---*like a love song // jareth

[isabella.jeanette.ross]

hi

hi

hi

love you like a love song baby

and i keep hitting repeat. And it might be wonderful, yeah, it might be magical, uh oh It might be everything I've waited for a miracle Oh, but even if I fall in love again with someone new It could never be the way I loved you ---------------------------------

Bella was starting to wonder when on Earth her life had turned into a bad movie. She'd made it six years without receiving Cupid's letter, spending the early years of her life hoping it would come and the later ones being thankful that it hadn't. Now that it had come, all she could think was that her life was about to get very, very sappy with her destiny all figured out. She didn't necessarily think romance was a bad thing, but she'd read too many books aimed at teen girls not to already know how the story played out - she'd hate the idea of being forced to love someone, fall in love with someone she wasn't meant to, and then in the end, she'd end up with her arranged match. The thought, in all honesty, wasn't all that bad, but it seemed terribly cliche.

Things could definitely have been worse, though. Bella knew a lot worse boys than Jareth Caldwell to get matched with. Though she wasn't all that acquainted with him, they were in the same year and house, and like all the same-year housemates, they'd pretty much grown up together. She quite preferred this match to the possibilities that could've been, such as getting matched to one of her professors or to someone she didn't know at all. She at least knew that Jareth was a fairly good person, rather than having the whole 'element of surprise' thing thrown into what was already a horrible mix: having to wear a dress and being introduced to the person that some naked, flying toddler wanted her to spend the rest of her life with.

Bella sighed as she came to a halt in front of the numbered door her letter had told her to come to and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, unsure what to do next. Should I just...go in? she wondered, her hand hesitantly lingering on the door handle. She sighed again, rather exasperatedly, and grumbled, "This is so ridiculous..." Bella decided to knock on the door, and did so rather loudly, stepping back and tugging on the hem of her dress, which was starting to feel a bit too short all of a sudden. She hadn't had any particular feelings about the matching process before, but now that she was beginning to experience its effects, she was beginning to hate the idea of being attached to one person for the rest of her life, regardless of love or emotions.

Although, on the bright side, maybe her life wasn't that similar to one of those girlie movies after all - after all, the characters in those movies usually had a choice. That was something Bella certainly did NOT have.

thanks sophia of caution.

hi

hi

[jareth.ainsley.caldwell]

∙ Tag;; Bella ∙ Word Count;;1050 ∙ PhotoCred;; Google ∙ Flower;; Click! ∙
Notes;; Not much, but it's a start. xD

Jareth Caldwell...was at a loss for words. Well, at a loss for everything really. He'd been sort of in a fog since he'd received his Cupid letter the morning before during breakfast. The prospect had been exciting, especially seeing all his mates matched up before him. He wouldn't have been surprised to not be matched up for another few years, but upon the arrival of his letter, he had felt a bit excited. After all, this was supposed to be the love of his life, or something of the sort. So often it seemed random to him, but it had been interested to see how often over the past six or so years how often they actually worked out. He'd grinned at his friends as they teased him, the old man finally being paired up. (Most of them had been given their match by their sixth year or earlier, though there were a few, like him, who had yet to receive their letter.) There was an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach, similar to the way he felt before a big Quidditch game but yet not quite the same exactly. His eyes had glanced around the Great Hall, wondering who it might be. There'd been a few of his fellow seventh years that he'd been sweet on in the years before, a couple cute sixth years he'd noticed, and one teacher who he didn't dare to dream he would get paired with, though he had entertained the thought for a moment. And then...he opened the letter.

The name listed was...well, it was a surprise. Isabella Ross. He knew the girl, of course. They were both Hufflepuffs, which he had to admit was a bonus. A fellow seventh year who he'd practically grown up with, even if they had never been great friends. Pretty girl.Otherwise, he couldn't say he knew her too well. A muggle-born witch, if he could remember correctly, which was a good thing in his mind as well, being a half-blood himself; She could teach him more about that side of his life. Isabella seemed like a nice girl, but when it came down to it, Jareth couldn't honesty say that he knew that much about her. She'd always seemed like a nice girl, friendly enough but sort of...distant? Probably just shy. He himself was a bit of a loner, except where Quidditch was involved. In all honesty, he wasn't worried about them getting on well; they both seemed to be good people. What he really didn't care for was the fact that it was arranged. He had always understood the whole Cupid thing, and hoped it would be the girl of his dreams. Love at first site. Granted, he'd never admit that to anyone if asked, but that wasn't the point. How could this be the woman he was meant to be with if they hadn't hardly spoken over the past six years?

