Trying Something New. [Theresa] on Labyrinth Gardens

Cepheus Princeton

May 29, 2013 1:03 AM

Trying Something New. [Theresa] by Cepheus Princeton

'Calm down, you're just going for a walk,' Cepheus thought to himself nervously as he made his way to the gardens. He had asked Theresa the day after the welcoming feast to accompany him on a stroll through the gardens. 'Gardens' just meant the maze, really. It was the most private place he could think of on school grounds. Theresa had been rather sharp to notice that nothing seemed to stay a secret for long here. But this was just how things had to be for awhile. For how long, he did not know and he doubted Theresa was the sort of witch to wait for very long. But if they didn't end up working out in the long-run, it would work out pleasantly for both of them. If not, well, he would deal with that when he got there.

Right now he was nervous for his first actual outing with Theresa since his confession at the ball. It had been in a private area and no one had overheard them. Rupert had done his job beautifully and from Ceph's meetings with Megan over the summer, she had no idea. Their betrothal had been announced publicly and he didn't doubt that many of his classmates knew that he was betrothed now. Word travelled fast in pure-blood communities and he was no stranger to that. It just meant Cepheus had to be really careful in his clandestine meetings with Theresa and convince her that Megan didn't mean anything to him.

A greater part of him told him to give it up, that Theresa wasn't worth the consequences that could come from this relationship. But the other part told him he would go mad if he did nothing for himself and that Theresa was worth every bit of sanity that she brought with her.

It was irritating, arguing with himself, but at last he was inside the maze. He had asked her to meet him in the fountain in the centre, from which they would continue on walking. Cepheus didn't want to let his thoughts run away with him, but he hoped she would show up and hadn't changed her mind over the summer holiday. He had, after all, written her loads of letters to keep himself fresh in her mind.

When he heard footsteps in the dirt behind him, Cepheus turned, the sunlight reflecting off of the blue in his eyes and the gold in his hair. He was looking his best today for a reason, but he ran his fingers through his hair anyway. It was a nervous habit. "Hello," he said a bit awkwardly, trying his best not to show how delighted he was with her appearance. "I'm glad you came. Really." He smiled. "Would you like to continue on through the maze?"

40 Cepheus Princeton Trying Something New. [Theresa] 216 Cepheus Princeton 1 5

Theresa Carey

May 30, 2013 11:21 PM

I wouldn't recommend doing that too often by Theresa Carey

Stupid, Theresa thought as she walked through the Gardens, as jumpy as though she were doing something a lot more wrong than what she actually was. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Someday I’m going to die from being stupid.

She had been tempted not to come back to school, and thought she might have actually done it if the family hadn’t seen fit to remind her that home was hardly an escape from unpleasantness. She had spent most of her summer playing teacher for Cecilia, who at almost four had been deemed big enough to learn her letters and numbers but not if it was going to cost anyone anything, and would have no doubt have had to continue that if she’d stayed at home, and if that hadn’t been enough to settle her, finding out she’d soon be the oldest of seven would have. Avoiding Mother was much easier here than at home, and avoiding Arthur, who had been visibly pleased when he heard that Cepheus had not succeeded in getting rid of Meghan Brownbriar and apparently considered the matter closed, was no harder at Sonora than at home, if maybe even more important. Theresa knew she was too bad a liar to risk a few subjects coming up, especially given how much they were on her mind anyway.

He had sent letters. She had answered some of them, though not in much detail. Theresa was not really a very good letter writer, usually sticking to plain language and factual details: My sister can write most of our names now. I’m going to my family reunion and won’t be able to write for a while. Nothing about them could have been really constructed as improper; she might, if she’d had any female friends outside her family, have written them to another girl most of the time. It had been a handy way of avoiding the problem, which was thinking about what she was going to do.

