Contemplating....and a Picnic (Jake/Aurie)

Jake sat down in the Forest Clearing.

Lately, he had felt like he was being stifled. He missed those days when he was with his father, roaming the world and never feeling tied down. He'd been staying here for more than a month, and he felt like he was being choked.

Of course, there were upsides. There were his friends, who were all very nice, and Aurelie, of course, who he still fancied (but was too wimpy to ask out).

So he decided that day, to go on a picnic.

This ought to be fun.

(OOC: I realized I never really said how I looked, so sorry for the boring, self-concious part)

Aurelie, for once in her life, was feeling good about her appearance.

It was a rare thing to happen to her. Mostly, she felt normal about herself, and didn't really care about the way she looked. But this morning, she woke up to find that her hair was in really nice waves. Waves. So she let it down and put on a nice shirt and a skirt that hugged her legs softly.

And who did she bump into?

Jake.

What a nice day to look good for.

"Jake?" Aurelie said, amazed. "What're you doing here?"

The sun softly illuminated Jake's outline as he swiveled to look at her. There was a blanket set out on the floor and a basket.

A picnic.

Jake whirled around as there was a soft, "Jake?" from behind him.

And he saw Aurelie.

Jake gulped.

Aurelie always looked pretty, he knew that well. But today, she had taken time with her appearance, as it appeared.

She was....

Beautiful? Stunning?

All of those fit.

"What're you doing here?" Aurelie asked.

Jake tore his eyes away from her and frowned. "Uh.....I decided to have a picnic." Aurelie blushed and he included, "Want to join?"

"Sure!" Aurelie said, still blushing.

Invited? Her? To a picnic?

Well, this ought to be interesting, she thought.

Jake smiled at her and pushed his hair away from his head.

Then they heard something.

The silvery song of a song started up, from who knows where. Jake felt his face turn bright red and he coughed.

A gentleman does these things, he told himself.

"May I have this dance?"

Aurelie blushed again and took his hand. "Of course," she said. "Why not?"

Jake's hand tingled where she touched it and he slowly spun her around, the sun dancing on her hair.

Ridiculously sappy, he was, he thought.

But it was true.

"You're lovely," he said. "Lovelier than Cecilia, who got kicked out of Hogwarts, by the way."

Aurelie frowned. "Who's Cecilia?"

"She, uh, kissed me," Jake said hurriedly, knowing that he did something wrong-he just couldn't remember what he did wrong.

Right. He was kissed.

Aurelie dropped his hands like they were fire and pushed her hair way from her face. "You were kissed." Her voice was flat. "Less than two days ago. And you conveniently forgot to tell ME until today when it slipped out of your mouth."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Am I correct?"

Jake took Aurelie's elbow. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "She kissed me, not the other way around." He guided her closer and gave her a light hug.

Aurelie trembled as Jake hugged her, but the knot of betrayal still gnawed at her. At least the girl got kicked out of Hogwarts, she consoled herself, but tears still clung in a film to her eyes.

And when she looked up, he was looking down.

Jake saw the betrayal in Aurie's face, and he mentally cursed himself. So instead, he hugged her even tighter, and then finally let go.

"Uh...would you like to eat?" he asked feebly.

Aurelie nearly burst out into tearful laughter when Jake unskillfully turned the subject. "Uh, sure," she said, smearing the tears off of her eyes and letting them be dried by the sun. "What's in it?"

"Sandwiches," Jake said hopelessly. "Juice. Cookies. Even some candy." He messed up his hair and let his hand fall to his side. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Aurelie said, sitting down. "Sandwiches? What kind?" She grinned as she saw that they were PB&J. "Muggle-worthy, Jake."

Looking down, she smoothed out the crinkles in her dress. "Heh."

Jake nearly laughed at the funny sound that erupted from Aurelie's throat. "Heh?" he asked, chuckling. "What was that?"

"Yeah, they're PB&Js," Jake said. "I've grown addicted to them on my travels around the world."

"It was...it was..." Aurelie stuttered, trying to think of a response. "It was an awesome noise...duh!" She blushed. "Really, Jaffle, I would think that you would know what an awesome noise was!"

He raised a skeptical eyebrow at her.

"Awesome noise?" Jake made a noise that was unelegant and something that sounded like a trumpet. "That is probably a very stupid word." Aurelie glared at him. "No offense of course." He gave her a cheeky grin.

"Stupid?" Aurelie hit Jake and scowled at him. "Psh. As if!"

Aurelie turned around and nearly fell into a patch of flowers.

As it was, she hit her face.

"Aurelie?" Jake rushed over to the girl, who was giggling uncontrollably. "Aurelie, are you alright?"

More laughter.

She's insane, Jake thought with a groan.

Aurelie giggled some more and then sighed. "Doesn't the sunlight make you feel lucky to be alive?" she asked dreamily.

"Uh, I guess," Jake said, watching her as she smiled brightly at the sun. "Maybe. I don't feel lucky to be alive actually."

Disappointment flashed across Aurelie's face. "It doesn't?" she asked. "Why not?"

"Well, it simply doesn't," Jake said. "Really, what's so spectacular about life?"