Make Me Feel P*r*e*t*t*y *Cormac*

[adelisa ticking cloquewerk]

Tonight was the big night. The masquerade ball. Everyone was going, and it was fun seeing as everyone had masks so no one knew who anyone was. And it was the perfect night out. Well...almost perfect. One girl stood alone at the wall. Wearing a beautiful red dress and quite an interesting mask she wasn't exactly....feeling pretty. I could have done so much better. She sighed, tugging at her pinned up curly hair.

Her hair gave a light shimmer, golden specks shining through the dark brown. She continued to look around at the happy students, and envy bubbled in her stomach. She frowned and sighed, turning her gaze down. She had been waiting for Cormac, very impatient to see him since their previous encounter....date....thing. The point was she had been promised to meet him, and he wasn't there.

Maybe it was a trick, make her look like a fool. She had been slightly paranoid since talking with Lauren about him, and didn't want to take to many risks just in case she was right. Chewing her lip she continued to look around for him, feeling like an idiot.

Masquerade Dress

[cormac stuart mclaggen]

Cormac sat on the edge of his four-poster bed, his head in his hands and he was positively trembling. It was the evening of the grand masquerade ball and Cormac didn’t particularly feel like moving from the safety and security of his dormitory. He lifted his head from his hands and looked out of the window, from near the top of Gryffindor tower he could see far into the distance. The top of the trees of the Forbidden Forest swayed slightly in an autumn breeze.

He brought a finger to his collar and attempted to make himself a little more comfortable. He was rarely seen in such formal wear but considering this was an important occasion he had no problem with smartening up for a few hours. He was dressed in a simple and plain black suit, and matching black robes over the suit. He stood up and turned to face the full-length mirror that was rested against the circular wall. His clothes looked flawless, almost perfect, he had also styled his hair to look particularly ruffled but still obtaining neatness.

He was most definitely looking good in his eyes but his face showed a different story. He stared at his sweaty face as his upper lip gave a twitch. The reason for the nauseous feeling was a girl. He had been thinking things over and over in his head during those long lessons that seemed to drag through the day. His stomach hardly ever felt settled these days and he knew that something new was happening to him. He’d already concluded from past events that this girl was special, but he had recently kept his distance from her, hardly ever passing in corridors or sending an owl.

In all honesty, he was worried. Usually he wouldn’t even batter an eyelid at the thought of a ball, more than anything he would relish the chance to talk to different girls, impressing them with his wit and knowledge of celebrities. Hell, a masquerade ball posed an even richer avenue of possibility. This particular evening though, he was nervous and scared. Nervous and scared at the amount of time he was spending simply daydreaming about her. He sighed, picked up his mask, hoping the anxiety in his sweaty brow could not be seen by those around him, and trudged out the door and through the Gryffindor common room.

He figured he must be quite late, as the common room was empty except for a few stragglers by the fire. He climbed through portrait hole and wandered off down the corridor, wringing his hands. He paused just before turning the corner onto the marble staircase, he brought a hand to his hair and ruffled it a little. Using all his effort to put a weak smile on his face, he strode with as much confidence as he could muster out into the view of those in the Entrance Hall. He wandered down the steps, scanning the area and there, just inside the Great Hall stood a girl. She looked lonely and slightly disappointed from the way she looked around the room. Cormac walked nervously towards her, fearing he would trip over his own feet. He stopped a few feet from her and smiled, ‘Adelisa?’ he asked tentatively.

[adelisa ticking cloquewerk]

Adelisa sighed. He wasn't showing up was he? Nervousness crept into her stomach and now she felt stupider than ever. Waiting for a guy who wouldn't show. She brushed a stray lock of curly hair behind her ear and leaned against the wall. Should she leave now? She wanted to have fun but it seemed her night was ruined. Sighing she pushed herself from the wall but paused at a new...familiar scent.

Looking over at the boy approaching her she smiled. "Cormac. Your here." She walked over to him and inwardly giggled seeing him looking so nervous. "you look like you've never talked to a girl before Cormac." She giggled quietly. She smiled and straightened his tie a bit. "You look amazing tonight."