She hadn’t taken any pains with her hair, which was down around her shoulders, but she had put on a new dress. Having new clothes made her feel better, but not looking her best made her feel less likely to lose her head and do something stupid, such as agree to clandestine liaisons. The morality didn’t bother her – if you were even a hair smarter than her parents, you married for advantage and worried about your needs later, and she now fully planned to tell whoever she married to do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted as long as it wasn’t her after they had an heir and a spare – but since marrying her particular gentleman friend was no longer a possibility and she was not engaged herself, she was very much risking her reputation. She kind of wanted to kick Cepheus – he was supposed to have gotten out of things with Miss Teppenpaw Prefect over the summer, then they wouldn’t have had any problems – but that had been pretty much the norm since she started liking him, so she thought she would be able to control herself, even if he was going to do the smart thing and break it off for now today.

The awkwardness of his greeting made her think that was the case, but she didn’t know. She didn’t know anything when it came to boys and girls, as she had so far resisted the temptation to ask Fae for advice. She was considering changing her mind about that, though she had figured out enough to know that politely smiling through a lot was often the best way to go, so she did that now. “If you like,” she said.

“Sorry you didn’t get prefect,” she said, guessing sympathy was an appropriate reaction. She didn't care much about that herself, but knew others did, especially boys, and ones who hung out with Aladrens were more likely than even others, she thought. “Or any of your friends. D…” She began to ask if any of them knew where he was, then decided that no matter how she spun the answer, she wouldn’t like it and so didn’t finish the question, period.

0 Theresa Carey I wouldn't recommend doing that too often 219 Theresa Carey 0 5

Cepheus

May 31, 2013 10:58 PM

In this case, you're the only one. by Cepheus

Cepheus led her in a stroll through the maze, getting deeper into it and farther away from Sonora’s close watch. Ceph’s adolescent mind ran wild, but he kept up a demeanor of indifference while trying not act like a fool. Theresa began the conversation with a reminder of his loss to Alex, but he merely shrugged, attempting to be impressively indifferent about the whole thing. The angry brooding period had already passed. “It’s all right. I’m glad Alex got it. I’m sure she’ll do a brilliant job.” He considered Alex his friend, but didn’t get to chance to speak as Theresa was on the verge of saying something that didn’t come about. Cepheus let it drop, but he wondered what she was going to say.

How did one go about making conversation with the object of one’s affections? Cepheus had no experience in that field nor did he have any idea of where to begin. Beginning a relationship was supposed to be comforting, not nerve-wracking. Cepheus glanced at Theresa, thinking again of her unfinished thought. Did she think this was all a terrible idea? She was probably right. This was silly; childish, even. Was it worth the pains?

There was a moment of decision when Cepheus could feel himself holding his breath as he purposefully brushed his hand against hers. He didn’t want to act foolish and verbally ask to hold her hand, but he didn’t want to be rejected for it either. She had said she fancied him as well, but that was an entire summer ago. That night at the ball seemed so far right at this moment.

“How did your family reunion go?” he asked lamely as his mind focused on gathering the courage to hold her hand. “I usually find family reunions a bore, but I hope yours was more interesting.” There. His hand slipped around hers, his fingers curling to hold it properly. His grip was light at first, but tightened as they continued walking.

Sometimes Cepheus wished romance could come easier to him, but at fifteen he could hardly keep all of his emotions in check never mind his ideas of romance. His parents had a love story that Cepheus loathed hearing, but taking some tips from his father would have been a good idea. He could never tell him why he needed those tips directly, but they would have been helpful to have. Cepheus wanted to impress Theresa, but he didn’t know how. Everything he could give her, she could get it herself. It was difficult, wanting to please a witch who already had whatever she wanted within reach. It would take time and Cepheus didn’t know how much time they had. Maybe it would be prudent to break this off before things got too complicated. He glanced at her, wanting some sort of confirmation that this was the right idea, that their relationship was worth trying for even in secret. And if he received none, well, then maybe it would be smart to break it off.

0 Cepheus In this case, you're the only one. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Theresa

June 01, 2013 10:40 PM

For now, anyway by Theresa

Theresa was relieved by Cepheus’ composure over the prefect thing, if nothing else. “I’m kind of obliged to think so,” she commented. “Since we’re related. But I think you would have, too.” She realized she was rambling, but couldn’t help but smile at a thought comparing their relative situations at the moment. “My loyalties are so complicated,” she joked.

