Who: Casey & Nicky Where: The Library When: Thursday 18 March, after class Rating: PG
Nicky entered the library with something almost completely opposite to studying on her mind. In a sense. The girl had made up her mind about Casey's offer and decided she actually wasn't at all opposed to it. Besides, as long as he would help her with Astronomy homework she didn't mind. Who knows, she might actually want to study for that bloody class if snogging was involved...sometimes. So, in order to make her mission complete, Nicky had decided to find Casey, and where better to start looking for a Ravenclaw than the library? After searching the most obvious places, Nicola found him in a rather secluded part of the library. The dark haired girl couldn't help the mischevious grin that crept onto her face as her heart started pounding. She'd never just walked up to a bloke and planted a kiss on him. Nicky walked over to Casey, her eyes twinkling, and set her books down on the table before she leaned down and kissed him on the lips gently.
The blue eyed girl pulled back slightly and grinned as she met his eyes, "So... how about that Astronomy lesson? If you come up with more bribes like that I might actually end up with an O in this class."
Casey hadn't so much as looked up when she'd placed her books down. He assumed it was simply some random student wanting to use a portion of his claimed table for study. It seemed, however, more and more people were starting to seek him out in the library. Suddenly his page was obscured by sweep of brunette hair as soft lips met his. He didn't know who it was, and really, he didn't care all that much in the moment. They were a good kisser and it was definitely a girl by the light, sweet perfume he could smell. Casey simultaneously lifted his hands to take her waist and pushed his chair back enough that he could pull her down onto his lap. Then, simply because he wanted to, he deepened the kiss.
He sucked his lower lip in briefly, the taste of her mouth still lingering, and smirked down at her. "I thought the bribe was meant to be for me?" Her raised an eyebrow at her. "Should I come up with something you'd rather not do instead?"
Nicky couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips when Casey pulled her down onto his lap. She hadn't been expecting that but she didn't mind at all. Especially because he was a brilliant kisser. The fact that some passing first years were giggling at them didn't bother her. One day they could only hope to snog in a library too. As Casey smirked down at her, Nicola felt a light blush creep up her face. She almost couldn't believe that she had just walked up to a bloke and snogged him, albeit the bloke was Casey and she'd been in school with him for six years. Still, it was a feat to be proud of in her book. The fact that Casey didn't seem to mind in the slightest only made it even better.
The blue eyed girl bit her lip and grinned up at him in a slightly bashful way. "Well, it takes two to tango, you suggested the bribe to me. Besides, who doesn't like to kiss a handsome bloke?" She looked up at him through her eyelashes and laughed, "It was a win win situation." As he suggested an alternative, Nicola said, "Now why would you want to do that?"
"At least half of the handsome blokes in the school," he answered her obviously rhetorical question. He considered pushing the idea of getting something she didn't want to part with so willingly, but in truth he didn't actually want anything from her and nothing she didn't want to give. If she'd simply asked him to tutor her without any bribe, he would have gladly done so. Because even if she was the one getting tutoring, he would be revising all the things he was teaching her. With a quite 'hmm' noise, one that said she was right, he helped her up from his lap. He could have stayed with her there for a very long time, only he didn’t like the way the first years were giggling. That usually meant rumours were about to start up and those would be potentially damaging for him. At least, if they suggested him and Nicky were dating.
"What did you want to study first?" he asked her glancing to her books as he closed his own. "I haven't got my Astronomy books with me so we'll have to use yours."
Nicola inclined her head in agreement, "True that," she said with a grin. She hadn't been expecting an answer to that, but wasn't very surprised when Casey did. As Casey lifted her off his lap, Nicola pulled a chair closer to him and sat down next to him. The girl opened her book to astrometry and fought back a grumble. This was her weakest subject and as such, she hated studying it even though she knew she had to to get better. "Well, Astrometry is the thing I'm having the most difficulty with in the class. I just can't seem to get it through my head."
