Hogsmeade had suffered a pretty terrible fire – Jordyn had read about in the newspaper and was, admittedly, pretty rattled by it.  That was very close to Hogwarts and for a blaze that large to break out – healers and aurors on the scene – not sure of causes (at least from what she understood), it was a wonder they were still having a Hogsmeade weekend at all. 

Of course, Jordyn wasn’t going to complain.  The weather was so nice out – just cool enough without being cold and uncomfortable.  But that wasn’t even the best part.   Jordyn had a date she was actually excited for. 

It was weird to be so… happy about something, and putting so much excited energy into getting ready.  Sure, Jordyn maintained appearances because it was necessary but for this trip she was actually methodically curling each long strand of brown hair and putting on just the right amount of make-up because she wanted to look pretty for someone.  She knew, of course, he thought she was pretty no matter what – he’d told her so many times, but the fact of the matter was he had never really seen her not dressed up. 

She wasn’t about to start on a proper date.  So, she adjusted the top of her dress for the ten thousandth time in the mirror, taking a deep breath.  It was a little… riskier than what she’d normally wear, but she knew Jai would like it and the jacket over it made the outfit less worthy of stares or speculation. 

They’d promised to meet in front of the bookshop (people often got mixed up in walking there and it was just a mess getting out of the castle with all of the younger years also in attendance), so milling through the crowd, Jordyn might have tried to find his dark hair (and tall figure) amongst them, but had limited success. 

Once to the village though, she broke away immediately (parting from her group of friends) and made her way to the bookshop.  It was probably an unconventional place to have a date… but they both liked books and maybe they’d do something after – but it was open from here.  Clasping her hands behind her back, she rocked on her toes for a moment before glancing around to find the time: he’d be there soon, she figured, but she couldn’t help but be a tiny bit impatient. 

Before meeting Jordyn at the bookshop, Jai stopped at Honeydukes to pick up something he knew Jordyn would like: sweets. He didn't know this for an absolute fact -- Jordyn had never explicitly said 'I love sweets,' but she had disclosed that her favorite food was frozen hot chocolate, and that was definitely a sweet. He picked up some chocolates, magical ones that conformed to your taste the more you ate. He figured that would make a good snack during their date.

He hoped, too, that delicious chocolates and a date with Jordyn would also distract him from any bookshop woes. While some of Jai's favorite places in the world were bookshops, there were others that were amongst his least favorite. It all had to do with the organization of books. It was extremely difficult for Jai to be around a bookshelf and not want to rearrange it in the first place, but if it was a nicely organized shelf, he usually could avoid the temptation to fix it. He'd never been to this particular bookshop, but maybe arranging books would end up being a fun date activity.

The line at Honeydukes was longer than he anticipated, causing him to run a bit late. He rushed to the bookstore and as usual, the rest of the world faded into darkness as his eyes fell upon Jordyn. Jai made a few strides towards her and kissed her hello. She was so warm and her dress was so... sexy. Was that for him? He smiled at the thought and handed Jordyn the chocolates. "I hope you like sweets," he said a bit bashfully. Then he smirked and gently tickled the exposed part of Jordyn's tummy, teasing her a little. "You look beautiful."

She wouldn’t necessarily say she was worried about Jai being late or standing her up or anything… but she couldn’t help that the thoughts crossed her mind.  Only once though!  She had to remind herself that of course he wouldn’t do that.  They were together and obviously he liked her… a tinge of pink colored her cheeks as she remembered just how much he liked her… and a fluttering in her stomach was really all she needed to know about how much she actually liked him.   

That was weird, to like someone who liked her back.  History on such things would prove complicated.

But, when she finally saw him approach, it was a good thing he did because Jordyn smiled wide and rocked on her feet a little bit, raising her eyebrows in curiosity as he approached with a box.  She was about to ask, but rather than the standard greeting of ‘hello,’ she got a kiss and her cheeks were already starting to burn.  She liked that greeting.  “Hi,” she replied after, definitely shyly for her, and looked down, realizing he was holding them out toward her and informed her he got her chocolates. 

