InsaneJournal

Who: Hannah Robinson & Luke Brown
What: Winter ball cuteness then, um...
When: Friday, 16th December, evening
Where: Entrance Hall then Great Hall
Rating: PG-13 for eventual swearing/heartbreaking angst?
Status: Logged, complete!


If there was something that Luke would always be grateful for, it was that his mum had never forced him to buy a ridiculous set of frilly dress robes. True, he wasn’t that self-conscious a guy, but some of the other boys around him in the Entrance Hall right now looked pretty idiotic in his opinion, and so he felt comparatively comfortable in his clean-cut black suit. He was joking around with some of his friends on this very topic whilst waiting for Hannah to arrive.

Luke wasn’t sure exactly why he’d chosen to ask Hannah to the ball with him, truth be told. Dom had suggested a while ago that he might fancy her or something, but Luke found the idea difficult to process, especially given how consumed he still felt with all things Chelsea. It was true, however, that he was very close friends with Hannah, and he supposed he’d known that he’d have a good time with her tonight without having to worry too much about doing something stupid. And after everything that had happened so far this year, Luke was even more up for a good time than usual.

While a ball might seem silly to others, Hannah found herself eagerly looking forward to the event. Sure, it was just a dance in some ways, but it was also so much more. After everything that had happened already this year, she knew the school needed something to celebrate. There was no better way to celebrate than to throw a huge party essentially, and adding in the formal aspect just made it seem that much better. Any excuse to dress up was a good one in Hannah’s book, and she always embraced an opportunity to wear a gorgeous fancy dress. She had looked through some magazines and managed to make her way back to Hogsmede in order to shop before the dance, and was rather glad that it was mainly guys who had to deal with the whole dress robe issue. Finding a dress hadn’t exactly been easy, however, but after much agonizing searching, Hannah had finally walked away victorious.

The dress she’d chosen was elegant, yet with the subtle sass that she possessed just under the surface. Hannah couldn’t help but take a chance to wear her favorite color for a night, and the soft light pink paired with the more vibrant shade made for an excellent combination that offset her electric blue eyes quite nicely. After a rather long time getting herself just right, which included curling her golden hair into ringlets that she pulled back half up to leave the rest down, Hannah pinned everything with a glittering clip to complete the look. Her accessories and style reflected her muggle heritage, which was rather...comfortable, and she smiled in the mirror before heading out to meet Luke. Hannah’s feelings on the date were a mix, though she leaned mostly towards excited rather than confused and nervous. There was no reason to be nervous. Luke was a good friend and this was going to be a well-deserved night of fun.

Making her way to the entrance hall, Hannah glanced around through the sea of ridiculously dressed guys, hiding a smile while she searched for her date. Spotting Luke, she hurried over, coming to a stop beside him rather quickly. “Well look who cleans up nicely,” she mused, eying him happily.

Luke opened his mouth and closed it again, feeling at a loss for words (something that really didn’t happen very often). He hadn’t seen Hannah approaching, and so was quite stunned to find his friend beside him looking, well, gorgeous. Chuckling at her comment, he smoothed down his jacket whilst taking in her outfit with an appreciative eye, “You look, er..”, Luke swallowed, smiling sheepishly, “That colour..I mean, that dress is really...you look...You look perfect, Han’.” His hand went to the inside pocket of his jacket, and the Hufflepuff pulled out a single pale pink rose, holding it out to Hannah. “I forgot to ask what colour your dress was, but apparently I got lucky - I mean, I’m pretty sure this is your favourite colour, so...”

And then, because he was starting to feel a bit weird and this was all seeming a bit too serious for a fun night with a friend, he joked, “What d’you mean, I ’clean up nicely’, anyway? I feel like I should be offended!”

Bowing slightly, Luke offered the girl his arm, asking with a boyish grin, “Shall we, then, Ms. Robinson?”

As Luke struggled for something to say, she wondered if she’d chosen a bad looking dress. Maybe it was too much. Maybe the color was too bold. Maybe the cut was to risque. Hannah bit her lip a little, looking down at herself as he finally found the words to articulate his feelings. While it started off rocky, by the end she was convinced Luke didn’t think she looked like some kind of slag. Relief spread through her as she smiled at him, letting him work through the rest of what he wanted to say before she spoke. “Why thank you. I had to make sure I lived up to my handsome date,” she returned with a wink, trying to lighten things a bit since she was feeling a little weird at his obvious appreciation.