He placed a hand on her book, silently asking permission with a glance as he pulled it over between them. Once it was flat on the table, he began flipping open the text book to the chapters that talked about astrometry. Yet he realised as he looked down at the page, like him, she'd gone over this all in class. "How do you learn?" he asked, looking to her. "Auditory, visual, kinaesthetic?" It would make a world of difference for how he tutored her. Though regardless of her response, he didn't think there was much point going over the text book again. If nothing else, he was going to consider changing the subject matter to make it something more interesting than rock and gas with names that were so numerous they were hard to remember.
"I learn Kinaesthetically," Nicky said without hesitation. It was why she was better in Charms and Transfiguration and sucked at Astronomy. "I have to touch things to remember, at least, it helps me remember better. So I think that also makes me a slightly visual learner." Just looking at the book was making her itch, she felt that there was no way she was going to learn all those bloody terms and rocks. It was almost impossible. Nicky stifled a groan, she had made a promise to herself to bring her grades up and this was only the start of her studying.
Casey spent a moment in thought, considering how he could translate this into a practical lesson. There wasn't much point going up to the tower every night and plotting stars and planets as they moved through the heavens. That would take much longer than they had and far more time that he was willing to take out from his own studies for a kiss. After a long moment, he closed the text book again. "I'm not going to tutor you today. What I need isn't in the castle," he explained. "Can you meet me at Covent Garden on the Monday during spring break?" If she couldn't, and couldn't meet him any day, he wasn't entirely sure how he'd best tutor her.
"Hey, did you hear anything about the quidditch match?" he asked a moment later. It was getting on in the afternoon and he was sure, by now, there’d be some word even if no one had won yet.
Nicky's eyebrow raised questioningly as she wondered exactly what Casey had in mind for tutoring. What was there in Covent Gardens that could possibly help her with Astronomy? She had to admit though, that he had perked her interest in the subject, even if it was only because she was interested in his methods. "Sure," she said, "I'll be working in my mum's shop in the morning, but I can meet you in the afternoon. That okay?" She slid her text book in front of her and smiled, "You actually have me curious now." Maybe this whole tutoring thing would work out, if she learned something with Casey teaching her, she would probably ask him to tutor her again for the sake of her grades.
Nicky nodded as he asked about the game, and grinned wryly. "The game only lasted nine bloody minutes!!" She shook her head, disappointed in the Wanderers, but still not too disappointed because the Harpies won, she liked them too. "The Harpies caught the snitch, it was so fast. Ridiculous." The brunette girl looked up at him and said, "So I guess I owe you my greatest fear, right?" The girl had actually thought about it when they had given each other their questions and she said, "Well, my greatest physical fear is spiders. But my greatest emotional fear is being a failure and not finding something in life that I'm bril at, and actually have a passion for." She wasn't brilliant at music, she could sing rather well, but she couldn't play an instrument. So that was kind of out, and the sad thing was, that was what she was most passionate about. WWN was always an option, though, because she liked to talk and she liked music. Oh, who was she kidding, she really had no idea what was going to happen within the next two years. But luckily, she had two years to think about it.
Nicky stood up from her chair and grinned at Casey, "Thanks for the tutoring session," as she grabbed her books and put them in her bag, she winked at him and said "And the kiss. It made Astronomy infinitely more interesting."
“Evening would be better,” he told her. “Bout seven. We can get dinner.” Any excuse to get away from his house during the hours his mother was home was an added bonus. Unless his brother actually did have a flat and had used the money Casey had sent for rent. Then he’d no doubt be crashing on Hunter’s couch.
As she told him about the game, he swore beneath his breath. His bet with Nicky was the only one he’d won, and out of all of them, it had been by far the easiest if he’d lost to her. “I doubt you’d fail at anything you put your mind to,” he reassured her. “Choose something you’re passionate about and the rest you learn along the way.”
Casey began packing up his books and parchments as Nicky did. He simply shot her a smirk at the comment about the kiss, then swung his book bag over his shoulder. “I’ll walk you back to the tower,” he offered. And, once she was ready, he led the way out of the library.