Being Nervous Isn't a Bad Thing

Rene hummed gently to himself as he awaited his girlfriend outside of the hall. He was so contently in love with her he really didn't care about her not feeling the same way or the possibility of being dumped. Rene couldn't force Fiona to do or feel anything she didn't, and he understood that. Rene had really begun to calm down and take things slow with Fiona. They went on dates regularly and occasionally he surprised her with a gift or two, but he wasn't as much of a lost puppy as he'd once been.

Still, as the butterflies circulated in his stomach it was hard not to act like a start stuck teenage girl at the very thought of his girlfriend. Rene tapped his foot to a small rhythm of nothing in particular. Rene had a small bouquet of roses to give to his girlfriend even though he had a feeling she wasn't the biggest fan of flowers in the world.

Rene looked up at the sound of heels against hardwood and smiled. He looked up and spotted his girlfriend. The butterflies in his stomach erupted into flurries before settling as she got close. "Hello, my love. I got a bouquet for you." Rene smiled before kissing her gently. "How are you?"

Fiona thought she was getting the hang of this getting dressed up thing. So much so to the point that she had time to help Fane with the nifflers before racing up to the Montagnard dorms with time to spare. The seventh year smiled as she thought of the fun to come later that night. Dare she say even more so than the dance with her boyfriend?

She gave her newly styled hair one last pat and thought the charm should manage to hold it in place for one night. No messy tangled hair. That would be a change. Satisfied that she was ready, Fiona turned from the mirror, slipped the dark heels, matching her lacy dress and walked out of her dorm.

Whilst she was one of the slower members of the sixth/seventh year crowd Fiona wasn't the last to leave. The possibility that any of them might be avoiding the ball didn't enter her head. Why would anyone stay away from a night of fun in which the younger crowd could not enter? Well one sister would be there but Fiona could easily avoid old sour puss who would in all likelihood be avoiding her too.

The smile on her face brightened as she saw Rene waiting for as promised. It had been a much better idea than meeting in the common room. Explaining what delayed her might have been all kinds of awkward. "Fine," she returned after accepting the kiss. "Even better for seeing you. They are lovely but now I have the problem of where to put them in the meantime." It was small but Fiona had no desire to try wear them anywhere on herself. Flowers looked much nicer in a vase on display. "What do you think roses would think of being placed in a glass of punch?"

Rene rolled his eyes at Fiona's inquiry. "Well, it would depend on the ph level of the punch. If too much sugar is in it, not much will happen, but if the solution is mostly water and red dye number whatever, then a lot can happen. If the colors are different enough and you give the flowers enough time, the petals will change color. We did an experiment on it at my school when I was eight. My partner was Abilene Winters. She immigrated to France like my family did. She was from the U.S. though. I'm glad you like the flowers, though." Rene figured she'd want to toss them away, but he figured that he would just make the gesture for the sake of gentlemanly behavior. "Would you like to place your flowers in the punch so we can dance, my love?"

Fiona stepped back and held up her hands at the wall of information coming out of Rene's mouth. "Okay. Okay. More information than I wanted," she said with a laugh. "Punch. Flowers. Dance. Yes. In that order." She hurried it up not wishing for Rene to give her more talks on the effects of punch on roses.

The professors may have given her odd looks as Fiona got a glass of punch and then promptly put a bouquet of flowers in it. If they did she didn't notice. "There. That's done," she said as she stepped back again before grabbing Rene's hand. "Now let's go and dance. That's what we're here for right?"

"Right." Rene grinned broadly at her and pulled her onto the floor. It was pretty good timing. They could start out with a slower song and then they could do one of the dances Rene liked that would require a lot more energy out of the both of them, and a lot more space. Rene gently rested his forehead against Fiona's. "Merlin, I am so in love with you Fiona Miller. It drives me crazy."

Rene laughed softly and the next song was faster. He did a dance that was more low key than some of the ones they did last year, but he was just getting started. When a really fast song came on he led Fiona in a Spanish dance that he absolutely loved, and he loved being able to dance it with his girlfriend at the biggest dance of the year. There was nothing better.