Hey, there. (Alexandre)

Being new in town meant nothing. Agnes had never been ready to move from her beloved Paris to London and it’s many weird customs. She hadn’t even been gone for the whole summer and she was already missing the artsy streets of her hometown. There was really only one good thing about the move: she’d get to see Alexandre more often. Maybe. If time and school allowed. In reality, that’s the only reason she could possibly look forward to the big move to Britain. It seemed too long since she last saw him, so as soon as she arrived to her new house she sent him an owl asking to meet someday. Now that she was here, the reply had been positive. Agnes arranged for them to meet at the Barbican Theatre, because Alex liked art and Agnes liked theatre. There was an exhibition for some photographer Agnes didn’t know much of, but it was pretty close to paintings.

Given it was summer, she wore a dress, as usual. This time, it was a soft shade of gold, and her hair was braided to the side. She had obviously put thought into her appearance, so much that she did her hair in about three different styles until she realized the important part was that Alex was going to be there. That was when she gave up and braided it quickly. She was still rather tall for most girls, and that was probably the only thing she felt insecure about nowadays. Agnes lived rather far from the city, in a town called Godric or something like that, so she had to take a muggle taxi in order to get to the Barbican.

As she got out, paid the man for his services, she looked around. It’s not like she was waiting for Alexandre to show up in some sort of knight armor, but she then she caught herself hoping just that. Agnes rolled her eyes at herself, because seriously? She took a seat by the benches outside, dying a little bit on the inside with every passing second. Because, what if he didn’t show up?

Alexandre had been avoiding his twin. He had also been avoiding his adopted father. As well as anyone Jeremy sent to find and bring him to the Ministry. He had a bad feeling about whatever it was Jeremy "urgently" needed to see him for. He had spent a lot of time wearing sunglasses and a fake mustache. When an owl found him it about gave him a heart attack. He had at first refused to take the letter until he saw familiar handwriting on it. While reading it a smile crossed his lips that just got bigger and brighter. Quickly he responded definitely. Where and when. The response came back faster than he thought.

He went to his hideout, a gallery that was all his art, and changed. He put on a pair of dress pants that fit just right then got looser the further down his legs it went. A pair of fancy looking sneakers and a button up shirt that was a dark blue. He refused to wear a tie. He also was not leaving without the artist belt. It was reattached to his waistline. Hugging his left hip snuggly and falling at an angle to dangle off the right side and hug to the thigh. Painbrushes, paint and a small pouch bag adorned the belt. Brushing his hair out quickly he apparated to the shadows near the location.

Slowly leaving them and walked towards where he was told to meet Agnes. Looking around he spotted her and walked up to her. A bright smile on his face. "Hey Agnes. It has been awhile. How are you doing?" He looked at her. "You got more beautiful the past summer. I didn't think it was possible. I need to paint you again soon." He said with a bright smile.

And then her dreams became reality. Alexandre wasn't wearing a suit or anything close to it, but she was glad the belt still hung from his pants. And that smile, that glorious smile that made her knees go weak and that set up fireworks in her brain. She returned the smile, and attempted to keep her seriousness. "Alexandre. Hey. She caught her voice breaking.

Oh, dear. She hadn't thought about this part of the meeting. The part in which he compliments her and she turns red like watermelons during summer and her hands get fidgety to the point where she has to cross her arms. "Yeah, I get prettier with age. she jokingly bragged, letting herself laugh a bit. "You don't look so bad yourself. Are you going for the Sexy English School Boy Slash Artist look, now?" Oh, Agnes. What are you doing?!

She blinked twice, taking his words in. "Again...? Yeah, if you want to. She could remember the first time perfectly, because her mind had created a thousand little scenarios in which she told him how wonderful and amazing he was. She had sat there, absolutely still, waiting for Alex to paint every line on her face. She had never felt so uncomfortable yet so at ease. Then, reality brought her back. "Oh, so this is a photographer's work. It's about war and all that jazz. Not paintings, but close enough. she shrugged as if to say she didn't really care for the photography.

Alexandre about lost his breath and forgot to breathe for a moment. His cheeks flushed. "They do say that women age like fine wine. They get better with age. From an artist's viewpoint I agree. You always look good no matter what you are wearing or how you hair is done." he said with an honest tone. The same smile he gave that was brighter just for her.

He blushed red from head to toe at her next commentary. Looking around and stammered. For a moment he was tongue tied. "Er...um. Uh." he laughed a bit then said with a sincere yet almost romantic tone. "Actually I was aiming more for the sexy englishman slash artist taking a beautiful young woman on a romantic evening after the starting plans look." he said in a half joking mostly sincere tone.

