Teenagers (Open)

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Sinead was secretly looking forward to this Halloween dance/party/ball thing. Of course, it wasn't a secret to Sera because Sinead had practically jumped up at the idea of going to the dance with her. Sinead didn't really have any girl friends as the few friends she had were boys, and Aoife didn't count anymore because her aunt rarely spoke to her nowadays, so going to the dance with Sera was like walking on clouds. Since she didn't have many dresses, she had sent an owl to her mother a few days before asking to send her something from her closet back home, and her mother sent her a custom made coral dress. A dress that she had done all by herself so Sinead could wear it. Her eyes sparkling with joy, Sinead couldn't wait to put on the dress!

Which is why on the day of the dance, Sinead had followed Sera around since the very early morning, even gone on a jog with her - which was terrible for Sinead's health as she wasn't a runner. She wasn't being a child just because, Sinead actually wanted to ask Sera lots of things about dances and more importantly why she felt strange when she saw Danny in the hallway. Because Sinead and Sera had become good friends since meeting over the summer, Sinead just had to run to her right after Danny asked her to the dance and tell her everything, so Sera was well informed. However, the best part about the whole day was getting dressed up. Sera had told Sinead to meet at the Lavatories, and that is exactly what Sinead did. She had carried her dress in her hands, her masquerade mask and the flats she had picked out, as she walked through the corridors to meet her friend.

It wasn't until a few nights before the dance that Sinead realized it was a masquerade, so her creativity had kicked in and in two days she had made a very simple but very Sinead-like mask. Sera had helped her with her hair, which was apparently very healthy and without any split ends - not boring like Matthew had a habit of calling it - and Sinead was beaming proudly to find that her hair was in fact much better than the average girl's. Of course Sera had tried to put makeup on her, but Sinead refused. She was letting her do her hair and that was enough. As Sera got ready, applying makeup flawlessly, Sinead changed to her dress and flats, and even though Sera's outfit was much more extravagant than her own, Sinead looked at her reflection in the mirror and - for once - she felt like one of those girls on the magazines, like a dark-haired Aoife, like a pretty girl.

They walked together to the Great Hall, Sinead holding on to Sera's arm for emotional support. She had no idea how she hadn't run out of the lavatories in the middle of changing, but Sinead was immensely proud of herself for that. It wasn't a secret that Sinead had many insecurities, from the way she spoke too fast to the way her hair color didn't stand out, and for some reason Sera had become one of the few that could make her forget about how funny she looked when she had to wear her glasses, or how her jeans didn't fit after the Welcoming Feast. "Okay, I'm doing it. I'm doing it." Sinead closed her eyes as they walked towards the entrance, only opening them up when Professor Leblanc greeted them cheerfully. Grinning at her Charms professor and his wonderful tree outfit, Sinead let go of Sera when they walked into the decorated hall, bats flying over their heads. "Sera! Did you see that?!" Sinead exclaimed, her mouth dropping in awe of how wonderful everything was, especially the bats.

Sinead's Halloween Dress

To say the least, Serafina was incredibly excited for the ball and by the looks of it, so was Sinead. She was glad the the girl had accepted her proposal to go with her. Lately, they had become best friends, which was good for Sera because she actually had no friends. That morning had started out like any other morning as Sera had went on her normal jog, however Sinead had followed her. For once, Sera thought it was nice to have a partner to run with. She felt herself constantly pushing Sinead to see how well she could keep up and the girl never failed which was impressive as she apparently didn't run. After the run, Sera had went for a quick shower and asked Sinead to meet her in the lavatories.

When Sera had arrived, she was excited to see the girl already there. Sera had smiled and begun helping her get ready. It was different to see the Ravenclaw so dressed up and so much prettier than she was on a daily basis and Serafina like it. She felt that she had done a great job and she'd feel even better if the girl would have let her apply a bit of makeup, however Sera never begged her. When Sera finished getting Sinead ready, she got herself ready and when the duo stood together in the mirror, they looked absolutely stunning. Sera felt the young girl's arm entwine in hers and she smiled. She was taller now as she had on heels, but still reachable and she escorted the girl down to the Great Hall.

