Closed TABLE 4 | Sweethearts Tea Party V-Day Event

@Flash Holmwood,@Percival Gray, @Evelynn Decipio, @Eun-ji Lee Hunt, and @Willow Anderson

Watching as everyone at her table got along in their own dealings and senses of adoration and tension Adlai watched a roses began to be passed about the room to several different candidates, and listened intently to the announcement's being made by one of their professors. Frankly, thats when it hit her that this really was a Valentines event.

She watched as Eun-Ji gave the rose that had been gifted to the staff to Flash. He was a kind boy, on top of that he seemed popular or overall well known among her peers so she expected it, and as his friend she was happy for him. However, she wasn't sure how she would react if she had to give a rose to someone, there wasn't anyone she had a crush on or particularly was close with who was at the event that she knew of and let alone if she was given one, she also wasn't sure how she'd react.

In the end she simply smiled and watched and nodded to the pairs that seemed to be being made around her. She adored romance, especially the story of her parents eventful marriage. When she was in her first year she would have told anyone who would listen how they met and how she wanted something just like that, but she knew that for her it would be different. After all everyone's romantic tails are.

Turning her eyes away from the couples in the crowd she listened to the girl who had introduced herself as Evelynn. "I am very well and I think it helps that I did come off my own accord, in fact nobody asked me to come I just thought it would be fun!" She started, "I have been to school events before, really only balls but this year I am making an effort to... I suppose expand my social life." She said, "In all honesty I don't exactly socialize too much but so far everything seems and is very fun!" She added.

There was a lot of apologizing going on in the background. It was awkward to witness such honest emotions from people she didn’t really know but it was definitely preferable alternative to the previous argument. In any case, she had her own little crisis to focus on now. Would Flash accept her rose? Would it make him uncomfortable? Were there others that wanted to give him theirs? She didn’t doubt the last one was true but she was lucky to be here first. She knew the boy wouldn’t ditch her once he accepted the flower. And accept the flower, he did. Oh, thank God. The Ravenclaw breathed a sigh of relief, selfishly glad to see him blush as well. "You don’t have to. I did it because I wanted to. You owe me nothing." She smiled softly at him as she said so. Quietly so only him would hear. The witch felt some eyes on them and didn’t feel like they needed to hear everything. Save Willow, who looked particularly interested, nobody at their table probably wanted to be involved in any of this anyway. Thankfully Flash, considerate as ever, didn’t prolong her suffering and decided to turn his attention to taking care of others, offering tea once again. Evelynn graciously chose to indulge in conversation with Adlai and Willow, though hesitating longer than others, turned back to end her misunderstanding with Percival.

Excellent! Eun-ji celebrated internally as the general attention shifted elsewhere. She wondered what to do next. Should she perhaps offer her cupcakes? What if they weren’t good though? Since she didn’t enjoy sweet stuff, she did not actually taste them. She just trusted whoever made them did a good job. Surprisingly, before she could come to a decision, the blond Hufflepuff was already on a mission to do the same. Well, that solves it then. Her cupcakes were used as a peace offering, which was a noble intention so Eun-ji didn’t mind. "I see you are a woman of excellent taste." She smiled at Willow when she grabbed the red velvet option. For most part, the Ravenclaw didn’t eat sweets but whenever she allowed herself to break the rule, she would absolutely go for red velvet. "Although, I do not know if they actually taste good. I did not make them…just decorated." She pointed out. This could be quite obvious to Flash since there were little pointe shoes on the frosting, referencing their first meeting. This time, she didn’t mind if he knew. He already had her letter… it was time to let go of her worries and relax.

The room was getting noisy, filled with music and rather strange confessions from other participants but Eun-ji did her best to tune them out while finally opening her own letters. She was the only one at the table that had yet to read them. "Ah, I got one from Percival too." She announced absentmindedly. After everything that has been said, it was very obvious he was not the culprit so she didn’t care and simply crunched the paper into a little ball. There was no reason to reveal its contents. The Ravenclaw knew the words were not true. She usually smelled like lavender, which was a smell that hardly ever offended anyone and the two of them never interacted before so it would be weird if he indeed wrote such thing. The second note however, actually made her chuckle. "But if it helps, I don’t think it’s a personal vendetta against you. Seems like there will be more fake letters going around." After saying this, she passed the note to Flash. Frankly even if she didn’t recognize his handwriting, it wouldn’t be hard to guess this was not the Slytherin’s work. She did not approve but this one was at least harmless. "I suppose someone seriously messed up or they just enjoy hurting other people’s feelings." Were the other tables dealing with the same issue? Eun-ji couldn’t be sure but she suspected as much. Whoever did this owed a lot of students apology and she was starting to fear what else was in store for them this evening.

