All work and no play [open!]

[Amos Patroclus Diggory]

As Amos strolled over to Honeydukes to wait on Nessa, he was surprised to find that he was slightly well.. nervous! It was strange for him to say the least. Usually before a 'date' of sorts Amos felt excited of course. He got the anticipatory butterflies in the stomach things for girls he really wanted to go out with, the prettiest ones who would make him look the most macho, typically. But even that was fleeting, and half-way through his first pint of the date Amos was usually feeling his normal confident self, ready to wow the lucky lady he was taking out that day. But Nessa wasn't the girls he usually played those games with, and Amos supposed that was why he felt nervous.

He scanned the shelves of liquorice wands, bertie botts every flavour beans, feeling his stomach squirm with anticipation. Amos had a ravenous appetite and a sweetooth to boot, but he didn't much fancy his usual stash of Chocolate Frogs. Instead, between his 30-second checks at his watch, Amos bought a packet of mints, trying to convince himself to calm down. He told himself that Nessa wasn't going to be waiting for the clock to tick down until their date, and the mints were there to remind himself that it wasn't important. It was just a silly little date, with a possibility for some snogging at the end of it. All the same though as he shifted restlessly outside The Three Broomsticks whilst waiting on Nessa, he still felt his stomach jerk with excitement.

He was glad to finally see her stroll out of Gladrags and he rubbed his hands together to warm them from the cold, grinning as he walked half-way to meet her. "So, now I'm not your customer anymore" Amos smiled teasingly, tapping at his watch to show her shift was over. Ever the gentleman though (or at least that's what he told himself) Amos pushed the heavy door of the tavern open for Nessa and pulled out her chair once they reached his favourite rounded table near the bar. "So I can buy you a butterbeer? Or are you a Firewhiskey kind of girl?" He grinned again, noticing that outside the dim light of Gladrag's Nessa looked exceedingly pretty in her red dress. To hide his slightly flushed face at the thought, Amos fanned himself slightly as though it was hot in the pub (they were near the fire) and took off his jacket. He hoped that his Quidditch-ripped torso in his favourite team's jersey would impress Nessa, but somehow he doubted that - not that he minded of course.

[nessalaurentius]

Word count: 460

Nessa wasn't nervous.. much. Okay, well, maybe a little, but that was just because she wasn't used to this sort of thing. In the shop, well, she'd been in her element - it was basically her natural habitat, after all, but she didn't go to the Three Broomsticks often, even less so with a boy waiting for her. Come to think of it.. she'd been there only once before this year, and that had been with Jacob. And that had been disaster..
She bit the inside of her cheek a little as she could already see him waiting for her. Nessa hoped he hadn't been standing there for too long, and walked over quickly, avoiding puddles and the like. It surprised her a little to see him meet her half way; she hadn't expected him to be that eager, to be honest. "So, now I'm not your customer anymore." Nessa laughed a little. "Indeed," she replied, still smiling as she walked along with him and relieved to find the pub not too brimming with students.

Once more, she had to change her initial opinion of Amos, as he held open the door and helped her into a chair. She'd expected him to be more macho than gentleman, but apparently she'd been wrong - yet again!
"So I can buy you a butterbeer? Or are you a Firewhiskey kind of girl?" Nessa would've gone for a cup of tea, but it was cold out and well.. a butterbeer couldn't hurt, could it? "Oh, rather not Firewhiskey," she said, keeping herself from pulling a face at the thought of Jacob, "a butterbeer's fine, thanks." She was glad they were near the fire, the warmth tingled pleasantly on her skin and though she wasn't that vain, she knew the red glow would make her hair look better than it was. She wasn't shallow, but that didn't mean she didn't care about her looks. Thinking of looks.. now that she wasn't in the shop trying to sell christmas socks, her dress could certainly change to a less christmassy colour. Tapping the fabric with her wand, she mumbled the spell to initiate the colour change, concentrating on the colour she wanted - a darker sort of sea green.
She couldn't help but admit Amos sure turned out to be charming - not to mention that he was good looking (no one could deny that), but Nessa made sure not to think anything of it. She knew full well she was not his sort of girl and besides.. this was just a 'thank you' for making him clothes, after all, wasn't it?

