First Dance Anxiety [Dunstable!]

[YORI OSHIRO]

Yori's Dress!

In a way, she did like big social gatherings like the Yule ball. The formality that's presented during the time helped soothe her paranoia in that most wouldn't go out of their way to cause a problem. At least in theory. Yori usually did her best to just stay out of the way during these events just in case though. It was hard to deny the occasional short-tempered student that used the time to stir up trouble for fun. However, she did what she could to just not bring attention to herself and, up to this point, had done that fairly well. This was a near impossibility with the role she had given herself for this year, much to her current dismay.

The hufflepuff did enjoy being co-champion for her house. She had been in almost a perpetual high after Dunstable and she won the first task-- until the announcement had came for the Yule Ball. She knew that tradition was for the champions to have a date, and perform the first dance for the social event. Though the Japanese girl liked to think she wasn't out of shape, but she was by no means graceful. Then there was eventual awkward moment of asking a boy out to the Yule Ball. She could strategize, pull resources, even overcome her fear of heights enough to fly, but for the love of god, she couldn't dare open herself enough to a boy to ask to the Yule Ball. While her brothers have been known to be something of flirtatious goofs, she could barely keep her words straight to try.

For that reason, she was incredibly thankful when the offer came for her and Dunstable to go together. The guy seriously had no idea how much trouble he saved her from. Even as going friends, the Hufflepuff had made plans to at least express gratitude for it. It gave her some time to just relax some this evening, something both of them probably needed. For now, she hovered along the edges of the ballroom, looking for her date for the evening. She was feeling restless to say the least. She would feel a lot better when the first dance ended. That was definitely going to be the most frustrating portion. The attention would be entirely on the champions.

”God, just don't let me trip up...” she mumbled uncomfortably.

[DUNSTABLE VERNON DURSLEY]

Dunstable did like Yori, as a friend and a partner for the Hogwarts House Tournament. But she wasn’t the girl that he had really wanted to go to the Yule Ball with. He really wanted Lucy Sanguini go with him, but since she started hanging around Olivia she told him they had to keep their friendship a secret. Or was it a relationship? He wasn’t sure. Wasn’t she supposed to hate Muggleborns? Why did he get stuck with a confusing relationship? He sighed softly as he finished fixing his tie and then he headed on out of the Hufflepuff Common Room, Through the kitchens and up to the Great Hall. Even though him and Yori were both in Hufflepuff they had decided to meet at the ball.

He glanced around the room looking for the young Chinese girl and then he smiled when he spotted her and headed right towards her. “Good Evening Yori, are you ready to start off the dance for everyone,[/color]” he smiled lightly as he linked his arm into hers. They weren’t dating, but they were there to dance and relax with each other so there was no reason why he couldn’t be nice and sweet to her. Besides, he did care for her even though it may not be in a romantic relationship way. He had a feeling that she would be a bit nervous and even noticed that she showed it a little bit. “Hey don’t worry I promise I’ll lead quite easily and make sure you don’t trip,[/color]” he said with a warm smile.

[YORI OSHIRO]

She nearly jumped upon hearing Dunstable's voice, trying to hide it with a gentle smile over at her friend. Yori thought by now, after going through the first task, that she would be able to go through the Yule Ball without the nerves, but she wouldn't prefer to make a fool out of herself here either. At the very least, the hufflepuff could breathe a little easier once they got out of this first dance. She could blend into the crowds, staying out of the spotlight while catching up with friends. If she hadn't completely embarrassed her and Dunstable after the first dance, maybe they would join in a few others should her housemate desire to.

”Evening, Dun!” Yori greeted cheerfully, trying to keep her thoughts from the surface for now, ”I'm about as ready as I'll ever be, I suppose. I think I know enough to keep myself from stepping all over your feet.” The last part was muttered in jest, figuring that she might as well joke about the uncomfortable situation to make it easier. Dunstable looked just about as confident as she expected him to be. He was a much more fitting champion than she'd likely ever be considering how calm he looked at the moment. She could at least try to reflect that for both their sakes.

