Herbology in the Rain {{Caroline}}

[lexa]

Caroline had no idea what was happening. First, she finally gets the guts to come see the deaf love of her life, then trips enough to get his attention. Then he asks her to stay, which makes her heart jump, and she agrees. Then, he hurts himself and she uses a charm to heal him, and then he kisses her? This was so unreal! But he seemed to know what he was doing, so she just went along with it.

His lips caressed her fingertips, and it was the most amazing sensation her hands had ever felt. She'd always wanted to know what it would feel like to be touched by Michael Shane Goldstein. It was one of those dreams that she figured were way up there, in the never possible section of her dreams.

And then he pointed to her, motioning a heart. Love? Is that what that meant? It seemed kind of obvious that's what it meant. She swallowed hard, catching her breath and just stared at him. She usually had trouble making eye contact, seeing as her shyness got in the way, but now she looked him right in the eye. "You love me...?"

Those words, oh how she loves them! If she was translating his obvious hand movements correctly, he'd just said I love you. She must've been dreaming. She wanted to pinch herself! No, that wasn't enough. She'd have to do something ten times more painful than a tiny pinch to wake her up from this type of dream. There was no way that Michael could possible love her, was there? I mean... the heart...

Oh, I feel smart, she thought to herself. She looked at the heart closer up now to see it had C.L. written inside. Caroline Lockhart. Ugh, she felt so stupid! So he really did love her then? If he did, why hadn't he said anything earlier! She was the shy one who didn't even say anything when the professors asked her to. If he loved her so bad, then why hadn't he done something like this before? Well, minus the bleeding, of course.

[msg]

Michael began to worry. She obviously understood what he had told her, and noticed the heart he had tried to hide earlier. She had looked him dead in the eye and asked him if he loved her. He smiled, and shyly nodded yes. However, her reaction was not exactly what he had hoped for. She seemed to be more in shock that actually pleased that the school's deaf guy was in love with her. He did not want her to think he had tried to hide it from her. Yet, he did not know exactly what to say, or do. He moved his hand, and said:

"Yes, I never could build up the nerve to tell you. I mean, you are so beautiful to me. I never imagined you would even like me." He could still taste her on his lips. She had kissed back, and that had sent sparks throughout his body. Even though his arm ached, he had been lost in her touch. He wanted nothing more than to explode into motion, bring her close to him, kiss her once again, make her know that his love was real. Yet, he did not dare. He had no clue how she felt for him.

Michael tilted his head, lifted his good arm, and moved a lose piece of hair from her eyes. He did not break eye contact other than the brief moment he looked down to her lips to see what she was saying. Now, he looked down at them again. The perfect curve of her upper lip made his heart move faster in his chest. He wished she would just kiss him, smile to him, tell her he was silly, something. Anything. Michael never felt so nervous in all his life.

[lexa]

Caroline had no idea what to think. She understood his hand motions perfectly, yet her mind wouldn't accept it. Nothing had ever come so easy to her. Not in relationships. Sure, her photographic memory made everything in class completely simple, but when it came to even friends or anything social, she was lost. So how could she even begin to think that the deaf love her life might actually have feelings for her in return? It was unreal, but it seemed to be happening right before her eyes.

But, his hands have moved to tell her that she was beautiful. But did he really believe that? She'd been fooled before by boys. They told her compliments exactly like that, and then they'd disappear off the face of the earth and ignore her the next time they saw her. But they hadn't said it the way Michael said it. Well, he motioned it instead of saying it, but the way his eyes looked into hers, there was something special there that can't have been fake.

Her heart thudded against her throat and she sighed after a minute. He glanced at the heart with her initials on the table, and then looked back into his perfect eyes. Clearly he'd been feeling this way a long time about her, which she found ironic because it seemed he'd had a crush on her longer than she'd fallen for him. It seemed like her love for him began ages ago, and now she knew that he'd felt the same toward her probably around the same time, if not even earlier.

She swallowed hard and didn't even notice her lips moving up into a small smile. She'd just been told that he loved her. Caroline had been wanting to hear to that said to her for her entire life, but she never imagined that Michael would actually tell her that... she wasn't expecting to ever hear it, from anyone. She was too shy to get many admirers...

