Closed Your Sweet Sixteen

[Rowan Baros]

Rowan had been up all night, she was not the best cook at all. There were certain dishes that she knew how to make because she made them regularly, but generally speaking she was not a cook. Danish foods especially were not the sort of thing she was used to at all. As such, nothing was right. She was a mess. There was flour all over the benches, in her hair, on her clothes, she didn’t really have anywhere to clean up either, though she was going to dust herself off a bit. Working with non-vegan foods was difficult. She wasn’t going to force her veganism on everyone else just because she was a vegan, so mostly she just tired her best with foods she was vastly unfamiliar with and hoped it would work out. Clearly it had not, if this mess was anything to go by. She wasn’t sure how she’d ruined this cake so badly, but it hadn’t risen at all. Had she not added enough milk? She had to sub out the almond milk for coconut because she’d almost forgotten that Elio was allergic, had that been a mistake?​

She looked at the other food in the picnic basket and shook her head, it was awful, but she had no back ups. At least the fruit skewers and the cheese board looked okay, because she didn’t need to do anything with them except add the fruit and cheese. She was iffy on the boiled egg tart, which she couldn’t eat anyway. Most of the foods she had cooked she couldn’t eat, but she’d had trouble finding vegan alternatives for everything. She was used to having everything available to her at home. Getting her own stuff had been a pain. Maybe she should have accepted help from the house elves after all.​

Rowan shook her head and packed up what she could, leaving most of the kitchen a mess as she headed back up to Gryffindor tower. She cleaned her denim shorts off as well as she could before quickly pulling her hair into a messy ponytail and dropping the basket carefully on the ground. She’d decorated the north tower earlier, or rather some time last night so she wouldn’t have to rush this morning. After all, she hadn’t known how long this was going to take for her to make all the food which she had then subsequently ruined. She still had bits of flour on her top and some on her ass from where she’d sat on the bench to read the recipes. She did what she could make up wise, and shook her hands out before carefully and quietly making her way to the boys dorm to wake up Elio. She was careful not to disturb anyone else as she bit her lip and crouched down beside Elio. “Psst, El, wake up.” She hoped he wouldn’t startle.​

 

[Elio Zephyr]

“Sit!” Elio was saying, confidently and firmly at the large white fluffy thing in front of him. Matilda was bigger now than she ever had been before, anyone looking at her might have thought she was actually a dog. Matilda refused though, and took one webbed step towards him instead, looking straight into his eyes with a disturbing amount of concentration. “Sitttt,” he tried again, attempting to stand his ground but the duck wasn’t having it, and continued to creep forward. “Rowan, give her the biscuits,” Elio turned to call out over his shoulder but he couldn’t see her, and when he looked back to the duck it was now dangerously close to his own face, startling him almost off balance, “Rowan!” His voice panicked now, he jolted again as he tried to move but found his feet were stuck. He could hear her but she wasn’t here.​

​

“ROWAN,” he suddenly shouted, waking himself up in shock, although he was in for a double whammy as Elio came to from his nightmare that Rowan was actually looking straight at him, face almost as close to his as Matildas had been. “Did you give her the biscuits?” He asked, only after taking a few seconds to realise it had just been in his head, and that Rowan was in his room, duck free. “Erm. Are you okay?” He asked, swallowing a little sheepishly as he tried to kick off the covers that had clearly caused him to overheat. ​

 

[Rowan Baros]

Rowan wasn't sure what was going on, but suddenly Elio was shouting her name. She almost fell backwards from her crouched position in shock, not having expected such a reaction. "Biscuits... what biscuits, who are you talking about?" She asked him, frowning as she crawled back over to him and rested her hands on the side of the bed. "Why are you asking me if I'm okay, are you okay?" She asked back, unsure what was going on. Perhaps now wasn't the right time for his surprise. She was tired, she should get some sleep anyway. She yawned a little before rubbing her hand over her eyes, subsequently smudging the flour already on her face. "It's your birthday," she told him, nodding to him as though he might have forgotten. "I was going to surprise you, but if you're not up for it, that's okay," she told him, shaking her head to try and forget the tiredness she felt. She could wait until a decent hour. It would ruin her plans abit, but this was all for Elio, she wasn't going to force him into anything at all. Why would she want to? "You look a bit sick, are you okay?" She asked again, reaching out to him.​

