You're Crazy & I'm Crazy About You {Gia/Jay}

[Jay Chambers]

Hopefully, she would know to meet him here. He'd mentioned to her in passing that she should arrive in their usual location at this time. Maybe she didn't know of his intentions, but he barely knew of them also--a dimly lit idea that made him feel cheery on the inside. A part of him was picturing Roxie, of course, but the vast majority of him was telling him to ignore that picture. No point in obsessing over what would never happen, after all, especially when he wasn't into her. She definitely wasn't into him. Somehow, it all made sense. Gia would agree, of course, and he had all the words to say. It was easy enough--and of course, it would end with the usual short relationship and breakup. The routine was almost comforting, it gave him something to look forward to. True, he'd have to deal with James, which would probably be unpleasant, but if it came to a fight, Jay was confident that he would win.

Laying down on the dew-soaked grass, he let his robes soak up the moisture, not bothering to do anything about it. It would be something he disapproved of later, but strangely enough, the idea of Miss Parker's presence was making his heart flutter, his mind wander, and before he knew it, he was stuck in a reverie, wondering how she would take it. Some of them had cried with joy...hopefully she wasn't the crying type. He generally found that exceedingly aggravating. Yawning, he looked up at the sky, distracted by the beauty of the stars. The nervousness was predictable, but of course, it would soon be gone. Jay was never one to be nervous; after all, it was an emotion for the weak and pathetic.

[Gia Parker]

It was pretty obvious that Gia wasn't having the greatest of days. The whole James situation was really stressing her out; normally she wasn't like this, but she wasn't the kind of person who could easily handle it when people were mad or upset with her. And considering that Gia was usually one who cared about people a whole lot, especially James...she was uncomfortable. But she hoped that the weird feeling inside her was about to change, because she was on her way out of the castle to meet Jay. He had told her earlier that day to meet in their usual place, which could only mean the Black Lake. Her and Jay had a weird sort of friendship; they were close, but they also randomly flirted and were really comfortable with each other. She wondered if sometimes they were a bit too comfortable, but Gia didn't seem to think that sort of thing was necessarily bad.

To be honest, she couldn't wait to see Jay. He wasn't even really involved in the whole James thing, even though he'd been there when it happened; she could talk to him openly about that sort of thing and not worry about what he thought of it. She knew she could be herself when she was around Jay, and she had the highest hopes that this conversation between them would only relax her and get her to calm down from her current state of discomfort.

It was already almost time for curfew, but Gia didn't care. She needed this. Slipping through the doors of the castle and out onto the grounds, Gia made her way towards the Black Lake. It was completely dark out; she could barely see where she was going, guided only by the faint glimmer of the stars and a small hint of moonlight peeking out from behind a dark cloud. She felt free, just standing there completely alone in the darkness in the cool autumn air. She and Jay usually hung out over on the far side of the Lake, but they're "spot" varied slightly. She kept on walking, looking ahead of her for a sign of another person. She didn't even know if he was here yet.

Gia sensed something right in front of her, just a moment too late; her foot hit something solid as she took another step, then stumbled slightly and fell to the ground on her back. She started laughing, automatically assuming that it was Jay that she'd tripped over. She stopped not long after, thinking about how awkward it would be if it hadn't been laying there. "Jay?" she asked out loud, trying to confirm that it was him so she didn't look like a complete idiot. She would look stupid anyway, but she would rather have it be that way in front of him than most other people. For someone who had been doing dance and gymnastics for her whole life, Gia was often a bit clumsy.

[Jay Chambers]

Admittedly, he thought to himself, it wasn't as if he was breaking the friend barrier. Their relationship was mostly flirtatious, and that was what he was banking on when he made his decision. He couldn't tie Roxanne down--keep her from the world that wanted to have her so badly. Gia seemed to be waiting for someone to take her, a loose piece of sediment floating into the black hole that was his baggage throughout his years. However, the friend barrier would be important to the sediment, so the black hole would have to accept that and be a friend to her, until he broke the news, at least.

