Carefully Planned; Carelessly Handled ((Adrina))

[kael]

He was nervous. It was stupid, utterly ridiculous in fact, but that didn’t change the fact that he really was so very nervous about what was to happen in less than an hour. Why had he gotten ready so early again? His eyes scanned his dorm room in jittery boredom, looking for anything, anything at all to amuse him, and fell on Lynnette’s sweater. Ah, of course. His sisters fault, naturally. She had been worse than him, if such a thing was possible. She treated him like her personal doll to dress up, even going so far as to style his hair for him. The spiked hair did suit him though, as Lynnette had proved on various occasions. His twin had had plans of her own for the Hogsmeade visit that had been planned and so had insisted on starting to get him ready five hours before the actual date. He’d been forced to suffer through torture at his sisters hands and he could only hope that Adrina appreciated the end result. If she didn’t then, whether he liked her or not, Kael swore that he would never speak to her again.

What had his sister done in four hours of work, you might ask. There had been six changes of Kael’s hairstyle – including her using magic to streak his hair with different colours before deciding that she had better take notice of Kael’s death glare and return his hair to its normal dark brown – before she had settled on the spikes. Then there had been the picking of the clothes. It had been bad enough for his sister to be rifling through his trunk and throwing his clothes on the floor in disgust but Lynne didn’t just stop there. When had she ever stopped before embarrassing him completely? She just had to send an owl to Vic in the middle of the decision, complete with photographs of him unwillingly modelling various outfits , and wait two hours for her response. During those two long hours, he’d had to threaten Lynnette with ruining her next date just to keep her and her nail polish away from his hands. Kael didn’t care how clear the nail polish was – he didn’t want it on his fingernails!

It had been halfway through the second hour of waiting for Vic’s reply that Kael’s patience toward his sisters antic had really started to decrease rapidly. Her exuberance had been annoying him four hours and his temper finally snapped. He had pushed her out of the common room forcefully, ignoring a few interested looks from his housemates, and left in the corridors, only to return to his dorm room and discover that she had left her yellow sweater behind and an owl was waiting at the window for him. Taking Vic’s personal choice of clothing – if there was one thing that woman knew, it was how to dress Kael up nicely (and no, he didn’t want to share the story behind how he knew that for certain) – Kael was now wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white button up shirt, pulling a black jacket on over the shirt so that he wouldn’t get too cold. His shoes were his usual pair of converse, but with the scuff marks cleaned off. Well, he had told Adrina to dress smart-casual so he figured he should follow the same dress code.

It was finally time. Kael felt like falling to his knees and thanking whoever was out there wouldn’t have been enough to express his gratitude. It was time to go and he hadn’t even starting pacing out of worried boredom yet. Realising that he had just wasted five minutes practically smirking about the fact that he hadn’t yet started to pace, Kael cursed and headed for the water fountains at a run, only stopping for a detour to the kitchen to pick up a few items that he had arranged to be ready for him. He wasn’t sure if it was a good sign that Adrina hadn’t arrived yet and he didn’t really care so long as she showed up.

[Adrina De Luca]

“Hey baby.” Adrina smiled as she lifted her daughter into her arms. Every now and then Adrina received permission to go to Hogsmeade to look after her baby. Gia was always well taken care of in the hands of Aria, but Aria had been ill that day. Her CF had been affecting her more than usual lately and Adrina decided to take Gia away from her for a few hours. Aunt Kat would be watching after Gia for the next few days, but Adrina wanted some time with her before Aunt Kat picked her up and took the baby to Belfast. Gia giggled in her mother’s arms as she had only seen her mum a few times since school had started back. Adrina smiled as she bounced the baby lightly in her arms. It was crazy to think that Gia was almost ten months old. It wouldn’t be much longer until she was a year old. The worst part of school for Adrina was being without Gia. But, lately Adrina had, had things to make her feel less sad for leaving her baby.

Adrina had a few hours until her date with Kael. Date? Yes, that was the word. It was just weird to think about it that way. This was probably because Adrina hadn’t been on a date since Danny. Even then, the two had known each other since they were four. They had actually gone on dates even though their connection was obvious from the beginning. But as Adrina would later find out that connection wasn’t good enough. It was simply a child crush. Adrina smiled for a second. She was excited about her date with Kael to say the least. After Danny left the bookstore that day, Adrina never would have imagined that this date was possible. But, that was before she kissed him. Adrina had been known over her life to do things on an impulse, but this time, her craziness had ended in a good way. Adrina looked to Gia. “You like him right Gia? He’s cute and he adores you.” Gia giggled some more. Yep, maybe this could work out. Maybe.

