You Wanna Take Me Where?

[Venn Asiah Boneheart]

Venn had spent the entirety of lunch picking at his food, sitting at the Gryffindor table, listening to his sister and friend, Prue, ramble on about school. He wished that he was in there year, and their house, quite frankly, but that could not be so. He had noticed that his older friend, Armin, had been quiet, too, having all but ignored his attempts at making conversation. The Ravenclaw was not entirely sure what he had done wrong, but he was trying to figure out a way to fix this before he found himself all alone without any friends except Prue and Vernie. He loved his sister, and Prue was a really great friend, but it was nice to have a guy friend to hang out with, and Armin was a lot of fun. He liked hanging out with Armin when Veronica was a little too busy to find time for him. She tended to over-work herself on occasion, and so sometimes she would end up double-booking her time, and Venn never wanted to make their hanging-out a burden, so he would always cancel for her. Prue was similar, in that she was frequently busy. Sometimes it was he who was busy. If they were in the same house, it would have been easier, or even in the same year to have a chance of working in classes together.
Venn threw his fish-tail plait over his shoulder as he began leaving the Great Hall for parts unknown. He had not decided what he would be doing, but his thoughts were on Halloween, which would start in a few days. Prue and he had just finished deciding that they would go as royalty - he as a princess, and her as his prince. He was quite excited for it, and would have to borrow on of his sister's dresses, and maybe change the dimensions a little bit, as they were naturally not the same size. He pursed his lips with thought, and lent against the wall, pulling out a notepad and sitting down against it. He was going to take some notes on his costume and draw out any necessary items that it would have to have. His quill brushed against his chin in thought, before he smiled. Bows and frills, definitely.​

<i></i>

 

[Armin Nightray]

Armin Nightray was not a nervous person. It wasn't like him to think too much about something, that was his brother's thing. He usually dives head first in every situation without considering too much the consequences of his actions. But today was unlike any other day in the young Nightray's life. Today, Armin Nightray was extremely nervous. No, saying that he was just nervous would be the understatement of the century. He was definitely beyond nervous.

Armin stared absently at his food. He was usually a big eater, but today, he didn't feel like eating. Ever since the Yule Ball had come to his attention, he had endured a lot of sleepless nights, trying to come up with a brilliant way to ask a special friend to attend the ball with him. He'd never really been afraid of girls, but he had never actually tried to ask someone out. It would have been different if it was a random Gryffindor, he could just come up to her and tell her to come to the ball with him, but this was Venn that he had been planning to ask out. Venn! Venn was a really good friend, he enjoyed seeing her every now and again, talking about the most random of things and just enjoying the younger's company. He knew he liked Venn, but lately, he felt weird around the younger, and he didn't know what to think of it. He honestly didn't know why no matter how annoyed he was, the Ravenclaw could make him smile. He didn't understand why the room seemed to brighten just with the younger girl's presence nor why he felt extremely nervous just by thinking about how he would ask the Ravenclaw to the Yule ball. But whatever, thinking too much was not his thing.

He took a deep breath, he was ready, or at least, he tries to tell himself that he was ready. A part of him tells him that this was a stupid thing to do, but whatever, he was going to ask Venn and he was going to ask her now. But before he could deliver his question, he realized that the person who had been occupying his thoughts recently was nowhere to be found. He had finally mustered the courage to ask Venn and yet she wasn't around. He fought the urge to shout and instead, went out of the great hall to look for the younger student. He was starting to feel positive that this was turning to be a hopeless cause. He couldn't find her. "I'm starting to look like a bloody stalker." He whispered after asking one student after the other whether they have seen the Ravenclaw. "Seriously, Venn. Where are you? I'm trying to ask you to the Yule ball. Where in Merlin's name are - Hi Venn!" He exclaimed, running towards the object of his affections. He mentally cringed as he reached her. He sounded and acted too much like a fanboy. "What are you- wait no, I was supposed to ask you something else." He paused for a moment and cleared his throat. There was no backing out now. He had to ask her now. "Venn Asiah Boneheart, will you go to the Yule ball with me?" He practically shouted as he extended his hand as if he had been offering a business deal. He had no idea how to properly ask a girl to the Yule ball, but as he waited for his friend to accept his hand while various other students around them turned to stare curiously, he thought that he could just lock himself in his room and never come out because waiting for Venn to answer felt worse than waiting for his grandfather to deliver his decisions.​

<i></i>

 

[Venn Asiah Boneheart]

