[3 Broomsticks] In the Beginning...

[Carolanne Roberts]

It was nearing seven, the time Maxi had indicated for her to meet him. She had actually decided to dress up a bit and was wearing a brand new pair of jeans and a scarlet halter with her fleece jacket sheltering her from the harsh winds. Pushing the doors of the Three Broomsticks open, she stepped in and pulled of her hat. It was emtpy, save for the two gentlemen at the bar and of course, the barman. It was empty meaning, no Max yet.

Finding a table not far from the door, she took a seat and ran a hand through her hair to comb it out a bit. She had wondered what Maxi wanted to talk about, but by the way he was acting earlier, it had to be good. It had been a while since she had seen Maxi smile like that, and thinking about it made her smile.

The barman had brought over a glass of water for Lane and she thanked him with a simple smile. She wouldn't admit about growing impatient with waiting but she was. Her features didn't show it, but her heart was racing and her eyes kept darting from the clock to the door. Laney shifted in her seat.

[Max Hennerdale]

Even Max liked to look good once in a while. He had spent from six up until quarter to seven staring in the mirror. He hadnt even realised it had gotten so late and cursed himself for not keeping an eye on the time. He wore a pair of baggy jeans that were faded but in a sort of fashionable way and a white shirt. Sporting of course his white jacket and his rather thin but handy blue scarf. Two of his possessions he didnt leave the dorm without, even if he wasnt wearing them. So at quarter to seven, he stepped out onto the grounds and began making his way over to Hogsmeade.

By the time he entered Hogsmeade it was already pushing seven, which was a good way to start a new beginning in his own opinion. Things were looking upwards, Ash was speaking to him again and was fine with Max and Laney, Cris wasnt mad at him anymore and Max was finally smiling again and didnt look exhausted like he had been doing lately. The wind was biting at his cheeks making them feel numb, though he didnt mind he'd get a firewhisky when he got there to warm himself up. People were getting used to having Max in the three broomsticks at night and he even knew a few of the regulars that went in there, this of course could be seen as a bad thing too.

Maxi pushed open the door to the three broomsticks, nodded at the Barman who began to get Maxi's drink. It was disturbing how they knew what he drank. Looking at the clock he realised it was five past seven. He was late. Looking around the deserted pub, which by nine would be jam packed full of people, he finally spotted Laney, who might he add looked absolutly amazing. With a smile, which he couldnt help, he walked upto her, well behind her, and put his hands on her shoulders, lightly kissed the top of her head and softly apologized for being late. Sitting down as the barman gave him his drink, he smiled across at Laney.

"I didnt think you would agree you know"

[Carolanne Roberts]

Laney wasn't about to give up on Maxi. It wasn't her style, if anything she'd be there all night eventually making it back to the castle in the wee hours of the morning. Besides, when Maxi says 'around seven' it literally means around seven. He was never on time, it was either early or late, tonight being a bit late. The ice in her water slowly melted away as they made soft clinks against the glass.

The door opened, followed by a gust of cold air. Carolanne shifted her eyes to the door and her sight fell on Max. She almost laughed as she noticed he had tried to look good as well. It was definitely a good sign. She gave a soft 'hey' as he planted his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. He was definitely in a good mood. When he apologized, she just shrugged, "Don't worry about it. I haven't been here long."

He smiled at her and she smiled back; her cheeks beginning to tint a soft pink. "Maybe I wanted to surprise you." Of course she'd show, this was Laney. If she was ever asked to meet someone anywhere, she'd show whether or not she wanted to, and this was one meeting she definitely wanted to attend.

[Max Hennerdale]

"Even so!" Maxi smiled as he drained some of his firewhisky. "It isnt polite to make a girl wait" This was a first, he was in high spirits, everything seemed to be slotting into place and for the first time in a long time he allowed himself to be happy. He allowed himself to think about what he wanted, rather than what other people wanted. He was finally listening to his heart, not his mind. It was about time, people had waited, especially Laney, for him to do this.

"Well I like you surprising me then" Maxi winked cheekily as the barman brought over another two drinks, this time bringing Laney a coctail. Maxi drained the first of his firewhiskys as a gush of wind entered the pub and about four people rolled in, laughing. He recognised one of them as one of the regulars, Tommy he thought his name was. "Alright Max?" He asked with a smile as Max nodded, Tommy wandered to the bar. He leant across the table and took hold of Laneys hand.

