked when she mentioned the forest. He usually kept his time in the forest to daylight hours since it felt safer and if he got caught, like last year, the penalty would probably be less severe. "I hadn't thought about going during a dance." he said. "They're probably be no prefects or professors watching it." Ethan thought out loud. He gave Wish a reassuring but probably awkward smile when she said she didn't know what she was doing either. At least they had that in common. "I'm not really sure either. People seem to like to dance a lot." he shrugged.