Not So Bad [Isabel]

[dorrien.perseus.drakos]

He had heard the announcement just this morning.
A week in Cupid's Hall with whoever your match was. No relatives visiting except for on Christmas Day (this was the condition that irked the most - living a week without Damon, in Christmas Break, no less, was perhaps as annoying as it got for Dorrien) - a gift, and a kiss. The last part was going to be the hardest, Dorrien had never kissed a girl and did not want to start with Isabel, though he supposed he might not be sentenced to death if he kissed her on the forehead or something before the end of the week.

He had reached the hall pretty quickly, wearing formal dress robes (which hadn't been specified, but he didn't like to run the risk of Cupid being rather particular that way) and carrying in his hand a simple red carnation he'd picked from the school gardens (once again, he was trying to make sure he didn't miss anything out) and in the other hand a clumsily wrapped gift that looked small but bulky. He looked a bit like he was afraid he'd drop it any moment - and perhaps he was.

He sat down in his assigned room, and while he waited for Isabel, he thought he should perhaps practice giving his gift to her - so it wouldn't be as awkward. "So, Isa, I've got a gift for you..." was the first way he said it, before he decided it sounded very casual. "Merry Christmas Isa!" sounded overly cheery, and "Isa, Cupid said we have to give each other gifts..." sounded very petulant, like he didn't want to give her a gift - especially when he most certainly did want to give her a gift. In fact, he'd thought long and hard about this gift.

He gave it another shot, "Isabel, I've got something for you..."

[isabel.ava.harper]

Isabel felt sick with worry, yet surprisingly calm at the same time. The sick part came from the thought of having to kiss one of her best friends in the whole world, or die, and the awkwardness of it all. The calm element came from the fact that she was about to spend the next week with one of her best friends, which would usually be a very easy and enjoyable task. Her mind kept switching from one view point to another, until her emotions were so confused, she felt like she'd been spinning in circles for hours and couldn't even see straight.

Apparently, all of their belongings were going to be available to them in the Cupid's room, so she hadn't needed to worry about packing, or panicking over what to take with her. The only other thing to worry about was what to wear on the day, and what kind of gift to get for her match. Being quite an uncomplicated girl - physically, at least - Isabel had on a simple white dress, which floated around her legs delicately, making her look like some sort of Christmas angel. She was barefoot, her simple diamante heels stuffed into a tiny bag that was tucked down her bra, out of the way. The bag itself, has been enchanted to hold more than it appeared to be able to, so she had quite a lot in there, including the gift she had agonized over all week.

Her pale hair billowed around her elfin face as she quietly pranced down Cupid's Hallway toward the door she would be locked behind for the next seven days. She paused outside it, taking in a deep breath, and trying to push all of her worries and fears away so she could give her match a cool, happy greeting, instead of bursting into tears as soon as she was through the door. Smoothing her dress down, nervously, she pushed gently at the door, a voice reaching her ears as it opened half an inch. "Isabel, I've got something for you..." She couldn't stop a grin from creeping onto her lips.

Pushing the door all the way open, she entered the room, not even bothering to take in her surroundings as Dorrien Drakos' handsome face filled her vision. She giggled at him. "Really, Dor? But it's not Christmas for another week!" Giving him a cheeky smile, she slowly moved her hand away from the door, trying not to listen as it swung shut and locked fast behind her. Swallowing hard, she folded her hands behind her back and stood there, looking at him. The awkwardness was mild, but very unusual for Isabel. She didn't really know what to do now that she was there. How could this amazing person be The One? The one she was destined to spend forever with? She hadn't thought her luck that good.

[dorrien.perseus.drakos]

"Really, Dor? But it's not Christmas for another week!"

He turned, suddenly, blushed a deep beetroot red. "I...I..." The problem of being discovered while he was practicing was further compounded by how absolutely beautiful she was. She looked like a sweet pixie in that dress, and he was feeling almost out of place and completely unsure of what to do, so he did what he always did when he was nervous and had no idea of what he was doing - he started talking way too fast and not very comprehensibly.

