Vinnie grinned big at Charlie, they had become such good friends it was sweet. Especially after Charlie had moved in with the brunette. It was almost weird that they werent in the same house, so Vinnie was more than happy ro run into her friend.“Ohhhh who are you writing?“, she smiled as she plopped down next to her and put an arm around the other girl.

Even though it was a little frosty outside the view was amazing. Last year, the times she hadnt been at the library she had been here, with her book. The lake really was one of her fave things at Hogwarts.

„Oh well i was obviously looking for my gorgeous friend“, the Slytherin winked,“ her name's Charlie you might know her?“ In fact the girl was just looking for a bit of fresh air and maybe a nice walk but this was much better. Spending time with friends was always much better, especially after Vinnie had experienced what it was like not to have any. Thankfully that was over now. It was time to enjoy life.

Józsua nodded back at Ascanius, grateful to be, at least, acknowledged. The half-Hungarian-half-French boy never really knew whether to reply to 'S'up.' with a 'hello' or go into a spiel about his current state of health.. but he was sure Ascanius didn't want the lo-down on his well being, so he opted for a friendly. “Hey, mate.” instead. He nodded at Nigel.. and Benjy(?) when he came over to join them.

Back to the the girls..

A cheeky little grin for Vesper, his eyes then settled on Derry.. He nodded at her.. a knowing, sort of grateful, look and a small soft smile for her together with a funny little half wave. Erhh.. He missed her company so much.. but it was a step forward, albeit a small step, that he was able to be near her now without feeling like his stomach was full of wasps.

More people were arriving. One of which was Lottie. *grin* “Heya.” Oh and HEY THERE, DELILAH.

“Delilah!” he greeted enthusiastically and scooted along a bit for her. He LIKED Delilah. “You don't want to join in?” He repressed a smile. She kinda looked like a Yoga girl..

Vinnie didnt remember who it was but someone had told that there was Yoga going on at the grounds. She had never tried to do Yoga but since she had nothing to do, the brunette had decided to go and try out out. Luckily Charlie had agreed to come with her, so she was sure this would be fun.

If this turned out to be anything like the last "dancing" lesson, she would totally embarrass herself but she didnt really care. This was all for the fun...With her Yoga mat under her arm and her hair in a high messy bun the girl headed down to the black lake.

As she saw all the other yoga people she smiled, no one would even notice if she embarrassed herself. " Oh look we've found them", Vinnie pointed out and grinned at Charlie.

Charlie had a yoga mat. It was tucked under her arm, and her trainers were laced tight.

She'd tried Yoga when she'd stayed with her sister, and although she was useless at it, she had enjoyed it. So when Vinnie had suggested doing it on the grounds, she was all up for it. Waving at the people as they approached, she leant towards her friend so that only she could see her. "I'm really bad at this, by the way."

Vinnie could know. All the others could watch whilst she pretended that she knew what she was doing. And apparently, others meant....... the boys. There weren't joining in. They were watching. Obviously the girls in shorts had attracted the viewing. At the thought, Charlie rolled her eyes, pretending that she wasn't feeling uber insecure in her three-quarter yoga pants.

Let's do some yoga, yeah?

"I didn't want to assume you weren't busy." Ves beamed at Lottie, having nothing in the world currently weighing at her mind.

...Except no quidditch. But that was on everyone's mind, right? It was a given?

Stepping back over to her own mat, she finally seen Delilah and waved. They'd met at the Half-Hearted Ball...when TDK had been performing...Right before they'd went on stage and started, actually. "Hey, Deliiah!" Yes, it had just been a struggle not to sing 'Hey, there Delilah' as a greeting. "Why not join us? It's going to be a lot of fun." Get up and work those muscles, lady. "You and Penelope, both!"

Bounce, bounce, bounce!

Anyway, to get started. They were getting stares from their 'audience' and if she didn't start doing something...Well, Ves might have ran back inside. So. Triangle pose!

"Good idea! It's easy, too." Spreading her legs out, she pushed weight over onto the right side and extended the other out fully. They did this stance a lot so her body knew which ways to fall into the pose...Her right arm stretched up and out above her head. "Simple and not too much of a strain."

