If I Fell...

[britkneeboo]

Mafalda squinched up her face at the next few nicknames Ludo spit out. She wasn't very fond of either, but then again she was almost positive Ludovic wasn't very found of Lulu. "Daff, like Daffy? I'm not crazy!...all the time," she said, feeling Ludo's hand go limp in her own. He seemed to have decided to focus his attention on other things as she noticed his fingers weren't moving anymore. She let go of his hand and let her own drop back down to her side. "And Dal sounds like Doll, so it wouldn't really be a ridiculous pet name. Boys call girls doll affectionately all the time. Maybe you should muse on those overnight."

Catching up seemed like a good idea. She hadn't had a lengthy conversation with Ludo in over two or three weeks. At least not a conversation where they actually talked for more than three minutes on the way to class. She had previously been so wrapped up in her own problems that she hadn't even thought to ask about his, unless nagging him about a girlfriend counted. Maybe Ludo didn't have any problems, but if he did she would like to know so they could switch roles of listener and listenee. "How's Quidditch going? I haven't been to any of the practices or games in months," she asked, hoping all was well on that front.

As Mafalda asked him about Quidditch, her and Ludo walked passed a long row of very large windows - at least eight of them. The moonlight poured through the windows and they both seemed to suddenly glow in the pale light. "Anything on your mind you want to talk about?"

[ludo]

"Yea I just thought using a different spelling was clever," Ludo shrugged. He had liked that one best, but it was probably because it had sounded so normal. "But I think your right letting my thought settle for the night should help," he agreed glad to be done with the task for the night. Of course a small part of his brain would still be skimming over possibilities subconsciously, Ludo would now be able to use his brain for other things.

"Quidditch is alright," Ludo shrugged. It had been so long since he actually talked about the sport. "I've been doing try-outs for pro teams so I'm not really in the games as much, but I'm still practicing with the team and even on my own," he explained not exactly sure how he felt about the situation. It was exciting and all, preparing to become a pro quidditch player, but all the pressure took a little fun out of the game. Actually Ludo never really felt the pressure once he got on the broom it was the moments in between when he was left to think about all of it that pressure began to make him feel as though the walls were caving in...even when he was outside.

"Not really," Ludo shrugged. There wasn't much to be said, even though there were about a billion things on his mind. He called to mind Mafalda's earlier inquiry about a girlfriend. "Actually, do you have any suggestions as to who I should date next?" he asked smirking. If he wanted to forget about the fact that he still thought there was hope for him and Mafalda he would need a girl to occupy whatever free time he could manage.

[britkneeboo]

"It was clever, but I already know you can be clever," she said. Mafalda lifted her hand again and reached up ruffle Ludo's hair. "If I wanted it to be easy I would have let you go with being clever."

Mafalda smiled after Ludo talked about trying out for a pro team. Smiling was something she had been doing a lot of since she had run into him. "I can't wait till you're all famous and stuff. I'll get to brag to all my friends about how I know the quidditch heart-throb, Ludovic Bagman. They'll all be so jealous," she said, in a mock-girly voice, practically swooning.

Actually, do you have any suggestions as to who I should date next?

Mafalda had often wanted to suggest who Ludo date. Sometimes he picked girls that she liked, but often he picked girls that she couldn't stand. It wasn't as if she had any right to tell him who to see, and she doubted her opinion mattered that much, but she would have liked him to ask for it much more than he did. "That, I don't know, but I could give you tons of suggestions on who NOT to date," she said, stressing the word 'not.' "How about if any of them interest you, you let me know and I'll tell you my answer then. Besides, I don't want to be the reason you hook up with some other girl and spend less time with me. We should spend as much time together as possible before you go off and become some professional quidditch player."

Mafalda paused.

"You know I hate heights, but once you're famous I might finally agree to ride your broom. Just promise you'll go slow." Instantly Mafalda turned bright red and bit down hard on her bottom lip. She very rarely even noticed when she said something that could be taken the wrong way, but this time she had caught it right before the sentence made it completely out of her mouth. Unfortunately for her - the sentence made it out anyway. "Or not."

[ludo]

Ludo smiled letting out a short laugh as Mafalda ruffled his hair. She made a fair point, clever was the easy part, it was the ridiculous part that was giving him trouble. He couldn't help but laugh a little as Mafalda mocked swooning over his future success.

"Sounds fair enough," Ludo agreed as Mafalda asked her to run his potential girlfriends by her. Whether he would actually do it or not was another story. Mafalda and Ludo didn't always see eye to on who they he should date, but thankfully there had never been a girlfriend bad enough to seriously shake the foundation of their friendship. There was also the fact that he would probably forget Mafalda suggested the idea after tonight.

