We'll Be a Dream (Brooke)

Joe's Suit;

Spoiler:

The butterflies hadn't settled in Joe's stomach since he'd looked in the mirror for the last time. Being able to say that he was actually taking Brooke to this ball was something new altogether, but to be able to say that he was dating her? That... well, to be honest, that was something he would never actually get over. As always, the Gryffindor was the epitome of beautiful. Stunning, actually. Before, the whole "taking someone's breath away" idea seemed like a myth to the boy, but not anymore. He physically hadn't been able to breathe by the time he took her hand in his own.

"You-... you look-... I just-," he had barely managed to stammer out, his heart almost beating out of his chest. "Wow." There really is no hope left for you, is there? he asked himself internally, desperately searching the corners of his mind to try and redeem himself for his failure to speak before he bowed his head to kiss her cheek, the memory of their encounter in the library fresh in his mind.

Salem was incredible. Stepping out of the fireplace and into the school was the most surreal experience, but he assumed that was mostly because he'd never thought about what the other school would be like before. The people who had put the effort into organising the ball and completely and utterly outdone themselves; the place was astounding to behold, but held little in comparison to the Gryffindor he was with.

"You-... I honestly mean it, Brooke. You're beautiful..."

((OOC: Er, oops! I got really engrossed when writing this... Brooke just wouldn't shut up! xD))

Dresses, high heels, makeup... These were some of the things that Brooke disliked in general. She much preferred her worn-out jeans and a random t-shirt, completed with a pair of slippers or sandals. But - along with her view of guys dating her - she found it was changing, for when her mother had offered her a shopping trip in preparation for the ball, she had agreed almost at once.

A total of an hour was spent darted through racks upon racks of dresses - a short time to most girls, but a lifetime to Brooke. She was raised to dress at a certain standard, and to never flaunt any of her lady parts. It was proving rather difficult to try on something that she liked, finding most of them too revealing or too immodest for her tastes. Finally, just as she was giving up, her mum had picked out something that had been perfect.

That had been a week earlier, and on the night of the ball, she stood nervously in front of the mirror in her dorm, trying to work up the courage to leave the room. She had changed her hair to suit the dress, and was wearing a pair of heels she had borrowed from her mother, along with a small clutch moleskin purse that belonged to her late grandmother. The person that stared back at her from the mirror looked nothing like the Brooke she knew, and she wasn't sure exactly what she thought of herself.

Finally, mostly because she was already running late, she met up with Joe. Seeing him dressed so smartly made her catch her breath, and, as he took her hand, she had to literally force herself to stand straight and keep breathing.

"You-... you look-... I just... Wow."

A nervous giggle left her, and she blushed. "Than-" she started, but then he had bent down, planted his lips against her cheek, and she lost her ability to speak completely. Butterflies and electricity flowed through her, making her feel as though her brain had short-circuited.

Swallowing nothing but air, she tried a smile. "Y-you look a-amazing," she managed to stutter out.

Had she come alone, or with somebody other than Joe, she would have marveled at the beauty of Salem, and the amazing decoration that had been so carefully arranged by the wonderful volunteers and committee. But, as they stepped out of the fireplace, she only had eyes for the man beside her. Joe Astrid was most definitely not a boy; to her, he was so, so much more. She would never be able to figure out why, out of all the girls in the school, he had picked her, the one girl who was not romantically intelligent, who would not be able to flirt and do whatever it was that girls did when they dated.

Tearing her gaze temporarily away from Joe, she looked around, suddenly feeling underdressed. Almost everywhere she looked, the dresses worn by the other females were so elegant and intricately designed. Hers was quite honestly rather plain and boring in contrast.

"You-... I honestly mean it, Brooke. You're beautiful..."

She blushed again, wondering if he had somehow managed to read her thoughts. How was it someone as plain as her could ever appear beautiful to someone like Joe? He was... "Amazing," she found herself saying it aloud. "Y-you're amazing," she quickly added, filling in what she had thought.

Brooke's Outfit (minus the face attached to the dress. xD):

(OOC: sorry it's so late!)

"Y-you look a-amazing,"

He blushed at that. There was something about the way she spoke that told Joe that she meant it, wholeheartedly and completely, not just a little. The adorable little stammer and her nervous giggle -neither of which had made themselves known to the boy before - made him chuckle a little as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Hey," he said softly, bending down to speak into her ear so only she could hear him. "Why so nervous? It's only me."

The Hufflepuff allowed her a moment to enjoy the room they had entered, taking the time to try and compose himself and just appreciate Brooke in all of her beauty. Her hair was a thing of marvel; he guessed it was a perk of being able to change whenever you wanted, but it was nonetheless quite astounding. The effortless swirls of blue and aqua had him in a semi state of awe, as always finding peace in the more intricate things in the Gryffindor.

"Y-you're amazing."

The word would never grow old to Joe, no matter how many times it left her lips. Each time, the sincerity with which her voice met his ears left him fighting against a smile that pulled at his own. "So you've said," he teased her, playfully winking in her direction. All of the other girls in the room- and some of the gentlemen too, it had to be said- would probably have made the prefect's jaw drop. Though, with Brooke in her dress and her hair and just herself in general before him, nothing else seemed to register except a rainbow - dresses and ties in colours he'd never seen such vast combinations of - creating a wonderful backdrop for her.

Honestly, to say that Joe knew what he was doing would be to lie horrendously. Was it too early to ask her to dance? Should he offer to go get her a drink? He went to the International Ball in his third year but that had mainly consisted of sitting around and talking briefly to a young Slytherin girl. For a moment, he wondered what had become of her; she seemed to have fallen off the face of the Earth after what Joe only ever referred to as the incident between them, which had resulted in a broken hand and a lot of tears, but then he remembered exactly who he was with and all of that ceased to exist in his happy little world.

"Wo-.." he started, neck and cheeks heating up already and he hadn't even managed to get a full word out. The boy uneasily chuckled it off, looking down into her eyes again the second he was okay to speak. "Would you maybe-... like t-to dance?"

((OOC: I'm even later! Sorry!))

"Why so nervous? It's only me."

A tiny giggle left her as her mind tried to figure out an answer. It didn't really come as a surprise to her that Joe read her like an open book; she had left herself transparent for that exact reason. She didn't want to have to hide anything from the Hufflepuff. Secrets, in her opinion, were not meant to be kept from those closest to you, and to hide anything would mean she didn't fully trust him.

"It's my first ball," she admitted. "And I'm spending it with you, which makes it even more special. I'm not ball material, if you don't already know." She paused and laughed slightly, knowing that what she was about to say was completely possible. "I don't want to mess things up by tripping over my dress or heels."

"So you've said,"

"And I'll keep saying it, too," she quipped, copying his wink. "Because it's true, and it's all I know to say about y-you, a-about this moment... About - a-about us."

Mentally she cursed at the darned stammer, which only ever appeared when she was with Joe. Somehow, there was something about him that took her bravery and all her courage and turned it a hundred and eighty degrees, so that she was left with nerves and that silly stammer. And yet, somehow, it felt right.

"Wo-.."

Tilting her head ever so slightly, she looked up into his face, waiting for him to continue. And, as always, the question came, with a stammer to match her own, and she smiled. "Joe, I would love to." She paused before continuing lightly. "Although, I must say, I'm not the best at it, so give me a chance to learn, okay?"