She appeared, the moonlight bathing her in an eerie silver glow, something both terrifying and beautiful at the same time. It was good that she had found him, a part of her had worried that they wouldn't meet--that she wouldn't be able to find him and he would end up travelling another path. Would walking without her cause him any terrible strife? That would be an interesting conundrum, truly, but not one that he felt the need to encounter at the moment, especially considering that the thought-laden girl was nearing him. It was time to ready himself, to be the man that he was supposedly meant to be.

But she was getting too close, and before he knew it, she was sprawling to the ground, presumably due to his presence. Chuckling slightly, he gave her his best smile, hoping to make her feel as if that had been on purpose, instead of some accidental clumsiness. "Why Miss Parker," he said politely, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "What an honor to acquire your presence...especially after the events that transpired last night. You're all right, I presume?" Having her be a weepy mess would only make the situation more strange, and she would already most likely probe him due to this sudden emotional shift.

[Gia Parker]

It took an extra moment for Gia to stop laughing, presumably because, well, Gia was Gia and she loved to laugh. When she was done, she propped herself up on her shoulders so she wasn't lying flat on her back, looking over at Jay who was only a few feet away from her. She couldn't help but return his smile, which, by the way, was adorable to her; Jay clearly thought this was funny, but he was acting polite and somewhat proper with her...in the most charming way possible, obviously.

She wasn't even sure how to respond to his question of whether or not she was alright. It was hard to tell, really...mostly because she was feeling constantly confused about "the events that transpired last night". "Er, yeah. I'm alright. I think. Just confused, but I guess that's understandable," she said, knowing how up and down she sounded about it.

But that wasn't what this was about. "Sorry. I don't think we're here because you want to talk about last night, I'm guessing. I'm really fine," she said, always aware of the feelings and needs of the people around her. She loved Jay and cared about him, and knew very well that if he thought their conversation would be about James and Gia last night, Jay wouldn't have invited her here in the first place.

[Jay Chambers]

It was interesting to contemplate Gia as she was lost in her laughter. Quite a cheery speciman, unlike the others, she never lost sight of that extra bit of mood enhancing spirit. It seemed to make everything all the easier, as he appreciated her cheer. His motives about what he intended to do, he realized, were unclear, and would be unclear to her. It seemed logical to him, and seriously, he should be getting some serious props for this. He was fucking over James, which would mess up his Quiddich playing so that Ravenclaw could whoop his ass, giving that freaky Hufflepuff chick who followed him around a chance to get with him, getting the girl he wanted, making Roxanne jealous, and making Gia happy. Hell, he deserved a fucking medal for this.

"Surely it's understandable," he responded to her trite comment, "but clearly Mr. Potter has no respect for your feelings--he was bouncing around like a clown on cocaine for most of today, and, in fact, it almost seemed as if he was avoiding you, along with myself and Miss Weasley." The next twinge of guilt. Miss Weasley wasn't going to be pleased...and truly, hurting her might hurt him for a second. But she'd live, find someone else, it'd work out somehow.

"As long as you're okay, darling," he said, a smile appearing on his face, "but you're right, there are ulterior motives to my asking you here." He would keep them hidden for just a smidge more time, making sure that he was correct in his assumptions about her feelings for him.

[Gia Parker]

Gia concentrated on Jay as the conversation moved into what happened between Gia and James the night before, and more importantly, how that had affected today. Gia frowned slightly, unsure of how to take what Jay had just said. "Hey wait, that's not fair. If you think about it, James was the one who started it, and I was the one who reacted, right? And because of my reaction, I guess he sort of feels like the bully in this situation. I don't blame him for avoiding me," Gia said, trying to see the story from both sides. She didn't want this conversation to lead to James being the bad guy, because in Gia's eyes, he could never be. "And he does have respect for my feelings," she added in bluntly. As much as she loved Jay, he was more of a flirty friend than a true close best friend like James was. She didn't want him to turn James into something was than he was, even if his behavior last night was somewhat stupid and irresponsible. Gia was always fair.