Ludo chuckled at Mafalda's comment. "Well, I dare say that once I'm famous a lot of girls will want to ride my broomstick, but you know your free to ride it any time, and I promise to go slow if that's what you want...and you can take that however you'd like," Ludo smirked figuring that his words held true either way. Not to mention it made it more fun to play along when you tacked that phrase on. He was just glad that had had caught the quidditch themed joke as he seemed to be missing a lot of them lately with his recent dedication to practicing for the pro circuit.

[britkneeboo]

[[lmao I don't think I could have written Ludo's reply better myself!]]

Well, I dare say that once I'm famous a lot of girls will want to ride my broomstick, but you know your free to ride it any time, and I promise to go slow if that's what you want...and you can take that however you'd like.

If Mafalda hadn't been red enough already, she was even redder after that. How was it that Ludo, being the one with the 'crush,' was perfectly cool and collected while Mafalda, only seeing him as a friend, was the one who was about to pass out from embarrassment? It might have had something to do with the tingly feeling in her stomach after he spoke. This feeling was not unlike the shiver she felt earlier, except it was a good feeling. Good as in - there are so many butterflies in my stomach I think I'm going to puke.

Mafalda managed to stare frozen at him for another five seconds [at least] before she spun around to face the other direction. The heat in her face was proof that the redness hadn't subsided and just the thought of blushing at what he had said made her even more embarrassed. It was a vicious cycle, only made weirder by the fact that Mafalda usually laughed at these types of jokes. The difference this time was that she got the strong feeling that if she chose to take him up on his 'offer,' he would actually be more than willing.

"L-Ludo!" she managed to get out, obviously at a loss for words. After a few moments she felt her face finally cool off and her calmness start returning. She still didn't face him, but instead looked up out the window. Over the open grounds she could make out the shape of the quidditch pitch in the distance. She felt much better now that she wasn't as flustered, and she couldn't help what she said next. "Now I have the sudden urge to go.. umm..... flying...

...and you can take that however you'd like."

[ludo]

((haha thanks))

You would think that since Ludo was the one crushing on Mafalda he would be all nervous and stuttery around her, especially considering the current subject matter, but Ludo Bagman was not the stuttery type. Besides after two years of friendship with Mafalda had eased his speech, he knew the drill: he would flirt with her she would giggle and flirt back, but in the end they were always just friends...at least for the time being.

Ludo smiled at Mafalda's blushing, she was so cute when she got embarrassed. He hadn't really expected it though as Mafalda usually just, so while the new reaction was nice it also made Ludo wonder if maybe his charms had finally begun to wear aware at her defenses...or maybe he had over stepped the line of appropriate conversation and he was soon to be scolded for it.

Ludo laughed at Mafalda's next comment. It put her back to her normal joking attitude, but Reg wondered if there might not be just the slightest bit of truth behind what she said. "Well either way I'd be more than willing to take you...you'd just need to give me a few minutes to get my broom ready," he smirked. It was just too easy...or maybe Ludo had just been repressing himself from sex jokes for to long and was no making up for lost time. In any case the conversation was beginning to paint naughty pictures in Ludo's head.

[britkneeboo]

Mafalda could feel her cheeks start to tingle with a burning sensation again, but this time she was able to control it. She fought back the blushing and kept her composure. She didn't take her sights off the Quidditch Pitch off in the distance, because she thought that maybe if she stayed focused on the actual game Ludo's jokes wouldn't affect her as much as they did when she let her mind wander.

"With all this talk about flying, your broom is probably already ready. Don't worry, I won't look," she said, feeling like she was back to herself. What she said hadn't made her feel uncomfortable at all and she was sure if he said anything else she could handle it. She had just had a weak moment, that was all. She wasn't sure how long they could carry on the joke, but it seemed to still be going strong. She definitely hadn't intended this when she had first mentioned riding his broom. She had been completely serious- about the sport.

"You must take me for an awfully naughty girl, trying to put all these images in my head," she said, but she had actually refrained from forming any images this time.

[ludo]

Ludo instinctively looked down to his pants. He looked up quickly hoping Mafalda hadn't noticed what he just did as it would be a bit embarrassing. "Well my broom tends to get a little excited at the prospect of flying with a pretty girl," Ludo smirked. He wasn't sure if the joke was becoming overdone or not, but he was still rather enjoying it.

Ludo held his tongue deciding not to mention how he had been 'flying solo' for a while now, seeing that while it would fit in with the joke...it wasn't exactly the type of thing you wanted to tell the girl you had a crush on. Plus he actually had gone flying with Indigo the other day...it was really flying though and they each used there own brooms, but the last time Ludo had 'flown' with someone had been quite a while ago. It would be especially awkward for him to mention considering Mafalda had gone 'flying' just last night...even if she was regretting it now.

