Sander was literally covered with good, hence he was a mess. But he remembered that Alex wanted to speak with him. So he went looking for her, all the while dodging flying food dishes. He found her about to launch another fooderpult.

"White Flag," Sander waved a napkin. "I know that the party is wrapping up, so I wanted to come over and say thanks again for being here. This is the best birthday party I've had in a long time,"Sander grinned at Alex.

Then he leaned over and hugged her to express his thanks.

The party was winding down, but Alex thought she would get one more shot at the birthday boy before it was over. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Sander came toward her in surrender, waving the white napkin. "Had enough?", Alex asked with a grin. Sander proceeded to thank her for coming to his party. "You know I wouldn't have missed it for the world", Alex replied.

Alex told Sander to wait a minute and went off to retrieve his birthday gift. She was a little nervous and worried that he might not like it. Alex returned with a small, neatly wrapped box tied with a bow. "Happy Birthday Sander", she said while handing him the box. "Just a little something......I hope you like it."

Alex had chosen a snow globe that contained a scene from Norway with a beautiful lake surrounded by a forest and mountains. There was even a little hockey player skating on the lake. Sander had talked so often about how beautiful it was in Norway and how much he loved his home. Alex hoped the snow globe would remind him of home, in a good way. She looked up at Sander while he opened his gift, hoping that he liked it.

West licked the pad of his thumb and then joined in, keeping his eyes on Vesper as he often did when they played together, finding that moment where it all meshed. And the feeling when the bass and drums mixed in there and gave it just the right depth and oomph? Honestly it was better than Quidditch even. West lived for it. His fingers danced the strings gently and he was quite happy to lose himself in the moment. He glanced at Ascanius as they reached the end of the intro.

Sander was surprised when Alex handed him a neatly wrapped box with a cute bow on it. "Awww....Alex you shouldn't have. Just having you here is the best present of all." Sander smiled at his name twin before taking the box from her.

"Can I open it now? I'm really horrible at waiting." Sander asked Alex before proceeding to unwrap his present. When he finally got it open, he slowly pulled out what was lying inside. Sander gasped in awe at the beauty of the snow globe. It reminded him of home. His eyes began to tear up and he had to blink quickly to keep them from falling.

"Thank you so much, Alex. This is so beautiful. You don't know how much this present means to me. Home. First this food fight birthday party and now this snow globe. They all bring back good memories of home. Thank you again. You are the best best friend in the world," Sander leaned over and kissed Alex on the cheek.

"I'll always treasure it, for as long as I live." Sander smiled gently at Alex. He wanted to show everyone his present, but they all were beginning to leave, except for Tessa who was cleaning up.

"I guess I should help Tessa clean up. Do you need me to walk you back to your Common Room?" he asked even as he looked over at Tessa. She was quietly cleaning up all the mess he had created, and he felt guilty that she had to do that.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Sander liked her gift. "You are very welcome", Alex told him. "I am really glad you liked it. You know, I am so lucky to have you as my friend and I thank YOU for that."

The party was pretty much over and just about all the guests had already left. Alex knew that now would be a good time for her to make her exit. Ever the gentleman, Sander had offered to escort her back to her Common Room. "You're so sweet, but no....I'll be fine. You should stay and enjoy the last of your party. I'll see you later." Alex waved to Tessa and mouthed "Thanks" before she left the Room of Requirement.

Sander made a mental note to spend more time with Alex. Maybe at the skating rink. He watched as she left the room then he turned around and walked back to where Tessa was cleaning up.

"You do know that the hostess should not be left cleaning up the room on her own. Let me help you, Tessa." Sander offered. He started picking up the plates still filled with food and was about to drop them into a trash bag, when he thought of something better.

Grinning mischievously at Tessa's back he slowly crept up behind her and then dropped the contents over her head. "Surprise!!" he called out.

Tessa waved and shot Alex a nod in recognition of her thanks. She really hadn't done much, it had just been her idea and the room had done most of the work. "Bye Alex! Thanks for coming!" she called, glad that so many had been able to attend the party.

Tessa had finished one section of the room, and was moving on to the next when Sander joined her. "I'm not going overboard," she told Sander with a grin. "I just don't want to leave the big messes for the Room to deal with. It just seems unfair," she said, looking around at the wonderful mess they had created. The stone walls were splattered with an array of color. It had been an awesome party.

"No, Sander, it's your birthday! You shouldn't be here cleaning!" she protested. "Come on, I'm almost done- then we can head out of here together," she said, laughing. She turned around, collecting plates off of a different table when...

