Hello, I Love You. (Private)

[Lisa]

Adrian Bane- About fifteen to sixteen years old, leading his girlfriend to the Astronomy Tower.

Ruthy Lennox- Around the same age. Played by Sara-love.

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Giving a little smirk, Adrian continued on his way down the hall towards the Astronomy Tower. He hadn't said exactly where they were going, yet, to the girl whose hand he was holding onto as he lead her to their destination, but he figured she had an idea.

Unfortunately, though, the redheaded boy couldn't take full credit for the idea. He'd overheard his sister saying something about her own (completely PG, thank Merlin. Wouldn't want to have to go slaughter any certain Hufflepuff boys, after all.) experiance with the place and figured he'd give it a try himself. He hadn't been eavesdropping, though, of course. No. Just strategic listening was all.

"We're almost there." Looking back at her, Miss Ruthy Lennox, Adrian couldn't help but think of how lucky he was. Of course, he almost never voiced these thoughts. No. He was a guy. Guys just didn't do that. But maybe tonight?

Yeah, maybe...

They were at the stairs, now, and he decided to stop for a moment. She probably knew where they were headed by now. After all, she wasn't completely daft like some of the girls that he'd met at Hogwarts. No. She was definately something special, this girl.

Definately something special.

[Sara]

When Adrian had asked to meet her, Ruthy's heart skipped a beat. She wasn't used to feeling like this. It was like the redhead had her heart in his hand, and everything he did made her jump and cling to him that much more. Was she falling in love with him? It had taken her nearly 45 minutes to get dressed; she had torn through at least six tops, and a few skirts. Finally, she had settled on a black t-shirt that was cut to reveal her shoulders and the very top of her chest. She had paired it with a black fishnet shirt underneath, and a pair of dark jeans. This had been the first time she had worn pants around him, usually preferring skirts. But somehow, wearing a skirt made her feel desperate, like she needed to see him because she needed to touch him. It wasn't like that, though, and they both knew it.

She pulled the top of her hair back into a half-ponytail and clipped it in place, a strand falling into her face. Despite how many times she tried to move it, it always managed to sit in her face. Her face had simple make-up on, eyeliner and a soft pink lip gloss. It was later than usual, at least for meeting Adrian, but Ruthy wasn't complaining. She valued sleep, and it had done wonders for her face and eyes. She looked refreshed for the first time since the death of her father.

Ruthy had at first been anxious about following Adrian blindly. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, but more, that she couldn't stand the anticipation of surprises. This was much-needed time alone, however, and wherever they were going, Ruthy was glad to just be around Adrian. It seemed like lately the two of them hadn't been able to talk let alone kiss. The redhead sincerely hoped there would be more snogging than talking tonight, however. She almost hated to admit it, but there was just something about Adrian she couldn't resist.

She walked, hand-in-hand with Adrian as they neared the Astronomy Tower. She had known for quite some time where they were headed, but let her red-headed boyfriend keep the aire of suspense. After all, it was fun to watch him feel empowered by her. Thing was, Ruthy couldn't guess why he was taking her up there. Though, the reason was blatantly obvious. Filch hardly ever checked the Astronomy Tower for students at night, unless he heard someone being rowdy. All the better, Ruthy supposed, Wouldn't want a detention for snogging my boyfriend.

When he stopped just before the stairs, Ru smiled and leaned in to kiss Adrian softly on the cheek. "Wherever could this lead?" she said, with a wink. She didn't care about the answer to the question. All she wanted to know was that he wanted her, needed her in his life. Her brain was mentally screaming that he might leave her now too. She couldn't let that happen, it was just too much to handle. Adrian made Ru feel like a better person, how was she supposed to walk away from that?

[Lisa]

Definitely something special. Ruthy didn't seem to just want Adrian for his looks; though, admittedly, he wasn't all that bad looking. Actually, he thought he was really good looking. Except sometimes his friends back at Durmstrang would tease him for being sort've girly, what with how his nails were usually painted black and the eyeliner that he wore. The girls didn't seem to mind all that much, though. And that's what mattered.

