Rumors have wings PV Rafael D'Spacito Finished

Lydia's eyes widened in shock as she watched the Gryffindor boy hung upside down on his broom, the fear that he might fall down closing her throat. That feeling only went away once Rafael looked like he was steady again on his broom, and Lydia's whole body relaxed. 

She had just managed to untangle her hair from her face by the time the Quidditch Captain had reached her, his face open in a smile that made Lydia's stomach fill up with butterflies. She smiled back at him, rocking back and forth a little nervously on her feet, before she answered his question. "I'm doing alright! I'm sorry I almost made you fall before, I didn't mean to startle you," she said, unable to restrain herself from apologising. 

Now that the formalities had been taken care of, the red headed girl didn't exactly know how to bring up the whole Blossom Ball topic. Should she just go straight for it, or maybe should she try to take the whole thing from further away?

She sighed and then looked back at Rafael, her face a mic of worry and anxiety. "So... I- oh gosh okay," Lydia mumbled, before taking a big breath. She could do that, all she needed to do was speak. "There's a reason why I'm here," she started, focusing her eyes on Rafael's ones, "I don't know if you've heard, but the Blossom Ball has been cancelled. So me, Aaron and a couple of other students have decided, well... to throw our Secret Blossom Ball," Lydia bit down on her bottom lip, before continuing talking, finding it easier now to tell Rafael about their plan than at the beginning. "and I was wondering if you could help me spread the word about it? Maybe with your Quidditch team, and the other Gryffindor boys?"

Lydia felt like a big weight had been taken off of her shoulder, making it easier for her to breath. She gave the Gryffindor boy a small smile, before she talked again. "I completely understand if you don't want to be involved in this, we will be breaking several rules and all of that but... yeah, I mean, if you'd like to help, that would be great," She then looked down at her feet, waiting for an answer from the boy, and hoping that she hadn't come on too strong.

@Rafael D'Spacito

Lydia had always been quite good at not losing concentration, keeping her mind on the task and all of that, but she had noticed that whenever she was near Rafael, her brain would just take the day off to lay in the sunshine that the boy's smile seemed to emit and leave the girl with a mushy, semi functional mind. She couldn't help but stare at the boy as he wiped the sweat off his forehead - the gesture made him look extremely cool and gorgeous in Lydia's opinion - before she quickly looked away as Rafael looked at her. Hopefully he didn't catch her staring at him, but with Lydia's luck she wasn't too sure about that.

"Oh my God, really?!" Lydia beamed, her whole face opening up in a bright smile when Rafael agreed to help. "Thank you, thank you thank you!" she said and then, out of nowhere, she wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug. It didn't last long, just the right amount of time for Lydia to realise what she had done; she quickly broke the hug, her face slightly red from embarrassment, her eyes glued to the ground. "Sorry... I got a little overexcited," she apologised, the smile still on her face. She had almost forgot about Rafael's question, her mind too focused on it's day off. "Hum.. I think you can tell prefects, as long as you think they won't tell anything to the teachers. Other than that, I trust your judgment, I'm sure that if you don't trust someone, you won't tell them about it." Lydia said, before continuing "Another thing! Could you ask your team members to bring their own brooms? The Ball will be at the Quidditch Pitch, and since it's far away from the castle, we want to have a quick way to alert the professors in case anything bad might happen. We will take some of the school ones as well, and we even asked the Martial Artist to help with security."

"The ball will be the 25th, as I said at the Quidditch Pitch; it will start after dinner, around 8:30, and will go on probably until after curfew. Oh! I almost forgot!" Lydia said and shook her head, before she spoke again "It is important that people will arrive at the pitch in their normal clothes, otherwise they might draw attention on themselves, going around the school in fancy clothes. They can change in the changing rooms, this way there shouldn't be too many problems."

She looked up at Rafael and gave him a smile, her excitement growing more and more. "Is there anything else you would like to know?" she said as she passed a hand through her hair in order to adjust them a little bit, since that day they had decided to be extremely wavy and, plus the wind, they just would not stay the way that Lydia wanted them to stay.

@Rafael D'Spacito

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Interacting With: @Lydia Cooper
Mentioning: N/A

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[font=Segoe Print]"Oh my God, really?! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

There was something about the way Lydia spoke, her tone of voice, smile, very aura in general, radiating joy and brightness, that seemed to tug at the lips of the young Gryffindor Captain, his gaze brightening at the very indication that he’d pleased the lovely girl in the first place. It was a feeling he’d hardly gotten from others – he supposed he’d lost his sympathy for his peers and what their feelings entailed a long time ago, as it was no secret that one could hardly please everyone they came in contact with. However, Lydia was different, certainly not the typical peer – oh, what he would endure to see her smile, hear her laugh, feel her positive energy! It was something he longed for, as such things filled him up inside, in ways he’d never known possible, bringing his own energy levels soaring, euphoria taking over his very livelihood like an infection, eating away at all the hate and discord trapped within his being. What was this sickness, that Lydia had utterly contaminated him with?