The hufflepuff grimaced at her housemate's words. ”Thank you,” Yori spoke gratefully, ”Eh, I'm not too graceful... but I figured you know that by now, huh?” She cringed slightly at the thought, however trusting that Dunstable would be able to do as promised. ”And thanks for going with me as well. I'm sure I wasn't your first choice for a date.” Going with a friend just cut out a lot of the awkwardness with it, much to Yori's relief. She knew there was nothing beyond friendship between the two of them, so it left out a lot of the weird parts of it. It was probably why she hadn't really bothered with dating yet.

[DUNSTABLE VERNON DURSLEY]

Dunstable knew that Yori was one to never be good when it came to dances. He knew that she was a bit clumsy, and she knew it herself as she had told him that she would try not to slip up. He wouldn’t let her slip up anyways, and would try his best to not let her fall and would catch her if she did. This was something he was doing more for the both of them as Yori couldn’t find a date and Lucy couldn’t show up at the Yule ball with him, and the last thing that Yori said only made him feel a bit guilty about the whole situation. “Hey don’t worry about it. You’re still a really great girl to go to the ball with. Just the person I wanted to go with… well… it’s a bit complicated. But at least this saves us both from embarrassment of not showing up with dates,[/color]” he smirked lightly. He also figured there was nothing wrong with going as friends especially when the champions were required to start of the dancing activities.

He held his hand out for her to take a hold of knowing that would need to start to dance soon and once the first dance was over they’d be able to sit down at a table and eat. “Well shall we at least get the first dance over with? We don’t have to dance anymore after that we can just sit and chat like friends. But I’m up for continuing to dance as well.[/color]” he smiled lightly to her.

[YORI OSHIRO]

Complicated, huh? She wasn't one to speculate on her friend's personal life, especially considering it seemed to be a rather touchy subject. Yori wasn't entirely keen on the whole house political thing, but she knew that certain house pairings wouldn't look too good in such a public event. It certainly didn't help anything that Dunstable was required to perform this first dance for the Yule ball. Gossip would be quick to snatch up anything outside of social norms at Hogwarts. The hufflepuff may not have entirely agreed with it, but she certainly didn't blame her friend for all the secrecy. She only felt sorry that the whole thing prevented him from taking the right girl.

Though she really did appreciate the compliments, Yori couldn't help but laugh a little at Dunstable's words. "Relax, Dun, didn't mean anything serious by it," the Japanese girl assured. It probably did sound a bit self-deprecating, but she just found it hard to believe a nice guy like her fellow hufflepuff wouldn't have someone he was sweet on. "Complicated though? Sorry to hear about that. Hope it'll get easier for you soon." It wasn't her place to say anything more beyond that really. Though she was curious on the matter, it definitely wasn't any of her business to pry. She just hoped it wouldn't cause problems for Dunstable later on.

With a friendly smile, Yori took Dunstable's hand, ready take on the dance floor-- as well as she could be anyway. Dancing was still a frustrating and complicated issue, and she was well aware the next few moments were probably going to be rather stressful with all the eyes on them. However, now that she thought about it, she was more than thankful she was doing this with a friend, rather than a love interest. She wouldn't be embarrassing herself nearly as much in that case. Just another thing to be thankful for in hindsight, really. "Yeah, we might as well get this over with," she muttered, matching the smile, "And we can continue dancing afterward if you'd like. I'm up for anything."

[DUNSTABLE VERNON DURSLEY]

Carefully Dunstable lead Yori out onto the dance floor as the other champions headed on out as well. He smiled at his cousin Albus, glad to see that he got the girl he wanted, which was good at least he didn’t have to deal with Al moping around anymore. “Nothing wrong with dancing more, but I supposed I’d probably want something to drink after the first one,[/color]” he said as he noticed that those who weren’t a champion or a date for one were all sitting at their tables, already ordering food and drinks. It seemed to make him hungry and thirsty as well already.