@Flash Holmwood @Eun-ji Lee Hunt @Adlai Rod @Evelynn Decipio @Willow Anderson

"Don't mention it..." he mumbled back to her thank you, along with a slight nod of recognition. He did mean it one way or another, it was just the matter of something feeding him the lines to say. Naturally, he thought Willow would jump at the chance of him being vulnerable like this, but instead, she was caring and relating to what he had been through. And that, even through his clouded mind made him admire her more.

For a few moments, he looked over to a beady pair of eyes, ones belonging to Evelynn. Ever since he began talking to Willow she had been keeping a close eye on him, as if she didn't trust him at all. Decipio had always been cautious of him anyway, yet this seemed different. Was the girl catching onto something? or was it her natural instincts to scowl every time he was nice? whatever the case, she was slowly starting to become a threat. After narrowing his eyes back at her, Gray turned back to Willow and shyly gave her a smile.

Surprisingly, Willow began to open up to him slightly about the state of her mind. It was right in saying both of them were in the same sinking boat, even if they acknowledged that or not, "Willow... these kinds of things don't later forever, remember that. All of us stumble at some point, no matter how strong you are" he said blankly, his tired eyes staring into hers "And yes... we can move on from our shaky past. I'm just sick and tired of fighting all the time"

Percival glared at Willow as she picked up a cupcake and handed one over to him to be used as a toast. Hesitantly, his trembling hand took hold of the cupcake and held it at the same height as hers, gently touching it to indicate a new start in their relationship, "To a new start..." he said the best he could before putting it to his mouth and nibbling a chunk of the cake without a care in the world.

☁ Interacting ☁
@Flash Holmwood, @Percival Gray, & @Eun-ji Lee Hunt

Of course a Hogwarts event wouldn't be complete with not one, but multiple surprises. More roses continued to be sent down, but an envelope landed right in front of her. Her letter so far had not been... pleasant. But she took a deep breath and opened it up. It took everything to stop her eyes from watering and ruining her very delicately done makeup. "Flash, look at this one. Isn't that adorable?" She remembered what it was like to be a first year and look up to those above her that seemed to have everything together. Now she knew that was a complete façade, but they were all certainly doing their best.

The toast with Percival seemed to go over well, but he seemed more broken than she had initially thought. There was really nothing in his eyes, no light, just... a sort of blankness that she couldn't place. His hands shook when taking the cupcake. Her heart ached to fix him, to help him through whatever he was going through. "And that goes for you. You'll get through this. I'm always here to talk, or if you need anything really."

As far as the cupcakes had gone, she definitely took Eun-ji's which made a small blush spread across her cheeks. "I- They're beautifully decorated. As for the taste, I'll let you know." She took a rather large bite of the cupcake, she was quite hungry and needed something to distract her from everything that was happening at the table. As she ate it... the aroma of the cupcake was quite unique. While it tasted like a red velvet cupcake, and looked like one... It had the smell of a field of daisies, after rain air... and... a warm quilt somehow.

Her eyes shifted around the table as something swirled within her mind, ultimately landing on the broken boy beside her. No, not Flash. The other one. Was his cupcake... also weird? Willow never noticed, probably because they were always screaming at one another, but he was quite cute. While his gaze was always sharp there was something still soft about his features.

Without noticing she had, the cupcake had been sat down and she scooted her chair closer to him. Her elbow rested on the table to hold her head as her other one reached out to gently run fingers through his hair. There was probably something deep, deep within her that was screaming at the possibility that she might... like Percival. But for now, his hair was soft to the touch. Permission given by Percival to touch. She curled one of his curls around her finger before bringing it down to rest on his hand if there was one available. She had leaned so close to him, so, so close it was practically uncomfortable for her to still be on her chair. They could kiss at this distance but that's neither here nor there.