It wasn't really sex that interested Ludo though, he enjoyed it of course, he enjoyed it as much as if not more than the next guy. But the thing was, despite Ludo's reputation as a 'player' or a 'charmer' or whatever in the end he was really just a hopeless romantic who let his own mind get carried away until he built up a girl so much that she became perfect...in his head. And so far no real girl could ever live up to the perfect alter ego he created for them...maybe he never would find one, but he'd never know if he didn't try now would he?

[britkneeboo]

Finally, Mafalda turned back around where she was better facing Ludo. She was afraid she couldn't think up anymore jokes about flying on broomsticks, but she thought it had been pretty darn funny while it had lasted. "Are you calling me a pretty girl?" she said, smirking. If he said yes then that meant he was getting excited, but if he said no then he was calling her ugly. It was sort of a trap question and Mafalda was well aware of it, but she wanted to know what he would say anyway.

Mafalda made a pouty face, looking up into his face. She was trying to give the impression that her feelings would be hurt if he said no, but that didn't mean she expected him to say yes. She just wanted to see if she could make it harder to answer. Actually, Mafalda wasn't sure what she was hoping to accomplish by asking him the question. She wasn't even thinking about what the answer would mean, but just sort of going along with her instinct. Either way, unless he talked his way out of it, the answer could surprise her. Mafalda smiled big, and bounced her body up and down on the tips of her toes, causing her pony-tail to bounce back and forth in a very peppy way. "Well? Are you?"

[ludo]

Ludo pondered over the question, the obvious answer was yes of course, but then he would be admitting to the fact that she had 'excited his broomstick' which could make things very awkward. But then if he lied and said no he would be insinuating that he thought she was ugly which created problem of it's own.

Basically it was a trap, now the question was if both yes and no were the wrong answers than what was the right one. Ludo was usually pretty good at figuring these things out, but in this case it seemed like every answer had negative side effects. It looked as though he may have to take a chance on one of them, figure out which was the least likely to be questioned or seen as insultory.

He gave Mafalda a quick smile as she bounced anxiously awaiting his answer. "Maybe," he replied slyly deciding that the best answer was a non-answer. "Do you want me to think you're pretty?" he asked deciding to turn the question back at her, if for no other reason than to take the attention away from him for a moment.

[britkneeboo]

Do you want me to think you're pretty?

Of course Mafalda wanted Ludovic to think she was pretty, but perhaps not in the sense they were talking about. Then again, would it have been that bad if he did? Mafalda found herself wondering if sex with Ludo wold really be that horrible of an idea. It would certainly be different than what she had with Regulus, which she wasn't even quite certain of herself. She knew what she had 'done' with Regulus, but not all the little details of how she had done it. The last time she could remember details of sex was her first time. After that it had just been with a couple of boyfriends, and it was never anything to brag about. The first boyfriend that she had sex with was more of experimenting; neither of them were very good. The second boyfriend that she had sex with was just never very interesting. It always seemed to her like he was only trying to satisfy himself. Mafalda couldn't think of a single time sex had been truely important to her. It had been good, but never great. Maybe sex with a friend coud be just that, especially if they cared enough about eachother.

Mafalda mentally slapped herself on the hand. She was too busy thinking to even give Ludo an answer. Too busy thinking about stuff she realized was crazy and slightly perverted. Crossing a line from bestfriends to friends with benefits was too sleezy to her. It would have to be more than that.

"Oh - Pretty, beautiful, gorgeous, they all work," she said, her attention back on the subject at hand. "I personally like breath-taking the best, but I'm not picky." Mafalda let out a sigh. She hadn't sounded quite like herself as she spoke. She was trying to joke around, but her thoughts wondered back to Regulus. Was that friends with benefits? Were they even really friends? Enemies with benefits didn't sound right either. She was sure that wasn't what she wanted, but if she didn't get what she wanted would she end up doing something with Regulus again- something she would regret? "I'm sorry, Ludo. I'm not feeling very well for some reason," she said. "It's just.....do you really think any boy would want to be with me for the right reasons? After what happened with R- umm....last night, I've started thinking maybe I'm giving off the wrong impression to men. I don't want to be the girl they can't remember the next morning."

[ludo]

"Breathtaking, huh?" Ludo repeated with a smirk. "It's a good choice," he added nodding at her selection for a preferred compliment. It made Ludo think though, had a girl ever actually taken his breath before? He had met and dated many beautiful girls a few of whom made his heart beat fat when they came around, but as far as actually taking the breath from his lungs and leaving his speechless? Ludo felt as though he could remember the sensation, he had experienced it...once.

Had it been Ludo's imagination or was there unnecessary 'R' in Mafalda's question. This would indicate that either Mafalda had trouble pronouncing the word rum, or the person she had run ins with had a name that began with R. That narrowed the field, but not by much Ryan Jessup and Riley Winters were the first names to come to mind, possibly because they were fellow Ravenclaws and Ludo knew Mafalda and Riley were pretty close, he wasn't sure if she even knew Ryan.

