Cait fiddled with her quill while she slouched over the Ravenclaw table. She moaned slightly  and sat up, dropping down her writing utensil. "Why do these professors insist on essays. They do us no good!" she mumbled, staring blankly at the bit of parchment that was lying untouched in front of her. Blake would be here soon, surely he'd be able to help her. Of course, being the eager beaver she was (or maybe an eager raven), Cait had arrived at their set meeting place a tad bit too early. Make that a half hour too early. She checked the time on the small silvery watch on her wrist and gave another little groan, twenty-five more minutes to endure. All she wanted to do was run around the castle!

Cait leaned against the table once more, puffing out her cheeks while resting her chin on her palms. Her eyes wandered as she waited, tracing over the worn walls, the gleaming banners of the Houses, and following the sparse amount of people that passed her line of vision. 'Ugly socks. Thread loose on his robe. Bit of parchment in the corner... Is that the leg of a chocolate frog in her pocket?' She thought, with her brow furrowed. Suddenly her stomach rumbled, Cait glanced down at her parchment hoping that her quill had formed a brain of it's own and caught her up on the essay. 'Drat..

 What she wouldn't do for a treacle tart right now..

Blake glanced up from his chessboard to look at the clock on his wall and noted the time. It was getting close to the time that he had agreed to meet Cait down in the Great Hall for a study session. But seeing as his ongoing chess game with himself wasn't going anywhere any time soon, he didn't see the harm in heading down early to get himself set up.

Stepping away from the board, Blake climbed on his bed and leaned over to the other side to grab his bag with his school items inside. He was about to head out of the dorm room when he caught sight of something else that he would want to bring as well. There was a bag on his night table with some treats and he stuffed the whole thing into his bag before hightailing it out of the room.

His lanky frame seemed to fly down the steps of the Ravenclaw tower and Blake only slowed down en route to the Great Hall when he was certain there were no prefects or professors around to scold him for running. And he luckily sailed through the doors of the hall just in time because he caught sight of an authority figure out of the corner of his eye.

Even though Blake didn't see his friend's antics from before his arrival, he seemed to have a handle on what made their study sessions so productive--snacks. So after he took up a seat on the bench next to her, he pulled out the sack of treats and triumphantly placed it on her parchment in front of her.

Grinning, he said, "That should help get the creative juices flowing just a little bit." After a beat, he added a quick "Hey Cait" before turning his attention to pulling out some of his things. Then he asked, "So what are we doing first?"

Cait had managed to close her eyes for a moment, staring at parchment was a sleep-inducing sport. She began to seep into a dream of diving into a giant treacle tart when she felt the presence of someone. Upon feeling  something being dropped in front of her face, she sat up with a light gasp. "Blimey, who do-" she growled, rubbing one eye.

After a second, she shook her head. "Oh.. Blake." she laughed, grinning at the bag of sweets that were placed onto her parchment. "'Ey, Blake. You really know how to study." She grinned, tucking a stray piece of blazing red hair from her eyes before glancing over to her friend. He just knew her, or maybe her stomach, so well.

"So what are we doing first?"

"Ohy." She groaned, sliding over the treats so it was between them. "Terrible things. We haveta write an essay on that Hector Dagworth-Granger bloke. " She fiddled with her parchment for a moment, then looked over at Blake. "'Bout his achievements and his history." she shrugged, waving her hand dismissively at the parchment. "I considered gettin' an excuse, but I figured.." She turned her gaze over towards her friend. "I figured that a nice, strong guy could help me, a poor helpless girl, with her obviously difficult essay. Please Blake!" she grinned, clasping her hands together by her chin and batting her eyelashes with a girlish giggle.

Hey, maybe it'll work this time.

"Well, we've been at this thing for three years now," Blake said, referring to their length of time at Hogwarts. "I have it in mind to get this whole study session thing down pat by the time we hit OWLS." He paused and continued to arrange his study materials for easy access later. "I see how Waker and Leon and Edmund got a system and I want ours to be even better."

Blake turned back to his friend with a deadpan expression on his face, which to anyone else would suggest that he was completely serious and fully planned on devoting any and all his spare time to making sure he had his study habits down to a science. But then Blake smiled, one that began as a slow up turn of his lips and then seemed to explode in his eyes.

The absolute truth was, he didn't need to have the way he studied down to a science. He could manage to study any day, at any time in any condition. But that didn't mean there weren't certain things that helped. And food, especially treats, were one of them.

He reached out and grabbed a handful of the hodge-podge of snacks in the bag and popped a few morsels in his mouth, not even caring if the flavors tasted horrid together. He chewed on them as she explained her progress. She wasn't five seconds into it before he jokingly pretended to fall asleep on her, slumping forward and resting his head on the table. He added a snoring for sound effects.

He righted himself when Cait began to "butter" him up about helping her. She probably knew already that she would never need to do much to get him to help her out. He'd do it in a heartbeat. He was like that for anyone he really cared about. The shame was that it tended not to include his family members. His friends often seemed more like family to him than his real family.

