Warmth...

[Samantha]

Samantha walked out of the school with a black beanie over her head to keep her ears warm, and her snow white hair came flowing out the bottom. She also had on a long purple cloak, a purple scarf, and also, purple mittens.

She walked down to the little road that lead down to Hogsmeade. She was freezing even with her layers on, and she was happily watching her breath as she walked along humming a Christmas carol to herself. She loved this time of year- it was amazingly beautiful, she loved the way the air was fresh and crisp whenever she would breathe in. Nothing could ruin the time around Christmas.

Sam walked through the busy streets filled with shopping students, she smiled absently at people she knew and perhaps said hi. She was set on going to the three broomsticks for some warmth and hot chocolate. It felt like forever though before she got there, to many people around and running into each other for her liking.

Her little covered hands pushed open the door and she stepped in quietly. For a moment she stood there looking around the cozy tavern and found a table over near the fire. Sam sat down happily and warmed up by the fire. All she needed now was a little company.

[Rice]

The mysterious boy, Rice, watched as his friend Samantha walked into a comfy looking tavern. He wasn't stalking her at all, no not at all, he was simply shopping for more christmas presents for his friends without trying to be found out by them. He quickly grabbed up his bags of gifts and walked into the tavern to follow the girl.

Once he was inside he noticed how much more warm and quiet it was in the tavern. He stood in the doorway for a small time looking for his friend. Then he spotted her by the fireplace, his heart skipped a beat when he remembered that her present was in one of the bags he had in his hands. He quickly went to the bartender and asked him if the man could watch the bags for him.

The boy nodded to the tender and thanked him gratefully. Once done there he quickly made his way over to the fireplace and sat himself down next to the girl with a big smile on his face. He bit his lip and chuckled "Hey there Samantha. How are you today? I saw you come in here before when I was in town, I thought you might need some company?" He seemed to be getting quite warm, whether from the fire or from sitting close to the girl he kind of had a crush on, he didn't know but he didn't mind either, it was kind of relaxing and nice.

[Samantha]

She heard the door open and close and thought nothing of it. She hadn't been sitting down to long and didn't really expect any of her friends to be showing up. Either they were shopping with their boyfriends, or other friends. Some were up at the school, deciding it wasn't worth the cold walk down. But when she heard the footsteps coming toward her little table, she looked out the corner of her eye only to see Rice, the boy from the lake, who had been down to Hogsmeade a lot lately.

She couldn't help but let the smile pass across her face, and feeling her breath catch in her throat a little bit. But as she heard him speak she calmed herself down, not wanting to make a huge fool of herself in front of him. As he spoke she listened and smiled at him, pulling off her cloak, mittens, hat and scarf. She had on a pair of ripped blue jeans and a tight, black tee shirt.

She tossed her hair out of her face, putting it behind her back. "I'm good thanks, and always love company." She said, her emerald eyes bright and cheerful, as she spoke with him. "And, how are you?" She asked him, locking her eyes with his.

[Rice]

The boy just smiled at her, gazing into her beautiful green eyes with his cranberry eyes. He reached over and grabbed one of her hands with his, her hand a bit warmer than his since he had just come in. He lifted her hand to his mouth, his eyes not leaving hers, and kissed it politly. "I'm doing great, now that I get to spend time with you."

After kissing her hand he held it on the table with both of his hands now. He continued staring into her eyes and then looked towards the fireplace. "Samantha, are you busy on Christmas Day? Are you going home for the holiday?" He bit his bottom lip gently, a bad habbit, and looked down at their hands, sort of dreading her answer.

[Samantha]

She blushed a little as he kissed her hand not really knowing what to think. It seemed he was more of a gentlemen then most. She liked that about him. She smiled genuinly at his answer. She was glad he liked to spend time with her. are you busy on Christmas Day? Are you going home for the holiday. She heard him, and it almost made her sad to think about it. No she wouldn't be going home for chirstmas. She didn't have a home. She didn't have anyone to go see.

