WHO: Max Fancourt and Mattie Scarpin
WHAT: They had dinner and he wore a bowtie! Cuties
WHERE: Mattie's doorstep
WHEN: TONIGHT
Okay, this time Max was sure; they were definitely on a date. He was wearing a bowtie, Mattie had worn a nice-looking dress, they had gone out to dinner after six, and he was currently walking her up the steps to the front of her building. They had gotten sweets after dinner, and if he didn’t know any better, the nervous terror coursing through his veins could have been chalked off as a sugar high.
Of course, it wasn’t. This nervous electric energy making his heart race and brow sweat was the realization that this was effectively (aside from the forced, though thoughtful, debacles Melania had set up for him) his first real date in… longer than he would like to establish. A different decade than they were currently living, and he would leave it at that as to not feel totally pathetic and embarrassed with himself. He had just--- Max shook his head slightly, warding off his next thought. His disinterest in the dating world after his break-up with Elsie was not something he should be thinking about now. So, determined to spend the entire night content and pleased, Max quickly pushed his attention back to the present. Which, surprisingly enough, included Mattie Scarpin.
Max smiled as they made it up to the final step, and he turned to look at her. He had never thought… he had been so consumed with Elsie during his years at school, the thought of looking at another witch that way had never even crossed his mind. But now, many years later… Max smiled further.
“I had a really nice time tonight,” he confessed, and felt his already fast-paced heart pick up further. That was normal, right? He couldn’t even remember.
Mattie had been smiling all night. Grinning, really, but trying hard (and doing a poor job) to hide her excitement. This was definitely a date, right? It
had to be, he was wearing a bowtie, for Merlin’s sake! After feeling all too embarrassed about not knowing what to title their first interaction, Mattie was more than pleased when future arrangements were made.
She’d always thought he was rather fetching. In Hogwarts it was easy to stare at Max from across the common room, or try to sit beside him during meal times. It was a schoolgirl crush, strong and innocent that got distracted by other boys for her and one girl in particular for him. That’s how life was, especially for a teenager. When she’d separated from the magical world, Mattie often found herself nostalgic about the life she’d left behind, her relationship with her sister being the biggest thing she missed and felt guilty over. That was a heartache, while those lingering thoughts of Max...they inspired her.
It sounded far bigger than Mattie believed it was. She’d written a few songs based on those warm feelings that one special boy could spark in your heart, and it had helped her get over the longing to join the magical world again. The lyrics dedicated to Nicola gave her pain a release and those that reminded her of Max made her smile. Music, to her, really did soothe the soul.
“I did too,” she said with a quick nod, still attempting to keep her grin from spreading too wide. Mattie pushed up on her toes before clicking her heels back to the ground. “I’d like to do it again, if your schedule permits.” She winked, forcing herself not to bounce again.
He laughed, and tapped his chin with his finger. “Well, I am a
very busy wizard studying lots of books all the time so…” Max trailed off, not being able to carry his gentle tease much further. He laughed again, and shook his head.
This banter was strange, but not in an alienating way. He had forgotten how easily he and Mattie got along, or perhaps just viewed it in the past as an easy friendship. Was that strange? Had he been ignoring something all the time? What a strange way to think of it like that…
“But I think,” he spoke again, his voice a bit more normal sounding. “A
date can be worked out.”
Max looked at Mattie hopefully, praying much more desperately than he had intended for her to understand the joke. Surely she had been just as confused about what, exactly, their last get together had really meant? Feeling a bout of nervousness bubble through him again, Max rubbed the side of his jaw smoothly.
Before Mattie could respond, Max hung his head between his shoulders and shook it. “Sorry, I really shouldn’t be allowed to attempt jokes.”
He’d said the magic words! Mattie’s eyes widened and likened an owl’s in surprise, but she now felt no need to suppress her smile. She
did keep herself from jumping up in celebration because that would be a bit
much. A date, a date!
Wahoo! While Mattie could quite literally burst into song with the happiness that was soaring through her (because honestly, she’d been a
tad worried they were going to be simply dessert buddies forever), she most certainly did not want to blow this out of proportion and scare dear Max away.
A date meant
things! Time was being spent together, he wished to do it
again. How nice, how lovely!
What was he looking all embarrassed for? Mattie had been lost in her mind-blinding euphoria and nearly missed Max’s apology. His joke had been funny!
Punny, even. He had no reason to hang his head in shame because his little joke had created quite the stir in her. No, no, no time for this sort of thing; they both needed to be smiling from ear to ear.
Only hesitating because with her heels she was just as tall as Max and she needed to duck to catch his eye, Mattie pushed forward and kissed him. Her hand laid on his arm and she pulled away just as quickly as she’d accosted him.
“I think you’re plenty funny,” she said. Mattie nodded knowingly, “and cute, super cute.”
His brows rose, and Max found himself just a little bit speechless. He had not been expecting… he had been so focused on preparing for what was expected at the end of every date that he hadn’t thought… Max let out a low laugh, and rubbed the back of his neck. He had forgotten who he was standing here before. Mattie Scarpin didn’t wait around, she grabbed for what she wanted without hesitation, a trait Max wished he’d had in his life.
“Thanks,” he mustered, feeling his face becoming a bit hot. “I think so too. I mean---” Max let out an embarrassed laugh and shook his head. “About you, I mean. Not me, that would kind of be weird?”
He glanced down, looking at her hand on his arm. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had been…. there had been other witches, of course, over the years since his relationship with Elsie, but they had all felt contrived and unnatural, and quickly put to rest. But now… he didn’t feel that discomfort. Anxiety, yes, but that was undoubtedly from his embarrassingly rusty tendencies faced with a witch that could very well become something more.
Swallowing what he hoped were his fears, Max with great resolution then moved his free hand to clutch the side of Mattie’s face. Moving forward, he kissed her soundly, a proper, determined end of the night snog fit for an end of the night date. And it was good, excellent even, enough for after a bit it was necessary for him to pull away.
“I should get going,” Max spoke quietly, his smile from before reappearing on his face again.
Did that really just happen? Mattie felt dizzy, her admittedly goofy smile appearing almost instantly the moment they parted. Max Fancourt had just snogged the breath out of her.
Well, well, well! This evening had started off with an uncertainty of its connotations, but they’d cleared the air quite nicely. Mattie really didn’t want the evening to end, it had been absolutely lovely, the loveliest she’d had in a long time, but she knew it had to.
“It is late,” she said with a frown.
Some little devil on her shoulder whispered that
perhaps she could invite him upstairs for ‘tea,’ but Mattie snuffed the thought. Mattie had cared about Max as a friend for a long time and fancied him for nearly as long; this...this
thing that was brewing between them needed to be treated carefully and nurtured. Brewing, blossoming, becoming...Mattie smiled, thinking that this boy may have just inspired another song.
Mattie tugged on the hem of Max’s sleeve, letting out a small sigh. “Right, okay, have a good night,” she said with an assured nod. “Owl me about that thing...what did you call it? A date?”
He smiled. “I
think that’s what the young folk call them these days…” Max trailed off, squinting his eyes in faux thought. His heart was still beating fast, and it almost felt like he had lost all energy in his limbs, but--- that was a good thing, right?
Yes, definitely, he assured himself as he hopped down the steps to the front of Mattie’s building. Definitely a good thing.