On balance, she was pretty sure being conflicted over whether or not it was a good thing that an extremely distant cousin had become prefect was not quite in the same league as Cepheus’ relationship problems, even the ones she knew about for sure. She had…wondered about what it was with him and Alicia Bauer and Thad Pierce; Mother had always assured her that boys and girls could not just be friends, so either Mother was wrong (entirely possible) or else eventually, someone would get jealous and everything would boil over. She hoped that Mother was just wrong, because everything was bad enough as it was without it turning out that everyone in the year had arrangements with everyone else.

She felt relief, of a kind, when he took her hand, though she wasn’t sure if it was at all the proper thing to feel. On one hand, it kind of confirmed things. On the other hand, it kind of confirmed things. Maybe. She could be reading too much into it. Sometimes she hated her life.

“It was fine,” she said when he asked about the Reunion. “It was a little…strange this year, since this was the first one where Thomas – that was my great-great-grandfather’s twin – wasn’t head of the family, Great-Great-Grandfather was, but everything still happened at Thomas’ house, so it was kind of strange because Thomas’ son still lives there, but…It was fine,” she finished, realizing she had begun to ramble with more enthusiasm than the subject probably deserved.

Her grip tightened a little without her noticing. “Did you enjoy any of your summer around, you know, missing me?” she asked. She thought that could have almost passed for decent flirting, if anyone other than her had said it.

0 Theresa For now, anyway 0 Theresa 0 5

Cepheus

June 02, 2013 8:40 PM

How am I doing? by Cepheus

Cepheus was pleased with how relaxed they seemed to be once she felt comfortable enough to joke with him. It eased the tension he felt a bit, even if he was feeling it all within himself. “A loyal witch is attractive,” he told her with a teasing little smirk. It wasn’t surprising that Alex was related to the Careys. Theresa’s family seemed to rule Sonora and Cepheus’s loyalties seemed to be conflicted as well. As much as he hated the Carey twins two years above him, he loved being in the company of their cousin or sister or whatever.

Her acceptance of his hand was a relief and he let himself relax. Her hand felt nice in his. The next part would be testing how far these boundaries went. Cepheus found it funny that he and Alicia had both seemed to find their beau, though in extremely different circumstances. Though he didn’t know Thad nearly as well, he could see that he and Alicia were close, closer than Cepheus was with her. At the very beginning, Ceph had passed their relationship off as friendship that came from being in the same house, but he knew better now. It would be good to catch up with her.

Theresa continued on to tell him about her family reunion and Cepheus realised he had no interest in it. He was easily lost in all the ‘great’ and ‘grand’ relatives, but he did his best to listen. Or at least look like he was listening. Thomas was her great-something-grandfather’s twin, distant, and the reunion was at his house. But Thomas was no longer alive, seemingly, but Thomas’s son was. He didn’t understand what the interest in Thomas was or in his son, but if it meant something to Theresa, he would try to pay attention. She had to be a bit nervous to be talking so animatedly about a family reunion and it comforted Cepheus. At least he wasn’t the only one. That is, unless she really cared about these family reunions.

Her tightened grip did not go unnoticed and Cepheus tried and failed to suppress a small smile. It was strange how such simple actions brought him such joy, but he composed himself in time to answer her question. The smile grew, however, at her attempt at flirting. Merlin, how he liked her. “Besides missing you a great deal,” he said, leaning towards her playfully before pulling back, “I had an awful summer.” There had been the announcement of the betrothal, officially making it public, but he did not want to directly tell Theresa that. He was certain she already knew anyhow, so that would just bring up unnecessary conflict. “My parents made me spend more time with Brownbriar so we could ‘get to know each other’. I think they just wanted me out of their hair.” It was a half-truth. With his youngest brother throwing tantrums to get out of school, Cepheus’s drastic mood swings had been nearly unbearable for them.