Sera found herself going over all the questions Sinead had asked her and she smiled even bigger now, thinking about Sinead as a younger sister - almost. Sinead was her best friend meaning she couldn't think of her as a younger sister because sisters didn't often get along. As Sera guided her, she could practically feel the emotions radiating from Sinead. "Hey, you look great," she said, reassuring the girl. "Tonight is going to be perfect." She had said it to reassure Sinead, but she had also said it to reassure herself. Looking to Sinead, Sera felt a slight pang of jealousy at how great the girl actually looked. She hoped that after tonight Sinead would begin to be more confident with herself and have less insecurities, because she was such a beautiful girl.

As they neared the Great Hall, she heard her best friend call out to her and as she looked down, she saw the girl close her eyes. Sera guided her through the doors where they were greeted by the silly French professor - who was dressed as a tree! Feeling Sinead let go, Sera's attention focused back to the girl just as bats flew over their head. It freaked the Gryffindor out just a tad before she realised it was probably just some spell on an inanimate object or something. However, at Sinead's excited cry, Serafina couldn't help but smile and reply just as excitedly. "I did, it was really cool!" Looking around the Great Hall was another sign of how perfect this night would be.

Serafina's Halloween Dress

Danny did not really want to go to the ball as he did not have a date after being rejected by Sinead. BUt the idea of getting a dance or two with her got him up out of bed and into the tux his brother had sent him from home. He put it on and noticed it was a bit big, so he did a quick tailoring spell to make it fit him perfectly. He sighed and tried to fix his hair, but of course, it disobeyed as always. So he decided to just roll with it and walked down the stairs, his hair as wild and unruly as ever.

When he entered the Great hall, he was mesmerized by the decor and the lighting they had done. it looked amazing. But then his eyes landed on Sinead, and the decor was nothing compared to her. He walked over to Sinead and smiled, "Wow Sinead, you look.... incredible. Wow... did I say that already?" He asked blushing a bit. He then noticed the other girl and smiled, "You look wonderful as well. Im Danny, by the way. Danny Sinclair." He took the girls hand and kissed her wrist gently and smiled realsing her hand and returning his gaze to Sinead.

Glad that Sera was as excited about the bats as she was, Sinead put her hands up like a vampire in the old movies would and spoke in her demon voice. "Be careful young lady, my evil minions will eat you!" She threw her hands in the air just at the right moment for a flock of bats to pass between her arms, flying above her head and spreading out. Laughing, Sinead practically skipped to the food table! "I'm gonna get something! Want anything?" she called out to her friend before getting a cup and pouring some neon-green punch. Sinead drank it without hesitation, and it was sour apple! She happily poured more on her cup as she heard giggling and a very familiar voice. Humphrey was at the dance with Dakota, and they were a little too close.

She actually gagged, just the sight of them being super close to each other seemed weird. However, Sinead couldn't help but notice the differences between her dress and Dakota's. Of course Dakota's dress was bigger, she probably had more money than Sinead's entire family had. Unlike the Slytherin, Sinead could only afford so much. Glancing around, she noticed everyone wearing extravagant outfits, even the professors. She suddenly felt lightheaded. Could it be possible for her to just be normal? Just once? Setting her cup down, Sinead walked away from the food table because she was afraid of Dakota and Humphrey recognizing her. She met Sera again, but didn't say anything about how she was feeling. Instead, she grinned at her new best friend and was about to ask her to dance something silly when the one person she couldn't stop thinking about showed up.

Danny was wearing a suit, looking all cleaned up and spiffy. His hair, however, was as wild as it always seemed to be. Grinning as she saw him, Sinead ran up to him, wrapping her arms around him in a friendly hug. "Danny!!!" Not even the fact that Humphrey hadn't even told her he was going with Dakota, or that the Slytherin had a more elegant dress could make Sinead forget that she was at a Halloween dance with her best friend and her first crush. The way he complimented her made Sinead's cheeks turn bright red, and her hands immediately reached for her mask to try and cover it up more. Unsure of how to reply, she stuttered a bit, "Umm. Uh, ye-yeah. You did, I think." She didn't even think anything of what he had just done to Sera, she was just happy to have good company.

