"Sounds interesting, but it's good that you can get ahead of your classes. It must help you out when everyone else comes back from holiday and they're all brain-dead." He said, "Or at least that seems to happen in the US. All the kids leave for break and come back to school not remembering a single thing of what we were studying."

Damien scowled to himself, thinking about how much he detested those first few days when they had to put up with reteaching the slackers all of the material that they had forgotten. Those days always dragged on and on for what felt like forever.

She's really pretty,[1]Damien thought. Or at least he thought he thought it inside his head. He looked down, hoping that he had the means to filter his inner monologue. But still, her hair shined against the flames and she was just so pretty...

1.	If you want to make things interesting, you can say that he said it out loud. It was just one of those moments where he wasn't sure what he had said, so feel free to do whatever.

Imari looked up when she heard those three words, "What did you say?" she asked softly.  She wasn't sure she had heard him right.  In her mind she thought he had said she was pretty.  "Not that I mind, if you said what I think you said." and that did it, the blush began rising up her cheeks again.

She moved slowly to the other chair and sat down, not caring that she was still slightly damp.  "Maybe, you could come up to the alcove with me one day and we could study together." she almost whispered.  "It gets awfully lonely when I am up there by myself." she told him.  She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and looked at him.[1]

1.	Anything is alright with me, I'm actually enjoying this.  This is the first time I've enjoyed playing a female character.

Oh Merlin's beard, he did say it out loud. Damien could feel the heat on the back of his neck as he stammered back a response, or at least tried to. "I... uh... I think... you're really pretty..." He said softly, watching her sit down and turning to face her.

"I'd like that, being together. I mean, studying together, you know." Damien was stumbling over his words and acting like a love drunk teenager. Okay, maybe he was a bit of a love drunk teenager, but normally he kept his cool around girls that he liked. He didn't normally start babbling like earlier or randomly saying that said girl is pretty! But for some reason, it just happened.

Imari took a deep breath, she wasn't going to say anything, but now that he had told her she was pretty it was coming out and she couldn't stop it.  She looked down at the carpet and her hands began to fidget, "You're not so bad looking yourself." She knew it sounded weird, but the word vomit had a mind of its own.

"With the spells and a fire, the alcove gets really warm." she told him without raising her head to look him in the eyes.  She didn't want to know what his face looked like after that last comment she made.  Imari knew there was something between them that she couldn't figure out, but she didn't want to risk looking at him in case he didn't like that last comment.

And just when she thought her word vomit moment was over, here it came again, "So, are you going to the Yule Ball?" inwardly Imari winced, that wasn't a question for her to ask, if anything, he should've asked her.  But it was out there now, all she had to do was wait.

Damien looked down towards the warm, cackling fire as he listened to Imari talk to him. At least now they both knew that they found each other attractive, to say the least, so maybe this was a good sign. That and the fact that she was willing to let him in on what she did at Hogwarts over holiday, it was nice to know that some people liked to share what was special to them with others.

"Actually, I am planning on going to the Yule Ball." He said, almost surprised at how quickly she had bounced from one topic to the next. He leaned back in his chair and settled there for a moment, letting the heavy silence hang over them before he could think of what to say next.

"Well, I would be going to the Yule Ball if I had a date, but I haven't asked anyone." Damien said, a little too quickly towards the end. Maybe he could ask Imari? But not outright, play it smooth and unassuming, don't act desperate.

And it wasn't like he was desperate, but he sort of had admired Imari for a distance, and he liked her even more when they could just be together like this. He turned back to look at the Slytherin, "Do you have a date yet?"

Damien couldn't help but hope that she didn't have a date yet so he could ask her. He crossed his fingers behind his back and waited for her response.

She looked up and met his eyes as she answered, "Nobody's asked me." she didn't completely answer his question, but Imari figured he would guess what she meant.  Then she added, "I still haven't decided if I'm going, I guess it depends on who asks me." with a coy smile and the fleeting thought of 'Where did that come from?' She was never coy or flirtatious, it was distracting.

[1]

1.	I am so sorry it is short... I couldn't think of anything else.

Damien blushed, a legit cheeks-turning-red blush. He really wanted to ask Imari to come to the Yule Ball with him. He hadn't hit it off with anyone like this before, it was sort of really amazing. Then he just decided to man up, and ask the girl.

"Imari, I'd really like it if... umm... if you'd like to go to the Yule Ball with... me?" He asked, turning to face her, his hopes high and just waiting to be crushed like so many times before. He really hoped this wouldn't be the case with Imari though, he wouldn't be able to stand getting his heart broken at a moment like this. That would just be tough.[1]

1.	It's all good, I've had my fair share of short posts as well. We all get them! Lolz

Imari's eyes caught Damien's as he asked her the question she had been truthfully waiting for since they went into the classroom.  But she knew she was going to say something wrong, she could feel the word vomit coming and she was unable to stop herself before asking, "Why?" She tore her eyes from his and asked again, "Why would you want to go to the Ball with me, I'm nothing special." She stood up and walked to the side of the room and ran her finger along a bookshelf filled with dusty books as if looking for a specific title.