He shrugged, playing it off once more. “But your letters helped, and I hardly remember the awful bits with you here.” He leant forward once more, but he was too afraid to kiss any part of her right at this moment. It was a bit awkward, he being so tall now, and he pulled back quickly, a bit embarrassed at his own cowardice. Why couldn’t he simply act like a normal wizard? Merlin. He hesitated before shifting his hand so that instead of holding her hand sideways, his fingers thread through hers. It made it easier to hold and felt more intimate. Merlin, he wanted to kiss her, but he didn’t want to be too forward and scare her off. “My brother, my cousin and my brother’s friend were sorted into Crotalus this year,” he said instead. “I’m glad Alex is going to be the one to deal with them. I don’t think I would be able to show my brother any mercy for his antics. Do you have any more relatives coming to Sonora? It seems as though there’s one every year.”

0 Cepheus How am I doing? 0 Cepheus 0 5

Theresa

June 06, 2013 12:30 AM

I'm cautiously optimistic by Theresa

Theresa had not been sure how her joke would be taken, so she was glad to see the reaction had at least not been overwhelmingly negative. The situation…was like it was, however it was, and well, humor seemed to work pretty well for Arnold as an escape for every situation he didn’t want to be in. Arnold was widely agreed to be one of the less naturally advantaged members of the family, not brilliant or astoundingly good-looking or anything, but yet everything seemed to go right for him: he was one of the more recognizable people in the whole school, his grades were decent enough one way or another, he had a functional relationship with all his family, and his future wife was both very pretty and actually seemed to like him. True, Quidditch being his most marketable skill in life meant he might well be out of his best years by the time he was thirty or else end up having a number of drug problems and an unfortunate accident once they got too bad for the family to cover up, but right now, she guessed he was as good a cousin to take tips from as any other.

“Does it count as loyal all around if I don’t come to the Aladren-Crotalus match this year, then?” she asked. “You and my cousins seem to end up against each other a lot at this school.”

That would definitely not improve if they found out about this. Most of the time, her brothers and cousins didn’t even bother pretending they thought of her as a fragile, sheltered little thing, but she had a feeling that this would make them remember she was a girl. It didn’t help that the family had always hinted they might be held accountable for each other’s conduct. She did believe that, in his own weird way, Arthur cared about her and his brothers and Jay and Henry, but she suspected the real reason he spent so much time tutoring Arnold and Henry and trying to lecture her about propriety and generally and ineffectively trying to mother them all was because he thought the family might take it out on him if something went wrong with one of them. She also didn’t think that was really something to mention right now, though.

“Hmm,” Theresa said noncommittally about his parents wanting him out of their hair. She was not really a fan of Mr. and Mrs. Princeton’s, but knew it was one thing to insult her own parents and another thing for someone else to do it, and that was even within the family.

She wondered why he kept ducking back and forth. “Not this year,” she said, shaking her head. “Brandon – my third brother – is supposed to come next year, though.” She smiled. “He helps me understand how you feel. I’d hate to have to deal with any of my brothers. Though at least they don’t have friends, too.”

She tried to imagine Henry with a friend. It…didn’t really work. He did get along with some people, there was a girl in his year he thought made a good Potions partner, and he had thought he got along with a girl in his challenge group last year, but he wasn’t very good at conveying that and was always very stiff and awkward around anyone other than Jay and Anthony, and sometimes Arnold. He was lucky, though; the family would find something for him to do, something where he wouldn’t have to deal much with the rest of the world but could still be productive, useful for them. Organizing shipments of supplies to elderly or reclusive relatives, maybe, or helping one of the people who saw to it that family members who were given allowances got them on time and in the right amounts. They would take care of him; they took care of everyone, as long as they tried to follow the rules. That was the important thing to remember. It was right.

Then, knowing she shouldn’t…”About Brownbriar,” she said. “I assume you made sure she, um, got to know that you didn’t like her?” she couldn’t help asking. To her, it made sense: if his parents were intractable, the obvious solution was to make Megan hate him so much that she begged her parents to break it off. People who would be ruthless about their heir might be softer on a sniveling miserable girl, especially one who didn’t seem to have any sisters, or else wasn’t very important to them anyway, to be here. Theresa knew she couldn’t play that part to get what she wanted, even if she meant it, she just wasn’t the type to break down, it would look all wrong coming from her, but would bet that just about any other girl in the school could do it.

