Slow Dance (Ingrid/Savannah/openish)

[Savannah Lyons]

Savannah was, for the first time in a very long time, completely relaxed. Her usually stiff posture had softened, and her expression was serene. In that moment, she wasn't thinking about being a proper lady. She was just... Savannah.

When he spoke again, she opened her eyes and looked at him with a soft smile. She didn't change her posture, though, and if anything, she looked even more relaxed. "I love the violin," she replied. "But you don't have to play it now. You could come and sit with me, and we can talk."

She didn't know what she wanted to talk about, but she knew that right now, she felt closer to him than she had ever felt to anyone, even Elliot.

[Cameron Wilder]

Cameron didn't move or stop playing. Something about this... about the situation they found themselves in, the circumstances... without the music, it scared him a little. He wouldn't admit it, of course, but he liked these moments, where neither one of them was judging the other, or being anything they weren't. Without the music, they went back to being Cameron and Savannah, and even if he could find something to talk to her about, he wasn't sure he wanted to let her that close.

"I didn't remember telling you I played it," he said softly, stalling more than anything else. "Listen, Sav..."

He trailed off, obviously coming up short with the words he wanted to say, and the piano's notes stopped abruptly. "We're not very good at just talking to each other."

[Savannah Lyons]

The problem with trying to talk without the music was that they both tended to put up their defences. And when that happened, they hit walls. Savannah was always surprised when she ran into a wall that Cameron had put up, because her own walls were so thick and confining. She didn't think of him as being the same way.

"We did fine earlier," she said quietly. "When I was crying."

She sat up and leaned forward, looking at him. "I don't want to leave this room and go back to the way we always are. I want us to be able to talk sometimes. I just don't know how we're supposed to do that."

[Cameron Wilder]

Cameron opened his mouth, about to say that he didn't know how they were supposed to talk outside of this room, either, but when presented with a problem, Cameron either showed complete indifference, or he found a solution. So he closed his mouth, knowing indifference was the wrong answer here.

"Okay," he said, his attention fully on her as he finally got up to sit next to her. "We just can't talk about this. But there are a million other things to talk about besides this, so... I think we'll do just fine." He was regaining his usually personality, and he felt more comfortable with it in place. "Does this mean you think I'm less of a ruffian, now?"

[Savannah Lyons]

She, however, hadn't yet fully regained her normal facade of propriety. As he spoke, she straightened up in her seat a little more, but that was the extent of it.

"I apologized for calling you that," she said, her tone still light. "Or if I didn't, I should have. Besides... maybe I need a ruffian in my life." Her smile was just a little ironic as she said that.

She turned in her seat to face him. "It's not like I have tons of friends," she reminded him. "If we're going to be friends, we ought to be able to talk once in a while."

[Cameron Wilder]

"You apologized," he said. "I just like giving you a hard time about it."

Her next words nearly floored him. There was no way she didn't have friends. Elliot and Ingrid jumped to mind right away, at least. If he had friends, she had friends. Granted, he was outgoing and could be charming when the timing was right, but she was beautiful and genuine and selfless. "You have friends," he told her, his tone disbelieving. "And friends who are a much better influence than me. But I get it... we can talk."

[Savannah Lyons]

If friends were people who said hello or talked about the weather, then she had plenty of friends. But there really wasn't anyone that she thought of as really being a close friend. She got along well enough with her roommates, but they were hardly close enough to be friends. And she was friendly with Liam, but he was almost as quiet as Ingrid. And of course, she had Elliot, but even there, she felt a distance.

But she caught onto something that he said, and it made her sit up a little straighter. "You think you're a bad influence on me?"

[Cameron Wilder]

Cameron laughed, his tone light. "Please, I know I'm a bad influence on you. I don't pay attention in class, I have nowhere near the manners you do... I mean, I could. I know them, I just don't care. If I had my way, you would have spent a couple of detentions in Slughorn's office with me. Give me enough time, and I'd ruin you."

He was exaggerating a little bit on that last part, but he didn't feel by much. "You're just so good, Savannah." Not only did he not know how to keep her sweet and innocent, he almost itched to do just the opposite. If he let himself get close to her, she would get hurt.

"Why, you think I'm not?"

[Savannah Lyons]

Savannah eyed him thoughtfully. She wondered what it was like to not care what people thought of you, to just be able to do whatever you wanted, or say any thought that passed through your head. She couldn’t do those things. She felt caged up inside, and it actually sounded sort of liberating to break out like that. After all, Cameron always seemed to be having fun. Savannah had no idea what fun really was.

“What you really mean is that you could be a bad influence, if I let you,” she said carefully. “But you know, there’s always the possibility that I could be a good influence on you.”

