A desperate phone call

Although Nerissa didn’t like to admit it, she was feeling extremely insecure due to the kiss she and Andrew had shared, and decided not to look up from her Jell-O as she spooned some of it into her mouth; she wasn’t sure what to say or what not to say at the moment, and felt that perhaps, for the moment, words could be put on hold. The young female tapped her dirtied nails against the small container that the blue, squishy substance was held in until it got rather annoying, hoping that it would make the silence that was smothering her, feel a little less like standing alone under a spotlight, and more like a moment of silence with someone she had missed dearly.

Looking up for a moment to take another mental picture of the young man’s face, Nerissa set her Jell-O down on the nearest table, but when her eyes met his, she found that she would not be escaping them again any time soon; she felt as if her eyes had been turned to stone when she caught sight of his hazel orbs. “Um…” and suddenly she couldn’t remember what words sounded like when coming from her own throat, and found that ‘um’ was the only almost-a-word that was going to leave her lips.

It was strange how suddenly things had changed in the atmosphere- it wasn’t a bad change, it simply would take some getting used to for the poor, flustered Nerissa- and how quickly Nerissa had begun to feel safe and comforted when around someone who she knew was capable of protecting her.

Help me! Help me my prince, I have yet again been captured by the foul ruler of the underworld! I shall wait right here, and you shall come to my aid.

Andrew turned his head slightly to look at Nerissa, and she seemed to be at a point where she could not speak. "Everything alright?" he asked, with genuine concern in his eyes, but did not show anywhere else on his body. He almost felt himself go into a trance when he looked at Nerissa's green eyes, and didn't want to look away. He almost felt himself lean closer, but held himself back, listening to his own heart beat rise in tempo. He didn't know how Nerissa had felt about what they had just done, and didn't want to rush things too quickly. "Is there anything you want to watch?" he asked, quickly changing the subject to remove any tension or awkwardness that may have been lurking around them.

He looked around near him for the TV remote and finally found it lodged between two cushions next to him. He grabbed it, and examined the remote for the power button and found it on the top left. He pressed it and the TV suddenly burst to light, but no sound emerged from it. The screen had been showing some commercials for food and then a couple for some dangerous muggle diseases that Wizards could cure.

“Hmmm,” Nerissa replied pathetically, to his question of whether or not she was alright. Sure, she was fine, nothing was wrong with her, or her heart, even if it was thudding too fast to be natural, and her tongue wasn’t actually glued to the roof of her mouth, she just couldn’t find the words to speak. She was fine. Now who was Nerissa trying to convince? Herself or Andrew?

He was leaning closer, Nerissa could see the distance between the two of them shortening slowly, and could feel her lips tingle slightly when their faces were only a few inches apart- but then he turned away, and started fumbling with the television remote. Nerissa nodded and scratched her head, a light pink crawling over her cheeks as she looked away for a moment.

When the television’s screen came to life, Nerissa set her empty Jell-O cup down on the nearest table and turned her eyes to the screen, not actually caring for what was being displayed on the screen, but simply watching the blobs of color move about it in order to appear as if she wasn’t still thinking about the fact that Andrew had kissed her. She wondered for a moment, if when Andrew had said he was sorry, if he had meant to say that he was sorry he had kissed her in the first place, and that it had been a mistake. Nerissa shifted for a moment, a little uncomfortable for the moment.

After a few moments of silence, staring at the television with a blank expression, Nerissa stole a quick glance at Andrew, and decided to be rather bold; she scooted a bit closer to him without it actually being noticeable, and reached up, cupping one side of his face with her hand. She turned his face away from the screen slowly and paused for a moment before gently pressing her lips against his.

It was very unlike Nerissa to be so bold, but for some reason, she saw it important to make sure that he didn’t regret kissing her. She definitely didn’t want any of this to ruin their strong friendship, but then again, taking a chance felt so much more exciting.

Andrew had been caught off guard when Nerissa had put her hand on his face, and forced him to turn his head. He smiled slyly and then kissed Nerissa back as she made the first move towards him. He then couldn't hear what was on the TV anymore, and couldn't hear anything around them, everything was blocked out. He only focused on Nerissa, and pressing his lips harder to hers. He had begun to remember the time he had first met her, back at the Great Lake. Then everything seemed to procede in order up to the point where they were now. He wondered what would happen to them in the future, but the thought seemed to melt away at the chance. He only cared for the present and cared for her as well.

After a moment, he pulled away reluctantly and then smiled slyly as he did before. "I never knew you could be so bold," he said, gazing into her green eyes. He had not even realized that his hands were on her back and wondered if he should move them or not, but before he did, he said in a suave sort of voice "Well, what happens now?"

A strange feeling of relief washed over Nerissa when Andrew kissed her back, and she allowed herself to enjoy being that close to him for the time it lasted. The TV was pointless at the time, because it was clear that neither of them were paying any attention to it anymore. So the commercials that had probably cost companies hundreds to create were about as worthless to Nerissa as the empty Jell-O container sitting on the table.