The music started, and carefully Dunstable placed one arm around Yori’s waits and with his other hand he held hers, just as his mum had taught him one summer. Carefully he lead the two of them into a slow dance, just as the other champions were doing. He just hoped that he didn’t trip or anything, after all dancing with Yori was much different than dancing with his mum. But then again his mum was much more experienced than Yori, as well as older and taller and not as magical seeing as his mother was indeed a muggle. “Well this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, much easier with having other champions on the floor for everyone to stare at,[/color]” he joked lightly as the two continued to dance.

[YORI OSHIRO]

She tried to calm her nerves as they stepped onto the dance floor, keeping her eyes either on Dunstable or just on the floor themselves. She wouldn't dare look out to the spectators, lest she wanted to freeze up entirely. It was one thing to know people were watching when going through the tasks. She had enough to distract herself when she had to focus on keeping pace and staying alive. The idea of spectators was easily a secondary thought then. Now, though, she had little to hide with, except for maybe Dunstable, and though she didn't know much about dancing, she thought maybe using her dance partner as a hiding place would be counter-productive. "I can agree to that," she muttered with a grimace, trying to hide her nervousness, "The food looks good this evening, doesn't it?"

Her expression definitely began to crack away into concern when the dance started. Though she had told herself not to focus on the others, her eyes had begun to wander, but at least just focusing on the other champions. She couldn't tell what they were thinking, how they were dealing with this, but they seemed alright at least. It wasn't too bad either, if she thought about it. Dunstable was careful and gentle, and though her steps were probably a bit jarring and slow, she was getting a bit accustomed to it. She hadn't stepped on Dunstable's foot yet. She might've scuffed his dress shoes a few times though. As Yori heard Dunstable, she managed a smile, appreciating the joke. "Too true," the Hufflepuff agreed, "You're good at this... Can't really thank you enough for it."

[/justify]

[DUNSTABLE VERNON DURSLEY]

That dance was feeling a bit long, but he figured it was probably due to the fact that everyone was watching him, and well the other champions too. But still, it was a bit harder to dance with all eyes on the champions and their dates. “I can agree to that,” Dunstable smiled glad that she had the same idea in mind. He knew that some girls would get mad if a guy rather eat, but it’s not that her rather eat it was just that he was getting hungry. And honestly he thought that perhaps dancing later would be much easier with food in his stomach. He should’ve eaten something before leaving the Hufflepuff Common Room. Well it was too late to that. “The food looks good this evening, doesn't it?” Dunstable nodded, but he always felt that food at Hogwarts always looked good, no great. The house elves were wonderful with how well they prepared food, he’d never admit it to his mother, but they do an even better job than his mother.

“You're good at this... Can't really thank you enough for it.” Dunstable knew he couldn’t thank Yori enough either, that was definitely true. “Hey don’t worry about it. We both helped each other tonight,[/color]” he said with a warm smile just as the first song was ending, finally. His stomach let out a roll rumble and he was pretty Yori could probably hear it as well. “Well, shall we find ourselves a table and order some food?[/color]” he asked lightly as he begun to lead her towards a table.

[ZACHARIAH LENNY TRACY]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,415,bTable]