She was starting to understand Cameron a little bit better, and it occurred to her that while he might have thought she was a snob who looked down her nose at him, the truth was actually quite different. He thought himself somehow beneath her. And maybe that was her fault, for her disapproving looks and occasional comments, but it strangely bothered her. He was a lot more sensitive than he gave himself credit for, and even his so-called “bad” behavior didn’t seem like such a bad thing to her at that moment.

“Besides, didn’t we decide that it wouldn’t hurt me to loosen up a little?”

[Ingrid Regan]

Ingrid loved sunsets. Elliot was right, there was something incredibly peaceful and yet powerful about a sunset. She had watched a few sunrises as well, but those didn’t seem to have the same power to them. The colors were usually pale and soft, sort of a gentle awakening. But when the sun was setting, it seemed like the day didn’t want to die. It fought, it burned, setting the sky on fire as it surrendered into night.

They sat there for a while, just watching the sunset until the last hints of red and orange disappeared below the trees. The sky was now saturated with a deep blue color, which would soon become black. They had to get inside soon, and Ingrid felt a twinge of sadness. It had turned into a wonderful day, possibly one of the best she’d ever had.

This thought in mind, she abruptly turned to him, smiling softly. Then, impulsively, she leaned in and pressed a kiss on his lips.

[Elliot Lyons]

While Ingrid had her head turned toward the sunset, Elliot took the opportunity to look at her out of the corner of his eye. He didn't want it to be completely obvious. Ingrid was very pretty, that was already a given. Most people didn't stop and pay attention to her because she didn't talk. The majority of other people didn't really care about anyone else but themselves, even if they didn't really admit to it. That was the main reason why people didn't take the time to get to know Ingrid, and people that were similar to her. A lot of people had put up walls around themselves, but with a little work and care, those walls could slowly disappear and a new person could emerge. That was what Elliot had been seeing with Ingrid.

He turned his attention back to the sunset, allowing his thoughts to just continue on as the red and the oranges started to surrender to the blues. When Ingrid turned her head, so did Elliot. He was going to say that they probably should head inside before it became real chilly out, but that thought went completely out the window. His thoughts came to an abrupt stop, and then it was like they all disappeared quickly as Ingrid pressed a kiss on his lips.

Elliot's heart dropped from his chest down to his feet and he got a sudden rush of hotness throughout his body. He knew that a blush went to his cheeks, but he didn't hide it. Was that supposed to happen on a first kiss? Was that what it was like? Elliot had to admit that it wasn't a bad thing at all.

He regained some thought after a second and pulled back to look at Ingrid. A shy like smile spread across his lips. Just in case she thought that maybe it was a bad thing that she did kiss him, Elliot found himself acting on impulse and pressing a kiss to her lips in return. He wasn't even sure how he was really was supposed to respond to that. All logical thought had left him.

[Cameron Wilder]

Cameron shrugged. "Yeah, whatever. Spend enough time with someone, and they're an influence whether you intend to let them be or not." Maybe he'd be a better student if he didn't spend the majority of his time with the crowd he did. He considered Elliot his best friend, but even then, he didn't spend enough time with Elliot for it to make a difference. Instead, he noticed that Elliot loosened up around him.

He leaned back, nearly wedging himself into the corner of the couch and the arm of it, stretching an arm over both. Yeah, she needed to loosen up, but he wasn't the person to do that for her. He'd just get her in trouble. But maybe she was going through a phase, and that's what she wanted. She coudl finally be rebelling and want to get in trouble, in which case, Cameron didn't want to be responsible for that, either. She'd feel too bad afterwards, and who knew what he'd try and get her into? No, he liked it better when he just teased her about loosening up. It was safer.

"I know you're trying really hard to make me a better person, Savannah, but I don't really need a good influence. I'm really not as bad as some of the kids here, and I can actually be on pretty good behavior when I want to." He shrugged again. "No matter how hard you try, what you see is all that you're ever going to get."

[Savannah Lyons]

"I'm not trying to do anything at all," Savannah said. "I don't want to change you. I just... I want to figure out what we are to each other and how we can be friends when we're so different."

Although she still wasn't quite ready to admit it, another thing that she really wanted was to change herself. She wanted to change everything about herself, become someone different. Maybe someone that he could laugh with, and open up to and treat as an equal. She was so tired of everyone treating her like a... girl.

The wall was coming back up, however. Maybe it was because of the way he seemed to be shutting down, because she seemed to do the same thing. "Whatever. If you don't want to talk to me outside of this room, I guess it doesn't matter. We'll just go back to the way things were."