 

[Elio Zephyr]

Elio frowned. "Matilda's.. biscuits?" he said aloud, although he realised as the words left his mouth he should really stop talking about his dream. "Nevermind," he tried to shift a little, quietly as not to wake his dormmates if they were indeed still asleep after his yelling. "I'm okay.." his eyes were adjusting to the dark, and he was pretty sure he saw a white patch on Rowan's forehead. "What are you.." he trailed off, swiping a hand to try and wipe it off, brushing it away after a few sweeps. "It's gone midnight?" he asked, reaching across to find his watch in the dark. Elio wasn't exactly the most organised person so there was a slim chance he wouldn't find it. At the prospect of a surprise, he woke up more considerably, realising that she was doing something for him, "Yeah, I promise," he smiled, hoping she could see it, "Erm, what are we doing?" he added, wondering whether he needed to get out of bed or if this was something she was going to do right here and now at the side of his bed. His hand hadn't found his watch but he did find his glasses, planting them back on his face as the world suddenly became much more clear.​

 

[Rowan Baros]

Rowan’s frown only grew deeper as she tried desperately to figure out what on earth her best friend was talking about. “Matilda’s asleep on my pillow,” she told him, confusion alighting her face as she thought about it. “Shall I fetch her, I thought you didn’t like her?” She wasn’t sure what Elio had against ducks, especially he beautiful darling Matilda who just wanted to play and be friends, but no, Elio didn’t like her. Big meanie. She smiled at him then when it seemed he’d woken up enough to realise more of what was going on. “Yeah, come on weirdo, we’re going out.” She told him, tugging on his blankets as she stood up. “It’s up to you if you get dressed or not, I don’t care but you might,” she said, bouncing from foot to foot excitedly. The cooking hadn’t really gone quite as she’d hoped, but everything else would be fine. She was sure the house elves would have finished with the fire works by now and she’d decorated the towers really well. Gryffindor red of course, with a couple of sneaky photos she’d managed to take when she wasn’t shaking from the anxiety of holding a camera again. She hoped that he’d appreciate it, she still felt like she had some major control issues, but she was getting through them with Elio’s help. She loved him despite any bad habits he might have, which was fine, because that was how you knew you loved someone, regardless of anything else. “You’ll love it... I hope.”​

 

[Elio Zephyr]

Elio's face turned into a frown of disgust at the thought of that duck sitting on her pillow. On her bed would have been bad enough, but no she had to have to that seat. Only the best for her precious duck that she'd insisted on saving from Transfiguration. "Yeahhh no I'm good," he said, breaking free of his covers. He perhaps would have changed if he wasn't already dressed in long sleeve pj's but as he was, he didn't think he'd be that cold. Not if they weren't leaving the castle anyway. "Are you sneaking a prefect out?" he raised his eyebrows with a cheeky smile. Rowan was too excited though for Elio to not be intrigued, and figuring he didn't really have anything to bring with him he just nodded, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "Lead the way!" he added, voice still a whisper as to not wake any of the others up. He did trust that Rowan knew what he liked, but just the idea that she'd done something for him was enough for him to love it regardless. As an after thought he grabbed his prefect badge from the side table. At least if anyone did catch them, he could always use that as an excuse to get them out of any trouble. "Am I allowed to know where we're going?" he asked, as he was attempting to pin the badge on his shirt, unaware in the dark that it was upside down. ​

 

[Zennon Baros]

No

 

[Rowan Baros]

