Date with Mr. Simon PV Simon Kincaid Closed

At the beginning of his Winter Break, it had been a whirlwind. He talked to old friends for hours on end like Gabe, Oliver, Jacob, Lily, Olivia. He saw several more: Thomas, Hannah, Mia, Charlotte, Cameron. He talked about his classes, his friends, and the amazing wizarding world in general to his Aunt Maggie and got caught up on her ventures at the bookstore/bakery where she worked and most importantly, he finally met the boyfriend - who he approved of.

He got back to impromptu games of tag in the streets of South Kensington, back to singing in the youth choir at Church, back to helping prep that traditional Sunday meal for the windowed members where Aunt Maggie invited them all over. There were hugs and smiles and laughter and he took it all in best he could because his Winter Break would be cut short by a few days because he would be visiting his friend Clair Fernandez towards the end of break on her family's farm. THAT would be something for this city boy.

While it was all great, Simon was met with a familiar predicament. When he was at Hogwarts he was homesick for home, and when like now, when he was at home, he was homesick for Hogwarts. Each had become a home to him and each carried special things within his heart.

One of the things he missed about Hogwarts when away from it, where the friendships and relationships that he had made - including that of his girlfriend, Haley Rose. Simon was quite surprised to see her letter and was glad that she wanted to meet up with him over the Break. Maybe she wanted to make up for the last time she tried to arrange a meeting between them and her Durmstrang bloke of a friend used it to show off his cockiness.

She wanted to meet at a biscuit shoppe in London and Simon knew of the one. It got good reviews and his Aunt Maggie brought it up a time or two as it rivaled her own place. He wasn't big on cookies himself, and he'd definitely pass on anything custard cream or caramel wafer in nature. IF he decided to get anything, he'd go with the standard shortbread. At least they were more buttery than sweet.

Simon thought he'd beat her there, but after coming up from the corner from where the Underground let out, he saw her bundled up in a coat, her red hair blowing softly in the breeze. He smiled as he approached. It was different seeing her outside of Hogwarts but he liked it. "You make a city like London look more beautiful."

@Simon Kincaid

Outfit

Simon was Simon, of course, and as the opener, he let his charming ways run wild. Haley giggled at his remark and pulled him into an embrace. Her cold lips placed a soft kiss on his cheeks. "It's nice to see you." She spoke into his neck and released the embrace. Her eyes fell on the café behind her and she looked at him guiltily. "So I know this isn't the best place for you but my parents have assured me that this café is great for meeting the boyfriend and otherwise anyway they couldn't understand how you could resist these treats." Haley paused and laughed briefly. She knew Simon didn't like sweet things but she wanted even less to get into explaining things to her parents and so gratefully accepted their recommendations.

"Shall we go in?" she finally asked, her hands already frozen and her body longing for the warmth that would be waiting for them inside. As soon as the two entered the small café, a sweet elderly lady approached them. "Hello loves, how are you?" It didn't take a second and Haley was already enamoured with her kind heart and politely thanked her after seating them both at a quiet table in the far corner of the room. Haley took a brief moment to look around the room, taking in the small and loving details, seeing other couples and groups of friends sitting at the other tables and she could see why her parents had recommended this place to her.

"How are you? How are your holidays? Did you have a good time?" she peppered Simon with her questions and couldn't wait to hear his stories. She liked the change, where for once it wasn't her who talked incessantly, but she just listened for a change. And she was interested in Simon, in how his aunt was doing, whether he was happy to be able to go to church again and whether he was able to meet his friends from the Muggle world. She didn't just want to be part of his little magical life at Hogwarts, she really wanted to be part of his life. And besides, she wanted to make up for the time when she was anything but a good girlfriend.

In the meantime, a few months had passed, Simon now knew about the things that had happened, Haley had begun to process things and while it could not be avoided that a change came along and Haley recognised another side of herself and also began to accept this side, there were people with whom she would always keep her open heart. Simon was one of those people. And while she also felt that they had reached a good point in their relationship again, you had to do something for a relationship, it was a doing and Haley would not take that lightly, not after all Simon had done for her.

Simon held the door for her as they entered the cafe and the sweet smell of baked goods filled the air. It wasn't anything new to him and while he wasn't a fan of them, it didn't upset his stomach. His Aunt Maggie was always trying something new for her bakery/bookstore that she worked at back at their townhome in London so it only reminded him of home.