[Amos Patroclus Diggory]

It wasn't Amos' intention to make Nessa feel nervous of course. In fact he found pretty nervous himself, and that was odd for him. She he felt ever so slightly awkward when he noticed her nervous laugh at his customer jibe. Really he just wanted to make her laugh, generally that's what Amos was good at on dates - making the girls laugh and paying attention to them, and well, taking them back to the Hufflepuff boys' dorms really, if he was being entirely honest. It was just the whole dedicated and faithful boyfriend thing that generally followed the dates that Amos had trouble with. But usually Amos didn't care very much. Girls were just girls to him, like nice shiny things to hang on his arm and make him look good. He never usually felt like this on a date anyway - nervous and excited and jittery. Nessa had made him feel - different. Although Amos wasn't sure whether that was good or bad. Perhaps it was good that he wasn't acting his usual pompous self, but he didn't feel entirely comfortable acting like a nervous idiot either.

Amos busied himself with ordering two pints of butterbeer for himself and Nessa trying not to think about his confused nervousness. He tried to swagger in his usual way, and even managed his best charming smile to the new part time barmaid, the young Rosmerta.But he couldn't resist a stupid grinning wave to Nessa as he paid for their drinks, and making a promise to try to impress her with his glittering personality and wit as they drank them. He'd have her weak at the knees before she was half-through her pint, Amos almost convinced himself. He set their drinks down and sat down opposite Nessa, still smiling. "Your drink milady!" He announced teasingly, before nodding at her dress. It was emerald green now, and it suited her. It made her look beautiful actually, especially beside her red hair. "You've changed your dress? Another one of your talents I suppose" He was teasing her of course, and he tried to tell himself he was only complimenting her because he knew girls liked itwhen you noticed stuff about them. All the same though he couldn't help but feel slightly sheepish as he added "It suits you.. your hair and that" He quickly gulped in what he hoped was a macho way at his butterbeer to distract from his slight blush.

[nessalaurentius]

It hadn't been Nessa's intention to be nervous, either, but she still was, she couldn't help it. She guessed it was because she wasn't used to situations like this and, therefore, concluded she'd probably ease into it within a few minutes. She'd be fine. Why should she sorry, anyway? Was Amos Diggory not notorious for the fact that he never had any solid relationships? This was just a bit of fun, an enjoyable afternoon, and that was all she would have to do: enjoy it. Nessa nodded to herself a little. She was going to enjoy this.
She patiently waited for him to return with their drinks (and told herself she'd be paying the next round - she wasn't some damsel in distress) and smiled as he returned. "Your drink milady!" She chuckled softly, taking the bottle and holding it up to him in a silent toast. "Why thank you, good sir."

She smiled when he noticed her dress (then again, weren't all girls to him just bodies in pretty clothes?).
"You've changed your dress? Another one of your talents I suppose." Nessa easily caught the slight jesting tone in his voice and grinned, sipping her butterbeer and relishing the taste before answering. "Charmed the fabric. Can't do patterns yet, though," she admitted, sipping her butterbeer again and crossing her legs. Nessa could basically feel herself relax now and she smiled a little to herself, glancing outside at the people freezing her bits off. She sure was glad to be inside, enjoying herself and having a drink.
"It suits you.. your hair and that." She blushed a little, but not immensely. "Thanks. Then again, you told me you have no fashion sense half an hour ago," she teased, grinning at Amos a little. She shrugged a little. "Then again.. they do say you have good taste in girls, so I should feel complimented." She nodded to herself, again, with a grin still lingering in the corners of her mouth.

[Amos Patroclus Diggory]

"Why thank you good sir" It was only a small little gesture of Nessa's, the joke, but it immediately made Amos feel more relaxed for some reason. He didn't know why (after all he should have known better by now) but he had half-expected her to giggle and act coy. The return of his play-acting had set him at east, coupled with the warm drink settling in the pit of his stomach, and he chuckled liberally, trying to ignore the unfortunate guffaw he made at the end of his laughter. He didn't feel as nervous now, and Amos, like Nessa, had made an oath to himself to enjoy himself instead of worrying. To have fun not to treat it seriously, or worry like some anxious housewife. Treat it as a drink with a mate Amos told himself, not a date. After all, a girl like Nessa wouldn't be interested in the likes of him, right? Much as he tried to convince himself it was a drink with a new mate and he didn't care if Nessa liked the 'likes of him' Amos couldn't quite manage it. Well, the girl was impressive, he had to admit.

