A Special Gift (tag Cleo) on Labyrinth Gardens

Parker Fitzgerald

April 15, 2020 3:11 PM

A Special Gift (tag Cleo) by Parker Fitzgerald

The weight shifted from foot to foot. He was nervous, but couldn’t explain why exactly. He turned around and could see the prairie elf off to the side—discrete, which was nice, but still there. Parker suspected there might be one, but part of him had hoped he and Cleo had overcome that part. It was for the best though, he decided, whatever made Cleo comfortable was for the best. The lights twinkled along the path up to where he was standing with his hands behind his back.

Parker could feel his heart beating in his chest, unsure of how this would go. He was confident that he and Cleo would both be at the ball as both. Both of them were Prefects, who had to dance during the first dance at the ball. And he was reasonably sure, though not entirely certain, that Cleo would prefer to have that dance with him rather than someone else. They had gone to the last ball together, kind of, after all. What he didn’t know was if she’d want to spend any more time at the dance or if she’d want to go with him as more than just friends.

He’d seen and heard about a fair number of the ways people were asking or bumbling into dates for the ball. He knew he wanted to ask Cleo, in the hopes that maybe it would be as more than friends. He’d asked Beau for advice, and he gave… what Parker had expected. He’d even asked Gary, kind of, for advice, and received kind of advice as well.

So he eventually just went to his sister. Lyssa had just said, be confident and be himself. Oh and...
Oh, and if it is Cleo, remember consent. which Parker had given her a startled look until he realized she meant that he should ask consent to hug and dance with her.

Be the good person you are, not a douche nozzle was his sister’s basic advice.

Be me and be a good person. Parker had thought about this, and took his original graduation present idea and turned it into a little earlier present.

Parker had been planning this present for Cleo all term.

Shortly after he’d realized he hadn’t gotten Cleo a Christmas present and he’d received the happy cactus that always made him smile, he’d embarked on a plan to rectify his mistake. Parker wanted to give her something special to remind her that she was special, especially to him.

He’d started by asking Professor X’s permission to dig and plant in a specific part of the Labyrinth. He had made sure it was as close to where the two of them had first met in the potions class. Or was it Herbology? Either way, the Professor said yes.

So Parker had gotten to work. He’d mapped out one part of the area. Checking, and double-checking, his plans to make sure the designs would work. It was all growing well and he was pretty sure it was still a surprise. Once he’d changed his plans, it took a few days but the section still worked.

Parker looked up at the sky, and as long as the full moon kept shining it should work even better.

The other spot he’d also mapped out and tended. This part was less impressive at night. Parker had figured out, through trial and error, how to grow the sunflowers in pots that could also be taken out of the ground. Separated from the Moondew so the Sunflowers allelopathic tendencies wouldn't kill the Moondew. All said and done, Parker had spent a fair portion of his free time attending to the plants.

Plants with meaning. At this point to Parker, most plants had some meaning and judging from the old man’s journal he got, there might be more meaning floating out there than he realized. These plants though had personal meaning. Moondew was what drew them together in that first class and grew magical in the light of a full moon. Sunflowers, simply put were Lyssa’s favorite flower and something that always turned to face the sun and had other magic qualities, like cleaning contaminated soils.

He’d sent Cleo a note before dinner that read: “Please join me in watching the moon after dinner. I'll be where we first met in the Labyrinth.” He’d been too nervous to eat and had gone for a walk to calm himself down.

That led Parker to now. Standing with a potted sunflower as he waited for Cleo to show up. His hands were still a little dirty from digging up the pot and finishing up the words written in the Moondew flowers behind him. His jeans and collared shirt were clean, though Parker could feel the sweat coming as he took measured breaths. He stopped looking down the path and turned to look up at the sky, hoping that the enchantments would hold off any cloud coverage for just a bit longer.

Behind him, the Moondew shined silver in the light. He’d been able, in the past few days, to rearrange them and make sure the flowers rooted again correctly.

It now read: Cleo. Will you be my date to the ball?

Parker took a deep breath and waited.

41 Parker Fitzgerald A Special Gift (tag Cleo) 1402 1 5

Cleo James

April 17, 2020 3:06 AM

What do I do with it? by Cleo James

Moon-watching, huh? Cleo had half-read enough trashy romance books and seen enough teen comedies that that kind of subtext was not lost, even on her. With Isaac it had been sunset. What was it about staring at circles in the sky that made people want to kiss each other anyway? She wasn’t saying it hadn’t worked. Just that it was… weird, when you thought about it.