And he didn't just want her for her looks, either. Sometimes he wondered why she put so much time and effort into her appearance. Really, it wasn't like she needed to. She was beautiful just the way she was. Then again, he'd never really told her things like that...Just didn't feel manly. Maybe someday he would, though? Maybe even tonight? Ah, maybe.

The Slytherin smiled when she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. And the smile turned into a smirk at her question. Always the coy one, she was. "Oh, Miss Lennox, I think you know." Returning her wink, Adrian wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

Side-stepping away from the entrance of the staircase, Mister Bane gestured for her to go ahead first. After all, he wanted for her to see what he'd done earlier. He'd set up quite the atmosphere for them, and had even managed to get a house elf or two to help with the clean up. Didn't want to kill the mood, you know? Yeah. There was a rose waiting for her on one of the desks, and a little silver bracelet with emeralds set in it in his pocket. Hopefully she'd like it. And hopefully she hadn't noticed that he was nervous. Boys like him just didn't get nervous!

"Ladies first."

[Sara]

Ruthy was beginning to feel more than a little foolish. She was standing around Adrian with a plastic grin on her face, and despite how hard she tried not to be a giddy schoolgirl, that was exactly how she was behaving. She couldn't explain it, something about Adrian always did this to her. She forgot where her head was, how to use her fingers and even sometimes her legs. Everything froze up when they were together. It didn't even make sense, they had been together for quite some time, and still, every time Ru looked at Adrian her brain stopped working. It was like looking at him for the first time all over again. Which of course, wasn't all bad, Ruthy couldn't complain when she looked at Adrian. He certainly was quite a handsome pick, and for a Slytherin, nothing like she had expected.

She smiled again as he led her directly to the Astronomy Tower's stairs. Nodding, she headed up them slowly, glancing behind her every now and again only to blush at the sight of Adrian. Merlin, no wonder she couldn't speak around him, she could barely even remember her own name when he looked at her like that! She was so nervous, even though she had gone over just what to say to him, somehow, Ruthy was afraid she'd forget everything. She must have looked crazy pacing her dorm room talking to herself. She wanted to find just the right way to tell Adrian how she felt, it was a big step. She didn't tell anyone about her emotions, not even Christian! But Chris didn't matter now, Adrian did, and she was going to tell him. If she could remember how.

As she entered the enchanted room, her heart swooned. It was absolutely gorgeous, so much so that Ruthy could barely believe it. No one had ever done anything like this for her. Even Alaric and Christian who seemed to spend every waking moment in the Astronomy Tower (with each other) hadn't ever put something like this together! Ru didn't know what to say, she was red and full of smiles. "This is...incredible," she managed out, bringing her hands to her face in excitement. She blushed as she noticed the rose on the desk, and immediately picked it up and smelled it.

"I can't believe you did all this," she said. "You didn't have to." Somehow, Ruthy didn't care what happened the rest of their evening. This had just sent her flying to Cloud 9 and she doubted even the worst break-up speech could pull her down from the sky now. Wrapping her arms around her redheaded boyfriend, Ruthy gave him a kiss, her teeth gently brushing against his lips. "Thank you," she whispered, keeping her body dangerously close to him.

[Lisa]

Walking up the stairs behind Ruthy, Adrian really couldn't complain about the view. Yes, despite what most of his housemates said about Gryffindors, he'd picked quite a girl, and not that he only liked her for her looks. It wasn't like that. She just didn't seem to fit into the stereotype that his housmates had given hers. She was smart and funny and just...wonderful. None of the girls at Durmstrang that he'd had relationships with (and there had been plenty of them, believe me) even compared to her.

He wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was just...something. She made him nervous and unsure of himself, sometimes, even. Not that it was a bad thing. No, it was just that he'd always been so confident; that's what most girls seemed to like about him. But, no. Ruthy was definately something special and different from what he was used to. All he could hope for, then, was that she would like what he'd set up for them. She'd like it wouldn't she? He hoped so.

And it seemed that she did, with her reaction. It made him smile. He was glad that he could make her happy. He knew that he didn't have to, of course. But he liked to see her smile, and he liked to see her face all red the way it was. It was nice.

"You deserve it, though. I wanted to." It was true. And, besides, the reward was well worth it; a kiss from his girl. This wasn't all that he had for her, though. And he hoped that she'd like his other gift. Pulling away gently, Adrian spoke, "Ah, but this isn't all I've got for you. Hold on just a minute."