[atrb=style, background-color: #D0C6A4; border-top: 5px solid #75531E; border-bottom: 5px solid #75531E;][STYLE=border: 4px solid #75531E; height: 100px; width: 100px; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: -33px; margin-top: 7px;][/style][STYLE=float: right; width: 277px; font-size: 50px; color: #75531E; font-family: georgia; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 123px; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -45px; letter-spacing: -3px;]MY SACRIFICE[/style][STYLE=background-color: #EFE9E0; border-top: 4px solid #75531E; margin-right: 15px; font-family: arial narrow; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: -9px; margin-left: 123px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; color: #75531E;]ABOVE ALL THE OTHERS, WE'LL FLY[/style] [STYLE=margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 15px; font-size: 10px; font-family: arial; text-align: justify; background-color: #EFE9E0; padding: 17px; color: #3C2E16; margin-top: 8px; opacity: 0.9; border-top: 4px solid #75531E; border-right: 1px dotted #9D6F25; border-left: 1px dotted #75531E;]zac was in a fantastic mood. he had been for the last, well, six years of his life? that probably didn't surprise too many people who knew the energetic hufflepuff. it was hard to dampen his mood, and big events like this where everyone's energy levels were through the roof did absolutely nothing to calm him. sure, he didn't have a date, but that was hardly zac's concern. there were a lot of pretty girls from hufflepuff and other houses who might be attending the ball dateless, but he hadn't wanted to ask someone to accompany him just for the hell of it. he had no qualms with spending the ball dateless, maybe asking a female friend of his here or there for a dance... he'd have a good time tied down to one girl all night or not. dunstable had left early, needing to go to the first dance with the rest of the champions. zachariah probably should have been the good supportive friend and accompanied him to the ball, standing in the crowd as he underwent the first dance with his champion partner, yori, but... meh. the dude would understand. they weren't giggly schoolgirls needing each other's support throughout their entire lives. frankly, giggly third years like that scared the crap out of zac. such dependence was... unnatural. he set off to the ball a little bit late, probably leaving the hufflepuff commons room after the first dance had already begun in the great hall. it wasn't like anyone would be missing zac, and he'd gotten a bit distracted playing his guitar in his dorm room, losing track of time as he played on the window sill in his black tux. simple. mugglistic. none of that dress robe stuff for him, though from the looks of it not even wizard born guys were wearing dress robes for the most part. he walked into the great hall just as the music of one song tapered off. he assumed it was the first dance, because suddenly the floor was flooded with happy couples clamouring for the best place on the dance floor to begin a happy, romantic evening. zac stood for a moment, watching the couples, seeing a few faces he recognized, and then looked at the stationary couples around the walls and the tables. a grin spread across the sixth year's face as he saw his best friend and a familiar face, though only from afar, dunstable's partner, yori. he hurried over to intercept them, figuring that dunstable wouldn't mind and yori, well, he didn't really know her, but he wasn't the type to be shy. "not to hurt your feelings, dun, but i think she's got you beat on looks by far," he couldn't resist teasing, before even saying 'hello'. greetings were too boring for his tastes. WORDS! 750 TAGS! dunstable and adorable yori! NOTES! hope it's all right. [/style]

[STYLE=width: 400px; text-align: center; font-size: 9px; color: #75531E; letter-spacing: 2px; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: -4px;]made by kiwii at btn![/style]

[YORI OSHIRO]

She breathed a sigh of relief as the music began to wind down, thankful that this awkward situation would soon end. Though her brothers were quick to get out on the dance floor and move, the Japanese girl was happy to stay near the food and spend some time catching up with friends. Not so surprising then that she was more than happy to have Dunstable as a date for the evening. Their friendship helped remove a lot of the formality involved, and the two of them seemed to have similar plans for what they wanted for the night.

Yori couldn’t help letting out a small laugh at hearing the fellow hufflepuff’s stomach grumble. ”Sounds like someone’s hungry,” the girl teased lightly. Food was easy to understand and talk about. Honestly, Yori was a bit excited to have something different than the usual great hall affair. She wasn’t as hungry as Dun probably, but the hufflepuff could stand to eat some. She had a few snacks before the dance, mostly to calm her nerves down, but really nothing heavy. She nodded at the suggestion of finding a table, giving her a chance to kick off her flats for a little bit. Her feet weren’t too sore or anything, but she hated dress shoes.

They moved through the crowd of dancers rushing to the floor, Yori happy to get out of that mess before it got worse. That was when she noticed the boy approaching them. She recognized him enough to know he was a fellow housemate. Of course, actual identification flew to the back of her mind at his words, completely taken aback by the greeting. Her face flushed a bright red, completely at a loss for words for a moment. His forwardness was certainly admirable, if a bit startling.

”You’re…” Yori cleared her throat, trying to get the words to come out, ”You’re quite the charmer, aren’t you?” In the end, it almost came out as a laugh, if a bit nervous. He must’ve been a friend of Dunstable’s, obviously. The compliment was nice, though she couldn’t think that she outdid her fellow champion’s sharp tux. Really, the boy was quite the looker himself, though she wasn’t one to mention that so readily. A name first, perhaps.