Warm blue eyes met cold blue. "It's... a shame that we haven't really got to know each other, isn't it? Three years in the same school and we've spent it bickering. We should spend more time together." Some part of this felt wrong, especially being so brazenly affectionate to someone so soon after breaking up with Astrea, and in front of her brother no less. She seemed to be glued to Percival for the moment, the rest of the table falling away leaving two people who before today had solidly and openly hated each other's guts.

☁ Outfit Reference ☁

Reducio

“Thank you.” The Ravenclaw accepted Willow’s compliment before reaching for her teacup and taking a sip. The tea was actually good so she hoped the cupcakes were as well. She also hoped nobody messed with the food like they messed with the letters. Words could hurt pretty badly but at least they were not a health hazard. Ruined food could be much more dangerous than that. You are being paranoid. Surely, the organizers wouldn’t be THAT careless…right?

A rustle of paper interrupted her train of thought. Oh no… Eun-ji was genuinely scared to take a peek at the Slytherin as he read her note. She waited a beat, her heart pounding in her ears, but she miraculously managed to keep calm and eventually allowed herself to inspect the boy’s reaction. His face flushed furiously when he put down the note and dove for his own cup of tea. In a way, she felt relieved upon seeing his expression. It was perhaps a bit mean to be happy about Flash’s embarrassment yet she didn’t feel too guilty about it. It was not that she enjoyed his distress; rather she was grateful to see he wasn’t put off by her words or found them cringe worthy. This finally put the raven-haired witch at ease. She also realized there and then that he had a special place in her heart. “Perhaps it was a good idea to come here after all,” she smiled fondly at the boy next to her. Eun-ji felt much safer saying this now that everybody else seemed to be invested in their own conversations. Her voice was pretty soft in general so even though she didn’t whisper, it would be just enough to reach Flash without disturbing the others.

The moment her brain registered the meaning behind her words, Eun-ji looked back at the dark liquid in her cup. Was she going too far? When she first met Flash, she was under the impression that he was a pureblood. Somehow, he had that kind of aura around him and so she felt safe interacting with the boy. Now that she got to know him better, she figured that was not the case. This made Eun-ji worried and frustrated. She felt like she had met yet another person she would come to care about deeply only to place invisible boundaries between them. She wanted to be bold like Sam and invite her friends over. She wanted to promise movies and good homemade food in exchange for a lovely company in her home that was now pretty much empty most of the time. She wanted to have someone with whom she could share everything about her family and all the little things she enjoyed doing outside of Hogwarts. With the Hunts barging in however, this quickly became a dangerous wish. Had her friends come from a pureblood family, she wouldn’t be worried to ask them to visit but that was not the case with all but one of them. And even then, she would be probably too ashamed to introduce her poisonous relatives to Lucia.

In Eun-ji’s eyes, Flash was incredible and his family, although apparently very complicated, appeared to be worthy of respect. Unfortunately, her point of view no longer held any value. Great, now she just managed to make herself sad. It was her turn to avoid eye contact with the boy. She didn’t know how he managed to make her this mushy and impulsive despite the fact that they only met couple months ago. She also didn’t didn’t know why she enjoyed those little moments so much but she knew they were dangerous. Good thing this event offered so many unexpected twists. The Ravenclaw was pretty sure something bizarre was going to happen soon and end her little pity party would be over.

MOD POST

@Percival Gray | @Willow Anderson | @Evelynn Decipio
@Flash Holmwood | @Eun-ji Lee Hunt | @Adlai Rod

CONFESSION AND SONG REQUESTS

"Anonymous would like to dedicate the song, Single Ladies, to Hanako Tone! He's single, ladies and gents! So if your heart belongs to him, don't forget to tell him as much!"

LOVELY CUPCAKES

Oh my, with Willow cozying up to Percival he couldn't resist the temptation... Of the cupcakes, that was. They were such nice smelling cupcakes after all, perhaps reminding him of his favourite thing (Night Jasmines, perhaps?)
Willow, on the other hand, was starting to feel the effects of the Amortentia wear off... Unless she took another bite, that was.

