On a Sunny Afternoon (Harriet)

[Bryn Kennedy]

Today was judgement day... in a way at least. The sun was shining and it was warm outside so at least he wouldnt freeze. He was wearing a nice sleek black shirt and had the top two buttons undone, he left i untucked over his dark blue faded jeans and he'd actually attempted to straighten his hair... well Brooke had. She'd tried to make it go a bit spikier and neater, except one thing about Bryn's hair was it hated to be styled, it liked to do its own thing when and how it wanted so eventually it ended up as a clumped mass on top of his head. Luckily Brooke was talented with spells and she made it so it was similiar to his actual style, only neater.

His hands were shoved into his jacket, not due to being cold but to being nervous. It was unusual to be nervous, he was meeting Harriet! But was this like a date? He thought so but he didnt know how Harriet felt about it... was she just coming as Harriet the friend... or Harriet the date prospect? Odd way to put it but Bryn's mind tended to run away with him when he was nervous. Not all his thoughts would be consistant and less than half actually made sense.

He reached the end of the pathway, Hogsmeade now stretching out infront of his eyes. Slowly, he took a deep breath and pushed himself further on. Walking through the mass of people, he tried not to bump into anyone, tried to keep his head down so nobody would speak to him, least that way he wouldnt be late. Finally, he pushed open the door and was thankful that the shrunken heads didnt tell him that no underage wizards would be allowed in today.

Slowly he walked up to the counter, looking around as he did so... Harriet wasnt here yet. He ordered two butterbeer's and chose a corner seat away from the bustle of the pub. He gazed lazily out of the window, trying to control himself. Was this a date? Is it? Does she like me in that way or is this just another day as friends? He tried to keep himself calm, and outwardly he probably appeared to be calm but inside, well his insides were doing a very funny kind of dance.

[Harriet London]

Harriet was panicking. It'd been a very, very long time since a boy had made her this flustered, and she'd be lying if she said she'd missed the feeling. Nerves had woken her up at 7 am this morning – A time she didn't know even existed on a weekend – And she'd had to find a way to amuse herself, or rather keep herself sane, until she left for Hogsmeade. Thankfully, her mind was being stereotypically feminine today, and a good amount of her time was spent trying to get ready. Having gone through sixteen different outfits, four hairstyles and a layer of make up later, the small Gryffindor finally found something that worked, something not too casual or dressy. Honestly, her small mind didn't know what to make of this whole situation, whether to treat it as another day out with a friend, or as a date. They were completely different things, and the way she dressed and acted depended on which one it was. This...This just had her truly confused, and the more she thought about it, the bigger headache it gave her. By the time she'd finished getting ready, she had decided to take it how it came. If Bryn decided to make it a date, that was more than fine by her.

Finally, Harriet made it to the Three Broomsticks, and paused just outside the door. She took a deep breath, and brushed down the skirt of her light blue dress once more before entering. It took her a good few minutes to find Bryn amongst the sea of faces that crowded a pub, but she finally locked on to him. Unable to stop herself from smiling, the brunette made an attempt to calm herself before setting off towards the boy, various necklaces and bracelets jingling as she moved. Her housemate was staring out of the window, looking like he was mentally occupied somewhere else right now. Harriet considered attempting to creep up on him, but it seemed unlikely that she'd be successful – She wasn't very good at moving quietly today, and he'd probably see her before she got to him anyway. Instead, she gathered up an air of confidence (which she definitely didn't feel on the inside) and marched herself over to Bryn, promptly planting a kiss on his cheek before giving him a bright smile and a cheeky wink. ”Hey sexy!”

[Bryn Kennedy]

Gazing out of the window allowed Bryn to watch other people interact with each other without having to think about his own situation. The same thoughts rang through his head, was it, wasnt it? Truth was he didnt know and part of him was actually a little bit nervous of finding out. The day leading up to this had been painfully slow, even Brooke had noticed the gradual shift in Bryn's composure.

