Keegan had a problem. Thanks to the incident in herbology a couple days before, he was in debt to Serenity. Charles too, but Keegan was more concerned about the one who had actually given him the mouth-to-mouth. Mouth-to-mouth... his first 'kiss', at least, that was the buzz amongst the first years. At his age, it was hard to discern what was a kiss and what was a lifesaving maneuver. Either way, Keegan felt he was in some way indebted to the girl and he always repaid his debts.

Which was why, on this sunny albeit cold Saturday, he was standing outside the portrait hole at the Ravenclaw Tower, waiting patiently for her to come out. He had knocked on several of the surrounding portraits until he found the one that got a response and was now waiting for the girl that answered to go and get Serenity. While he waited, he considered how he could repay her. Maybe he could take her to the kitchens and get something to eat, or perhaps they could go and search for secret passages...Maybe make snowmen or something? He didn't know! He didn't know what to do with girls!

Mai was a girl, sure, but she wasn't that kind of girl. She was one of the guys. Serenity was... well... a girl. All he had learned from the older boys was that girls were for snogging, which, in his 12 year old mind, they had already done. Now what? The older boys were never clear on that fact. When asked, they mostly just exchanged secretive glances and giggled like idiots. Keegan didn't know what they were thinking about, but it must have been really funny. One day, he supposed, he would know.

The first year had just returned from the library about ten minutes before a pretty girl in a portrait that she sometimes talked to came sweeping up through a number of other portraits. She started chattering quickly until she paused long enough to realize that Serenity Lee had no idea what she was saying. Finally, the portrait girl gave a long, exasperated groan.

"Your boyfriend is outside the common room!"

"Boyfriend? I don't have a--oh! You mean my boy friend! Merlin's beard, Cassandra, I thought you were being as stupid as the rest of the first years for a minute! Hold on."

She closed her book and packed up the rest of her studies in to her bag, grabbed her wand, and left the table where she was working at. Unlike the older girls who ran around in a panic crying "Does my hair look okay?" and switching shoes because they 'weren't the right color' whenever a boy came to stand outside the common room for them, Serenity Lee only grabbed her tiny personal satchel and headed through the entrance and exit of the Ravenclaw Common Room. The Gryffindor visiting her was a surprise, albeit a pleasant one. She smiled at him, tucking away her wand in to her bag as she stood outside in the hallway.

"Hello, Keegan! Something on your mind?"

As always, her hair was curtaining her face so that he couldn't get a good look at her. Only Venora and Dahlia were permitted to see Serenity Lee's full face because they were the only ones she could look in the eye. Today, she was dressed up in the sailor dress she'd worn for Halloween because all of her other clothes were dirty. Besides that, though, the main reason was because she was in a good mood and this was as fancy as she could dress up on a good day. The girl smiled pleasantly at her friend and waited for some sort of explanation as to why he was here. Then the thought occurred to her and her smile faded. What if he was here because of the rumors?

After several minutes of waiting, Keegan was about to explode. He wasn't the type to sit there patiently like a good boy, not even for his closest friends. He was about to just leave and try again some other time when the portrait reappeared. "She's on her way..." It said, rolling its eyes before adding almost sarcastically "... Ah young love. How sweet."

"We ain't in love." Keegan retorted a bit angrily, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. Why did everyone think they were a couple? Did hanging out with a girl make you a pair? If so, did people think that about him and Mai? Didn't people call guys who dated more then one girl pimps? Did that mean he was a pimp? Suddenly he smiled and nodded to himself, pleased, thinking Oh yeah, I'm a pimp. The portrait stared at him blankly, a bit bewildered by his sudden change in expression. Those Gryffindors were weird.

While he was preening himself, pleased that he could be considered such a stud, Serenity appeared out of nowhere and smiled at him behind a curtain of hair. "Hello, Keegan! Something on your mind?" . Realizing he was grinning like an idiot, Keegan coughed and scratched his head a bit sheepishly "Nothing!... um... Whats up?" What was he supposed to do now? What was a pimp to do? Dammit, if he only had a leopard print tophat and cane. Then he would know what to do.

Why was he grinning? Did he have some sort of trick up his sleeve? Serenity Lee was clueless, but she was concerned why he had come to the Ravenclaw Tower to see her. Usually, he avoided it because of Eirene.

"Nothing!... um... Whats up?"

What's up? Nothing? Her hazel eyes glanced up at the portraits around them, all of whom quickly turned away to pretend they were doing something busy. The girl wasn't stupid; she knew when people were spying because her brothers used to do it to Elle and her mother sometimes did it to her dad. The little Ravenclaw squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, accidentally revealing a little bit of her face. It came with the attempts to make herself look important which she did whenever she was being stern.

"Let me make this perfectly clear," she said loud enough for the portraits to hear, "I didn't kiss you. I saved your life. End of story. You're my friend, Keegan, and I don't want to sound rude, but I have no intention of snogging you. Ever. A girl and a boy can be friends without going googly-eyed over each other. Hermione Granger and Harry Potter were a perfect example."

Now that she had got that out for all to hear, the portraits' inhabitants started wandering off somewhere. They were just as interested in the rumors going around about two first years as everyone else in the castle. Too bad they were let down so harshly by the primary source because gossip is really all they had going for them at this point. Once they were actually alone, Serenity Lee gave him a warmer smile and returned to her shy, casual stance.

"Would you like to do something today? It's cold outside, but I think I found something for us to do in Hogwarts. Venora told me there's a passageway near here and I wanted to check it out. I was in the common room reading about rumors of hidden treasure in Hogwarts when you came by. Want to come?"

"Let me make this perfectly clear, I didn't kiss you. I saved your life. End of story. You're my friend, Keegan, and I don't want to sound rude, but I have no intention of snogging you. Ever. A girl and a boy can be friends without going googly-eyed over each other. Hermione Granger and Harry Potter were a perfect example."

"uh... o.. kay..." He said slowly, a bit confused. Had he said they were supposed to snog? That hadn't been his intention at all. They had, according to the rumors, already kissed... he didn't expect they needed to do it again anytime soon. "...Thats... Nice to know?" What else was he supposed to say? This was getting really awkward and Keegan suddenly felt that perhaps he shouldn't have come.

"Would you like to do something today? It's cold outside, but I think I found something for us to do in Hogwarts. Venora told me there's a passageway near here and I wanted to check it out. I was in the common room reading about rumors of hidden treasure in Hogwarts when you came by. Want to come?"

Having not seen the portraits gathering and whispering, Keegan didn't understand her sudden change in demeanor and was even more confused. However the mention of treasure and adventure couldn't be denied and the thoughts of finding lost galleons and other enchanted goodies quickly overrode his confusion about the gentler sex.

"Hell yeah! We'll be like pirates!" He grinned slapping her on the shoulder. He then thought of something and his smile grew "Oh oh... I should get my hat and eyepatch! I'll be right back..." Turning, he disappeared down the corridor that lead to the Gryffindor tower entrance. A couple minutes went by before his rushed footsteps could be heard pattering down the hall. A moment later he was back and dressed in his Halloween costume, minus the boots he had borrowed that night. "Allright... I'm ready" he gasped, grinning.