Hey, so there's a ball coming up . . . [Zara] on Labyrinth Gardens

Felipe De Matteo

September 07, 2021 11:53 AM

Hey, so there's a ball coming up . . . [Zara] by Felipe De Matteo

The fact that this was a Ball year meant that it was almost four years since Felipe and Zara had first begun their relationship in an official capacity. It also meant that Felipe had a very important question to go about asking and he didn't plan to wait until too close to the dance. He'd taken the time to get everything as ready as could be given the circumstances and had some regrets about not doing this sooner; it had been on his mind all summer but he suspected it wasn't as much on Zara's and it was better to wait until the school year began and they were in the midst of helpful reminders of their relationship's milestone.

He'd asked his girlfriend to meet him by the fountain in the Garden and she would arrive to find him dressed in the nicest of his school clothes (other than his dress robes), with flowers and plants - both conjured and those that grew naturally in this area - all around, still in the height of their summer glory despite the orange tinge that was beginning to catch the tops of the trees. He'd debated seeing if there was a way to bring music into this, especially music from the Ball if he could swing it, but it seemed a bit gauche and that was what he was hoping to avoid. When Zara arrived, he greeted her with a warm, lopsided grin and a kiss.

"It's good to see you," he said softly. "It's been four years since our first Ball. Four years of getting to know you, and getting to kiss you, and getting to spend my time with you. It's been the best four years. And now there's another Ball. We've come full circle," he smiled, proud of that idiom. "So I think there's an important question to be asked here. I'm doing this all out of order and I hope you'll forgive me but . . . Zara Jackson," he began, sliding down onto one knee. "Will you marry me?"

22 Felipe De Matteo Hey, so there's a ball coming up . . . [Zara] 1434 1 5

Zara Jackson

October 03, 2021 1:25 AM

Where prefects and head students have to dance by Zara Jackson

Zara was not head girl. But she had one thing Jessica didn’t. The invitation from Felipe to meet him in the gardens hadn’t pushed the badge out of her mind completely, but it brought to forefront of her mind again how she still had the upper hand even without it.

She had Johana Leonie too. Kind of. She supposed. Her roommate’s compliments had been good, and in the moment, they had done a lot to lift her spirits, and make her feel all the things that she hadn’t felt when the badges had been announced - namely good and popular. The overall feeling hadn’t lasted though. However many people she found on her side, Jessica clearly had more. It had been a boost to know her roommate had chosen her, even though she was friends with Jessica too. Although, as they’d had two votes each, it didn’t mean she hadn’t voted for her too. Zara suspected Johana Leonie would have leant towards voting for her fellow German, but it was still a possibility that she had cancelled herself out. The same was true of Felipe. He liked them both. That was why she had to amplify all the ways in which he liked her better. Sure, maybe he’d ticked both their names on a ballot paper, but it didn’t mean Zara wasn’t his favourite. She always had been. She always would be? It was weird, she didn’t think about the future too much. She was much more a ‘live in the now’ kind of person. But she guessed it was creeping up. Was that what she wanted? Felipe forever? Sometimes, she could play that game, picturing the picture perfect fairytale wedding. Sometimes, she shook that thought away as soon it surfaced, deciding it didn’t matter right now.

She made her way out into the gardens, appreciating the sunshine on her skin, and the fact that she was on her way to meet the person who compared her to it all the time.

She found him, surrounded by flowers. So many of her good memories of Felipe were of him in the gardens. The flower to her sunshine. This was a place he seemed to belong, and when she saw him here, it was like he was growing right out of the ground, and like nothing could be wrong.

He greeted her with a relationship summary. Zara smiled, although her brain just had time to throw out the thought that that could totally be the opener to a break up speech, before he said they’d come full circle and he had a question to ask. That didn’t sound like a break up. That sounded like a date. And even though it was kind of guaranteed they’d go together, it was fun to be asked. She waited and—

“WHAT?!” she sputtered, as he dropped down and offered something that was very definitely not an invitation to the ball. She stared at him in pure shock for a moment, before reason caught up to her. “Yes,” she said quickly. Because that was what you said to that question. If you didn’t, someone would get hurt, and everything would go wrong. And she didn’t want her and Felipe to go wrong. She didn’t have anything else, but he was hers, and she was damn well keeping it that way.

OOC: If Felipe would have reacted faster to her 'WHAT?' and staring, thus not giving her a chance to get to the last bit, let me know and I can modify.