[Ingrid Regan]

Ingrid didn't know what a first kiss was supposed to feel like, but in her mind, that was a perfect first kiss. The setting, of course, was ideal/ The last gasps of a dying sunset still hung in streaked across the sky, a dim light still illuminated them, and there wasn't a sound around except for the distant calls of frogs coming from the nearby lake.

But all of that paled in comparison to how it felt. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and every fiber of her being was aware of him. It was as if he was not just next to her, in front of her, but that he was all around her. Her skin tingled, and there was a funny fluttering in her stomach. And when he first pulled away, her lips burned. When he kissed her again, she closed her eyes and sighed softly against his lips.

When they separated again, she pulled back and looked at him. Her pale cheeks were stained pink, and her eyes were dancing with amusement. She let out a soft giggle. Now, at last, she understood why everyone wanted to be with someone else... they wanted this feeling of kissing another person. She couldn't blame them.

[Elliot Lyons]

Elliot couldn't think of one word to describe how he felt. He knew that he didn't want to stop smiling, however. Once they were separated again, Elliot's eyes found Ingrid's. His smile widened. Acting on impulse again, he reached up and tucked some hair behind her ear. Personally, Elliot didn't want to leave from where they were, but soon the darkness would claim where they were and they weren't really supposed to be out passed dark.

"I suppose we should be heading back before it gets too dark," he said softly. Elliot thought that if he spoke too loudly at the moment, then the moment would disappear completely.

[Ingrid Regan]

Ingrid really didn’t want to go back inside. She wished she could stay right here with him and just forget about the rest of the world. Back inside the castle, there would be other people, making noise and shattering the mood that was between them. They would have to go to their separate houses, and the moment would have passed. And Ingrid felt fairly certain that she would still feel Elliot’s lips on hers long after they had parted.

But he was right; they couldn’t stay out here. It was getting dark, and if they were caught, they could get in trouble. So she let out a soft sigh, then placed his hand in hers. At least they could walk in together.

[Elliot Lyons]

He didn't really want to go back inside either but he didn't want to get either of them into trouble. Slowly, Elliot stood up and then helped her up after she put his hand in hers. He gave her a smile, then started to lead her up toward the castle.

On the inside, Elliot was still bouncing around, but he did his best to keep a calm like appearance on the outside. He hated the idea that he was going to end up leaving her, but there was tomorrow. Tomorrow would be interesting and he was itching for the night to hurry and speed by so that it would be daylight again.

"I've had a lot of fun today," he found himself saying with his voice still soft. Elliot wasn't sure how they were supposed to be now that they kissed, but he decided that he wasn't going to treat her any differently than he had. He figured that they would figure out how the whole relationship thing worked as time went along.

[Ingrid Regan]

Ingrid's cheeks still felt warm; in fact, she felt warm all over, despite the sudden chill that seemed to fill the air with the setting of the sun. She didn't really know why she had kissed Elliot so suddenly. It seemed almost instinctive, and when she thoought about it, she was a little shocked at her boldness. But she felt things for Elliot that she had never felt before, and since she could not speak of them, she acted impulsively. Luckily, Elliot didn't seem to mind.

She nodded in answer to his comment. It had been a very fun day; better than she would have expected. She wondered to herself what had become of Savannah and Cameron, and whether or not their day had been as much fun.

Smiling shyly, she stood up and pulled him up with her. They would have a long walk back to the castle, so it would be a good idea to start soon.

[Elliot Lyons]

The walk was a decent way back to the school, then there was the distance to her common room. They would still have plenty of time together. Then of course there was tomorrow too. Elliot couldn't stop the light smile that remained on his face. He didn't really think it would go away. Even if it did disappear from his lips, it wouldn't live his eyes.

Maybe having someone that acted impulsively was just what he needed. Ingrid fit that, and she also saw through whatever wall he put up. Elliot squeezed her hand as they walked back to the castle. "The next time we're able to go to Hogsmeade, would you like to go with me?"

[Ingrid Regan]

No one had ever asked Ingrid to go to Hogsmeade with them. She had been escorted a couple of times by Hagrid, who must have felt sorry for her, and once she went with Bek and her friends, but she felt out of place. Most of the time, she stayed home on Hogsmeade weekends. But she knew, from listening to the other girls talk, that being asked to Hogsmeade meant you were going on a date.

Did that mean that Elliot was her boyfriend now?

Ingrid's cheeks felt warm, and she was unable to hide the smile on her face. Well, why not? They had kissed, after all. It had all happened so fast... but Ingrid was beginning to think that maybe she was falling in love.

She looked at him, still smiling, and nodded slowly. For the first time ever, she had something to really look forward to. It was an incredible feeling.