"I know theres things we need to talk about." He began, though he was smiling which said he was finally ready to discuss them, "No doubt you have questions, and yeah, I have a few of my own." He felt like sighing, but sighing wasnt a good thing to do right now so he gave a nervous laugh instead, "You know, ive never been good at this, Would you help me out a little?" He laughed as he took a sip of his second drink.

[Carolanne Roberts]

All Laney could find herself doing was smile. Maxi had a positive atmosphere going on around and it made Carolanne feel confident in herself. "I'm glad you do," she said glancing down with a grin. Something was definitely different about Max tonight. He seemed... happy. As a coctail arrived in front of her, she took a small sip of it and set it down. It wasn't until Maxi had grabbed her hand, did she blush a bright red.

Yes there were things they needed to talk about, and she was sure they both had a ton of questions for eachother but where to start? "Would you help me out a little?" Carolanne had been staring at the table until he had addressed her. She looked up, her heart beating like a drum against her chest. What was she supposed to say?

She cleared her throat a little and practically downed her drink. She was nervous, yes. She bit her bottom lip then gazed into Maxi's eyes, "Well, I guess I mainly want to know if there could be an us." Sure it was an odd way of putting it, but it was already out. "I mean," Laney shook her head slightly trying to find a good way to word her thoughts, "Maxi. What do you see when you look at me?" so it wasn't exactly relating to her first statement but she wanted to know. Was she just Carolanne Elizabeth to him or much more?

[Max Hennerdale]

There it was, the question Maxi knew would be her first one. Though she hadnt given him tme to answer as she threw out another question which completley caught him off guard. He smiled and drank some more of his butterbeer. In all honesty, he never really knew what he saw when he looked at her, his head had been filled with too much stuff these past few weeks he hadnt been able to think clearly at all.

"I see someone who looks at me as though there's nobody else in the world" He smiled, looking at her now, her eyes were saying just that to him. "I see someone who I want to see happy, who I want to make happy." He gave her hand a warm squeeze "I see someone who is so beautiful I wonder why she wants to waste her time on someone like me." "I see someone who means more to me than I ever realised." "I see..." Maxi bit down on his lip before looking back up at her, "I see someone who believes in me." His eyes became soft and slightly saddened, "And you dont know what that means to me,"

Maxi's words had come from his heart, rather than let his mind speak, he had let his heart do the talking. The usual sarcastic comments that came from his mind didnt come. This meant to Max, that he had finally accepted it. He believed someday they would find themselves in a place nobody could touch them. This made him happier than he could ever remember being. She made him happy. She made him crazy. She did a lot of things to him he wasnt going to let go of. So what was he going to do about it? He had tried to ignore the feelings, but everytime he did, they stabbed at him painfully until he let them flow over him and for once he felt like something was right. The way he felt when he couldnt hear her voice, when he couldnt reach out and touch her, the way he felt when he couldnt see her face, her bright eyes, her loving smile. That was painful. Though none of that mattered, they were here, and they were talking. Things were good.

[Carolanne Roberts]

Carolanne was slightly dreading the answer. The way Maxi had been acting for the past month made her worry the answer to her question wasn't what she wanted to hear. But once he started to speak, a smile painted its way onto her features and instantly, she began to blush. When he squeezed her hand, she gazed into his eyes fighting to stay calm.

She was at a loss for words for the first time in a while. If she didn't have a brain in her body, she wouldn't thrown herself at him that very instant. It wasn't like it wouldn't be the first time, but she kept in her seat. She didn't dare take her hand out of his, even when it started to become clammy.

After a few moments of silence, she returned to her first statement. It seemed like a better time to bring it up now. Her cheeks still a bright shade of red, she stared down at their hands, "Max? Can we? Are we?" Why wouldn't it come out? It was something she wanted more than anything; to be his; yet she couldn't find the words to express it. "About us," she said using her free hand to point from him to herself. "Is there an us?" Ok, so words weren't easy for her right now, but she had asked, hadn't she?

[Max Hennerdale]

As he spoke, he saw the blush creep up her cheeks, which surprised him a little. He thought deep down somewhere she knew what he felt, even if he had never admitted it before now. This was the first time they had managed to talk without eyes looking at them, to people in here, they were just another couple, even though they werent right now. Though in the castle, they were another rumour, another thing to gossip about. All Max could say to them was thanks for making him and Laney the centre of their pittiful exsistance.

