Ditching the Spectators (Dean)

[Jaquelyn Frazier]

Jackie pronounced the password and drug Dean inside with her, though she had to leave him in the common room. It wasn't like he had never seen it before.

She quickly ran up and grabbed her broom, and came back to Dean within minutes.

"Okay, am I going to the bottom with you?"

[Dean Fisher]

Dean was used to be practically drug everywhere by Jackie. He waited patiently as she went to go get her broom. Before she got back, he looked around the common room.

Once she came back, he took her hand again. "It would be better if you head on up to the tower. By the time you get up there, I'll be on the ground, waiting for you to summon your broom the first time." He smiled at her and lead her out of the common room and to the stairs. Dean stopped and looked down at Jackie. "You be careful."

[Jaquelyn Frazier]

"I'm always careful," She said, smiling at him. Well, as careful as you could be, jumping off a building.

"I'll see you at the bottom, okay?" She reached back for him and hugged him before she handed him her broom.

[Dean Fisher]

Dean smiled and shook his head. Careful? More like daredevil. "Alright, I'll see you at the bottom." He hugged her tightly and rested his head on the top of hers as he hugged her. He didn't immediately let go. He continued to hug her for a few seconds longer and then he just kissed the top of her head for good luck. His face turned red even though he did it for good luck.

"Good luck Jackie." He gave her a quick smile and a look of shyness came across him. Dean took her broom and walked down the stairs to the first floor.

[Jaquelyn Frazier]

She watched him for a moment, sighing as he left.

One day, she thought, she was going to jump and actually need him to catch her. But she smiled because she knew he'd be there.

She turned on her heel and made her way to the astronomy tower, looking for him below before she called for her broom.

[Dean Fisher]

Dean hurried down the stairs, placing the broom on the first floor, and then sprinted to the Astronomy Tower. He looked up. He would be lying if he didn't say he was worried, but he knew that Jackie would be alright, no matter what happened.

He saw her broom come flying by him. Don't forget to count Jackie he thought to himself.

[Jaquelyn Frazier]

Jackie called for her broom and then started counting. It seemed like ages, but in fact was only 21 seconds.

"Okay," she yelled down, using the levitating spell to gently send her broom back down to Dean. If his logic said she had plenty of time by halving it, then it should be more of a challange if she did it in thirds. She would wait 14 seconds before she called for the broom, though she felt like she would hit the ground in 14 seconds.

She shook her head and waited for Dean to put it back before she jumped.

[Dean Fisher]

Dean caught onto her broom and sprinted towards the first floor. He slightly hoped that he's logic was good enough. The Astronomy Tower was high enough for Jackie to have plenty of time to get on her broom as she called it. She should make it half way down and the broom she be there.

He ran back to the Astronomy Tower and then looked way up. Dean yelled, "Go for it," although he wasn't sure if he was heard.

[Jaquelyn Frazier]

Jackie heard, faintly, and nodded though she knew he couldn't see the movement.

She climbed up onto the ledge of the tower and looked down, grinning to herself. Holding her arms out to her side, she tilted her head back and let her body fall forward. For the first couple of seconds, she held her breath and forgot to count, but she compensating for it. Her hair and her robes were trailing behind her, and for all intents and purposes, she could have been an angel being cast from Heaven.

She was halfway down before she called for her broom.

[Dean Fisher]

Dean looked up, but before her broom moved, he saw her jump. He shook his head, he wasn't sure how this was going to end up. Part of him wanted to just close his eyes, but he knew that he had to catch her if she didn't make it on her broom.

Her broom whizzed by and seemed to catch her several feet above his head. Dean let out a sigh of relief. Half of him was still shaky. "Let's not do that again. I think you almost gave me a heart attack!"

[Jaquelyn Frazier]

Jackie was laughing. "Oh, Merlin, I didn't think it was going to come in time," she said, flying lazy circles around his head, a few feet up. Her heart was racing and she'd never admit it, but that had been terrifying.

And she loved it.

"Come do it with me."

[Dean Fisher]

"Jackie! You can't be serious? Me jump off the top of the Astronomy Tower?" Dean looked at her like she was crazy. He wasn't so sure that it would have been a bright idea if he did it. Besides, jumping (both literally and figuratively) wasn't exactly his thing. He couldn't just jump out and tell Jackie that he liked her.

[Jaquelyn Frazier]

"I survived it, didn't I?" She had held her breath the entire way down, but it had only been a few seconds.

She finally landed the broom, trying to hide the fact that she was shaking with all the adrenaline that was rushing through her. "Or.... you can tell me another one of your ideas that I can try."

[Dean Fisher]

He considered his options for a moment. Dean wasn't going to tell her another one of his ideas because the wrong one might slip out.

"Alright, alright, I'll jump." He might as well do something exciting. "It couldn't really be that bad could it?" Dean swallowed and looked up at Jackie. "Let's do it."

[Jaquelyn Frazier]

Jackie grinned. "Really?! I didn't think you'd say yes! Come on," She grabbed his hand, not letting him back out of this. "Where did you store the broom?" She asked when they were inside. She noticed he already had his broom with him... probably just in case something went wrong when she jumped.

[Dean Fisher]

"Yeah, yeah, neither did I," he mumbled. Jackie didn't really give him no other choice. She had a power over him that made him tell things that he didn't want to, and the only way he could really keep control over that was to just agree with her. Although, it was a pretty good thing she didn't know that. There would be no telling what she would have him do!

"On the column, right here," he said as they reached the first floor. He put his broom beside Jackie's. "Let's climb the seven floors, and then to the Astronomy Tower so that we can jump to our deaths."

[Jaquelyn Frazier]

"Oh, don't be so drab about it, Dean," Jackie told him, still having a tight hold on his hand. "You've already seen me do it, and I didn't die. The broom was a little closer to the ground than I anticipated, but I waited more time than you said before I called it anyway. We'll do it your way this time."

Honestly, she thought Dean had more courage than he ever let on or realized. For Merlin's sake, he was about to jump off a tower with her.

[Dean Fisher]

He laughed. "I'm just kidding! So, how long did it take your broom to get there?" Dean squeezed Jackie's hand and smiled. "And I think we'll do it your way. I mean, where would be the fun in not getting closer to the ground before the brooms catch us?" He winked with a sudden burst of courage. "Come on Jackie. You're moving awfully slow."

[Jaquelyn Frazier]

"I will make a Gryffindor out of you yet," Jackie said, shaking her head at him.

"It took 21 seconds... so I waited for 14 after I jumped to call it, and I probably could have waited 15 or 16 and gotten even closer... if you want to try it." She egged him on as they climbed the stairs. She had to move very quickly just to keep up with his long strides, and heaven help her when he decided to move fast.

[Dean Fisher]

"Alright. We'll jump and wait until 14 1/2 to call," he said with a grin. He noticed that Jackie was having to basically run to keep up with him. Dean stopped and picked her up with ease. "You move to slow Frazier." Of course he was teasing her. He picked up his pace to get them there faster.

Reaching the tower, he didn't let her go right away. His faced flushed slightly, realizing that he was still holding on to her. Dean put her on her feet carefully. "Alright, you ready?"