Little things on Skewers! PV Finished

interacting w/ @Brielle Gray

Gem could never really pinpoint when he felt feelings for people, but he did know when they grew stronger and stronger. At the beginning, when he first met Brielle, he was mostly just casually attracted to her, a warm feeling at the very bottom of his belly, the vague nervousness-- it was hardly anything to hyperfixate on, so he didn't. He had his fun teaching her a spell, nothing more, nothing less. It wasn't until a bit after, at the sleepover, that he slowly began to feel the beginnings of a crush.

It was a new feeling, getting all red in the face and jumpy whenever she looked at him, smiled, or just breezed past him in the hallways. It had been growing, and it certainly didn't help they had a hefty amount of classes together. He reminded himself, though, that he was him, and she was her. She was much better than he was by a long shot, and they'd remain casual friends for the rest of forever. He distracted himself with schoolwork for the most part, though there would be those little sections where he'd catch himself staring, his heart putting weird, lovey thoughts in his head, the idea of hand-holding, meaningful conversations - even kissing - that one threw him off. She threw him off his balance, and he tripped over himself whenever she made her presence known, wherever it may be. She was... she was like if a day had a sunset, stars, the sun and the moon all together at once, twinkling, with a little cold breeze. Stunning, it sent shivers down his spine.

When she lead them to the designated spot, he really was blown away. It was gorgeous, the layout, all put together so thoughtfully, a basket of cookies, sandwiches, and some of the best-looking fruit kabobs he'd ever seen. His eyes got all big, and he swore his heart did spins. He felt warm, excited, and very fond.

"Holy hell, Brielle! Ya really outdid yourself, here! Wow- this is-" He pressed his lips together, unable to formulate a proper sentence to relay his appreciation- how happy this made him. She really did make him feel special. He rushed to sit beside her when she beckoned him over, sitting cross cross so his legs wouldn't get in the way.

"I don' even know if I wanna eat all this, it's too pretty," he nudged her shoulder lightly with his, stopping suddenly when he remembered he'd brought his own stuff for her. "hold on!"

He had a little box with him, wrapped all nice in light beige colored paper, topped off with some string (green, on purpose). Inside of it was a red rose, and a small, realistic little bird plush - a turtle dove - and a small sea shell, which was lightly colored and freckled with beige.

"Ehm... a lil' birdy told me ya like Aphrodite - the Goddess - so I did some light readin' on her, and... here are some things that're particularleh important to her, so... I figured you'd like em'." He was bashful, albeit confident about the gifts. She put all this together, it was the very least he could do - he had a letter, too, but he'd wait to give that to her towards the end of the date.

@Gem Stuart

Her eyes twinkled when he spoke, causing her to blush a small bit. She looked down, a small laugh coming after. "You really like it?" She asked quietly, the red spreading across her cheeks like wild fire. It enlightened her to hear him appreciate her, it honestly made her feel whole.

As he dug into his pocket, she watched him pull out an intricately wrapped box with green string portraying her house. She almost choked on her strawberry when she saw the gifts, a beautiful rose that shown beautifully in the sun. It was all so wonderful, especially the little turtledove plush. She'd never admit it, but she still slept with animal stuffies, she just felt as if they we're too pure to not have.

"Gem, these are all so cute! I can't believe you researched a silly love goddess for me either!" She squealed like a child in a candy store. She then threw her arms around him, embracing him in yet another hug.

It was a friendly hug, though also had a hint of affection tied to it. Perhaps was now the stage where she had become annoying, but honestly, she didn't mind.

"I love them.. Really, I can't wrap my head around how thoughtful you are." She said softly, as she pinned the delicate rose in her hair with one of her clips. Sure, the thorns bothered her a bit, but it was cute, and therefore, that was all that mattered.

As for the other gifts, she placed the plush in her lap and put the seashell in her bag. As she turned back to Gem, her heart raced just by looking at him, just by being here gave her the jitters. "How come you agreed to this date, anyway?" She asked curiously, popping a blueberry into her mouth.

@Brielle Gray

Seeing her so excited about the gifts made his heart feel warm, and the hug really made it much better. She'd meant it when she liked them, and that was what mattered to him - that there was value there.