Rowan smiled at Elio, shaking her head. “Matilda loooooves you,” she said. And it was true! All Tildes ever wanted to do was fly straight at Elio’s face for snuggles, he didn’t seem to appreciate it though. She stepped back a little to give him room to get out of bed and grinned at his pyjamas. “Glad it’s me walking in on you and not the other way around, you’d be scared for life,” she didn’t mean that the way it sounded, but she was usually a bit less dressed than he currently was. Booty shorts and crop top not with standing. It was hot all the time up there, goodness. It wasn’t much less than what she wore now to be perfectly honest, but it was a bit different. “Yes, I suppose I am,” was he even a proper prefect the amount of times they’d both sneaked out by now. She also hoped one day secretly that he’d be head boy, also she hoped he wouldn’t because then she’d be on her own as he did stupid prefect and head boy things, bad enough as it was now to be honest. She focused on him as he pinned on his badge and giggled. “Come here,” she said, tugging on his badge and fixing it up. “It was upside down,” she grabbed his hands, “come on!” She wasn’t going to tell him where they were going, but since they were going up, she figured he had some idea.​

 

[Majora Valentine]

Ugh karma for bowchuckling

 

[Elio Zephyr]

Loves wasn't the word Elio would have used exactly, he was sure sometimes Matilda only went for him because she was defending Rowan. Elio glanced down to his clothing choice, initially thinking that they weren’t that bad, although as she finishes her sentence she realised she was talking about the amount rather than the fact they had little cassette tapes on them. “Really?” He was a little surprised to hear it, although he did feel a little over dressed for the summer. Rowan started fiddling with his badge and he wondered if she was trying to take it off, although smiled sleepily when she told him it had been upside down. “Thanks,” it would have been marginally embarrassing if they’d be caught and seen that. He took her hand and followed her out the room and straight out the common room. It was strange to be out at this time of the night, but in all honesty he thought it was kind of peaceful with no one else around. Places that usually would be bustling with activity were now quiet and still, and it was fun to be out and about with his best friend.​

 

[Rowan Baros]

Rowan grabbed the picnic basket she'd made on the way as she eagerly dragged Elio behind her out of the common room. She was both incredibly excited but also really nervous about this. It could all go horribly wrong, well, more wrong than it had already gone. She was just glad they were still at school and that she'd chosen not to go home with her family this year. As much as she loved her family, she would have years with them, who knew how long she'd have with Elio, really, when school was finished they would move onto their own lives, so, who could really say what would happen after. Of course she would always want him in her life, but it was hard to say how well that would translate outside of school. "Okay, I'm going to be cliche right now, close your eyes please." She said, once they'd made it up the stairs and just outside the tower. She still have a little bit to set up, though almost everything was in place. She just wanted to make sure it was perfect, her perfectionism was still in control with this after all, but she could allow it for this small thing. "Just step carefully, I got you." She added, holding his hands and making sure he didn't trip on anything. She quickly fixed everything up, but tried to make it look like she hadn't tried too hard. She didn't need him to know exactly how long all of this had taken. She'd been planning it for ages, and she just hoped he would like it. There really wasn't an easy way to be sure. "When you're ready, open your eyes."​

​

She had blankets and pillows on the floor, a radio to play their favourite songs and fairy lights all over the tower. On the walls she had a couple of photos she'd managed to take, more in his style, without him noticing. She'd taken them over the last couple of weeks, and even though she'd told him she wasn't ready yet, and she wasn't, she'd found that the freedom of the type of photography he loved seemed to shine through in the small collection of photos she'd managed to take. There weren't many, but she was sure he would recognise all of them, including the one of them at the Yule ball she'd taken when his back was turned. She'd wanted him to have a nice one and even though the Yule ball hadn't quite gone the way they would have wanted, with Vegeta and Elsie becoming their focus as well as a couple of other things, it was nice among the collection of others that he had. She was sure eventually they would have an amazing Yule ball, or just an amazing year. She was looking forward to next year. Maybe it would all be amazing, no exams, no fights, just her an Elio enjoying their time. What a future.​

 

[Elio Zephyr]

Elio was too sleepy to notice that Rowan had picked something up on the way out the common room, although his mind was wandering when they kept climbing through the tower. For some reason he had an image in his head that they were about to go and see a “great view,” but Elio was sure Rowan knew he didn’t like heights. As they stopped, he happily did as he was told, closing his eyes and putting out his hands for her to move him to wherever she wanted him. “What have you planned..” Elio smiled, excitement building as he wanted to know what she had up her sleeve. He felt his way through the last bit of the corridor until Rowan let go of his hands, and waited as patiently as he did, not even peeping a tiny bit.​