He was impressed by her ability with charms, and Amos nodded, making a little 'Hmph!' of surprised admiration. But all the same he didn't bestow her with anymore compliments. He didn't want to go overboard after all and scare Nessa off - she might think he was a creep, or that he was just being sleazy (which usually he was, with compliments, but not this time). He wanted to explain this to Nessa - that he wasn't fishing to impress her, but that he actually was impressed by her magic. But it sounded too weird to voice admiration for a girl he hardly knew. Plus, she was quick, too quick for him maybe. She had subverted his comment about her hair and Amos felt his cheeks redden slightly. He shrugged and stammered "No I mean, I don't know much about fashion but I mean--" Thankfully, she cut him off again. Girls were a better topic for him than fashion, and Amos grinned, trying to look at least a little coy for Nessa.

"And who's 'They'? What else do 'They' say about me, apart from my wonderful taste in ladies such as yourself" Okay, so maybe that compliment was slightly sleazy, but Amos allowed himself just one sleazy comment tonight.

[nessalaurentius]

Word count: 382

Nessa was, indeed, not the giggling type. Still, it would be a lie to say that Amos had no effect on her - he was a charming boy, after all, and Nessa wasn't made out of stone. The only difference between her and Amos' fan club was that she refused to lose her head, or at least tried not to.
She sipped her butterbeer again, noticing she drank rather fast. She blaming her nerves for it and Nessa put her bottle on the table. She smiled a little at his noise of appreciation, but was glad he didn't shower her in compliments anymore. They both had their talents, after all, Nessa in anything that had to do with clothing and Amos had his Quidditch.

Vanessa couldn't help but chuckle a little as Amos stammered various things and she noticed the subject of girls interested him a whole lot more; she could tell by his grin. (I almost typed 'groin'! xD) No surprises there.
"And who's 'They'? What else do 'They' say about me, apart from my wonderful taste in ladies such as yourself?" She grinned a little, picking up her neglected bottle of butterbeer and sipping it again. "Firstly, 'they' are the girls you date and the boys that envy you." She waited for a moment, for his reaction. As much as Amos liked to be in the centre of attention, she wondered if he actually knew that people talked about him. "Secondly, you're probably familiar with the other things they say - you're handsome, good at Quidditch, charming, you know." She made a gesticulation indicating there was loads more where that came from, but honestly - she wasn't so much in the mood to repeat how good Amos was in bed according to some of her dorm mates.. "Though, lastly," she concluded, "did you just call me a lady?" Nessa asked, with a bit of a wink.
She didn't know where that came from. Maybe she was feeling adventurous, maybe she was curious, or maybe she felt she had nothing to lose. Either way, she somehow couldn't resist testing the water, as she had opted that she was not his type numerous times, but he had never outright rejected her.

[Amos Patroclus Diggory]

Amos sipped at his butterbeer, chuckling at how quickly Nessa made her way through her own bottle and raising his eyebrows teasingly. "Merlin Nessa, you're made of stronger stuff than I thought" He smirked. Amos, who was somewhat of an experienced drinker among the seventh years, now knew the benefit of pacing himselves. He still enjoyed an all-out booze-fest, of course, he was seventeen after all, but Amos was also aware of the danger of an alcohol-loosened tongue. He dreaded admitting any of his secrets whilst drunk, especially not to Nessa, who he was still trying to impress. However, despite trying his very best to be gentlemanly and polite to Nessa, a wicked little voice in the back of his head reminded him that sloshed girls weren't the least fun thing for him to experience. He quickly shook the thought from his head - wasn'the supposed to be trying to make Nessa thing he wasn't a sex-pest, to show that he was really 'Mr. Nice Guy'. Which wasn't really a lie, Amos was pretty nice, he just had the confused, high-driven libido of any teenage boy. [xD]

All the same, he couldn't help but enjoy his ego being stroked as Amos listened to all the things 'They' said about him, as recalled by Nessa. Amos knew that as a reasonably 'nice guy' he was relatively popular, but it was still nice to hear it from someone else. He was ever so slightly insecure underneath all his bravado and grinning-but-dim image, and like most teenagers, Amos wanted to be liked. And hearing the nice things that other people said about him didn't half soothe Amos' nerves at being on the date with Nessa. He hadn't regained all of the swagger he usually had with his group of friends and on the Quidditch pitch, but given how unimpressed Nessa seemed with that image, perhaps it wasn't a bad thing. Amos sipped again at his butterbeer and swung out of habit on the two back legs of his chair, hazarding a smirk at Nessa. "I did indeed." He nodded to her 'lady' comment, this time blushing only slightly and feeling more at ease. "I've always thought you were rather er - ladylike" Quickly, he moved on from the compliment, in case she thought it sounded too cheesy (it was what he thought though!).

