(Untitled)

[lackxluster]

Week Name/Date/Time: 'Books Of Mystery'/ Monday, October 17th, 2005/ 8:06am
Location: Outside the Great Hall
Open to: Lexi! ^^
Currently Involving: Julian O'Brien and Lexi

Ever since he had written in that conflab book, and it had written back (Julian wasn't really sure about that nonsense, it seemed a little fishy), thoughts had been literally

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[lackxluster]

He wouldn't have wanted her to rush whatever she was doing with her fellow Gryffindors, but he was slightly frustrated and beginning to wonder how long it could possibly take someone to eat breakfast. After all, he had been finished what seemed like ages ago. Of course, he was overlooking the fact that he had had a piece of toast and two pieces of bacon.

Wishing to not become cross with Lexi, he ran over what he might say when she finally ran into him. Just as he was about to start saying something, she nearly did literally run into him. She seemed surprised to see him, but he grinned happily and nervously brushed back his untamed hair.

Usually when greeting people, he hugged them. As a matter of fact, until this year, whenever he had seen Lexi previously, he had hugged her then. Now, however, it seemed unseemly. So instead, he gave her one of his award winning grins and said hello. More accurately, her name. "Lexi! How have you been?" It seemed futile to dance around the real topic, so even as red as it made his cheeks, Julian cut to the chase.

"Would you mind, erm, coming and having a talk with me?" There was an empty classroom that he thought would fit the situation nicely. Brewing prank potions left him always searching for new classrooms (and sometimes just lost), and this one wasn't very far away. And it had desks and chairs, and everything for a proper conversation.

[lexi_winchester]

It was one of those moments that make you feel like your heart stop. Lexi clearly wasn't paying that much attention to where she was going, and the last thing she expected was to crash into this tall shadow in front of her. She held up a hand and placed it over her upper chest, catching her breath.

"Whoa, Jules, you scared me!" She let out a small laugh and smiled back to him. "I've been pretty good. Haven't seen you in quite a bit." The last time being, their picnic outside a few weeks ago. Sometimes Lexi truly wished they were in the same House, for the reason of being able to see each other more often. Shrugging that fact off, she looked on with an eyebrow slightly quirked as he asked her to come along with him. Something seemed... off. He was acting kind of nervously. What was wrong?

"Yeah, of course." Lexi responded, dropping her hands down to her sides. "Is everything alright?" She then asked, looking a tad worriedly at her friend.

[lackxluster]

He rubbed the back of his neck, which had become his nervous habit of his, and grinned. "Sorry. I was just...well, I've missed you." There he went again, not letting his brain filter what he was saying. Taking a breath, he nodded in response to her comment. He hadn't seen hardly any of his friends in ages, but it had been an especially long time since he saw her. Or maybe it just seemed so. Either way, the feeling was mutual - she ought to have been in Hufflepuff, because he could never cut it in Grffindor.

Was everything alright? Well, things were much better now. Even though she was concerned, and Julian was a complete wreck about what specifically he had to say to her, he was calmed by her presence. "Yeah. I just wanted to catch up with everything." Smiling gingerly, he took her arm gently, and lead her toward the classroom.

Thankfully it wasn't that far away, and upon reaching the room, he held open the door. "Have a seat yeah?" There were many things he wanted to show her. First and foremost, he wanted to enlarge maybe a quill or something. Just having her praise him was brilliant.

((I have to go. A report needs typing.))

[lexi_winchester]

Alright! Have a good night. I'll just post and you can reply whenever you have time :). Good luck with the report XD.))

She relaxed a bit as Julian answered her, but she knew something was up. Was he upset with her for something? Lexi realized that she hadn't talked with him in a while, but it wasn't on purpose. Classes had really been hectic within the past week, and with the news of Shihoko's parents missing. Sighing gently, she smiled softly to Julian and linking arms with him, walked off down the corridor with him.

After they reached their destination, Lexi headed into the classroom and took a seat as intructed. She glanced around, noticing they were indeed completely alone. Her stomach jumped with nerves and not knowing what was going on with him. She looked up to Julian with a gentle smile.

"So..."

[lackxluster]

As she took a seat, he realized he was probably acting very suspiciously. Not wanting to have her become concerned, he left the door ajar slightly, not enough that someone walking by would hear what he had to say, though. There was only one person he cared for his message to be giving to, and she was already there, now wasn't she.