“Pink is my favorite color! How did you remember?!” It was really easy to please Hannah, and a simple remembrance of her favorite color was one of the many ways. “Thanks, love. It’s gorgeous,” she added, taking the rose and bringing it to her nose as Luke seemed to realize what she’d said when she first caught sight of him. Smirking a bit, Hannah batted her eyelashes innocently, trying to pretend she hadn’t been teasing when she spoke. “Offended? I don’t know what you mean! I certainly did not mean anything by it except that you look rather dashing. Merlin, Luke.” Sighing playfully, she couldn’t help but chuckle before breaking the act and tossing him another wink.

Linking her arm through his, Hannah nodded eagerly. “Yes we shall, Mr Brown. Lead the way!”

Luke grinned at the handsome date comment, because the teasing flirty remarks were things he could handle since it was just the way he and Hannah worked - the serious compliments which veered close to proper flirtation were what had worried him. He shrugged off her question about the rose with a smug smile, feeling rather pleased with himself although, really, remembering little things like that about people he cared about was just the sort of thing Luke did because he liked his friends to know he appreciated them.

He beamed as her arm met his, and led them into the spectacular Great Hall. Of course, he’d seen the Great Hall decorated for festive occasions before, but all the same there was no denying that it looked incredible, and he looked around appreciatively before he found his gaze, again, landing on the similarly incredible-looking Hannah. Luke had a bad feeling that if he said something it might come out wrong, and so he withdrew his arm from hers, quickly crossing her arms and clearing his throat before asking, “Shall we get a drink, then?”

And then, because he didn’t want her to think he wasn’t enjoying her company, he hastily added with a raise of his eyebrows and a twinkle in his eyes, “Might be a good idea to keep hydrated, yeah? I’ve got big plans for us and that dance floor.”

Hannah was completely oblivious to any worries or awkwardness regarding their flirting. She was a naturally flirtatious person, though it never came across the wrong way; especially not with friends. It was impossible not to joke around and be playful around Luke, though she found herself really meaning the words she’d spoken before. He looked incredibly handsome, which wasn’t as surprising as how much she liked that look on her friend. Deciding to let that fall from the side, Hannah followed him into the Great Hall with a smile on her face. She found it hard not to smile when such an amazing night was upon them.

Her eyes trailed around the ceiling and walls, the bright blue dancing with awe as she took in the incredible decor. She was so wrapped up in ooohing over the decorations that she nearly missed when Luke pulled his arm away, which had her looking at him curiously for a moment. Had she done something wrong? His mention of drinks distracted her from mulling over what might’ve happened, and she smiled as she forced herself to nod. Hannah found she was rather thirsty, and she was half wondering if anybody had managed to spike the punch yet.

“Oh do you? And what might those plans entail, Mr Brown?”

“Well”, he told her with a jokingly serious expression, “If it’s quite all right with you, Ms. Robinson, I was hoping to dance the night away with you with such enthusiasm that it gives everyone something worth aspiring to.”

Getting drinks for the two of them, Luke downed his almost instantaneously and, after Hannah was finished, he nodded in the direction of the dance floor, holding out his hand expectantly.

What followed was, as Luke had promised, hours of laughter and mirth as a result of their ridiculously over-the-top dancing during the fast numbers, where he would spin Hannah around and generally make sure that they were quite the pair to be reckoned with out on the dance floor. At one point Luke had gleefully pointed out that he was a better matchmaker than Hannah, alerting her attention to some magical mistletoe he had snuck in earlier and put up at the other end of the hall. There was already a nervous looking couple stuck beneath it. Every now and again they would take a break for food and drinks, and occasionally they spoke to other people, but Luke was quite insistent that Hannah should dance with him, and him alone.

All the dancing and laughter was exactly what Hannah had expected of the night’s festivities. She had figured that Luke would provide a good time, but she hadn’t anticipated it being quite as good as it was. Other girls might find it a bit presumptuous that their friendly date was keeping other boys at bay, but for some strange reason it didn’t bother her at all. In fact, Hannah found herself just gravitating towards her date. She had no desire to dance with anyone else, though they both didn’t ignore their friends or anything. Luke was the perfect companion, and despite the teasing about matchmaking and who was better, she couldn’t help but feel they had both dropped the ball on this one. Something was shifting between the two, or maybe that was the booze in the punch. Hannah couldn’t be sure of anything anymore except for how fun it was to dance and just be close to Luke for so long.

It was only now that Luke was a few drinks in, and the band were playing a slower number so that he was holding Hannah against him in what was a surprisingly comfortable change of pace and proximity, that the boy started thinking about things. It was stupid, really, to compare two such different girls, and yet the last girl he had danced with like this had been Chelsea, and his inebriated mind couldn’t help but make comparisons. He still missed his girlfriend an unbelievable amount, but right now here with Hannah, it seemed a bit less painful - as though, he felt a bit more whole with this beautiful friend of his swaying against him and, no, she wasn’t Chelsea, but Luke was surprised to find that this was pretty much as good.