[/justify]

[DUNSTABLE VERNON DURSLEY]

Dunstable could smell the food at some of the student’s plates, and it smelt incredible. He couldn’t wait to pick up a menu and decide what he would want to have. “Sounds like someone’s hungry,” Dunstable smirked at her small tease as he picked up a menu. But just as he was about to open it a familiar face showed up at the table. “not to hurt your feelings, dun, but i think she's got you beat on looks by far,” Dunstable smirked at his best friend, Zac. Leave it to Zac to come up with something witty when showing up at the table.

“You’re quite the charmer, aren’t you?” Dunstable looked over at Yori, it seemed as if she felt a bit nervous, and then he remembered. Of course, the two of them don’t know each other. “Ah Zac, this is Yori, the other Hufflepuff Champion. Yori, this is my best friend Zac,[/color]” he said politely introducing the two of them to each other. Quite frankly he never really knew why he didn’t introduce Yori to Zac sooner, especially with how much him and Yori had been hanging out due to the House tournament. “We were just about to order some food, if you want to join us Zac,[/color]” Dunstable offered, even though he really didn’t need to. He knew Zac would probably just join them whether or not Dunstable asked him too.

[ZACHARIAH LENNY TRACY]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,415,bTable]

[atrb=style, background-color: #D0C6A4; border-top: 5px solid #75531E; border-bottom: 5px solid #75531E;][STYLE=border: 4px solid #75531E; height: 100px; width: 100px; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: -33px; margin-top: 7px;][/style][STYLE=float: right; width: 277px; font-size: 50px; color: #75531E; font-family: georgia; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 123px; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -45px; letter-spacing: -3px;]MY SACRIFICE[/style][STYLE=background-color: #EFE9E0; border-top: 4px solid #75531E; margin-right: 15px; font-family: arial narrow; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: -9px; margin-left: 123px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; color: #75531E;]ABOVE ALL THE OTHERS, WE'LL FLY[/style] [STYLE=margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 15px; font-size: 10px; font-family: arial; text-align: justify; background-color: #EFE9E0; padding: 17px; color: #3C2E16; margin-top: 8px; opacity: 0.9; border-top: 4px solid #75531E; border-right: 1px dotted #9D6F25; border-left: 1px dotted #75531E;]that blush on the girl's cheeks was absolutely adorable, and a bit expected. she was cute, he didn't have any shame in admitting that, and he'd came over intending on making her, at the very least, smile. no, he wasn't an asshole player, he just... liked to see cute girls smile. anyone who knew zac quickly found out that he could be a notorious flirt, though he never meant any harm by his actions. 'lucky' yori was the source of his attentions today, even though the original comment had been meant to tease his best friend even more than it had been to be directed at the female champion of his house. he wasn't disappointed with the effect it had had, though. after all, as noted, the redness on her cheeks was more than cute. ”you’re… you’re quite the charmer, aren’t you?” zachariah chuckled, unable to resist a quick wink. "i'm a tracy, actually. not a charmer. i don't actually know any 'charmer' family."

[/b] cheeky? yes. he wouldn't have it any other way. he could only hope that yori wasn't going to scoff and turn away at his pitiful little jokes like some other girls might. after all, he didn't want to ruin the evening for dunstable and leave him without a date, even if the first dance was over and it made no difference if she would be around him anymore. still, he didn't want dunstable to be pissed off at him for leaving him without a date for the rest of the night just because she didn't like zac's trademark sense of humor.

“ah zac, this is yori, the other hufflepuff champion. yori, this is my best friend zac,” of course he knew who she was... she was one of the heroes of the hufflepuff house at the moment. after all, they'd won the first task. hufflepuff. the 'mudblood' championed house came out victorious against all others... zac would be a fool not to know her name. but he couldn't resist gently taking her hand in his, leaning down to kiss the top of it with a small smirk curving the edges of his lips as he straightened up again, slowly letting go of her dainty palm. "pleased to meet you, miss oshiro. i trust my friend isn't boring you too much?"[/color]

