My smirk for your smile. PV Anastasia Closed

Anastasia was focused on her book, or so it would seem to anyone who glanced at the brunette. She was actually observing. Not observing anything in particular, just people watching. Then she saw Hugh enter the Great Hall and it became person watching. Her eyes met his and her face lit up. No matter what else was going on, seeing Hug would always put her in a better mood. Not because she liked him or had a crush on him or anything like that! It was just because he was one of the few people she considered a friend. That's what she told herself anyway. 

As he approached, she stowed her book in her bag and waved at him. She recognized the red sweater he wore almost immediately. On anyone else, she would have had instant disdain for the ratty old thing, but she just associated with Hugh so much that she found it rather adorable. Because he was her friend! Nothing else, right?

He was "so glad" to see her? She could hardly hide the thrill that hearing that gave her. Her cheeks reddened a bit, and she smoothed her already pressed uniform. "It's delightful to see you as well," she said, smiling so widely that her face almost hurt. It wasn't her prim and proper smile or her tight and annoyed smile or even her scary and slightly evil smile. It was... a happy smile? A genuinely happy smile? She could remember a handful of times when that had occurred, and now that she thought about it, most of the more recent ones had been around Hugh. Maybe -- NOPE NOPE NOPE NO CRUSHES

At that particular moment in time, she was really glad Hugh didn't know what she was thinking because she honestly didn't know what she would do if he could hear her inner dialogue. As she snapped her focus back, she noticed him scooting closer and could barely stay still. 

"I'm from London, although, we spent quite a bit of time in France when I was younger," Anastasia said, her rehearsed reply not sounding quite as stiff as it normally did. Maybe it was because she was talking to someone she was comfortable with and actually wanted to talk to. "What about you?"

"London? That sounds nice." He offered her a warm smile as he was trying to figure out how best to describe his hometown. "I'm from Blackness, way up in Scotland. It's... small. People think I'm in some kind of far off boarding school. Which isn't that wrong technically."

He could not help but stare a little longer than he was supposed to. His eyes carefully trailing her long brown strands of hair, flickering up and down in the light as she spoke or moved. Her cheeks a bit red, seemingly warm and soft, like her voice. Until he got caught in her eyes. As if he was a bird plucked right out of the sky and was sent tumbling down into a dark yet comfortable ocean. The glitter of joy still brightly shining through and translating itself into an obvious smile on Hugh's face.

He snapped out of it.
He was being weird. He was making this weird. Ana was just a friend that enjoyed talking with him he figured. Was it just talking? Was she... just a friend? Pfff silly boy. He needed to get his head out of these weird clouds. His stomach turned a little with all these thoughts swirling in his mind. It was hard to focus and he was prone to laugh and smile. He could not help but letting his arm graze against hers from time to time. The touch giving him a warm feeling inside. His other arm and hand went on to support his head.

"What about your family? Can you tell me about them?" He gently inquired. "It must be nice at house Beckett." He smirked a bit amused. He had no real clue how purebloods lived their lives. Or if it would be any different from how muggles would live theirs. With a dedicated focus on the conversation and minimizing any distractions she would offer him, he would try to listen to her story.

Anastasia glanced at Hugh, and the way he was looking at her made her feel as though she was made of gold or something. It only lasted for a moment before she glanced away, but she didn't think anyone had ever looked at her like that. Not that she knew of anyway. Bloody hell, she was making this weird. This was just how normal children who considered each other friends behaved, and Anastasia wouldn't know that because she didn't have many normal friends. It was as simple as that. 

She listened as he spoke about Scotland in his almost musical voice. Nope, Anastasia, stop that. She shook herself mentally and tried to just act like a normal person. She almost had it too, when Hugh's arm brushed against hers. That touch made her whole arm tingle and feel like it was sparkling. That doesn't even make sense, be logical, Anastasia. He had just accidentally brushed up against her. That was it. There was nothing else for her to read into and she refused to let herself even begin to think like that. She could have a friend who happened to be a rather adorable boy without things getting weird. 

"My family isn't particularly unique for Purebloods. Picture snooty rich aristocracy from the 1800s and you have a pretty good idea of what most of them are like," Anastasia laughed. Alright, maybe it would be interesting for someone who hadn't grown up in it, but for Anastasia, all the infighting and politics and drama was tiring. "Still, Beckett Manor is nice enough most of the time and my parents are alright. My mother was a professional Quidditch Player when she first left school, but she quit when she and my father married. My father is a Manor Lord, so there's that, but I'm not actually certain what he does."

"They sound like quite the bunch. Have any brothers or sisters?" Hugh carefully tried his best in conversation. Problem was, he was not particularly good at it. He very clealry felt he wanted to know Ana better than most. Yet had not the faintest clue how to achieve that. On top of that, he was not even sure why he was doing this. This... hell-bent quest of seeking a girl's attention, who he had only known for just a couple of months. These feelings were weird and very overwhelming. At times he could barely contain his excitement at seeing her walk past him in the halls.

He could not help himself letting out a brief sigh. He felt rather lost on the matter and his head kept spinning as he tried thinking about it. As if he was one thought away to get to the solution of it all. His head hung even heavier on his hand as he dreamed off while listening to Ana, his eyes almost glazing over as if in a trance. Without him realizing he let his arm rest beside him and brush once more against Ana's, this time letting it rest there warm to the touch.

His other hand reached for an invisible cup without Hugh really paying attention to it. The surprise on his face would turn his whole face a bright red as he felt his index and middle finger stuck into some jam that had been placed close to his position. He pulled back his hand with splatters of the red goo dripping all over the place. "O-oh... Th-that wasn't.. I'm sorry." His eyes were flashing to all sorts of places as panic hit him all of a sudden. Again, he had somehow managed to humiliate himself in front of Ana. With no towels within his reach, he was left petrified between fear and indecisiveness.

"I have older cousins, but we aren't particularly close," Anastasia said, forcing her tone to stay even. Surely, it was a good sign that Hugh seemed this interested in Anastasia's life and family, right? 

Wait, what was she talking about? A good sign of what exactly? 

Nothing more than friends. She hadn't many, so that was why she was so happy that Hugh seemed to want to spend time learning about her. That was the answer. Ana wouldn't let it be anything else. Bloody hell, this was why she had no friends... She overanalyzed every little thing and jumped all over the place conclusion wise. 

"What's your family like? Do you have siblings? I've always thought it would be rather nice to have a sister or a brother," she said, her voice unable to stay quite as calm as she would have liked, but she didn't think Hugh would notice anything odd. At that moment, his hand brushed against hers again and stayed there this time. She forced herself to act completely normal, although she was freaking out on the inside. 

Surely, twice in a few seconds couldn't have been an accident, right? No, it likely had been, after all, they were still rather close. She didn't believe that for a moment. Once could potentially be an accident, but twice seemed unlikely.

As Ana's brain was having a small breakdown, Hugh's hand seemed to have a mind of its own as his fingers made their way into a container of jam. Hugh suddenly noticed and looked quite distressed at it. Ana raised an eyebrow and held back a chuckle. "I don't think I've ever met anyone who made jam into finger food," Ana joked, trying to assuage the poor Scot's clear panic.