13 Zara Jackson Where prefects and head students have to dance 1444 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

October 03, 2021 8:46 PM

And where young men and women find happily ever afters . . .? by Felipe De Matteo

Felipe was pretty sure that a whole roost of butterflies that had been fluttering around in his stomach promptly shriveled and died. He wasn't sure that an indignant shout of surprise was the goal reaction when one proposed marriage to their longterm girlfriend, but here they were. That being said, he had long since learned that when he was unsure of something, especially with Zara, he should wait it out and let the situation make itself clearer before he went off doing anything about it. It was mostly a foolproof plan and today it worked out especially well.

Her 'yes' came and Felipe grinned as he took her hand, put the ring on it, and stood up to kiss her. The thought crossed his mind that he hadn't actually registered her expression at all, just the fact that she'd agreed, and now he couldn't read it because he couldn't see it, and then that he wasn't sure if she'd want to wear the ring around because she wasn't one to brag and showing off that she was engaged may be considered uncouth for her, but he pushed those aside in favor of thinking about how happy he was and how happy he'd always get to be.

"I'll change my last name if you want," he promised. "Whatever makes you happy. I love you," he smiled into her neck as he embraced her in a hug and spun her around.

22 Felipe De Matteo And where young men and women find happily ever afters . . .? 1434 0 5

Zara Jackson

October 04, 2021 5:22 AM

Some of them by Zara Jackson

He was talking about last names. He’d already thought about last names—had really thought about this whole thing. There was a ring. A ring that was now on her finger. She stared at it, twisted it, giggled.

“I love you too,” she said, as he twirled her. It felt like a whole new phrase. She looked at her hand again.

“It’s beautiful,” she said of the ring. She spread her fingers out, holding them up towards the precious sunlight, like she might snatch it out of the sky and give it to him, though it was really to see how the ring sparkled on her finger. And because if she didn’t keep staring at it, she thought it might disappear. Except, even when her eyes darted to him instead, she could still feel it. It was an unfamiliar bump on her hand, one she couldn’t stop noticing.

She perched on the edge of the fountain, pulling him down next to her. They were probably supposed to do a lot of making out right now, but she was feeling so giddy she was almost dizzy. If they hadn’t been on school grounds, they probably would be supposed to do a lot more than just making out… Was that why he’d asked? She was pretty sure that Felipe had to know he didn’t have to put a ring on her finger for that. Right? That linked back to the other question that was trying to figure out how to ask, without it sounding critical or awkward. And when he’d already pointed out the four year, significant milestone they were at. She also knew his culture and his family expectations were different to hers. Saying this wasn’t what people ‘normally did’ wasn’t fair. There was no such thing as normal.

“How long have you been planning this?” she asked, as a way to start gauging what had just happened, and to get the ball rolling on the ‘why did you just do that?’ that she hadn’t worked out a neutral way to ask yet.

13 Zara Jackson Some of them 1444 0 5

Felipe De Matteo

October 17, 2021 10:56 PM

Like us. :D by Felipe De Matteo

Felipe thought that he'd never heard any words he loved as much as 'I love you' from Zara's lips, and that he'd never heard 'I love you' from her lips the way he heard it now. The idea that it didn't only mean what it had always meant, but that it now meant that it would always be meant . . . it was hard to wrap his head around. At the same time, it was the easiest thing to wrap his head around. Of course he'd love Zara for the whole of his life. Of course. Her loving him made much less sense but he couldn't say that he hadn't hoped that was the case. Most days, he was even confident that she did indeed love him. If anything, he'd learned that she was trustworthy; she said she loved him, so she must. And now she'd said 'yes' to marrying him.

He took the seat she pulled him into, despite feeling such a rush of adrenaline and excitement that he thought his legs might bounce right off if he didn't get up and run around and shout and wave and jump. Some of those weren't things legs did, but his legs still felt the most jittery of all of him so it made sense in some part of his head. His thoughts weren't precise in the moment. Not only did that make it hard to sit still, but also to wrap his head around what she was asking exactly.

"How long have I been hoping to marry you?" he confirmed. "Are you considering yourself a beautiful thing? I misspoke because I was trying to compliment you and you turned it around. I realized that you were funny and brilliant, but also that you seemed to think I was something that could be beautiful too." He grinned and leaned in to kiss her temple.

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