Adrina stood in front of her cottage in Hogsmeade. The cottage held more of her clothes than her trunk at school. Gia sat in her play pen right next to the closet. “What do you think kiddo?” Gia didn’t respond of course. Nope, she just drooled a bit. Adrina laughed. Usually, she didn’t put much thought into her clothes. After all, she was a mom. She had to wear something that could handle Gia. But, this was different. For once, Adrina had to look cute for a boy. This was something that she hadn’t done since Danny. Even then, he had seen her in boy pants since she was a kid so he didn’t care what she wore. Adrina sighed and sifted through her clothes. Aria had bought her a few dresses, but it was too chilly outdoors to wear any of them. It was then that Gia lifted her little arm. It was almost as if she was pointing at something. Adrina looked to what Gia seemed to be pointing at this. “This, baby?” Gia giggled. Adrina laughed. “It’s perfect.”

Adrina made her way to the Courtyard as she walked through the castle. Aunt Kat had picked up Gia half an hour before so Adrina had time to rush back to school. It was hard juggling being a mom and schoolwork and Kael. But, Adrina managed. Adrina smiled to herself. She was actually looking forward to this even though she had no idea what to expect. After the craziness at the bookstore, Adrina just hoped that it wouldn’t be that crazy ever again even though she doubted that. Adrina tugged at her eggplant colored sweater as she walked. She wore her dark jeans with it and black boots that were barely seen past her jeans. Adrina looked great in the sweater. She adored purple. She loved every shad of it and it always looked good on her. Adrina sighed. Hopefully she was dressed appropriately. Whatever. She smiled as she walked out to the courtyard and spotted Kael. “Hey. Gia says hi.” She paused. “Actually, she just drooled, but that’s not important.” She smiled. “So, what exactly will we be doing this evening?” She asked not sure if Kael could tell her or not. She didn’t care. Adrina just wanted to have fun with Kael. Was that too much to ask?

[kael]

She was nearly late. Kael bit his lip nervously, chewing at it distractedly. Was he actually being stood up by her? That was it, wasn’t it? Adrina just wasn’t going to show up and he’d be left, standing there for hours like an idiot, until he came to terms with the fact that she really wasn’t going to show up. Oh, that would be awful. Kael shook his head, disgusted with himself. When had he ever been concerned about a girl being late for a date? “Maybe I should go and check on everything,” Kael decided, bending to pick up the basket and making his way to the spot he had chosen for their date. It had taken him days to plan everything to perfection and he had enlisted Lynne’s help in more than his appearance. Together, the twins had covered everything that could possibly go wrong and made sure that it wouldn’t. It was funny to see Lynne so flustered over a date that wasn’t even hers. It had never happened before, and Kael wished he had taken pictures of the occurrence.

“Perfect.” Kael felt his lips turn upwards into a self-satisfied smile. He had turned a select area of the courtyard into a small restaurant for the night. There was only one small table with two chairs – well, anything more would be unnecessary – and Lynne had placed a vase of flowers in the middle of the round table, which made him grin wryly. Hadn’t he explicitly told her not to do that? A CD player, courtesy of Aurora, provided soft background music. It had taken him a short time to persuade Aurora to give it to him and a lot longer to make himself ask for it. Deftly, Kael placed the basket of food on a chair and started to move the dishes of food from the basket to the table. Lynne had – hopefully discreetly – kept an eye on Adrina during mealtimes and made a note of all of her favourite foods so that some of them could be served for the date. A quick heating charm, hide the basket behind a bush and it was time to head back to the meeting point just in time to meet Adrina.

“And I say hi back to the adorable one, even though you look absolutely adorable yourself,” Kael grinned, offering the crook of his arm to Adrina. “Well,” Kael began, steering them toward the clearing and timing his words so she heard his explanation at the moment she saw what he had arranged. “Tonight, we will be eating at the most exclusive restaurant in Scotland. Very few people ever get an invite to this restaurant so you should feel so very honoured. And Lynne says that when we have a date during the summer, she’ll cook for us. Which is actually even rarer, even though she actually is quite a good cook.” Kael rolled his eyes, realising how off track he had become. “Anyway, this restaurant – which desperately needs a name, by the way – only serves the favourite foods of its favourite customer; Adrina De Luca.” Kael added, pulling out her chair for her before sitting down himself.