She let him steer them slightly away from that topic, which was probably a good move. She didn't want this to turn into them victimizing James, but she didn't want to lose anything she had with Jay either. They both meant a lot to her.

Allowing herself to return Jay's smile, though it was more of a reflex than an allowance, Gia relaxed a little, trying not to let the James thing get to her. Now they were on what Gia had been curious about; why Jay had insisted that they meet here tonight, alone, after hours. Knowing Jay, maybe he was just feeling spontaneous and wanted to spend some time with her on a fun late-night adventure. Maybe he was bored. Or maybe there was something more? "Ulterior motives, huh? And what would those be?" she asked, grinning a little.

[Jay Chambers]

The girl seriously had a knack for finding the positive in anything, a trait he was already beginning to find slightly grating. The Potter boy had messed up, and according to Roxanne, he was spending time tonight 'scrimmaging' with that Hufflepuff Captain.

Gia certainly didn't know that, and although he was tempted to tell her, he was a man of good breeding, and he had no intentions of selling out Roxanne. "You're not to blame, darling," he murmured in response, distracted slightly by her hair in the moonlight. "I'm sure he's a person of good intentions, but they seem to have escaped him last night."

In his mind, Roxanne was scoffing at him, asking why he wouldn't wait, or put in the effort to go after her, and he found himself silencing the girl he'd adored for years. She would inevitably wait for him, and he would never be idiotic enough to pass up an opportunity equivalent to this one, he would practically be shooting himself in the foot. In his mind, he did apologize, but he was getting a tingling adrenaline rush, the type that meant something was about to happen--hopefully with Gia, after all, asking her out would be as easy as pie.

"Well, I've been thinking," he began, wondering what his next step would be. Smooth-talking was his normal move, but Gia was talented at seeing through the bullshit, "we should go out."

There, he'd said it. It was a win-win situation--he either got her or Roxanne and didn't have to spend the whole night courting her like a desperate Hufflepuff starving for attention might do.

[Gia Parker]

Jay seemed to be trying to see Gia's side of things, which really wasn't Gia's side in the first place, but James'. Gia was usually just on everyone's side. Still, Jay was being reasonable with her. "Everyone does stupid things," she told him, ending the conversation about James. The two would have to agree to disagree, or else they would just end up disagreeing completely. Gia didn't like the thought of that at all, and she felt that her words just then were honest and fair enough that even Jay couldn't argue them.

Gia couldn't help but grin at Jay when he started off with the usual 'I've been thinking'. All she could think was 'oh great, this isn't going to end well', in the most sarcastic but absolutely loving way possible. There was no doubt that Jay was smart, but she was always interested in these thoughts that he had, so to speak.

Pausing for just a second, Gia almost had to shake herself back into reality, not completely sure for a moment if she'd heard him right. They should go out? Like, go out? Jay was asking her out. Jay. Jay CHAMBERS for heavens sake. Right now, at the Black Lake, in their spot. Their place. Gia almost felt like her heart was soaring; she had always had a thing for Jay (it was hard for many to resist that) but she'd noticed something change this year, into feelings somewhat deeper and more serious. She just hadn't really thought that he wanted her like that, but she'd been wrong.

But as much as she liked Jay, Gia couldn't resist playing with him for a little bit. She was almost as much of a flirt as Jay was, which was quite a lot. And she was sure that Jay hardly ever had to work for something like this, even only for a few seconds. Maybe this would be good for him. Gia smirked. "Oh, have you?" she asked, sounding politely uninterested and slightly bored, able to wipe the smirk off her face so that he might actually think she was serious for a moment. She was quite the actress, and to be honest, she would never consider NOT going out with Jay. She just wanted this reaction. He hadn't even technically ASKED her anything. He was just stating a thought, something that he'd apparently been thinking. And confident as always, Jay wouldn't have expected to be challenged in that.