She smiled, still, though. Not wanting him to see her sad, again. "Nope, I'll be here." She said quietly. The feeling of the Tavern just seemed to make everything seem like it should be quiter, or maybe just the subject. She didn't really know. She just hoped tonight would go well.

[ooc: ugh spell check isn't working on my computer a the moment, sorry, i am a horrid speller, so if somethings not rgiht im sorry, and my muse ran off today..my posts are sucking. ♥]

[Rice]

The boy's eyes widened at her answer and he quickly looked up at her, very excited. He squeezed her hand a little bit in his excitement and smiled big "Would you spend Christmas with me? I would love to spend more time with you, if you want to of course." His cheeks were blushing but it wasn't very visible since the warm fire's embers seemed to echo off his face.

[Samantha]

Anyone probably could have guess that was coming. But hearing him say it made her smile even brighter, and made her feel a lot better. She thought about it for a second, acting as though she really needed to think about it. "Hmmmmm...." She said, just to be a pain, then she laughed.

"Of course I will." She said happily. She looked up at him, thinkging she could almost detect a blush, but she was usure. She just smiled. Sam couldn't help but be happy, no one had ever just wanted to spend time with her, but he did. And that meant a lot to her.

Her smile sofented a bit. "Why me?" She asked him, interested in what he would say.

[Rice]

The boy frowned and sort of paniced a little bit when he saw that she was thinking about it. The thought that she might not want to spend time with him on Christmas Day made him think that she didn't like him, but then he saw that she was just playing around with him and he laughed with her. He gently kissed her hand once more and smiled at her warmly "You really want to spend Christmas with me?" He asked giddly.

After he heard her ask, why me?, he blinked at her for a few minutes. Wasn't it obvious to her the way he felt about her? Maybe she hadn't a clue, but he would tell her anyhow. "Because you're beautiful, you make me happy everytime I see you and talk to you and you're special to me. You're like no one else I've ever met. I like to make you happy when you're sad and I like to keep you company." He gave her another warm smile and leaned in to give her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

[Samantha]

Samantha's thoughts were scattered and she was smiling like a fool, she really did want to spend Christmas with him. She liked spending time with him in general.

Her eyes lit up even more when he told her why he wanted to spend time with her. He could have been lying and she wouldn't have cared right then. She just needed to hear him say that. To make it mean something. To know she meant something to someone.

Sam's cheek felt warm where he had kissed her. She smiled at him, sweetly, happily. She scooted over closer to him. "I like you keeping me company too." She said, still a smile on her lips.

[sorry its so short and cruddy, its 3 am, and im so tired but cant sleep...i think i have some sort of stomach flu..
forgive me for my bad post?]

[Rice]

The boy smiled and blushed a little more when he heard her say that she liked to spend time with him. He gave her another warm smile and stood up, moving over to her for a warm embrace "I'm glad you like to spend time with me. It makes me happy to know that." He said, his voice soft and caring.

As he hugged her his hands rubbed her back slowly and then he felt that he needed to sit down, so he did. Soon after sitting down he grabbed her hand again and intertwined their fingers. "So, have to done any Christmas Shopping yet? I could help you pick out things and if you need money I could give you some."

ooc: Lol, don't worry about it. I forgive you.

[Samantha]

Samantha hugged him back, glad to feel the way she did when she was around him. She liked this feeling of happiness, and knowing he felt the same. Her hand felt good in his. She smiled some more.

Christmas shopping? Hm.... She thought to herself, realizing she hadn't even been thinking about that. She smiled at the thought of him being so sweet.

"Actually, I don't usually buy Christmas gifts for people; I make them." She said smiling. She usually drew something or made a potion of sorts, and gave them to people. She liked doing artsy things, and she liked giving a lot of thought to peoples gifts.

"Wanna walk around though?" She asked, figuring the streets should have calmed by now, and they could look in all the neat shops lit up brightly by Christmas lights and decorations. As they sat there in the warmth of the little tavern, her emerald eyes sparkled in the light of the fire. She was happy again, at least for a few minutes, she was really happy.