She was thinking about it now. A lot. Trying to focus on that question instead of how she felt about the possibility that Parker was going to try and get romantic with her. And by ‘romantic’ she assumed ‘tactile.’ Perhaps it would have been better to sort through some of her feelings about that and work out what she wanted to say, given that the evening was clearly going in that direction. Still, for all she’d got better at not burying her head in the sand in general, old habits died hard.

She stepped out onto the path, looking up at the moon, and finding that her first thoughts were not of romance, but wondering how Heinrich was doing. Presumably it was a rough night for him. The pictures of changing into a werewolf in their textbook looked pretty painful and she couldn’t imagine it was exactly an easy process having your body just… reform.

She made her way along the path, following it back to where she’d first found Parker, memories of fun and flowers slipping through her mind. It seemed like all that must have happened to someone else. Could she ever have been so lighthearted and untroubled?

She found him, standing with a sunflower in a pot, and for a second was reassured. Guys gave girls bouquets of fancy flowers, and here was Parker just holding a cheerful old sunflower - her favourite - and looking like they were just going to get gardening. Like everything was normal. And then as she got nearer, she saw something glittering behind him, and they looked almost like they were making letters- they were making letters. Her face clearly showed her surprise as she realised this, and this expression didn’t shift as she processed what they said. Half-processed, anyway. Because there was a difference between understanding what those words and said and understanding the situation.

“What’s… what is this?” she asked, although she did not sound hostile. Her voice mostly confused, perhaps a little wary.

13 Cleo James What do I do with it? 389 0 5

Parker Fitzgerald

April 17, 2020 7:38 AM

Whatever you'd like. It's a gift, not an expectation. by Parker Fitzgerald

Parker saw Cleo walk down the path and could feel most of his fear melt away a bit. There was something that made him relax a bit whenever she was around. Even if she wasn’t near him. He just breathed a little easier, even when they were not on the best terms.

As Cleo’s face changed upon walking up to Parker, Parker couldn’t help but begin to laugh a little. He turned around to look at the Moondew writing before turning back. The laughter slowly died away as we looked at Cleo and he cleared his throat.

“A bit much?” Parker asked scrunching up his face in a slightly pained expression. “Sorry, I thought it would be something special to make up for forgetting your Christmas gift this year.”

Parker took a deep breath, “Plus, if you are going to the ball, I would love to go as your date or arm candy. Whichever you prefer,” Parker said, smiling with the left side of his face. He was trying to add a bit of humor to help him with his nerves, which were still there, though markedly less so than mere minutes before.

Parker suddenly realized he was still holding the pot and held out the sunflower towards Cleo.

“Oh and this is for you. As are,” nodding his head behind him in the other direction towards the 19 other sunflowers, “those. They are all in pots so you can take them with you when you graduate and plant them wherever you like, or keep them in the pots in your room. The Sunflowers were going to be a graduation gift. But I figured, one, if you were going to the ball and wanted a flower you had no need to go searching. And two, the best way to reach out to you is through the garden. The Moondew is easier to put into pots and transplant as I've found out. It was also, if memory serves, the first plant we talked about, and just wanted to give you something to remember me by."

Parker held out the pot for Cleo to take. He became more calm as he had spoken and the nerves were mostly gone now. Suddenly, for seemingly no reason, he remembered meeting his dad’s friends from high school when he was younger. A woman who laughed with ease and ruffled Parker's hair incessantly and a taller man with a mustache who said little, but would sit outside listening to his dad and the woman talk for hours with a small smile on his face.

Parker realized that one day he and Cleo were probably going to have similar experiences. Or at least he hoped so. Maybe she’d come and meet his wife and kids with a smiling cactus. Parker pushed the thought out of his mind, trying to focus on the now.

41 Parker Fitzgerald Whatever you'd like. It's a gift, not an expectation. 1402 0 5

Cleo James

April 17, 2020 8:13 AM

Can I keep it forever? by Cleo James

Her date or her arm candy…? Cleo had virtually no idea what the second phrase meant, but it definitely sounded utterly ridiculous, and Parker was smiling so she was pretty sure he was being silly. She almost laughed with him. Her mouth certainly formed half a smile.

She would not have said that she wanted surprises. Or to not really know what was going on. But it wasn’t actually all bad.