He could do nothing to consider this inquiry further, as his mind was now swimming with elation, a big stupid grin on his face and his eyes bright with joy. “Noted,” he voiced instead, in response to her original statement. “Could get the word out there, collect some brooms. Or,” he shrugged, an easy smile slipping onto his features, “alternatively, I could sneak you the keys to the broom shack – all the school brooms should be there.” He shrugged, loosely feigning nonchalance, a smile tugging at his lips. “Whatever works best for you, I’m down for really. It’s an awesome concept! Wow, a secret ball…”

Upon listening further, he continued to take note, a lip tucking itself between his lips as his mind raced to save the date. “Twenty-fifth,” he voiced aloud. “Changing rooms – I think I can remember that much.” He grinned. “Hrmm, didn’t know the Martial Artist Club was involved with anything currently.” Must not have gotten that owl yet – no matter, he’d gotten the notice one way or another. Besides, he supposed there were more important things to address, anyways. “And I assume there’s no dress code? Anything notable in that area?” He raised a short eyebrow, cocking his head in a playful manner as he prodded at the subject. “Can’t wear trash bags, now, can we?”

It was then, that it occurred to him – his smile wavered slightly at such a thought, his eyes widening slightly as realization slipped into his consciousness, bringing with it the cold, unforgiving truth. She hadn’t come out to see him, had she? No, such an outing could have only been for the promotion of her ball. His brow furrowed slightly. And here he was, all excited. “Is that the only reason you’re out, now?” he asked in a playful tone, a bright smile on his face, the distress only partially hidden behind loose acting. “Just spreading the word?” He supposed it bore noting aloud, as it certainly wasn’t that big of a deal, but still, it wasn’t like he was excited for the answer. Either way, he should have been thankful that he’d seen Lydia in the first place. Her face had certainly made his Saturday, even if her presence hadn’t been for the purpose of revisiting old acquaintances. [/font]

Rafael's question about the brooms took Lydia by surprise, she was not expecting him to, first of all, have the keys for the broom shack, even though it made sense since he was one of the Quidditch Captains, and to just offer to give them to her. She gave him a wide smile, before she shook her head. "Don't worry Rafa, I'm sure we will manage without the keys; I would never want to accidentally lose them or worse, be caught and having to explain who gave them to me,"

Lydia was really trying her best not to get distracted from her task, but between Rafael's bright smile and him biting on his bottom lip, she couldn't help but stare at him, before shaking herself out of that trance, her cheeks flushed red again. She adjusted her hair behind her ear, before answering the boy's next questions. "There's no particular dress code, even though since it's a Blossom Ball, it would be nice to have some kind of flowers pinned, like a boutonnière or something," she had to restrain herself from telling him that he would have looked good even with a trash bag on, sure that it would have been way too much to say out loud.

“Is that the only reason you’re out, now?”

For a second, the red headed girl didn't know what to say to that. Technically yes, that was the reason why she had been looking for him, but she also knew that if she wouldn't have been that busy with organising everything for the ball, she would have probably come out on the field anyway, just to see him. But again, it wasn't like she could just say that to him, could she?

"Yes- I mean, not exact-" Lydia tried to speak as she felt her face becoming even redder, how was that even possible? Come on! Get it together! she thought, before taking a deep breath. "What I was trying to say is that, in theory yes, this was the only reason. But it's also true that, well... I like spending time with you," she said the last part quickly, her voice somehow smaller, but she figured it would have made no sense to lie to him. "But it's also true that I'll have to go back inside soon, we still have so many things to do. It's driving me a little crazy," Lydia admitted and sighed, thinking that she would have probably spent yet another night up late, her mind way too overactive to let her fall asleep at a decent hour.

@Rafael D'Spacito

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Interacting With: @Lydia Cooper
Mentioning: N/A

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[font=Segoe Print]But it's also true that, well... I like spending time with you."

