Shade had finally done it. He'd taken the leap into adult-hood with relative ease and now, here he was, standing outside his new apartment with a lightness in him that he didn't know he was capable of feeling before.  He had thought originally that he'd have to contact his parents for help in finding a place, but was glad that he'd waited.  His father would ask him why, his mother would guess that it was about a girl and then he'd have to go through the whole speech of how he was too young... etc.

Shade shook his head to get his mother's voice out of his mind, it wasn't that way with him and Chloe, sure it would be nice if she wanted to stay with him just until she figured out what was coming next for her, but he wasn't going to pressure her or anything.  If there was one thing Shade was, it was the perfect gentleman.  He was going to bring her to his new place of course.  As soon as he got everything ready.

He looked down at the key in his hand and then up at the door.  5N This was it, he opened the door and stepped inside to the empty apartment with a smile on his face.  After walking around for a few minutes he stopped in the living area of the apartment and opened the suitcase he'd brought with him.  In it was most of his furniture from home.  He'd kept it in there while he was staying at the Cauldron, but now he had a reason to use it. 

A couple hours later he had everything set up, and even left a blank area for him to figure out later, maybe he'd turn it into a studio or something.  He put the suitcase under the bed after getting everything else out and took a moment to realize how much he loved using magic before his clothes, kitchen supplies, and other things he'd need to make the place livable were finally put away.  Shade took a moment to sit down at his kitchen table because this place was all his.

Now, to find Chloe and bring her here to show her his new apartment.  He turned off the lights, stepped out, locked the door and with a kick to his step, he walked down the stairs and out of the building.  He disapparated when he felt no one was watching him out a back alley and reappeared in Diagon Alley.  After sending a letter to Chloe letting her know where he was, he settled down at Fortescue's for some ice cream and at a table outside, he waited, happily enjoying his mint chocolate chip creation.

Chloe was in a coffee shop catching up with a good book before an owl came and found her, carrying a letter from Shade. He wanted to meet her, and with that, she tossed her book in her satchel and stood up, heading out of the small cafe, and towards the ice cream shop. It didn't take her long to make it all the way to Fortescue's, finding Shade sitting and eating his favorite ice cream. She walked up, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Hi," She said, sitting across from him and taking a bite of his ice cream. She had a smile on his face, as she always did when she was around Shade. "So," She added. "What's up," She then took a spoon so she could steal more ice cream as she looked over at his gorgeous eyes. She could look at those eyes anytime, any day. Slowly, she reached to intertwine her fingers with his. The honeymoon phase was hitting her hard.

Shade at first was stunned for a moment.  He was still getting used to the fact that Chloe liked him and her coming up to him and kissing him on the cheek wasn't something that he was used to.  He sat there for a second before he snapped himself out of it, and upon noticing that Chloe had stolen his spoon for some of his ice cream he joked, "Hey there missy, get your own." he grinned and when she threaded her fingers through his, he squeezed.

"Hi." he finally said after a few moments of silence, he was nervous, he didn't know how she'd react to his news and well, this was completely new territory for Shade and he was nervous all the time.  "So I've got some news." he began.

"I moved out of the Cauldron... into my own place." he told her, his eyes focusing on hers to catch any sign of anything that she might feel.  "I wanted to let you know so you could... well... visit if you want."  He mentally slapped himself, this wasn't what he wanted to say at all.  "I mean... you could stay there... if you want... you don't have to..." he trailed off.  He was so excited about it when he sent the letter, now all he was thinking was that she was going to freak out and say no.

Shade was never good at talking to girls... not even ones he liked.

Chloe's face at first fell, thinking that he meant that their time together was over, that he was putting an end to the cuddling and the midnight cookie sessions. At first, she was really worried he'd do this to her! But then, her lips split into a wide smile. "Yes, yes, Shade. Absolutely. Yes. Totally," she babbled, before reaching across the table to grab him by both of his cheeks so he could kiss hi again. She was just so happy! A house? For them? Really? What could be more perfect? She couldn't handle herself. She couldn't believe it. Well, part of her could. He was a man now, he needed a home, and he got one. These were the perks of dating someone older than herself.

She pulled away slowly, a big grin still on her face. "Thank you, shade. I'm absolutely interested," it was like her life was finally coming together, all of the weirdly shaped pieces were forming a puzzle. A beautiful puzzle of her and Shade. What more could she want? "My mother was an interior designer," she added. She didn't like talking about that evil lady, but it seemed important in that moment. "I picked up a few skills from her. If you wanted, I could, you know, help interiorly design the place. If you wanted, of course. Great, now she was the bumbling person on the relationship.