And then he offered her the sunflower. All the sunflowers. The question of the ball was forgotten for a moment, as it was just… Parker talking plants, which was what they always did. She took the one he was holding out, and stepped forward to admire the rest. All for her. All in pots to take with her wherever she went. And it was safe and familiar and different and strange and it linked all of their old memories whilst he pointed out that she was stepping into the future.

“Remember you by?” she said sadly. “You’re not going any- I mean… I know I am but-” she turned to stare at him, feeling tears prickling in the edges of her eyes. She wanted them to be able to promise each other it wouldn’t really change anything when she graduated. But she wasn’t really sure that could possibly be true. Not without them sharing the same little patch of soil. And she sort of wanted to reach out, but that was hard to do. Not least because she had something in her arms already. So she clutched the pot of the sunflower, hugging it against herself.

“I don’t want to feel like we have to do goodbyes,” she said sadly.

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Parker Fitzgerald

April 17, 2020 10:05 AM

Sounds like a good plan to me. by Parker Fitzgerald

The hint of a smile poked through on Cleo’s face and Parker considered it a win. Be yourself rang through his head Lyssa’s voice. Talking plants and being a bit silly. That was himself and it turned out Lyssa was right. That’s what Cleo responded to. And she looked happy as she took the potted sunflower and hugged it.

Then he watched a bit in anguish as he saw Cleo’s eyes well up. Merlin’s beard he thought, I don’t want her to cry.

Though he felt exactly as she did, he couldn’t articulate it clearly either. Parker’s natural inclination for tears was to hug the person. To let them know he was there and he wasn’t planning on leaving. But Lyssa’s other words rang in his head remember consent .

So he simply moved his head so he could look her in the eye and see if the words came to him as he spoke.

“Hey Cleo,” Parker said softly. “This isn’t goodbye. We don’t have to do goodbyes. Ok? Adventure buddies don’t say goodbye. We just ask what the next adventure is. Maybe you’ll come to my house this summer. Your father can come too, especially if it makes you both feel better. I’ll send you owls and maybe I can get out to wherever you are off to. I have no idea what I am going to do after Sonora, so I could very well end up wherever you are and we could continue to have a Gardening Club. We have many years of adventures left. I just wanted you to have something to look at and that would make you smile whenever I can’t be right there. Just like you did with me and Pepe the Cactus.”

Parker could feel his nervous tick of power talking kicking in and took a small breath and looked down. He wanted Cleo to know that what he said, even though it was top of head, was true. As soon as he stopped though, he sniffled slightly, as the thought of Cleo not being there next year actually began to wash over him.

He turned his head back towards Cleo's trying to put on a brave face.

“Did you know that Sunflowers can grow up to 30 ft tall un-added by magic? I say next year, we have a competition. We see who can get the tallest sunflower without any magic fertilizer. That way, we still have garden time together. Sound like a deal?”

Parker still had no idea if they were going to the ball together, but at least Parker knew one thing. They'd both miss each other and that didn't always happen between two people.

41 Parker Fitzgerald Sounds like a good plan to me. 1402 Parker Fitzgerald 0 5

Cleo James

April 18, 2020 8:54 PM

But what about these ones... by Cleo James

Parker just wanted her to have something to make her smile. The sunflowers certainly did that. The fact he referred to the cactus by name made her do that. And the promise of meeting up to garden and to compete growing sunflowers next year… It all sounded perfect. It sounded, as he had said, like the continuation of this adventure. And she wanted to do all that, and kind of wanted to hug him and hold onto him.

And she wasn’t sure how well any of that meshed with the tentative plans she was forming. Could a world of sunflowers and soft earth and… well, Parker, fit in with what she was going to do? The tentative feelers she had put out into the world already had resulted in a backlash with several themes. One - she was a slut, she deserved it. Two - graphic descriptions of what other people wanted to do to her. Three, the one that was going to be a problem here - man-hating witch. What kind of guy was going to want to associate with someone attracting those kind of labels? Even if it wasn’t true. She didn’t want to put Parker into that category. He wasn’t…. He was Parker. Still, she was pretty sure that telling him she didn’t regard him as ‘a man’ was going to thrill him either. The question glistened in the grass behind him. And she had never thought she would want the answer to be ‘yes’ but she found that she really did.

But she didn’t want to say it, only to have the question taken back.

“I do want that. All of that,” she said, in a tone that strongly implied there was a ‘but’ - it sounded heavy rather than excited. “I have some plans,” she told him, “For after I finish school. And for the ball,” she admitted. “And… I’m not sure you’re going to like them.”

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