Fine By Me (Joe)

[Deleted]

Arithmancy was one of Kinsey's favorite classes. The content was fascinating and often quite difficult, which Kinsey loved. As a general rule, school wasn't a hard thing for her. At least, not academically. She could definitely do better at the social aspect, but that wasn't the point. In class, Kinsey did well. Most of her classes were fairly easy for her, not really requiring too much focus or extra attention, but Arithmancy was a challenge that Kinsey looked forward to. She knew the subject wasn't for everyone and that several people dropped out the first year it was an option, but she didn't care.

Today she got to class a little early, as usual, and sat down in her normal seat on the bench in the second row. She liked being close to the front, but honestly no one liked being on the very front row. No one else was in the classroom yet, which wasn't really a surprise, so Kinsey pulled out her homework, looking over it to make sure she did everything correctly as she waited. After a while she heard people enter the room slowly, but she didn't look up or pay attention to them at all. In fact, she barely noticed their quiet whispers as they waited for class to start. She was wrapped up in her assignment, thoroughly checking every detail before she had to hand it in.

@joseph

[Deleted]

SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER

Joe stepped into the Arithmancy classroom with his book bag slung over his shoulder and a smug look on his face. He hadn't forgotten that he had told the awkward Ravenclaw girl, Kinsey, that he would be sitting next to her in class the next time they saw each other. It wasn't clear if she thought that he was serious or not. Well, he was dead serious. After assaulting the girls nose and walking her back to the Ravenclaw tower, he had decided he wanted her as a friend. If not, more, but he actually thought she was a very decent person, which was why she honestly had no business really hanging around him. As Joe entered the classroom, his eyes instantly laid on where Kinsey was sitting. She was absorbed in her schoolwork like the typical nerd that she was, but for some reason that made him smile.

The snake slid onto the work bench like it was where he belonged. Not even caring if he was taking someone else's spot in class, this was his seat now. Joe offered Kinsey a smile, placing a light hand on her back, "Hey cutie." he greeted, sitting close to her. It was as if he hadn't heard of a personal bubble before. "Hows your nose?" Joe asked her, trying to look at her face, playing up the sweet look on his own.

@kinsey

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Kinsey was so absorbed in her work that she didn't even notice someone joining her on the bench. Well, she didn't notice until she felt someone touching her back and a familiar voice calling her "cutie." Despite herself, Kinsey jumped and squealed a little, spinning in her seat to face the person. Her breath caught when she realized how close he was. How had she not noticed him? "Joe!" she exclaimed in a whisper-shout, her heart racing as she exhaled and shook her head, a smile already growing on her face along with the telltale blush. She couldn't help it, he was smiling down at her again, like he knew exactly what he was doing. "You scared me to death! Couldn't you have given me some warning?" She scooted away from him just a little bit, but it was more because she could sense people's eyes on them after her outburst. Kinsey didn't want to start any gossip, though she knew there was no way to stop people from talking. She turned back to her notes, tearing her eyes away from him so she could pretend like this was normal, like everyone wouldn't be watching them all class long. She rolled her eyes, "It's fine. It only hurt the first few minutes," she answered quietly. Then she glanced over at him again. "You want to make me jump every time we run into one another?" Kinsey asked, teasing him gently as she finally felt like she was getting her composure back. 

@joseph

[Deleted]

SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER

"Nah, it's more fun watching you jump." he admitted with a grin, pulling out his Arithmancy book and notes onto the work desk. His homework was already finished but he wasn't entirely comfortable with his understanding at all. He hated this class, he just had too much pride to drop it, and the year would be over soon so he figured he'd just sit through it. 

Joe got a glimpse of her nose and shared a funny look with her, "It looks good as new." he shot a thumbs up. The other kids in the classroom had noticed him changing seats, but he wasn't going to pay any attention to them. He set his quill and ink on the table, attempting to at least do the motions of a good student. "I guess if I scare you everytime you see me, it's a sort of 'taking your breath away..'" he said thoughtfully, the corners of his lips tugging upwards. His eyes shot downwards at her work, noting how detailed her work was compared to his, it secretly made his stomach drop. Suddenly, he felt inadequate. "Can you look over my work, Kinsey?" Joe asked, pushing the parchment towards her. It was completed, but a bit half-assed, only because he wasn't really sure what was even going on anymore. Arithmancy sucked.