His thumb was rubbing the top of his hands, and he was smiling. Both his eyes and his mouth. Was he really what she wanted? She had to be sure on that before he made a decision, he wanted to know, though somehow he didnt need to ask he already knew. Her hands were small unlike Maxi's, but they fitted perfectly in his hands. This was new to him, not the dating scene that had become pretty old, but him being with a girl was new to him. Was it different? He figured he would find out soon enough anyway.

Max?

Her voice saying his name sent a shiver running from his toes to the ends of the hairs on his arms. He looked at her, a smile on his face as she began to trip and stumble over her words. Something he had always thought was cute about Laney. When they had first met, she couldnt string two words together when Max was around, but he just thought it was another childish crush and left her to it. Looking back, he never thought he would be sat here with that same little girl he knew back then. True he was only a few years older than her, but she seemed so young to him back then, not like now. She had grown up into someone so beautiful. He always joked with her, saying she wanted to be a mini Ash, but it seemed she had outgrown that phase now. Which was good, he liked her for being her.

"We can," He smiled at her, "And we are. I mean, It seems like it anyway." Now he was tripping up, taking a deep breath he started again, "I mean. The way we are together is right. Despite what anybody else says, it feels right to us and thats all that matters. And if it feels right then it is right." Now he was babbling, "What I mean is. Yes. In answer to your questions. Yes"

[Carolanne Roberts]

So she was crap with words right now but Maxi understood where she was going. It wouldn't be the first or last time she would stumble through her sentences. That was Laney, plain and simple. Yes, she wanted him. No, she didn't care what everyone else thought on the matter. Yes, it would be difficult but she wasn't going to give up as long as he didn't. Maxi was Laney's strength, and he knew it.

Carolanne grinned widely. It was the answer she wanted to hear. They, Maxi and Laney, were together. And he was right, it did feel right. Everything about them felt right, even their fights and disagreements. She couldn't help but laugh as he babbled, it was cute. She had always seen the 'ever so calm' Maxi who thought about others before himself and always followed the rules, but here he was. With her.

"So..." was all she could say right now. She knew he still had things to say but she didn't know how to get him to talk. So there they were; a table separating them. Laney looked at her coctail before finishing off, she didn't like olives much so she let it sit in the glass. The silence that followed was awkward yet a smile was still on each of the students' face.

[Max Hennerdale]

Another two drinks were brought to them. So Max had found himself in a relationship, there was one question niggling him. Would he hurt Laney, the same way he hurt everyone else? No, this time he vowed he would actually try. He would give it his all this time, he would let his guard down, he wouldnt hurt her. He would give someone the chance to hurt him instead.

This was it then. No more running. No more hiding. No sneaking. No dodging. Max would be lying if he said he wasnt nervous about it. Though he had many reasons to be nervous. Though none of them good enough to phase him for too long. He knew Bray would have something to say on this when he found out. Though instead of it coming from a rumour, Max would prefer to get them all together and tell them himself, they were his friends, they deserved to find out from Max, not some gossiping third year Slytherin rat.

"I dont understand," Maxi said furrowing his brow as he looked down at the liquid infront of him, "Why you directed your affections to me. I dont know why, I just cant get that out of my head" He laughed and looked up at her, "I mean of all the guys who would clearly have you and who clearly want you. Why choose the most awkward one, who is known to break hearts?" Maxi shrugged, maybe that was what attracted her to him, maybe because of his calm exterior and always seeming to know what to do in a bad situation, maybe his arrogance and awkwardness and the fact he could be on the bad side when he wanted to be.

[Carolanne Roberts]

Laney found herself staring at a second drink meant for her. Was this barman mad? Did he not know Laney when she had more than enough drinks in her? Two wouldn't be bad, it's when it gets more than 4 when she has to stop. Carolanne played with the rim of her glass as she thought about what just happened. They were together now, in an actual relationship. One that didn't need to be hidden, or did it?

When Maxi had addressed her, she looked up from her daze and smiled. Huh? "I thought I told you why I liked you back in the forest?" If her memory was correct, she did. Was that what he was asking or was it something else? "Well, I didn't want those other guys, Max. I figured you'd realize that by now. And I believe that a heart breaker is someone who hasn't found their own heart yet," she said with a shrug.

Laney had a lot of reasons why she liked Max. A big one being that he accepted her for who she was and loved her for it as well. Carolanne furrowed her brow slightly, "I guess its because you've always understood me and never judged me. You're someone I can run to no matter the situation and you're always there for me." If that didn't help him understand better, she didn't know what would.