1
She could feel his gaze upon her, that wonderful gaze of his from those stunning brown eyes that looked like warm coffee first thing in the morning, though unlike the coffee-- which would normally wake her up and make her super happy and chipper and bouncy and really excited because things were really super duper exciting and very fun-- his eyes were making her droop, like a really wilty flower in a bed that had died of old age. His gaze was so awesome, and it was on her. She did not even remotely deserve him looking at her, and yet he was staring at her.
Staring. At. Her.
In fact, if she died now it'd probably have been the bestest moment of her life ever, she'd die happy with a smile and a blush on her face because he was just oh so cool and handsome and edgy and such a bad boy and he was really pretty. What if he said yes? What if they were going to be married and have hundreds of millions of kids and they'd be pretty but also cool and edgy and smart because Jeremiah Smallweed was most definitely smart and a lot better at magic than her. But they would never get married if she couldn't even manage three words out to him without sounding like a little squeaky rabbit-- though they were cute, boys, she knew, did not like cute, they wanted pretty, rabbits were not pretty-- but if he agreed to the coffee date and then they'd kiss and it'd be like a happily ever after forever and ever and ever and especially since unicorns existed in the wizarding world. Actual unicorns!
She didn't even notice the pause, instead her mind focused on his words-- expression hopeful, even through the redness.
"Coffee, uh, ain't really my thing."
"oh." The word fell out like a deflated balloon, as tears began to fill her eyes. Of course he didn't want to date her, he was too cool for her, and cool boys did not date little rabbits. No, they went for the pretty, smart, cool girls like Carrie. Well, if he decided to marry Carrie then she'd be happy for them, or at least try to be...
2
« Last post by Lia Ayres on 06/18/2019 at 05:14 »
Kissing Téo wasn't really like she expected. She wasn't entirely sure what she had expected, but it wasn't what she got. It didn't feel like when she'd kissed Polly or Pax Fellwater or Henry or anyone else. Perhaps that was what made it so perfect, leaving her wanting more even as she pulled away.
If she was being totally honest, she expected the older girl to shove her off or run away or something. She'd made it pretty clear that she wasn't interested in anything like this with Lia the last time it had come up. Lia should have known better than to try and push her luck, but her brain didn't seem to work on the same page as her heart these days.
To her surprise, Téo's hand wrapped around her back, her other one on her jaw, kissing her again, ignoring her comments about breathing or Spanish or whatever she had been talking about. Lia wove her arms around the older girl's neck and waist, letting herself get lost in the intoxicating feeling of her lips.
She wasn't sure how long they were like that, too preoccupied with the feeling of Téo's kiss, her hands on her body, her warmth. It could have been days for all she knew, or maybe a few moments that just seemed to stretch out forever.
She pulled back, biting her lips nervously. "Um..."
What was she supposed to say? This wasn't at all supposed to happen and she didn't really have a plan for what happened next. The kiss had been amazing, but the last time she'd even tried to flirt with Téo, she'd basically ran away. So where did that leave them? What was she supposed to do now?
"That was um... nice."
She really needed to stop talking. She was not doing herself any favours here, not with a single thing that had come out of her mouth. Téo was going to think she was daft.
3
As her hand rested near Lia’s chest, she could feel the girl breathe, but not the way she was supposed to. It had been more erratic as soon as she had touched her; Téo bit her lower lip a little, thinking to what Lia had said in the Wing before she ran away.
She had a feeling that she should probably take her hand away, to take a step back.
She didn’t.
It was an oddly still and quiet moment, as neither of them moved, and she’d noticed Lia staring at her. But the only thing Téo seemed capable of doing was avoiding the younger girl’s eyes, listening to the echos of the castle around them and Lia’s breathing.
Téo realized, belatedly, that her hand, the one just below Lia’s ribs, had lessened in pressure, and her thumb was moving rhythmically in a gentle back-and-forth motion. It was completely without her permission or knowledge and as soon as she realized it, Téo went to take her hand away-- when she felt Lia push against it, but not how she instructed.
There wasn’t enough time.
Her hand was trapped between them, and at this angle, she easily could’ve pushed Lia back, stopped the leaning in, stopped the brush of Lia’s lips against hers, but she didn’t move. Téo felt the breath ripped from her, losing it between the other girl’s lips.
When Lia pulled back, Téo still hadn’t moved, except to lean back even further against the solid stone of the archway. Brown eyes didn’t leave green, even as the younger girl rambled about the lessons, and all she could do was look and try to breathe.
It didn’t work.
At some point, the hand at Lia's ribs had slipped behind the girl and to the small of her back, fingers splayed there. When she pulled her closer, Téo’s other hand found Lia’s jawline, guiding until their lips met again. The thoughts telling her to stop, to run, this was wrong, were muffled as Téo's hand slipped from Lia's jawline and to the nape of her neck, pulling her more into the kiss.
4
« Last post by Lia Ayres on 06/13/2019 at 04:29 »
“I do; try speaking a little louder."
Lia looked at Téo, frowning. There was no way that it was a volume issue; people speaking Spanish didn't just shout all the time or anything like that. But maybe that was how to get the sense of it, and then once you could do that, you could drop back down to normal volume.
