echo,

[Lilah Jackson]

you are the lighthouse, the seamark
the tempests created this tide
i'm pulled to the black silver ocean
where the current and the heavens collide

Lilah loved Valentine's Day. She couldn't help it! Everything was always so sweet and happy - okay, granted, not everything - but it was spring and love was in the air, and that was just so nice, wasn't it? Earlier in the day she'd already passed out some home-made Valentine's to all of her closest friends, a bit of a tradition she'd started in her first year, and that always put her in the best of moods. Of course, there were always certain flukes people encountered on Valentine's Day, such as being single or, heaven forbid, having their heart broken in one way or another, but so far nothing like that had happened so she was hopeful everyone's date nights would go well. Her 'date' with Jayden wasn't really a date, since they were only friends, but she was more than happy to go and hang out with one of her favorite boys at the Three Broomsticks. It would be quality bonding time! And Jayden was potentially one of the sweetest boys in school, in her humble opinion, and he was a perfect gentleman. She was rather looking forward to her night with him, thank you very much!

She straightened her dress after standing up, inspecting herself in her full-length mirror. Her only concern was that she'd be too cold outside in the chilly mid-February air, but the bar would warm her right back up with ease. Lilah had a bit of a rule on wearing dresses in the colder weather, and depending on the amount of time spent outside, she'd suck it up and deal with the cold. She didn't mind it too much, really, and most people thought she was nuts, which didn't bother her either; she just liked dresses. Her long blonde hair was curled to perfection, a tiny pink bow pulling some of the shorter pieces that framed her face back. Just as she liked it, her make up was soft and simple. She glanced down at her watch. Two minutes to six! Perfect timing. The young Hufflepuff snatched up her clutch from her bed before heading downstairs to the common room, where she and Jayden agreed to meet.

A big smile spread across her face when she saw him already there, waiting for her. "Hi!" she said excitedly, bounding into his arms and giving him a big hug, as per usual. "You look so handsome," she gushed after stepping away from him, inspecting his outfit. He was a rather dapper young man, which Lilah appreciated, naturally, being so interested in fashion herself. She could admit, she'd had feelings for Jayden when she was younger - in fact, he might've been one of her first crushes at Hogwarts (at least, one of her first realistic crushes - anyone who didn't have a crush on Sirius Black at at least one point in time was probably just in denial, she believed rather firmly. Or even that Frank Longbottom! Remus Lupin wasn't bad either... but they were all so much older than her and didn't know she existed, SO!). The thing about him that caught her eye about in the first place was him saying a blessing before his meals, in one of her first weeks at school. With the sign of the cross and all. Which only meant one thing: Catholic. Being Catholic herself, she was excited to see that she wasn't the only one at a wizard school who was! After they started talking, she learned all about his family and musical skills and saw how good of a guy he was, so it was pretty hard not to have a crush on him.

But that was ages ago, you know, and now they were just friends.

AND SHE JUST ADORED HIM.

"So, shall we head out? Oh my goodness, I'm just so excited," she beamed, looking around the Hufflepuff common room which had been adorned with a few little Valentine's Day decorations. Whoever was responsible for that was quite a genius, they were quite appropriate! Slinging her forearm in the crook of his elbow, the pair headed from the common room. "So, tell me how you've been. I feel like I haven't gotten much Jayden time lately!"

JAYDEN

[/color]

[Jayden Flynn]

As much as Jayden was a complete romantic, he had never actually properly celebrated Valentine’s Day before. It wasn’t a tradition that his parents had been big on growing up, so he hadn’t looked forward to it at all until he came to Hogwarts and everybody seemed to make a big deal of it. And then his friends had been talking about dates and stuff, and yeah, okay, he could see the appeal. The excitement of that one day a year where you were proud to be part of a couple. However, as it turned out, not once had he actually been in a relationship during the fourteenth of February. All of his relationships—and that’s not speaking about tons, but the few he’s had—had either ended before February or started later on in the year. So, no, he hadn’t ever actually been on a date for Valentine’s Day. Last year he’d spent it with a bunch of friends, including Gabby, obviously, and Luke, both of whom were also single, lounging about the common room, sneaking food in from the kitchens and having a great time, but as a group. It had been fun, of course, but as this year started, Jayden was thinking that he might actually have a date for Valentine’s Day for once. Since the whole thing with Gabby had started right after New Year’s, where she’d accidentally told her father and aunt she was dating someone, Jayden had agreed to be her pretend-boyfriend, and had kept up a very convincing charade of dating her for almost two months. Two months. It had been a long time, and Jayden had kind of …gotten used to it. He loved it, really. He’d always loved being someone’s boyfriend. For him, it was more the being a boyfriend than the having a girlfriend that he loved most about a romantic relationship.