@kinsey

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Kinsey wrinkled her nose when he said it was fun to watch her jump. "Of course it is," she grumbled, shaking her head. "For you," she added, turning to glare at him ... but it was hard to glare at him when he was so obviously happy. Why was he so happy right now? Kinsey fought the urge to smile, turning back to her books as the corners of her lips turned up. Hopefully Joe didn't notice, but she wasn't going to look over so she could see. 

"It is as good as new," Kinsey insisted, "Nothing was wrong with it!" Sure, it hurt and made her eyes water a little bit when the door hit her nose, but that was really nothing. He hadn't broken or even bruised her nose. She was fine. She scoffed at his thumbs up, but smiled a tiny bit. Her jaw dropped at his next comment and Kinsey stared at Joe for a moment. "I- y-you," she stammered, trying to think up a good defense, "W-well you're not wrong, but is that really the kind of "taking my breath away" that you'd want?" she eventually asked, hoping the answer would be no. She hated being surprised, maybe because she was taken by surprise so easily. At least, when it happened with people whose intentions blended in with others. Joe could surprise her because he never meant it in a mean way. 

She froze, surprised when Joe asked her to look over his work. His tone was entirely sincere and Kinsey looked over to him, stunned into silence for a moment as she tried to decide if this was an act or not. Slowly, she nodded her head and smiled a little, reaching for his parchment and pulling it in front of her, moving her own work to the side. Her eyebrows furrowed a bit as she concentrated. His work wasn't bad, but he missed a few things here and there. It probably wouldn't amount to much in the scheme of things, but it might have been the difference between a "poor" and an "acceptable," though she would have leaned closer to "acceptable" from the beginning. She used her quill to make a few small adjustments before leaning over closer to him, pulling the parchment with her, "I would just change this part a little bit," she pointed to the section, explaining the changes, "and this part," she said. It wasn't a major correction, but something she was sure the professor would notice. She sat up straight again, watching Joe. "Do you ... maybe want to study together sometimes?" she asked hesitantly, her tone a whisper soft enough that no one else would be able to hear. She wasn't sure if she was overstepping any boundaries by asking, but she liked people and Joe asked for her help this time. Maybe he'd like something like that? Kinsey wasn't sure and bit her lip as she looked back to her own work. 

@joseph

[Deleted]

SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER

Joe turned his body so that he was facing her, but he didn't scooch closer this time. The way she was glaring at him was hilarious, he couldn't hide the amusement from his face. "You're so cute when you're mad though." he said, dramatizing the 'mad' part, because she wasn't really angry with him. Just slightly annoyed, possibly. She questioned his 'breathtaking method' and he laughed, "Definitely not my preferred method." he waggled his eyebrows shamelessly with a chuckle. 

Joseph watched with an uncharacteristic like submission as Kinsey looked over his work, his green eyes following her quill as it corrected his work on some places. It was hard to accept, but he was struggling. And now it appeared that Kinsey was aware of it too. She offered to help him and he wasn't really sure how to digest this act of kindness at first. A part of him knew that he had to suck up his pride. Josephs eyes scanned over the parchment after she handed it back and he nodded. "Yeah, you know what, I actually have no idea whats going on in this class." he admitted, blinking at the parchment a few more times. "If you wouldn't mind...now I'm just going to feel like I owe you something." Joe told her with a slightly annoyed tone, but he ended with a smile.

@kinsey

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Obviously pretending to be mad at him wasn't doing anything. Joe was grinning at her, obviously finding her reaction hilarious. Which was frustrating, but not enough to make her actually mad. She rolled her eyes, "I get the feeling that you'd say I'm cute no matter what kind of attitude I'm in," she retorted, fighting to keep her composure and not think about what she just said. Was she ... flirting back? Naw, she was just being clever ... yeah, that was it. "Well ... maybe you should try some other method," Kinsey answered without thinking. Then she turned beet red, "Or not! That's fine, go ahead and scare me all the time," she squeaked out, trying to pretend like she hadn't just invited him to try and take her breath away. 