0 Theresa I'm cautiously optimistic 0 Theresa 0 5

Cepheus

June 07, 2013 6:47 PM

I'm quite the optimist myself. by Cepheus

Cepheus smiled at Theresa’s comment. Though he held bitter feelings about the Aladren-Crotalus matches, he would be glad for Theresa not to come. Then, if they lost, she wouldn’t have to see the worst of him. He was especially sore when it came to losing to Aladren. “I’ll grant you that,” he replied, “but I’ll expect you at the others.” Fate or Merlin or Providence seemed to be against him and Theresa by the mere fact that Cepheus disliked her cousins so much. It might be childish, certainly, but it was a rivalry nonetheless. He wondered briefly what would happen if either Carey wizard found out about their relationship. He could imagine their faces grow red with anger, chasing him down and threatening his life. It was not a pleasant image.

He had forgotten Theresa had brothers and Cepheus thought it was part of her charm, that she had been raised with wizards. She had a different air about her than other delicate pure-blood witches who looked forward to being coddled all their lives. It was strange to think that her brothers had no friends, especially concerning the one already here. His brothers had always been social creatures. Cepheus and Leo had their own friends back home as well as here and Rupert had gained a large social network here in America. Rupert, however, was a different case. His brother was still angry for whatever reason and Cepheus pretended not to understand why. It was easier to deal with when Cepheus didn’t think he did anything wrong.

Then Theresa brought up the seemingly taboo question and Cepheus tensed slightly. “I’m not the sort of wizard who would make her absolutely miserable, but she does know that we are not friends and will never be.” There might have been a chance for friendship if they hadn’t been thrown together like this, but Cepheus, for an entire year, had ignored her. It was only last summer that he had actually started to talk to her like a normal human being, but even those interactions were stilted and awkward.

“Speaking of that,” he said. “Should we make…rules for this or something?” He didn’t know the right way to ask this, but if they were going to keep this a secret it was best for both of their reputations that they make rules to stand by. “For example, we have to keep this relationship from Megan or any of my brothers.” That was an easy one, but the more difficult questions included, ‘where is it acceptable to meet?’ and ‘can we sit together in class?” and ‘when can I bloody kiss you?’. These were the sorts of questions Cepheus suffered through daily.

They arrived at a bench and Cepheus indicated that they sit for a moment. It was a nice enough day and a good time to stop. They were so far in the maze Cepheus wondered when they would end up at the opening on the other side. “Just to be clear,” he said, a bit hesitant, “have you told any of your friends?” Her reaction would be a good indication of whether or not he had the liberty to tell his.

0 Cepheus I'm quite the optimist myself. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Theresa

June 08, 2013 10:47 PM

I think you're worse than me in that way by Theresa

“No problem,” Theresa said, smiling, of the other Quidditch games. She didn’t like watching Quidditch much – it was boring to sit on the benches, passive where others were active, and frustrating, too, just watching other people get to do something interesting – but she was used to it. She was expected to support her brothers and cousins, so she went, though she wasn’t sure she would have the excuse of Henry nominally participating in Crotalus’ team to take her out to non-Aladren games this year. He did not like it anymore, couldn’t really handle it, but maybe she could make an argument for solidarity, each of them supporting the others’ Houses no matter what, because that was indirect unity? It sounded completely stupid to her, but that meant it just might work with her family. Besides, she had new hats she had to show off somewhere.

She frowned when he said he had not been a complete monster to Megan – honestly, if she was the one in this relationship doing the thinking, there was a serious problem – but then sighed. “I guess I can’t complain too much,” she grumbled. “Not without implying I’d prefer for you to be a total jerk, anyway.” If he could do it one of them, he could do it to the other if he lost interest, or so the idea went.