"Anyways, I'm just so happy for you Shade! That's awesome! Your own place!" Chloe couldn't believe that he wanted to share it with her. With her! They were really a thing! That was amazing! "When can we go see the new place?" She asked, excitement running through her veins. She wanted to jump right into the next chapter of her life. She was ready. With Shade by her side, she could do anything. Nothing could stand in her way.

Shade sat up straight in his chair and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, feeling extremely nervous all of a sudden.  He finished the last bite of his ice cream and looked at her with a slight tinge of red creeping up his neck.  "You want to go see it now?" he asked her.  He was excited, he really was, but the nervousness at the thought of Chloe being inside his apartment overpowered everything else.

He stood up and offered his hand to Chloe, remembering at the last minute that she wasn't old enough to apparate legally even if she could.  "I have to do this now before I lose my nerve." he said apologetically before he apparated them both to the apartment building.  "You okay?" he asked when the sensation of apparating left him.  Now that they were here, his nerves were starting to scare him. 

He silently led the way into the apartment building and up the stairs to his apartment and when he was standing in front of his door with his key in his free hand, he realized he had been holding Chloe's hand the whole time, a little tight.  He let go immediately, "Sorry I was holding so tight.  I'm kind of nervous."  He turned away from her and looked up at the number and letter on his door and took a deep breath.  Unlocking the door he entered and held the door open for Chloe, "Well, here it is." he said, words completely escaping him in this moment.

"Make yourself at home."

Chloe watched him, in all of his geeky nervousness ready for the apparition. She liked holding his hand. She liked lacing fingers with him and holding him close. It was comforting. What wasn't comforting was the actual apparition. She was pretty sure no one liked that, it wasn't a good feeling.

When they came out of it, her balance was off, and she held his hand closely, trying to maintain her balance. "I'm good, I'm good," she said, as the waves of nausea disappeared. She couldn't imagine a single person who actually enjoyed apparating. There was just no way anyone could.

As he lead her up the hall, he realized he was holding her hand, and let go. "I actually liked it," she said with a soft smile, re-intertwining her fingers with his. He opened the door, and showed her in.

"Wow, Shade, this is, this is spectacular," She said with a smile, pulling him in behind her and closing the door. "This is perfect, just enough rooms, good light," she rattled off. "I think you need more color, maybe some cute throw pillows, but this seems really awesome,"

Slowly, she turned around to face him, wrapping arms around the back of his neck. "I love it," she said, flicking her eyes from one to the other. "What should we do, now that we're here?"

And just like that, all the courage Shade had gathered to get Chloe here simply vanished.  She had turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck and she was so ... close that his mind went completely blank and he started to blush violent red.  "I... I..." What he did next was surely going to be taken wrong by Chloe, his mind supplied as he didn't even think before he took her hands from behind his neck and gently placed them by her sides before backing away and heading towards the window in the living room.

He looked out the window, running a hand through his hair and muttering to himself.  He was such an idiot.  He had no clue what to do now that he and Chloe were alone in his apartment.  This feeling of not being in complete control of the situation wasn't something he was going to get used to overnight and he didn't like it.  Growing up, he was in control of his grades, his sister's grades, and his life.  Now it was like nothing was in his control anymore.

He turned away from the window and looked at Chloe, hoping he hadn't hurt her feelings by his mini freak-out.  "Chloe." he whispered, "Sorry." He didn't know what else to say and sat down on the ledge of the window and bent over, putting his head in his hands and not looking at her.  He hoped she wasn't too disappointed in his reaction.

What Chloe wasn't expecting was that; for him to completely pull away and walk to the window. Of course, she was being too forward and he wasn't okay with that. It's not like she was really pushing him to do anything insane, she just wanted to be held and kissed, but clearly, Shade wasn't cool with that, at all. Which, for a minute, made her upset. He wasn't being forward enough! Why didn't he act more impulsively! Why didn't he know what he was doing? Why wasn't her more like Heinrich!? And then she caught herself.

Of course he wasn't Heinrich. He was Shade, and Shade was different. She couldn't expect the same actions from Shade that she did of Heinrich. They were simply different people. And she had to learn that. As he apologized, she sighed, and a tired smile reappeared, as she approached, sitting next to him, but by no means close. "It's okay," she replied. "I'm sorry I keep making big moves. I'll, I'll slow down." She said. "I just get so caught up in the moment. I just expect things that I don't explain, and I've been thinking you could read mind," she sighed herself, and leaned her arms n her knees and her chin in her hands.

