Stick to the Status Quo Closed

It was that time of the year again. Time to revisit Hogwarts for another Ball. It had crossed Stephen's mind on more than one occasion to wonder why it was, exactly, or who it was, that had determined all school Balls needed to be held at Hogwarts? Was Ilvermorny incapable of hosting such an event? Surely there was enough room on the grounds to house the other schools. He had not traipsed over every square foot of Hogwarts, but he had definitely flown over it. It didn't seem to be larger, and if it was, the difference was minimal.

In any case, it didn't matter. He'd packed up what he needed for the next two weeks. His clothes, and his masquerade costume most especially, were folded perfectly and efficiently within his enchanted satchel, befitting the obsessive neatnik he was. He was never sure where this tendency came from as his father was anything but tidy, but it was something that Stephen knew he benefited from greatly. Orderliness kept his mind uncluttered and free to think on the things he most wanted to think.

He had last written to EmmaLee about a week ago, letting her know he definitely would be attending the Ball. He really was up to his eyeballs, not only in his magical pursuits, but in his muggle world home schooling assignments on the side. He loved it, but he was tired - no denying that fact. But he was bright enough to know that he also needed a break, and the palpitating stirrings of excitement mixed with nervousness told him that EmmaLee might be the welcome break he needed.

He was pretty certain that he would not be attending summer camp this year, so if he had missed this Ball, he would not not get an opportunity to see her again until next year's Fall Ball, wherever that may be, and he chuckled. He knew where it would be. Hogwarts. Always Hogwarts. The center of the magical world's schooling apparently. But that would be a long time to go without seeing her.

Would it be too long though? Unknown.

The Ilvermorny contingent had all been made well aware of the window of time they were expected to leave Ilvermorny and arrive at Hogwarts. There was no 4 hour submarine ride this year, like there had been two years ago, when they nearly drowned half of the Durmstrang contingent as they surfaced in the Great Lake. Nope. This was just another case of utilizing the Floo Network like they had done in the Fall. Stephen knew it messed with some of his friends' equilibrium for a bit after traveling this way, but lucky for the astronaut wannabe, he was spared those miseries. He chalked it up, at least in part, to the spiral dives Miles had been working with him on during their flight practices. Anything Stephen could learn about broom maneuverability was not wasted time in his book. Plus, it was kind of cool hanging out with Miles, even if the guy was still quite reserved.

As he found himself standing outside of the designated Ilvermorny cabin, he knew it likely that EmmaLee had not arrived back to campus yet. She would be coming in on the Hogwarts Express a little later. Getting here early gave him time to calm himself, freshen up, and think about what he'd been avoiding thinking about since the Festival of Lights. He knew they liked each other. What he wasn't sure about was how much they liked each other. They were more than acquaintances? Absolutely. Friends? But of course! More than frien- - and even just skirting around the edge of that tender subject made his heart beat faster and his breath struggle to even itself out.

What the hell?

Why did this always happen and what did it mean? What did their kiss mean? Maybe she's forgotten it, but he knew better. He kissed her and then essentially never brought it up again. That bothered him as it felt like a very impolite thing to have done to her. Maybe she was feeling as confused as he was or even worse. What if she was so upset with him and his silence that polite, non-committal conversation of any sort awaited him when he met her at the Great Hall in -

Holy crap on a cracker!

Looking down at his watch, he found he needed to hurry. He'd been distracted, bobbing and flailing about in the waves of his uncertainty for so long that he'd lost complete track of time. He was to meet her at 6:00 p.m. and that gave him just 10 minutes to get up to the Great Hall. He could do it. A quick Scourgify would make him presentable once he got there, but he doubted she'd care a whit about dust on his shoes, or 2,ooo hairs out of place. Still. She was worth the thought and the effort.

Seven minutes later - seven minutes where all thought had completely receded into white noise - Stephen had made himself presentable and peeked inside the Great Hall. It took no time whatsoever to see her, sitting near the end of the Hufflepuff table, all by herself.

Hmmmmm. His stomach lurched as soon as he saw her. Whether from excitement or from nerves was not clear to him. But a smile did take up residence on his lips, and that he'd not had to think about.

He walked towards her and tried to bury the thought as to whether the sweet Hufflepuff he knew was actually caging a fierce Gryffindor lion about to rip into him. He would not blame her one bit if she did.

As he arrived at the end of the table, Stephen simply stood by her side instead of immediately sitting down across from her or next to her. That would be too bold and intimate a move probably. Surely a hug, even if a lion was to be released, would be in order first?

Here's hoping.