Of course, by that logic, he was cheating on her. Not Alex, surely, but Alicia was definitely a possibility, and maybe Arabella. She had never even seen Cepheus talking to Arabella, but that would be the perfect cover, and Arabella’s future husband seemed, if possible, even duller than Alicia’s friend and less attractive to boot. In either case, though, Theresa was not sure how she should handle it if it was ever confirmed for her. Cursing a lot of people came to mind, honestly, but it wasn’t like she really had the right. At least not for now. Surely there was some kind of solution….

“I’d worry more about my cousins than my brothers,” she said, noting who she could at least loudly announce the relationship to if he did decide to be a jerk to her, somewhere down the line. It wasn’t nice of her, but she knew too much about her parents’ marriage for the good of her mental health and to really ever trust a man. “You might want to watch out for your little cousins, too. Arthur thinks Malcolm’s his very own personal spy.” She said the words with all the mockery they deserved, but it was possible, anyway, that Arthur was not completely delusional about that, so she thought he ought to know.

She sat down and looked at him blankly when he asked about friends. “What friends?” she asked dryly. “Half the people I know are related to me, and they’re supposed to report back any impropriety to the family.” She half-smiled. “Honestly, I’ve always been sort of jealous of yours,” she admitted. “There’s so many of them.”

0 Theresa I think you're worse than me in that way 0 Theresa 0 5

Cepheus

June 14, 2013 1:43 PM

Or better? by Cepheus

Cepheus was glad Theresa could understand at least a bit why he couldn't be completely rude to Megan. He had an image to uphold and his parents would never stand for it. They had brought him up to be respectful of everyone except Muggles and treat his peers with that respect. Acting like a jerk would go against his upbringing and he didn't want Megan to bad-mouth his family behind his back. They weren't happy together, of course, but at least she could say she didn't like him because of her own preferences, not because he was rude to her.

The mention of Theresa's cousins made Cepheus grimace slightly. He did not have a high respect for them that was solely Quidditch-based. He did admit to himself that he did not know them outside of the pitch, but that didn't matter. They were competitors and he would be damned if Crotalus lost again to Aladren. If Cepheus couldn't become Prefect, then he expected to become the Quidditch captain someday and he was going to work his team to be winners and nothing less. He would make sure of that.

His thoughts were brought back to family when Theresa warned him against his own cousins and Cepheus thought briefly of Adam and Charlotte. He highly doubted Adam would have any interest in his personal affairs, but Ceph didn't know Charlotte at all. She was quiet and perhaps it was the quiet one he should watch out for. He didn't know her mind and he certainly didn't know what she thought of him and how much she knew. It would be good to keep an eye on her. Her and Leo and Leo's little friend.

Cepheus didn't know what to say when Theresa said she had no friends. He had never thought about it like that and he was tempted to make a teasing remark. He thought better of it, however, not wanting to offend her so early in their relationship, and said instead, "If only we had become friends sooner. You're always welcome to join my group. We're a fun bunch." He felt bad that Theresa had no one to call a friend. Cepheus had relied on his friends here to keep him grounded and sane when maddening things were going on with his family. He couldn't imagine not having them around to talk and hang out with. He leant in and pecked her cheek before smiling at her. "Then you can meet all my mates, or at least the ones you haven't met yet." His eyebrows furrowed then. "Or would that be too suspicious?"

0 Cepheus Or better? 0 Cepheus 0 5

Theresa

June 19, 2013 8:13 PM

The glass is half by Theresa

Theresa had envied the largest clique in their year before, but she found herself blank at the thought of joining them. It was one thing to think that someone had a lovely dining room and another to want the exact same, difficult furniture in her own home. She had, honestly, even as she was jealous of him being able to get along with people, never seen why Cepheus hung out with those people specifically, especially the girls. They weren't...really their sort, she thought, and was sure when it came to Henny. They weren’t even really good mistress material, so she had wondered often why the boys kept them around, unless it really was because they could so vividly discuss particularly dull Potions theories.

All that was driven out of her head, though, when Cepheus kissed her. It wasn’t much of a kiss, from what she understood about such things, no less chaste than a gesture someone might make at a Reunion or something, but they weren’t related, they were….whatever they were, and that…She fumbled to complete her thought, wondered briefly if this was what Henry felt like sometimes when he communicated, sometimes for an hour or two or sometimes for all day, mostly through gestures and scowls instead of words, and then noticed that she was blushing furiously.