ALSO! Thank you, Professor Romanos...because she'd obviously caused Ves to love the relaxing activity. Her lessons usually always had that touch of danger...but the yoga made them well worth every second. Oh, and Marcus. Team yoga had been a highlight over the previous year.

...and yea, I bet watching sounds good. Her eyes drifted over Nigel...and then Józsua. The set was almost complete. The only person missing was an Odessa.

Blush...and more people. She hadn't thought this many would be joining them...but she stayed in her pose, not allowing herself to appear visibly nervous. "Does anyone need a mat?" It was polite to ask, right?

So Ascanius was fine? Great... Derry gave him a grin, the sort she hadn't really been able to muster recently, and went back to stretching. He'd just seemed a little off lately, that was all.. and she'd worried, okay? That's what she did. It was kind of a given.

And then Józsua... That wave was infuriatingly cute, did he know that? And if he did, could he stop it please? ... Sigh. Derry gave smiles to the people who were still arriving, and finished stretching, finally wiggling her toes a little and getting into position.

Derry had no idea what the pose was supposed to be, so she watched Vesper first... Then, feeling totally self conscious and having to employ the same techniques that she used in Quidditch to pretend nobody was watching, she copied it. Luckily - and as a result of her lanky frame and commitment to exercise - Derry was quite bendy. So it wasn't too difficult. She found the pose pretty easy, actually... but she did have one request. "Nothing that requires me to balance, okay?" she said, glancing over at the other girls. "Cause I dinnae want to embarrass myself." Well, no more than usual.

Ascanius was the first one to answer, though Penelope wasn't surprised. Mostly just amused. There was a smirk on her face now, especially at "health reasons," and at Nigel agreeing with him, and then Lottie was joining in too, though she got a smile. Her agreement was probably slightly different, yeah?

And then there was Vesper and - hugs? Well Penelope liked hugs, so she returned it with a smile. "Yeah, sure, I'll join," she finally said. Happy now, Ascanius? She was joining the yoga group.

She did a couple quick arm stretches just to warm them up a little while she waited for them to choose a pose. And demonstrate it too since even though she was familiar with it thanks to DADA, she didn't have all the poses memorized. And two more girls and Delilah got a smile too as they joined the group. Was Delilah not doing yoga though?

And they were starting! Penelope watched Vesper for a moment and then copied what she was doing...mats? Oh, right, she didn't have one. "I'll take one, I guess." She could just duplicate one, right? Straightening up, she pulled out her wand. "Geminio." A replica of one of the mats appeared, and she grabbed it and moved it onto her spot. She slipped off her shoes and stepped onto the mat, returning to the triangle pose again. There, that was better. And this pose wasn't too bad.

Ooooo yoga. That would be the perfect way for her to cool down after that run. And it seemed like they were drawing a crowd. Probably had something to do with how all the girl's were wearing shorts and the way teenage boy's brains worked. Not that Addi minded. She wouldn't be wearing stuff like this if she did. Oh.

Addi laughed at Derry saying she had no choice. "I would've joined in anyways. But okay." Vesper got a smile from the ginger snake. "That would be great. Thanks Ves." Hey. She'd used a nickname with her. All was fair right?

There was Józsua. She looked over at Derry. Okay. She seemed fine. For now at least. Ascanius' wink was noted with a little eye roll. And more and more people just piling out her to join/watch. Everyone got little smiles and waves as they joined.

Vinnie found it hilarious how many boys had turned up just to watch the girls do some yoga. Hormones had to be raging at the sight of a bunch of girl in tight yoga pants....To her surprise she saw Jozsua was there too. She hadnt expected that and it amused her to no end. This was gonna be one funny lesson.

Stepping onto her mat the brunette stretched and smiled at Charlie. „Dont worry ive never done it before, i will most certainly embarrass myself in front of a bunch of boys.“ Not that she cared too much. They're fault if they were watching.

Ohhhhh the lesson was starting... the girl holding it seemed to be nice, asking if anyone needed a yoga mat. Thankfully Vinnie had thought about doing Yoga ages ago and had bought a mat and an outfit. If these lessons carried on she wouldnt have bought the stuff for nothing.

The triangle pose wasnt too hard on her, an easy start was just what the Slytherin needed. A little bit of motivation and not embarrassing her the first second. Winking at her ravenclaw girl Vinnie stayed in her pose.