“we were just about to order some food, if you want to join us zac,” zac knew that he wasn't interrupting anything. dunstable was taken, though the rest of the school wouldn't be aware of that fact and zac wasn't going to be the first one to spill the secret. not only did he think that lucy and dunstable's little secret was entirely adorable (yeah, he was a bit of a romantic at heart... not that he'd ever admit it), but he didn't want his best friend hating his guts for the rest of their lives. the point of this train of thought was that he didn't have to feel guilty about accepting the invitation to join his best friend and his adorable dance partner. if anything it was an opportunity to get to know a cute girl better... "hm...don't mind if i do," he grinned, offering her his arm. "may i escort you to a table?" turning his attention back to his best friend. "i'd give you my arm, too, but that might be a bit weird."

WORDS! 838 TAGS! dunstable and adorable yori!
NOTES! hope it's all right.

[/style][/td][/tr]
[tr][td][/td][/tr][/table][STYLE=width: 400px; text-align: center; font-size: 9px; color: #75531E; letter-spacing: 2px; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: -4px;]made by kiwii at btn![/style][/center]

[YORI OSHIRO]

It was easy to laugh at the joke, simple and innocent as it were. She wasn't new to the gentle teasing in it, either through her brother or fellow housemates. Not so surprisingly, it was a quick way to get her relaxed, and she had to stop herself from giving Dun's friend a playful shove. Yori didn't think he'd mind too much with it, but she wasn't sure if it really was appropriate for an introduction, especially one in such a formal setting. She usually made a point to avoid situations like this. Though the social atmosphere was nice to observe with friends or as a background spectator, customs were something at a loss to her. So far though, the hufflepuff couldn't help being charmed by the fellow hufflepuff, the smile remaining on her face even as her laugh ended.

Before she made a decision on how to go about responding to the joke, Dunstable introduced Zac to her. The hufflepuff couldn't help being surprised by just how formal her introduction had been, especially in comparison to the best friend title Zac had received. She was about to comment on it before her recently made acquaintance had another surprise for her. As soon as those lips touched her skin, her face turned a bright red. ”T-the pleasure is mine,” Yori responded in kind, still a bit startled by everything. Maybe she didn't get out much, but it seemed rare for someone their age to act so chivalrous. While it was certainly endearing, Yori couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed by that sort of attention.

The hufflepuff smiled a bit cheekily at Zac's question. ”Oh, I'm fine. Can't say the same for Dunstable,” she joked, ”I haven't been boring you to death, have I, Dun? I'd hate to kill you so early in the tournament.” The hufflepuff didn't think she was too boring, but really, who would think of themselves as drab people? Ordinary, yes, but well, there were plenty of days where Yori was okay with that. The night was still young of course, so she didn't think she could mess up that quickly. Then again, life liked to throw those twists every now and then, but those could be pleasant in themselves. Suffice to say, she thought she was lucky this evening. Days leading up to the Yule Ball the champion had been all but convinced that this would be a total disaster.

Her eyebrows raised at the offered arm, though not quite so surprising after everything that had happened so far. Zac was quite the friendly man, if a bit forward. Yori hesitated for a moment before taking the housemate's arm. She couldn't really see any harm in it. After all, this was Dun's best friend; she didn't really see the boy as being a poor judge of character. ”Thank you,” she muttered lightly in gratitude, still slightly red in her cheeks. It was hard not to be with the boy's antics. ”Chivalry wouldn't happen to be your middle name, would it?”

[/justify]

[DUNSTABLE VERNON DURSLEY]

“Oh, I'm fine. Can't say the same for Dunstable, I haven't been boring you to death, have I, Dun? I'd hate to kill you so early in the tournament.” Dunstable smirked lightly, “Don’t worry Yori, you don’t bore me,[/color]” he chuckled lightly just as Zac offered to escort Yori to a table. “Yeah mate, that would be just a tad weird,[/color]” he laughed lightly before following them over to a table. He glanced over at the time, knowing that in a bit he’d have to get going to meet up with Lucy. He knew that Yori knew that he’d be leaving early from the ball, he never really gave a clear reason why. Zac knew about his situation though, but he was pretty sure that Zac could possibly keep Yori company seeing as the two of them seemed to already be hitting it off quite nicely.

