Charlotte Spencer
June 22, 2015 6:40 PM
Awaiting Emrys Lucan. by Charlotte Spencer
The letters Charlotte had exchanged with Emrys had struck her as odd this past summer, and whilst she held onto the hope that he fancied her, she didn't want to hope too much. Already she was a sixth year and depending on her best friend to return her feelings was risky when she had other wizards lined up back in England. Dating an English wizard would make her parents very happy, but Emrys wasn't a bad catch at all. For her part, Charlotte thought him a very good catch indeed. He'd always been supportive of her in so many areas of her life and he most likely wasn't aware of it.They had agreed to meet after the Welcoming Feast. Emrys was a Prefect, meaning he had responsibilities to the first years just as Adam did now as Head Boy to the entire student body. However, though it was well before the time she and Emrys had planned to meet she made her way to the MARS music room after dinner, a room she knew like the back of her hand after spending nearly six years there almost every week-end. The room was empty when she pushed the door open, but she smiled as she greeted the familiar portraits who asked her enthusiastically about her summer and encouraged her to play them a tune of Debussy.
Charlotte sat down at the grand piano and felt the ivory keys, cool against her warm hand. What was it that Emrys wanted to talk to her about? Was he going to talk about their relationship? She pressed down on middle C, the note ringing through the beautiful acoustics of the room. The portrait of a musician urged her on. As she warmed up her fingers with Hanon's finger exercises, she thought once more of Emrys's odd letters. Was Adam right in predicting Emrys's feelings?
The music of Debussy's Clair de Lune echoed in the room and the portraits sighed as Charlotte thoughtlessly let her fingers do the work. The door suddenly opening shocked Charlotte into silence and all the portraits grumbled and the musician tapped his conductor's baton against his music stand impatiently. Charlotte ignored all of the portraits as her light eyes fixed on Emrys. "Hello," she said, a smile creeping onto her face.
OOC: Sorry for the wait!
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Emrys Lucan
June 22, 2015 8:26 PM
Awaiting your answer. by Emrys Lucan
After walking the first years up to the Aladren common room with Professor Pye and the other prefects, Emrys had just enough time to duck into the shared dorm room to change into a clean sweater that didn't smell like travel. While in there, he made a quick stop in front of the mirror to fix his hair. His cheeks were flushed already and Emrys didn't know what how he was going to talk to Charlotte if just thinking about the meeting was getting him this flustered. Should his hair be parted to the right or to the left? And did he look funny? He had changed out his shirt to one of his favorites, but he wasn't sure. He frowned, not quite sure if Charlotte would notice these things. "I'm off to take your advice, Arnold," he said to his roommates and friends in parting as he left the dorm. Or at least try to, he added inside his head as he made his way to the MARS room where he and Charlotte had agreed to meet.How fitting it was, he thought, that he should arrange to meet her on the night be planned to confess, in the very same place in which their friendship had been forged! The memories of playing music in MARS with Charlotte filled his head with pleasant thoughts as he approached the room, but as he got closer, his steps slowed. What if he wasn't able to tell her? What if he was but she didn't reciprocate the feelings? What if then their friendship was ruined forever? His face paled as he thought about the connotations of that. If that were the case then he might as well prepare a boat to set sail because he was certain he would find himself the next Elaine of Astolat. Well, perhaps not that dramatic, but it certainly felt that way.
He placed his hand on the door to the music room, took a deep breath and pushed it in. He felt all the air leave his body as he spotted Charlotte inside, poised at the piano as he had so often seen her before. He nearly thought it a dream--he had half convinced himself that she wouldn't be there waiting, though he knew that she wouldn't be so cruel as to do that to him on such an important day. Not that she knew it was an important day, but all the same, he was sure his letter had at least hinted at something more. Hadn't it? Weren't girls supposed to have picked up on stuff like that? Even Caelia had told him it was a rather telling letter and she wasn't supposed to be able to pick up on things like that.
"Hey," he said softly in response to her greeting, his voice cracking slightly and he swallowed in an attempt to wet his dry throat. "How are you?" They were simple words, but they still felt stuck in his throat as he tried his hardest not to think about everything that kept pushing forward into his brain so that his mind was a muddled mess of what was and wasn't likely appropriate to tell Charlotte at that moment. His face flushed slightly as he tried to suppress the particularly inappropriate ideas of just telling Charlotte how he felt with a kiss. It was what knights were supposed to do, but Emrys wasn't a knight. He was just an Aladren who appreciated good music, books, and the company of friends. A horrifying thought occurred to him just then.
What if Charlotte preferred a Pecari to an Aladren? Someone who would take charge instead of sit back and hide behind a violin and music that could say so much more without words yet also without explicitly saying anything. Aladrens were supposed to be independent, but Emrys didn't feel particularly independent in that moment. In fact, he felt as though his entire future was dependent on the outcome on this conversation. And while that could very well be true, thinking that way was only serving to freak him out more. He reached a hand up and scratched at his neck sheepishly, trying not to think about all the other guys Charlotte probably knew but who would likely be more able to more properly tell her that they liked her if that was the case.
Well, if he wasn't going to kiss her, then how exactly was he going to tell her how he felt? He took a step forward, almost hesitantly, before retreating to the door again. He opened his mouth and closed it before finally going up to Charlotte and pulling a chair over to where she sat on the bench. “Charlotte,” he said, taking a deep breath and leaning gently on the piano. He felt as though he might faint. "I-I..." Merlin, confessing was more difficult than he thought it could ever be. After he spoke these words then all would be out there. She would either despise him for ruining their friendship or return his feelings and Emrys was afraid of either option. He longed for a simpler day when he and Charlotte had just begun their friendship in that very room. But something had changed, and there was a different air about them now--an air that he half-feared was created and upheld by him alone.