If it were even possible, she smiled even wider, Jordyn did before she got up on her tiptoes, using her arm to pull him into another kiss.  “Thank you,” she grinned up at him – deciding it was a terribly romantic moment – ruined only as he reached forward and tickled her stomach, sending her stepping backward and squeaking in a most decidedly unsexy way. 

He recovered by informing her she was beautiful and she blushed.  “Thank you again,” she said feeling a little more confident.  She’d fretted a little bit about looking kind of… tarty… but it didn’t appear he thought so.  “I can’t wait to pick something to read for myself,” she added with enthusiasm.  “I think my eyes might fall out from studying so much!”

When Jordyn leaped from his tickle, Jai found her even cuter -- if that was even possible. Jai wasn't very ticklish but now that he knew Jordyn was, he had a way to hear that little giggle again. She was so much shorter than him, but it still felt like they fit together. Especially when they kissed - that was the best, even if he did have to lean down a little.

So chocolate had been the right choice! He was glad for the success, even though it had been a pretty easy one. Who didn't like chocolate? Jai wasn't that big on sweets but he could never resist dark chocolate. He was pretty excited about these taste-learning ones too -- he would definitely be stealing a few from that box.

"I can't wait to pick something to read for myself. I think my eyes might fall out from studying so much!"

The year was nearly over and despite the fact that he would be done with Hogwarts forever, Jai was ready to be done with all of this work. The time he'd spent slacking off day-dreaming about Jordyn was now taking its revenge. He admired Jordyn for sticking to her work. She had done a much better job at it than Jai.

"You and your books," Jai smiled back at her. He smirked and kissed the side of her head. Jai liked to read too, but he was always so distracted by the bookshelves' order that he could never pick one out. "What should I read?" Jai looked at the shelf before him, analyzing its contents and avoiding thinking about the way they were arranged.

Bookshops, for Jordyn, were a nice break of pace.  She could look through shelves at her own pace, people seldom bothered anyone else in a bookshop because it was almost sacred: like a library.  Only, you had to pay for these books.  That wasn’t so bad though, because the Hogwarts library didn’t exactly carry a solid selection of fiction novels.  Jordyn wasn’t the biggest fan of fiction… but it was a good break from all the information she was cramming into her brain.

Sometimes she got jealous that Jai could relax.  She always felt the pressure to be doing something – getting an edge up in some way.  If she could just study for a couple of extra minutes – if she just added another inch to her parchment, it’d set her apart from the rest of the class.  Granted, Jordyn usually feel solidly in the top portion of her classes, she could hardly be counted as “the” student in any particular class.  That was a little worrisome for her, but she couldn’t focus on school right now! 

She was on a date with her boyfriend who was kissing the top of her head: she really couldn’t be bothered to fret over whether or not she was an ace student.  When he asked her what he should read, Jordyn pursed her lips.  She knew he loved astronomy.  “Perhaps something on stars or planets?” she looked up at him, “I feel like you’d like something non-fiction,” she smiled at him, “an essay book or something?” she slid her arm around his middle (closer to his waist than his actual waist – damn his height) and leaned against him. 

“Or you could pick up the first Slither Girls book and catch up to me?” she teased, “we could read them together… have a book club?” she raised her eyebrows.  She imagined there were quite a few scenes they’d have to talk about – or at least blush and murmur about in the cutest way possible.  She smiled primly at him, squaring her shoulders again, “or maybe stars are more your speed…”

Jordyn's suggestion to read something Astronomy-related was a very valid one, if it weren't for the fact that he'd read every one that he'd come across. He would be (pleasantly) surprised to find a title he hadn't already devoured. Normally his free time was occupied by activities related to star-gazing. What could he say? He had a passion. Besides, with the struggles he had around bookcases, Jai had always relied on the astronomy section, occasionally having to somewhat blindly choose a book he didn't recognize.

He wasn't too overwhelmed right now, though. Jordyn had a very relaxing quality about her, at least for Jai. Jai knew that his girlfriend wasn't the most relaxed person, but she absolutely helped him get through his own anxieties. He hoped that he could do the same for her.