She was about to give it a try when Téo continued.
“And, well, actually, focusing on using your diaphragm while trying the others might be better.”
She looked up at Téo, a look of confusion on her face. "My what?" She was pretty sure that she should have known that one, given that she spent so much time in the hospital wing. But she mostly just did potions there and ignored the other stuff.
The wind about got knocked out of her as Téo stepped closer, her hand resting on the bottom of her ribs. Her stomach erupted in butterflies at the touch and she was having a rather hard time focusing on what the older girl was saying, too transfixed by her eyes and the scent of her hair on the feel of her hands.
“So. Breathe in deeply, and when you go to let it out, push against my hand.”
Except Lia couldn't breathe. She tried, but the fluttering in her stomach was too much and she couldn't get more than a little air in. Téo was so close and she was by far the most beautiful girl that Lia had ever seen, how was she supposed to do silly things like breathing? Her eyes scanned Téo's face, landing on her lips.
She did it before she really thought about it. She moved forward, her lips finding Téo's. But her mind caught up to her actions a second later, causing her pull away, a look of horror on her face.
"Um, sorry," she said, her face flushing. "So, um, breathing."
As if Téo was going to want to continue Spanish lessons after that.
5
It had been very difficult to keep a straight face at Lia’s reaction, watching as her jaw dropped, and it was even harder to keep the laugh out of her voice at the other girl’s (loud) outburst of words. Well, if they were going to run into any trouble, that probably scared it off.
Not that Téo cared either way.
Though, Téo had laughed a little at the whole school part. She was sure that wasn’t true, or at least, couldn’t possibly be true. That was a lot of people, and she didn’t think she was that pretty (or gorgeous, in Lia's words).
She caught the younger girl's smile though at her suggestion to continue the lessons, and easily returned it, her own pulling a little more at the corners of her mouth. Lia was nearly pouting at this point.
“Any suggestions on how I can actually do it?”
Téo did laugh here, lightly, “I do; try speaking a little louder,” A beat, as Téo glanced around where they had paused their walk, and satisfied there was no one to see them just lounging, she leaned back against the stone of the archway they had stopped in.
“You also have to--” Téo paused, as she decided how to word it, “know the movements of your mouth and tongue, you’ll need to relax them.” Even as she said it, she wasn’t sure how one consciously relaxed their tongue. An amused grin curved red lips at the thought, “You need to get a real feel for how your mouth and jaw work, essentially, it'll help.”
“And, well, actually,” she said, interrupting herself, voice thoughtful, “focusing on using your diaphragm while trying the others might be better.” Seeing Lia’s expression as soon as she said diaphragm, Téo laughed again (quietly, since they were supposed to be patrolling).
“It’s here,” Téo said, leaning closer to put her hand below the lungs, hand held gently but steadily just under Lia's ribcage. “We’ll just focus on the breathing for now,” she continued, “So. Breathe in deeply, and when you go to let it out, push against my hand.”
6
evening, after dinner
friday 1 july 1955
first night of camp; upper year party
As the bottle left Téo’s fingers, she bit her lower lip slightly, because she didn’t think she was going to luck out again and get someone she actually didn’t mind kissing (like she had with Thijs). What Téo was not expecting was for the bottle to land on Nashira Nettlebed, who was very much a girl. She knew that girls kissing each other was not a strange occurrence, if it was all in jest (or in attempted murder, considering some of the kisses she’d seen so far). It happened all the time. But Maria Téodora Wittington had not--even when it was all in fun, even when they were short a boy and needed a girl to stand in--kissed a girl. She’d always managed to (avoid) not end up being chosen. Until now. She hadn’t moved. Dark eyes had, naturally, became busy studying the girl in the light given off by the crackling flames, noticing how it reflected off sharp features, cheekbones, and blue eyes. Nashira Nettlebed was a person she wanted to paint, the younger girl had first caught Téo’s artistic eye in their conjuring and summoning class. It was much in the same way she was catching it now, because there had been orbs of light then, and it was that, the way light and shadows played across the girl’s face she found fascinating. Téo momentarily forgot they were supposed to kiss. She still hadn’t moved. Neither had Nashira, not yet, anyway and Téo couldn’t help the raised eyebrow at the girl. For whatever reason, maybe due to reputation, she hadn’t been expecting hesitation on the other girl’s part. It caused an amused, easy smile to curve her lips, momentarily forgetting--like she had momentarily forgotten they were supposed to kiss--her own tension. Téo still didn’t move though.
7
Darius Palomer sat in his kitchen for two minutes tapping idly at his phone before standing up, dressing Ruby Jr. in her little winter attire, and leaving for the nearby bus stop. As he closed the front door with one hand, carrying Ruby in the other, the cool air hit his skin and knocked some needed sense into his bones. Perhaps he shouldn’t have sent that last text.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have replied at all.
But the best he could do now was get on with it—act like an adult with a wife and child, not the defiant musical education student he once was not even a few years ago. They were all mature now, weren’t they? Emotionally compromised, sure, but mature, reliable, grown-up.