A woman seated them and passed out menus and he took a moment to glance over it. He would probably just get a water but he felt he should at least order something to go along with it so not to seem rude. No one liked eating in front of someone else and he didn't want to do that to Haley. Maybe he'd get something lemon.

"My holidays have been great," he said, glancing up from the menu and smiled to Haley. He set it down so he could dedicate his attention to her right now. "I've been able to see some of my friends here in London, get to Church several times, catch up with Aunt Maggie, play a game of hockey, and uh..." he paused, not really sure he should mention finding out about the address for his father. Did Haley even know about the box? He couldn't remember.

"And I uhh, I found what might be my father's address. I think I'll mail him a letter." Better to tell it. After all, it was current information and there really was no sense hiding it. It wasn't doing anything wrong - but it was something big in the personal sense for him.

"Right now I get to spend time with you and in a few days I'll be visiting Clair Fernandez, do you know her? She's a first year Ravenclaw. She lives on a farm in Carlisle. That'll be interesting, I'm sure. I've never been to a farm before." And while she may have been interested in what he had to say about his break, he was curious of hers. Haley deserved a happy break from school after what had happened during her Summer break. "But enough about me. Tell me about yours."

@Simon Kincaid

Outfit

Haley skimmed the menu with half an eye while her concentration was more on Simon, who was talking about his holidays. Smiling, she nodded at his words, pleased that he had time for his hobbies and seeing his aunt again. "That all sounds great." She said honestly, glancing at the menu again as she noticed in the corner of her eye that the waitress was heading their way again. Haley couldn't decide and classically ordered a hot chocolate and a blueberry muffin, thanked them and turned back to talking to Simon.

"Oh wow, that's...great!" Haley didn't know what the right words were and the info honestly surprised her too but it was a good sign, right? It's a good clue for Simon to finally find out who his father is. Well, for sure he's a vampire and the thought made a sinking feeling in her stomach. She didn't mean that vampires were bad, but Simon's mother thought it better not to reveal anything about Simon's father, not even Maggie knew anything. Even though Haley is always the optimistic one and tried not to see the bad, there were certainly other reasons, yet it was fear that spread through her body. But it was Simon's father and Haley would do exactly the same, he had every right to finally meet him and Haley would support him in his wishes anytime. "I'll keep my fingers crossed that he gets your letter!"

"That sounds great! You definitely have to tell me about the farm then! Do you know if they have animals? Oh, I'd have fun on a huge farm with lots of animals." Haley laughed, envying Simon his trip.

"There's not much to tell." the girl said, shrugging her shoulders. "I've been trying to see some of my old friends but the last few days have been totally stressful with gift lists, packing suitcases, cleaning up." Laughing the redhead shook her head, it was truly a mess with her parents at home. "The next few days we'll get the last of the presents, I'll see a few more friends and then we'll travel to my uncle and aunt's house. Oh I'm so looking forward to seeing the boys and especially Ian, I haven't seen them for ages." It had been ages since she last saw her cousins and she couldn't wait to join Ian in turning the house upside down.

"I think they've got about every single farm animal that you can imagine," he said and gave her a look that indicated that probably wasn't something he was going to favor. He had a friend that had a pet cat (one that wasn't very nice) and that truly was about the extent of Simon Kincaid's adventures with animals. He shook his head even when Haley said she'd have fun on a farm. Farm girls. City boy.

"That'll be good to get away and see some family that you want to see," he said, softly. He emphasized it in such a way because he knew that Haley Rose had family she really did NOT want to see. Family that caused so many issues for her mother, so many issues for her, so many issues for the two of them.

He took a slow sip of his water and it wasn't before long before the woman was bringing them all kinds of things. Biscuits, donuts, and other pastries. "Young love special. Some extras on the house," she said and gave them both a wink. Simon smiled softly, now feeling obligated to try one even though it really wasn't his thing. Haley wouldn't want to eat them all and it would be rude for them to leave some. "That was kind of you, thank you," Simon smiled to the woman for her kindness. He then glanced over to Haley like oy!

@Simon Kincaid

Outfit

Haley laughed at the sight of Simon, she was really curious to hear what he would say. To be honest, a farm was probably the last place she could imagine Simon. Still, he would certainly have a good time with Clair and that would make up for the whole farm situation, hopefully. But it was also a good thing to see that despite the many similarities, the two of them were also different. But it wasn't just the differences that were noticeable. It was also still the aftermath of the summer, of Haley's distance, of the damage she had done to her and the damage that would reveal itself in the weeks and months to come. But that was a part of the story that was still on its way.