"Hi, EmmaLee. It's so wonderful to see you," and his smile lit up even more as she turned her blue, starfire-colored eyes upon him while his arms opened up to greet her.

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Relief washed over him quickly as she smiled brightly and hurriedly stood to hug him. Things were fantastic for about three short seconds before he felt her tense up and pull out of the embrace. She looked up at him and though a smile was still there, it was a very different kind of smile. In fact, everything about her demeanor was suddenly different. Her face had definitely reddened, and she made quick business of asserting her preference for where he was to sit, and it was definitely not next to her. He was paying no attention whatsoever to how that decision made him feel other than he was relieved it was a decision he didn't have to make.

As he eagerly took his place across from her, she asked if he'd had a good trip. He smiled easily and nodded his head. "I did actually. It was quite quick. We were instructed to use the Floo Network like we did for last season's Fall Ball. It's amazing to me how I had so much farther to travel today than you and was able to do it in far less time. I've been at Hogwarts for a couple of hours already. And you? How was your trip? You look," and he started to say 'beautiful' but alarm bells went off in his brain and he stumbled for only a fraction of a second before substituting in "... hale and hearty."

Hale and hearty?

HALE and HEARTY??? Really? Hearing the words trip off his tongue made it sound as if he was describing some ancient longshoreman or something. Cripes. Definitely should've stuck with beautiful. Always go with your first instinct, Schwartz. You know this.

Ever the optimist, his wellspring of hope fountained up the comforting thought that perhaps EmmaLee hadn't noticed his stumbling gaffes, so he quickly tried to cover that disaster with what was possibly another. "You know, you look like your dueling training has really been paying off," he grinned winningly. "That or you've been eating your spinach."

As soon as those last sparkling gems were delivered to her, he felt a sudden surge of panic rising up. This was a feeling he was not at all used to and did not know what it was. They stared at each other blankly for but a few moments in silence before he made his plea.

"Maybe I should let you speak for a minute. If I continue, I fear it's just a matter of time before my oddly out of place nautical references devolve into mentions of Popeye the Sailor Man." And at that, he closed his eyes, cocked his head a bit to the side, and began to rub his eyebrow with his index and third finger.

A brief silence remained between them and when he opened his eyes, he knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't. He instead asked, "Belated Happy Birthday, EmmaLee. How does it feel to be a teenager? Did you have a grand celebration?"

And while he was actually vocalizing those questions, he was silently repeating to her inside his head "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

The strain here was real. And obvious. And it was on both sides of the equation. The question was whether to address it or not. The answer to that question was yes and no. Yes, it needed to be addressed. No, it did not need to be addressed here, in this noisy, crowded Great Hall, at this time.

He felt a bit of a coward for not asking her to go for a walk where they could be alone to talk, but he knew she had been on a train for many, many hours. That had to be exhausting, and she did look tired. Beautiful his mind screamed at him at the omission, but still tired. That gave him an out to bestow permission upon himself for more delay. But Stephen was coming to an end of running from whatever this was. Where once easiness with one another had been the mainstay of their relationship, now it was guarded and relegated to polite, mostly clipped answers. It was not sustainable.

Something about his asking her about her birthday seemed to have made it worse. She got his full attention when she struggled to find the word to describe it. There was something more there, that was for sure, and a glimmer of something sparked in his soul that gave him hope this was not all due to him and that kiss so many months ago.

He could feel his eyes squinting a bit as he listened to every word EmmaLee uttered in those short moments, scrutinizing her soft, delicate features before she obviously decided to volley the ball back to his court.

"My secondary studies are going well. I'm currently working on a robotics problem for a competition this summer that has me stymied right now, but it is completely fascinating." He paused for a moment and looked down at the table before continuing, his voice softening with a tinge of wonder. "I never thought my dad would be so accommodating on my pursuits on these subjects, but he really pulled through for me in a way I didn't expect him to," and then he cleared his throat and looked back up at her, offering an uncertain smile.

"EmmaLee, I heard a rumor when I was here last fall that there's a room on one of the upper floors that has a hidden door, appearing to allow entrance within only if one is in need of something. I find I'm very much in need of something and would like it very much if you'd accompany me to said room, if you have the time and the desire to do so, that is? I was thinking maybe 7 p.m., day after tomorrow. Would you care to join me?"

His gaze remained steady, intensifying with each nanosecod as he awaited her answer. "If that time and date doesn't work, I'm happy to have you choose a convenient time for you, any day but tomorrow. I have a meeting tomorrow evening."

He didn't really. That was a white lie. His meeting was simply the time he needed to make some proper arrangements.

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@EmmaLee LeDames