He was getting forehead nuzzles from Vesper and, oddly enough, instead of weirding him out and making him want to pull away he smiled and scrunched up his face letting her do her worst. Whatever he had done it seemed he was forgiven. Good. 'Cause he would have enjoyed this experience less if she were mad at him. Not by much because what man in their right mind WOULDN'T enjoy this, but it would have dampened the mood.

Jeez. Nigel was the man. Had his back right from the moment he blurted out Pen should join in yoga happenings. And Lottie too. Y'know, what a great group of people. They all seemed very dedicated to his quest to admire his girlfriend's...form. Yeah. That was it. He appreciated their vision.

He offered Nigel a fist bump in thanks when Pen toddled over to join the fun.

Could yoga be something the girls did often? He was thinking about becoming a professional judge or something. Especially with all of those shorts.

He broke his gaze from Penelope when Benjy decided to join them. Cool. 'Sides, he looked much better now among men. They had to stick together to encourage the furthering of female health with the help of yoga. He was awful concerned about them like that. Ahem.

Another girl had shown up looking fit as ever. Delilah. And she wanted to join the watching. And Nigel had let her. He almost smacked his bandmate upside the head. She should be working with the girls for their viewing pleasure, not joining them. And he wasn't a misogynist...just...an appreciator of beauty.

But then Józsua said something worth while. Delilah should join them. Well, who was he to argue with that logic? "Yeah, gorgeous. It looks like fun." Not for the men. Nope. They were good.

And more ladies showed up to join. They were unworthy of all of this viewing. Totally unworthy. And he was going to enjoy every second of it.

Being all helpful from the side, Ascanius called out to the lot of them, "You girls got this. I believe in you."

... actually nobody had told West about this little.... meeting/workout/viewing party. He was mid-jog, working up a sweat on his usual daily run to get rid of all that excess energy when he saw just ahead a larrrrge gathering of his peers.

Which was just odd because he wasn't there and the ex-captain was essentially always in the thick of these things. He slowed up, jogging on the spot as he tried to work out what was going on. And don't get him wrong or anything, he appreciated the bare legs, but why were there not more yoga pants in evidence? Warmer and form fitting. Total win yeah? He transferred his gaze from the girls beginning their poses, over to his mates, and raised one eyebrow.

"You're all dogs." He told the boys. Bahaha. It was brilliant.

That was a mighty firm handshake from little Maddie. Tobias had the grace to look impressed, but hopefully not TOO impressed. Didn't want to seem like he was being condescending, after all, when he only wanted to make new friends and help the younger kids feel welcome here.

Toby shook his head at the question about food. "Nope, only crackers today." Which implied, of course, that on other days he would have different food, which was entirely true. "You learn to carry around food with you in this place. It's so big, some people find they work up an appetite just from trying to find a certain room."

He didn't know if it was best to try not to notice the sad look on Maddie's face or not, because he knew for certain that he HATED people pointing out if he was upset, but was that the same for everything else? Toby wasn't sure. He looked uncertainly between the pair, and briefly considered telling a certain little anecdote, before deciding completely against it. For reasons. Instead, he focused on the squid.

"I've not met him personally, no," Toby revealed, glancing past the Ravenclaw pair and out over the surface of the lake. "But in my second year Professor Airey got him to help people swim out of the lake, so I know he's nice. We were flying up there," he added in explanation, pointing up at the sky above the lake. "For an Astronomy class activity."

And............ hmmmm. Talk of Airey was giving Toby ideas.

"Do you two like exploring, then? Trying out new things and all that?"


=========================


Toby had been out here for a while now, but was regretting absolutely nothing. He was keeping an eye on the table and the FOOD and hoping that nobody nicked anything because today was Sophie's REAL LIFE ACTUAL BIRTHDAY. He wanted her birthday to be just as special as she'd made his, so he was 100% okay with waiting out here. Every time he got bored, Toby would simply get up and spin in circles for a little while, because that was always fun.

He was dressed preeeeeeeeeetty smartly, given that it was SUCH a special occasion. Black trousers, white shirt, black tie. Too much? Never.