When he opened his eyes, he saw everything at once. The brightness of the lights that were hung up around the tower, the comfy blankets and pillows, as well as the the little wall of photos. “Ro..” Elio walked forward towards the set up, headed for the photos to see them better although unusually more quiet than normal. He felt as though he had a lump in his throat, and stepping carefully he was admiring what she had done here before stopping in front of the pictures with a small smile on his face. There were so many he’d not realised she’d taken. Then again he hadn’t thought she had picked up her camera in months, so had no reason to think she would have taken a photo at the time. It was strange for Elio, he spent so long taking photos like this of other people that he’d never really seen himself in any of them until now. His eyes moved from one to another, realising they were quite close to his own style rather than what he knew Rowan usually took. He knew Rowan was in love with him, but this almost gave it a new level of meaning. She saw things in him that he’d not even explicitly mentioned. He turned to look more around the room, everything looked so comfy. “I can’t believe you did all this,” he was in awe, still noticing little details here and there. ​

 

[Rowan Baros]

Rowan thought, or at least hoped, that Elio would like what she'd done. She hadn't been absolutely sure, but she'd definitely been crossing her fingers a little and hoping for the best. She knew him well after all, but it had still been something of a leap of faith it always was with this situations and considering their history it was sometimes hard to tell how Elio was going to react to things. She was a little nervous as he looked around at what she'd done, unsure what he was thinking and since he'd stepped away from her she couldn't see his face. He said her name softly and she felt the pressure she was feeling evaporate immediately. He wouldn't have said her name like that if he'd hated it. She followed him at a slight distance, giving him space to take it all in as she moved over to where she'd put the picnic basket on in over-supplied set up of pillows and blankets. She'd managed to make it feel like there wasn't a stone floor beneath them, which she thought was rather an impressive feat considering she'd tried to be careful about how much magic she used. She didn't want anyone to be able to accuse of using it for malicious purposes after all. Elio's influence with the Prefects probably only went so far and he could hardly cover her if he was sleeping now could he? She opened the basket and made a face at the food. Some of it was okay, but the vast majority looked a bit sh*t and she frowned at it, pushing it to the side for not.​

​

Elio was still looking at everything and she dropped her head onto her knees as she brought them to her chest to watch him walk around the room. She was so happy that he liked what she'd done and she was glad that he liked the photos as that one she'd been a bit unsure about. "Of course I did, I love you, Elio, I want to make you happy and do things for you." She said grinning. "Come here," she said, holding her hands out to him so he could join her on the blankets. "There's a bit more, just... maybe ignore the food," she said, refusing to look at the basket. "So, I have just one more thing... well, actually two but the other one is for later and this is for right now," she said, breathing deeply to calm her nerves. She'd never actually spoken her poetry to anyone and though she was always writing it, this was the first time she'd ever written something for anyone, especially for someone as close to her as Elio. This could go terribly, terribly wrong. "Okay, I... sort of wrote you something." She said, nodding to herself.​

"Rose are red,​

Violets are blue,
I should probably leave this to the experts for you.

Just because I’m not great at this,
Doesn’t mean I care less,
This poem doesn’t really have a point,
I’m sorry it’s such a mess.

There’s many words to describe the feelings in my heart,
But when I try to find them,
It’s like the whole world falls apart.

The future is unclear,
I don’t know what lies ahead,
The only thing I know right now,
Is I love you from A to Z.

None of this makes sense,
Maybe it never will,
But I’ve come to understand more now,
Than I ever thought I," she stopped for a second and shrugged.
"I wrote this to make it rhyme, than I ever thought I will.

The timing is illogical,
The location is a joke,
But I’m really glad you’re here with me,
And not some other bloke" She looked down at the paper and giggled lightly, "I mean this for me mostly but reading it now I realise it also applies to you, so,

Elio I love you,
I know I always will,
Forgive if I’ve ruined your birthday,
Are we best friends still?"