“Are you enjoying the Yule Ball so far Zac?[/color]” he asked his best friend as he sat down at the table waiting for the two of the to join him. He took a moment to glance at the menus that were placed upon the table, figuring perhaps he should eat before he headed on out. It would probably be a wise thing to do after all.

[ZACHARIAH LENNY TRACY]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,415,bTable]

[atrb=style, background-color: #D0C6A4; border-top: 5px solid #75531E; border-bottom: 5px solid #75531E;][STYLE=border: 4px solid #75531E; height: 100px; width: 100px; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: -33px; margin-top: 7px;][/style][STYLE=float: right; width: 277px; font-size: 50px; color: #75531E; font-family: georgia; text-align: center; margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 123px; text-transform: lowercase; margin-top: -45px; letter-spacing: -3px;]MY SACRIFICE[/style][STYLE=background-color: #EFE9E0; border-top: 4px solid #75531E; margin-right: 15px; font-family: arial narrow; letter-spacing: 2px; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: -9px; margin-left: 123px; padding: 5px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; color: #75531E;]ABOVE ALL THE OTHERS, WE'LL FLY[/style] [STYLE=margin-right: 15px; margin-left: 15px; font-size: 10px; font-family: arial; text-align: justify; background-color: #EFE9E0; padding: 17px; color: #3C2E16; margin-top: 8px; opacity: 0.9; border-top: 4px solid #75531E; border-right: 1px dotted #9D6F25; border-left: 1px dotted #75531E;]she really was adorable. zac didn't mean to be such a creep on a younger girl, but the blush on her cheeks made it worth it. besides, zac wasn't one to be awkward. 'live life to the fullest' and all that. what was one evening of flirting with the girl? he joked around with all sorts of girls his age, flirting was a part of the teenage spirit, and it wasn't like he was being cold about it. nah, he was just having a good time, and making her smile. that was his only goal. ”T-the pleasure is mine,” he responded with only a grin as he straightened up, glancing around the ball room. dunstable's partner stood out from many of the girls in the room, most he would say, simply because of her clothing. whereas most girls around them with their dates and high heels had opened for the long flowing or poofy gowns, she was wearing a modern, young looking short orange one. it was a refreshing look amid the same old predictable styles on the girls around her. and, honestly, it really flattered her. he'd already complimented her appearance once, though. he didn't want to seem like a complete creep and have to leave to give her some space because, well, he wasn't a creep. nah, he just wanted to enjoy the evening. ”oh, i'm fine. can't say the same for dunstable, i haven't been boring you to death, have i, dun? i'd hate to kill you so early in the tournament.” the sixth year chuckled softly, "you might have a few hufflepuffs pissed at you lowering our chances. but i fail to see how you could bore someone to death." she had a sense of humor... he liked that. “don’t worry yori, you don’t bore me,” zac cast a quick glance at his best friend. dun was dressed to impress for the evening, then again all guys were. it was, after all, a formal event, and he knew that dunstable had someone he very much wanted to impress waiting for him whenever the two of them had decided to meet. he couldn't imagine it would be in the actual great hall, though. if they wanted to make their relationship that open he could have just brought lucy as his date and skipped the facade of yori. more likely his friend was going to meet his girl in some more private location (a fact that, were they alone, zac would crack a million jokes at), and should she wish it zac would be more than happy to entertain yori when her partner 'ditched' her. of course, if she'd prefer not to be alone with a guy she'd met five or ten minutes, or however long it was before dunstable would leave, earlier he would completely understand and move on. ”thank you. chivalry wouldn't happen to be your middle name, would it?” “nah. my parents thought that might be just a bit too formal after such a casual name as ‘zachariah’, so they opted for lenny instead.” seriously, who gave their child a name like zachariah and then immediately followed it with lenny? it was the oddest mismatch of names zac had ever heard of in his life... and frankly, he loved his parents for it. sure, middle names might not seem important in most situations in the world, but zac was grateful for having the one he did. he wore it almost as proudly as he did his muggleborn heritage. hearing dun's comment he smirked, but didn't say anything, preoccupied with leading the younger hufflepuff over to one of the table where he carefully dropped her arm and pulled out a chair for her. "ladies first." the table was meant to seat four people, two on each side, and zac took the side alone. dun and yori were, technically, at the ball 'together', so it made sense that neither of them should be left sitting alone. “are you enjoying the yule ball so far zac?” the choir captain nodded, the ever-present smile on his lips, reflected in his eyes as he relaxed back in the chair and replied, "i only just arrived... but i'd say it's going quite nicely." he could resist a glance at yori as he said that. the poor girl was being bombarded by his naturally flirty personality... he could only hope it didn't annoy her. he turned his eyes back to his best friend again, "you got through the first dance okay, then? no tripping over your feet, accidentally stepping on poor yori's toes? what about the rest of the champions?"