"So what about you Ness'?" He inquired, smiling teasingly. "Do you agree with what 'They' think of me?"

[nessalaurentius]

Word count: 567

"Merlin Nessa, you're made of stronger stuff than I thought." She blushed a little as she realised he'd noticed how quick she'd been drinking. "Ah, not really - I tend to be a bit of a lightweight - I always misjudge the whole thing," she confessed, gesticulating a little and grinning apologetically. She still blamed her nerves (which had died down a fair bit by now - partly due to the alcohol), but was not about to tell him that, of course! He was being nice to her, after all, but they weren't that close. Plus, she wasn't in the mood to scare him off by appearing like some sort of socially retarded hermit with a drinking problem.
She laughed softly when he confessed to calling her a lady. "Really now? We only just established that I drink in a very unladylike fashion, but yet I am a lady?" It wasn't that Nessa really believed that she wasn't a lady, of course she knew she was a girl - female and all that. But a lady, that meant you were an elegant sort of person, and she did not consider herself elegant in any sort of way, really. The clothes she made, maybe, but those were 'only clothes', not herself, not her personality.
"I've always thought you were rather er - ladylike." She blushed slightly. "Thank you," she said softly, fumbling with her sleeve a little and pretending not to know that she was blushing.

"So what about you Ness'? Do you agree with what 'They' think of me?" She smiled at the abbreviation of her name a little (it somehow made her think of Loch Ness, which she'd visited with her parents and little sister last summer) and shrugged slightly at his question - not with indifference, but because she was thinking about what to answer.
"Well.." she started, pensive and pretending to look him up and down as though she were a boy 'checking out' a girl, tapping her chin with her index finger. "Can't deny you're not good-looking, you know," she said as though it was no big deal, as though it didn't affect her (though, of course, it did - Nessa wasn't made out of stone). "Must admit you're nice, too," she added, "and.. more modest than I'd imagined, I mean.. you admitted you have no fashion sense, after all," she half teased and exhaled slowly, taking another sip from her almost empty bottle. "I, eh, wouldn't be able to judge your skills in bed, however - but my room mates are rather lyrical about them," was the last thing she said, faintly amused thinking about what her friends had told her about the sex god they claimed Amos to be. Nessa wouldn't know, she was still very much a virgin (although that didn't mean she was naive or uncomfortable talking about it). She usually wondered whether those stories were true or exaggerated simply because, well.. everyone wants brilliant sex, right? So why not pretend it was awesome, even if it was just a one time thing. To be honest, that was the main thing that bothered her about Amos: he always almost seemed to do these one-night-stands sort of things, and that was not something Nessa was in for.

[Amos Patroclus Diggory]

Amos was beginning to enjoy himself properly now. The slightly dulling warm feeling of drinking Butterbeer had helped him relax, but apparently it had helped Nessa feel less jittery too. And seeing her actually smile and enjoy herself made his nerves dissipate entirely, he felt his stomach occasionally flutter instead with butterflies that were completely pleasant. He know longer worried that every time he opened his mouth he'd throw up over her at least. Instead he felt his stomach flip pleasantly whenever Nessa leaned forward to sip at her butterbeer, or whenever she chuckled or smiled. He had never noticed that they had similar laughs before, or that she had a nice smile - but, Amos supposed, he'd been too stupid to take any interest to the enigmatic redhead opposite him before. He'd been too interested in securing his 'macho' reputation by picking out girls who would sleep with him at the drop of the hat, and that, he found, was beginning to get boring.

Despite feeling more relaxed than before though, Amos couldn't resist keeping the awkward compliments coming. He liked seeing Nessa's slight blush, the girl was too humble in his opinion. Maybe if she stayed around long enough some of his own pompous disposition would rub off on her (or, vice versa she would make him less of an arrogant git). But then again, that would require a second date. Right now, Amos was focusing (with quidditch-captain-honed precision) on making this one a success first. He resisted telling Nessa she had a nice smile, he'd have to find another way of making her blush. Later. He remained grinning as Nessa grudgingly, casually revealed what she thought of him. He found that he surprisingly wanted to hear this information much more than what 'they' thought of him. At first he grinned like an idiot and straightened his clothes, liking the usual ego boosting he got from being told he was good looking, but after Nessa moved on to his personality he decided the arrogant ego-boosting act wouldn't fly much longer.

