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Jake's plan: A card and a closet (James) « Thread Started on Nov 24, 2009, 10:23pm »
Four inches. There was a four inch height difference between the two boys, and the taller one was of average height. That doesn't really bother Jake though, as he wrapped one arm around his boyfriend, and leaned against his chest. James made him feel safe, even in the chaos that sometimes filled the school. It was just after the last class of the day, and they were standing in the corridor, waiting for a crush of students to pass so they could head the other way, back towards Ravenclaw tower.
Of course, the fourth year had something on his mind. It had been weighing on him all day, actually. It was February 14th, Valentine's Day, and he had yet to give James his Valentine. It was hard picking out exactly the right thing, since buying him flowers or chocolate both sounded like a pretty bad idea. So he'd simply set about making him a card. (He had tried to buy one, but the woman in the shop wouldn't leave him alone about picking out the perfect one for his girlfriend--her term, not his--that he'd left without actually buying anything.) And that had proven harder than he had intended as well. What was he supposed to write, when they had only been dating for about two months? He'd finally decided on his words, and carefully modified a playing card with a lace and a dying spell. (He made sure to choose a non-exploding one, just in case.)
But then he'd carried it around in his pocket all day, worried that he'd messed it up by signing it with "love." It was not until after he had finished that he realized that "Yours" would have probably worked just as well.
However, he had no more time. If he wanted James to be able to read it in private, with no nosy girls nearby looking for gossip, he would have to act fast. "Hey, James." Jake said, tugging lightly on his tie. "Come here." He pulled the older boy into a broom closet, hoping it didn't look exactly how it looked to passers-by. "I, um, made this for you.' Jake pulled out the card and handed it over. He felt shy again, in a way he hadn't since Irina had surprised with with mistletoe at the Yule Ball. "Happy Valentine's Day."
You believe there’s good in everybody’s heart. Keep it safe and sound.
Joined: Jul 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 81
Re: Jake's plan: A card and a closet (James) « Reply #1 on Nov 25, 2009, 11:44am »
The first thing that came to mind when James started thinking of valentine’s gifts was, not surprisingly, a picture. He loved to draw, and it would be far better than anything generic. It was the perfect idea, except school work and studying ate up his days, leaving little time to use for his own accord. It would be nigh impossible to get it done as it was, not to mention doing it without anyone else (particularly Jake) seeing. Besides, the more the fifth year thought about it, the more his mind told him it was weird to draw his boyfriend a picture. As each day passed, he became less and less likely to carry through with the plan, eventually breaking down and ditching the idea. At the last minute, he bought a mass-produced Valentine’s Day card from the store. James knew it wouldn’t be the same as something he made himself, but it was better than nothing, and more likely to be well-received than a random drawing. Or so he hoped, anyway.
The morning of the 14th, the Ravenclaw struggled to decide when to give his card. He wanted it to be timed perfectly, so that it would have the best effect. Breakfast would be a good place, because then Jake could have it the whole day and be reminded of James whenever he looked at it. Or maybe lunch would be better, as a mid-day pick-me-up…but then Jake would still have his afternoon classes, which could easily squash any good-feelings the card created. In that case, after classes would be the best time. So James stowed the card under his pillow to retrieve later, and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Finally, the end of the day came, and Jake was patiently waiting with him for the mob of students to pass. Soon they would be back in the common room. James’ stomach flopped in anticipation. Couldn’t these people move any faster! He was about to start shoving his way through the masses, but Jake interrupted this strategy, apparently having other plans as he pulled James in a different direction than that of the tower.
He followed the fourth year obediently as he was tugged away from the crowded hallway, already half-expecting it to be about Valentine’s Day. The older boy couldn’t help being a bit aroused surprised when Jake pulled him into a broom closet, but he tried to ignore how suggestive it looked. That wasn’t exactly his idea of an appropriate gift, especially since they had barely been dating for two months, and he doubted Jake was about to do something drastic.
It was a relief (and a bit of a disappointment) when Jake handed him the home-made valentine. He did, in fact, take note that it was not of the exploding snap variety before turning it over and squinting (closets are pretty dark, evidently) to read the inscription on the back. It was sweet and from the heart. How could he not love it?
“Jake,” he smiled warmly, “Thank you. It’s wonderful.” James gave him a big hug and a kiss on the forehead.
Now it was his turn to do the giving…but not only was his card lamely store bought, it was up in Ravenclaw tower, and he felt like a jerk for not carrying it around with him like Jake had (which, now that he thought about it, was incredibly cute). He waited dumbly for an idea, any idea, to come to him and save the day, looking lost and helpless as he stood there.