[Adrina De Luca]

Adrina forced herself not to blush. You don’t blush. You can’t. She told herself over and over. And the stubborn girl in her won. Her cheeks didn’t even turn slightly rosy. Adrina had a way of manipulating herself and her body. Weird? Yes. But, Adrina’s mind in general was weird. Adrina was a stubborn girl. Well, that wasn’t exactly an unknown fact. The only person that had ever been able to change her mind about something was Aria and that was only because they were so close. Leo had tried in the past, but his attempts had failed. Adrina secretly wondered if Kael could ever get her to change her mind about something. It was a hard task really. Aria had only succeeded because she and Adrina were so much alike and some how their dominant attitudes didn’t clash. Who knew how that had happened. Aria was basically Adrina’s sister and one of the few people that Adrina listened. Adrina smiled at Kael. Hopefully, one day he could change her mind just like Aria could.

“Well, she wouldn’t understand you anyways. She’d just giggle and smile which I am now starting to wonder if she will do that for the rest of her life.” Adrina pondered. “Well, that might be a bit annoying but it’s still cute. And thanks.” She added the last bit almost as an after thought. Adrina wasn’t exactly a beauty queen. She wasn’t obsessed with her looks or anything like that. But, she did like compliments sometimes, but not extremely often. “You look handsome two and I like the spiky hair.” She smiled. Adrina had always found Kael attractive even though she had yet to tell him this. They were still getting to know each other after all even if they did have a lot in common. They still were learning new things about each other and Adrina actually liked this getting-to-know-you process. With Danny, it had been a ‘You have cooties!’ ‘So, do you!’ process. After all, they had met at the age of four. Adrina smiled a tad. Kael was no Danny. Thank goodness.

“We will?” She asked playfully. Adrina smiled as Kael explained everything further. “Only to me? Oh I do feel special. What about you? And Gia? Then again she isn’t allowed in the castle.” Adrina smiled a tad. “Should I suggest that the restaurant get a second location in Hogsmead?” She joked as Kael out her chair for her. She nodded and got herself settled in it. “A name, huh? I wish I wasn’t so terrible with names. I think that’s why I wrote an autobiography. No name-thinking-up was required there. Nope. Just Autobiography of a Teenage Girl: Adrina De Luca. Even then, Aria came up with that.” She explained. Adrina hadn’t thought about the short book that she had written in awhile. That was probably because it wasn’t published yet and even then, it was free to get. But, it would be available in Hogsmeade. The idea excited Adrina and then again, it was a bit nerve-racking. Oh well. She could deal with it.

“You know my favorite foods?” She inquired. “Kael the stalker, good to know.” She joked. “I’ll add that to the mental file I’m keeping on you and yes you do have one. So does Gia, Aria, and Leo. And Snape but only because he’s fun to make fun of.” She added. Adrina didn’t make fun of people often, but Snape was a good candidate. Well, as long as he didn’t hear that she liked to joke about him. “Don’t worry. Only the best information goes in to the file the stupid side notes go into the junk file.” She smiled a bit. Adrina wasn’t always a big talker. She was around people she liked in any way though. And Kael was positively one of those people. She could also be quite talkative if someone made her mad which did happen fairly often. Adrina smiled and looked to Kael. She secretly wondered what the rest of the night had in store. With Kael Collins in charge of the evening, their was no telling what would happen next. Or at least Adrina couldn’t tell.

[kael]

“Gia’s cute enough to get away with just giggling and smiling for the rest of her life.” Kael assured Adrina lightly, squeezing her hand gently and letting a small smile touch his lips. Being there with her like that, with them so close and Adrina at his side – it felt natural and comfortable, like they had done it a million times before. It felt odd to look around and feel like there was something missing, like the picture wasn’t complete yet, and to wonder what could be missing when he had planned the date so carefully. It was scary for him to subconsciously know that the missing element was Gia, and scarier still to have a haunting feeling that, no matter what he had said at the bookstore after Danny had fled, he was falling quicker than he had anticipated or wanted. Especially since he had never wanted to fall in love in the first place. It wasn’t love, not yet, but he could look at her and know that it would be soon. And that was nearly enough to make him retreat back to his writing and not go near Adrina again.