"Thanks" He smiled, mildly surprised by the modest admission. It actually made him feel more modest to hear it. He shrugged, taking another swig of butterbeer (his stomach had jolted again) "But try not to spread that lack of fashion sense around.. they'd think I was a right idiot" He sincerely hoped that Nessa wouldn't confirm that he actually was. Amos was doubly surprised to find that when Nessa mentioned his abilityin the bedroom he actually felt slightly awkward. It felt different to hear her talking about it, than the usual kiss-and-tell in the locker room. "Oh, I'm sure that's exaggerated, you know how people tell stories" He smiled and shrugged in the most casual way possible and looked around quickly for a change of topic. "So er - are you looking forward to this Ball then?"

[nessalaurentius]

Nessa was also very much enjoying herself, feeling more at ease as Amos was. Maybe the fact Amos was less nervous also helped a little, she didn't know. What Nessa did notice, was that there seemed to be some sort of replacing feeling, a pleasant feeling, like nervousness only enjoyable and as she downed the last of her butterbeer, Nessa felt herself wondering if she had, perhaps, in that short time, developed a crush on Amos Diggory. Whatever it was, she was quick to decide that if she had, it didn't feel half bad, to be honest..

As she told him what she thought of him, she couldn't help but wonder what he thought of her, but, being less forward than Amos, didn't ask. At least not now. It would sound like she was trying to get him to compliment her more, and that was not what Nessa was aiming for. No, for now she'd just happily enjoy whatever she was feeling and maybe get them another drink (he'd paid first round and, as they didn't live in 1865 or something, she decided she could pay second).
"But try not to spread that lack of fashion sense around.. they'd think I was a right idiot." Nessa chuckled heartily. "My lips are sealed, don't you worry. I'll consider it a professional secret," she assured him, grinning slightly. He seemed to be less worried about what 'they' told about him in the bedroom, although he did make a point of letting her know it was probably exaggeration. Nessa shrugged along with him a little, glad they would not be elaborating on the subject, to be honest.

"So er - are you looking forward to this Ball then?" Ball? Oh, the Valentine thing.. Nessa smiled and nodded slightly, shrugging at the same time. "It's.. not that I don't like parties.. I mean, I especially like fancy dress things, because that gives me the opportunity to sew something new or rework something old," she said, "it's just that I.. tend not to make a big deal out of out, you know - like some girls tend to do." Squealing teenagers, fretting in front of mirrors for ages.. no thank you!

[Amos Patroclus Diggory]

A small smile played around Amos' lips as Nessa promised to keep his 'unfashionable' secret. He nodded with an elaborate hand gesture teasingly, choosing to work with his previous joke (sometimes he found new ones hard to come up with, especially with his excitement or nervousness at the minute). "My humble thanks Milady" He hoped to make her laugh again, her chuckle was addictive, and perhaps because she didn't giggle endlessly at everything he said or did, when he did hear a laugh from the redhead Amos felt as though it was a pat on the back, a sort of 'well-done' like the one he gave to his team after a good practice. "I should have known as much, after all you're very professional, you made me wait 'til you shut the shop for this da - er, drink" Crap, he'd almost gotten ahead of himself and said date. She hadn't said it was even a date yet. Telling himself not to be too presumptious and smirked teasingly. "Although perhaps you were just playing hard to get, Ms. Laurentius?"

Despite the fact that he knew their conversation was lighthearted and joking at the minute, Amos did really appreciate trustworthy people. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was gossip. That was partly why he'd brushed off what 'They' said about his ability in bed. That was the better side of gossip really, the stuff Skeeter put out that was mostly positive, and the stories shared in girls bathrooms about what an expert (sexpert?) he was in the bedroom. But the darker side of gossip he disliked. The very idea that someone might get a hold of his real secret, and ruin his meticulously cultivated reputation, chilled Amos to his very bones. More butterbeer would help that though. Draining his bottle, Amos caught the eye of the young barmaid and smiled gesturing for her to bring another round to their table. He began fishing in his pocket for change, oblivious to the fact that Nessa had more modern ideals about dating that the girls he usually took out (who generally took him for all they could get).