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that," she muttered under her breath, knowing he couldn't hear it anyway. Then she leaned forward until her nose slid against his as she added, "Because I love you, too..."

[msg]

Michael's eyes almost watered. He had to replay the movement of her soft lips over and over again in his head. He was almost positive this was one of his daydreams, and Caroline had never spoke the words he longed to hear, the words he would never actually hear. He lips moved with little to no effort, and her eyes reflected a fear and excitement that he was feeling inside himself. He was not sure how this moment came to be, but for the first time in his life he thought that being clumsy might actually turn to his benefit. Anything that brought Caroline close to him had to be a good thing.

Michael moved forward, touching her face with the tip of his index finger. His eyes looked into her, and he did not try to communicate. Sometimes in life, actions speak louder than words. Words that he could not truly speak would mean far less than the action he was about to do. His love for her burst through his chest like a sharp wave of joy. He knew that there was nowhere else he would rather be. This exact time in life, this moment frozen in perfection, this tick of the water-clock on the wall... this very grain of sand in the hourglass... was everything he could ever hope for in life.

Michael leaned forward and kissed Caroline softly on the lips. He allowed his eyes to slip closed shutting off all the world and lingering on nothing but the feel and taste of this girl he loved. His mouth parted, a small moan escaped, then he pressed his lips against hers more firmly. His tongue moved across her lower lip, and his finger moved softly on her cheek, then to the back of her neck. His dirt streaked fingers disappeared into her long hair as he tilted his head to draw himself closer to her. His heart beat faster, harder, but to him nothing in the world existed other than Caroline Lockhart. Perfection in time.

[lexa]

Caroline had no idea where that came from. She'd never had the guts to even wave to this boy before, and now, here she was, pulling herself closer and admitting to him that she loved him. That was ten times braver than she would have ever dreamed of becoming. Even looking at him had been terribly difficult ever since she first laid eyes on him. But her heart wasn't even racing anymore... maybe she really did belong in Gryffindor. Maybe that old talking hat was as crazy as she'd made him out to be...

But those thoughts were shattered as she felt Michael's perfect lips against hers again. Well, Michael was placed in Gryffindor too, so that must be why his sudden bravery to actually kiss her came out, or talk to her. It seemed he'd been as nervous around her as she'd been around him. Knowing that now just made her feel ridiculously ignorant, but right now, in this moment, all she felt was him.

Her heart beat at a regular, almost slow pace, but each rhythmic beat thudded hard against her chest. As he came closer, pulling her deeper into the kiss, she wrapped her arms around his necks. Her fingers knotted in his hair as she pulled him even closer, if that were possible. Nothing else mattered to her anymore. This is all she'd ever wanted, and she never actually considered she might actually get it. But now that she had Michael, she was never letting him go. Ever. She loved him more than anyone she'd ever met before, and now she knew he felt the same for her.

{{I am so sorry, I'm terrible late. I haven't even turned on my laptop in four days... ugh, I've got a lot of checking up to do. Anyway, I will never complain about delayed replies ever again!}}

[msg]

Michael smiled to her, wondering -and not for the first time- how she might be feeling. She had not pushed him away, or ran from the room, as he first expected. In fact, she had returned the kiss. She almost acted if she knew something he did not beneath her first wave of surprise. Michael did not know if he should ask her, or if this might break the mood he had strained so hard to set. He wanted her to take him seriously, but at the same time he had not done this with someone he loved before. It was all so new, so different. However, if he was going to share this new experience, he could think of no one else that he would rather share it with. She was on his mind so often these days, with each passing moment of his young life she had been on his mind. Well, this was probably an over exaggeration, but it was not too far off from the real truth. Michael knew he was in love with her, and that even if this setting was not perfect, the feelings he held inside for Caroline were perfect. As perfect as one inexperienced young man can feel for a woman he had never had the courage to speak with as often as to communicate across a desk over some homework. He smiled to her as he looked into her eyes. He knew she was the one for him, he had known it since he wore a much younger student's clothes. But this was the real world, and no fantasy would ever live if it was not felt both ways. She had not ran, but she also had not spoken to him. He did not want to allow fear or confusion to invade the warm feeling he was feeling for her, but if he did not say something now... it might just happen regardless of what he desired. Michael leaned back, dirt still streaked on his face, and smiled once again. His hand moved slowly in front of him, "I love you."