Then it hit him. James had almost forgotten about the small parcel he received from his parents that morning at breakfast—a valentine for him along with an extra something from his mother. A Welsh love spoon. The spoon wasn't for him, of course, but for whichever “lucky girl he chose”. At least, that’s what his mom’s note said, a statement that made him roll his eyes at her meddling ways. The spoon was a symbol of courtship, a decoration given from a boy to his love interest or as a gift to a happy couple, but it was an old tradition that had been lost with the recent generation. The one hanging in their kitchen at home wasn’t even made by his father—it was a wedding present given to his parents by his mother’s grandmother. As such, he had briskly tucked the object into his pocket, hoping to be rid of the darn thing as soon as possible, before anyone could see it and ask what it was. Little did he know it would come in handy.
“Uh,” he muttered while reaching into his robes, “I got a card for you too, but it’s not amazing and hand-made like the one you gave me.” He pulled the spoon out of his pocket, getting a good look at it for the first time. It was simple as love spoons go, the usual sycamore wood with only a heart shape hole in the handle’s end. Plain, but well made. “Uh. Well, obviously this isn’t the card. I kind of left that in my dorm, actually. But my mom,” The fifth year winced, hating to admit that the gift wasn’t his idea, and hating more to admit that it was his mom’s idea, “Sent me this to give to the, uh, person I…” He paused, struggling to find the right word. Love seemed too strong, even though Jake had signed his valentine with it.
“The person I’m dating,” he decided on saying. “It’s a called a Welsh love spoon. It’s an old tradition. I don’t even think many muggles give them as valentine’s gifts anymore, but I guess it’s important to my mom. Here. It’s for you.”
James kept his eyes on his hands as he held the wooden spoon out for Jake, not daring to look him in the eyes. He felt ridiculous, giving a nearly-forgotten spoon (which was no doubt weirder than giving a picture) in exchange for a sweet card. It didn’t sound like a fair trade.
Re: Jake's plan: A card and a closet (James) « Reply #2 on Nov 27, 2009, 12:55pm »
Okay, so Jake probably could have planned this a bit better than grabbing James' tie and tugging him into the broom closet. But the closet was only a few feet away, and his hand had been closer to the tie than the other boy's hand, and for some reason, he just really liked how James looked in a tie. No, he didn't mean to do anything dramatic or inappropriate, he just wanted a bit of privacy. That's all. But, unless by some miracle that no one had noticed, Jake had thoroughly ruined his own "avoid gossip" plan.
When he realized James was squinting, Jake blushed and pulled out his wand. "Lumos. Is that better?" It was better for him, at least, because he could see James' reaction. He smiled and hugged his boyfriend back, blushing at the kiss. "I'm glad you like it. The lady at the card store kind of freaked me out, so I made you one instead."
The younger boy wasn't really expecting anything in return, as he had sprung this on James a little suddenly. So it didn't bother him when his boyfriend was quiet for a moment, and just leaned into his hug, grinning. "I like having a Valentine." He didn't need a card, James was enough.
But then James pulled out a...spoon? Okay, that was unexpected, to say the least. Jake's smile didn't waver as he listened to the stumbling explanation. In fact, he grinned a little wider. He liked hearing about traditions like that. "Well, I don't think there's a comparable gift in China. The matchmaker sets people up and then..." His voice trailed off. The matchmaker sets up couples, and if they were compatable, marriages were arranged. He didn't want to say that though. They'd fulfilled the old (antiquated) Chinese courtship tradition too. He took the spoon and inspected it. It was small, wooden, and very sweet. Jake liked it, very much. "It's not stupid; I love it. Thank you. And tell your mom thank you too."
"Wait..." Jake went over what James had said in his head, and noticed something. "You told your Mom about me?" His grin flickered for a moment, because he hadn't told his family that he had a boyfriend. Olivia knew, yeah, but his dad and grandmother didn't, and Jake told them everything. It was hard enough being "out" at Hogwarts and feeling like a novelty, but his grandmother was very traditional, and he was a little worried about her reaction when he finally did tell her about James. (He wasn't as worried about telling his father. Ba always understood him, even if he did favor Olivia a little more.)
The fourth year hugged a little tighter, and nuzzled his face against the older boy's neck. "You're braver than I am. Olivia knows, of course, but I haven't told anyone else in my family."
You believe there’s good in everybody’s heart. Keep it safe and sound.
