Darling, a beautiful thing is never perfect

Charlotte Grace Waldorf had the biggest problem this morning.
To be more specific, she had no idea what to wear to her first date with Christian?
What if it is not the date? Or what if it is the date and she is casual clothes? What if she wear something nice and then look like she put too much effort on that? Or if she doesn't put enough effort?

The problem was more than obvious and after two hours she finally found the perfect look.
She decided that she looked pretty but not too much.

When she decided to find Christian he was already waiting for her in front of Ravenclaw door.

"Hi" she smiled when she saw him. He was pretty as always. Of course.
"So, shall we go?" she was excited, to be honest.
It will be her first time at Hogsmeade and she heard great things about that place.

@Christian Zabini

Christian wasn't what you might call smooth. Let's not pretend otherwise. But he did his best to be charming, so.. that was something at least, right? He was indeed standing outside the door, but he did his best to appear at least vaguely casual as he leaned against the wall across from the Ravenclaw portrait.

It wasn't particularly easy, considering he didn't often do the dating thing, but knowing that Charlotte was interested quite certainly helped ease his mind. So when she appeared, he just smiled right back.

"Hey," he offered in return, nodding firmly. "Yeah, I'm all set."

So he gestured for her to lead the way downstairs, and as they made the way out onto the grounds, he did his best to make casual smalltalk, asking about her morning and whether she was caught up on homework. But soon they were outside, and that made things much easier. They had room to breathe, there, and it was a space where he felt more comfortable.

Considering the places she might like to visit, he tried to determine where they ought to start. "So I was thinking. There are a few places we could pick from for lunch. The tea shop is.. rubbish, frankly, but we could go round The Three Broomsticks - one of the pubs - for lunch if you like."

Charlotte looked at Christian and for what she had a chance to see, he looked a little bit nervous.
She was actually glad to see that because that meant she wasn't the only one.
She smiled at him and started walking through the castle until they were finally out.

Charlotte couldn't lie and tell it was her first date but it was definitely... something.
She has never been nervous like this before. Maybe because she wasn't sure what he feels. In the past, she was sure about what boys think but now, her mind was empty.
She had no idea how this would work, maybe after this, they would realize that they are not the right for each other. So, no pressure.

Small talk was weird, at least if you ask Charlotte.
It was quite fascinating. While they were just friends everything was easy and natural. The talk wasn't weird.
And now, this one was the most awkward thing she has ever seen.
But she tried to look like this is something normal, not something new at all.

"Yeah, that sounds good" the fact was, she didn't know if that was good or not. He said about some pubs... but she has never been there before so for her, everything was good or at least should be.

Charlotte wasn't particularly forthcoming or open to suggesting ideas, but Christian couldn't take that as anything other than discomfort on her part. She didn't know much about Hogsmeade, as she could only have heard of it in passing from her classmates or the students who were in Ravenclaw with her. But he had hoped she might look a bit more excited. Nerves, he knew, could get the better of anyone.

He did kind of wish she'd started some kind of conversation, though. Now it was back on him, and he didn't know enough about her interests outside of class. Apparently, it was time to find out.

"So," he began quietly, his hand swinging casually along next to hers as he tried to decide if he could just reach and take it. "Tell me something about life back home. How it's... different, or the same. Whatever comes to mind."

Maybe he would like if she asks him something?
But to be honest, she didn't know what to ask.
If she was on the date with a Muggle boy, she would just ask something about cars or football. But she doubted he would like to talk about something silly as that.

Charlotte looked at his hand for just a moment and for some reason, she was glad that he didn't try to reach for her hand just yet. She had the idea that if he took her hand, things would get more awkward.
Everything was easier when she was drunk.

"What do you want to know? My life isn't that much interesting if we compare it with the wizarding world." She frowned a little bit and looked at him.
"I have a lot of friends there, which may shock you. But they are all snobs and shallow." Charlotte admitted when she realized her friends really are like that. All they care about is money and privileges. They are friends only with elites, and in her word, she was one of them.

"Tell me something about you? If you are Muggle I would just ask you something about football or cars, but you are not so maybe... What is your favorite broom?" She really tried to stay serious. Mostly because she wasn't joking but she couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face.

"I'm not shocked that you have friends acknowledge home," he corrected her gently. "I just kind of figured that you missed them or liked them better. Maybe that you resented having to be here instead of with them." Christian shrugged despite the slight frown on his face. "Hopefully that isn't the case so much anymore?"

Charlotte seemed pleased with the question she had come up with, and frankly it was rather funny considering his job during the summers and the future he likely had at the family store. But Quidditch was hard for him to joke about, even now. It had been years. He should have been fine by now, right?

Except he wasn't yet.

"I, uh.." he took his time, trying to look like he was just thinking about it. Certainly she'd heard about the accident? Maybe not, if she was so withdrawn back then. "I'm not sure. My brother might have a real answer for you. I just sort of run the money side of things at the store."

Christian felt guilty for turning down her conversation idea, so he did his best to turn it around, offering a smile as he quickly went on. "I do, however, know a great deal about Exploding Snaps and Wizard's Chess. I will gladly destroy you in a match if the opportunity arises."

"I don't really know how to explain everything now." Charlotte frowned while thinking about his words and question. What if she says something that would look bad? Maybe he would see that she isn0t perfect girl.
So she was thinking about the best way to explain everything.
Is that really the case? Probably it is.
She always hated this place because, while being here, she can't be with her friends. But are people here really better than her friends? Probably they are.

"The thing is, I know those people. I grow up with them. I know what they like, what they feel to be bad, and I know what I can expect from them. Here, everything is different" she reached her hand in the hope she can actually show him this place and make him understand her.
"I don't know people here despite the fact that I am here for six years." She paused for a moment before continuing.
"I am starting to like this place, and some people here, but I am still nostalgic about home and my friends there" she decided that the truth is the best way. There is no lies that could make things better than truth.

"It's okay if you don't have the answer, you know" she tried to realize what is the thing that made him seem this uncomfortable but she had no idea what she said wrong. She used to think all boys likes to talk about the sport, but she found the one who doesn't want to talk about that at all. But that was fine. At least she doesn't have to pretend that she actually knows anything about sports.
But then she remembered she didn't say him that one thing about sport.
"Oh, I didn't tell you. I am in Quidditch team now. I am not sure yet what I am supposed to do, we will have training but I realized that sport my look good in my resume" she shrugged. That was the truth. Charlotte Waldorf doesn't like sports. But she likes idea about being at college.

"Hey, just to know, I am the best in chess" she smiled and shook her head. Finally, things aren't that awkward as before.
"I'll be more than happy to play with you, you can learn how the play from the best. Although, I'm not sure if the magic chess is the same like those muggles play."