Like mentioned before, he was a romantic. And as such, he liked planning things out in excruciating detail. He loved making dates up, picnics, music, candlelight, restaurants. It was the most satisfying thing in the world, to him, when a girl smiled and got all giddy and happy because of something nice he’d done for her. If someone else had known about their relationship being pretend, they might have said Jayden was taking it a little too seriously. Of course they held hands and pecks on the cheek in public, he walked her to her classes (which, really wasn’t far from the usual, he tended to do that anyway, pretend relationship or not), etc. But even when they were alone and nobody saw, he liked keeping up the pretense of ‘girlfriend/boyfriend’, so he went along with it. Being much more romantic and flirty than he would have if him and Gabby hadn’t been pretend-dating. And he’d loved it. Every last second of it had been extremely exciting. Turns out Gabby was a perfect pretend-girlfriend It had been fun. So, yes, to say that he had been excited at the prospect of being able to plan a proper, awesome and very romantic Valentine’s Day date for Gabby was an understatement. Who would’ve figured that Gabby had decided that they’d been dating long enough for it too be believable, and that they could stop now… a week before the fourteenth. Of course Jayden had agreed—he couldn’t’ exactly say no, they weren’t actually dating. But he’d been disappointed. After pondering over why he was so moody and upset lately he’d decided that it was because of the date prospect that had been ruined. Now he had another year of lounging around with single friends. He supposed it couldn’t be that bad, since last year had been fine.

Except he’d forgotten a small detail. Luke had a girlfriend now. Not only a girlfriend, but he was actually dating Emmeline Vance, and if there was one person in the world that knew how long and how hard Luke had been pining for that girl, it was him. So there went his safe house. And Lyle was dating that other boy in Ravenclaw. And he was pretty sure Adam was going to that blind date thing in Hogsmeade that had not appealed to him at all. And Gideon was with Jezebel. So. He was officially on his own. After about a day or two of being depressed in his bed and having had Luke drag him into a polka dance in efforts to cheer him up, he’d come to the conclusion that if everybody else was going to be dating on Valentine’s Day, who said he couldn’t, too? But who was single? He’d been staring off into space in class when he’d finally noticed the girl sitting next to him, and his face had lit up. Lilah! As far as he knew, she wasn’t seeing anybody. So he decided to give it a short, just as friends of course, but to have an actual date on Valentine’s day, even if romance wasn’t key, it was still a date. And she’d said yes and they’d agreed to meet in the common room so they could go down to Hogsmeade together and eat the Three Broomsticks. It took Jayden an hour to get ready, of combing his hair back properly and making sure his glasses were straight on his face; he got his OUTFIT ready and made his way into the common room, waiting around and lounging on a couch until Lilah appeared from the girls’ dormitories tunnel. He immediately stood up with a smile. “Not as lovely as you look,” he assured her, reaching over to return the hug enthusiastically. “Your dress is the most gorgeous thing I’ve seen lately. The colour matches your hair so well,

[/color]” he said, grinning and taking her by the arm.

Lilah was fantastic. They’d been friends for so long now, and she was so simple and lovely and the sweetest girl in the world… maybe tied with Gabby. But Gabby was his best friend, so nobody could really compare to her, anyway. The thing was, Lilah was very pretty, and very sweet, and he really couldn’t have picked someone better to spend Valentine’s Day with. Nodding at her words, he led her out of the common room. “I heard almost everybody’s going to Hogsmeade tonight,[/color]” he leaned in to say, walking down the hallway towards the Entrance Hall, where the carriages were to take them to the small town. “Me?[/color]” he laughed at her question, shaking his head. “Nothing much, actually, or well—[/color]” he supposed she’d heard and it would be strange not to mention it. Relationships tended to be a large part of people’s lives. “Gabby and I broke, I dunno if you heard. It was about a week ago, I’m very fine now,[/color]” he assured her. “I’ve been doing work for the newspaper, mostly. What about you? I really have to comment on your hair again—it’s just so perfect.[/color]”
[/color][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Lilah Jackson]

you are the lighthouse, the seamark
the tempests created this tide
i'm pulled to the black silver ocean
where the current and the heavens collide

You know, there was a part of her that was relieved there was no romantic feelings between her and Jayden today. Say, for example, if there had been? This would be an actual date and then she'd just be a nervous wreck and dates always came along with some sort of expectation and what if something went horribly wrong? Well, of course, everything would be just fine eventually, but in that moment she'd just be miserable! Or maybe her date would be miserable! All that, plus the uncertainty that came along with the beginning stages of a romance... well, it could be fun, but other times it just didn't seem enjoyable at all. Lilah liked to feel stable and comfortable, and that was just what her friendship with Jayden was. She always knew she could count on him to be there for her, and he'd be supportive and kind, no matter what the circumstances. He was just good that way. So of course she'd rather spend Valentine's Day with him - even if she spilled food on her clothes or laughed too loud or said something silly, he'd still want to be her friend. Today was a perfect opportunity for the pair to catch up, and make new memories too! It was going to be lovely, she just knew it.

