[OPEN] One is an awkward number

The dress robes were sort of stuffy and uncomfortable but his mother had insisted upon them, scraping back his hair with a metal toothed comb in order to make the Longbottom boy somewhat presentable. The gangly, awkward creature could hardly win any hearts if he was in Herbology overalls or trudging around the Quidditch pitch early in the morning battering Bludgers into the air. The boy had wanted to protest that he didn’t intend on winning any hearts but his mother had been insistent that he get a date – which, by the way, he’d failed to do though he hadn’t told her such – and go to have fun. Now, he was completely open to having fun but he had entirely bailed out on the idea of going with anyone – although, that did now leave him in a slightly awkward position.

Neither on time nor particularly late, Frank entered the ballroom behind a group of excitable first years. He swallowed, fiddling absently with the button on his jacket, and pushed off away from them, skirting around the outside towards the drinks table where a few people were already hydrating. With stunning clarity he realised that this would be his evening: skulking around the buffet tables waiting for someone to talk to him. He wished he’d put more effort into asking someone out. Unfortunately, he was much too much like his father and while he wasn’t nearly as rotund as Neville at that age, Frank wasn’t exactly blessed with any sense of social grace, either.

Shaking his head, with trembling hands Frank reached forward and pulled around the handle of the ladle so that he could spoon some scarlet punch into a glass he’d taken. Once he’d filled it, he dropped the ladle back down and moved away, hastily sipping at the drink. Something in the back of his head alerted him to his posture and quickly Frank straightened up, dropping his arm down by his side. He winced as he felt the drink slosh up at his hand and he suffered a long sigh before looking up, around the hall.

He should’ve gotten a date.

Emily wasn't really that interested about these balls and such stuff to be honest. Okay she liked more likely parties were she didn't need to wear very formal things, these weren't her thing but she still decided to come to these ball. She had even go to shopping to find the prefect dress for the evening.

She did it for hours in general. After finding it she needed to make herself beautiful too. She did even visit hair salon for making her hair prefect too. After all that trouble she was finally ready for to go but she now realized that she didn't even have date. She had friends but they all had already plans for this evening or did go with somoene. So Em was all alone today.

Girl walked into the room where ball was held and she wondered what she should do here now. At first she wanted to go and get some punch. So she did it. Slytherin girl walked over there. Awhile walking there she passed one boy who she didn't know, so she didn't even bother to say hello right now at all.

When she was near the punch table, she did take herself a glass and did put some punch into it then. After that she did taste it little bit. It was tasty but Emily likes stronger drinks usually but she will go with it today, she doesn't wanna get in trouble today again. Being always in trouble isn't that nice at all. She now did stand near the punch bowl and looked around. She wasn't sure at all what to do at this ball.

Plenty of people were milling about the buffet table and Frank felt increasingly out of place, standing gangly and awkwardly by the end. Another person approached, closer to him, and Frank took a breath, glancing over at the blonde girl whom he was fairly sure was a Slytherin. That for a start sent a ripple of apprehension through him but he decided he was going to try and be friendly, regardless. His mother would insist, after all, that manners cost nothing. He had no reason to talk to her, though – that was a problem.

Taking another shallow breath, Frank reached out and pulled a snowflake stirrer from one of the pots and held it out to the girl, raising a smile to his lips.

“Hi,” he offered shyly. “Do you … do you want one of these?” He asked. “They’re nice, I think.”

Smooth, Frank. Real smooth.

Emily looked at that boy who did offer now to her something. She wasn't even sure what it is. Probably boy doeant know how it tastes since he sai think at the end. Girl wanted to snap at him but she at the end decided to be nice. She knew that she can't be rude or mean with everyone all the time. That boy seemed harmless and also very shy one. So she didn't wanna scare him away. It was few theae moments when she felt sorry probably. She just hated it but it was part of her. She smiled at him fot a second and decided to do something or say something at least.

"Hi," she said back for a start. "May I ask what is it even. Never seen it before?" She basically asked there now and looked at that what boy offered. She still did took at it and looked what it could be.