"I really can't wait!" laughed the redhead, "It's been so long and there's so much to catch up on." Ian certainly had a bunch of stories, as did Haley. And he didn't know about the whole story with her grandfather either. Even if she'd rather not tell, Ian was someone who needed to know. Only hopefully this time he would manage to keep it to himself. It was a secret that her parents really couldn't be allowed to know.

"Oh wow, thank you!" Haley beamed as she saw all the yummy things. She didn't need to see Simon's look or read his mind, she knew he didn't like sweet things and she wouldn't want him to force it in just to be polite. "This is going to be quite a lot of work for me." She joked, taking one of the small donuts. "Don't worry Simon, you really don't have to eat any of it. What I don't eat, we'll just ask to get a bag and nothing will get thrown away."

Time passed and Haley knew she would have to leave soon. There was still a lot to do, just like every day, before everything was done for the upcoming trip. But before she said goodbye, she would give him a Christmas present. It was nothing special, but there was a lot of heart in the gift. Haley had made a kind of exploded box for Simon. When he would open the lid, the first layer of the four walls would flap out. Inside were memories that Haley had kept. A miniature version of the first card she had received from Simon. The one with the foxes. Then a picture of their hands on which they wore Haley's family rings. A picture of the two of them taken during their first Valentine's Day and the list of questions they had asked each other to get to know each other better. In the middle was another slightly smaller box, on this one was written "Thank you for being my friend, my Secret Keeper and support." Inside the small box was a bag of lemondrops.

She pulled the box from her pocket, placed it on the table and pushed it towards Simon. "Your Christmas present, since I can only give it to you now and didn't want to wait until we got to Hogwarts to give it to you." She smiled at him. But now it would be time for goodbyes.

He smiled and slipped his hand into his pocket, also pulling out a box and reaching over the table to place it down in front of her. "Your Christmas present," he said. It was wrapped in shiny red paper with a gold bow that tied it shut. Inside was a silver bracelet with some heart charms on it.

Haley wasn't the most dressy of girls and he loved that she liked to be casual, but he knew when she dressed up that she put her best into it and always looked fantastic. Maybe sometime she could add the heart bracelet into her ensemble.



"I was always told that Christmas gifts should be opened on Christmas Day," he said to her, looking down at her gift. "Should I keep that tradition going?" he didn't want to seem rude though for not opening it now if she wanted him to. Simon took one of the pastries into his hand and turned it around some to examine it before taking a bite. He couldn't really make her eat ALL of these - even if some would be for a later time.

He smiled to her quickly before beginning to chew his bite before she would protest at him.

@Simon Kincaid

Outfit

Haley accepted the gift from Simon and smiled broadly, "Thanks Simon!" She thought about his question for a moment and came to the decision that they should not open it until Christmas. That way they would still have something from the other, even if they didn't celebrate together. "I think we should keep to tradition." She finally said, leaving his gift closed and stowing it safely in her bag. Just make sure she didn't forget to put it in her suitcase so she could actually open it on Christmas.

"Oh stop it Simon." Haley started laughing at the sight, they both knew full well he would regret it after the first bite, "And does it taste good?" she asked sarcastically with raised eyebrows and the "I told you " look. While Simon was about to eat one of the delicious pastries that would be anything but delicious for him, she also grabbed another bite and gorged herself on the delicious pastry. She finished her hot chocolate and looked at the remaining pieces on the plate. Her stomach was really full now and it was as if the waitress could read her mind when she rejoined the two at the table. "Would you like me to wrap up the rest for you?"

Gratefully, Haley accepted the offer and smiled at her. She was sure that her parents or Simon's aunt would be happy to get some of the little treats. Although she wasn't sure about Simon's aunt as she herself was surrounded by them all day and was a master at her work and plenty of treats came straight from her.

Unfortunately, after the two had paid, it was time to say their goodbyes. As much as Haley would have liked to talk more about the holidays, there was still some work waiting for her at home before she would finally go away. When the thought crossed her mind, she noticed how immediately the excitement came back to her. She had been looking forward to Christmas with her family for weeks and really couldn't wait. "It was really nice to see you again before Christmas." She said to Simon and took him into a hug. "I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, give my love to Maggie. I hope you like the present and I'll see you back at Hogwarts soon." She said goodbye to him before heading to the meeting point with her father.