"Oh gosh, thanks..." she trailed off rather bashfully, albeit relieved he liked her dress. Color rose to her cheeks, just as it always did when she received a compliment. That was pretty annoying, but there was nothing she could do about it! She grinned up at him as they walked together, adding "It's definitely going to be busy there," which she didn't mind, she was just concerned they wouldn't be able to find a seat in the Three Broomsticks! "I did hear," she admitted, although she didn't really hear much about the entire situation. "You sure you're okay?" she asked, looking at him with a look of concern on her face. But he was fine, and she trusted that; Jayden wasn't really the lying type. "Your photography?" she asked, smiling at him. "Well IIIII," she started, heaving a sigh as she stepped into the carriage with the assistance of a hand Jayden had extended. Such a gentleman.

She plopped down in the carriage seat and waiting for him to get settled as well before she continued. "Haven't really been up to much lately, you know, just the usual..." she straightened her dress on her lap and the carriage lurched forward, taking them to the little village. "I finished a painting the other day, of the castle, and I'm actually kind of pleased with it," she admitted. It had taken a lot more time that she expected it would - a lot more hours spent outside in the nippy late-winter air - but it was probably better for her to get some fresh air that stay cooped up until the spring, wasn't it? Next, she was going to paint the lake and mountains that rolled around it. She really didn't even do anything with the paintings except stick them under her bed, but they were good practice! Lilah even considered them - or at least the process of completing them - therapeutic. Since she couldn't play sports, she absorbed herself in the arts to maintain her sanity. They approached the little village and the carriage gradually slowed to a stop. Jayden stepped out first to help her down, and once both her feet were on the ground, the pair made their way into its bustling streets.

Today was going to be just lovely, she had no doubt about it.

[/color]

[Jayden Flynn]

Let it never be said that Jayden Flynn didn’t know how to treat a lady. If there was something he had been taught over the years, it was that girls were to be respected, valued, kept precious. His father had taught him how to take a girl out on a date before he taught him how to shave. ‘One day you’ll thank me, Jay,’ he’d said, while he taught him how to tie a tie: windsor, half-windsor, bow-tie, and the Prince Albert. He knew how to braid a girl’s hair, too, but that was more thanks to his four sisters than his father. Jayden had always been easy, since he was a little boy. If they needed someone to play the dad in their house game, he was up for it. He wasn’t worried about doing girly things like his older brother was, and he’d grown up amongst girls all his life. So when it came to having girl friends or girlfriends, he could confidently say that he knew how to treat them properly. That wasn’t to say that he didn’t get nervous during it—in fact, it was as terrifying as it was for any other bloke with a pretty girl. Sweaty hands and stumbling over his words when he liked someone; nerve-wrecking, really. But he did have things mostly under control, which was always an added bonus. The point was, this was a date with a girl, and Jayden was determined to make Lilah have a great time tonight, a wonderful Valentine’s Day regardless of whether they liked each other or not, they were on a date, and it was his job to make it perfect.

They talked cheerfully as they walked down to the carriages, and Jayden nodded along to her comment. It was going to be especially busy tonight because of the Blind Dating event that Hogwarts had set up this year, but his only comfort was that it was going to be at Madam Puddifoot’s, and they were going to the Three Broomsticks. Hopefully it wouldn’t be that full, and they could snag a table that wasn’t behind the kitchens. “Positive,” he answered her, flashing her a smile and nodding to her question. “I’ve been taking the picture of all the Quidditch teams,

[/color]” he told her, holding a hand out to her to offer her a step up to the carriage. “You’d be surprised how defensive some of them can get about somebody watching them practice. Maylene Bell nearly pushed me off the stands and I’m almost sure Regulus Black would’ve knocked me out with a spell or his actual broom if I hadn’t scattered off,[/color]” he laughed a little. He hadn’t had a problem with the Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff teams, but then again, nobody usually did with those houses. The gentlest people tended to go into those—at least, most of them, that wasn’t to single anybody out as a stereotype.

Sitting in front of her, they rode to Hogsmeade talking about Lilah’s paintings, which certainly fascinated him, since he was very much into artistic pictures, and she was telling him about the last one she’d made and what it consisted off when they finally arrived, and Jayden hurried down to hold his hand out to her again and help her off the carriage. “Shall we?[/color]” he asked with another cheerful smile, turning towards the main street and walking down amongst the bustling crowd of students and non-students. Jayden glanced around and could see some Aurors patrolling, which made him feel a lot safer after what had happened to Lyle and Gabby at Hogsmeade a couple of months ago. The thought of Gabby made him feel a little guilty that he had sort of abandonded her tonight, but then again, he reassured himself with the thought that Gabby was gorgeous and lovely and she was sure to have a date tonight, too. Maybe they’d even come across each other here. Jayden led Lilah to the Three Broomsticks and opened the door, hearing the bells chime above their heads and peered in. “Looks like we’re in luck![/color]” he called back, leading her inside and motioning to a nice little table near the side wall, but still lit by the soft lights of the bar. “Here you go,[/color]” he said, pulling back a chair for her and motioning for her to take a seat, waiting until she’d done so before taking one himself and offering them both menus. “So. What shall we have?[/color]”

[/color][/blockquote][/blockquote]