Serafina watched Sinead's motion and as she pretended to be someone like Dracula or something, she let out a laugh. "I think your minions would spit me out, too much hairspray and foundation!" She laughed once again as a flock of bats flew through Sinead's arms. It really was a perfect moment for both Sinead and the bats. Serafina followed Sinead to the food table as she heard the girl call out. "Ooh I wonder what they have," she said as a response to Sinead's question. After Sinead served herself some punch, Sera did the same and sipped it, her mouth puckering a bit as she poured more into the cup. Sour Apple. But it was sooo good. She was honestly glad she had tried it, because it looked toxic, but it wasn't. There was giggling all around but Sera ignored it and looked at the different types of food there was before walking back to where they had stood before.

It was a few moments before Sera realised that she was alone and she scanned the room for Sinead. She was still by the punch bowl and Sera smiled a bit as she watched a couple dance. For a moment, she wished it were her and Corvin swaying back and forth, bodies close together, but it wasn't. She was here and he was in Norway and they'd probably never see each other again. Sera sighed before another thought came to mind. She didn't need a boyfriend. She was here with her best friend and there was no one else she'd rather be here with. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Sinead came and joined Serafina again and she smiled, a really huge, cheesy smile. However, it was interrupted when someone else called Sinead's name.

Serafina recognised the boy as he was in her year, or at least she thought he was but she could not place a name to his face. When Serafina saw her best friend run up and hug this guy she frowned a bit. The pang of jealousy that she felt was honestly a bit ridiculous because Sinead was her friend, that was it but it was there and she hated it. She had felt like they were having a girl date, but now that he was here, well it was ruined and the way Sinead's cheeks reddened when he complimented her made Sera feel like a third wheel. "Thanks," Sera replied, "Serafina Årud." When he kissed her wrist, she paused for a moment and slowly, very slowly pulled her arm away and put it back by her side. When she noticed him turn his attention back to Sinead, she looked around to see if maybe there was somewhere she could go.

Danny smiled down at Sinead and blushed a bit. She looked so beatiful and done up. Not nearly as done p as some of the other girls, but he thought she looked much more beautiful than any of them. He cupped Sienads cheek and pressed a soft and chaste kiss to her forehead and rubbed his thumb over her cheek bone. "Well I shall say it again anyway, that is how lovely and beautiful you look." He aid before taking a step back.

He then turned to her friend who had said her name was Serafina, "Ah right, Serafina, Youre a gryffindor. In my year I believe Fourth year, right?" He frowned a bit when she pulled her hand away, but hey, that was on her not him. He turned back to Sinead and smiled "Um, SInead, would you um.... Would you like to maybe dance with me?" He asked nervously, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks. He held out his hand for her to take and hoped she did not reject him, He realy liked Sinead. He wanted to dance with her very much, maybe eve a kiss. His first kiss. Which made him extremely nervous.

It all happened in a blur, but Sinead was suddenly lightheaded. One second she was seeing Sera's contagious smile and the next she was facing Danny. And Danny was really, really close. And then he kissed her. Or rather, he kissed her forehead which was still part of her so it was something. Sinead paralyzed, her eyes searching for Sera's, but only Danny's were around. WHAT WAS HAPPENING. THIS IS WHAT SHE HAD SIGNED UP. WHAT WERE ALL THOSE STRANGE FEELINGS INSIDE HER.

Sinead was relieved when Danny took a step back, letting do of her face. Sighing in relief, Sinead turned to Sera. Her friend seemed uncomfortable, and Sinead didn't want her to. Sera was her date, and though Sinead actually wanted to be around Danny all the time she wanted to be around Serafina all the time as well. She opened her mouth to ask her to dance, since the song had suddenly changed into something more upbeat - not a couple's type of song - and they could actually move around to the beat.

But Danny beat her to it. He asked HER to dance and she had completely forgotten that she had promised she would. Actually, she had only forgotten her promise for a very brief second. She glanced down at his hand, then at Serafina, then for some idiotic reason she glanced down at Humphrey and Dakota. Her brown eyes settled on Danny once again, and she decided that she might as well have fun on her very first dance. So she grabbed his hand, but she also grabbed Serafina's and pull them both to the dance floor.

"This isn't the type of song I had in mind." she told Danny, shrugging a little bit. Because in Sinead's mind, it had all been normal songs, not Funky Town. But Funky Town was just as good as any other song, she guessed, so she let go of their hands when they reached the very middle of the dance floor. She put her hands up again, to motion to the giant decoration in the very center."We are precisely under the center of the Great Hall!" Sinead shouted over the music, as it grew louder and louder the closer to the center they got.