"Well, we're supposed to be exchanging gifts before that, I think..." he told her, a little doubtfully. "Though if you haven't got mine with you thats perfectly okay!" he added. "I just thought if I gave you mine right now we might have something to occupy us for the next few days." At this point the clumsily wrapped present was thrust hastily into her hands, as if he was afraid of touching her, which he certainly had not been a few weeks ago - but hey, he hadn't been told a few weeks ago that he would be spending the rest of his life with her, at the penalty of death.

"Its a radio!" he added, before she had the chance to really open it, because he was that nervous now. "You know, so you don't have to borrow one from any of your friends...and you can dance...and if it breaks then I can fix it!" That last part, of course, sounded completely wacky, but he didn't realize that until after he'd said it. Moreover, he was suddenly struck by the fact that his gift seemed rather lame. Did a radio really scream romantic? Perhaps he should have gotten her the heart shaped locket he'd seen after all - girls liked things like that, right?

"Oh, and I got you a flower too. Do you like carnations? I wanted to get you a yellow one, because you're in hufflepuff, but I couldn't find one." He looked at the flower in his hand. "I could try enchanting it though..."

[isabel.ava.harper]

Dorrien immediately turned bright red at her sudden arrival, and went into one of his flustered states, where it was difficult for even the most articulate person to get a word in edge-ways. Instead, Isabel's fingers wound their way into the ends of her wavy hair as she listened to him ramble. He mentioned her not having anything for him, and she shook her head at his haste. As if she wouldn't have got a present for him. Finishing his blabbering, Dorrien thrust a crumpled parcel into her hands, and she almost dropped it, fumbling for a tighter grip as loose-lipped Dorrien told her exactly what was inside.

A radio.

Isabel blushed furiously with happiness. Just the thought that he remembered their day in the courtyard made her ecstatic. Really, the notion that he put proper thought into any of their encounters afterwards, made her slightly giddy. She took a peek inside a hole that had been accidentally torn in the top of the wrapping, biting her lip to try and stop herself grinning like a psychotic Cheshire cat. "Thank you, Dor," she gushed, "It's absolutely perfect!" And it was. He was right, now she would have one of her very own, and wouldn't have to worry about breaking it, or sneaking around. It was a truly thoughtful, wonderful gift idea. Her heart picked up the pace as he held up a red carnation, and started to explain that he had wanted yellow, for Hufflepuff.

'You're perfect,' she thought, gazing at him in wonder. "Well, we can always experiment with it, if you like," she suggested, hoping he would like the idea of being able to tinker with something. He did like to know the ins and outs of practically everything he came across, after all. "Maybe we'll end up with a rainbow flower, or something," she smiled at the thought. She would enjoy that, too. It seemed that, as long as she pretended that they were just hanging out like normal, she didn't feel too weird there with him. So she carried on.

Turning her back to him, she reached down the front of her bra where her tiny bag was stuffed, and pulled it out. Tucking the still-wrapped up radio under her arm, she rummaged around inside for a minute, before pulling out a very neat, very bright and sparkly present. She turned back to face him. "And of course, I got you something, too. I guess you should have it now, then." She didn't want to risk angering Cupid. Holding the small box out to him, she waited for him to take it, wondering if he would appreciate what was inside. She had managed to convince her little brother to go Muggle shopping with her, and bought Dorrien a small tool kit, with lots of screwdrivers and other strange looking instruments in it. She knew how much he loved learning about Muggles, so figured it might be useful to him, in some way she couldn't quite fathom. A gentle smile lit up her face as she watched him. "I hope you like it. If you don't, don't worry. I can always take it back, or change it or something."

[dorrien.perseus.drakos]

Dorrien was grinning.

He'd just been told that his gift was perfect, which was absolutely awesome. He had been hoping that she would be happy, and she looked happy, very happy - which was just perfect. He let out a happy laugh and then rummaged around for his wand for changing the color of the carnation. Unfortunately, he had misplaced it somewhere, and the room was thus saved from the kind of explosion that Dorrien was sure to create.