 

[Elio Zephyr]

Elio usually knew what to say, or at least had an idea, in most instances, although no one had given him this level of consideration before, and it was still intense to know that Rowan cared as much as she did. Elio always hoped that he could make her happy too, as much as he possibly could, and even if it wasn’t in the way that most people might expect Elio tried to let her know how much her acts were appreciated too. He was already smiling a little, touched at what she’d prepared, when she took his hands and he knelt down opposite her. He couldn’t help but glance down when she mentioned food, although he wasn’t entirely sure what it was in the basket. Perhaps that was just because of the light. He turned his gaze back to the girl in front of him, squeezing her hands. The fifth year wasn’t expecting her to say she’d written him anything either; the only thing he’d ever been written in the past was a list of things to pick up from the store from his mum. As soon as Rowan began, the smile on his face widened, and chills ran through his body as he listened to the poem. He laughed a little when she mentioned another bloke and how it applied to them both although really he wouldn’t have rather have been with anyone else. As Rowan finished, he wasn’t sure whether she really needed an answer to the question, or whether it had been for the poems rhythm. All he really knew was that he felt exactly the same way, “That was amazing,” he began, impressed by how she’d just somehow managed to make it all naturally fit. Sort of like they did, he supposed. The prefect shuffled a little closer, her hands still in his. “I know that this is far from what most people have,” he paused for a second, “I mean for one, how many people can say they’re in love with their best friend?” he wasn’t ever going to deny it. “You’re right, this doesn’t make sense, not in the traditional way. But we make sense. I frankly don’t care what anyone thinks, I love your mind and I love your heart, besides as your best friend I get to tell you daily that you babe, are fine as h*ll,” he winked. He could tell who was attractive without having to actually do anything about it. Elio paused, watching her face, the fairy lights around the room reflected in her eyes. “You’re everything to me Ro,” he gave a little shrug, it was just a matter of fact.​

 

[Rowan Baros]

Rowan had watched Elio the whole time for his reaction, wanting to know exactly what was going on in his head as she'd been reading the poem. It was not her best work, she hadn't sat there for weeks refining it and changing things like she normally did when she did this. She'd been trying to hard not to get so lost in her need for things to be perfect that she'd written it free and then let the words flow. There were a couple of small things she changed, to make it rhyme and flow better, but for the most part, this was what she'd written in drafting. It was heartfelt and it meant a lot more to her than probably was coming through on the parchment, but she hoped that Elio had heard it. She smiled nervously at him as he told her it had been amazing. She was certainly no Sylvia Plath or Maya Angelou, but she'd done what she could with the ability she had and that was the most important part she felt. It was very much like them, a little bit messy, hard to define, but fit together easily with little work. It was hard to define what she was to Elio, or to define him to herself, but all she knew was that they worked together, and somehow, it didn't matter what they went through together or separately, the world didn't work when he wasn't around. There were no words, despite what she'd tried to do and she'd had to rely on her heart to get the point across, which she was becoming more confident had happened well. He shuffled closer and she looked down at their hands, intwining them as he moved closer and looked up at him. She didn't really care about anything else, or how people tried to put labels on everything. Elio was the love of her life, always would be, he was her best friend and maybe her soulmate, if she believed in that sort of thing and she wasn't sure yet if she did, but that's a bit of what she felt like it would feel like. "El..." it still surprised her sometimes how much they loved each other and just how comfortable they were with talking about it. She would never shy away with a denial and she didn't really need anyone else in her life if they weren't going to just mind their own business. She giggled lightly at his words and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, wrapping her arms around him and staying like that for a good minute or so before she pulled back. "We're both weirdos, and I love it." She said, shrugging. "There's nothing else in the world I would rather be doing than spending time with you, always." She looked over at the food, pulling a couple of the more edible items out of the picnic basket. "Um, so I'm not sure how any of this is gonna be, but... yeah, I made all of it with you in mind... so, yeah." She'd probably make a terrible wife, guaranteed.​