how you l o o k at it (darren)

[julie]

Julie was not sure if she was in violation of curfew, or if she was up obscenely early, it really just depended on how one looked at it, but as it was, Julie was up and roaming about the castle at four thirty in the morning. Her sleep last night had been plagued with nightmares, the subject of them mostly being her father (now a dismembered pincushion), she had barely gotten any rest at all. A quick energy potion at three in the morning had fixed her exhaustion, it should last about until lessons were over. She had decided that she was going to go to breakfast around four, but had taken a wrong turn and only just found her way to the Entrance Hall.

The castle was quiet that Friday morning, Julie was just grateful for the time alone, it had given her the opportunity to compose herself before having to face the day and pretend it were as if nothing was wrong. She had been about halfway across the hall when the sound of footsteps alerted her to the fact that she was not the only one up this early.

[forgetmenot]

It was Darren. He, too, had been unable to sleep, though his night wasn't plagued with nightmares. His was plagued by pretty girls, in the vacant hallways of the school. Darren smiled devilishly, then looked around. There, walking from a hallway to the Entrance Hall, was a rather pretty girl. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her. Finally, he walked up to her. "Hello miss. Care to explain why you're up so early?" Darren asked, acting the part of prefect. He relaxed, laughing slightly. "Just kidding, you don't have to. I'm Darren," he introduced, sticking out his hand.

[julie]

Julie immediately tensed, this guy was a prefect, she could see the badge on his robes. She had to stop herself from giving forth a giggle of relief when he relaxed, apparently he had a sense of humour. Julie attempted to not look so tense, adopting her usual approachable nature, she could only hope the pain didn't register in her eyes too much. "I'm Julie," she responded, briefly shaking his hand. She kept her main focus on appearing as if nothing were wrong, her masquerade was usually adequate enough for most, but when it came to highly observant people or her cloes friends... There was no hiding anything.

[forgetmenot]

Darren grinned, shaking her hand gently. "It's a pleasure," he replied, a seductive purr in his voice. This girl, Julie, was his latest prey. He was going to use her, suck that pretty little life force out of her while she still had it. It was going to be a beautiful thing. Darren attempted to keep the devilish grin from spreading across his features. Were he not calm and collected, he'd be grinning like the Cheshire Cat. And that wouldn't be attractive, at all.

[julie]

There was something about Darren, it both deeply intrigued Julie and made that all too familiar tingle of discomfort down her spine. Or she could just be being paranoid. Either way, Julie wanted to know more about him. She gently took back her hand, now curious. "The pleasure is mine," said Julie, a small flicker of a smile playing at her lips, but it didn't linger long.

[forgetmenot]

Darren found her charming, half-smile to be rather flattering to her tiny face. He decided that, this time, instead of being crude and flirtatious, he was going to try chivalry first. Then, he'd go in for the kill. Darren held out his hand, palm up. "Shall we walk?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows tantalizingly. He put on a dashing smile, the golden boy smile he had perfect so long ago. Darren's mind briefly touched on the Gryffindor pretty boy, Alec, who had graduated. He'd been at the top of his game. Darren was set on being on top, having all the girls remember his face, recognize the swagger in his step. He wanted them all to scream his name.

[julie]

Julie's knees felt weak at Darren's smile, he was just so... Handsome. Cute or attractive just didn't seem to be the right words for his appearance and charm. "Sure," said Julie, although she had been planning on just going to breakfast, not walking. She then realized that she was being silly, Darren didn't seem intimidating at all, she was probably just being too mistrustful of him. Julie very cautiously slipped her hand into his.

[forgetmenot]

Hook, line, and sinker, was all Darren was thinking as Julie took his hand. Other than the fact that she was very pretty, and seemed very frail. He would have to remember that down the road. The frail one's always had little to no friends, but the friends would protect her like mad. It would be a fun little game for him to play. Darren lead Julie down the hall, holding her hand gently. He never pulled forwards, staying next to her the entire time, in silence, allowing Julie to fill it.

[julie]

Julie wished that she knew what to say, normally she could carry on conversation with just about anyone, but now she felt terribly tongue-tied. She didn't want to say anything that would make her sound stupid, but Julie was new to this whole relationship thing, she had really only offered a flirtatious smile, or a cute little wave to a boy she caught gaping at her. And now here she was, holding a very suave, handsome boy's hand walking next to him. Her mind briefly amused itself with the image of what would happen if Hyperion or Seamus would stumble upon them. But they were asleep, their dreams untroubled.

[forgetmenot]

Darren was trying to find what Julie wanted to do. The girl was giving him no hints. It was frustrating, but then it hit him. "So, Julie, dear," he started, his voice a sweet purr. "Tell me, what say you to taking a little dip in the Black Lake?" he asked, smiling dashingly. The smile would tempt her into saying yes, and he would be very upset if it failed. The golden boy smile was always what drew the ladies in. Darren looked over at the small girl, eyes twinkling expectantly. "Shall we, love?" he pressed, smiling sweetly. "It'll be fun," Darren drawled, drawing out the word "fun" teasingly.

[julie]

"It sounds like it would be sort of cold," said Julie, even during the latter part of the school year when the weather began to get hot the waters were still a bit too cold for her taste. Besides, the sun hadn't even risen yet, it was going to be freezing. "I'll put my feet in, though," Julie added. What did Darren expect- for her to swim in her robes? Or strip all her clothing entirely? That was well beyond her comfort zone, even if she weren't so prudish she still had issues with immodesty.