God, this was ridiculous. They had been ridiculous. If maybe he hadn’t… if he had…
“You know,” Darius said, raising an eyebrow. Ruby stared back angrily, though she looked like a disgruntled munchkin more than anything. “If you hadn’t given Ephraim your damn sippy cup, then you could still be watching Peppa Pig right now. That’s how the big girl world works.”
“No, Daddy.”
“... Alright, then.”
Darius took his phone out again, ignoring the little spark of hope that glimmered when the lock screen brightened and immediately dimmed when the only notification was Ruby Sr.’s single thumbs up. He sent back a kiss emoji and a “Baby Ru says love you x”, then opening up YouTube for his daughter as he resigned to stare out the window until their stop arrived. It wasn’t like he was the nosy type—those people were annoying as hell, to be frank—but anyone’s interest would be piqued. A sudden move.
If he remembered correctly, the Carter house was quite nice for their family of five. Why an apartment all of the sudden?
Finally, Darius and Ruby hopped off the bus and made their way to 6th and Willow Boulevard. The place wasn’t bad, per se. It wasn’t great either, and Darius was just blunt enough to actually admit it. Five minutes, and there they were.
He wavered in front of the door proudly presenting #407 and adjusted his hold on Ruby. “Why are we here?” she questioned, pointing at the peephole.
“We’re getting your cup. Wanna ring the bell?” She did, in fact, want to ring the bell. It was probably better that way.
The lock clicked, and the door creaked open. Ronnie Jay Carter stood in the threshold with Ruby’s bright red sippy cup and bare fingers. He blinked and smiled politely, taking the sippy cup from her hands. “O-Oh, thanks. Sorry for all the trouble.” A little figure stood beside her, and he set down Ruby so she could say hello. “So Mr. Ephraim here’s a thief in the making, eh?”
8
« Last post by Lia Ayres on 06/07/2019 at 04:45 »
Maybe she was dumb to bring it up. Maybe she should have just let the whole thing go. Maybe she should have never even thought that she and Téo could ever be more than friends or whatever exactly they were currently. But it was far too late for all of that now.
“Does that mean you don’t think I’m beautiful?”
Of all the things that Téo could have said, that was the one that Lia hadn't expected. Her jaw dropped, just for a moment, before she composed herself again. "No, of course not!" she said, perhaps a little too loudly. "I definitely still think you're gorgeous and I'm sure most of the school would agree with me, in all honesty."
She stopped herself quickly, not wanting to make more of a fool of herself than she already had. She could feel her face burning red. Thankfully, it was Téo to the rescue.
“And, we could always continue the Spanish lessons? Has to be better than this, right? Have you tried making that, well, sound you need?”
She smiled at the older girl, pleased that she had changed the subject so expertly. She was lucky to have all of this happening with someone as good at solving this as Téo. This could have gone so much worse.
"I've tried." She stressed the last word. "I can't make it sound like yours though." She had actually tried really hard, convinced that if she could just perfect that sound and be able to speak a few words in Spanish to impress the older girl. But it hadn't quite been going as well as she would have hoped. She wasn't going to be impressing anyone soon.
"Any suggestions on how I can actually do it?"
9
Walking alongside the younger girl, Téo glanced, only occasionally, at her. But otherwise, she could act as if nothing had happened.
She walked with her hands casually in the pockets of her trousers (men’s trousers, really, but they were fitted to her form), and briefly, had the thought that as a Prefect, she should probably not continue to modify the uniform as she did. Because she was also wearing the white-button up, but tucked in, and it clearly had been adjusted too. In fact, the only thing untouched was the red and gold tie (except it was loose around her neck, flowing into the shirt).
At least the Prefect badge could be seen pinned on her chest. Good enough.
Téo couldn’t help the laugh at Lia’s words. “I don’t think we’re supposed to hope for trouble,” though, she completely understood. Patrols could be dull if nothing actually happened. It was basically just going for a late walk but in designated areas. Also, you had to take these walks.
“Look, about that day in the hospital wing,”
Téo bit her lower lip, barely looking at Lia, except for one quick side glance. As they walked, she, almost out of habit, started rolling the sleeves of the shirt up, as if she was about to get to work on something. But she wasn’t. Only walking, and waiting for Lia to say whatever it was she was going to say, overly aware of her own breathing.
“Never mind. Forget I said anything.”
Unsure of how she felt about this, Téo let out a quiet breath. “Does that mean you don’t think I’m beautiful?” She looked to the side at Lia, while still walking, and the smile on her lips was teasing, voice light. Part of her was telling herself to stop playing with fire, but sometimes, she couldn't help it.
This should really not be one of those times. But Lia Ayres made it a little too easy to tease.
Fully not prepared for her to respond though, Téo reached out to touch Lia’s arm faintly to stop their walk, “It’s okay,” she wasn’t really sure what was okay, but she was mostly trying to ease Lia’s clear tension on the matter, “And, we could always continue the Spanish lessons?” Téo shrugged a shoulder, the smile easy, “Has to be better than this, right? Have you tried making that, well, sound you need?”
Téo wasn't really sure what to call it since she didn't need to think about it much.
10
art by birb hey friends~
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