Hannah could have been saying something at this time, but if she was Luke wasn’t really paying attention. Instead, he pulled back slightly so that he could look at Hannah - sweet, lovely, beautiful Hannah - and for a moment his gaze went down to her lips because this sort of made sense, didn’t it? But he figured he ought to say something first, because there was part of him that was aware that doing something like this when he was a bit tipsy was probably a bad idea. He’d tell her how great she was and then see what happened from there.

His brown eyes met the blue ones slightly below his sight-line and he said in a soft voice, his fingers trailing lightly over her back, “You’re...you’re bloody amazing, Chels’.”

It took him a moment to realise what he’d said - maybe it was the booze, or the fact that he was still so confused and in love with someone who was dead or maybe it had really been a slip of the tongue, because he’d just been remembering Chelsea. Luke gulped, and blinked, and tried to say something. He didn’t know why he’d said it.

As the slow song played, Hannah couldn’t help but let her mind wander. She was thinking about a lot of things, but mostly about how good it felt to have Luke’s arms around her waist. There was a moment where he looked down at her, as she looked up, and she felt a little twist in her stomach. Her eyes flicked to his mouth quickly, and Hannah immediately lifted them back up to his own. Was she supposed to be imagining how those lips would feel against hers? She wasn’t sure, but as she opened her mouth to speak, Luke beat her to the punch. Literally, considering the name that slipped from his lips as he addressed her. Despite knowing what he was going through, Hannah wasn’t expecting the mistake to sting as much as it did. Her eyes must’ve reflected her horror, though she tried to swallow it back so she could speak; but what was she supposed to say? “Sorry I wanted you to kiss me despite me not being your last girlfriend? I wish I could bring her back so you could be at the dance with someone you actually like?” The very idea made her sick, and Hannah couldn’t seem to find words that fit how she felt at that moment. All she could manage was “Wow....I....I mean.....” and her voice didn’t even sound like her own as she dared herself to look back up at Luke and force the hot prickling behind her eyes to stop.

“Shit. Han’, sorry, Hannah, you know that’s not what I--” He murmured, trying to make her understand, running his hands through his hair in frustration when he couldn’t articulate what was going on in his head because he was fucked if he knew what was going on in his head and God, he couldn’t even look at the blonde in front of him. He’d been going to kiss her, hadn’t he? But because he liked her, or because he missed Chelsea? “Shit. I’m sorry, Hannah, I just...I really can’t do this...”

The apology was to be expected, but it didn’t make things any easier. The look in Luke’s eyes was heart-breaking, but worse than that was the way she felt. Hannah didn’t want to be hurt by his words. She didn’t want to seem selfish in wanting Luke to kiss her or like her instead, but she couldn’t help it. Her thoughts were swirling so quickly, and Hannah felt her cheeks flushing as he admitted to not being able to do this. “What do you mean by this Luke?” she asked without thinking, voice quiet as she raised hurt blue eyes up and shook her own head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come tonight. It was obviously too much pressure for you. Too much to think you might actually.....”

Trailing off, Hannah shook her head and stepped back. She didn’t want to make things worse by crying or saying something stupid. “I’m sorry. Thanks for a great night,” she added, taking the risk of squeezing his hand once before turning and hurrying out of the Great Hall before she lost what little dignity she had left.

Luke was not normally the sort of guy who could be rendered speechless by very much - he was, in fact, very much well known for his way with words. But for the second time that night, Hannah had stunned him into silence and so, with his lips moving soundlessly and his eyes trying to convey what he felt, he could only watch as Hannah seemed to break in front of him.

He looked down at his hand when she squeezed it, surprised at the touch, and finally managed to say, “Hannah, I-”. But it was too late - she had walked away. That happy feeling Luke had had earlier in the evening felt like it was wilting rapidly. If this sort of thing had happened a year ago, there was no question that Luke would’ve gone after Hannah, passionately calling after her and enthusiastically proclaiming his affections. But this wouldn’t have happened last year, because Chelsea had been alive and Luke hadn’t been completely messed up.

Sighing, the boy eventually made his way back to Hufflepuff - he was pretty sure he still had some firewhiskey left in his trunk, and that would do to make him forget about how great things had felt with Hannah tonight, and how upset she had looked, and - in fact - this whole stupid evening and this entire stupid year. It was at times like these that Luke Brown felt like he was very much older than the mere sixteen year old he was.