And then came the question Nerissa had been trying to avoid; “What happens now?”. She inhaled slowly and tilted her head to the side, examining Andrew’s face, unable to keep her lips from curling upward into a smile. She wasn’t sure what would happen next for the two of them, and so she shook her head twice and rested her forehead against his, “Lets just let that figure itself out, hmmm?” she spoke quietly, her palm still pressed gently against the skin of the side of his face. When Nerissa thought of being with Andrew, her mind found some way to involve Ne’Os in those thoughts, and that wasn’t something she wanted to think about; he could easily ruin everything for the two of them, and she knew that it was risky business.

Andrew smiled again, his face showing features of happiness. He pressed his lips gently on hers, feeling reality slip through his fingers. He kept his face close to hers and said in an calm tone "I guess we could go see a movie. Or have dinner or something." It was a weird way to ask someone out, but Andrew was pretty much the definition of weird. He had defied death a couple of times already, saved a few people, dodged a collapsing pyramid, and fought in an alternate reality. Yeah, Andrew wasn't normal in the least. He moved his left hand, and grabbed the remote, pressing the small red button on the top left, shutting down the large television and leaving the entire room in a quiet environment. Excluding the random cars honking, the police siren going off, and the soft patter of rain drops on the windows.

The idea of leaving the safety of Andrew’s apartment left Nerissa feel somewhat uncertain; the last time she had left a safe home in order to walk the streets she had ended up… well, it was an evening Nerissa didn’t like to relive. Nerissa hoped that her eyes hadn’t betrayed that sudden feeling of fear that had filled her heart, causing it to jump a few times beneath her ribcage, rattling the fragile bones. She knew that Andrew was capable of keeping her safe, but there was still that nagging feeling in the back of her mind that told her it wasn’t a wise idea.

“Do you have an umbrella?” she asked, going against everything that her mind and her damaged soul where telling her; Nerissa didn’t want to be held back from having a good time with someone she liked because of what had happened to her in the past. It is over now, so let go of it. Open up your clenched fist, and release that doubt and fear. There was a new part of her brain commanding her now; the half of her brain that told her stay was now being overpowered by a more daring half, egging Nerissa on, daring her to move forward.

“I know of a brilliant place…” she added with a grin; the place she was speaking of had once been her favorite place in the entire world, and was a place she hadn’t been able to visit since the summer before she had returned to Hogwarts for her fourth year. “Could we… not apperate though… please?” she asked, fallowed by a quiet laugh- oh how she hated traveling by apperation.

Andrew pretended to look hurt, like he did back at Sophias Party and then said "Darn I like appartating. Really gets the blood through your veins!" He then chuckled to himself slightly and then stood up. "Sounds good. I'll be right back," he said and went towards his room. He felt himself nearly jogging as he went into his room and went to his dresser. He grabbed his usual gray jacket and wallet from the middle shelve and put them over his shirt. He then went over to the bathroom and examined his face. He then ripped off a small Band-Aid and used Ekipsky on the small wound. After the flash of light disappeared, the wounds that had once been on his face was now gone. He loved magic sometimes. He then grabbed what appeared to be 2 leather gloves off his sink and placed them inside his pocket. He ran back out and then appraoched Nerissa. "Ready when you are!" he said smiling.

The redhead looked down at her clothes and bit her lip; she looked rather disastrous at the moment, but for some reason, she really didn’t care. Nerissa could clean up later, what she really wanted to do was spend some time with Andrew. They had been apart for quite a while, and she felt that if she left him that she wouldn't be able to find him again when she wanted to come back.

“Yes, I’m ready. Do you have a car or anything?” she asked him out of curiosity; it was a rather far walk from where they were, and she didn’t really think that walking about London in the rain sounded like too much fun. Sure they had umbrellas, but it was rather cold outside, Nerissa had learned that earlier that morning. How early was it at the time? How much time had Nerissa already spent as a free human being? Nerissa hadn’t a clue, and decided that those tiny little details could wait for a time when they were actually important.

Nerissa stood up off of the sofa and straightened, tucking a few strands of her tangled hair behind her ears in order to keep them out of her eyes. She smiled, her warm eyes glittering for a moment.

Andrew nodded in a way that said 'sort of'. "I have a motorcycle," he said calmly walking over to the counter and grabbing the keys to the motorcycle and his house "but I could always call a cab if you want me to. It'd be no trouble at all. He then looked back into her eyes, and nearly froze up where he stood. He felt intoxicated by her smile and it made him smile himself. "So um..." he said blinking a couple of times "where's this place you were talking about? A restaurant, a movie theater?" He almost felt himself wish it was a restaurant, as he could almost hear his stomach trying to tell him it. He had not remembered the last time he had ate, and assumed it was hours ago.