2014. Friday

 

Not quite, but close enough. 

It was a Friday morning like usual.

Clare was doing her footing with Ake like always where she's suffering less of asphixia but more of side stitch because she refuses to tell her feelings. Suddenly, her running mate suggests to change the morning routine a little.

Twenty minutes before starting lesson, they went to the ice rink.

Not that she's complaining as she does like skating with him, it kind of soothes her, but it's certainly unexpected.

Ake doesn't say why and she doesn't ask because she's not bothered.

She does have fun.

She should have gotten a clue when Corinna asked her what made her so joyful.

"I'm not more happy than usual."

"You are also less sweaty," her friend added as if she didn't say anything.

"Yeah, well, the skate ring was kind of fresh."

"You guys went ice skating instead of running?"

Put like that, it does seem kind of off.

"We did jog for awhile then we went skating too."

"That doesn't seem right."

"How so? It's the time of the year."

At that, Corinna stays quiet.

 

During lunch time, before she get the time to reach her usual friend group, Ake fetches her to sit with him. As she couldn't see any familiar face, she accepts gladly, always enjoying spending time with her other dear friend.

They choose a table near the entrance and ready to enjoy their meal when someone call them out. Or more like, call Ake out.

It's Nils, Durmstrang champion and Ake's friend.

Just behind him is the head ot the Student Council, Yves Delvaux. Also probably the head of anti-muggleborn. At the same time she caught that up, her eyes meet Teddy's who waves at her without noticing her dilemma.

Could she pretend not feeling well and get up and leave Ake like that? Would she?

Too late.

By the time she comes back, there's already a group of Durmstrang and Beaux Bâtons students sitting around the table. And she knows no one, besides the big name.

Thankfully, the Triwizard champions aren't social butterfly and got each other's back, more the contrary, so she's not surrounded by all of them. To be fair, she doesn't know any of them, as Leon Bodart is one year older and Berthe Maurice doesn't seem reachable.

Even if everyone's demanded to wear Beaux Bâtons' uniform, she could clearly say who's from which school. Most people expect the Academy to have blond with blue eyes students, but having like nine nationalities which are as varied as the earth it's a little difficult to assembly only the aryean like, as the feared Hitler would call them. Durmstrang Institution, on the contrary, only accept wizards and purebloods as its members, and most of them got super enviable genes as they come from the nothern part of the earth.

As she notes that, she barely blinks when Ake put his dairy in her tray and takes her plate in return. There is a set of twin who notices that and comments it between them, but they are quickly shut down by Nils.

"Got any clue about the next trial?"

Clare guesses she's from Beaux Bâtons and probably from the Student Council too as even Yves get interested when she speaks up.

Or maybe just a pureblood.

"Something greenness."

A girl from Durmstrang snorts at that, but Nils doesn't let show of hearing it.

"There's plenty of that around the stable. And the stadium, and the river. "

"We get it, sweetie."

Little surprised by the closeness showed, Clare stares a little too long at the duo from the Academy.

"Other than that?"

"The nature is quiet but the creature is bright."

Ake shoots a look to her, knowing that she likes riddles. But the only thing she has in mind is a lantern creature.

"Maybe you should come with sunglasses, in case said creature would blind you."

The same girl chuckles again.

"Worry not, glass boy, our champion will come to the second trial prepared."

In turn of Yves' classmate to laugh discreetly at the nickname.

"Well, for now, it's already week end, so do you guys have something to do outside of the academy?" One the twin pipes up.

"There's this theme park just out of the boader of the school. It's not much and most of the student already got use of it or can't afford with their low allowances, but it could be quite enjoyable for you foreigners."

"Do you need the council's permission to go out?" The Dursmstrang girl asks. 

Beaux Bâtons answers her: "Nah, during schooltime, it's the super intendance's job."

"Not a really good perspective," groans the other twin or maybe is he the same. 

"Not all of them are stern and unfunny."

"Just most of them."

"Which is already too much."

"To be fair, we're not really here as holidays. We're still students who need to attend lessons. We should consider it as a program of exchange."

All of Ake's schoolmates give him an eyeroll and Clare stiffles a giggle on her own, sensing that her friend got quite the reputation among his peers.

"They won't refuse you, it's your guests' privileges."

"That's nice to hear, I guess."

"What kind of ride is there?"

When all eyes turn to her, she tries really hard not to flush, but her cheeks must betray her as she feels them burning little by little.

"The usual, carousel, the wheel, shooting stall, the gripper and all that."

"The kind of attraction you find in muggle amusement park."

"Yeah, well, it was build to entertain them."

"What does that mean? It's ran by muggle?"

"Wizards, who are passing them for muggle, so to divert their attention of our great academy."

"'Great', I wouldn't know, but it certainly would attract attention to their eye."

"I guess you all know there are magic protection, but only around the buildings so it wouldn't be seen from the top. So, to their eye, it would be just a stream of water in the middle of a vast forest surround by mounts."

"Better than Durmstrang that move so it wouldn't be caught by strangers eyes."

"Muggle or wizards?"

"Either."

Clare guesses it's better than the ruins for Hogwarts.

"Wouldn't it be difficult for parents day?"

It's beginning to get interesting.

"We don't have that kind of day."

"Beaux Bâtons have parents day?"

"We do, it's on the last week of the school year. Though, not a lot of muggle would come."

And they were having such a good time.