Lalalala, spinniiiiiiiiiiiiiing.

Immunization records? But cooties weren't even real, were they?? No, they couldn't possibly be. Or maybe they were? Zander wasn't even sure what to believe anymore. "Okay.... If you saaaay so," he said in a disbelieving tone. Even if they were real, he wouldn't let her get away too easily. And now, even more questions. Of course. "Well I read it because I wanted to make sure that I didn't get cooties from girls like you at school." Better safe than sorry? Snowmen? Why did she always go back to snowmen? It was autumn for Merlin's sake. She has a WHOLE three months devoted to snow, couldn't she focus on leaves this week? "Uh no. I've never read a book about snowmen..." Why? Because snowmen weren't that interesting. That's why. All they did was stand there. This girl was delusional. "Have you ever even seen a snowman in real life? They don't even do much." He just didn't understand why she idolized them. They literally just sit there and melt.

"It's pronounced Huff- you know what nevermind." She's a lost cause. "I am most definitely, 100 percent not a Hufflepuff," he said standing a little straighter. Hufflepuff wasn't that bad, compared to Slytherin anyways. But he is a lion deep-down, okay REALLY deep down. But it's there. He is a lion somewhere. "Why? You don't think I'm Gryffindor enough?" Because he totally could be Gryffindor-like if he wanted to. Yeah. Anytime he wanted.

*Groans* Again with the snowmen. "You really do like snowmen don't you?" Hopefully it was just a phase. Zander was obsessed with his stuffed-lion first year. But once second year started that thing was tossed into... a special secret compartment at the bottom of his school trunk the bin. She'd have to get over it eventually. Again with this snowman story. But he didn't haaave a snowman story! "I guess if it makes me un-loony then i'll read you one...." Maybe then she'd stop asking so many questions. "I haven't got a book about snowmen though, do you have one I could read you?" And if she doesn't? Awh what a pity. No snoman story for her.

Why didn't he like badgers? "Because, Badgers are the official mascot of Hufflepuff house. And I am NOT a hufflepuff," He said matter-of-factly. "So I don't like Badgers." It all made a lot of sense, naturally. See lions are cool, but badgers are gross. Yeah.

Oh... Yeah. Accidental magic. Wandless magic. He had forgotten about that. How did this first year outsmart him every single time? This is not allowed. "Well you see, um..." Why can they do magic without a wand? "Well... There's quite a simple explanation... You see...." He had absolutely no idea where he was going with this. "Well-- OH LOOK IT'S THE SQUID AGAIN!" .... This time he was totally bluffing. The first time it was real. This time he just needed an excuse and a topic change.

"Uh yeah, sure kid. We can get all the hot chocolate you want," he assured her seeing as her face lit up at the suggestion. She was actually kind of cute when she wasn't bombarding him with questions and accusing him of lying about his house-hood. "You can definitely be princess. As long as I don't have to be your servant." What? If he was going to help her with this little fantasy of hers, then he might as well get a good role in it all. He'd have to be the royal king. But he'd ask her about that when the time came.

Cellie phone? To call the squid. "No, you just have to call out his name a couple of times and hope that he hears you!" Duuuuh. Giant squids have super hypersensitive hearing powers. "I don't think he'd be able to get a signal down there anyways."

That knotting thing happened in Benjy's stomach as he saw Vesper lean in to Ascanius. Was she going to KISS him? His eyebrows furrowed, and only slightly softened when it turned out Ves was just nuzzling the Slytherin. Even so, he felt what resembled a pang of jealousy in his gut.

He shouldn't need to be feeling that, should he? Ves was just being affectionate to her friend.

Sitting down with the group of guys (and girl), Benjy brought his knees to his chest and slipped his skateboard in the gap. Yep, definitely not as desirable a view here...though the ginger haired girl closest to him - Derry? - yeah, her legs were pretty good looking too. He watched them move in to the first pose, and relaxed a little bit, leaning back on his elbows and pulling out a bag of sugar quills.

He popped one in his mouth, before offering the bag to the group. "Sugar quill anyone?" He was in the group...he might as well be sociable.

