Innocence (Aria and Jet)

Jet adjusted his bow tie, making sure it was perfectly straight before leaving it, not letting himself fidgit nervously. He glanced at Karma through the small group of people she'd lured onto the dancefloor. Running his hand through his hair, he looked back at the door with expectation on his facel he hoped Aria would get there soon. He hadn't really seen her since that day in the common room, where he'd met her.

Aria had gotten side-tracked talking to a particularly interesting painting, so didn't make her way straight to the Great Hall as she had intended. She did finally make her way to the Ball, smiling and greeting those she passed. Walking into the exquisitely decorated hall, Aria gave a delighted gasp, hands clapping together. It looked so nice!!

When she managed to tear her gaze from the decor, she looked around for Jet, smiling widely when she spotted him. The blonde quickly made her way over to him.

"You look very pretty, tonight!" Aria complimented enthusiastically, then waved her hands to negate what she'd just said. "No. You look very handsome, tonight. Because you're a boy. I'm a girl; I look pretty."

Jet smiled at the girl, eyeing her dress with distinct approval. "Yes. You look simply amazing." He said, taking her hand and leading her into a slow spin so he could observe all of the dress from every angle. "And nice earrings." He added, noticing the things dangling from her ears. They looked extremely uncomfortable, but he knew better than to say so. "Would you like to dance, or have some punch first?" He asked, being a perfect gentleman.

"Thank you," Aria said politely.

"Punch? Oh, the juice," the girl shook her head. "I'm not thirsty. We can dance. I don't think I'll be very good, though. I didn't get to practice much. But I'm light, so if I step on your toes, it won't hurt!" She smiled brightly up at him.

Jet smiled a crooked little half smile that was pretty darn cute. "Then let's dance."and He led her onto the dancefloor, placing both of her arms where they were supposed to be, one on his arm, one on his shoulder, and placed his hands on her waist and shoulder, ignoring the flush that he felt in his hands and leading her into the appropriate dance for a ball. His family had had plenty of balls, and so he knew the proper ediquette for ballroom dancing. Later, he'd show Aria some more upbeat dancing, but right now he was content to just dance with her.

"So tell me, what's your favorite color?"

"You have a nice smile," Aria said as Jet showed her where to place her hands. "It's..." She frowned thoughtfully as she searched for the proper word. "Charming. Or cute. It might be both. I'm not sure."

The girl followed his lead with the grace that seemed to come naturally to her. She grinned at the question.

"I like green!" she exclaimed. "And orange and red and brown and yellow and blue - I like them all!" Aria gave a happy laugh. "But orange and red and green are the best. And blue.

"Do you have a favorite color? What is it?"

Jet smiled again, because she thought she had a nice smile. It was cliche, but he wanted her happy. "My favorite color is the blue the sky becomes just as the sun disappears." He shrugged, accidentally rubbing her waist. "Its a nice color. I'll show it to you sometime." He promised.

"Alright. Your turn to ask a question. Any question you want."

"Oh! That sounds very pretty!"

She tilted her head, trying to think of a question. Her head was always full of questions, of course, but none of them seemed appropriate at the moment, so she thought of another.

"What's your favorite animal?" Aria asked in a burst of inspiration. She loved animals. "I like cats. And rats. But they don't like each other, very much."

He was smiling again. This must be the most he smiled ever, even when he was with that one circus that one time...

She was just so Adorable!!

Jet thought, still leading the dance. "I like wolves. And cats too." He smiled down at her (still smiling, he noticed) and asked her favorite book.

"Oh! I've seen pictures of wolves. I read about them, too," Aria said. "I wanna see one some time. Do you have a wolf?"

The blonde didn't even have to think about the answer to the next question. "The Dictionary," she answered. "I've learned all sorts of words from it. I also like the Encyclopedia Wizactica and Alice in Wonderland. But that is fiction. It's not real. Though, I think some of the stuff in it is possible...

"What is your favorite book?"

Jet thought for a second. "Definate "A Tale of 1000 NIghts." He said. Then, he explained. "Its supposed to be a book you can't finish in a life time. There's over 1000 stories. They each tell of a different person in the same country. Its a great read, if you get a translator." Jet smiled. "Your turn."

"Oh! I will read it, sometime!" Aria declared.

The blonde looked up at him, blue and brown gaze bright with curiosity. "Why did you ask me to the dance?" the girl wanted know. "It's very nice, I like being here with you, but I think some of the other girls were disappointed. Probably because they think I'm nothing but a pretty face with rocks for brains." She repeated the words she had heard earlier in the year, from the time she realized she was what was considered 'odd'.

"Why did you choose me?" Aria was genuinely curious to know.

Jet's eyes widened, surprized with the rage he felt corsing through him. "Who said that about you?" He asked through clenched teeth. He was glaring around at the girls closest to them, trying to devise which of them was the culprit. "Don't you ever believe a word of what they say bad about you."

His gaze returned to hers. "I brought you here because you are the most amazing girl I know. You've learned alot in your first year here, but even though you've still got loads to learn, you're learning faster than anyone I know." His eyes were open and earnest as they searched hers. "You're not annoying, and you aren't stupid, and you don't have rocks for brains. You're just trying to learn. If you weren't, how would you ever get smarter?" He offered her a small smile. "And that's why I brought you."

"I don't remember," Aria spoke the lie without hesitation, the words rolling easily off her tongue. She did remember, of course. She had a perfect memory. Part of her felt a bit... pleased that Jet seemed to be angry about what someone else had said, especially since Aria had found the words rather hurtful.

"Oh..." she said, giving a warm smile. She looked away, and did something she'd never done before.

Aria blushed.

Jet, without really thinking about it, reached out and touched her cheek, his eyes locked on the flush that now emanated from her pale skin. He smiled. "I've never seen you blush before." He said softly. "It's quite nice, I think." He returned his hand to her shoulder somewhat reluctantly, smiling.

"Alright, my turn, If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

For Arsen not to resent me, was the first thought that came to Aria's mind. Her thoughts really did tend to revolve around the half-demon who was charged with her care.

"Anything in the world?" she asked, instead, frowning thoughtfully. "That's a lot to choose from! Um..."

What did she want? "Mm. I want lots of pets," Aria decided. "And a biiig garden, and a huge library, and I want to live for years and years and years and years with the people I like best." She smiled up at him. "What do you want?"

Jet smiled down at her eagerness. "I want you to get what you want, of course. I have a garden at home. You should come see it sometime. My mother kept it nice. and after... I just took care of it." He hummed softly. "Your turn."

"I would like to see it!" Aria declared happily.

Her brow puckered slightly as she thought. Thinking of questions was becoming harder and harder. "Oh, I know! What is your favorite thing? Mine is fire. Fire is very nice, don't you think? It's warm and pretty and give light. Fire is very useful."

"My favorite thing?" Jet asked, a bit bemused. "I dunno. I have a lot of things I like, but not a lot that I would want above something else..." He thought about it, his eyes going over her head as he searched his mind for an adequate answer.

"I guess my favorite thing right now would be... you." He grinned, his eyes going back to hers as he led her into an elegant twirl. "Alright then, Beautiful. What's your favorite class?"

Aria's eyes went wide. "Me?" She waited for the twirl to complete before continuing. "Why am I your favorite thing?

"I like Transfiguration class! I really like turning things into animals - they're so cute! I like all my classes, though, because I want to know everything! What's your favorite class? Do you have a favorite spell?"