He practically bounced into the seat across from her, having his wand at the ready. Julian worried that she might think he was going to cast some sort of spell on her, and knowing him, it wouldn't turn out well. But of course, if she thought that, she was mistaken. "Look! I've been practicing!" He said the proper spell, and a small book came whizzing toward him. Lucky for his pride, he caught the book and held it up excitedly. "I know I've showed you that, but..." he trailed off, tapping the book with his wand and watched as it grew to the point he could barely hold it in his hand anymore. "And I can shrink them too." He gave the book another poke, muttered the proper spell, and watched it shrink back to the right size. It did occur to him that it might seem like he was showing off, but he hoped it didn't appear that way. And she was Lexi, she wouldn't think he was doing that, would she? "I'm sure you can do that properly yourself, but if you ever need me too..." He didn't really have much to say on the topic, so smiled warmly instead of talking.

Just then, something hit him. More accurately his fingers. As he was replacing his wand in his pocket, he brushed what felt like paper. "Oh!" He exclaimed excitedly, retrieving the letter and handing it to Lexi. "Molly wrote that and sent it to me to give to you. She even colored the edges so it'd be pretty. She can't write too well yet, but she tried. I think Abbie helped her anyway." Yes, that was the way Julian. Remind her how amusing and sweet you are, that should soften her up.

(Click the link, yah!)

[lexi_winchester]

She was indeed wondering why he was acting so strangely. Julian was one of her best friends and they were always able to talk about anything around each other so easily, but something was a bit off.

Watching as Julian pulled his wand out, a grin spread across her face as he charmed the book over to them and then changed it's size. She was impressed with his new ability, knowing his troubles with remembering the names sometimes. "That's wonderful, Jules! I see you have been practicing." Lexi had indeed mastered this spell in past years but that wasn't important. "I'll definitely call on you if I need help."

She then took hold of the folded piece of parchment he handed to her. Unfolding it, Lexi smiled brightly as she read the note from Molly. "Oh, that is brilliant!" The smile stayed on her face as she looked it over again, feeling very close to Molly. "That's so sweet, please thank her for me!"

[lackxluster]

He beamed. If there was one thing that Julian did more than blush, it was beam. Wonderful! he thought happily, his insides bouncing around as if they hadn't been properly anchored down. Even if it was hard to see over his shining white teeth, Julian's cheeks were flushed. That was to be expected, of course, considering who he was. Fearing he might go bashful and begin staring at his shoes, Julian decided that only a quite "yeah" was in order.

Molly did have that way about her, being one of the cutest little girls, and a complete sweetie. If it wasn't already liquid, she would've made his heart melt. "Of course I will. Mum says that she's so happy, carrying it around like some sort of badge." He chuckled at the thought of her little blond head bouncing around the house showing her card off to anyone who had the misfortune to enter.

Being direct was difficult, especially for Julian, but he was doing his best. He nodded decisively, and looked at her, unable to keep a serious face. There was a point that needed getting to...but Julian thought he could maybe talk a bit more before dropping the bomb. "Has one of those weird books ended up in your common room?"

[lexi_winchester]

Folding Molly's letter gently, Lexi tucked it into her robes and then looked back up to Julian with a friendly smile. Aww, she must really like that wizard card! She smiled brightly as he spoke about how she acted with it, "That is so adorable. I really miss her! She must have grown so much!" She hoped to see Julian's family again at some point, they all really were like an extended family to her own.

At mention of the mystery book, Lexi had to fight not to blush. She kept replaying what she wrote over in her mind and it made her more embarrassed each time. "Yes, actually. News of it has spread like wild fire." The common room had erupted with dares and games surrounded the book already. "So every House really does have one?" As far as Lexi knew, it was all just a rumour that all the common rooms possess a mysterious book. With this, her expression went thoughtful, wondering if there was a specific reason why all four houses received one. It was odd, to say the least.

[lackxluster]

It was true; the entire Woesley clan had grown since Lexi had last seen them. Molly was the most adorable little girl, Eleesha was no less horrible but considerably taller, Abbie seemed to be a genius, Lilian was fourteen (enough said), and Romey...well, Romey attended Hogwarts now."Yes she has, she's so excited to start school. She's still so young that she doesn't have any grasp of time, so she thinks that when we tell her it's months away, that in just a few days she'll be starting up." Julian laughed at the memory: him leaving for Hogswarts, Molly piping up that soon she would be going to school too.