"Hey sexy"

Bryn turned just as Harriet kissed his cheek. He gave a smile and shuffled around so she could sit down. Picking up his own drink he drained some, unfortunatly it wasnt the kind of drink you got courage from. Hah, a Gryffindor asking for false courage, it was odd. "Hello to you too, beautiful." He answered with a wink although he was wondering how she'd take the compliment and wondered if she'd think he was just being his usual joking self.

"Got you a drink," He told her, pushing the full butterbeer towards her, "Butterbeer alright?" He glanced back out of the window, by now his insides were doing more than just a strange dance. He felt like he had people doing the conga in him. Taking a deep breath, he let it out as though yawning and turned to smile at her. Do you feel as awkward as I do? He thought to himself.

"Haha, look at the drunk people trying to dance." He whispered in her ear and nodded over to the dance floor where a couple were trying to dance. However, they were not in time with the music at all.

[Harriet London]

Sitting down in the space the man had created, Harriet fought to stop herself from blushing, and immediately felt ridiculous for having to do so. This was no different to any other time they'd been together, they always said things like that to each other and she'd never reacted like that before. In honesty, she'd never taken Bryn seriously when he said things like that, simply because she didn't think that he'd ever be serious about it. She'd thought they were firmly in the 'friend zone', whether she wanted it or not. Why would this have changed so suddenly?

Harriet didn't want to think about this, so shoved the thought out of her mind as she accepted the drink her housemate pushed towards her. "Perfect." She told him, beaming brightly as she did so. "You know my tastes well, Kennedy." Trust Bryn to know her favourite drink. The small girl didn't even know how he'd worked this out, but supposed that 6 years in the same house would probably be long enough to work it out. Taking a sip, she followed his gaze to the dancing people. They were atrociously bad at it, but they looked like they were having a good time.

"Heyy, that's almost as bad as my normal dancing." She fake-pouted and whined as she put her glass down. Of course, this wasn't true. She personally thought she was a good dancer, but she doubted Bryn would know that. She continued to playfully scold him, "Are you trying to insult me already? I swear, carry on like this and there'll be no good night kiss for you!"

[Bryn Kennedy]

Bryn smiled widely, of course he knew her tastes. Afterall, you werent friends for as long as these two were without learning something. "Well I should hope I do by now or I may as well give up and go home." He let out a laugh to show he was joking, although it wasnt his usual laugh it was sort of strained as though he was nervous about something.

He watched the dancing with amusement, some people swaying casually, some dancing like automated robots and others falling about the floor. Bryn had never seen Harriet dance, but now she spoke of it he would openly admit he was curious, if of course, he could tear his eyes away from her face to actually remember to speak. It wasnt until she spoke again did he find his voice. "So a good night kiss is out of the question? How about an afternoon one?" He was smiling, and leant a bit closer to her, the smile reaching his eyes while his mind was racing, wondering what she would do or what her reaction would be.

He finished the remains of his butterbeer, but he didnt take his eyes off the ebony haired girl sat next to him. Moving his arm as casually as he could, he rested it on the back of the seat, just behind her and tried to make it seem as though it wasnt a big deal. Of course, his mind was thinking differently. "Do I get to see you dance then, at some point this evening?"

[Harriet London]

The girl picked up on the difference in Bryn's behaviour, and turned her head to look at him with a curious expression. Suddenly, she had a feeling that she wasn't the only one feeling slightly odd about this whole situation. It was a good thing, though. At least that meant her mind wasn't making things up. After a good couple of minutes, Harriet smiled nervously, and returned to her drink for a little while, a happy feeling spreading through her as she realised this could actually be more than she thought.

Her friend's cheeky question made her giggle girlishly, and she glanced at him again, smile growing across her face. Slowly, but very deliberately, she slid closer and leaned in towards him. "Maaaaybee." She said quietly, her tone semi playful, though she was being rather serious. She was still playing it safe, just in case. She'd been incredibly wrong in her judgements before. "Depends. Are you going to be a good boy if I do?"