{suuuucks}

[cormac stuart mclaggen]

Cormac smiled feebly at her as she fiddled with his tie, then put a hand on her waist and gave her a small kiss on the cheek, ‘Sorry I’m late.. lost track of time’, he said while trailing off slightly at the end. He surveyed the Great Hall, it had, just as during the Yule Ball been completely transformed from the normality the students were used to every time they ate. The hall was positively twinkling as students mingled and danced together. ‘We should,’ he pointed at the students with a lot of effort, ‘Yeah, you know.. Go in’. He took her hand, hoping she wouldn’t notice his sweaty palms too much.

As they walked hand in hand, he smiled and spoke smoothly, ‘You look stunning tonight.. You really do’. He looked sideways at her and smiled once more, she was indeed very pretty. Her eyes were beautiful, much from the contrast of that split second where Cormac was sure they’d flashed an evil look at him on the Quidditch pitch. ‘Dance?’ He asked, putting both his hands on her waist and bringing her slightly closer to his broad torso. The song was slow and melodic and he shuffled his feet from side to side slowly.

[adelisa ticking cloquewerk]

Adelisa gave an inaudible gasp and smiled when Cormac kissed her cheek. Smiling brightly she nodded. "I understand, nerves? I was pretty nervous too." She giggled and looked down. Smiling at his nervousness she leaned up and gently pressed her soft lips to his cheek. "Might as well return the favor." She whispered before taking his hand. She led him into the giant room and smiled looking around. "Wow they outdid themselves."

She blushed and looked down shyly. "Thank you Cormac." She said and giggled. She looked back up to him, her eyes tinted a lovely reddish brown with small specks of gold due to her dress. She smiled placing both hands around his neck. "I'd love to dance with you Cormac." She smiled sweetly up at him, her pink lips fuller than usual.

[cormac stuart mclaggen]

Cormac felt Adelisa extend her arms around his neck and he was sure the heat in the room had just gone up a few notches in temperature. He looked at her and she was smiling that sweet smile of hers, the very same smile that he would swoon over while daydreaming in class. He felt the colour come to his cheeks and looked over her head around the room. There were groups of girls dancing and talking hurriedly, while couples were scattered on chairs in dark corners. Feeling that he couldn’t ignore her for much longer he turned his gaze back to her, and she was still looking at him ever so sweetly.

He had to come up with some form of speech, ‘Err.. So you said in your letter.. that you’re friend doesn’t like me right?’ He suddenly felt it a little more comfortable, something he was good at it, talking about people. ‘I mean, I’ve never spoken to her so who the hell is she to just not like me, you like me right? So why doesn’t she?’ He stopped talking as quickly as he had been speaking. He raised a hand to his forehead and wiped his forehead. ‘Can we sit down?’ he asked, pointing at two seats nearby, ‘I am loving dancing with you, it’s just I still don’t feel right after the other day’ he lied.

[adelisa ticking cloquewerk]

She smiled seeing him blush. He's so cute. She thought to herself. Resting her head comfortably on his shoulder a million thoughts ran through her head. She felt as though she was in a daze, this was an amazing moment. She liked Cormac so much and by this time she knew....or almost knew....he felt the same. She looked back up at him and her smile widened seeing him get even more nervous. It was so cute.

Her smile dropped immediately at the mention of Lauren. She looked away once he began to ramble about her. the mood was completely destroyed to her now and she sighed. "I don't know Cormac apparently you did something to upset her. Something about not treating her right- look can we please talk about something else?" She looked at him crossing her arms, obviously upset. she nodded and looked at the chairs, plopping down in one. At this point she just closed her eyes and prayed to GOD the night would end soon.