Digging into his pockets, the Slytherin boy thought for sure that his heart would burst from nervousness and such as he pulled out the bracelet and slid it onto her wrist, clasping it on. Tegan had helped him pick it out, seeing as he wasn't much good at picking out jewelry and such. Twin sisters came in handy for things like that, he supposed. Even if she was a pain in the arse when shopping. He could deal with it, though, if it meant making Ruthy happy.

"So...uhmm...do you like it?"

[Sara]

Ruthy knew he was staring, and somehow she didn't mind. It was Adrian, after all, and they had been together for practically a year. If he wanted to stare at her, he had every right to. And it wasn't some sleazy, undressing her sort of way, it was an appealing, seductive sort. In fact, it was kind of giving Ruthy an edge she wasn't sure how to control. She knew it was selfish, to enjoy teasing Adrian the way she did, but she couldn't help it. After all, she more than made up for it. Sometimes Ru felt like their lips were never apart, and she almost longed for their bodies to take part in the same dance as their tongues. Of course, there was the little problem of Tegan always seeming to catch them and created perfectly awkward moments. Well, maybe tonight. Maybe.

As it were, the more she took in the made-up Astronomy Tower, the more Ruthy felt like she was going to melt into a puddle of sappy romance. This really was too much like a fairytale, and she had never been lucky enough to play the leading lady. Adrian always made her feel like the princess, however, ever word he said seemed too perfect. How did he manage to maintain control while her mind was slipping away at his looks alone. Paired with his charm, and Ruthy would have knelt at his feet and offered him anything. In fact, often times, she had considered it. The hardest part was he always made her feel special, like he wasn't doing this for the physical attention, but just to see her happy. She had never mattered that much to anyone, except for her father, and he was well, dead.

Ruthy twirled the rose against her chest, smiling at the feel of its soft petals against her equally soft skin. Her eyes darted anxiously at Adrian's hands as he started digging in his pockets. "There's....more?" she said, positively shocked. How could Adrian put on such a romantic evening and dote her besides? Merlin, her head was going to swell larger than the door frame if this kept up. She bit nervously on her bottom lip as he pulled out something that seemed fragile, and Ru caught a glimpse of a shimmer just before Adrian placed it on her wrist. The emerald and gold bracelet was positively the most expensive and elaborate (not to mention only) present any boy had ever gotten her. And it was utterly gorgeous! She stared at it, turning it around her wrist, barely putting pressure on it, as though she was afraid it would break.

"You shouldn't have," she said, looking up at him. "It's gorgeous," she added, quickly closing the small space between them again. She leaned up to kiss him, her eyes closing to preserve the magic of the moment. When their lips broke apart, Ruthy stayed close, taking a deep breath before speaking again. Well, it was now or never. Just do it! her mind screamed, but her lips were still having trouble forming the sentence. "I love it," she mumbled out, "And...I love you too," she finished. She looked hopefully at Adrian; had he even heard her? Worse still, Ruthy was now afraid he'd just say he loved her back to make her feel better. Inside he'd be laughing and mocking her for falling for a simple evening and a flattering piece of jewelry. Great, this already wasn't going the way she had planned it!

[Lisa]

Merlin, he was nervous. She seemed to like it, though, didn't she? Adrian hoped so. She was really the only girl he'd ever gotten something for without hopes of getting something physical in return. No, with her, just a thank you was enough. Actually, she didn't even really have to thank him. He just liked seeing her happy, was all. And...she was happy, wasn't she?

He took the kiss as a yes, closing his eyes and returning the gesture. "I know, but I...I wanted to." The Slytherin spoke sincerely, smiling down at her. He didn't think he'd ever get used to being this nervous and silly about a girl. She was worth it, though, to him. He respected her. After all, they'd been together for about a year now, and he still hadn't tried anything with her, while, normally, he would have before the first month was up. Not anymore, though. No. He was a changed man.

But...Wait. What did she just say? She...Loved him? Wow. That made telling her his news a lot easier, then. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, actually." His cheeks flushed, which was definately a rarity for this boy in particular.

"I...I love you, too, Ruthy."