With this question, Harriet reached up and ruffled Bryn's hair playfully, though it was slowly getting harder and harder for her to act so casually. She was overly aware of everything the brown haired boy was doing, including that arm movement, and every move he made caused her heart to flutter uncomfortably, though not altogether unpleasantly. "You might," She managed to build up the courage to speak without her voice shaking, and winked at him again when she continued: "Are you planning on getting me that drunk?"

[Bryn Kennedy]

He was pleased at least, his cheekiness hadnt earned him a slap. Maybe, just maybe, she was hoping for more between them like he was. The two of them were only an inch or so apart now, and the distance was like little electric shocks running between them. Or that was what he felt. He didnt know how she was feeling about being this close in this situation. "I promise I'll be a good boy." A smile tugged at his lips, without breaking eye contact Bryn moved one of his hands and let it rest over hers and slid closer to her, their noses almost touching. "I'll be a very good boy."

She ruffled his hair which brought him back to earth with a bump and he moved away from her. He let out a breath, one he'd been holding and picked up his drink, draining it in one. His arm was casually behind her, he could feel her hair tickling the bare skin, his stomach was doing flips. He was trying here, he really was but after all the games he'd played in the past he wasnt sure if she was taking him seriously or not. He let his arm slip slightly and found it resting at her neck, his hand on her shoulder. He didnt look across at her, instead he was staring blatently at his butterbeer, he didnt want his face to give him away.

Bryn's head turned when she spoke and a flush ran up his features when he saw his hand on her shoulder. It was a moment before he spoke, a moment before her words sunk in. "Well you cant blame me for trying... but I'd never force you to do something you dont want to." He grinned "My arm around you seem's to be okay. I dont seem to be pushing any boundaries there... but I wonder... What would you do if I did... something completely uncharactaristic. Something stupid or possibly not so stupid?" His light grey eyes were looking into her bright blue ones with curiosity. Bryn, man or mouse!? He thought. Mouse everytime... okay just go... 1...2...3 He leaned in, closing the gap between them, however he did not kiss her properly. He simply let his lips rest for a brief second on the corner of her mouth.

Leaning back, a smile was on his face. "I seem to be out of beer..." He noted and shuffled out of the booth. He found himself stood up, stretched and looked down at her. "Miss London, would you accompany me to the dancefloor. My curiosity of seeing you dance is too strong for me to ignore." He was trying to brush off what he'd just done just in case, if she had time to think about it, she may slap him.

[Harriet London]

He was so close, Harriet could have sworn he'd be able to hear her heartbeat, which was considerably faster than usual. She couldn't help but grin like a true moron as she met his eyes and fought to keep her breathing going steadily. It was probably a good time to respond to him, her mind told her this, but the small girl found she had lost all control over herself - she could barely even move. Finally, she regained enough composure to take a breath and open his mouth to say something...

And he moved away again. Harriet sat gaping with a slightly shocked expression on her face for a few moments, before her face started burning. Biting her lip, she looked away from him and tried to find something, anything else to focus on other than the increasingly irresistably handsome guy next her. She ended up watching one rough looking drunk as he fell to the floor and rolled about a bit. This would've been incredibly funny to her, if only she wasn't so busy in her own mind. She also probably wouldn't have jumped so much when she felt Bryn's arm around her, but she quickly reacted to it, and leant in to him a little.

Mr. Kennedy was obviously not very keen on letting her talk today, because before she could comment on his arm around her, or his hand on her shoulder, he was talking again. And she had to admit, he wasn't making a great deal of sense either. His last question confused her slightly, and she would have asked him what exactly he was planning on doing that would be so strange, but he answered her before she got to chance to start speaking. But then he was gone again, and up on his feet, and Harriet was staring at him with a look of utter confusing.

He'd just kissed her. Bryn. Kissed her. In a state of shock, she touched the corner of her mouth gently, a grin slowly spreading across her face. "You are so confusing today." She told him, giggling slightly as she pushed herself to her feet. "Fine. I might dance, maybe, but if I do, you owe me!"