She couldn't believe that she had asked him that.  She was truly into this guy, more than she'd been with the very few others she'd decided to talk to.  Imari could't quite put her finger on why she found it so easy to talk to him, why she said whatever came to her mind, and why she really didn't want to go back to her dormitory, preferring to staying where she was and enjoy Damien's company.

"I mean..." she began with a sigh, "Oh, I don't know what I mean, I've never been asked to go with someone before, so I'm completely out of my element here." she told him as she stayed by the wall but turned to face him with a small glint of firelight in her eyes, making them look as if they were sparkling.

Damien was astounded by her answer, he wasn't outright rejected as he had figured he would be, but it seemed that Imari was feeling a bit dejected. He stood up as she walked across the room, questioning his motives and why she was special. "What do you mean by that? That you're nothing special?" Damien asked, his face a mess of confusion.

"I mean... Oh, I don't know what I mean, I've never been asked to go with someone before, so I'm completely out of my element here. She replied as she turned to him, and he found himself falling just a little bit more for this extraordinary girl who was spending time with him. Her eyes sparkled in the firelight, her beauty masking the sadness that she had expressed.

It was like in the movies, how the girl was sad and the guy would go up to her and take her by the hand, telling her everything was alright. But seeing as nothing was like the movies, and that Damien didn't want to shatter the personal space bubble that Imari seemed to have at the moment, he opted to just stay where he was and plead his case. "I think you're special, why would I ask you if I didn't? I think you're a wonderful, funny girl who I like spending time with, even if it has only been a few hours."

But Damien didn't stop there, he wanted to convince Imari that she was special, that she meant something to him. "I don't know anyone else who would want to dance in the rain with me, who would be interested in talking to me, who would sit here with me and talk about holiday and things like that. I'd really like to get to know you better, and that's why I asked you to go to the Yule Ball with me."

"The invitation is still open in case you were wondering," he added, not wanting to send the wrong message. "You don't have to answer me now, you can think it over, but you're the only one I'm going to ask, Imari."

Imari felt tears springing up in her eyes at his words.  He actually thought she was special.  It wasn't a dare, like most of the others were, it wasn't a pity thing (as one disasterous date was), he actually wanted to spend time with her.

She stepped forward slowly until she was standing in front of him.[1] "Thank you for telling me that, I think I was just shocked that someone truly liked me for who I am and not who they think I should be." She took one of his hands in hers, suprised at herself for the bold move and then with a steady gaze in his eyes she answered his question.

"Damien, I would love to go to the Yule Ball with you."

1.	didn't know if he was standing or still sitting

Damien didn't know if he could smile any wider, she wanted to, no, she would love to go with him. That made him feel like he was on top of the world right now, the tippity top, and he couldn't get any higher than this. He wrapped her in a big hug, resisting the urge to spin her around.

"This is wonderful," he said, pulling away from her. "Thank you so much for saying you'll go with me," he said.[1]

1.	Sorry, it's short... I figured we could start wrapping this up soon?

[1]

Imari was startled for a moment as he pulled her into a hug, but found herself hugging him back.  When he pulled away from her, she made a small sound of discontent.  She really had wanted the hug to last longer, even though it was most likely meant in the most innocent way.  Imari looked down at her watch and said, "Oh Merlin! I forgot, I was supposed to meet some friends half an hour ago in the library to go over our Potions homework." She said breathlessly.

Then she added a little more shyly, "I guess I was distracted." and her lips broke into a smile that could blind the sun, okay, that's an exaggeration, but it was a bright smile, one that she never thought she'd used in front of a guy of course.  Family and friends was okay, but there was a good chance that things with Damien could get interesting.

"Would you like to meet up some other time and talk some more?" she asked him as she gathered her bag and coat up and headed for the door.  She didn't want to leave, but she really had promised some Slytherin girls to help with their homework.

1.	Yeah, I can post this one last time and then we can close it up.  Although, I'm liking the chemistry between Imari and Damien...

Gosh darn it, Damien was so in love with Imari's smile, he couldn't help it. He tried not to look too dissapointed when she said she had to go, but managed to keep up his smile and just keep thinking about the Yule Ball. He grabbed his bag as well, not wanting to stay here alone when she left.

He fixed the chairs back to desks and put the fire out as she started to walk for the door, "I'd love to see you again. Any time really, that'd  be wonderful." He added, the words just gushing out, he didn't really have any control over them at this point.

They walked out into the corridor and Damien stood there awkwardly for a moment, "I guess I'll see you soon. Bye Imari," he said softly, willing himself to turn around in the other direction without skipping down the hallway in joy.

Best. Day. Ever.