Joined: Jul 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 81
Re: Jake's plan: A card and a closet (James) « Reply #3 on Nov 27, 2009, 3:28pm »
At first the fifth year thought Jake wasn’t going to take the spoon. He was talking about something in China—possibly even about the matchmaker—but James was having a hard time focusing on the words. He was too busy worrying about giving a spoon as a Valentine’s Day gift. But then Jake accepted the wooden object. James looked up to see him smiling, and smiled too, relieved that the tradition wasn’t weirding his boyfriend out. "I'm glad you like it."
Right, thank his mom. The Ravenclaw would do it in his next letter home, but he wasn’t going to look forward to it. Her response would certainly be flooded with questions about the girl he gave the spoon to—no doubt very personal, embarrassing, and gender-specific ones at that—and he’d either have to answer them untruthfully or confess his homosexuality before she got annoyed or suspicious. Neither was an appealing option.
At least Jake liked the present. That would make the awkward letters home worth dealing with. Of course, things started going downhill from there.
“Oh…uh,” Jake’s question caught him off guard as he was hoping that his mom, of all things, wouldn’t be pulled out of his rambling. No, he hadn’t had the courage to tell his mom, or any of his family for that matter, about Jake. Hogwarts was the only place he dared to be himself, and that was only because it was so easy to keep things that he wanted to hide from his family secret. All they ever heard about his life in the wizarding world were the things they learned when he was initially invited to Hogwarts and the things he chose to tell them the years following. He felt bad enough maintaining that at home, and he didn’t want to be like that here too. James had to admit his own cowardice. He had to.
But then Jake acted cute and nuzzled him and called him brave. Crap. The older boy's stomach started to churn. His face grew red and hot, and he couldn’t help tightening his own embrace. This was how Jake acted when he thought James was brave, but what would he do when he found out the fifth year was really a coward?
“Uh, well, I did tell certain people,” he said, biting his lip. This wasn’t a lie, at least. A long-time muggle friend of his, one of the ones that gave him his cat in fact, had previously figured out on her own that he was gay, and during the holiday he had told her about Jake (actually, James’ mom had told her that James went to the school dance with a date, and she forced the information out of him). So, technically, he had told at least one person, just not his mom. Unfortunately, this roundabout logic wasn’t making him feel any less guilty, because even if he told himself that he didn’t want to lie to Jake, that’s exactly what he was doing when he avoided denying that his mom knew about them.
« Last Edit: Nov 27, 2009, 3:31pm by James Carroll »
Re: Jake's plan: A card and a closet (James) « Reply #4 on Nov 27, 2009, 11:19pm »
Of course Jake was going to accept the spoon. He had just given his boyfriend a playing card with lace attached; he wasn't about to turn down an actual gift. And it was sweet. He fingered the little heart-shaped hole in the handle, then tucked it safely in his pocket. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it, but he could figure that out on his own, later.
He'd have to write a letter home too, now. At least one to his father. It had been evident, over the Christmas break, that Ba had noticed something was up. But he hadn't asked, probably expecting Jake to come to him when he was ready. Thank heaven for patient parents.
The younger boy leaned into the hug, smiling as James squeezed him tighter. He was always so comfortable with James, he felt guilty not telling his family about him. Olivia, of all people, approved, so why was he so worried about telling his dad? "I could tell Ba, but Nai Nai..." His voice trailed off, hardly realizing it was little more than a murmur in the first place.
The Christmas break had been interesting; he'd gone to that Slytherin girl's birthday party, as well as a few parties hosted by some old friends of his grandmother, where the old ladies had gossiped and tried to get him to dance with the 13-year-old daughter of one of Nai Nai's yearmates. The girl was nice, a 3rd year at Beauxbatons, but not particularly memorable. His grandmother still believed that he was going to be the one to become a healer, marry a pureblood Chinese Ravenclaw girl, and raise two perfect children, just like his father. (Scratch the "Perfect.")
At least James was a Ravenclaw.
"People?" Jake grinned up at the older boy. "Who else? It was nice things, right?" He was joking, naturally. James was always nice, even when Jake knew he was being clingy.
You believe there’s good in everybody’s heart. Keep it safe and sound.
Joined: Jul 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 81
Re: Jake's plan: A card and a closet (James) « Reply #5 on Nov 30, 2009, 12:33pm »
James strained to hear whatever it was Jake was murmuring with little success as the passing students in the hallway drowned out the words with their end-of-the-day ruckus. He did get the gist of it, though—that Jake was planning on telling his family about their relationship. All the fifth year could do was hope that they accepted it as Olivia had. Sure, she did a good job of intimidating him at the Yule Ball, but she was just being a protective older sister.