[/b] that was his only regret of not coming to the ball sooner, he'd missed out on all of the potential drama.

WORDS! 838 TAGS! dunstable and adorable yori!
NOTES! hope it's all right.

[/style][/td][/tr]
[tr][td][/td][/tr][/table][STYLE=width: 400px; text-align: center; font-size: 9px; color: #75531E; letter-spacing: 2px; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: -4px;]made by kiwii at btn![/style][/center]

[YORI OSHIRO]

Really, everything was just surprising to her. Yori almost wanted to be suspicious of it all. She wasn't used to such chivalry being directed toward her. It was nice though, making it hard to find any fault in it. They had only just met each other, so it was easy to rationalize as harmless, thankfully. However, she couldn't help but feeling a little spoiled by it. She wasn't even sure if this was beyond just happening to be his best mate's date for the evening, but she certainly was going to take it for what it was worth. Seeing the grin on Zac's face only cemented that position, finding something careless and charming in it. The tux he wore was simple, but the way he carried himself struck Yori as unique. The simplicity of the outfit was a welcome change of pace, really. She was used to the flashiness of her brother's designs, or the typical dress robes. It honestly suited him.

”Killing our chances might be a little more correct,” she joked, ”I probably owe my life to Dun a few times now.” Which was probably true. She knew she would've been worse off against the squid and the flying if not for Dunstable with her. The squid was the most obvious example. She liked to think that the professors wouldn't have let the creature kill anyone during the task, but it was hard to really believe that when certain things on campus still existed-- particularly the whomping willow. Sure, they warned students not to go near the moving tree, but that wasn't much of a failsafe for something that could easily bludgeon you to death. Hm. That really wasn't a pleasant mental image to have at a time like this.

Yori thought it may have been a bit rude, but she found herself laughing at Zac's middle name. In a way, Lenny seemed to suit him, but next to Zachariah? One of his parents seemed to have an odd sense of humor, or just didn't think things through when naming him. ”You're right,” she teased, ”Zachariah just rolls off the tongue so easily.” She hoped it wasn't too informal, but it was hard not to drop that initial politeness with the new acquaintance. As they neared the table, she gave Zac a bashful glance as the chair was pulled out for her. If this was going to continue like this, Yori didn't think the redness would ever leave her face this evening. The smile didn't leave her face as she sat down. ”Thank you,” she muttered gratefully, ”I... I think a lot of guys could learn from you, Zac.”

More than anything, the hufflepuff was relieved about just how well the first dance had went. She hadn't made a fool out of herself like she expected, which was a miracle in itself. Really, this entire evening was turning out to be a little surreal. She thought maybe she saw Zac look over her way, but she didn't want to start imagining things with everything else at the moment. Yori let out a small laugh at the prospect of Dunstable stepping on her at all. He was definitely more competent in dancing than she was, thankfully. They surely would've made fools of themselves if they matched skill. Not that Yori would've minded ordinarily, but with so many people watching, it would've been unbearable. At the mention of the other champions, Yori tried to recall if she had seen anything, but she hadn't really been paying attention to them. ”I was so focused on not messing up, I hadn't really noticed the other champions,” she admitted a bit sheepishly, ”Did you see anything, Dun?”

[/justify]