This was ridiculous. She endeavored to ignore the reaction she couldn’t control and just continue the conversation as though that hadn’t happened, smiling back and trying to think about friends. And whether or not it would be suspicious for her to meet them. And how she should answer, since it didn’t take her long to figure out that it would be. She knew that after all the rumors, her suddenly joining his friends would make people curious, and one of them would be sure to notice something, but – it occurred to her, she was surprised to notice, before she said anything – she didn’t necessarily have to tell him that.

“Maybe not,” she said, stalling for time because she didn’t even know what she might or even what she wanted to accomplish from working on her lying skills, and then, to distract him, returned the peck on the cheek. She decided, after a split second’s reflection on other candidates, that it was probably the weirdest thing she had ever done. “I’m glad you asked me anyway, though.”

Who knew, she thought. Keeping secrets was, as she had told him last year when he proposed this for the time being, impossible in such close quarters, but maybe it would be all right. Gareth, the most likely to be offended, didn’t seem as close as the others. The only problem was that the only solutions were either mutual ruin or eventually getting married, and – well, all this, right now, was pleasant, in a sort of unpleasant way, which made no sense but was what it was, but she didn’t know about getting married. Sometimes having feelings could happen at the same time as marriage, it worked for Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Anthony, but she and Cepheus were more like, well, her parents than Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Anthony. She wanted him to get rid of Megan, but that was almost entirely because it meant she, Theresa, might lose her reputation for all this if it became public while Megan was in the picture, not because she seriously thought the official, parentally-endorsed relationship was anything but pragmatic. It was just…all a mess, she hated it, she hated everything that had made it what it was, and she wished sometimes that either none of them in her year had ever been born or at least that they hadn’t been born in the same September-to-September stretch. They might have still had these problems, but it would have been as adults, after they were already all married and it wouldn’t, couldn’t, have been nearly as big of a deal then as it was now.

0 Theresa The glass is half 0 Theresa 0 5

Cepheus

June 25, 2013 8:31 PM

In this moment, half full. by Cepheus

The smile on Cepheus's face after he had pecked her cheek grew when he noticed the furious blush on Theresa's cheeks. It made her want to kiss her, really kiss her, but he didn't think that would be completely appropriate before she had the chance to reply to his offer. She did look completely adorable, however, and Cepheus was glad he had made that move. He had kissed girls on the cheek before, but none that he had really fancied. It was different. It felt different, anyway, and her reaction was different as well.

Her reply was foreseeable, but nevertheless disappointing. Cepheus tried to mentally talk himself out of his disappointment with reasonable excuses, but Theresa's returned kiss was enough. It wasn't exactly as excuse, but it reminded him that perhaps it was better that his friends didn't know of his liaison. There was a reason why they were keeping it a secret from everyone, from her family and from his. It was easy enough to let gossip run rampant through the pure-blood community and Cepheus didn't want any chance of that happening. Though it was obvious he was considerably happier now after Theresa had agreed to pursue a relationship with him.

Thoughts of the future loomed over his head, but he refused to think about it, opting instead for happier thoughts. He had all year to think about that, but now, while he was with Theresa, he didn't want to waste his time with her. She wasn't saying anything and Cepheus took the opportunity while they were still alone deep in the maze. If he did not take it now, he didn't think he would get up the courage again any time soon and he was dying here. The memory of her adorable blush ran rampant through his mind and he wondered how long her blush could last if he gave her a real, proper kiss.

He leant in, slowly, in case she pulled away or slapped him for being so forward. A proper bloke ought to ask if he could kiss her, but the thought didn't come to mind until he was nearly nose-to-nose with her. His eyes lingered on her mouth as he asked, cursing himself for not asking sooner. “Would it—” He swallowed. “Would it be all right if I kissed you?” he asked, pulling back only slightly to look her in the eye. Any sort of hesitation and he would pull back, but he did want to kiss her. He was fifteen and he hadn't had his first kiss yet. It was about time to change that.

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