Apparently deciding to go to a bookshop had been the right choice. Jordyn looked right at home amongst all of the novels, and seemed into the idea of finding him something to read. "An essay might be a good idea, but I think I've read all there is on astronomy," he said lightheartedly.

He was about to ask her what she liked to read when she suggested the Slither Girls novels. Jai hoped she wasn't serious about reading those books. His little sister had somehow gotten a hold of them, and even worse, had encouraged their mother to read them. To Jai's horror, his mother actually loved the series and recommended them to his aunts. Really, Jai could have gone to a book club meeting on the series and might have actually had a few things to contribute, after listening to the girls in his family gush over it for so long. His face displayed his disinterest in that particular area. "I don't hate the idea of reading books together, but please, for the love of Merlin," Jai took Jordyn by the shoulders and looked her square in the eye. "Not Slither Girls. Anything but Slither Girls."

She liked this date. It was quiet, private,  and they didn't need to deal with other people. Jordyn wasn't embarrassed of her boyfriend, quite the contrary now that she really thought about it. But that didn't mean she wanted to share this date with anyone. The three broomsticks was usually teeming with people and puddifoot's was not her spot. She just wanted to spend some time with him while she could.

It was hard to think about him graduating in a month or so. She had never really faced something like that before. It wasn't something to dwell on though.  She pursed her lips in thought as he indicated he might have read everything there was to read. Her stand on the slither girls was still legitimate but... It did not appear Jai was of a similar mind. He shook her a little, not in an unfortunate way, and implored her to choose something different. 

Putting her arms out, she put her hands on his waist and closed the distance between them. She had to lean her chin upward against his chest to see his face. "Really?" She pouted playfully, "I was so looking forward to discussing the finer points of the plot with you. She punctuated the thought with a kiss to the underside of his chin (she couldn't reach unless he was down) and grinned playfully before pulling away, lingering as her hands drew over his.

Now it was a personal challenge to find something they could read together.  She would like to read a book with someone, and maybe they'd find something they both liked. "Come on," Jordyn smiled, wrapping her hand around his and tugging him along down the stacks of books. She was fairly sure they should head to the fiction section.  She kept her steps light, not wanting to disturb anyone else in the shop and craned her head around the stacks.

"Alright," she breathed out and smiled as she turned into the aisle.  "Let's pick something to read together from here," she motioned to the shelf with her free hand, lacing their fingers together in the meantime.

Jai liked books and he was happy to read something with Jordyn. He'd never done something like this before, but it seemed like a fun idea -- they'd have to pick a fun novel to go along with it. A pleasure read would definitely help soothe the pain of his last round of finals. Jai had been sick of studying for years -- he didn't know how Jordyn was still so committed.

He followed her lead, happily letting her weave their hands and arms together as they traveled through the bookstore. Jai didn't look much at the shelves and focused more on Jordyn, catching a secret glimpse of her as they walked and listened to her talk. He couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. It was so cute.

"Alright, let's pick something to read together from here."

Jai looked over at the shelf and the first thing he noticed was an upside down book right in the center. Instinctually he immediately flipped it the right way and did his very best to resist counting how many there were. "Not sure," he said, trying to refocus his attention to the titles of the books to see if there was anything he recognized. "Maybe something.... funny?" Was that a dumb suggestion? Jai twitched nervously. "I was just thinking something lighter, since, you know. Finals, and everything."

Watching Jai fix the book, Jord reached over and touched his arm in a gesture of comfort. She felt bad that his anxiety was acting up, especially when she felt so at home in a place like this.  It was a little off kilter but it was private and comfortable, one of those places she wouldn't have to worry about who was looking at her.  It was a prime concern: what people thought of her and her reputation.

Here she could giggle at Jai and smile and no one would question whether she was serious about school or boys or whatever her priorities were.  Sometimes she got the distinct feeling Professor Storm didn't look at her like a prime contender for greatness anymore since her attention was not focused solely on school.