PLEASE NOTE: This will be the last mod post as our next in-character event, the Blossom Ball, will be starting within the next few weeks. You may continue to roleplay and feel free to state that your character ate a cupcake and ended up under the effects of Amortentia but we ask that the effects stay strictly within this event. This means you cannot claim your character stole Amortentia laced cupcakes from this event.

However, Orion will be keep an eye on the threads, and there is still a table full of teachers, so please try not to do anything he wouldn't do!

Thank you, and we hope you all enjoyed yourselves!

@Flash Holmwood @Eun-ji Lee Hunt @Adlai Rod @Evelynn Decipio @Willow Anderson

Their tasty cupcakes tapped into one another before Gray lowered his down and took a bite out of it, casually chewing on the contents as if it was nothing special. Although, that soon wouldn't be the case. A funny feeling went through his chest as he slowly looked to Willow beside him, almost as if his heart had started fluttering. At the same time, Willow seemingly got closer on her chair and leaned forwards on her chair.

A smile formed in the corner of his lips as Willow gently put a finger through his hair, enjoying the attention she was giving him. Why was he feeling like this? he had never fallen for anyone like this other than San. Either way, right here right now, he enjoyed sharing Willows company. She was a beautiful and caring girl, why did he ever argue with such a person in the first place?

"I know... we've lost too much time arguing haven't we?" he said softly while his hand slowly came up to her face and lightly stroked her red cheeks "Maybe we should catch up, and really get to know each other" the boy smiled, ignoring the sure to be cringing looks on the table. Right now, all he cared about was Willow and nothing else in between.

"I was wrong about you Willow, I hopes there's someway I can make it up to you" Gray smiled, beginning to lean closer and closer to her lips "I'm sure this will do the trick..." the boy whispered, his lips slowly but surely going towards her mouth with purpose.

He didn't know what came over him, but it was a nice change considering how down in the dumps he had been in the last three months. All he wanted was to enjoy this respite...

OPEN TO INTERACTION

───Interactions─── Reducio [font=century gothic] @Adlai Rod [/font]

OUTFIT Reducio Chanel Spring 2022 Collection

────Mentions──── Reducio [font=century gothic] @Flash Holmwood @Eun-ji Lee Hunt @Percival Gray @Willow Anderson [/font]

Credit where credit was due. When Evelynn had first arrived at the tea party, she had pegged the Hufflepuff as something of a recluse. The girl had kept to herself, unwilling to take the initiative to interact with any of the others at the table. Generally speaking, when such individuals were directly confronted for conversation, they tended to shy away. Not so here, evidently. Where Evelynn had expected a deflection of her inquiry, or a dead end answer, she was pleasantly surprised at the energy with which the girl had responded. Sipping her tea, she smiled amiably as Miss Rod elaborated on her previous experience with the various school socials and her resolve to attend more frequently.

"It is certainly a far cry better than such events have been in the past," she had to concede, a brow flaring in an acquiescent shrug. After all, there was a decided absence of any hot beverages being poured over her own head, nor was she having to contend with a sugar-crazed Lansdale as he hunted them down at hide-and-seek (although that really hadn't been so terrible, admittedly). Plus, there had been a distinct lack of suspiciously trench-coated teens selling questionable confectionery. All in all, one could actually consider this particular event almost normal.

Perhaps a touch too normal. Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of out-dated spice pop and Evelynn had to suppress the cringe as an image of her mother danced foolishly afore her vision. "Well," Evelynn interjected into her own momentary distaste of song choice, forcing a smile upon her conversation partner, "I hope your efforts are well rewarded. The past several events have actually been—" ...with the exception of the threatened hag transformations and attempted abduction at the recent fall ball... "—rather entertaining—" ...or the raucous explosion in Hogsmeade over the summer... "—and I might even go so far—" ...but not quite as far as she had apparently gone during last year's blossom ball, given that she still couldn't remember most of what had transpired... "—as to suggest them enjoyable."

"They really are a marvel at times..." she continued, glancing down to her teacup as she ran a finger absently about its rim. "It is all too easy to forget with whom we share these castle walls. So many of our peers seem to all but disappear outside of classroom sessions. But many flock to the gatherings like moths to a flame. It can be rather enlightening to recall the faces of our peers. And rarely are you ever to be disappointed should you wish to stand back and observe as the chaos of student-fuelled drama unfolds.."

