"She Kissed Me" PV Irina Shevel Closed

Irina ran through the corridors, head turning and hair flying as she searched for Simon. She hadn't seen him for quite a while, and their catchup after seeing each other after the holidays had been brief. She knew of course he had been on holiday in Greece but the girl from her Charms class had said that her brother from Third Year had heard from a girl in Hufflepuff that her boyfriend in Ravenclaw had told her Simon had gone swimming with sharks!
Irina had laughed when she'd heard this - Simon was terrified of sharks! He'd told her his boggart would take the form of a shark once in the owlery so the news that he had actually gone swimming with them had left her speechless. It was exciting to imagine he might have overcome his boggart fear!

Now, she raced past classroom after classroom, desperate to find Simon and hear first-hand about his story. She felt a slight sense of pride at the idea he had overcome his biggest (and possibly only) fear. Not for herself but for how far Simon had come.

Irina turned a corner and finally saw her even-taller-than-last-year friend stepping out of the boys' toilets. She grinned and sped forwards, skidding to a halt in front of him.
She gave him a quick fist-bump before bending over to catch her breath, holding up a finger to stop him from talking. When she could finally speak, she stood up straight and gasped, "Is it true? Why didn't you tell me?"

OOC Note: Godmodding with consent. Conversation preplanned and co-written for this post.

Irina approached him with such determination that it almost seemed like she had been looking for him specifically. Maybe the news had reached her already? Whatever it was – and there was something, alright – she had something she wanted to talk to him about.

"Irina!" he said with a wide, yet nervous, grin on his lips. They gave each other a fist-bump before he opened his mouth to ask her how she had been, but she quickly interrupted him with a finger.

"Is it true? Why didn't you tell me?", she said.

His mouth instantly went dry and he stumbled over the words in his head as he was trying to prepare them.

"Well... yes! She kissed me and..."

"Hold on, WHAT? You kissed someone!?"

Ok. Clearly, the news had not reached Irina. Her voice echoed in the hallway and a few people turned their heads towards them.

"W-well," Simon stuttered. "Technically, she kissed me! What are you talking about then?" He was so confused at the moment.

"I'm on about the sharks, what are you talking about?"

“Sharks? What sharks!? I’m talking about Madi. Madison Bennett. We… um… we’re actually not best friends anymore. This weekend, I... um... asked her to be my… girlfriend.”

Simon blushed a little. He would probably not have done that if he got to tell the story the way he wanted to tell her, but this utterly weird situation had put him on the spot and he was gaining a lot of unwanted attention. Irina just stared at him with her mouth hanging open, shock written across her face, seemingly unable to find any words.

“Oooookay, you gotta say something now, before it’s getting weird...”

"Is it true? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well... yes! She kissed me and..."

"Hold on, WHAT? You kissed someone!?" Irina's brain seemed to lag, her thoughts still frozen by the image of sharks. She tried to mull over what Simon had just said but her brain couldn't quite process his words.

"W-well," Simon stuttered. "Technically she kissed me! What are you talking about then?" Someone kissed Simon? It seemed too weird to comprehend.

"I'm on about the sharks! What are you talking about?"

“Sharks? What sharks!? I’m talking about Madi. Madison Bennett. We… um… we’re actually not best friends anymore. This weekend, I... um... asked her to be my… girlfriend.”

Irina's mouth dropped open and she stared at him, unable to think of a single thing to say. She was vaguely aware of how much Simon was blushing and how many people were staring, but she couldn't muster up the energy to care. Simon had kissed Madison Bennet. She was frozen with shock, a confusing desire to laugh and sit down flowing though her.
She never really spoke with Madison, finding her the complete opposite of who she wanted to hang out with. Pink and girly. She seemed really lovely and Irina didn't have negative feelings about her, but she didn't seem like someone Simon would actually . . . date.

“Oooookay, you gotta say something now, before it’s getting weird...”

"I . . . you - erm."

Something finally clicked in her brain. It was almost a sad realisation but not something she wanted to dwell on. Simon was a popular person. Not in a bad way, but he was exactly the kind of person who could click with someone like Madison. He wore snazzy clothes, he was incredibly smart, he hung out with all of the populars. Irina had never even thought about all of this before. It just suddenly hit her how lucky she was that someone like Simon wanted to hang out with someone like her.

She shook her head to rid herself of these split-second thoughts, focusing on the desire to laugh. Simon Tilia had a girlfriend.