He looked at her as she spoke. "Yes. You are my artistic muse. I must capture the muse's essence as best I can whenever it changes in the slightest. It inspires the rest of the artwork. Inspiration leads me closer to achieving my dreams." he said in a heartfelt and romantic yet passionate tone. His eyes held a loving and fiery passionate look. He looked at her a moment later. Not realizing what he said fully but meaning it nonetheless.

"Sure. Lets look at it right fast. Then I will take you somewhere special and for um...dinner. If you are cool with that." he said with a smile.

Agnes wanted to laugh at his women and wine comment because of how cheesy it was, but she liked the way it made him sound funny and weird. And then her heart stopped for a second, a good enough second for her to dwell on his words, and then she was back to normal. She couldn’t let him know that she had butterflies and squirrels and birds and a whole park moving inside her stomach every time he was near. Automatically, Agnes pushed her hair out of her face and looked away. “Thaaanks.” She said, a bit unsure of how to act now.

What Agnes had always thought of as friendly infatuation, the one where she likes his face and he might like hers back, but this was not going very well. Well, it WAS. It just….got weird now. Because what if Alex actually LIKED her. Not the kind where he likes her face, no. The kind where he actually likes her as a person. Oh, no. No, no. Noooooo. That meant she could actually fall in love with him. And that would be wrong. It would be wrong because Agnes could get hurt, and she had already had enough of that. If Alex found out, he probably wouldn’t think of her the same way; if anyone found out they would change their views of her. He wasn’t like most guys, sure, but that was exactly why he was dangerous. He was romance and weddings and mushy stuff, and even though Agnes still felt her heart exploding, it was mostly physical.

Agnes smiled awkwardly. “Actually, I probably have to get back before night falls.” she wasn’t lying. She really couldn’t lie to him. She was destined for Hogwarts on Monday, so she had orders to be back early enough to get a good night’s sleep and wake up early to do school shopping and stuff. Hey, maybe she could make it up to him by taking him along! But he probably wouldn’t want to spend time at a bookstore looking for textbooks and boring stuff like that. “I’m starting Hogwarts on Monday, so that should be fun.” She said sarcastically. She really wasn’t looking forwards to that school. Beauxbatons was her home.

Alexandre laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Didn't realize until after I said it how overused and cheesy that sounded. Leave it to an artist to say something cheesy yet mean it genuinely." he said in a joking way. Smiling warmly at her. "Either way the artist often speaks from the soul. So cheesy as it is I really don't think women age as anything but beauty." He said as he looked away at a photograph they passed.

This conversation was getting a bit weird. Though why was it his heart was drumming away in his ears? He was not sure how to act yet. Though he was slow on things being an artist he knew he enjoyed her company.

Could he...? Nah. No way. That would just be odd for the both of them. Right? She would never see him as more than a best friend. He was cool with that role because she was his best friend too. He loved her face and her as a person but the attraction wasn't more than an artist to his muse. RIght?

He mentally was unsure of anything and it was a bit odd. No way. He was just sleep deprived and going all romancy and mushy due to the artist in him. That had to be it. He didn't want a repeat of the heartbreak of seventh year! Silence in his thoughts as he looked around at the photographs as they walked silently for a bit. So...Why did he not feel entirely convinced by his own thoughts?He wondered to himself.

Shaking his head to clear it as he walked hand in hand with her. Best friends did that. They did it all the time before. "Really? Then how about we skip the rest of this place and I show you my gallery?" he asked with a smile her way. "I mean we grab some takeout and we can eat it at my personal gallery. My adopted family bought me a gallery for my art. It is not huge like a museum but there was enough art I have done over the years between sketches, paintings and sculptures it was overrunning our house." He said iwth a laugh.

Looking at her since he noticed her unhappiness. "I will visit you a lot then. I promise. You being in Hogwarts makes it a lot easier for me to come see you." He said warmly.

Aghh, was he trying to KILL her? Agnes gave a small laugh, “That’s okay. Cheesy is good. Sometimes.” she said. She was really starting to enjoy her time with Alex again, despite the whole awkwardness of a few moments ago. “I know a lot of cheesy pick up lines, if you wanna hear them sometime.” She grinned. She did like those lines, because, who didn’t like to laugh at how INCREDIBLY CHEESY they were? In fact, she loved it when he talked about the artist’s soul and random artsy things she didn’t understand most of the time. It made her heart flutter.

They walked, and which each photograph they looked at, Agnes knew she had chosen the wrong time to go to a photography exhibition. Chasen was a photographer. He liked all of that stuff. Fuck. Agnes looked away and down at her hands. Her nails were painted pink, and not just any pink, cotton candy pink. Smiling, she realized just how childish she still was. She had, however, taken the giant unicorn plush out of her room as soon as she turned fourteen, though. Shaking her head, she turned back to Alexandre when she heard his voice.

