(Untitled)

[andraleigh]

Week Name/Date/Time: Meeting of the Minds / Saturday 1st October / 2 pm
Location: Hogsmeade
Open To: Tobias
Currently Involving: Andra

Comments

[tobias_kingston]

Tobias was surprised that she offered to let him have some of her butterbeer. He had been expecting something more along the lines of her standing and leaving, in all actuality. Knowing that people didn't generally like to get things spilled on them, it surprised him that she was willing to still sit there, say nothing of grinning and continuing their conversation.

She was very nice -- in addition to being pretty...

"Yes, I'd like that if you don't mind," he said slowly, smiling as he leaned against the table once more, this time lacing his fingers with each other so that he couldn't accidentally sweep his hand across the table and knock something else over. That would just be the icing on the cake, wouldn't it. "Besides, yours will probably taste better than mine did anyway. The grass is always greener, you know."

As she teased him, he let out a quiet laugh. Good, it would seem like they were over that little bump that he'd created; he was glad that she'd laughed about it. He'd once spilled something on a girl during his third year, but rather than laugh at it like Andra had, she'd yelled at him and thrown a book at his head.

It hadn't been pleasant.

"You dance? What kind?" He looked to her with interest. She looked like a ballet dancer to him, with her slim and tiny features. The way that she walked accented that feeling for him; she was graceful when she moved (at least that he'd seen).

[andraleigh]

Andra nodded as he agreed, and carefully picked up the two bottles. She hesitated, knowing that there was every bit of a chance that she'd do little more than make a dribbling mess.

She cautiously swung them so that they were just over the pile of crumpled napkins on the seat, and tipped her bottle to let half of the golden liquid pour into his. A few steams of the sweet drink ran down the sides, but for the most part? Success!

With a triumphant grin, she placed the bottles on the table.

She leaned down, her elbow propped on the table as she looked to him while he spoke. Nodding happily, she smiled before replying. "For the most part? Ballet," she said. "There were always times when we would study another dance for maybe a week, just to appreciate the movements and learn more about the rhythms and such... But all of the formal training is ballet. Which is good, it's always been my favourite; the only other thing I really picked up and enjoyed was a bit of ballroom dancing."

She looked down with a bashful smile as she realized how much she was talking. "It's sort of my thing," she added, shrugging lgihtly.

[tobias_kingston]

"Ha!"

As soon as he let that little outburst slip from his lips, he felt like an idiot. Really, he hadn't meant to say ha, but it had come out. He'd correctly guessed her style of dance, and he had felt strangely proud of that fact. "...sorry. I..."

Looking down at the table, then back to her with a grin, he shrugged. "I was improperly excited about the fact that I thought you did ballet." He reached over to take the bottle that she'd poured for him, murmuring a thank you before taking a careful sip.

"Ballroom dancing? That sounds like fun too. I don't think I could ever try ballet... but ballroom dancing..." He trailed off, nodding slowly as he thought about the elegant figures sweeping across a dancefloor. It was so graceful, ballroom dancing, and he couldn't help but wish that he knew how to do it.

[andraleigh]

Andra blinked in surprise as he gave a sharp cry, and she was instantly curious as to what in the world he'd been thinking! As he apologized and said that he thought she did ballet, she smiled.

"Nothing wrong with a correct guess," she replied, grinning wide. She nodded as he thanked her for the butterbeer, then waited with bated breath; as if terrified he'd spill it again or think that it tasted different, or a multitude of ridiculous scenarios.

"...but ballroom dancing..."

Andra nodded excitedly, her smile wider than ever. "Most people think of waltzing," she said, waving her hand. "And, well, a lot of the formal slow dances have waltz and two-step bases, but there's so much more! We learned a bunch of old Victorian dances, where the dance is organized into lines? And then the more upbeat stuff like foxtrotting."

She shrugged, obviously giddy to be chattering about something she loved.

[tobias_kingston]

"Lines??"

Tobias sounded both immensely curious and intrigued by the prospect of more than just the waltz or the tango. Of course he knew the more traditional dances -- not that he could do them, but he knew what they looked like -- but he'd never seen the older organized dances.

"Well," he replied slowly, watching her with a somewhat knowledgable expression on his face, "I think that you should get a bunch of people together to show me this dance in lines. Wouldn't that be fun? Having some sort of grand ball where everyone danced in the old-fashioned way, rather than just swaying to the off-beat? Honestly..."

He paused to take another sip of the butterbeer. It didn't taste any different from his own, but he could imagine that it tasted better, anyway. "You can't even call what they do nowadays dancing."

[andraleigh]

Andra perked significantly; Tobias looked very interested in the whole thing, and that made her ecstatic! She twisted in her seat to face him a bit better, her eyes dancing with excitement. His suggestion -- while a good one, and one that made her wish for such a thing -- was a bit far fetched for her.

She just didn't have the gall to run around, gathering up a bunch of people who would most likely scoff and look at her strangely for wanting to teach them dances.

"That would be a blast," she replied, shaking her head. She instantly envisioned The Reel, which was coincidentally a Scottish dance; not only was it traditional, but it was a load of fun. Everyone grabbing hands and spinning around like drunken revelers? Dizzy fun!

As he said that what they did nowadays was hardly dancing, she nodded in agreement. "Exactly. That, and most couples use it as an excuse to get all smooshed. It would do them some good to have no contact except their hands!" She laughed lightly, imagining how some people might react to that.

[tobias_kingston]

Smooshed?

She actually used smooshed in a sentence?

Tobias grinned widely, turning a bit on the seat as she had so that he was facing her. "Of course, I'm sure they would have fits when told that they had to keep their personal space... personal." He couldn't help the small chuckle that came from him at that notion. Most people that danced now didn't seem to know the concept of personal space, that he'd seen, anyway.

"There would be one little problem with that whole thing, though," he added slowly, watching her closely. "See, I have absolutely no clue how to dance. At all. In fact, I'm quite sure that, were you to put me on a dance floor, I would slip and fall, and I'd not be able to get back up."

Nodding matter-of-factly, he grinned.

[andraleigh]

"Exactly," she replied wisely, nodding. "They might not know how to cope with not having their arms all tangled up like they're dancing with the Giant Squid!" She smiled wide, then felt a little thrill of happiness as he turned to face her.

As he said that he would slip and fall, she laughed lightly. "Well, theoretically, I just don't buy it," she replied, winking. "Metaphorically, perhaps -- but really, you just need good scuffed shoes and a partner who won't let you down!"

She nodded firmly, as if saying, 'And that's that!' before taking a sip of her drink.

"But then again, I've no clue how to properly fly..." She trailed off coyly, giving him a crooked smirk (that had she known she was doing, she'd have cringed and preferred to frown).