For someone who was very intelligent, Dorrien could be a real idiot. Especially when girls did unaccountable things like fish into their dresses to take out bags which contained gifts. "Err..." he started, about to protest, or at least to get permission to turn away or something, but she never gave him a chance, because she gave him a gift, and Dorrien loved gifts. There was mystery to them that he found irresistible.

The paper was soon was torn apart - Dorrien had no patience when a mystery awaited.

But when he found out what was actually inside, his mouth fell open, and he stared at it reverently for almost a minute, before putting it aside almost gingerly and then doing something he could never account for - he gave Isabel a quick hug. Which ended with a very embarrassed Dorrien, who then turned immediately back to the gift, as if it could hide the look on his face.

Perhaps she would assume he was grinning exclusively about the gift. Somehow, he didn't dare hope for that.

"Its absolutely perfect," he managed, after a while. "You know me so well!" This was not a gift he'd been expecting - he'd been expecting something simple. "Did you actually go to a muggle shop and buy this yourself?" he said, after a moment's consideration. Dorrien had now gone to a muggle shop a couple of times - but his first time had been an absolute muddle, especially with the different currency and stuff.

"You know, maybe I can use it to properly examine Lysa without the use of magic," he told her, pointing to the corner of the room where his pet toaster was reverently given a place of honor. It was a little scratched and a little battered, having lived most of its life with Dorrien Drakos, but otherwise still made perfectly good toast. "I've been wanting to do that - especially since I got John Terry from the Seventh Year to teach me how to use a screwdriver."

The initial excitement being over, Dorrien now decided to get comfortable by sitting down on one of the chairs near the table, with his new set (now completely scattered, because Dorrien had opened it and laid things down haphazardly) and a very old mobile phone that he had gotten second-hand, and was now picking apart, though without finesse.

[isabel.ava.harper]

Dorrien seemed pretty impressed by the thought that Isabel had gone to a real Muggle shop to buy his present. She nodded with a giggle as she watched him poring over it, green eyes flicking to the toaster on the shelf across the room. "I did. Nate came with me and helped me pick it out. It was.... fun." It had been strange, shopping in a Muggle place. Everything was different, and she and her brother had had to get their money changed to pounds and pennies and other coins she couldn't remember the names of. And some of their money was even paper! It wasn't something she was eager to retry anytime soon, but it was definitely something.

She watched happily as Dorrien scattered the contents of the tool box all over a table and started tinkering with it all immediately, the glittery paper strewn carelessly over the floor. Picking it up, she folded it carefully and crossed to a chair, dropping down into it and tucking Dorrien's mess next to her before opening her own gift properly. The radio was small and neat and very pretty, as far as Muggle contraptions went. She set it down on her lap and went about looking for a button to turn it on, her attention only half there. She kept glancing over at her friend every five seconds, checking to see what he was doing.

It was just like when they usually hung out together, she thought. Both doing their own thing, happily, conversing when that had something to say, sitting in silence when they didn't. It was so comfortable, she wished it would just stay that way for the rest of the week. Maybe she should just try and avoid saying anything about the reason they were there. It felt like it would only hinder things, to remind Dorrien, and herself. Possibly spoil the whole thing, and ruin their friendship, too. She frowned at the thought of that. She really didn't want to lose Dorrien's friendship, for anything.

Her fingers had stopped searching for buttons on the radio, and she was now staring at the cute boy across the room, wondering if he really was just lost in a world of his own, or if he was just pretending. Avoiding. She imagined him twenty years older, kissing her on the forehead as he rushed off to work, leaving her at home with their kids. A soft red glow spread across her cheeks as she watched him. That wasn't such a horrible idea. It probably would be for him, though. All of the times she had gotten embarrassed, or flustered around him, Dorrien, being the obliviously sweet dork he was, hadn't even noticed. Or maybe he had, and didn't return the sentiments, so just acted as if everything was fine. She didn't think he liked her that way, anyway.

Her eyes followed his hands as he turned instruments over, inspecting them.

She really didn't mean to stare.