[Bryn Kennedy]

It was as though both Bryn and Harriet were in their own little bubble, their own little world where nothing else was happening but what was happening on this table. He was frighteningly aware of her, and as he watched her face flush up, he was sure now she was just as aware of him as he was of her. The thought made him quite happy to think it, especially when she leant into him. It was as though it confirmed his thoughts, although he knew he'd need a bit more concrete evidence before he decided on whether or not he'd take this further than just this one date thing.

His mind kept telling him to shut up, but his voice-box kept blurting the words out. As soon as he had said them he knew he had to follow them up somehow and so he took a chance, although he didnt let her react to it as he jumped to his feet and turned back to face her, saying something about dancing. His heart was thumping painfully beneath his ribcage, his smile was nervous and unsure as he held out his hand. He'd kissed his friend, okay fine... so it wasnt a kiss kiss... but still... it was something, right? He'd put the ball into the playing field now... it was up to her whether she kept it there or booted it back out. The only thing he could think of was; If you're going to tell me, no, one day... tell me now... But being Bryn, he didnt say it aloud.

"I always owe you somehow." He laughed, it wasnt entirely true, in fact it wasnt true at all but for the moment his mind was blank. Okay, so there was the time she'd leant him a couple of galleons to send his mother a present... he'd paid her back the next week... oh and the time she took the practise for him because he was busy elsewhere... he hadnt paid her back for that.

Okay.. maybe he did find himself indebted to her an awful lot.

"Well if you dance, I'll dance with you." He smiled, taking her hand and leading her to the middle of the crowded room. He slipped his arms around her waist as an old muggle song came on. He found himself singing along to it as he guided her slowly, "Sally called when she got the word, she said I suppose you've heard about alice." He laughed as they danced to the old music. "Dont know why she's leaving or where she's gonna go, I guess she's got her reasons but I just dont wanna know, cause for twenty-four years I've been living next door to alice." He smiled as he sang along with the chourus, "Twenty-four years just waiting for the chance to tell her how I feel and maybe get a second glance, now I've got to get used to not living next door to alice."[/i]

A few minutes passed by and the song ended, along with Bryn's singing. But he kept Harriet where she was as yet another song came on. He laughed, what was this, fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties night? "You're simply the best! Better than all the rest!" It wasnt just him singing to this one though, the whole pub exploded into song when the chorus came on. He stopped though, and just laughed. "This song is about you, I just decided." He spoke as the chorous came back on and found himself singing along to it once more, hugging the smaller girl closer to him.

(Sorry! I was listening to fifties tunes xD)[/font][/color]

[Harriet London]

The girl couldn't help but wish she knew where she stood with Bryn right now. This had started off so simple, or at least, he'd made it sound simple when he asked her. It was just two friends going out for a day, at first. Now, she had no idea what it was, but it didn't feel like a friendly outing any more. To her, it felt like something more. And as the minutes passed, she found herself actually wanting something to be there. But there was no way for her unobservant self to know what the man wanted. Harriet looked up at him for a moment, her face deadly serious as she tried to mentally will him to tell her his thoughts.

Seconds later, she snapped out of it and grinned brightly up at the man, taking his hand. ”Of course you do. Because I do you a favour just by allowing you to be in my presence” She chuckled happily, allowing him to lead her off. She was teasing, of course. Bryn knew (or at least, he should) that she wasn't quite that arrogant. Besides, she enjoyed being around him so much that, if she were that arrogant, the hours she'd spent with the man would have been enough payback for her. ”So you owe me... roughly a thousand hours worth of something.”

Once again, she found herself giggling girlishly as Bryn put his arms around her. Following his lead, she draped her arms around his neck and let him move her, wide grin plastered on her face as she listened to him singing. Bryn and his old muggle songs. What were the chances of the Three Broomsticks playing these songs today? Miniscule, she guessed, but oh well, it worked for her. The song changed, he pulled her closer and Harriet found it harder to keep track of her breathing. ”That's possibly the cheesiest thing you've ever said...” She managed to squeeze these breathless-sounding words out as she glanced up at him with a less confident smile than before, adding and probably the sweetest thing I've ever heard' to the end of that in her mind.