| Details for Not Dates, Dating |
| Summary: | Sybil has something on her mind and invites Gerald to meet with her in the boat house. |
| Date: | 1939-02-11 |
| Location: | Boat House, Hogwarts |
| Related: | Best. Game. Ever |
| Characters |
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Much like any other boathouse, this is a simple wooden structure with a walkway around the outside serving double-duty as a dock, and storage racks above to hold boats. The difference is, this is much larger than an individual's boathouse, this boathouse is big enough to fit an entire first-year class in boats big enough to hold four firsties each.
Sybil's note will have simply said, 'Meet me at the boat house. 12.30 tonight'. There might have been some doodlings of an indiscriminate nature penned around the outside and there will undoubtedly have been a spray or two of perfume given the paper she's written on. Gerald will have known whom it was from however and so when he arrives at the boat house he'll not be too surprised to find the blonde-haired girl waiting for him. She's wrapped for the cold, arms pulled around her waist and whatever she's wanting to talk to him about is obviously important, given that its past curfew and she's asked him to break it for her.
Gerald yawns as he slips into the small building, his hands tucked deeply into his pockets to fend off the cold, while his eyes wander almost instantly toward the girl. "Hey Kitten." He droned easily enough, though he does send a cautious glance behind him before he steps away from the door. "You okay? I'm not used to getting ominous letters.." beat, "You're dumping me aren't you? I've set a new Hogwarts record, haven't I?"
"What? No. I'm not dumping you. How can you dump someone you're not even dating?" There might have been a 'yet' that could follow Sybil's response to Gerald, and she pulls her shoulders up to her ears, her scarf muffling cheeks and mouth as she takes a step towards Gerald. Two steps. She holds a hand towards him and tilts her head towards the end of the boat house that opens onto the lake. "Come sit with me. We need to have a serious talk." She takes his hand in hers, fingers curling around the edge of his palm and give a gentle tug.
And there's that expression. The look of someone whose stomach just dropped to their feet and they may vomit at any second. "Why?" It's a paranoid tone, one that causes Gerald to barely move an inch as she gives her tug. It was said just a day ago..Sunny /really/ messed him up. "What did I do?!" He does follow though.
Sybil tugs Gerald again, but when he doesn't follow she turns into him, taking his other hand, fingers cool where they lace through his. "Nothing," she says, an edge of amusement in her voice as she looks up at him. "Golly but you're funny, why would you think that you've done something? Also, what sort of horrible person do you think I am that I'd ask you here to break curfew only to tell you I don't want to have another date with you?" A small skew of her mouth is given as she bites the inside of one cheek and she pulls herself in closer to him, hands abandoning his so her arms can slip around his waist.
Gerald doesn't look convinced, but the leeriness in his gaze does lessen just a hair as she attached. "About that." He decides suddenly, "Assuming that you aren't about to tell me to shove off," she did say that after all, "I think this whole 'thing' needs some clarification. We do not 'have another date'. We 'are dating'." Or..something. he at least seems firmly settled on it. But only for a moment. "Uhm….ya know, if you're okay with that." beat, "You wanted to say something?"
Sybil bumps her forehead to Gerald's chest, a moment's silence given at the question before she speaks. "That's what I wanted to ask," she says. "Whether we're officially 'a thing'. You know. Girlfriend. Boyfriend. Thing. I told you yesterday on the balcony that I've never properly dated anyone before, and earlier tonight in the common room, I was playing a game with Myrus Lowe and afterwards I just thought… would Gerald mind?" A small pulling back as she lifts her chin to look up at him, confusion just showing in her eyes. "And I wasn't sure. Wasn't sure if we're dating or not, and if we are then it makes a difference to certain things."
Gerald emits a small noise of disapproval at the news, his body tensing in a nearly visible bristle with the setting of his jaw. "Gerald minds." He allows firmly, "Gerald minds a lot. Gerald also demands that if he's going to get replaced that it not be with that wormy little. Inbreeding git." He's…not a fan of Myrus, for no reason other than what he knows of course. He's 16. He can be unreasonable. He can also sulk, like a pro. And he does so as he steps back to drop down to sit on a near by crate. "I felt like it was kinda /obvious/ yesterday…I don't follow girls around like this otherwise." Yes, he looks mildly hurt. "What did you /do/?"
Sybil hadn't been expecting that, for Gerald to pull away from her. She watches him sit then knots her hands behind her back, worry creasing her brow. "We played a game," she says quietly. She leans against the wall opposite to Gerald, hands trapped between wood and rump and lifts her chin from the coils of her scarf, resettling it over the top. She exhales. "You put a bit of food on your forehead then try to get it into your mouth without using your hands. You have to try to make it difficult for the other person and it ended up with me sitting on Lowe to distract him. There was a muffin too, trapped between my mouth and his." She pauses, a worried edge to her voice. "It wasn't that I kissed him- I was caught up in all the girls cheering me on to win the game, and I -did- want to win. I'm a poor loser."
Gerald frowns. He even look mad sitting here, though he turns his face away quickly. "I don't want to hear any of this." It's simple enough. Dry, low and forced. "I guess it wouldn't have bothered you at all if I'd played that stupid game with some other girl? Malfoy or Shine?" He watches her, perhaps weighing quite a bit on her answer, but he barely waits. "I'm just upset. I've already went through a relationship fully of 'it was just a game' bullshit. I really like you, but if you're gonna keep playing these types of games and stuff..I can't be party to that. I don't share. In any sense of the word."
"Gerald," Sybil says. "I'm telling you about this because I really like you too. And if we're going to be dating, which I hope we are, then I'm not going to be playing games like that anymore." A ghost of a smile. "Except with you. That's why I need to know, are we 'an item' or not? Are we officially dating? If we are, then there's rules that apply. At least, I think there are. Not everyone minds someone they're with messing around with other people, look at Malfoy and Macmillan for example. I've been a terrible flirt for as long as I know, but then I've not been that bothered before about anyone's feelings so long as I'm not hurting them."
Gerald coughs at mention of Malfoy and his friend. "Ye-yeah." He stutters before he can help it, though he does at least manage to clear himself of any anger he may have been brewing. A deep breath makes short work of that. He also reaches out a hand to summon her closer. "I am /not/ the sharing type. Like I said already. So..no, no more games, or touching, licking, kissing or cuddling other guys. I don't care if he has a whole cake on his face. You're mine. And the next time someone gets touched by you, I'm going to find my violent side very quickly."
Sybil peels herself from the wall, a delighted smile illuminating her face. "I think that I'm probably not the sharing kind either," she confesses, lowering herself to sit in Gerald's lap, one arm hooking around his shoulders. A kiss gets pressed to his cheek before she tucks her head into the crook of his neck, cuddling herself into his side. "You'll just have to make sure that I'm never short of a cake or two, just to keep temptation away." She lifts her chin and looks up at him, eyes catching his with the hint of a tease just finding its way into her voice. "Or chocolates. Chocolates work too."