Irina started laughing very loudly, doubling over once more and placing a hand over her mouth to try and muffle her giggles.
"Ah man, I think I'm meant to say something supportive but dude!" She fell into hysterics once more, punching him playfully on the arm before hiccuping herself into silence.

"Sorry," she grinned, "That was kind of insensitive of me. Good on you mate! That's really cool - I'm stepping into the 'good friend' role and I'm gonna listen for a little while. How long have you liked her?"

From all of a sudden, laughter erupted from Irina's mouth. And not that 'Oh my god! I'm so happy for you!' kind of laugh. It was that childish kind that you probably could have expected from a younger sibling. Simon raised an eyebrow and watched as Irina doubled over, once again making a scene in front of everyone present in the corridor. It was almost a little provoking, thinking that he had just told her something very personal and special.

"What?", he said, trying to get her attention. "What?"

"Ah man, I think I'm meant to say something supportive but dude!"

"Yeah, real mature, Irina," he said, forcing a smile as she continued on laughing. He figured it was best to just let her bring it on and have her reaction until it wore off.

It wasn't all that surprising that Irina would laugh, though. He had a hard time seeing her engage in anything romantic. She was more into mud, cold lakes and Dugbogs. When he occasionally called her 'Princess', it was not because she had any resemblance whatsoever to those classical Disney princesses. Whereas Cinderella lost one of her shoes, Irina would have tugged them both off and threw them out of the nearest window before asking Prince Charming if they served any food at the Ball.

"Sorry. That was kind of insensitive of me," she said when her laughter finally seemed to fade. "Good on you mate! That's really cool - I'm stepping into the 'good friend' role and I'm gonna listen for a little while. How long have you liked her?"

Deep inside, he knew that he had probably liked Madi a whole lot longer than he had admitted to himself, but in a split second he concluded that it would put him in a spot where Irina could confront him with 'Why didn't you tell me?', so he told a white lie that was at least partially true:

"Since this summer. I think. When I visited her in Kensington. Actually, I think it was her brother that made me come to the realization. Her brother James kind of gave me a nudge to make up my mind and tell her how I felt. But it wasn't until this weekend we talked about it and admitted how we truly felt about each other. And... then I asked her to be my girlfriend." He shrugged his shoulders.

It felt a little weird to be talking to Irina about these things. It was like he didn't recognize his own voice or the words that slipped his mouth. This was not the same adventurous and funny Simon talking. This was his more mature 'me' that had achieved something special. A milestone in his young adolescent life. He could not help but feel a sense of pride for that achievement. Yet, an undefined fear snuck up on him. A type of fear that he had not felt before and did not really understand.

Irina stood and half-listened as Simon hesitated, then started talking about how long he had liked . . . Madi. Guilt stated to worm it's way into her thoughts - she regretted laughing so hard at a piece of news he had probably been very nervous to tell her.
Irina tried imagining how she would feel if he had laughed like that after she told him she had kissed someone. But there was no one she wanted to kiss. It was a small, childish thought, but suddenly it felt like a wall between herself and Simon. He had a girlfriend. And she had laughed. For the first time in a long while, Irina was truly disgusted by how childishly she had acted. What kind of friend would do that. No matter how much the news had stung (granted it wasn't very much but it still hurt), she was his friend and she wanted to be excited for him.

When Simon mentioned the legilimens, she gritted her teeth and grimaced. "Ooo, not a great way for him to find out. That's a bit of an awkward encounter." She was sincerely grateful that Simon couldn't read her thoughts.

He stopped speaking and she smiled up at him, trying to make up for how rude she had been. "I'll be honest, that was not what I was expecting. But I'm so, incredibly happy for you! So, erm - how's it been so far? You know, having a girlfriend?"
Irina had absolutely no idea what questions you were meant to ask. She didn't feel awkward asking, just as confident as she always was, but she didn't know fully what to say. The bridge seperating them seemed to grow longer in her mind and she tried to shove the thought away, determined not to think about how Simon might not want to be friends with her. What if he didn't feel able to tell her stuff anymore? Was she too immature? 'Shut up, idiot. This isn't about your childish worries, it's about your friends exciting news!'

Irina looked into his face and paused. There was an uncertain look on his face, almost indistinguishable. But after knowing him for almost an entire year, Irina picked up on it. "Simon - what's wrong?"