"I think you'll be leaving with all the money," Adrian quipped. It was difficult to accept that he wasn't quite the player he'd been, though he was getting there. He was determined to come back stronger and faster than ever when he finally returned to the Arrows. In the meantime, Angelina was busy being a Gryffindor and more blunt than Adrian thought he could ever be. He admired her for it - the way she wasn't afraid to come right out and say what she felt. Or if she was afraid, that she outright hurdled said fear. Adrian froze with his fork halfway to his mouth, eventually lowering it back to the plate as she went on. If she expected him to run from the room screaming (or perhaps something slightly less dramatic), she'd be disappointed. If the opposite, not so much. He'd tried not to get his hopes up before. After all, he really wasn't anything special; hadn't done anything special, except be a friend when she needed one. Nothing in his life, outside of Quidditch, ever came so easily to him. Not that he'd be arguing the interest of a beautiful, adventurous woman! Adrian was smart enough to realize he'd be a fool to do something like that.
When she was done, he sat his plate on the coffee table, still hungry, but with other things on his mind, like reassuring Angelina that she wasn't alone. Threading his fingers together, Adrian stared down at them for a moment. He hadn't been lying when he said he was bad at this sort of thing (though that hadn't seem to put her off yet). He just didn't intend to let that fact stop him being honest. The truth was that she'd blindsided him, in a sense. Good things didn't simply come around every day.
In the end, he was smiling openly as he looked up at Angelina. "Somehow that doesn't seem like such a bad thing, being bothered. Would you think me odd if I said I look forward to it? "Because the feeling's mutual. I find myself thinking of you and grinning like a bloody idiot at the most random times. I don't think it needs saying, but you're a bit different than I'm used to as well. Which is amazing. Makes me wonder why we didn't see it years ago." There were probably a lot of reasons, but they were all stupid, looking back. His smile widened. "So. No warning necessary." Then he frowned. "Though I suppose I'm going to have to get creative to impress you, with us stuck here in the castle, yeah?" The frown didn't last long.
Admitting he liked her out loud left his nerves jittery. Adrian wasn't a guy who usually opened up to people. He didn't do well with being vulnerable. But it was weirdly painless, and anyway, he supposed it was only fair, since Angelina had done it first. What came next would be up to her. There was a delicious meal calling his name and it would give him something to focus on besides his feelings.
Someone who could keep him laughing and challenge him was more than he'd ever thought to ask for. And maybe it wouldn't last, if the quarantine lifted, forcing them to part ways for the school year. For the moment, he was going to enjoy himself and not think about that. The quarantine was an inescapable reality. On the upside, it meant they had loads of time to really get to know one another. To have fun and see where things might go. He was happy for the chance. Adrian picked his plate up again and got back to the business of eating.