She didn't wait for either of them to say anything, because waiting wasn't on Sinead's list of skills. Instead, she twirled around twice before settling down and dancing Egyptian style. She bobbed her head to the silly beat of the music and was really dancing by herself until she saw Serafina join in, her smile growing wider as she realized that she didn't have to take Danny or this dance as seriously as she thought. Except every time she looked at him she took him very seriously, and that sent a jab to her tomboy ego, a jab that she was sure Serafina could see and understand.

Before she knew it, Sinead had started singing along to the song. How she knew the words she would never tell, but Aoife had obviously had something to do with it. Thankfully, neither Serafina nor Danny knew her redhaired aunt.

Danny didnt understand the feelings he had bubbling up in his chest. He liked it though. He liked not knowing something. He was weird like that. He liked to play things by ear, and this was just a new thing. New weird wonderful thing. 

He smiled when she took his hand and fist pumped the air. He was a bit shocked when she also took eras hand, but let it slide. He then let Sinead lead them to the center of the dance floor and the music got louder and louder, "WHAT!?" he tried to shout over the music when he had seen Sinead try to say something to them.

This wasnt exactly what he had in mind when he asked Sinead to dance, but seeing her so happy and carefree made him happy so he started to dance as well, doing a bunch of weird dance moves like the robot and the funky chicken. 

After a few more upbeat songs, the song changed to a couples song. He looked down at Sinead and smiled softly, "May I have this dance, my lady?" He asked softly, handing his hand out to her, He would finally get a slow dance with Sinead

When Danny kissed Sinead's forehead, Sera had to turn around so as to not vomit all over him. She was so distrubed, they were like 13 and 14, she didn't even kiss Corvin! She definitely would not witness anything to do with her best friend's love life because that was just disgusting. Sera started to turn around and go talk to someone else or better, go rampage the food table but the moment was over and Sinead had turned back to her. However, once the two girls faced each other, Sera heard Danny ask to dance and once more, she was ready to just leave. Their night had been crashed and she should just accept that.

When Sinead grabbed Sera's hand, the girl gasped a bit as she was led out to the dance floor. Funky Town was playing and she hated the song but her best friend wanted her to dance and she was unsure. But she danced. She could barely hear Sinead's voice over the music, but she assumed Sinead knew that. The young Ravenclaw began to sing the song, or at least that's what it looked like to Sinead and it caused a slight smile to spread across Sera's face. So what if this boy crashed her time with her best friend? It wasn't like they couldn't still have fun. Sera found herself ignoring whatever it was that she could see written across Sinead's face. She didn't care to know what her friend was feeling for the Gryffindor boy but if she ever wanted to talk about it, Sera would listen.

It was hard to deny that she was having a lot of fun, even as Funky Town ended and several other upbeat songs came after. However, soon, the was a slow song on and Sera stopped, her face turning to a bit of a frown as she saw Danny ask Snead to dance. She could see the boys spirits were high but Sera hoped to crush them, every last one. So pushing past him, she grabbed her best friends hand and pulled her back out to the dance floor. Her arm instinctively went around Sinead's waist, her other arm held the girl's hand as they swayed to the beat of the music. Dancing to the slower song was a whole lot different than the crazy dances they'd done earlier to the upbeat songs but the girl found herself enjoying it a lot more.

She didn't care whether Danny was watching or not because her eyes were focused on Sinead. The girl was pretty and Sera really liked being her best friend and as they danced, the girl kept her blue eyes focused on the Ravenclaw. Sera didn't know what had taken over her control, but whatever it was, she liked the feeling of it. She found her lips pressed against Sinead's, her eyes closed and imagining all the details that made Sinead well - Sinead. She thought about how beautiful she was and how down to earth she was as their lips moved against each other. Kissing was disgusting but this one, this one actually felt good and it scared Sera a bit.

The kiss had finished too soon for Sera, but it really wasn't that soon. However, as Sera's face pulled away and she looked into her best friends eyes, a wave of panic and guilt rushed over her. This was her best friend. She couldn't have feelings for her. Sinead liked someone else, she was sure of it and looking at her best friend hurt because it made her think of how much Sera had probably just confused her. A look of shock came over Sera's features and she slowly backed away, "I-I-I'm s-sorry..." her voice trailed off . Tears threatened to fall down her face but before that could happen, Serafina turned and ran out the doors, all the way to her dorm.