Clearing her throat, Jordyn considered his suggestion.  "I like that idea," she assured him, squeezing his hand again.  "You'll need something funny," she grinned at him. "NEWTs are so nerve wracking."  She was a year away from taking them and they still weighed heavily on her.  NEWT classes were so much harder than OWLs.  She wasn't sure how she dealt with the anxiety of it.  Maybe spending time with Jai helped.  It definitely helped, actually. 

Looking trough the shelf, Jordyn wasn't sure what actually looked funny but she did see something that she thought was hilarious.  "Oh!" She squeaked pulling out two books from the shelf.  "Have you ever played this game?" She put a book in his hand, the two titles revealed to them:  the mage's apprentice and his dark magic.  On the covers were two very ridiculous couples in an embrace that was less than innocent.  "You flip through, whoever finds the... scenes first is the winner." She smiled at him, hoping he'd take her up on it.  "Wanna play?"

After Jordyn touched his arm carefully, Jai twitched a little and coughed uncomfortably. He was ashamed of his anxiety, especially considering he had been doing so well recently. He looked down at his feet and tried not to think about the stupid books. He didn't know why he always got so caught up in the stupid order of things. It was like as if something was out of place, his whole life was off-center and he couldn't see straight. He felt like he'd always been like this and these past few weeks with Jordyn had been so freeing.

Thankfully she distracted him as best she could. With a bit of a stutter, he answered her concerns about NEWTs by putting his arm around her and saying "You have no reason to be worried." He kissed the side of her head again and added, "Smarty pants." He smirked a little and felt a bit better.

To his surprise his girlfriend pulled out a pair of scandalous-looking books. Jai's attention was now on Jordyn and his face lightened as he laughed at her suggestion. "Okay!" He took his arm from around her and grabbed a book at random, as they both featured scantily-clad women embracing equally as outrageous clothing. His was called His Dark Magic. Smirking he began flipping through his book, skimming his pages and filtering for words he thought might indicate the type of scene Jordyn was describing.

Jordyn didn't mean to blush when he told her she had nothing to worry about, but there it was a hot rush to the rest of her face because he thought she was smart enough not to have to panic about finals.
Jordyn knew better: she wasn't like some people who things came easily too. In fact, she was fairly certain that nothing in her life would ever be deemed 'easy.'  She was just such a freak about things it seemed impossible.  But, each and every little boost of confidence helped.  Jai was really good at that. 

More importantly, however, he was also interested in a distraction.  Her game (more often played with Neely or Bran), was met with enthusiasm and Jordyn began to flip furiously through the pages to locate what she was looking for.  She'd never actually read one of these - she was still invested in young witch novels like Slither Girls, but she'd seen her mom with these and had always laughed. Then she got curious and peeked through one. What an education. 

Here she was just trying to win a game.  Ambition did not limit itself to the classroom and Jordyn's eyes quickly scanned the text for the buzz words.  "Ah!" she exclaimed finding the words 'long embrace' and steadied her hands on the page so she could read.  It took only two sentences to see she had, indeed, found the section she was looking for and with pink cheeks, she beamed at Jai.  "I win," she gloated, "now you have to read it out loud."

It was the rule, after all, if you lost you had to do a dramatic reading in the aisle. Jordyn practically died the first time she lost.  Funny thing, she never seemed to lose again after that, if she could help it. 

Jai accepted Jordyn's challenge without really thinking about the repercussions, like for instance that he would have to read the naughty passage he'd found out loud. He'd started flipping from the beginning of the book and so this had to be one of the first scenes of this variety in the book. Snickering a little goofily, he peered around the shelves to make sure nobody would overhear and then cleared his throat, dramatically holding out the book.

"Zeke relinquished Farrah of her brazier, allowing her -" it was the first dirty word. Jai lowered his voice by several octaves. "-allowing her breasts to spill freely out. For purposes of equality and curiosity, Farrah stripped Zeke down to his nether regions. At the sight of his...." At this point Jai's neck and face became hot and his palms began to sweat. He couldn't say this out loud!! But, in the spirit of the game, he must.

"At the sight of his engorged member," Jai blanched at the term, "Farrah's eyes widened. 'So it's true what they say about black men,' Farrah commented. She embraced him fiercely and kissed trail of kisses down to-" Jai jumped at the next phrase and shut the book quickly. "I think we've had enough, haven't we?" He smirked. "I think it's your turn." Was that even how the game worked?