Smirking, he pulled out a sheet of parchment and blithely teased, "Do you have something in your eye? Or is that rapid eye blinking intended to serve another purpose?" Figuring he'd use the situation to his advantage, he wagged a finger at her. "I'll help you. But I have a favor to ask of you in return...."

Cait pouted, dropping her hands and resting them on the table. "O'course you'll help me." she grinned, her smile dissipating once he commanded a reward for his efforts. "Don't be silly, Blakey." she giggled, swinging her legs under her, "Seein' me ev'ry day is enough of a favor." Cait laughed, quickly popping her hand into his treat bag and pulling out a small purple delight.

While she popped it into her mouth and started to chew, she picked up her quill. "So, wut'er we gowna doo?" she slurred, chewing slowly. It wasn't like Cait wasn't a good student. She was an excellent student. Just.. Blake was a better student. He really always did have that knack for getting her brain flowing when it came to writing, which happens to be one of her weaker points.

She could remember the first essay of hers they had written together. It was about Werewolves. Or was it about Bezoars? Nevertheless, it ended with a partially finished essay, but plenty of duck drawings and rather amusing interpretations of fellow students. Of course, Cait's panic set in a few minutes after dismissing their meeting, and her paper was completed. Though the wasted time was time well spent..

Blake was a sucker for pouting females, something that went back as far as the birth of his baby sister. Even if he did think she was a spoiled brat, he found it hard to deny Aglaia's constant cries for attention and whatever else her heart desired. Most of the time it made the most sense to just give in, even if it did perpetuate her behavior. Thankfully, though, his sister had three other brothers to dote on her as well. So his patience didn't get taxed too much.

"Of course I'll help you," Blake said with a nod and an easy going smile for Cait. At least he knew she'd be grateful for whatever help he offered her and not take it for granted. And even though he "demanded" a reward, it really wasn't a demand at all. In the end it was going to be more him begging her to help him out. But when she said seeing her was enough of a favor, he rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath about difficult women. But he soon followed her foray into the goodie back and pulled out something to eat himself. Then he just figured it was best to ask her. But he reached out for his quill and fiddled with it a little before the words came out. "So...uh....the Halloween dance thingy is coming up. Think ya would wanna go....yanno....like....together? It seems like everyone is going in pairs. Cuz I guess two is better than one?" he grimaced at his poor attempt at a joke and hoped she would overlook it. And in that moment, Blake suddenly wished he was a first year again.

Waving the whole request off, Blake reached for his parchment. "So....y---eah. Anyway....let's get started, shall we?"

Cait grinned, continuing to chew. He was simply adorable. Although he was acting a bit weird.

"Think ya would wanna go....yanno....like....together?"

Cait choked a little on her treat. "Oh. Well..." she stuttered, twisting her quill in her hand. She could feel the awkwardness between them as he began to stutter on. "Yah, let's continue." she agreed, her face flushing to a bright pink from her chin to her ears. The dance? Did he really just ask her to... the dance? Cait could feel her heart beat a little faster at the prospect. "So, uhm.." she mumbled, shuffling the blank parchment in front of herself. "So I know that Granger was the 'ead of the Society of Potioneers or somethin' like dat." she waved her quill at him, "I'm unsure o'what else he's done."

'Dance? I can't dance. Can he dance? I sure hope he could. We're going as friends, right? Or are we going at all? No, No I couldn't go, it'd be too weird...'

Cait glanced over at him, with a glimmer of a small smile apparent on her face. "And... I'd love to go wit you. O'course, if ya really want to.." Wow, did she just say yes? Prepare for the most foot-stepping-on you've ever seen in your lifetime.

Blake watched his friend with anxious anticipation. Whether he realized it or not, what he was most concerned with at that moment was rejection in its most basic form. He was still young and there was certainly plenty of time in the future for him to be really and truly rejected, but at this particular moment, it felt like the worst thing that could possibly happen.

He didn't want to pressure her (and probably didn't know how to really do it anyway given his disposition), but the suspense was starting to become unbearable. And he wouldn't be able to concentrate on whatever studying they were going to do until he had an answer. Even if she said no and that she had someone else who had asked her, that was fine. At least he'd be put out of his misery.

In fact, Blake hardly heard anything that Cait had said about the essay. It went in one ear and out the other. When she finally said that she would go with him, a look of relieve passed over his face. And he felt settled inside as well. "Oh....great."

Easy peasey. No problem. Nothing to this whole get a date thing, he thought. But where he had thought that the awkwardness would go away once it was out of the way, he was wrong. Some of it still lingered. Now that that's settled we can return to homework.

Or not. There was still one more thing to be settled.

"So...uh....is there anything you'd like to go as?" he managed to get out. "I know some people who are....." he paused. "Going....together....are....." another pause. "Coordinating?" He wasn't sure if he meant that last word to come out in a questioning manner, but he shrugged. "Um...I thought about maybe going as a knight. Rather lame, I know. But seems appropriate, no?" He continued to ramble on. "You could go as another chess piece, maybe. You'd make a good queen. Or, we could go as something else.....you decide."