"To be fair, most of the parents only come when the children is on their last year, to commemorate the, uh, the thing about school. Sometimes, just the first year. As some would say, boading school exist for a reason, so parents don't have to see the kids for a period of time."

Well, that escalated quickly.

Useless to say Clare's really glad when time's up.

She nearly jumps into Corinna's arms when running into her in the hallway.

 

The introduction of the theme park did its mark and she suggests a late go out to her friends.

Only Bri and Corinna said yes as Côme and Lara had some journalism stuff to do, though the latter did want to join, Emmanuel got club's duty and Teddy and Bridget already went times ago.

She's on the way to wait for her stepbrother when Corinna and her come across the girl from before.

"Oh, hey, you, Clare is it?"

"Hey, yes, sorry, I didn't quite catch your name."

"Right, I'm Moa. Where are you girls heading for?"

"Getting ready to go to the theme park."

"The one we talked at lunch? Care to join me and the guys?"

"As in?" Corinna pipes up because she doesn't like to be ignored.

Moa barely draws a smile at her.

"Ake and Nils," she says easily, then with an afterthought: "And Asen and Lyuben. You know, the twins."

"Oh, well, I don't really know them. I don't want to intrude."

"You know Ake, that's enough. He would be more than happy to have you with us. Besides, the twins aren't picky with people and they'e about you girls' age."

Clare tries to remember if the sixth years have any Durmstrang students.

"Really?" She shares a look with Corinna.

"Well, I guess you guys would call them fifth years."

"They're younger, then."

"Only a year or so. And before you ask why and how they're here, we're cousins and I was sorta charged to look after them, one could say."

Clare tries not to judge because she and her friends aren't supposed to be here either. Instead, she tries to decline again.

"I wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense, I already said that Ake would be more than happy to have you by his side. You girls, of course. I mean, he did say he want to spend his birthday with his dear friend."

"Whose birthday?"

"Ake's."

Clare feels insulted by the obvious tone, but Moa probably doesn't mean any harm.

"You didn't know?"

"No? He said it was in January but he never actually told me the date. How could I know it was the 17th?"

"Well, now, you do."

"Thank you, Corinna."

"That's probably why you guys went skating instead of running."

"Again, thank you, Corinna. And I told you we did run, we just cut it short to ice skating because he wanted to."

"Yeah, the boy does like skating a lot. What a cutie, don't you think?"

As she's not sure to whom the comment was aimed, Clare remains silent.

"Maybe you should point yourself to at least wish him happy birthday," Bri then gives his input.

"Even if the day's pretty late."

Corinna's certainly not helping.

So the four of them join the four boys already at the place. And Ake's face just brighten like a thousand light upon seeing her. One could only imagine if she does give him her wishes.

But Clare feels like she should explain herself before anything.

During her rant, which don't contain any specific explanation, the group moves to the first ride: the slide. Not expecting it to be so fun, she forgets her first awkwardness as Bri advices her and goes to enjoy the evening.

They stay sometime between the stalls which not everyone got to enjoy as they don't have that much monney, though Clare does try to win something for the birthday boy. She just hope that Ake's genuine when thanking her about the turtle plush.

And then it's the Ferris Wheels time.

It's nothing like in the manga. It's not cabins so to screen the wind but more a cup with a cover for an umbrella and only two bars to close the entrance gap. Each one could contain six people, but Moa wasn't going to let the twins by their own and Bri was not one to abandon a girl alone with two toublemakers.

Because of the wobbly appearance of the booth, Clare insists they all sit so to not have too much shaking and in case the cup needs balance they're parted by two on each side. Her with Corinna in front of Ake and his friend Nils.

"Although the state of the cabin is so-so, we still get a nice view."

"Couldn't agree less."

It's always useful to have a Corinna, a.k.a best speaker you could get.

"Well, Ake, thank you for being always so patient with me and I'm so glad that we befriended even outside of our correspondance. I wish that our relationship could go only better and to you a happy eiteenth birthday."

She could litterally sense Corinna's judging eyes at her side to her speech, but she could only see Ake's happiness, which was what she was looking for.

"I'm the one who's thankful, especially to you who humoured me all day. And I'm more than happy that we get to befriend and even get along so well. Just, thank you for today, being with the person I love already made my day."

It takes her sometime to get what he means and she glows as much as him when she does.

"I love you too!"

There's another moment of stalling and Clare realizes they're not alone, but it doesn't change a thing, she means it. Corinna's quite frantic once they land and nearly grabs Bri when he lands too with the others. Seeing that, Moa grabs Nils and Clare's left with Ake who just smiles softly at her.

He invites her for a ride to the Carousel.

The twins are just behind them as they were told to always follow one of them, but they were discreet enough they don't even notice. They do so only at the end of the ride as they join back to wait for the others. It is the time to go home.

"I spend a wonderful day." Ake starts gently. 

He's always so gentle. 

"I'm glad you enjoyed, I did too."

"I'm hoping for a next time."

"Definitely!"

"I would also love it to be only the both of us thing. As in just the two of us, going out, and spending the time together. Because you may love me, but I'm in love with you."

At loss of word, Clare could only utter:

"Oh..."

Ake smiles meekly, not one bit bothered by her lack of speech and just leads her to join the rest of the group. 

As she follows him nimbly, she can't stop turning and returning the words in her mind. 

Because not a lot of people would tell her that, not to say no one. That kind of feeling, she never feels it directly.

And it touches her.