 Perhaps it was the wrong decision to enforce the rule with her boyfriend.  The moment of sheer joy about gloating that she’d won and inflicting the punishment disappeared in puff of embarrassed smoke when the flowery prose started coming out of his mouth.  It always looked ridiculous on paper and could illicit faint blushes because it was being read… but as soon as it was said out loud…

Jordyn felt her cheeks warming noticeably and she had to avoid eye contact.  Oh goodness.  This was entirely too much.  Clearing her throat, Jordyn then had to look down the aisles to see whether someone was coming toward them or not – another bout of anxiety surged through her at the ralization that this might have actually been the worst decision ever, especially because… oh dear. What they say about black men?  Jordyn could have died.

Shaking her head wildly, she grabbed the book from his hands before fumbling to put it back on the shelf.  “Oh no,” she informed him with a strangled, slightly too high pitched voice (even for her), “that’s only for the loser.”  She was much more comfortable now that the books were shoved back into the shelf and clasped her hands behind her back, rocking on her feet. 

“Maybe we should go back to looking for real books to read,” she suggested with a sweet smile, biting the inside corner of her lip.  “Unless you really wanted to read that…”

"What!" This was totally unfair! Jai tickled Jordyn competitively. "You have to read it - I did!" Equality wasn't the only reason that Jai wanted to hear Jordyn's reading. There was also a large part of him that wanted to remember her voice reading those words. That would definitely be a good memory to have stowed away. If it took best two out of three playing rounds of this game, then so be it.

But at the same time he didn't want to make Jordyn uncomfortable. As she bit the corner of her lip, the talk they'd had a while ago about taking things slow resurfaced in Jai's mind. Maybe Jordyn didn't want to read because she was not comfortable talking about those things. Or maybe hearing about someone else's above-average throbbing member was making her all hot and bothered, and the bookstore definitely wasn't the place to get busy.

"Unless you really wanted to read that..."

Jai smirked at her implication. "I don't want to read it," he whined jokingly, "I want to hear you read it." He added this last part with a bit of a huskier tone, perhaps letting Jordyn in on his guilty little secret.

Jordyn tried not to squeal at all as he reached forward and tried to tickle her.  She only squeaked a little bit and danced back, pursing her lips at him with furrowed brows.  “It’s totally fair,” she responded with sass, putting her hands on her hips and cocking her right hip out.  “I won,” she added as she lifted he chin with a smug smile.  She liked to win, obviously, and might have enjoyed saying that she won a little bit as well…

Whatever the case though, her smug smirk turned into a fond smile and Jordyn’s posture became less challenging and more relaxed.  Her eyebrows shot up (she could never raise just one) when he said that he didn’t want to read it, and then a quick blush replaced the cynical look she had leveled at him. 

”I want to hear you read it.”

Jordyn’s jaw dropped a little and she felt heat rush to her cheeks.  That was interesting.  She didn’t really know how to feel about that.  Well, maybe she was a little flattered… it was sort of a silly request, judging by how ridiculous these things were written… but… “Since you said it that way,” she drew out the vowels and tentatively reached for another book – they all lived around the same section – and took a deep breath as she grabbed the first thing that popped out: A Seduction Spell.

She flipped through the pages and glanced up – once or twice – to see whether he would stop her or not.  It did not appear he was going to stop her.  She slowed her hands, still skimming the text and gulped as she found something… strategically flipping a page back (to avoid the most illicit content).  She cleared her throat, trying to be as professional about it as possible, though when she actually spoke her voice came out in a very hushed whisper. 

“Skye gazed back at him, her blue eyes dark and sultry with wonder.”  She giggled, a flush on her face, and continued.  “Her breath quickened when his fingers left her…” oh gosh, what a word.  Her voice dropped again, “breasts,” she glanced up at him to see if he was as red faced as she felt, “to splay over her stomach, then lower to sift through the pale…” She slammed the book shut and shook her head.  “I can’t,” she protested.  “It’s horrible!”