Julian nodded at the confirmation at the rumors he had heard. Apparently all the houses had them, or at the very least, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Joking to himself, he thought that maybe it was only Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, because those were the best houses in Hogswarts - Ravenclaws were too stuffy, and Slytherins too evil. "I guess so, we've got one. It's a bit sarcastic, I've found." Julian seemed generally unperturbed by the fact that the book had written back to him, and he leaned forward in his chair calmly, his elbows resting on his knees.

He didn't have the slightest idea how he was going to segway into what he needed to. It would too embarrassing to say that he had written in the book, and it's response had landed him hear, hunting for a way to tell her a matter of great importance. Throwing caution to the wind (which at some points, he had been known to do: saving Sebby, pranking, having a potion brewing contest), he decided he did not at all need to slide into the subject. He'd come right out and say it...kind of.

"Um...I hope you're not bothered by this..because if we couldn't be friends, I'd be so sad. You're one of my best mates, I don't know what I'd do without you. But um, since you haven't noticed, I thought I ought to tell you...so I'm going to right now," Julian was talking very quickly and rambling. He realized this, and took a deep breath. As clearly and with a healthy amount of eye contact (which was actually much lower for Julian than most people) he started again. "Well, I just..sort of fancy you."

[lexi_winchester]

Ugh! I didn't get an e-mail about this reply. I'm sorry! XD))

Little did Julian know that Lexi herself had also written in the Gryffindor book. She was feeling the same way, fairly embarrassed about the occurance, and she was truly glad that she decided not to sign her name next to the entry. Clearing her throat roughly, she fought away the redness in her cheeks and she focused back on her good friend.

She felt something drop deep inside her stomach as Julian's tone changed to one much more serious. He began rambling as she herself has a habit to do when they are nervous about something. This can't be good...

As Julian spoke the last sentence, it was as if time had completely frozen right on the spot. "Well, I just..sort of fancy you."

Short pause. "I'm sorry, what?" Lexi blurted out once she found her voice again. She couldn't have heard that correctly. Slowly, she lifted her right hand and pointed her index finger towards him, then back to point at her chest. She repeated this movement once more. Julian...and... me?

[lackxluster]

Well that wasn't exactly the response he was hoping for. He wasn't sure exactly what he had been wanting her to do, but he knew what he hadn't been looking for: the shocked look that spread over her face. Had she really been that oblivious? Julian wondered how she could not know? She was perfect, in every sense of the word; those Gryffindor boys (who had her constantly, when he only had time with her briefly) should have been all over her. Maybe he just was too subtle.

As she motioned between him and her, he nodded. Thinking about as she did it a second time, he corrected himself - it was not polite to just nod. "Yeah." Julian pointed to himself, "I," then pointed at her just as she had done, "fancy you." Was it really that hard to believe?

Being the insecure bloke that he was, Julian began to process the situation (possibly) incorrectly. That look on her face was horror not shock. Pretty soon she would gave him a good smack in the face and bolt out. And he would be seated in a empty classroom by his lonely self. Thinking all this, before he could stop himself, he added. "Well, I think you're smart, beautiful, funny, witty, sweet nice, perfect, and I want to be around you constantly. I suppose that's what you call fancying someone." He was quite new to this whole feelings business.

((Don't worry about it. This took me a while because I needed to make an icon. ^^))

[lexi_winchester]

Oh boy. Poor Lexi really was rather dense when it came to the opposite sex. Her usual intuition and senses were about as strong as a feather when things were concerning feelings and crushes and, well, eventually love. Not that she had ever fallen in love before, but her romantic self always toyed with the idea of doing so.

Her mind was buzzing with a million things at once. How could she have been so stupid? There were signs, did she choose to ignore them from fear? Embarrassment? Lexi had been hurt in the past and ever since, she had an unconcious way of shutting out all occurances that could lead to that same hurt. But - this was Julian! One of her best friends since Year 1 at Hogwarts. He'd do anything for her and she'd die for him - he had never hurt her. She always felt safe around him. She always had fun. She had those constant jolts in her stomach and blushing periods when he smiled at her like that. Was that just friendship after all?

It took her a few more moments of silence, looking at Julian, before she spoke again. And when Julian complimented her with all those words, her face turned red. "I... thank you..." Lexi said gently to him. But no, that wasn't all she had to say.