SPLAT!

Tessa gasped as food dropped down over her face and shoulders. It wasn't as if she had cleaned up or anything, she she had been ready during the party. This was a complete surprise.

"YOU-" Any other words were forgotten as she grabbed a plate from the table she had been cleaning. She turned, wrapping an arm around Sander's waist so that he couldn't escape, and mashed the contents of the plate onto his head. "Revenge!" she laughed, grinning up at him.

Sander laughed hysterically even as he pointed to Tessa,"You look so nicely color coordinated," Sander told her as he watched the food drip down over her face and shoulders. He was laughing so hysterically that he didn't see Tessa grab a plate until it was too late. He felt her arm around his waist as the contents of the plate was flattened on his head.

"Game On!!" he replied, twisting around and hooking an arm around Tessa's waist to prevent her from getting away, picked up a bottle of chocolate syrup and squeezed out the contents all over her hair, her neck and her face.

"Yes, I'm sure the tomato sauce goes nicely with the red streaks in my hair," she teased back. "Just like..." she grabbed another bowl of something. Glancing down, she grinned. "Just like vanilla pudding goes well with your Hufflepuff robes!" she retorted, dumping the pudding on one side of his head, so it was sure to slide down his face and neck.

The chocolate syrup dripping down her face was COLD! Leaning forward, she pressed her face against Sander's shirt and wiped off her face as best she could- still holding onto his waist. "Did I get it all?" she asked, grinning up at him.

Sander was laughing so hard that he didn't see the plate of vanilla pudding she was holding in her hand until it was dumped all over his head. He could feel the slimy pudding sliding down his face and down inside his shirt collar. He stuck out his tongue and tasted the pudding. Then he looked down at Tessa.

Still holding onto her, Sander laughed at the look of Tessa's face when the chocolate syrup dripped down her face. "Hey the chocolate coloring blends with your other color tinted hair," he chuckled down at her. Then he was caught by surprise when Tessa proceeded to press her face against his chest and wiped her face off his chest. The feel of her face against his chest felt so good.

He leaned back a little to look down at his shirt before looking back up at Tessa's face. He pulled her closer towards him, "Yes I think you did." he grinned back at her before leaning down and rubbing his face all along her neck and face wiping the slimy pudding off on her.

"How did I do? Am I all clean now?" Sander asked as he straightened up to see Tessa's reaction. It was then he realized that their face were merely inches apart. He could feel her breath on his face and his eyes were once again drawn to her lips. He could see leftover chocolate syrup on it and wondered how it would taste on her lips.

Then he didn't have to wonder anymore. Even before he realized what he was doing, Sander leaned down and kissed Tessa.

Tessa laughed as the pudding ran down Sander's face- although, he didn't look as amused as she was. But, that only added to the fun, and she continued to giggle as he tasted it. "Sweet, sweet revenge," she joked, reaching out to take a fingerful of the pudding and sticking it in her mouth. It was good pudding.

She laughed and shook her head slightly. "Honestly, I think almost any color would go with my hair," she said, glancing around to the multi-colored strands. It was one of the many things she loved about her hair. However, that didn't mean that she liked the chocolate over it and her face, and she was more than happy to use Sander's shirt to clean it off. And, despite being covered in various food, Sander still managed to smell good. That was amazing.

"Ugh, ewww," she protested as Sander rubbed his pudding covered face on her. "Sander," she scolded, only to laugh a moment later. After all, it wasn't like she wasn't already covered in food. "No, you're-" she began to respond, but froze. There was something in Sander's eyes. Something she had seen before... but this time it was different. She wasn't ready for what happened next.

She froze as Sander's lips touched hers and didn't even think as she lifted her hands and pushed him off of her. She was gasping for breath, but after a moment, she realized that what had happened had felt wonderful. Her hands, still on Sander's shirt, tightened. Almost without thinking she pulled him back, meeting her lips with his.

Sander didn't even realize that he was kissing Tessa until she removed her hands and pushed him away from her. He didn't know what to say or do. He couldn't even bring himself to look at her. He was afraid that he had made the worst mistake of his life.

But then Tessa pulled him back and began kissing him. Sander's eyes opened wide in surprise but then they closed on their own accord, when he returned her kiss.

He didn't know how long they stood there kissing each other, but he knew that they had to stop...even though he didn't want to. Leaning back, he cupped Tessa's face with his hands and smiled at her, not knowing what else to say.