[cormac stuart mclaggen]

Cormac sat down next to her and pulled his chair closer to hers. He was a little taken aback by Adelisa’a abruptness at the mention of Lauren, a friend of hers after all. ‘Okay, sorry..’ he trailed off, he certainly didn’t mean to annoy her, he just didn’t know why he kept feeling so strange. He watched her close her eyes and was sure she had let out a small sigh, ‘I’m sorry.. I didn’t mean to.. Just sorry’ He didn’t honestly know what he was apologising for but he thought this was the best route to go down. He outstretched his hand and rested it gently on her leg.
He looked around the room wondering what the hell to say. People were dancing still more frantically and the band was making a lot of noise. He could hardly hear himself speak, but was glad that with the mixture of sound and movement around them, they would definitely not be heard or even looked at. He turned to look at her and took his hand from her leg and held her hand instead, squeezing it slightly. He leaned as far in to her as he could, and spoke in her ear, ‘I really like you Adelisa’. He pulled his head back again so he could see the whole of her pretty face looking back at him

[adelisa ticking cloquewerk]

She looked over to him, and watched him stumble over his words. "It's ok Cormac I'm just a little touchy tonight." She had waited t long for this moment for him to ramble and get fired up about her friends not liking him. I mean sure they didn't like him but hell if she really liked him she'd keep their advice in mind but go with what she felt right. And right now, she felt that being with Cormac was right. She felt herself blush when his hand rested on her leg.

She looked at him again and saw his nervous gaze wandering. He has no idea what he's doing. She said to herself. It was quite cute, but him unknowingly teasing her by repeatedly getting close to her but not kissing her? Not cool at all. She looked away thoughtfully and tapped her pink lips. She hadn't had her first kiss yet. She glanced at his hand as it moved from her leg to gently slide into her own. She immediately locked her fingers around his. She looked up as he moved closer to her and inwardly gasped when he spoke in her ear. Smiling she looked back up at him and quite daringly got very close to his face, so their noses were touching. Finding this more effective than whispering in his ear she smiled sweetly. "I really like you too Cormac."

[cormac stuart mclaggen]

Cormac and Adelisa sat in the slight darkness, and Cormac felt a rush of some strange feeling soar up inside him as he felt Adelisa lock her fingers around his. Before he knew it she was really close to him, her face a mere inch or so away from his. He closed his eyes momentarily and heard her say ’I really like you Cormac’, his eyes broke open and he looked back at her, taking in the beauty of her eyes. Then it hit him, he knew what was going to happen, it was inevitable. It had been inevitable since that day when he’d strode up Hogsmeade and spotted the two girls through a shop window.

A thousand images ran through his head, thoughts of romantic walks around the lake, holding hands, trips to Hogsmeade and more flying sessions. The images continued to flash through his head while slowly but surely Cormac gave in. His head tilted to one side and he raised his hand placing it softly on her cheek, then he moved his face towards her for that final inch, there lips met and a slight smirk played on his face. Bliss, total and utter bliss but just as he was enjoying the moment, a particular image flashed up. His eyes closed during the kiss he saw it vividly. Cormac’s followers, the closest things to friends, stood laughing and whispering behind hands to one another as Adelisa led him hand in hand through the corridors of Hogwarts. Instantly Cormac pulled his head back and looked at her, traumatised he forces a smile.

He had a choice, the continued worship and awe from those around him or the closeness and security of a lovely and sweet girl. In a split second decision, and a foolish one at that, Cormac was on his feet. Looking down at Adelisa he spoke, ‘I’ve got to go.. Still feeling a bit iffy you know, he pointed to his stomach’, he blushed a little then softly patted her on the shoulder. Not stopping to think his feet began to carry him towards the open doors at the end of the hall where a few of his friends stood, he moved towards them forcing himself not to look back at the girl he’d just left.

[adelisa ticking cloquewerk]

Adelisa closed her eyes as her lips touched Cormac's. A warm feeling spread through her and she could hardly breathe from the pure amazement she was feeling. Her eyes opened as he pulled away and a worried frown tugged her lips. "Something wr-" Before she finished her question her eyes dampened and darkened sadly as he stood. "O-oh....ok." She watched him walk to his friends and realized what had happened. He was embarrassed by her. He had the choice to stay with her or leave with his friends to save his reputation. and he chose his reputation over her. Looking down her eyes watered and her lip trembled, and quickly she stood and ran out back to the Gryffindor common room as she began to cry.