The memory of that moment made him wonder how his siblings would react when he (or, more likely, one of his parents) told them. Jeffery probably wouldn’t see a difference. Rather, he wouldn’t realize it wasn’t the social norm as he barely understood that cooties didn’t exist and girls didn’t actually have them. As for David…well, seeing as he tried to lecture James out of being a wizard when he was eleven, he would probably try to lecture the poor boy out of being gay. The thought almost made James laugh. At least Olivia wasn’t trying to change Jake.
In any case, while the shorter Ravenclaw was leaning into him, James realized he was still holding the laced card in his hand. He pulled back a little so he could slide it into his pocket, and then averted his attention back to Jake.
And what do you know? His diversion worked well in his favor. James let out a sigh of relief, which helped him brush his guilt aside and get back into the positive light of the moment.
Jake’s joke gave James the overwhelming urge to tease the younger boy, so he was purposefully vague in his answer. “Oh, just a friend of mine,” He said as a devious grin played across his face. But the fifth year’s smile softened as he transitioned from teasing to something more serious. “As for what I told her…well, there are so many nice things to say, I don’t think I could find something unpleasant if I tried.”
He brought up his hand to lightly stoke Jake’s cheek with the tips of his fingers, muttering more to himself than the other boy, “I’m really lucky to have met you.”
Re: Jake's plan: A card and a closet (James) « Reply #6 on Dec 5, 2009, 9:40pm »
Yes, Jake's attempt at telling another Zi about his relationship had gone over fairly well. Of course, Olivia already knew about them, so there was no surprise when Over the break, Jake had talked to Olivia about James. The conversation had been interesting, to say the least.
***** "Jake, why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?" Olivia looked concerned,and a little irritated. That didn't surprise Jake, really, as she always knew what was happening with him, and this time, she had found out with everyone else who didn't know.
"I didn't have one to tell you about until half-way through the ball!" Jake was on the defensive, as he didn't really see it as any of his sister's business who he dated. Why did she have to care anyway? "And the first thing you did was go and bother him. I don't want you to do that. Please don't make fun of us."
Olivia crossed her arms and scowled at her little brother. "Jake, I make fun of you because you're awkward and spacy and a bit of a dork. And I might make fun of James because he looked a little afraid of me. But it bothers me that you think I'd do it because you're both boys. I promise, I won't tease you any more than I would if James was a Jane." She wrapped her arm around him in a one-armed hug and grinned. "Plus, he's pretty cute."
Jake faked a scowl and pulled away, but he smiled all the same. "Thanks, Livvy." *****
Jake was glad that the closet was pretty dark, because he was grinning a little stupidly. "Which friend?" He always wanted to know more about James' life in Wales, as a muggle. Technically, the fourth year was a half-blood, but he had been raised in a purely magical household. All of his friends from before Hogwarts were now at Hogwarts. There was no us/them, here/there divide for him. So he liked to hear about stories about sheep and drawing and having brothers. "You could tell her.... that I had to steal your jacket at the ball, or that I have an overprotective older sister." There weren't many any unhappy memories of James for him.
The shadows of the closet hid his blush as he felt his boyfriend's hand on his cheek. "Why? I'm the lucky one."
You believe there’s good in everybody’s heart. Keep it safe and sound.
Joined: Jul 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 81
Re: Jake's plan: A card and a closet (James) « Reply #7 on Dec 12, 2009, 7:30pm »
Jake’s eagerness to know more about him made the older Ravenclaw chuckle. “A girl I knew from going to muggle school.” He paused, considering only leaking a little bit of information, but decided that was too mean. In truth, James liked it when his boyfriend asked him questions, because it made him feel interesting, even though most of what he had to say was, in his opinion, boring. “Her name’s Abri. I’ve known her since…I was six or so.”
James’ grinned broadened at the flimsy suggestions. “Nice try, but I gave you my jacket willingly, so I don’t think that counts. You’re sister on the other hand…” He trailed off at the end, only joking. The confrontation he had with Olivia at the Yule Ball was an experience he could have lived without, but she wasn’t unpleasant. Definitely intimidating, but nice all the same.
The ends of his mouth fell when Jake responded to the utterance, and there was an unmistakable pang in James’ chest. He felt guilty again for letting Jake believe he had confessed to his family, and he almost retorted with “you’re not as lucky as you think,” but the older boy kept his mouth shut. He already planned to tell his parents, and afterward, it wouldn’t matter if he had told them over holidays or not, because once they knew, which would be soon, none of the things Jake assumed would be a lie. Instead, James protested playfully, managing a light, airy tone, “Oi, don’t steal my thunder. It’s not fair.”
Smiling again, he pulled Jake into another tight hug, content to just linger in the dark.
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