To Tessa, time had stopped. It was only her and Sander together, and the wonderful sensation of kissing him. She didn't know why she had pushed Sander away earlier- granted, she was a fighter and instinct had kicked in. But now, all was right in the world.

Too soon it has stopped. As they broke apart, she kept her eyes closed, trying to get her breath back and keep the feeling for as long as possible. Finally, the tingling had faded and her breathing had returned to normal, and she slowly opened her eyes. Sander was still there and she smiled back at him.

"So..." she began her voice cracking, which caused her to giggle a little. "That was..." What word could she use? There were too many...

Sander waited for Tessa to say something. His heart was still racing but he was finally able to get his breathing under control. Who would have thought that kissing someone would literally take your breath away. He was still smiling down at Tessa when she returned his smile and struggled to say something. Was she feeling as nervous as he was feeling now?

Sander cleared his throat and added to what she was trying to say,"So that was.....awesome? Mind blowing?" Sander grinned offering suggestions, all of which were true. Kissing Tessa had been awesome and he was still trying to wrap his brain around the fact that they had actually kissed. Right now, all he wanted to do was kiss her again. But he knew that he had to show some restraint.

This was the first time they kissed. He didn't want to scare her off.

If she thought her heart was racing before whenever Sander was around, it had doubled now. Could someone die because of that? Better not find out... She took deep breaths, trying to steady her pulse. Her heart had never raced this much ever after an intense Quidditch game or work out.

"Amazing? Fantastic..." And she wanted to do it again- but for now, she really needed to get herself under control. "Honestly, I don't think any of those words give it justice," she added with a crooked grin. She reached up and gently touched his lips, the lips that she had just been kissing. That was a fact she was still trying to process.

"So..." Once again, there was that loss for words.

Sander chuckled when Tessa added Amazing, Fantastic to the words he suggested. "Definitely both of them too," he smiled down at her. "Honestly, I have to agree with you. No words can describe how I felt when I was kissing you. All I know is that I didn't want it to end. Can one kiss without having to breath?" he asked with a grin.

Then he felt his breath catch in his throat when Tessa reached up and touched his lips. He reached up with his hand to hold hers and pursed his lips to kiss her fingers.

"So...." Sander suddenly felt awkward. He didn't want to break this intimate moment he was having with her. But at the same time, he knew that they couldn't stay in this room forever.

"Scourgify....Tergeo" he pointed his wand at the mess in the room and soon the room was spotlessly clean.

"Well at least that's one less thing to worry about. So....what do you want to do next," he moved both arms to wrap around her waist.

She nodded in agreement- to everything Sander had said. At the mention of not breathing, she laughed. "Unfortunately, unless we were members of the undead- which I don't plan on being any time soon- we have to breathe," she told him with a sad smile. "But, that just means there are many."

She felt her body warm- from fingers to toes- as Sander kissed her fingers. It was pure magic what he was doing- and they were a witch and wizard. They knew magic.

She watched as he cast a spell to clean the room with a small smile. At his question, she looked up. "I think I have an idea," she said, lifting up on her toes slightly so that she could touch her lips to his once more.

Sander smiled. He was definitely looking forward to the many. He watched as she looked around the room and wondered what she was thinking. But he didn't have long to wait, because she looked back up at and told him what else they could do.

He breath caught in his throat when she leaned up and kissed him again. Sander couldn't help but smile against her lips as he returned her kiss. Yes that was definitely a very good idea.

He let the kiss linger for as long as he could before he had lean back, breathing heavily. "Girl you really know how to take my breath away," he smiled down at her.

Could they stay here tonight? Would anyone notice they didn't return to their common room? Sander did wish that they could stay but he didn't want to get Tessa into trouble with her Head of House. So he reluctantly took her hand and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"As much as I want to stay here and do this all night, I think I should walk you back to your Common Room, before curfew." Sander told her sadly before taking her hand in his, he led her out of the room.

As the rest of the band made their way through the intro being all deep and acoustic and stuff, Ascanius just waited for his cue. His head seemed to pop a little into the relaxed rhythm of it all and his foot itched for the bass pedal and then he hit the cymbals as soon as it was his time to come in.

The sixth year just kind of jived along with the music and pushed the tempo of the opening with the drums.

Yeah, they were kind of an awesome band. Hear that sound?

S'awesome. That's what, yeah?