Venn jumped slightly and looked up as he heard his friend Armin. He narrowed his eyes slightly at the Gryffindor, before standing upright, and smiling slightly at how loud he was being. It was just like talking to his sisters - and even his older brother could get this incredibly loud. He observed silently as Armin seemed to trip over his words, and as he waited, Venn put away his quill and waved his parchment gently. He had been drawing the dress plans and he liked them so far - he wished the ink to dry first before rolling it up. It would surely get all smudgy and gross if he just went rolling it up willy-nilly like his sister always did. That was why she never got any work done. For some reason, he looked around as his name was called, feeling as if he were being backed into a corner. Armin was yelling at him, making everyone stare at them, and in so doing, making Venn stare at him.
"W-what?" the young Ravenclaw stammered, staring at the Gryffindor's extended hand. He didn't realise that Armin thought that way about him. It was flattering, but he was sure his sister would prefer the attention much more than he would. Maybe Armin meant to ask Veronica - but he had just literally used his entire name to get his attention. Venn could feel his face beginning to turn red under the embarrassment and pressure of being stared at by everyone in the vicinity. He could feel his stomach flip-flopping within his body at how uncomfortable he was feeling, but he couldn't just destroy his friend's feelings, could he? That would be so wrong, after how cool Armin had always been to him, it just would not be fair to him.
He pursed his lips awkwardly, before smiling. How bad could this go? "Sure," he said, awkwardly taking Armin's hand. Did they hug now? High five? What was he even doing?! "I would love to go to the Yule Ball with you, Armin Xavierre Richiliu Nightray." He had no idea if he pronounced it right, but he tried, and that was what mattered. "Um... what now?"​

<i></i>

 

[Armin Nightray]

It seemed like an eternity had passed as Armin waited for Venn's answer. The Gryffindor was not someone who worries a lot. He was usually so sure of himself, always full of confidence, yet, as he stood in front of the Ravenclaw, anxiously waiting for the younger student to give him her answer, he was ready to dig a hole and just bury himself into the ground. He was losing his calm. This wasn't supposed to happen. Nobody should be able to break the control he has had for most of his life, yet, Venn was doing it as if it was child's play. He should be annoyed, really. Didn't she know how long it took for him to build this confidence only for her to break it down? He should hate her, but he didn't. It surprised him that he didn't mind it at all. It was odd, yes, but he realized that when it came to her, he didn't mind anything.

The confirmation that came from the Ravenclaw somehow brought him back to his senses only to rob him off of his control yet again. He was quite sure that Venn had asked a question, but instead of answering it, and against better judgment (for although he was clingy, he tries not to initiate any physical contact with the younger student too much), he pulled the Ravenclaw into a hug, the silliest of smile on his face. He cheered quite loudly, as if he just won first place in a prestigious event. He was loud, but this was a celebratory moment that the world needs to know, even though the world probably didn't care at all. Once he had calmed down, however, he realized what he had done and he immediately took his hand away and stepped back, running his fingers through his hair. He was nervous, but it was a different kind of nervous from before. How he knew, he wasn't certain. "What now? Well we... think of what we're going to wear?" He wasn't really sure what to do, but he figured that if they were going to attend a ball, their clothes should at least, match, right? He looked at the Ravenclaw, a smile present on his face. It was moments like these that warmed his heart (although some would say that as a Nightray, he didn't have much), and set butterflies to his stomach. And as much as he didn't understand why, he liked it. Yet, as he looked at the Ravenclaw, something tells him that whatever it was that he was feeling, it would soon tear him apart.​

<i></i>

 

[Venn Asiah Boneheart]

Venn released a sound of surprise as he was pulled into a hug, and shut his eyes as his flinched when the Gryffindor made a big show of everything. He was happy that his friend was happy, really, but his ears were a little too close to Armin's mouth and his voice was ringing through them something fierce. He awkwardly patted Armin's back, never having been one for hugs, especially of the unexpected kind. But this was Armin, the Ravenclaw had learned long ago that one could never, ever expect anything from Armin, because he was so unpredictable, and possibly a little crazy. He looked up at his friend's face, and smiled slightly. No, he was definitely crazy. Through and through. He shook his head slightly and giggled at him, finding his friend's antics to be as funny as they always had been, since they met. "Don't look so worried Armin," he said, punching his arm gently. Seeing Armin anxious made him feel more anxious than he already did. "We'll be fine."
Venn nodded at Armin's suggestion, as he was just about to do that before he was approached by the Gryffindor. He flourished his notepad and quill at his friend, grinning sheepishly. "I was just about to note down ideas on what to wear," he explained, before tucking his hair behind his ears. He then inclined for Armin to follow him with his head. "Come on, we can plan together. I was thinking maybe something yellow, you like yellow?"

---

-FINISHED-​

<i></i>​

---

---