In either case he would have to ponder that later as his friend was in need of reassurance at the moment. "Mafalda you made a mistake...you can't start basing your entire future sex life on two drunken one night stands. But we already talked about how to fix that, and I'm sure that no sober person with half a brain would ever be able to forget you in the morning," Ludo smiled then another thought occured to him..."Was it your first time?...I mean...this guy was he your first?" Ludo asked wondering if that first drunken night had been her first time which, now that it had happened again, forced her to believe that was how it would always be.

[britkneeboo]

It's a good choice.

Well, she had thought so. Mafalda found the word breath-taking to be one of the highest compliments a girl could receive. Sure, beauty was one thing, but to be able to take a boys breath away and leave him speechless was on a whole different plane. She never actually considered her self breath-taking, but she also didn't think she had met many girls who were. When she was younger she used to tell her mother that she took her breath away, because she had seen it in an old black and white movie once. Every single time her mother would respond by saying that Mafalda obviously needed more practice holding her breath then. It hadn't been until a few years later that she realized it was her mother's way of saying she didn't think she was very beautiful, but Mafalda always did.

It was true that basing her whole future off two drunken flings was a bit rash, but if she didn't do it herself the entire student body would do it for her, if they found out. Teenagers could be so cruel and judgmental.

Was it your first time?...I mean...this guy was he your first?

Mafalda laughed, but not a happy laugh - a surprised laugh. No matter what she did Mafalda was convinced that she wouldn't be able to prove to Ludo that she wasn't the sweet little Hufflepuff he thought she was, unless she pinned him against a wall and revealed the mystery of how quickly she could get his clothes off. It had been like that since she had met and she almost felt like a little sister sometimes. "No, lucky for me, it wasn't," she said, crossing her arms. "I guess I didn't tell you because I was still too embarrassed, but my first time was about two years ago I guess. Right after my birthday when I went home for a couple weeks during November because my grandfather passed away. So about three weeks before I met you, Ludo. Which reminds me, I didn't say thank you for the card you sent me when I turned eighteen! I was sort of disappointed I didn't get to see you that entire day though."

[ludo]

Ludo gave a half smile when Mafalda told him that it hadn't been her first. Ludo wasn't exactly thrilled with the news...somehow it had just been easier to believe she got drunk and didn't really know what was happening the only two times she had sex. In Ludo's mind it had kind of allowed him to write off those two as not really having sex, but now he had to see that Mafalda had knowingly had sex at least once when she was completely sober.

Three weeks before they met...so she never had been the sweet little virgin Hufflepuff ha had made her out to be. He really needed to stop making assumptions about people and taking them as fact, but it was just so easy to take a pretty face and make up this perfect image. Of course images could be perfect, but people couldn't. Ludo wouldn't ever consider the images of girls he created flawless though...he just picked out flaws that he liked. Such as Mafalda's klutziness it was a flaw, but Ludo found it cute.

Ludo shrugged, "It's fine, I'm sorry I only gave the card, but I wasn't really sure what you wanted," he said hoping Mafalda wouldn't be upset at the reminder that she didn't receive a gift. Ludo was sure she didn't mind, but it still bothered him a little. He was just confused because it seemed everything he picked out had something wrong with it, if it wasn't too cheap or too expensive it was too much like something a boyfriend would give her and he didn't want her thinking he liked her like that...which he did, he just didn't want her thinking it because of the awkwardness it created.

[britkneeboo]

It's fine, I'm sorry I only gave the card, but I wasn't really sure what you wanted.

She hadn't wanted anything except for his company, really. The card was nice, and a gift hadn't even crossed her mind. She just wished Ludo would have sought her out to say happy birthday in person. She had seen both Riley and Isabella on her birthday. Riley had bought her sweets and hung out with her for a little during the evening. Isabella had given her a bracelet that said 'Friends' on it, and they had spent the night hanging out in the common room. It wasn't really a big deal, and by November second she had already forgotten she didn't see him, but now her memory had been jogged.

"It's okay that you didn't get me a gift, Ludo. The card was enough, and after last year when you made me those disgusting cupcakes," she paused to laugh at the thought. He had made her cupcakes, but he had done something very wrong and after they turned her tongue and lips purple she had to force what was in her mouth down. She had told him she loved them, but of course he had to try one himself and then told her she didn't have to lie. Their mouths were purple for nearly four hours before it started to fade. "Well lets just say that a card was definitely enough. It just would have been nice to see your face. You know, give me a hug and tell me yourself, while I bragged about how I'm catching up to you."

Mafalda grinned.

"You can make it up to me later."