The lake was always a good place to visit. Donnacha had eaten some dinner before skipping down to the lake and plonking down right by the shore, a short distance away from the yoga people. It looked kind of weird, but the girls were a nice view... He shook his head, the Hufflepuff had come here for more interesting things. Donny opened his backpack and took out a paper boat he had made, he also took out a box of markers to finish decorating his boat.

One day he would get to the middle of the Black Lake, maybe high five the squid too, but until then he would have to do with his boat. The cardboard fins he had tried once obviously hadn't worked. The fins hadn't helped him at all, instead he had almost drowned, so fins weren't an option. Maybe a huge paper boat?

So he was a meanie huh? Was that really her word choice? A meanie?

Kevin gasped loudly after she accused him of being a *meanie*. "I am offended!" he said mockingly because he really wasn't. Words didn't hurt him anyways unless anyone found out something personal of his but no way anyone was going to find out. Then, he would be offended.

What had she done to him? This made him laugh. "Nothing, that's the whole point of doing a prank!" Didn't she know that?

His gaze turned to the Hufflepuff now and he grinned when she correctly guessed that it had been a Weasley prank. "Yup, Weasley's joke shop...isn't it the best!?" because it was and if anyone disagreed they were wrong. He now looked at Angels hair and realised that nearly all the bugs were out of it. "AWW come on!" he said. "You people have NO sense of humor" zero. Nada.

When Cris kissed Jasmine's finger and took her hand in his, she gave an involuntary shiver in a good way and she was definitely not cold. She thought that she could never get tired of staring into his eyes. When Jasmine had said that the kiss was nice, Cris had nodded. Then he went strangely silent. She was worried for a moment that she had done something wrong or that Cris hadn't enjoyed the kiss as much as she had. Then he'd said she was beautiful and kissed her again. The second kiss was even better than the first, if that was even possible. Sweet Merlin, she didn't know it could feel like this.

"Pinch me", Jasmine said. "I want to make sure that I'm not dreaming" After thinking about it for a second, she changed her mind. "On second thought, don't pinch me........because if I am dreaming, I don't want to wake up," Jasmine was on cloud nine. It couldn't possibly be any better than this.

Didn’t like being short, hmmm Cassie had to think about this for a second, though it ended in just a giggle and a shrug, “Oh I don’t mind it really. They do say good things come in small packages.” So that was how she looked at it at least. “Only boy, you poor thing. I’m so glad I had a sister.” Really everyone should have someone to relate too. Though he might have been able to relate to his sisters. “I loved it. My older brother was very protective, but I also go the advantage of knowing things that were going to happen as I got older, because of him. Plus his friends always were so nice to me.” Especially as she got older which just the thought caused a bit more giggling. “Then I got to show my younger brother and sister new things. So it was great.”

Oh goodie the worms weren’t going to be harmed. She snapped happily, “That’s fabtabulous.” This was going to be sooo fun. She looked out at the water as he was rowing and gently put her finger tips in. “Ooooh it’s a bit cold.” She smiled and looked back up at him, “I did like Charms in school. It’s a very useful and amazing class, but most of the classes were amazing.” She wasn’t one that would have said it wasn’t even if it was. “Were you a charms boy in school?”

She was going to be able to try! Eeeep! She took them from him and looked carefully at the water. Hmm she could do this. Placing them in the water she moved her arms circular a bit much and they were much heavier then she thought. One of the oars coming up a bit too high bumping into Leo.

If he thought their first kiss was breathtakingly sweet, Cris had no words to describe the second one they shared. The moment their lips touched, Cris felt like he had been transported to another world. He felt like he was floating on air, his heart soared with happiness and mixed emotions, all good ones. But like before the kiss way too soon and when their lips parted, Cris slowly opened his eyes to gaze into Jasmine's.

He laughed softly when she asked him to pinch her. Then he reached out and gently stroked her cheek with his hand and shook his head. "No you're not dreaming at all because if you are then I'm in that same dream with you. Jasmine, this is real and it is really happening," Cris whispered to Jasmine.

"I know that we've only known each other for a short while, but I feel like I've known you forever. When I'm with you, I feel different. I feel special. I feel like you understand me," Cris confessed his feelings, dropping his gaze for a second as he struggled to find the right words. Then he looked back up at her, wonderment shining in his eyes. "I feel loved."

