"Hm…" As he peered into the fridge, John muttered in thought. "A little bit of ice cream never hurt anyone." He said while taking a few plastic boxes out of the fridge before closing it.
Turning around and walking less than half a dozen steps, John approached the kitchen island and put the ice cream on it. Then, seemingly by itself, one of the upper kitchen cabinets opened by itself and bowls of plastic floated out of it, perfectly landing on the island's granite surface.
While the boy slowly put some ice cream balls of different flavors on the bowls, a constant noise of corn popping echoed through the kitchen.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Truly, the popcorn machine wasn't the only thing working without the young man's full attention. The microwave was on as well, with the nachos in it perfectly heating as the plate rotated flawlessly. Its melted cheese–waiting to be poured on it–was already ready, resting in a ceramic bowl of black color on its exterior and red inside.
Despite only one person present, the kitchen was almost as lively as when the school's cooks were preparing meals. So, in the end, the commotion attracted some attention.
Through the corner of his eyes, the boy noticed the presence of someone by the entrance to the kitchen. "Hey, Mr. Williams." John casually greeted the man, closing one of the ice cream boxes.
"Hey, kid." Dorian greeted back, walking into the kitchen while wearing sleep socks and some casual clothes. "Preparing some late-night snacks?"
"Almost that." John replied. "I am just preparing a few things for myself and Hope to eat while we watch some movie." He explained, lightly tapping the spoon's neck at the edge of the bowl, making the strawberry ice cream fall in it. "I convinced Dr. Saltzman to let us use one of the classrooms to use its projector. She chooses the movie and I prepare the snacks."
"I see. It certainly seems like something that fits you two more." Dorian off-handedly said, standing on the other side of the island. "Can you get me a bottle of water from the fridge?"
"Right away." John didn't even move away while the fridge's door opened and a water bottle shot towards Dorian, abruptly coming to a stop half a meter in front of the man. "It's served."
"Talk about useful powers." Dorian reached out his hand and grabbed the bottle. After a gulp from the water, the man kept staring at John, watching his movements. "It seems you and Hope are getting along quite well."
"We are." John nodded in agreement, taking the ice cream boxes back to the fridge. "I like spending time with her. She brings a certain sense of comfort."
"I see…" Dorian's word hung in the air for a bit too long.
Looking at the librarian, John raised his brow. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing. I am just… happy to see two students of mine enjoying each other's company." Dorian said, taking a few back steps and leaning on another island. "As a professor, I can't ask for many other things than seeing two students of mine finding happiness. Specifically for what you are doing to Hope."
"You are saying it like we are getting married." John snorted.
"It may sound like that." Dorian snorted as well. "But my words have foundation. I am really impressed by what you accomplished in the past few days."
"What? Befriending a girl?"
"A task I saw none accomplish in the past few years." Dorian commented. "You see, Hope was always the quieter one, but at the beginning she also had some small friendships at the school. Unfortunately, all of that changed two years ago."
"When it was revealed she was a Mikaelson?"
"Correct." Dorian nodded. "The impact this revelation had two years ago was greater than we could imagine. At that time, most of our students were members of packs or covens, only the vampires were somewhat independent. But still, most of them grew up hearing tales and stories about her family. All sorts of stories."
John didn't say anything, he just kept looking and attentively listening to the librarian.
And knowing he had the boy's attention, Dorian continued. "It was immediate. If losing her mother, father and uncle wasn't enough, she also had lost one of her real friends at the school while everyone else started to stay away from her. By then, Hope started to behave differently. She got quieter than usual, evaded people and only talked with someone when necessary. New students arrived and despite Ric's efforts, none bonded with her. The whispers of who she was and everything carried by her name scared most of them while others preferred to stay out of possible trouble."
Dorian paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. "And then you come, and for the first time in a long time I heard her laughter across the corridors and have seen her smile more in a day than last year. And for this, I am grateful. For despite everything, I wish for nothing more than seeing my students happy, and you helped with it regarding one of them." He said, his words the most sincere possible.
The words echoed in the boy's mind, with him still preparing the food while he mulled over them. It was just after a few seconds, with John leaning his back on the fridge's door, he decided to say something.