Kinsey was so focused on his paper and trying to help that she didn't even notice how quiet he was, how Joe said nothing as she glanced through his work. He wasn't doing bad, it just wasn't particularly good either. She bit her lip after offering to help him, not sure if he'd be offended by her offer or how he'd react. It made sense; she did hardly know the guy. Then he admitted that he didn't know what was going on in the class and Kinsey didn't know what to say. Did that mean he wanted her help? Or was he going to drop it or ...? She smiled when he did, "I don't mind. I like helping people. And you wouldn't owe me anything, really. I don't mind at all." She wasn't sure if Joe would be okay with not owing her anything, but she really didn't want him to feel indebted or anything.

@joseph

[Deleted]

SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER

Joseph nodded in shameless agreement when Kinsey called him out by saying that he would probably call her cute in any mood that she was in. She was already onto him. A light laugh slipped from his lips, since he couldn't really deny that fact. He would have a laundry list of ways to take Kinseys breath away by the end of this year. Well, if she didn't get too annoyed with him. "Yeah, but only because when I kept on calling you 'pretty' you'd get all weird because you supposedly aren't 'used' to it." he commented in a jokingly mocking tone, his green eyes widening animadely as he spoke to her. Only because he was interested in who he was talking to and what they had to say, no one else in the classroom mattered. The smile spread on his face when a thought triggered his mind. "Bet you would lose it if I were to call you beautiful." Joe snorted, waggling his eyebrows at her. She was fun to mess with.

Since they were trying to focus on schoolwork, he was trying to keep the banter down to a minimum. Kinsey actually looked like she knew what she was doing when she looked over his paper. The first time he actually saw her look at something confidently. She obliged to help him with his Arithmancy, and he couldn't help but feel a small victory because she basically agreed to hang out with him on her own. His eyes scanned the parchment hopelessly, "I usually hate taking help from people, but if that means I get to see more of you, this could be a good thing." he told her sweetly, scrawling over a part of the work she had pointed out previously.

@kinsey

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Normally Kinsey did not like being teased. It reminded her too much of all the times she'd been bullied and sometimes even made her nervous, though she could easily tell whether or not people actually meant what they were saying. The thing was, when Joe teased her she actually liked it. His face was so expressive, his eyes often dancing with mischief. It was fun and strangely engaging. She rolled her eyes when he teased her about liking it when he called her pretty. It did make her uncomfortable, but in the short time since she'd met him, Joe told her repeatedly that she was pretty and cute. If he kept at it, she might get used to it and might actually start to believe him. She wasn't worried about that though, because she was sure he'd grow tired of her eventually, no matter what he said. "I guess we'll never find out," she teased back, insinuating that she didn't think he would call her beautiful. Kinsey wasn't quite sure if he'd take that as a challenge or not, but she said it all the same. 

Joe looked a bit distressed as he looked back down at his work, fixing the parts that she told him about and saying he hated letting people help him. Kinsey shrugged, "Well, you might regret asking me to help you. Maybe I'll be too intense," she teased, unable to help herself. It was schoolwork. This was one aspect of Kinsey's life that she was extremely comfortable with. She didn't need to worry about whether or not she was good enough when it came to her classes. She couldn't help the sly smirk that covered her face, "Are you sure you're up for this?" 

@joseph

[Deleted]

SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER

Joe was glad that he had kept his word with sitting next to Kinsey in Arithmancy. It seemed like he was actually going to get some real help out of it. Thank Merlin, he wan't sure how he was still getting by. Their banter was simple, but quick. She had quickly insinuated that he would never call her beautiful, which caused him to cock his head to the side to look at her for moment. Kinsey didn't know him yet. Whenever anyone presented him a challenge, he'd take it.  His green eyes widened ever so slightly, clicking his tongue to the top of his mouth. "Never say never, Sweet Cheeks." he grinned with the most charmingly boyish smile that he could muster, waggling his eye brows animatedly. Joe kept his tone low so that their other classmates wouldn't hear, unless if they were really trying to listen to them.