Lydia’s words were fickle, strange in the way that they tugged at the heartstrings of the young boy, a smile slowly tugging at the ends of his lips as he fully absorbed the weight of her lovely confession. She… liked spending time with him? Well, wasn’t that something? And, here he was, stressing over what the girl thought of him. Preposterous. It was as if any stress and anxiety still ridding his form had disappeared in that moment – the smile, once fighting its way for a place on his face, shortly took control of his features in a radiant beam of teeth, his euphoria seeping off his form in waves as he looked down at the broom he was hovering on wryly, trying to somewhat contain the feelings burning so vibrantly in his disposition. It was really sweet, what she’d said, and for a moment, the boy was left pondering what exactly her words meant. She liked spending time with him… as an acquaintance? A friend? …perhaps something more? The latter send a fluttering through the child’s stomach, his lip coming to rest between his teeth as he entertained himself with such an idea. He certainly liked her, in some sort of way, that was more than apparent to the boy the more time he seemed to spend with the lovely Hufflepuff. Were the feelings reciprocated? Did she like him back? Was it all in his head?

However, he wouldn’t have any more time to consider this in front of his lovely crush, not when she was on a schedule. “Well, I won’t hold you, then,” he said happily, looking back up at the girl as his lips rested in a close-lipped smile. He jutted his chin towards her in a sort of joking way, as if nodding. “You’re busy, yeah? Who am I, to disrupt your schedule?” Then, his broom starting to hover away, he couldn’t help but resume his radiant grin, cocking his head to the side. “We should hang out sometime! When your schedule’s a little more loose!” It was a gentle prod, by all means good natured, the genuity more than evident on the boy’s face. However, that wasn’t to say that the offer wasn’t legitimate – she didn’t know it, but the boy himself knew that he wouldn’t be able to resist quality time with the Hufflepuff Girl. He would leave the offer out there, in the hopes that she would take it for what it was worth, perhaps use it in the coming days.

Not wanting to further disrupt the schedule of the veela girl, he offered her a short wave, before leaning back on his broom, allowing the balance to be thrown off slightly so that he could turn, resuming his original position in the sky. Clutching the Quaffle in his mitts, he cast the ball out, once again practicing his gripping maneuver. A success. He smiled, before looking back at the girl, made small by the contrasting difference between the two. Damn, he didn’t know how she did it. It was as if her very presence could put a smile on the Captain’s face, an art that was held by only a handful of people. He couldn’t be sure of her own feelings, but he sure as hell knew his own. If only he could know her feelings towards him, perhaps such a comforting fact would give him some alleviation to the insomnia that struck his senses late in the night, brown eyes staring idly at the ceiling as he attempted to sort through the deafening thoughts that plagued his mind. Alas, he would most likely find out one way or another… [/font]

Rafael resumes practicing, and subsequently leaves the thread.

For a short moment, Lydia felt like her heart had stopped beating: Rafael's smile was so bright and pure it made her feel butterflies in her stomach. She found herself smiling brightly back at him, as she adjusted some of her hair behind her ear; there was something tugging at her stomach, a warm sensation, almost tingling, that made her feel excited and hopeful; she couldn't understand yet what it was, or what it meant, but all she knew was that only Rafael had ever made her feel that way.

She looked back at him and nodded, almost as if to thank him for understanding why she couldn't stay for too long that day. "You're not disrupting my schedule!" she told him as she looked up at him, as she brought a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. "Yeah, I'd love that! I promise it will just be us next time, no Aaron to tag along!" she added as she tried to joke, while also completely meaning what she said. As she watched Rafael go back up in the sky and resume his training, Lydia couldn't help but stare at him for a couple of moments as she waved at him, just as the feeling in her stomach lingered and made her feel like a thousands butterflies suddenly decided to live inside of it.

As she started walking back towards the castle, Lydia couldn't help but feel hopeful about Rafael; she knew she liked him, of that she was completely sure, and often she had wondered if maybe he liked her back, even just a little bit, and the conversation they just had, plus his bright smile, only made her more hopeful. Maybe this time it wasn't all in her head, maybe this time her crush actually liked her back, and not just as friends.

Once she reached the castle, the red headed girl looked back towards where the Quidditch Training Pitch was, and she could barely see someone, Rafael, flying around on his broom. She let her eyes roam around and take in the beautiful landscape that hugged Hogwarts: the sun was starting to get low on the horizon, casting orange shadows everywhere, the birds were flying around, and students were chatting and laughing as they walked; everything looked so calm, so... perfect, and for the first time, Lydia thought that maybe things would have been better soon, that the gloomy days were finally over.

With that positive thought in her mind, she walked back inside the castle, her bottom lip captured between her teeth as she tried not to smile too wide.

Lydia walks back inside the castle, and leaves the thread.

@Rafael D'Spacito