Had he said too much? Revealed too much? Was what he was feeling when he was with her, just one-sided?

"So, no tree poses for you, then?" Vesper was trying to be cute as she gave Derry a wide grin, shifting around to alter positions. Not that it was much of a change. She'd merely rotated her upper body around so that the opposite arm was raised towards the sky. "We'll keep both feet on the ground for you, cool?"

Maybe Derry would work up to the harder stuff. Vesper could honestly say that yoga had improved her balance (along with quidditch). She and Lottie got adventurous with their maneuvers and positions at times. So, maybe not today...but soon?

...and Penelope was joining them?!?! Ves BEAMED, totally pleased that the Gryffindor was going to get her yoga on. Surely this would put that crabapple in a good mood. Her eyes cut towards Ascanius. Also, Penelope had been quick with the duplicating thing. Good on her. Bent down in her current pose, it might've proven difficult for the Ravenclaw.

Of course, as it turned out, Addi needed a mat. So, breaking position, Ves went about duplicating hers for the Slytherin. Good thing it was a charm. Ves was good with the charms. She even did a few extras and set them to the side, just in case others joined them later on. It had been an open invitation, anyway...and she didn't want to be pull out of her stance again. "Just grab one."

Also, she recognized the two girls that had came up during the first pose. A Ravenclaw and Slytherin. This last minute session seemed to be attracting them like flies, right? "Thanks for coming!"...because Ves wanted them to know she'd seem them and wasn't ignoring their presense....'Cause that would've been rude. She just wasn't the type to be rude, you know? No matter what the situation was. Unless it was Nigel!related. She could be rude to him all day long...for funsies.

"Words, Stark." She was bent over once again, having resumed her earlier pose. "If you can't behave..." Ves had considered threatening him...but then, she wasn't really in a position to do so. Literally. "Just hush, you."

I'd have my eyes on you if I weren't otherwise busy, Scan.

"Okay, is everyone warmed up and ready?"...because new girls (Vinnie and Charlie). The question was directed at them. "We've already done the first position, but to keep with it being simple, we'll do another beginner pose." Standing straight...and forgetting their audience, again....and the fact that West Odessa had just made his appearance (rounding out the group), she bent all the way forward, hugging her legs to her chest. "If you can't do this fully, just bend as far as you can...."

Not. A. WORD. STARK.

Jasmine smiled when Cris shared his feelings with her. She understood exactly what he meant because she felt the same way. Jasmine could not give her feelings a name, but she could share what she was feeling. She had never been in love so she had no point of reference. Was she in love?

Looking tenderly at Cris, she tried to explain her feelings to him. It was hard because she she didn't completely understand herself. "Do you want to know how I feel?", she asked Cris. "Do you really want to know? I know that when I'm with you I'm the happiest I've ever been. When I'm with you, the time goes by so quickly. When we're apart, the hours drag by. When you look at me the way you do, I get goosebumps. See." Jasmine put her arm out for Cris to see. "I think you are the smartest, kindest, most handsome man I know. Don't tell my Dad I said that, he may get jealous. When you kiss me, I feel like my heart is going to explode, in a good way that is. I could go on, but I hope you get the picture."

Jasmine hoped that she didn't scare Cris's off with her words, but that was truly how she felt. She looked at him uncertainly, hoping that wouldn't get up and run.

Charlie hadn't even unrolled her mat when she was laughing at Vins notion of it being the boys fault if they saw someone do something embarrassing. Totally true, they shouldn't have been oooogling so bad. It was half an idea to have Vesper charge for sessions like this, but she'd probably earn more from the audience. Hehe. She caught her friends wink, though, and she of course gave on in return.

West's appareance didn't go unnoticed. Now the group of perves watchers felt more complete. But Delilah! Why was she not joining in? No; she was not allowed to sit with them. She couldn't join the watchers. She should have gotten her yog-a on.

Offering Vesper a little wave and a smile, she shook her arms and legs a bit. Warm up done! That got a nod towards her older Ravenclaw's question, who was now begining the next stretch. Maybe if Charlie just watch, she would absorb the health benefits.

Pleaseeeee?

But here went nothing. Afer a hissed Iwillkillyou was directed at Vinnie, Charlie watched vesper demonstre before leaning into to the pose herself. Hands clutching her ankles, Charlie once again felt very uncomfortab wearing only yoga pants.

