The knock I'm expecting cuts me off before I can double guess my clothing choices. It's just as well. If left to my own devices, there's a chance I'll just keep changing outfits all night and never actually get to the party.
"Come in," I call.
The door opens slowly, no doubt to give me chance to tell him no before he actually gets here.
"You look beautiful," Caspian says the moment it's fully open.
"Thank you." I shift from side to side, not knowing what else to do with the compliment.
"Can I come in and say hello to the kittens?" he asks.
"Of course, sorry. Can I get you anything? A drink?" A kiss? I don't say the last one aloud, but I'm wondering if that's what he expects from tonight. So far, he's been a little too good to be true. But then, he might be a genuine guy who I'm suspicious of for no reason.
"I'm okay, thank you." He strides into the room and towards my bed where the two kittens are currently perched. "No new kitten today?" he asks as he scratches Ginger's head.
"There's still time," I mutter under my breath. "I haven't tried to use my wand today," I admit louder.
I still go for it just as often as I used to. It's a hard habit to break when magic is the answer for everything, but I know I can't risk doing too much magic. Having two kittens is going to be challenging enough, I don't need more of them cluttering up the place.
"Are you ready to go?"
I nod, not wanting to say anything aloud in case my nerves get the better of me and I blurt out that I'm nervous as hell and don't really want to go at all. That's not the best way to repay his kindness. Especially when Ginger and Rhubarb are loving his gifts.
"Perfect. Do you have a jacket?"
Relaxing slightly, I let out a laugh. "Clearly you've never dated a Northern girl before. We don't need jackets." I leave the room, hoping he'll catch up. And that I have everything. Other than my phone, some money and my keys, I don't need anything anyway.
"So this is a date?"
Oops. "Isn't it?"
"I wasn't going to call it that, but mostly because I don't want to freak you out."
"Yes, I like that option. Let's use that one," I say hastily.
"Even though you already used the d-word?" He chuckles lightly.
"We're going to pretend I didn't, and both go through with tonight pretending that we don't know the other one thinks it's a date," I inform him as I lock my bedroom door. Thankfully, the kittens seem to be the well behaved sort and haven't ruined anything so far. Leaving them alone doesn't seem too risky all things considered.
"Your wish is my command." He holds the door open for me to slip through.
"Thank you."
We chat away on our way down the halls, mostly about nothing in particular. The weather mostly. I think. It's hard to tell because I'm so lost in the haze of having someone like Caspian next to me. I'm still not too sure why he actually wants to spend his time with me, but I suppose it will become apparent in time. At least, I hope it will.
Just like with Caspian's party, I can hear the music long before we arrive at the flat hosting it. I've never felt so relieved to have a quiet group of girls sharing my living space. Even now I seem to have progressed to going to parties, I like peace and quiet far too much to want to have to listen to it.
"Who's the host again?" I ask.
"No idea. My flatmate told me about it."
"And they don't mind that we just show up?" I check for people around us, hoping one of them will have the answer I'm looking for, even if I don't know what that answer is.
"I think that's just how parties work. People show up, have a good time, no one knows all the people who were there, and that's fine with everyone else."
"Huh." Never really being a party person, I'll admit to having no idea about any of this.
"Want me to go get you a drink?" he asks.