While he tried to count out knuts and sickles in one sweaty palm, Amos listened to Nessa talking about the ball. He tried not to look crestfallen. He had wrangled his way out of enough unwanted dates to know (or think) that this was an excuse. Blushing slightly, Amos shrugged and grinned sheepishly. "Oh yeah Nessa er, it's fine I totally get it" He fiddled with his empty bottle and tried to sound casual. "I haven't even decided if I'm going"

[nessalaurentius]

Word count: 575

Truthfully, Nessa saw no reason why she'd spill the beans about Amos' fashion problem. She did not see the fun in such things and besides.. she liked him, why would she want to humiliate him or do something he wouldn't like? Apparently, he didn't like people knowing that about him (and she could imagine); and wouldn't he do the same for her? She grinned at the milady-comment again, gesticulating back in a fashion that meant 'it was my pleasure'.
"I should have known as much, after all you're very professional, you made me wait 'til you shut the shop for this da - er, drink." She chuckled, but her eyebrows raised for a moment - she realised that he'd wanted to say 'date' initially (she wasn't that naive) and pondered for a moment, though didn't speak just yet. Part of her wanted to tease him and say 'did you just say 'date'? I know you did!' just so he'd go that lovely shade of red again and so they could both laugh it off, but part of her was just afraid he was so used to calling things like this 'dates', that it had been a mistake, and that he had corrected himself because he did not see this as a date at all, even though she'd like to see it as such. "Although perhaps you were just playing hard to get, Ms. Laurentius?" She laughed softly, but more pensively, as she was still stuck in her previous thoughts. "Hard to get?" she echoed. "Why would I? Wouldn't want to chase anyone away with the limited options I have to begin with." She meant it, it wasn't like boys were swarming around her and she'd never liked those 'mind-games' other girls played, pretending not to like a boy to get him to like her - she didn't see how that could ever work. Straightforwardness was more her kind of thing. Of course she'd test the water first, by dropping hints or something, but never something as (in her eyes) deceitful as 'hard to get'. She'd seen it go wrong too many times.

She looked up from her thoughts as Amos gestured for another round of butterbeer and dug into his pocket for coins. Almost at once, Nessa reached out, putting her hand on his arm lightly to stop him from doing so. "I'll pay this round, I'm a big, independent girl, you know," she assured him with a wink before sitting back once more and getting out her own wallet.
Something had happened on which she couldn't put her finger, somehow. Nessa knew she'd been set back into reality a little ever since Amos' slip of the tongue, but now Amos also seemed a little less enthusiastic about the ball, while he'd asked her quite happily about it not a minute ago. "Oh, it's not like I won't be going," she said, "it's just.. it's nice to go, but it's not like.. it would be the end of the world if I couldn't or, eh, had no date or something," she said. It didn't even arise in her mind that he might think she was turning him down, as she hadn't understood that he was subtly asking her in the first place, really.

[Amos Patroclus Diggory]

Amos smirked slightly at Nessa's chuckle and raised eyebrows. Again she'd shown him that she was quicker than he'd expected. She's noticed his 'date' slip up anyway. He almost felt embarrassed again but instead Amos just smirked and shrugged as though to say 'Well, isn't it?'. He felt more at ease with Nessa now, he was beginning to relax and have fun. And on top of that, he knew that her chuckle wasn't nasty. Nessa was honest. She was right about not playing hard to get - and she didn't strike Amos as the type of bitchy teenage girls that enjoyed playing mindgames. Mind-games tired him out, and he preferred Nessa's straightforward attitude. It was much easier to like her without trying to work out whether or not she was actually enjoying his company. Amos liked how different Nessa was to other girls, in truth most girls just confused him and irritated him with their giggling and their tricks. She seemed to confirm it when she paid for the next round.

It was such a small gesture but it made Amos chuckle and he put the coins back into his pocket, glad that Nessa had seen through his transparent attempts at chivalry. It had cheered him up, since his previous embarrassment over the 'date' slip up and the fact that she wasn't overly enthusiastic about going to the Ball with him. Amos sipped at his butterbeer, and smiled at Nessa. "Well thank you Ms. Big Independent Girl" He smirked playfully. He wasn't quite sure how to follow on making conversation after Nessa had (at least he thought) rejected his subtle offer to go to the Ball. He stayed quiet for once, and was glad for it when Nessa explained what she'd meant. She wasn't turning him down, she was just being casual about going. That was a nice change too, not acting like being single was some sort of plague. Amos grinned, took another gulp of butterbeer and shrugged. Well, now or never. What was the worst that could happen? Nessa was too nice to laugh in his face, right?