"I keep forgetting you're not like every other guy. You're different. You're softer, gentler. I need to be careful, and I will be, starting now," she explained. "Just tell me what I should do, I wanna learn how to be the best girlfriend I can to you,"

Shade took a deep breath and looked up at Chloe, "No, it's nothing to do with you." he began to explain, the thoughts in his head finally settling down so he could form words from them.  "I am afraid that if I let myself start with you, there will be no stopping me.  I am a guy after all." His face began to turn red again.  "I'm new at all this Chloe, if you remember in school, I didn't do relationships.  I focused on my schoolwork and Quidditch and that was about it."

He got up from the windowsill where he was sitting and held out his hand to her.  He didn't want her to think that he couldn't handle a relationship, he could.  He just didn't want to do too much too fast.  "I'm sorry I freaked out there for a second, it's just this is my apartment, there are no chances that a pub owner or a sister, or a parent could walk in on us and it's a little scary having this much freedom right now."

Taking another deep breath, he took her hand and pulled her close, "And when I start thinking of you I have to stop myself because I remember we are both young and this doesn't have to go fast."  He rested his forehead on hers and looked into her eyes, "I'm falling for you hard Chloe, and I just want us to savor the moments we have together because you won't be able to see me as much when you go back to school."

Chloe let a small smile escape to her lips as he stood up and reached for her hand. She placed hers in his, and stood up. He made her feel elegant, fancy, mature, as if she was royalty and she knew in that moment that he was near perfect. Any man that made her feel like a princess in a single touch, now that, that was something purely magical. He pulled her closer and rested his head against hers, and she smiled.

Once again, she tried to put arms around his neck, slowly, so she could be closer. "Maybe I don't have to go back. I could stay here with you, get a job at a coffee shop, I'd never have to leave," she was still allowing the silence to hang, calming her down. "I was trying to squeeze in everything I could, I, I," for once, Chloe was at a loss for words.

She sighed, her shoulders relaxing, as she slowly closed her eyes. "I really like you, Shade,"

Shade took a deep breath and before he could lose his nerve, he kissed her, slow and gentle before resuming the previous position with his head leaning against hers.  "As much as I would love to spend every day in this apartment with you, you should really finish Hogwarts." He sighed, "I just think education is really important." Shrugging his shoulders slightly, careful not to jostle the arms around his neck, he leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose.  "I wouldn't want you to give that up for me."

Looking into Chloe's eyes, he reached up and took one of her hands and removed it from around his neck and led them over to a couch by the window.  He let go of her hand as he sat down and propped his legs up on the coffee table.  "So, what do you want to do, I'm not busy today so I'm all yours."

He kissed her softly, slowly, in the most Shade-way possible. She smiled, as he rested his head back against hers. She smiled again as he kissed her small nose, and pulled her to the couch. "Yeah, I probably should finish. I put an application in for prefect, and if that ends up happening, I really do need to finish it up," she added, sitting down next to him and resting her head on his chest. "Promise you'll drop me off at the Hogwarts Express?" Chloe asked, looking up at him with big puppy eyes.

"And I'll come visit you, every weekend, whenever I can, I will make this work. It has to work," she added. "I don't know why I wanna do. I just don't wanna leave. I don't wanna leave you, I don't want to go to Hogwarts. I want to spend time with you, I wanna make you laugh, and smile, and I wanna fall harder and harder for you with every passing minute. I already know I am,"

Shade rested his head against the back of the couch as Chloe sat down beside him and rested her head on his chest.  "I know you'll come visit me any chance you get, and of course I'll drop you off at the Hogwarts Express."  He had planned on doing that anyway.  It was going to bug him a bit, having to let her go back to school and her not staying with him, but she needed to finish school or she would regret it later and Shade didn't want her to someday blame him for that.

"There is nothing going to happen to change my feelings for you my dear." he said in a slightly joking tone, "I have already given my heart to you, all you have to do is keep it for me." he said, and even in his romantic mind... that last comment sounded kind of cheesy.

Chloe smiled as she leaned into him. "I'll keep it near and dear, right next to my love for you," she said, sighing as she pulled him closer. "We will talk all the time. Maybe get Sunday brunch? Course, with being a prefect and all..." She hasn't told him actually, now she realized. She had gotten a letter a while ago, and was excited about it, she just had neglected to tell him. It was an accident really. "Either way, I'll be sure to see you a lot, no matter how busy I get. And you better not give my heart away to anyone mister," she joked. "Not to any nude models, not to cute girls at the Three Broomsticks," she laughed ad wrapped him in her vice grip.

"You're my Shade, and I don't share well,"[1]

1.	I know, I know, really short. Sorry. Total lack of inspiration. Give me time, it'll come back!