Her voice had trailed off into absent nothingness. As though guided to do exactly that which she had been referencing, her gaze had trailed over to the right, exactly in the direction she had been attempting to avoid. Granted, it was becoming difficult not to. The one third of the table that she had previously deemed safe was gradually evolving into the uncomfortable image of Flash cosying up with Miss Hunt. She had been doing well to avoid peering at them directly as the view was accompanied with a dull sense of annoyance that the prefect couldn't quite explain. Perhaps it was just a reminder that even those for whom she held the highest regard weren't above succumbing to their emotions.

She'd already born witness to that in Flash's snap agitation in their exchange of correspondence, but she had hoped he would have regained his senses and returned to the reliably objective individual she had come admire. It was unsettling, really, to see him preen and puff in the midst of his hushed conversation with the Ravenclaw girl. Strings of stability snipped away one by one, the elective isolation that she had suspended in favour of teamwork and camaraderie weighing heavily upon its fragile chains.

But to avoid the uncomfortable sense of loss that stalked the borders of that cosy pair meant to divert her gaze elsewhere, and they had landed firmly back upon Gray and Anderson. Their faces were rather close to each other, perhaps fixated in a very private conversation. No.. she realized a moment later seeing neither of their lips moving, their gazes in something of a daze and utterly blind to anything about them. Not a conversation. Not at all. Stomach flipping uncomfortably at the exact moment her noise scrunched in disdain at the overt lack of decorum, a flush of colour sped up the back of Evelynn's neck.

A split second decision afforded her one of two options: look away, FAST; or intervene.

Every part of her leaned towards the first, wanting nothing more than to put about three classroom lengths of hallway betwixt herself and what was about to be a very public display of affection. And she very well may have just shot up from her seat and used that as an excuse to take a hasty exit from the party. If it wasn't for the fact that it was Anderson. Not Anderson, per se, but that it was towards Anderson that Gray was—by all appearances—wilfully advancing his lips. Anderson. The muggle. That she was not a pure-blood was no secret; and any who wasn't already aware could easily guess that in but a short time of observing her interactions. That, in itself, wasn't the issue. Gray was. There was no doubt in Evelynn's mind that Gray would not be caught dead fraternizing in such a way with any but a respected lass of pure-blooded decent.

Option two was the only real option, then.

With hardly a second thought, the last two years of Valentine nonsense erupted back to the forefront of her mind and Evelynn jumped to the hasty conclusion that this could only be the result of some sort of charm or potions. Two years ago, it had been the sweets; last year it had been the drink. This year...

"Don't eat the cupcakes!" Evelynn's earnest plea accompanied the swipe of a hand at the lid of the open cupcake box to snap it shut. Perhaps she had been just a little too hasty in the attempt to protect the others from what she assumed to be tampered goods. In the act of warning the rest and closing the lid, her wrist knocked her tea askew, sending the cup flying to her side, and its contents splashing conveniently across Gray, and to a lesser extent, Anderson.

[font=century gothic]ACTION: Accusing the cupcakes and spilling the tea[/font]

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☁ Interacting ☁
@Percival Gray & @Evelynn Decipio

What a strange thing Amortentia was. A boy she could've never imagined even being civil with a year ago now coming closer and closer to her to share in a kiss. Deep inside her she felt a sort of betrayal brewing, though for the moment her thoughts were too clouded to know why. Thoughts of her ex-girlfriend Astrea would linger later after she recalled these events. But for now she leaned into the touch of his hand gently caressing her face and the closing distance between them. Her blush only worsened. How lucky was she, to suddenly care be obsessed with for him and to have that care obsession returned.

"I would like that- getting to know you." As they neared closer, Willow's eyes started to flutter shut. But just before their lips met Evelynn slammed the cupcake box shut and spilled tea all over Percival, the lukewarm leaf juice barely spilling onto her. "Evelynn- The cupcakes are fine, what is wrong with you?" She started attempting to dry Percival. The fog of the Amortentia was starting to fade, but she stilled cared for him at the bare minimum. "Why don't we go talk elsewhere and get you cleaned up, hm?" She extended her hand out to Percival, jerking her head towards the exit of this chaotic event. She didn't even really bother to notify Flash that she was leaving, he was smart and could figure it out.

☁ Outfit Reference ☁

Reducio