"Merlin," he said now. "You have no idea how difficult this is for me to say to you." He grasped one of her hands and searched her eyes for some sort of answer, hoping that perhaps he might find one there before he even had to speak the words, that perhaps everything that needed to be said could be done without words like how lovers in those silly romance novels Caelia pretended not to enjoy. Nevertheless, this was the real world, and not everything was like the lives of the perfectly coiffured witches of Caelia's books. Here, he not only had a best friend with whom he felt as though he were risking everything, but he also had a roomful of portraits who had watched their friendship grow looking on as he attempted to express the contents of his heart to said best friend. And yes, he was aware that the thoughts running through his head were quitemelodramatic.
"At risk of sounding like a complete and total idiot, Charlotte, I like you. I have for quite awhile and when you said yes to going with me to the ball it was more than I could have ever hoped for, but I'm hoping again, that perhaps, you might consider me to be something more of a friend, that perhaps you might see me as I see you?" He looked at her, an aspirant though nervous look on his face. As he waited for her response, a thought flit across his mind that perhaps he ought to try his hand at some creative writing to release the pent up drama his mind always seemed to be able to unfold--most of the time, needlessly.
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Charlotte
July 08, 2015 3:57 AM
Being vulnerable. by Charlotte
The way Emrys walked towards her made her nervous, but she tried her best to swallow it down and put on a brave face. He looked nervous which made her even more nervous. What was it that he was going to say? Was he going to say it? Then he said a vague, generic greeting and Charlotte smiled stiffly in response. “Well enough,” she said, shuffling her music sheets together. “And you?” She was horrified that their conversation was going to go on as it always did, but then he sighed her name and took a seat next to her stuttering. It made her nearly jump out of her skin, but she held herself together though she felt as though she would burst with anticipation.She was about to ask if he was quite all right, but he grabbed her hand and Charlotte almost choked on air. He was going to do it. Merlin, good Merlin, he was going to do it. There was nothing else to think except to go mad inside. There were a good many unlady-like words going through her head as she attempted to take control of her emotions, but none of it was enough and she stared into his eyes as if daring him to say it. She knew her cheeks were flushed already and her hand was growing uncomfortably warm in his. She didn’t want him to know that she had clammy hands, but he wasn’t letting go and she didn’t particularly want him to.
When he said the words she wanted to faint, but luckily the world only flickered once before she could see Emrys’s face clearly. His mouth was moving and the words were permeating through her skull, but it wasn’t sinking in yet. I like you. I LIKE YOU. Charlotte was going to die. That was it. No one in the world could possibly survive after such a rampage of emotions. It was incredibly difficult to think of what to say in her joy, but her eyes said enough as they filled with tears unshed. “Emrys,” she choked out, but couldn’t say anything more for a moment. The smile on her lips was about to split her face in half but she didn’t care.
“I fancy you too,” she said once the wave of emotion had passed, but another emotion suddenly struck her and she shivered. “But I’m scared of starting a relationship,” she told him honestly, her free hand going to her mouth. “Dating is supposed to be such an important part of society and yet no one ever gives any instructions on how to do it.” She shook her head, wishing she could explain herself better. “I must sound ridiculous. You know I’m no good with words, Emrys, but I’m really, very happy right now even if I am scared.” She knew her face was scarlet and she wanted nothing more than to hide after all the things she’d said. It was difficult even looking him in the eyes after being so blatantly honest.
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Emrys
July 09, 2015 9:50 PM
Keeping it short but sweet. by Emrys
Emrys’ heart skipped a beat. He had been preparing himself for the worst from the moment he had made up his mind to tell Charlotte how he felt that first night back at school. He let her hand go as she raised it to her mouth and his eyes followed it, briefly distracted by the movement, but he smiled encouragingly as she shared her worries. “I’m scared too,” he admitted. He figured it was best to be upfront with her. He had only nodded to her earlier enquiry about how he was doing, not wanting to risk talking and letting himself get off track with idle conversation. “We can take things at your pace, as slow or as fast as you want.”He hoped his words consoled her—he didn’t care about not starting a relationship right away. Now that he had told her how he felt it was as if a huge weight had been lifted from him and, now that he thought about it, one kind of had. There was nothing hiding out, creeping around, or lurking about any longer and the best part of it was that Charlotte returned his feelings. Just having that knowledge was enough for Emrys at that moment and he told her so. “I don’t want you to feel pressured to start anything,” he said. “I just want you to know that I like you and that whenever you’re ready, I’m going to be here for you, okay?”
Though he would be slightly disappointed if she said she wanted to wait to start anything until after they graduated, he also understood that nothing good could come from forcing her into anything—not that he wanted to force her into anything in the first place. “But it’s getting kind of late, I wouldn’t want to keep you out of the dorms past curfew. What kind of a prefect would I be?” His eyes twinkled, showing her that he was just having some fun. “Shall we?” He stood up from the bench and offered her his arm. “I know I don’t know exactly where the Crotalus common room is and it’s not as though Sonora is crawling with dangerous creatures but I still feel as though I ought to walk you as far as I can, no proper suitor would let a lady walk home at night by herself.”
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