But still, a man had to do what a man had to do. It didn't take long for him to get dressed into his tuxedo and looking his best. Even if he wasn't sure how this all would play out, every girl deserved her Prince Charming, to be swept off her feet, and that was something Jareth could do very well. He'd be honest, but he'd still treat her the way a proper gentleman should. Stopping by the kitchens on the way out, he picked up a small package of chocolates. He'd sent an owl to his mum asking for flowers from her garden the day before and was rather pleased to see how quickly she had sent him the exact ones he had hoped for. (It was all too obvious to him that she was rather excited about her son being matched.) His gifts may not be normal( the whole regular chocolates and roses), he thought as he wandered through the halls toward his destination, but they still had a traditional sense about them which he hoped she would enjoy. It was still flowers and chocolates, after all...

Unfortunately, his "quick stop" had him running a bit late; he would be lucky if he made it on time. The bell had yet to mark the hour, though, so he considered himself lucky. With a deep breath, he hurried down the hall only. His eyes scanned the numbers on the door as he walked by, surprised to see her standing outside the door. This was it. "Isabella?

[/color]" He asked rather stupidly, as he already knew it was her. Jareth greeted her with a hesitant smile, stepping around her to open the door the way a proper gentleman would. "After you...[/color]" She was beautiful this evening. A proper smile lit his face then, especially as he could see nerves written all over her face and knew he wasn't the only one feeling so awkward. He followed her into the room, closing the door behind them. "You look...very nice this evening." The sincerity was clear on his face, even if the words might have sounded a tad bit stilted. He'd almost called her "lovely", but changed his mind, thinking that might give her mixed signals or something. He didn't want to make her think that he harbored feelings for her. Waiting for him to face her once more, he offered her the chocolate roses and the flowers which he'd brought. "These are for you." Oddly enough, that feeling had come back into his stomach as he wondered if she liked the flowers. [/size][/blockquote]

[isabella.jeanette.ross]

hi

hi

hi

love you like a love song baby

and i keep hitting repeat. And it might be wonderful, yeah, it might be magical, uh oh It might be everything I've waited for a miracle Oh, but even if I fall in love again with someone new It could never be the way I loved you ---------------------------------

"Isabella?" Bella, startled at first, jumped when she heard her name, turning around to face in the direction of the voice. "Oh, Jareth! Hi," she said, her voice coming out abnormally high. A small, but genuine smile still managed to cross her face, even though she was very nervous. He looked very handsome, even if it was difficult for her to admit it to herself. "B-but really, my name's Bella," she stammered, biting her tongue. Bella had always hated her full name; no one had used it since she was a little girl. Even the teachers knew to call her Bella, so it was weird for Jareth - someone she'd known since she was eleven - to be acting so formal, or at least she thought so. Still, he was quite the gentleman, and Bella was almost surprised when he opened the door for her and stepped aside. She didn't think anyone did those sorts of small things anymore, even if it was the little things that count.
Bella didn't know why she seemed to get even more nervous as she quietly thanked him and stepped past him and into the room they'd been assigned. She took a quick look around and glanced back over at Jareth, a light blush crossing her cheeks as he complimented her. "Oh, er...thank you. You also look very nice," she said with a little nod. Bella was normally shy, but there was something about the whole meeting that made her feel even more awkward than usual. She wasn't ever good with her words, but knowing that she was meant to love Jareth just made things...strange for her. From what she knew of him now and from previous brief encounters in the common room or elsewhere, he was shaping out to be very nice, but she was finding it difficult to imagine having feelings for him. Bella shoved the thoughts of Cupid's intentions to the back of her mind for now, however, because she knew she would just become even more nervous if she dwelled too much on it.
Bella just stood silent for a moment when he offered her the flowers and chocolate roses and hesitantly took them, muttering a quick, "Thank you," before looking at the flowers more closely. They really were beautiful, a shade of pink that matched part of the floral pattern on her dress. A bit louder this time, but her voice still kind of shaky, she said, "The flowers are beautiful; thank you." Her cheeks had now darkened to the same shade as the flowers. Noticing herself get even more flustered, she stopped for a moment to brush a stray lock of hair out of her eyes and apologize, "Um...I'm sorry, this is just a bit of a strange experience for me. I mean, I...well, it's kind of weird to just get a letter in the mail telling you you're meant to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you know?"
Bella hadn't expected herself to be so honest, but when she opened her mouth, the words just kind of flowed out. She just hoped that Jareth didn't take it personally; she honestly would've been nervous no matter who she'd gotten matched with.