Kael smiled lightly, waiting until they had both sat down to answer her questions. “Yes, only your favourite foods are served in this particular restaurant. I’ve already thought about opening one in Hogsmeade but then I got a better idea, one that you’ll just have to wait to hear. And no trying to get the information from my sister because I’ve sworn her to secrecy and that’s one oath she’ll never break.” It was somewhat odd to outsiders who experienced the way he and his sister interacted, Kael had noticed that when he was younger. They just never seemed to understand it; not the way that they could communicate without words, nor the unbreakable faith and trust that they shared. It was a bond that hadn’t been broken by time or other people and the small, deep-buried part of Kael that still clung to naivety believed that nothing ever could. “I’m sure I’ll come up with something. I am the fiction writer of us two; you can deal with reality and I’ll dabble in dreams.”

“No, you’ve got the wrong twin I’m afraid. Lynne set her friends in Gryffindor a very important task – they were to sit near you at every meal and make a note of everything you ate and what you seemed to enjoy the most.” Kael uncovered the dishes with a flourish, his smile flickering slightly before dying as he stared at the food questioningly. He really shouldn’t have left Lynnette in charge of something as important as the food, should he? “Please tell me you enjoy...” Kael trailed off, peering at the food closely. “Actually, I’m not quite sure what that is but it resembles burnt sautéed potatoes with tomato and radish, if I’m not wrong.” Well, having a would-be chef as a sister did prove useful sometimes. Hopefully, Kael removed the covers from the rest of the dishes, sighing in relief when he encountered a fairly normal dish. “Lamb and beef and chicken and pork,” Kael mused, looking between the dishes thoughtfully. “I’m guessing that rather than order set dishes, Lynne decided to give us a choice of meats, vegetables and potatoes. And desserts.” With a wry smile, Kael summoned the basket from behind the bushes, using a spell to lower the desserts into the basket for later without looking down. What a shame he didn’t notice the hungry ants milling around in the bottom of the basket, feasting on the crumbs and now the various cakes and fruits in there.

[Adrina De Luca]

Adrina smiled. “Yes she’s cute enough but I’ve learned that giggling and smiling doesn’t usually get you a job.” She thought for a moment. “Wait. She could be a model.” Then her grin faded. “Oh I hope not.” Adrina was very pretty but she didn’t want to parade her looks around for the world nor did she want her daughter to. But, Adrina would be supportive of course. She just wouldn’t be thrilled. But, Adrina wouldn’t have to worry about that for awhile, right? She smiled lightly as he squeezed her hand. She liked how his skin felt on hers. Maybe this could work. Maybe. Drina still had her doubts. She liked Kael, yes. But she still had doubts. After all, she was a sixteen year old with a daughter. Could this actually work at all? Adrina hoped so but really only time would tell. Both Adrina and Kael would have to wait to know if this work. It was as simple as that. This was the one thing that Adrina couldn’t control and she hated that feeling. She liked to be in control of her life, but this happened less and less since Gia was born. Adrina sighed. Only time would tell.

Adrina faked a mad face. “Fine, but I’m not much on secrets.” She paused. Well, that was true. She liked to be in control. She liked to know the facts. “But, I can put that aside only if it’s really good.” She laughed. She didn’t care what it was really. “I won’t pester Lynne. Well, about this at least.” She smiled. She wouldn’t pester Lynne in general. Adrina had seen her around and they had said a few words to each other, but Adrina didn’t know her liked she knew Kael. “And I would never get Lynne to her secrecy. Just like you could never get Leo to break his. Really, I don’t have many secrets with my brother.” She shrugged. It was true. Leo and Adrina would never be like they were before Adrina got pregnant, but that was okay. Adrina learned to deal with it.

Adrina smiled as Kael explained how he found out her favorite dishes. “Wow. That’s why the giggling girl sat next to me instead of far away from me.” She laughed thinking about it. She had wondered why they were all of a sudden trying to talk to her. “Well, their task is useless, because I eat anything. Well, kinda, I’m not a sushi fan,” But, that was about it really. Adrina was always willing to try new foods just like Aria was. Adrina smiled as Kael uncovered the food. It wasn’t perfect, but Adrina didn’t mind. Some of it looked rather weird, but the meat looked fine and Adrina could deal. “That happens to be my favorite meal.” She joked. She didn’t care. She would eat anything that Kael took the time to have prepared. After getting a plate ready, Adrina took a bite of the pork. Just a tad dry, but it was good enough for Adrina. She smiled. “Your sister seems to be a pretty good cook. She beats me at least.” She smiled.