He listened as Kinsey asked him if he was really serious about this studying thing. She actually was being kind of intense about it, but it was very cute. Joe shuddered jokingly, giving Kinsey an overdramatic scared look. "You make it sound like I'm signing my life way..." he told her blatantly, trying to resist from rolling his eyes to the back of his skull. Setting the quill lightly on the desk, he turned toward the Ravenclaw, "Yeah, I'm up for it, but we should actually hang, or do something fun away from the books too." Joe pitched, surprisingly earnest about the statement. "Do you like flying or quidditch?" he inquired, genuinely curious.

@kinsey

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It was such an interesting thing, having Joe sit next to her. Kinsey could still feel the curious eyes of her fellow-students watching them, but at the same time she didn’t really care, which was surprising to her. She’d only spoken with the guy once before, but he seemed sincere, even though he was a tease. His expression changed slightly when she said he wouldn’t call her beautiful and she waited, eyes widening when he finally did speak. At first she kept her composure, but when he grinned at her, wiggling his eyebrows some more she had to look away to try and hide her blush. “Sweet cheeks? What the heck is that supposed to mean? Is it some sort of endearment in America?” She scoffed in a whisper, though in all reality she was trying to distract him from the real topic at hand. Maybe if she didn’t say anything about it, he would forget about calling her beautiful.

She quirked an eyebrow at his joking response to her earnings. “Are you so sure you aren’t?” Kinsey asked, a small smirk slipping onto her expression. He seemed to make a decision then, turning to face her more head on. Kinsey took a breath, trying to prepare herself for whatever teasing he had in store. What she didn’t expect was for him to want to do something with her other than study. “You want to do something other than study ... with me?” Her tone was slightly bewildered, but that didn’t last long. When he mentioned flying, her eyes lit up and she nodded, “I like flying! And playing Quidditch for fun,” she told him honestly. “I’m assuming you do too?” That’s what the hopeful look in his eyes was telling her.

@joseph

[Deleted]

SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER

Joe leaned in slightly to listen when Kinsey started whispering, trying to keep a straight face, but the corners of his lips were twitching upward at her sassiness. She was actually very funny when she allowed herself to be. He nodded at her joke fervently, as in to say ‘yes, that’s totally an American thing’, but he finally admitted, ”I have no idea what that means actually. You’re right, that was a bad one.” he chuckled, trying hard to stifle it, which made him giggle a little more. The look on her face was so funny. ”Well, back to the drawing board then.” he let out an over exasperated sigh for dramatic effect. But for Kinsey, not the Arithmancy classroom.

Kinsey mentioned that she enjoyed flying and it made him nod in approval. That was great news! He never understood how some people didn't enjoy either of the two, maybe if someone didn't enjoy heights... He nodded his head when she mentioned that he must enjoy it too. "Yes, I love quidditch and would like to go Pro one day, but I also kind of want to be a chef too." Joe shared, he didn't often share the second part, but Kinsey had already proven herself worthy of that. "What's your favorite position to play?" he inquired, momentarily changing the subject to quidditch instead of stupid pet names.

@kinsey

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It did not escape her notice that when she started whispering Joe leaned closer. She still wasn't looking up to meet his eyes, staring at the table as she argued with his word choice. However, when he admitted that he didn't know what it meant, she looked back up at him, smiling just a tiny bit. At least he wasn't one of those people that always had to be right and refused to accept that they might make mistakes. She had to hold back her own quiet laughter when he started chuckling. Then she shook her head emphatically, "Oh, don't worry about that. You don't have to come up with any more names for me. Kinsey works just fine." Her tone was hopeful, but Kinsey had the feeling that Joe wouldn't accept that. He liked teasing her too much to just stop because she said he didn't need to. His teasing had nothing to do with needs.