[Jay Chambers]

Looking at Gia, he found himself still in a paralyzed sort of shock. He'd just done something that he never usually did, commit himself. Soph was going to be disappointed in him, as he'd now stuck himself into monogamy, which his little protégée would never dare to commit to. This dreary piece of the teenage mentality floated through his mind, caressing his thoughts and keeping him from being able to speak, or at least come back with some sort of a wit--although he kept his calm and even smile plastered to his face. She knew that everything in his mind took precedence over what he actually spoke, which raised the interesting roadblock of finding the exact correct words.

She was clearly in shock, and he didn't honestly blame her in the slightest. It was good to know that he still had a few tricks up his sleeves--he'd picked the right location, said all of the right words, yet, he felt absolutely nothing, not even any pride at his conquest. It was almost as if he felt...guilty, but at that, he felt slightly happier. He was, after all, Jay Chambers, and therefore felt nothing resembling guilt. He was absolutely pleased, or at least, he was pretty sure he was.

Her acting was quite good, but she made the mistakes of an amateur. His calculating glance noticed the change in her stance, the way that her eyes no longer met his. "Oh," he said, playing along, a pitiful expression donning his face, "well, I'll just go then." Turning away, he began to walk back towards the castle, pausing to look back with a grin on his face. It was fun playing these games, it reminded him of who he was at heart, and helped him to recall what was truly going on.

[Gia Parker]

Gia honestly couldn't figured out which one of them was more surprised at Jay asking her out; Gia, or Jay himself? She knew that she seemed like she was a little shocked, taking just one moment too many when she was having a bit of a silent freak-out in her head. But then again, Jay seemed to be doing a bit of thinking himself, looking at Gia but clearly not completely all there.

She hadn't expected him to get up and start walking away; she had predicted his reaction to be slightly different than that, but wasn't anything Gia wouldn't be able to work with. She couldn't help but to return his grin when he looked back at her. Getting to her feet quickly, she followed him to where he was standing only a few steps away. "Hey, at least I didn't say no. Yet," she said, now obvious that she was joking, though she was sure that he knew she had been from the start.

They were both standing now, not too far away from each other but it was still a little bit hard for Gia to see Jay clearly because of the darkness and the height difference. "You know I'm just playing. It would be an honor, Mr. Chambers," she said, more serious now and still smiling like always, taking up their usual fake formal way of speaking to each other that they slipped into every once in a while. She feel her heart beating slightly faster now with all the excitement. She hadn't really noticed it before, but it was just starting to hit her for real. She loved Jay, and he had always been one of those people that she wondered what it would be like to date. And now she would know. She wondered vaguely what James would think about it, but pushed those thoughts away. That wasn't what she wanted to concentrate on at the moment.

[Jay Chambers]

The various emotions running through his head were entirely pointless--he'd achieved his mission objective: gotten 'the girl'. Inadvertently, he'd probably also pissed off James and all of Gia's fan club, but they were useless playthings to him in the vast scheme of things. Emotions, he decided, were meant for people not invested in others, as he would be nowhere without the parts of him that existed within a good part of Hogwarts' female population. Relaxing at the thought, he loosened up slightly, walking closer towards her. Although he felt slightly obligated to fulfill his gentlemanly duties, he wasn't feeling gentlemanly in the slightest, which posed an interesting dilemma.

"Well, I'm quite honored that you see it fit not to reject me as of yet," he commented, watching her for a more defined reaction. She was smiling, joking around with him, which he liked. Sometimes, he wondered if he was too serious, as he generally had his moments of being uptight beyond belief. Admittedly, he knew that he needed to cut down on that, but it wasn't something he usually noticed at the time.

"I'm delighted that you feel that way, Miss Parker," he said, walking closer to her and kissing her lightly on the cheek. No need to push things, after all, he knew better then to not conduct himself in a polite and mannnerly fashion, at least until he knew that it wasn't important for him to act that way without fault.