"It's not silly," He huffed, returning the hug as quickly as he could. "It was very fun ta read about, for yer information." He decided to cave in and start plucking at the treats she'd put together, grabbing an oatmeal cookie, first. He chewed on it in an attentive silence, listening intently to her complement him. Thoughtful? That was sweet, but he was sure she was the thoughtful one in this particular situation. She'd put all this together for them, and it made his brain turn into goo. The very best way to put it? Putting a freshly dried blanket around yourself during the wintertime, except with your emotions.

"How come I agreed?" He repeated, furrowing his eyebrows like it was a mildly concerning question. "Cos' I like ya, I wanna spend time wiv you. You're a lot more magnetic than you probably think ya are." He broke the cookie in half, hovering it over his lips so he could finish talking. "Yer one of the prettiest birds I've ever seen, and your personality just makes ya ten times better. You're more unique than words can describe, and I know a whole lot ov words." Man, these cookies were delicious - he'd probably wipe them out by the time their date was over.

He almost asked her why the hell she even asked him, but that felt like it would've been a little too... self-deprecating, and he was in too good of a mood to do something like that. It was very unflattering, he remembered his mam telling him. He went for a strawberry, observing it a little bit before nipping the end with his teeth, sort of like a squirrel.

"I fink that strawberries are 'e best fruits ever invented. This is not up for debate, they're... just... such," He paused, squinting at it unsurely like it was trying to speak to him. "sexy little fruits."

@Gem Stuart

Because he liked her.. That sentence made her smile, though her face darkened with a frown at the realization of another girl he liked. She didn't dare bring it up, though it still bothered her a bit. She'd seen him before with her, at a picnic similar to the scenario she was in now. How didn't she see it before? She'd practically planned out the downfall of her one potential relationship.

With a smile placed back on her face, she giggled when he called her pretty. Believe it or not, but no one has called her attractive. Her whole life, she's maybe gotten more insults than compliments. Maybe it was her clothing choice, causing some to say she was goth.. emo even. It was fine though, she liked how she dressed, and why bother changing for some people that obviously didn't care about her.

"Mm, I dunno. Pineapples are pretty attractive as well." Brielle replied to his argument, grinning at his sense of humor. As the wind started to flow past them, she took two hair ties and pinned her hair up into twin pigtails. Sure, she might've looked like a five year old, and she might've looked stupid, but honestly who was to judge her out here.

She felt as if she could do anything, say anything, and even vent her feelings here. It was so calming to be away from everyone, to just have Gem by her side. She couldn't wish to be anyone else.

@Brielle Gray

Had Gem not been a little too interested in her face, he wouldn't have noticed the slight falter in her expression. He'd always been told he was very perceptive, and this sort of reminded him of that - he didn't like it, but... y'know, he also did. He decided to wait a moment before continuing their Which Fruit Is The Most Attractive competition and inquire her about it. If it was nothing, then they could ignore it, if it was something, they could talk about it. Simple as that.

"Are you all right, love?" He asked, picking the small leaves off the strawberry in his hand one by one, "You looked a bit sad for a second."

He wondered if this would be a bad idea, especially since they were... well, on a date, but he figured it'd be nice to open up to each other sooner than later, made things easier to talk about, create some kind of trust between them. He knew after a first date, in primary school, anyhow, you were basically boyfriend and girlfriend. While he wasn't sure he'd ever end up in a situation like that, he felt kinda nice to-- Brielle was just... fun, nice, and he had the faintest feeling she could kick ass if she really wanted to. He could've grinned at the thought, but he was a tad too busy looking (and feeling) more concerned to even consider it.

@Gem Stuart

"Ah, yeah. I'm fine, don't worry." She said, her voice faltering. She didn't want to seem clingy and possessive, but she also didn't want to lose him to another girl. A girl that knew him better.. A girl that was in the same house as him.

"Just uh- Remembered something.." She lied once again, hating how it made it her feel. Lying on the first date certainly wasn't ideal, though what was she supposed to do? Tell him she knew about him and Catriona? If she hadn't scared him away by now that would certainly do it.

With a sigh, she managed to meet his eyes, seeing the flash of concern behind them. "I was just wonderin' if you like- treated anyone else like the way you've treated me today." She had blurted out, instantly regretting how it sounded. God, she sounded like a stray puppy, it was embarrassing.