{{Never feel a need to apologize, I am slow and sloppy these days. I hope this reply is good, and that you are doing well! Missed you!}}

[lexa]

Caroline never felt like this before. Sure, she'd had a major crush on Michael for what seemed like ages, but she never thought in a million years she'd ever actually kiss him, let alone touch or talk to him. It was amazing. And she didn't even care that he was basically deaf. She loved him all the same, and she knew he was sincere about his feelings by the way he touched her. He was very gentle, and it almost made her shiver. Partly from her anxiety trying to get out of her somehow, and partly because she was so excited that she just couldn't control herself.

He motioned "I love you" again and she smiled slightly. "I love you, too." But she didn't know what to do now. So, it was established that they both had had a huge crush on each other for a long time, but what did that mean now? They could start dating, she figured, but she didn't know how well that would work at Hogwarts... maybe they could sneak away and have a nice dinner somewhere in Hogsmeade or someplace. Other than that, the most romance they could get would be dinner surrounded by all the other students. And she wasn't even that sure that she wanted everyone to know that she was dating. But how can you hide news like that, really? "So.... now what do we do?" She'd never been in a real relationship before, so this was all new to her. Hopefully Michael had some sort of idea of what to do next.

[msg]

He looked at her, his dirty face a little bit confused, and then he smiled and shrugged. Honestly, he had not thought that far ahead. He had dreamed about this very moment for so long that he had never stopped to consider what was on the other side of this moment. He laughed lightly, and used his hands to relay that information to her. He felt slightly embarrassed by not having a good answer for her, but he really did not have an idea about what they should, or should not do. He knew he loved her, and had for so very long; but, beyond this fact Michael was not sure what to do. Had she ever had a boyfriend before, did she know what dating was, could he give her the happiness he felt she deserved? All these questions danced in his head, but no answers would show themselves to him. He remained smiling and looking to her.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Caroline? It is a road I have not gone down before, but if you take my hand we can learn the path together?" His fingers stopped moving and he held his palm out to her. He was not sure if she would take it, even though she did tell him that she loved him, too. It was an uneven path he offered her, one where she might have to show him the way at times, but he would give himself to her whole hearted, and offer her nothing more than the love he had in his heart every step of the way. He moved closer to her, his mouth landed on her soft shoulder as he kissed lightly. When he lifted his face to hers, his eyes were serious, and his lips moved. Michael spoke to her, using his real voice. The high pitch was still there, but it was soft as a whisper when he told her the words he longed to speak.

"I love you. I trust you."

[lexa]

Caroline just smiled at his shrug. Seems he hadn't thought very far ahead in any of this. That didn't bother her, though. He probably hadn't meant for all this to even come out of his mouth, or hands, so to speak. She wasn't worried one bit. She loved him and trusted him, and she knew now that he felt the same. So whether they were officially dating or not, she didn't care. Who cares what anyone else thought anyway? Her friends would call her crazy for dating Michael because of his hearing, but you can't help what the heart wants.

And then his hand was held out to her. She bit her lip a moment as she watched his expression. He seemed unsure of himself. Like he wasn't sure if she'd take his hand or not. She didn't want to get him all worried or something, so she took his hand after a moment and smiled. "Of course I will, Michael." And then he was right in front of her, his eyes serious. And she spoke. He actually spoke. And not that kind of squeak that had come out before just to get her attention. This time he really spoke. She nodded then and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck. And even though she knew he probably couldn't hear it, she said, "I trust you, too."

[msg]

---

I have been waiting for you to come back from the break... I think we should take them into a new thread. I honestly am not positive what we can do from this one now. What do you think? Would you like to take them on a date into Hogsmead? Or do you have any ideas where we should go from here? Let me know, okay?

[lexa]

Yeah, sorry about the break. I'm not allowed to get on the internet when there's family at my house. But a date in Hogsmeade sounds great. =D And that's good cuz this one was starting to get boring anyway. You wanna start?