"Can I ask you one thing?" John asked
"Go ahead." Dorian nodded.
Taking a deep breath, John spoke out. "You, as a grown man, are probably more experienced with women than me."
"Continue." Dorian said, nodding
"If you were in my situation, how would you progress?" John asked. "And I mean, you know…"
"I know." Dorian gave a few quick curtly nods. "Being honest here, your progress is already good. You know each other only for a few days, and you will spend the night with her alone. When I was your age, I wasn't that good with girls." Dorian said, getting a laugh out of the boy.
"Should I slow down?" John asked, a little uncertain of how to go through it.
"Honestly, my only advice is letting things flow. Let fate play its game. It's clear as day that both of you are interested in each other. Considering this, I wouldn't be surprised if things just happened." Dorian said, a hand holding his chin, putting up a thoughtful expression.
"Basically, continue how it is?" John asked.
Dorian nodded. "Exactly."
Letting out a breath, John nodded. "Okay then."
Before walking out of the kitchen, Dorian walked around the island and patted the boy on the shoulder. "Relax. You are a good boy, John. If you weren't, we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place."
"Okay… Thanks, Mr. Williams." John nodded.
"I'm here to help." Dorian said, walking to the entrance before momentarily stopping his steps. "Have a good night, John."
"You too, Mr. Williams." John said, observing the librarian disappearing from his sight.
Now that he was alone, John put his hands on the granite surface and took a deep breath, his mind going over the conversation he just had.
"No need to rush, no need for it." John murmured, straightening himself. Though brief, his conversation with Dorian cleared some of his doubts, or at least lowered their weight in his mind.
[Scene Break]
"I am here." John announced his arrival as he opened the door to the classroom of physics, quickly finding who he was looking for as he looked at the front rows.
Hearing his voice, Hope looked up from her laptop and turned her head. "Hey." With her fingers stopping from roaming the keyboard, Hope put the device to the side and gave some attention to the boy, her eyes unconsciously attracted by the tray and bowl carried by him. "It seemed you put some effort on your part."
Looking past John, Hope also noticed a few things following behind him. They floated in the air for some time before landing on a few chairs, surrounding them with drinks and snacks.
"I guess we won't need to take a break to get anything to eat." Hope commented
"I made sure of that." John put down the food he carried on one of the front chairs. "And you, what movie did you choose for us to watch tonight?" He asked, throwing a sweet popcorn into his mouth. Since he wasn't aware of Hope's exact taste in regards to this, John made two savors–one sweet and one salty.
Hope's face shifted slightly. "You promise not to laugh at me?" She asked, a faint hesitation slipping into her voice.
"Now that you said that, no." John smirked, sitting down to the chair by her side. "Come on, what are we gonna watch?"
"Well, I never watched these movies despite how popular they are. So, I thought: Why not?" Hope turned her laptop for John to see, revealing the screen and the movie she chose for them to watch. "So… tonight, we are going to watch Harry Potter."
"That's a surprise." John smiled. Even more so when you think how the hell does Harry Potter exist in this universe. "I would like to point out the strangeness in you not watching a movie about a boy in his magical school when you actually study in a school that teaches magic."
"Now that you mention it…" Hope let out a light laugh while typing a few more things on the laptop. Then, with it already connected to the projector, Hope took out the lid that was covering the lens and thus the projection reached the wall. "So, ready? I'm quite looking forward to watching it."
"Yeah."
With his confirmation, Hope snapped her fingers and the room's lights turned off, with the only illumination now coming from the laptop's screen and the projection on the wall.
While adjusting himself on one of the chairs, John passed a bowl of sweet popcorn to Hope. She quickly accepted it and threw some popcorn into her mouth, the crunch noise echoing through the room.
Taking a subtle look at her, John grinned when noticing how Hope's legs swung from one side to the other constantly, reflecting her contentment.
"You look happy."
Looking at his smile, Hope followed the boy's stare and found herself looking at her legs as well. "Yeah, a little." She nodded. "It's been some time since I've done something like this." She said, bringing some more popcorn into her mouth. "And you? You seem enthusiastic about this."