"N-not that it matters.. I was only curious.. that's all." Brielle added, pulling a strand of hair on each side of face to frame her facial structure. As she looked down at her lap, she hugged the bird plush like a child, not realizing she was doing it. Maybe the date was a mistake anyway, maybe she wasn't meant to have relationships..

@Brielle Gray

Brielle seemed like she fell apart quick. She sort of... said everything he needed to hear. He felt bad, seeing her upset, it made him upset too -had he treated anyone else the way he was treating her? Insecure. He frowned, looking down at the cloth set out on the grass, then back up at Brielle.

"Well," He thought it out for a moment, trying to find the right words so it'd make sense. "No. No, I haven't." And that was the honest truth. He still felt the need to elaborate anyhow, just to put things into context... everything always needed context, for Gem. That was a key part of communicating, and, well- they needed to communicate.

"I've done a lot ov stuff wiv my friend, , cos she's my best friend. She's only my best friend, and she sees me like that, too. Nothin's gonna happen between us becos of that, okay? Here- c'mere," it depressed the hell out of him seeing her only have that bird plush to hug, so he scooted over and brought her closer to him. His arm made a careful movement around her shoulder so she could lean her head on his chest, all comfortable like, and so he could nestle his face into the top of her head and give it a little kiss, nice and reassuring.

"I've never done this wiv anyone, and I haven't ever felt like this wiv anyone else, either. I like you so much more differently than I like everyone else, an' that's real special, alright? You're real special." He rubbed her shoulder lightly, feeling himself sort of sink into the comfort the position provided. She was so warm, and she fit so nicely against him, and she smelled great, and he liked that he could feel her breathing... it was nice, it was really, really nice. He could do this forever, settle down with her, look at the sky. It was good. He felt really, really good.

"An' by the way, strawberries are still infinitely sexier than pineapples."

@Gem Stuart

His response.. it shocked her. She could've sworn he'd liked.. She scolded herself. How could she be so condescending? It was like she didn't even hear his side of the story before jumping to conclusions. Still, it made her feel better when he told her she was the first girl to have hung out with like this.

As he told her that he and Catriona were just friends, it put her at ease, and most of all; put her heart at rest. She couldn't believe she'd gotten so worked up about something that wasn't even a problem in the first place. Points to Brielle for being the most dramatic child on earth.

At his call, she moved towards him, placing her head in the crook of his neck. Was this what love was like? To allow someone to do this to one another, to make each other feel valued? Whatever it was, she didn't want to lose it, she didn't want to lose it to anything in the world.

Real special.. his words burned into her head, causing her to give off a light smile as she held him close. All she could think about was what a day this had been. She woke up, feeling normal, went to a boring class, and ended the day as the happiest girl in Hogwarts. Now that was something.

As if nothing could ruin her train of thought, he said the most stupid, yet amusing thing.

"So.. if I were a fruit, I'd be a Strawberry?" She asked with a grin.

@Brielle Gray

Gem felt more secure that she was secure, knowing it was certain when he felt the warmth press against the skin of his neck. He leaned his head against hers, his hand situating itself downwards so it was around her waist, the other keeping himself up so he could lean back against it.

"Even better, you'd be a strawberry wiv chocolate on it," He hummed, his voice low and warm. "Those real sweet ones, the kind whose flavors stay on your tongue for a little bit longer than the other ones." Normally, he'd feel a bit sheepish saying that stuff-- he was sort of paranoid that he'd sound corny, but he didn't care right now. He was comfortable, that wasn't something he'd expected at all. He felt good, he felt his chest doing swings, the blood in his veins pulsing with a skip.

He wanted to kiss her.
He'd kissed a girl before, but it was on impulse, mostly. This wasn't so impulsive, it was just... it'd feel right, he guessed. She stunned him, made him freeze up and want to grab her and pick her up off her feet and give her all the attention in the world. It was a good feeling, wanting to kiss her, so he thought he should do it - just because.

"Hey," He mumbled, lightly nudging her head with his to get her to look up at him. For a moment, just a short one, he got lost in those twinkling green eyes of hers, how sweet they were. He could look into those eyes forever, if he wanted. He blinked back the marvel, leaning forwards to lightly kiss her, right on the lips. The first thing he noticed was how soft they were, and then how he suddenly wanted to keep on kissing her until both of their lips were sore. If that was how the rest of the night went, he wouldn't mind. He really wouldn't.