"So er ..." He mumbled something incoherent and then grinned sheepishly "Um.. would you like to go to the Ball with me? Oversee my outfit at least?"

[nessalaurentius]

Word count: 511

Nessa was surprised at the amount of relief she felt when Amos send her a grin that obviously meant 'well, it is a date, right?'. Blushing slightly, she send back a smiling sort of grin with which she meant 'good, I was sort of hoping is was'. She chuckled slightly at their little 'eyebrow conversation' and sat back with a smile, half waiting for their butterbeer to arrive.
Her straightforwardness had always chased boys away before, as boys her age apparently didn't expect it. Nessa wasn't sure what it was that scared them. Was it the fact she was a girl not afraid to speak up for herself? Did they feel threatened by that sort of thing? If they did, they really needed a reality check, as women weren't up to 'the Victorian standard' anymore, really. They had lost that sort of women in the first half of the twentieth century and though some still seemed to resemble the 'Angel of the House', Nessa was no such thing. To be honest, she was glad to have found a boy who was not offended by her paying for the second round of drinks.

"Well thank you Ms. Big Independent Girl." Nessa laughed softly. "Very welcome, sir." She was, indeed, very welcome. His company was thoroughly pleasant, far more pleasant than she had expected it to be, and Nessa was glad she could see this different side there was to him. She sipped her butterbeer, though didn't drink as fast as in the beginning. Her nerves had died down almost completely, well, at least until Amos started stuttering again - that made them flare up just a little (why would Amos stutter, after all?).
"So er ... Um.. would you like to go to the Ball with me? Oversee my outfit at least?" Nessa's expression had been a little confused at the unintelligible stammering he'd uttered at first, but when the question hung in the air, her frown smoothed out into a smile and she managed to suppress her blush at least a little, only tinging her cheeks the slightest bit. "Oh, yes," she said, still smiling. "I'd love to." For a moment, she wanted to add a joking comment about if he was taking her or just her fashion advice, but decided not to - it might've sounded harsher than she meant it. "So, eh.. you had any sort of colour scheme in mind or did you have something lying around you'd planned on wearing?" Nessa could probably fix something for herself relatively easily (as she knew her own size to the very millimeter), but for men, just like for women, formal dress needed to fit perfectly, and though she'd just taken his measurements, it might need more adjustment, still. If he wanted to go with her and asked her to help him wear something nice, she didn't want to let him down. Not just because she had a reputation to uphold, more so because she liked him.

[Amos Patroclus Diggory]

Amos had been hiding behind his beer bottle after he had stammered out an invitation to the Valentines Ball. He was embarrassed, both that he had blurted it out so stupidly and out of the blue, and now that he was blushing waiting on the answer. This was stupid. What did he care whether or not she said yes? He didn't, Amos convinced himself. He had just been praising Nessa for being straightforward (albeit to himself) and now Amos was wishing he felt more straightforward himself. He took a large gulp of butterbeer and told himself that if Nessa did say no, it didn't matter, he'd just go with his friends and try to spike the punch for a bit of fun... He would be quite dissapointed though.

But as it turned out, he wouldn't have to worry about sneaking alcohol into the Ball to have a good time, as Nessa had quickly accepted his invitation. Amos grinned widely, setting the beer down on the table quickly so that the dregs in the bottom began to froth over. "You would? Oh, well that's great!" He smiled. Maybe he looked a little too eager, Amos wasn't sure. But after all he may as well be honest. Nessa was being honest and straightforward after all, and he had found it nice and easy and relaxing, so it was only right to return the favour. He chuckled and shrugged at the outfit question. Amos had only really chucked that in to make his invitation seem more casual. "Well I hadn't thought about it, I don't mind really. I'll leave it in your hands." He grinned again with a sudden idea. "Hey! Maybe that's what my new robes from today could be for!"

His thoughts turned to the Ball, and now Amos felt a brief stir of excitement in his gut. Soon he'd have a proper date with Nessa then. He drank the last of his second beer and smiled at the thought. He was looking forward to it.

(( I should probably actually post in the Masquerade Ball thread! xD))