"More than you can imagine." John raised the corner of his lips. Reaching his hand out, he grabbed a can of soda and opened it. "Want one?"
"I will wait a little more." Hope said, her eyes gluing onto the projection as the movie started. From that point on, the mood between both teenagers slowly changed into a more calm, warm one.
The beginning of the movie started quiet, with both of them paying a certain level of attention to it. One time or another, one of the two of them would make a comment based on something. If it was John, his words were more inclined into remarking about something or trying to get a laugh or smile out of the girl. Meanwhile, for Hope, she would comment on things that picked her interest, at concepts and such that would make her raise her eyebrow.
When seeing Hagrid arriving at Privet Drive, Hope tilted her head closer to John. "Do you think it's possible to create a magical flying motorcycle?"
"I'm thinking of this right now." John whispered with a serious look. "But sincerely, I'm more interested in how I can transform into a cat."
"Why?"
"No reason, just for the fun of it."
…
"Wands… do witches use something similar?" John asked.
"Not really." Hope shook her head. "We use some magical objects, but they normally serve different purposes than wands."
…
When Minerva announced the name of the four houses, a thought crossed Hope's mind. "Were you one of those people that took those online to know their houses?"
John threw a nacho covered in melted cheese into his mouth. "Of course I was." He expressionlessly said.
"Which were you selected to?"
"What do you think it was?" John threw a look at her.
…
"How confident are you in taking down a troll by yourself?" John asked. "No magic allowed." He quickly added.
"John, that thing is as dumb as a rock. I can easily knock it down."
…
When watching the quidditch match, Hope shared a memory of her. "I think it was three years ago, some witch students attempted to make brooms fly and enchanted a few balls to mimic these bludgers and golden snitch."
"Considering I didn't see it in the pamphlet, I imagine it didn't work well." John commented. "What happened?"
Hope snorted. "Brooms failed, the bludgers broke more bones in a few minutes than we expected and the golden snitch… well, it hit Miss Rose in the head before disappearing into the forest." Her lips curled up as she diverted her eyes off the projection. "She spent the week with a pump on her forehead."
"Ahaha!"
…
More than two hours went by in what could be described as a blink.
By the end of the movie, opened cans were put together on the floor, with some of the bowls of popcorn and tray of nachos mostly empty.
At the end of these two hours, the pair of teenagers ended up in slightly different positions compared to when the movie started. As the credits rolled up, and the room sunk in a weak darkness as the only considerate light came from the white letters, John had his arm around the girl's shoulders, with Hope resting her head on it.
"What did you think of it?" John softly asked, pulling a few strands of hair off Hope's shoulder.
Lifting up her eyes, Hope warmly smiled. "I liked it very much."
"Good… that's good." John returned the smile. "Want to play the next one right away or get a small break?"
"Can you bring the laptop?" She asked, nestling more against him. "I don't want to move out of here."
"Of course." John said, his eyes momentarily fixed on her laptop. It slowly floated off the other chair where it was to hers, landing right in front of Hope.
"Thank you." Hope said, her fingers roaming the keyboard.
Under her words, John's smile just further opened. "My pleasure." He said, leaning his head closer and kissing the top of her head.
Feeling the soft touch over her head, Hope was slightly surprised. "This is a first…" She muttered.
"Did it bother you?"
"No, far from that." Hope shook her head. "I liked that."
"Good, good." John muttered slowly.
As Hope prepared to play the next movie, John's fingers would course through her hair. This time, this action of his didn't elicit an angry reaction out of her, if her words from a few days ago could even be categorized like that.
During the next movie, John would sometimes caress Hope's cheek or let his hand rest over her shoulder. But from the moment the movie started, both of them didn't break contact.
The cold breeze embracing them, the shadowy environment, the sweet snack prepared, the soft warmth from each other, everything seemed to fall and combine perfectly. It led for the movie to be watched silently, with none of them muttering more than a few words while they attempted to savor the cozy and calm environment built around them.
It was so calm and silent and pleasant for them that by the end of the second movie, none of them moved or commented anything. Not even when the projector and laptop turned off by themselves did they react.