Kinsey wasn't too surprised when he said that he liked Quidditch enough to maybe want to go into the professionals, but her mouth fell open slightly when he mentioned wanting to be a chef. "You want to ... you cook?" She felt a little bad at the incredulous tone in her voice, but that was honestly the last thing she expected Joseph Fontaine to tell her. "What do you like to cook? How long have you been cooking? Do you know where the kitchens here are yet? You think I might be able to taste sometime?" The questions bubbled out and Kinsey wasn't even trying to stop them. He'd taken her by surprise with that announcement, and she really just wanted to learn more about him now.

She finally stopped asking questions, shrugging when he asked about her favorite position. "Eh, I've done them all. I used to help my brother practice when he played at Hogwarts, and also a bit during the breaks when he went pro. Dustin used to be the seeker for the Falmouth Falcons," she smiled, trying to hide the pang that hit her heart when she thought about her brother. Dustin, who she fully expected to never see again. He ran off with Evelyn, a short while after telling her that she'd lost him forever. Kinsey tapped her chin as she thought about how to best answer his question. "I kind of prefer Chaser, but I can keep and beat pretty well too. I didn't really ever try seeker though." She shrugged. That was about it. She'd played them all.

@joseph

[Deleted]

SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER

Joe was thoroughly distracted from pet names and onto more stimulating conversation. It seemed that Kinsey wasn't expecting him to know his way around a kitchen and that wasn't a surprise, most people gave him reactions similar to that. She actually started to bombard him with questions, he wasn't really sure where to start now. Joe laughed, shrugging his shoulders with a sudden burst of bashfulness, but he shook it away. "I like cooking anything really, I just prefer to cook for people, and trying different cuisines... Baking is my favorite, but promise me you won't let that get out because people don't know how to handle a guy who can make a souffle." Joe urged jokingly before answering the second question, Yes, I've gone to the kitchens here, but the house elves kind of get in the way so I don't really like it there." he told her honestly with a laugh, and finally answered, "Of course I would make you something, Kinsey. What do you like?" Joe asked her curiously, finding her reactions to food and cooking very endearing. He would totally cook her something if it meant he got that sort of earnest display out of her. That would be too easy for Joe, realistically.

She mentioned that her brother played for the Falcons, which was very impressive, especially since she mentioned that she used to train with her brother. "That's awesome, Kinsey." he praised genuinely, a bit taken aback by the information. Hey, she wasn't just some shy bookworm apparently. Joe turned to Kinsey a bit more, "We should definitely play some time." he told her, speaking about quidditch, but it could easily be misconstrued. 

@kinsey

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Joe laughed at all her questions, which really wasn't surprising to Kinsey at all. He seemed to be the kind of person that was always wanting to laugh and smile and just have a good time, which incidentally was the type of person Kinsey wanted to be around. If she was going to continue working on her gift and getting used to large groups, it was much easier if she was close to well-intentioned people as she did so. She smiled up at him, listening intently as he answered her questions. Her eyes widened. "You know how to make souffle? I've never even had that before!" Of course, she'd heard of it, but her family wasn't really into fancy cooking and there were so many of them that they didn't normally go out for dinner. At least, not anywhere that would serve things like souffle. He admitted that he didn't really like the kitchens here because of the house elves and she frowned a little. The little elves never got in her way when she was there, but maybe that was because she'd gone there to escape ever since she first started attending here. Maybe they saw Joe as intimidating. She shrugged at his question. "Oh, I like pretty much everything." Then she chuckled, "At least, I'm sure I'd enjoy anything you made for me. What's your favorite thing to cook or bake?" Maybe if he said something she would be able to tell him if it sounded good to her. Then again, maybe he wasn't asking because he wanted to make it for her. Still, she was curious.

He obviously looked impressed when she told him about her experience with Quidditch and Kinsey looked back to her notes for a second, not used to that kind of praise. "Thank you," she answered softly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She noticed him shift so he was facing her more and Kinsey looked to meet his eyes. "You want to play with me?" Kinsey asked, obviously a bit surprised. Not many people asked her to play with them, but she definitely liked the idea. She didn't have anyone to play with now that Dustin wouldn't anymore. "I'd like that," she added after a moment.

@joseph