“Sure.” Agnes nodded, “That sounds like a great idea.” Really, she didn’t want to see any more photographs. She was about to punch one of them and it would be really uncomfortable to have to explain to Alexandre why she had done such a thing. She remembered the gallery, or remembered him telling her about it, because she had never been there before. “I will only eat Nando’s while I’m here.” she told him, rather, informed him that he had no other choice but to go to Nando’s with her. “Yeah! I want to see your work!” she grinned, because she liked him. No, not that way. Well, yes. THAT WAY. But that was it. She wasn’t going to fall in love with him. She just liked his face. And his smile. And the rest of him.

Agnes felt her cheeks grow warm again, damn it. She looked away and towards the exit. That had been the shorter exhibition she had ever been to. Record time. “You’ll visit me? Promise?” She said as she turned back to him, a feeling of hope crawling out with every word. She didn’t want to be alone in a castle that big, and she didn’t care how Alexandre got in. She just wanted him there. “Oh, hey. Do you have a band aid?” She asked and waited a few beats for his reply, then said, “Because I just scraped my knee falling for you.” She started laughing slowly, trying to keep it in, but then she couldnt’ handle it anymore and she burst into a galaxy of laughter. Agnes was probably enjoying that line way more than she should have, but it was soooo good.“I’m sorry, sorry. That was terrible.” She apologized, her eyes watering from the excess laughs.

Alexandre chuckled a bit. "Yeah. I guess so. Sure why not." he said in a joking way. She was his best friend and his artistic muse. He was an artist with an aching soul. Why would he stupidly think there was more to anything but this perfect moment here? He must be tired. He didn't sleep much when finishing his artwork.

Pulling her out of the photography convention, since he had noticed she momentarily looked upset and figured it was none of his business. "Awesome! Let's go now then." He said with a grin. Taking them to shadows and apparated them away to outside his gallery. It was a white building that was painting with artwork all over the entrance. Even the door looked like someone picassoed it. "I may have went a little crazy marking this buidling as mine. I got permission from the queen to paint it." He said. Looking excited and proud. "What do you think? It is a masterpiece of various masterpieces in itself. Right?" There was a lot of green area and places for outdoor painting around the building itself.

He grinned more since she wanted to see his work. "This gallery has all my art from scribbles and painting as kid to more recent things. Even sculptures I've done." He said in excitement. "I promise. I will be there a lot. Especially for you. There is artwork in that school I can't see anywhere else so I promise I will do my best not to embaress you in front of any future friends." he said jokingly. Then got very serious. "Seriously though I promise I will visit you." He started laughing as he opened the front door for her. "When you are done with that I welcome you into my art zone." he said as if a train conductor. "It was amusing no worries Agnes."

Agnes had appeared before, but only with Ansel. When Alexandre pulled her away from the crowds an into a shadowy area, she thought about slapping him. However, she didn't even have time to react as he was already apparating them away from the theatre to another place which she assumed was his gallery. Suddenly, she was standing in front of a building, a white building with paint all over. It was just splattered paint, it was every line and mark shaped just the right way to create something beautiful, something Agnes couldn't understand.

"Yeah. You certainly marked your territory." Agnes gave a small laugh, he often reminded her of a dog, but she didn't really want to tell him that as he could find it offensive. Agnes didn't understand what he was trying to paint, but it looked wonderful nonetheless, and with the way he seemed to radiate pride and passion, Agnes found herself enjoying watching him. Just the little moments in which he looked so Alexandre-esque, those were the moments she wished she could guard forever. In that one instant, wishing she could photograph him and capture his eyes and every line on his face, she knew that she wanted to be a photographer. Damn Chasen and everyone else who had let her down. She was going to do it, she would pursue a muggle profession and she wasn't ashamed.

He grinned, and Agnes couldn't help but grin back. "Sculptures?" She hadn't know he sculpted, though it wasn't surprising, as by now he had proven to be able to do almost everything.
"I want to see your baby drawings! Agnes beamed, really wanting to see the childish pictures and doodles. Then, he was talking about visiting Hogwarts. She wanted to see him all the time, of course, but she feared getting tired of him or getting to the point where she was madly in love with him. She couldn't do either of those. "Don't worry about it." She said with a small smile, her eyes scanning the inside of the gallery in awe. Word of advise, never use cheesy pick up lines on your best friend or you might make him lactose intolerant...meaning, things will suddenly turn awkward.

Alexandre laughed a bit and looked at her. "I see. Like a dog right? Or a wild animal." He laughed more. He walked inside with her and looked at her as she spoke. "Yeah. I'm an artist. I dabble in a bit of everything." He said sheepishly yet grinned. His eyes shined in excitement. He walked along and looked away. "Baby drawings? hahahahaha. That makes me feel a bit embarressed hearing them called that. They are near the end. Where the table we can eat the food we got." He said with a laugh. He looked around and pointed out various artworks. Then looked at her and smiled. "Are you liking the art? I set them up so the further in we go the more like going back in time it is." He said proudly.