For when anyone looked closer–in the total darkness–it would be noticeable that both had their eyes shut and their breathing were steady; They fell asleep close to each other and it seemed they were far from waking up.
[Line Break]
"John… Wake up…"
"Hm?" John muttered back, his mind hazy and foggy.
Damn, it's been some time since I felt like this. He thought. And truly, I want to feel it a little more. John closed his eyes that were attempting to open.
"No. John, wake up." Hope's voice echoed again. She weakly pushed her hands against the boy. "We have to go."
"Go where…" John said, trying to open his eyes. He had to put some real effort in it.
Hope snorted. "Come on, wake up. It's 2:00 AM. We have to go to our rooms."
Now a little more awake, John started to realize Hope's words. "I… did I fall asleep?"
"Yes." Hope nodded.
Fully opening his eyes, it was clear to notice the awkwardness in the boy's eyes. "That's… strange." John said, sitting straighter on the chair.
"You were probably tired." Hope commented.
"I'm sure I wasn't." John replied, looking up at Hope standing before him. "It was probably something else."
"Like what?" Hope raised her eyebrow in wonder.
"I don't know…" The boy muttered, his eyes fixed on her. "Maybe… I felt comfortable enough with you nearby?"
"Oh, stop joking."
"I'm not." John said. "Really, I can't think of anything else."
The boy's words made Hope go silent for a moment, but she quickly broke out of it. "Whether that is the reason or not, we have to go. It's 2:00 AM–2:15 to be more exact–we better go to our rooms."
Releasing a sigh, John nodded. "Okay, okay." He said, standing up to his feet. Damn, the nap was so good.
Taking her laptop and having already turned off the projector, Hope walked to the classroom's exit and walked out into the corridor, with John right behind her.
As they walked up the stairs, John's senses unconsciously peeked into the dormitories. Then, he noticed that still many of the students weren't in their rooms.
"Good thing tomorrow–I mean, today–does not have classes." The boy commented, remembering to have listened to Alaric canceling Monday's classes for everyone to have one more day to rest. "There isn't almost anyone in the building."
"They must still be in the old mill." Hope said. "Most of them will only be crawling back when the sun begins to rise."
"I see…" John said, continuing his way up.
When they arrived on the last floor, the pair walked to their doors in a comfortable silence.
It was only when Hope arrived before her door did she turn around and faced John, who halted his movements when noticing her.
"I… liked it. It was an enjoyable good night." Hope said, her lips threatening to curl up.
John, however, didn't hold it and simply smiled in agreement. "Me too. You can just by the fact I actually fell asleep for the first time in days."
"I'm pretty sure that's a reason to believe things were boring." Hope commented.
"In my case, it wasn't. Believe in me. I enjoyed every second of it." John said, his words laced in truthfulness. "So much so that I must ask, do you want to repeat it any day soon?" He asked, expectation showing in his face.
Despite a little taken back by the question, Hope didn't take long to answer. "I'd love to." She said, her head slowly nodding in agreement.
"That's good." John said. "Okay, then. I guess I will see you in a few hours?"
"Very much probably."
"Then, until there…" John opened his arms, his intention clear for the girl.
And Hope, as smart as she was, quickly noticed it and smiled while stepping forward, letting her figure fall in the warm embrace of the young man.
"Good night, Hope." John said, kissing the top of her head again.
Making use of the chance the boy had lowered his head, Hope stood on the tip of her toes and quickly, but warmly kissed John's cheek. An action that lasted less than a second, but the young man had the sensation it lasted for far longer than reality.
As she retreated and looked up at his expression, Hope giggled while covering her mouth with her hand. "Good night, John."
With these words, Hope turned on her heels and opened her door. She walked into her room and closed it, disappearing from the hallway.
John, however, still stood there for some time. When he decided to walk back into his room, he brought his hand to the cheek that was kissed and felt the remnant warmth in it.
When John closed the door to his room and slowly walked closer to his bed, sitting down on the edge of it, the young man found himself with a blissful and happy expression attached to his face.
This is definitely something I can consider as progress.
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A/N
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