Frank looked down at the stirrer in his hand. He frowned a little bit, wondering to himself what was so unclear about what it actually was. He lifted it up again, twiddling the stem between his fingers. It was simple enough, with a long, plastic stem and a snowflake on the end. A snowflake stirrer. For drinks. Frank didn't see why it wasn't obvious.

The Gryffindor reached forward and plopped it in her drink, smiling tartly at her. He held out his hand, gesturing to her drink before grabbing hold of the snowflake between his thumb and forefinger. Then he turned the stirrer, turning the liquid in the glass. Stirring. He looked up, his smile still pulling at his mouth.

"It's pretty, more than anything," Frank explained. "It just stirs your drink. My mum usually buys them in bulk when she and her friends have cocktails. I'm Frank, by the way. What's your name?"

Emily haven't seen anything like that before for sure. If she haven't seen it then she has no idea what that is. Girl looked what that boy did now and tried to remember it now. Let's hope she keeps it in her mind now too.

"Thanks," she said there then. She learned something new, it was probably good thing for her for sure. She smiled and just nodded her head. She wasn't really what else to do. She felt now so dumb there, what she was too, most people were smarter than her.

"It is pretty," she said there now with a small smile. "Oh I see. I have never used it and too be honest seen. So that's why I asked what it is," she tried to explain there now. "I'm Emily," she said then her name too. She decided to be nice with this boy here, she needed few more friends in her life.

At the sight of the girl’s smile, Frank couldn’t help but crack one of his own, glad above all else to have made her happy. He bounced a little bit on the balls of his feet and cleared his throat as a little awkwardness seeped into his bones. He felt horrendously awkward, in fact. It wasn’t just a little bit. It felt like it was going to swallow him up whole because now he had absolutely nothing to say. He cleared his throat again, absently cracking his knuckles. Pop, pop, pop.

“It’s nice to meet you, Emily,” he replied honestly. “There are lots of them, actually. Have you ever seen those little cocktail umbrellas, too? My mum likes them. When we had the Leaky Cauldron she used to put them in all of the cocktails regardless of who ordered.” He laughed breathily and looked down at his shoes, clinking his heels together.

“So,” he began again, somewhat airily. “Do, um …. Do you like Quidditch?”

Emily looked at that boy still. She couldn't tell what he could think of her now. She usually didn't care about it so much. She did listen what Frank said there now and even asked.

Girl haven't never played any sport games but she have seen them played. "It's nice to meet you too, Frank," she said there now with weak smile. She tried to be nice there now for som reason. "Oh I have heard about umbrellas yeah but them I might have seen even before," she said.

"I have never played but I like to watch it sometimes when I don't have other plans. So you can say I like it," she answered there now to the question after few seconds brake of thinking. "What about you?" She asked and took zip from her drink.

Frank grinned, glad he was bonding with the girl over something. He'd never thought he would get to talk to someone over the subject of snowflake stirrers and paper umbrellas though he couldn't figure for the life of him why she hadn't seen one of them ever. He surely would have thought she'd seen a stirrer in one capacity or another but what did he know, really?

"It's nice to meet you too," he replied, forgetting he'd already said that.

"Oh!" He exclaimed brightly. "I love Quidditch. I really, really want to be a Chaser when I graduate. My Dad's not too sure about it but I want to convince him. I'm going to try to be the best. What do you want to do after you graduate?"

Emily lived just different life has did Frank probably. Girl just was never into such stuff at all. She saw umbrellas in few places but she never wanted them into her drinks. She did fikd these things useless but she wasn't gonna say it to that boy at all.

Em smiled when boy said these words second time and just nodded her head.

"Oh. Cool. You at least know what you wanna be after graduating," she said therw now and sighed. She had no idea who she wanna be. Being Auror wasn't her thing. Same goes for Healer. In ministry wasn't any jobs too what she could do. She won't never becoke professor at school. She needs to figure out soon something. "One day I'll figure out who I wanna be," she said there now. "I hope you can convince your father," she said there.