[Gia Parker]

Gia was on a bit of a high at this point. Jay had always been that amazing guy that Gia had that certain chemistry with, yet they'd never progressed anywhere past a flirty friendship until tonight. She wasn't really sure what brought it on, though she was definitely not complaining. Part of her, however, worried that something sparked for Jay last night at the party when James kissed Gia. Jealousy? Possession? Or just maybe realization? Or, it was always possible that the party had nothing to do with it at all. Gia didn't want to worry herself over that at the moment. There would always be time to think later.

"I think we both know that it would be really difficult for me to ever reject you," Gia said honestly, sort of referring to their unsaid/ignored attraction for each other that had been going on for Merlin knows how long. It was the way it had always been between them.

Gia blushed a little bit when Jay kissed her cheek, glad that it was dark out. 'At least he knows how to be a gentleman,' Gia thought to herself, and then her thoughts automatically shifted to last night; 'unlike James, who apparently thinks it's okay to shove his tongue down my throat randomly.' She felt immediately guilty after the thought crossed her mind, sort of disappointed in herself for even thinking it in the first place. She didn't want to feel any resentment for James.

"You should be," Gia said, looking up at him with a small smile. She leaned into him, holding onto his arm with hers. She wasn't really sure what to do at this point; Gia generally liked to have some sort of plan for things before they happened, just to avoid any awkwardness, but this was a different situation. She hadn't exactly been sitting around her whole life waiting for Jay to ask her out, but it was obviously an impulse for her to accept since she'd always had a thing for him in the first place. Why wouldn't she?

[Jay Chambers]

He was proud of the events that had transpired throughout this evening, but he could feel himself shutting down inwardly, meaning that it was probably time to get some sleep. Still, he had this awkward high from the knowledge that all of the flirting and whatnot had paid off. He'd always been possessive of the pretty brunette, but something about last night had reminded him that he wanted her to be with him, and him alone. That was a bit...too territorial for his usual standards, so maybe that meant he really did want to be with her. It seemed possible enough within the current moment.

"I'm glad you feel that way," he replied with a relaxed smile. It was true, they'd operated like this for what felt like forever--this was the climax of years of tension. Noting a few younger looking students walking by, he chuckled, knowing that within minutes, the entire school was going to know about him and Gia. Maybe Potter would even want to fight him...that would be quite interesting. Of course, it would be an exceedingly one-sided battle, with him prevailing as always. Then again, he would probably have to be polite to Potter, as he did mean a lot to Gia. Strange, he wasn't usually one to modify his habits for a girl, but Gia was...different.

Smiling, he took her hand, saying, "People will talk, love. Might I have the honor of walking you up to your Tower?" Hopefully, she'd agree--all of this verbal foreplay and kind attitude stuff was exhausting, and he could seriously imagine his guy friends laughing their asses off at his current behavior. This, however, was nice--it was the warmth of being close to another that lit him up, kept him alive and going through all of the strife.

[Gia Parker]

Gia could feel herself getting more and more tired by the minute. She had lost track of time, though she didn't think she'd been with Jay for all that long. Still, it was no secret to the entire castle that the Gryffindors and several others had a late night last night, and waking up for classes that morning hadn't helped one bit. She was sure that both Jay and herself could use some sleep.

They weren't alone on the grounds at this point, which didn't bother Gia. She knew to expect that by the time she got back up to Gryffindor Tower, there would definitely have been some students who had beaten her there and already spread the news. Word traveled ridiculously fast around Hogwarts, but Gia didn't mind. She wasn't embarrassed to be going out with Jay; she knew there were a bunch of girls around school who would probably love to be in her position right now. But Jay's popularity wasn't why Gia liked him so much; she wasn't shallow like that at all. He was smart, funny, charming...and above all, he made her smile. And as stupid as it sounded, it was true. Seriously, what else would anyone expect of a sixteen year old girl?

"People can talk all they want. And yeah, that's probably a good idea," she said, feeling calm and happy as she and Jay walked across the lawn hand in hand. She thought there would probably be a lot of late night meetings to the Black Late during the course of their relationship; being in different Houses and different years, this would hardly be easy. But Gia wasn't one to give up what she wanted just because of silly general obstacles.