The room resembled the Gryffindor Common Room an awful lot, mostly because it's the only room Lou could think of when he was conjuring up the Room of Requirement for this secret meeting. The only difference between this replica and the original common room, was in the paintings and banners that decorated the walls. Instead of the usual lions and past Heads of Houses and Godric Gryffindor portraits, the place was decorated with banners that read "#TEAMBAYLUX" and moving photographs of Bay and Lux smiling down at their friends. Why? Lou had no idea. He hadn't specifically asked for that, but it seemed the room understood its purpose even better than the boy himself.

Louis plopped down on the couch opposite the lit fireplace and waited anxiously for the others to arrive. He hoped they had received the invitations ("You have been cordially invited to the first meeting of the super-secret Official #TeamBaylux Fan Club..."), and they didn't get lost somewhere along the Hogwarts corridors or something.

Sander stepped into the Room of Requirements and looked around. Had he just stepped into the Gryffindor common room? Not having been there before, Sander walked around examining the tapestry and portraits.

Wait! There was someone already here. Sander slowly approached the stranger but then breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized who he was. Slapping the man on the shoulder Sander greeted the young Lion.

"Hey Louis are you the first one here? Where's everybody?" Sander enquired as he flopped down on a chair.

Louis seemed startled when Sander seemed to appear out of nowhere and slapped the boy on the shoulder. He looked up at his Hufflepuff friend and grinned. Great! He'd made it! For a second there he'd begun fearing no one would come.

"Yep," he replied with a nod, smiling as Sander asked him if he was the first one. When the older boy went on to ask about everybody else, the Gryffindor shrugged his shoulders. "Well, the only other person I could think of inviting was your girlfriend, actually," he replied. "I assume she might be on her way?" If anything, Sander probably knew more about her whereabouts than Lou did.

"I hope Bay and Lux won't hate us for this..." he muttered with a sly grin, obviously not really all that concerned.

Tessa skipped, well as well as she could skip, up to the RoR. An invitation fluttered in her hand and she was humming some sort of love ballad- could it be a song sung by a crustacean in a familiar animated movie? Who knew!

Anyway, she opened the doors and paused. She thought she had taken a wrong turn and was in the Gryffindor common room, until she realized there was a totally different theme. Familiar faces peered down at her and the two other occupants in the room- who had finally come to her attention.

"I'm guessing this was you?" she asked Lou with a broad grin. "Absolutely brilliant," she said with a nod, giving the boy a gentle pat on the back.

"Hey babe," she said, leaning down to quickly plant a kiss on Sander's lips. Normally, it would have lasted longer, but they were here for serious business!

Louis looked up when Tessa walked into the room, joining him and Sander by the seating area around the fireplace. He chuckled softly at her comment on the decoration of the room. "Guilty as charged," the boy confessed with amusement.

He gave the couple a moment to settle down before getting straight to to the whole point of their meeting and this common room even existing:

"I'm sure by now we all know about what happened the Tunnel of Love the other day," said Louis with an amused smile, a playful sort of sparkle in his bright blue eyes. "And it's only a matter of time until Bay and Lux are officially... well, Baylux."

OH! And speaking of 'Baylux'... "By the way, if Lux ever asks you guys about a, er, 'Baylux drink', it's just cucumber juice."

So, back to the topic.
"Anyway, I think we should help them. As our friends, we owe it to them," continued the Gryffindor. "Do you guys have any idea how we could get them to... finally become official? So far, I know Lux would definitely agree to it if Bay asked her out..." It was just a matter of when.

Tessa grinned at Lou. "Nice going," she told him as she took a seat of her own. She felt like they were either suer heroes gathered to save the world, or super villains gathered to take over it. And, she wasn't exactly sure which one they fell under.

BUt, that wasn't the thing to think about for the moment. "Tunnel of Love?" she asked, leaning forward. She knew that she and Sander had been there but... Bay and Lux? "No, Louis, I have no idea," she said, looking at him. "What happened?" She couldn't believe she missed it? Is that why Bay was making the heart for Lux? Things were almost official? How had she missed THAT!?!

"Baylux drink, got it," she said with a soft laugh. "And, if you see Lux wearing a heart-shaped amulet, Bay made it for her," she said, reclining back into her chair with a grin. That made Bay's gesture even cuter if they were almost together.

"I'm sure it's only a matter of time," Tessa reasoned. "If we try to force it, things could end badly," she reasoned. However, that didn't mean she didn't want to try. "So we start slight pressure on Bay while starting to discuss possible date locations with Lux?" she proposed with a sly smile.