Cris felt like his heart was bursting with joy the moment Jasmine described her feelings to him. That was exactly the way he felt, only she was better at verbalizing them than he did.

Smiling tenderly as she whispered the words, he never thought he'd ever hear. He wished that there was a way to stop time. In this very moment in time, never in his wildest dreams that he would feel as happy as he did now and he was afraid that the moment they left this beautiful place by the lake, Jasmine would awaken from her dream and realize that it had all been a mistake.

But the moment, he looked into her eyes, he knew that she really did feel the way he did.

"Jasmine, corny as it may sound, from the moment your lips touched mine, I knew that I never wanted to feel anyone else's lips on mine but yours," Cris declared as he reached out to caress Jasmine's lips with his fingers.

Looking down at their joined hands, he whispered, "I don't know what the future holds for us, but I do know that I will always want you in my life. I know that it's selfish of me, since we've only just met, and if you'd rather wait to get to know me better before replying to my question, I'll understand."

Taking a deep breath to gather up enough courage, Cris slowly raised his eyes and looked deep into Jasmine's. Heart pounding deep on his chest, he cleared his throat before asking,"Jasmine, will you be my girlfriend?"

The moment those words left his lips, he wished he could retract them. What if she said no? What if she laughed at him? What if she began to look at him with pity in her eyes?

Cris was afraid to find out, so he dragged his eyes from her and gazed back out at the lake.

"Well, if he needs your permission to marry our Sophie, he needs my permission as well." Plus he would need Sophie's parent's permission. With a grin, Cat glanced down at the birthday girl, "You're just not allowed to run off and get married until me and Mo meet this boy, right?" Merlin. She shouldn't be thinking about Sophie getting married at ALL. Why had she even joked about that in the first place?

This needed to not be talked about right now. Sophie was a baby, even if it was her birthday today, and Cat was already feeling emotional about not being around for it next year. They needed to move along before she started to cry. "C'mon." She started the small group of them along, tugging on Sophie's hand and leading the way.

Alllllll the way down to the lake where part number two of the birthday event was happening. Cat glanced at Sophie as they came up on the little table that she had very carefully tried to make look just like the one from the first part she and Mo had given Sophie for her birthday. It wasn't exactly the very very same, but it was quite close enough. She was also glad to see that Toby had succeeded in taking care of the table and the food and she hoped that they hadn't taken too long to walk out here. He looked just fine, if not a little bored.

"High tea for the Princess Sophie Birthday Girl." She said, wiggling her fingers at the table. "With a special guest to boot." Cat passed an excited smile to Mo before turning to watch Sophie. This was all done so that she would have a good birthday and Cat was really hoping to see a smile.

Maddie didn't really notice Dima's reaction to her handshake cause she was too busy trying to see if this Toby guy respected her cause of how STRONG and POWERFUL she was cause CLEARLY he could tell all that from her handshake. He did a good job giving the reaction she wanted TOO so he got a smile. YUP, she was awesome at handshakes. She could teach Dima if he wanted!

Maddie could tell Dima knew she wasn't okay and that made her upset because he wasn't supposed to be able to do that. Her dad had always insisted she be strong but clearly she wasn't strong enough if she couldn't even hide the twinge of jealousy she'd been feeling. NOT that she cared what her dad thought. "Mine wasn't like that." Her letter wasn't even really a letter, just a line of text. She hadn't even expected THAT so she couldn't really complain. Instead Maddie shrugged, locking eyes with her ally and then the older boy. She was FINE.

...But if she WASN'T fine, food would have helped. Too bad the boy only had crackers. She'd keep what he said about carrying food around with you in mind for the future, though. "Thanks for the tip." MHM!

And as Toby explained why he knew the squid was friendly, Maddie's thoughts raced. Mention of flying had her wondering when she'd be able to do that again and she wanted to ask the boy if he KNEW anything about it but she wasn't sure it was a good idea. Before she could think on it for TOO long, the boy was asking them something.

"Yeah, sure. Who DOESN'T?" She nudged Dima gently and smiled a little and then looked up to the Toby guy again. "Why do you ask?"