thanks sophia of caution.

hi

hi

[jareth.ainsley.caldwell]

∙ Tag;; Bella! ∙ Word Count;;532 ∙ PhotoCred;; Google ∙ Flower;; Click! ∙

It was obvious straight from the beginning that it was going to be a rather awkward evening for the two of them. It didn't help matters any that he started it off by calling her by her full name for some unfortunate reason. Perhaps it was his own nerves that caused him to say it, but he knew the instant the words were out that he was an idiot for doing so. Still, Jareth managed to smile and mind his manners, using the gentlemanly habits that his mom had taught him, just trying to keep calm and collected rather than fall apart like a fool. Even though he wasn't particularly comfortable with being matched, he had high hopes that something would come out of this, which was extremely unlike him. Stupid Cupid.

"Oh, er...thank you. You also look very nice." he heard her say to him in response to his complimenting her. He thought perhaps it might have been forced, common courtesy an all that, though he smiled in response anyways. "Thank you." The words came out quietly; even if it was fake, he was still unused to getting such compliments. If anyone else were to enter the room, Jareth was sure that they'd be able to feel the nervous and awkward tension that hung between the two in the air. He wondered for a moment if this would've been any easier for him if they hadn't almost known each other for the past six years. It seemed that the longer she held them, the closer her cheeks blushed to match the shade of the flowers. " You're welcome. My mum sent them from her garden." He wasn't sure why he had confessed it, other than the fact that it was a way to make some sort of small talk.

"Um...I'm sorry, this is just a bit of a strange experience for me. I mean, I...well, it's kind of weird to just get a letter in the mail telling you you're meant to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you know?" He hadn't expected her to say so much at once; it sort of caught him off guard, as she'd only said a handful of words thus far. Still, it had him chuckling slightly in relief. "I...feel the same. Especially with how far we've all advanced, yet we're reduced to forced relationships. Not to mention the thoughts and emotions it puts inside of us. It's all rather maddening." Jare smiled at her, decided to take a seat rather than standing there awkwardly. Maybe...if they got past this awkward spot, they could come out of here as friends.

[isabella.jeanette.ross]

hi

hi

hi

love you like a love song baby

and i keep hitting repeat. And it might be wonderful, yeah, it might be magical, uh oh It might be everything I've waited for a miracle Oh, but even if I fall in love again with someone new It could never be the way I loved you ---------------------------------

“Thank you.” Bella nodded with a polite smile. Dealing with compliments and thanks and all of that was always rather awkward for her, especially because it was such a strange and rare occasion. People hardly ever noticed her, not only because she was so quiet, but because she didn’t like to make herself noticed. She was more the type of person who liked to blend in. People never really paid her much mind, and she never really cared. Thinking about this got her wondering as to why she hadn’t noticed Jareth sooner. She’d spent six years kind of, sort of knowing him, but never really paid much attention to him. It was sort of curious to wonder what it was that made people catch your eye in the first place.

“You’re welcome. My mum sent them from her garden.” “Well, they’re lovely…my mum never could do anything like that; she kills any plant she touches,” she replied, unsure as to why she was sharing such a random fact about her family, but hoping it might progress the conversation. She wouldn’t have minded the silence, except it seemed so tension-heavy that she couldn’t help but want things to be less awkward. Bella obviously knew firsthand how weird it was to have to meet the person you’d been matched with for the rest of your life, but that didn’t necessarily mean she wanted it to be weird. Really, she would’ve liked it better if they could at least get over the initial awkwardness and maybe come out of the room as friends.

Bella realized she had been holding her breath when she let out a sigh of relief. Knowing that Jareth shared some of her opinions made her feel a bit less awkward, and it gave them something to talk about. He had obviously not expected her to talk so much, so her words came out a bit more hesitantly the next time she spoke: “Exactly. For a world with so much progress, it’s really rather primal...not to mention frustrating.” Her voice was quiet, as usual, but definitely not as uncertain as it normally was. She felt a little more comfortable speaking around Jareth knowing that what she said wasn’t going to be challenged.

thanks sophia of caution.

hi

hi