"I think I fancy you too, Julian." It probably wasn't as good of an answer as he suspected, but it was all she could form in her mind at the present moment. To say she was caught off guard was quite the understatement.

[lackxluster]

His heart was nearly pounding out of his chest; Julian imagined that it was pounding so hard that she could probably hear it, if she had been listening. He picked at part of his robes, watching the hem fray and not really caring if it unraveled. He could've been in his skivvies; it seemed impossible to think that he could've been any more embarrassed.

And despite this, his cheeks weren't red. He was slightly pink all over, but that could've been from the pressure that was building up inside him. The one time he would've cared to blush as opposed to becoming very nervous and not thinking clearly, he wasn't. And then she thanked him. Looking up, he smiled softly, trying his best to seem happy. A thank you was better than a smack, he thought, and she hadn't left yet.

Then he was floored. She might fancy him too?! Just the possibility made him beam. Actually, 'beam' might be an understatement. Julian could barely contain himself. He figgited it in his seat, having to sit on his hand quickly. "Well, that brilliant, I suppose." Between his excitement and nervously, he may have appeared a little manic, and was talking at a million miles a minute.

"It's alright if you don't know if you fancy me or not. Really, this is much better than I expected! I thought you might be upset or something, but then again I just worry a lot. It's not like I'm going to attack you and try to snog you. Don't worry." At his last comment, Julian actually laughed. While the laugh was nervous, it wasn't from his snogging comment; that was almost a completely joke. I mean, Julian, snogging? Puh-lease.

[lexi_winchester]

Her mind was seriously buzzing like a million worker bees. Without really noticing when it began, Lexi found that she was literally shaking slightly in her seat. Geez, this love stuff can really mess with you, she thought silently while trying not to turn into a tomatoe colour.

After she responded, she thought Julian might jump right out the window he was so figgity. She swallowed hard, and gave a genuine smile as he joked about attacking her. Of course she didn't have to worry about any of that stuff. With a nervous laugh, she scratched at the back of her neck slightly. Oh, snogging. The event that had recently become more popular than studying around the castle. It was so much bloody pressure!

"I know, I'm not worried about any of that, Jules." She spoke out, attempting to keep her voice calm. "I'm really sorry I don't exactly...well, know my answer..." Lexi stuttered out, feeling bad that she was so indecisive about the situation. "You've known me for a long time and I'm sure you know how horrid I am when it comes to this stuff..." She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks yet again, glancing at Julian with a soft smile.

[lackxluster]

She could've mentioned that she hated him, she was going to murder his family, and that would torture and kill Ralph, but his smile would've been undeterred. There wasn't one thing she could say that would've ruined this moment, and even if she was awkward about this sort of thing his insides laughed at it. If she was awkward, he must've been completely rubbish. Then again, he was smiling like a fool.

When she apologized, Julian raised his eyebrows slightly, giving Lexi a smile he tended to save for her. "Don't worry about it Lexi. We've been friends long enough that you don't have to worry about anything." Julian's leg was shaking up and down very quickly; he still could not believe that this had turned out so well. "I don't think I could be happier!" Well, if she had said that she had fancied him forever and had been waiting on him, he might have been a bit happier - but he hadn't gotten his hopes up.

Being one of the outer-most lines on the Hogswarts Grape vine, Julian hadn't heard of all the snogging that had been happening around the school. If he had though, he would've been appalled. It seem that everyone in the bloody school (except for him) had snogging partners. Julian wasn't as interested in snogging as the rest of the school appeared to be, just giving Lexi a hug was good enough for him.

((I picked a song for them, and it's Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, by Police I believe. And sorry this took so long, I wasn't expecting to be busy today.))

[lexi_winchester]

Aww! I love that song, hehe. Good choice! :D I'm currently in the works of making a manip of them together for a picture purpose and an icon! Even if they aren't a couple - they are still best friends!))

If it was possible for Lexi to blush any harder, she would have just done it. She was in disbelief that this could actually be happening, a tiny part of her was constantly yelling at herself to wake up already - this has to be a dream. Someone actually fancies her? She smiled as brightly as ever to Julian, eased that he understood. "I'm really quite happy, myself!" She let out another nervous giggle, without even meaning to.

So... this was what it felt like, what all her dormmates were chatting about. Lexi liked it, indeed.