stop and stare -- ross

[ross]

So here's the story if you missed all the ICC's. Ross and Nora leave the store and then they go to the Leaky Cauldron for drinks where they talk about how weird/awkward the other person is and a little about their personalities and stuff and they get to know each other and flirt. And then she kissed him and he was all like lolwhut and then he starts rambling on about how much he likes to play chess with himself when he's home alone. Then she kisses him again and he's all "aww yeah, that's totally cool" and then he invites her to his place to "play chess". BUT OMGWTF he can't find the chessboard once he gets to his house, and so they start making out on the couch and then they take it to his bedroom where things start to get fiesty. And that's what you missed on GLEE.

As Ross climbed onto his bed next to Nora, he started to panic. How the hell had they gotten in this situation? Was this not the same girl that was just talking about how poisonous dragon blood was? But not only that... she was certainly way out of his league. She was pretty (albeit strange) and he was just homely and awkward. But for whatever reason she had stuck around, and she was the one who initiated all of the... kissing and such. It really scared him. He had no clue how far this was going to go, and if it went any farther than kissing he'd have no clue what he was doing. He had never gone this far with a girl before... the second runner up was his date to the school dance back in his 5th year. He placed his hands on her waist and kissed her on the cheek good night. Scandalous. But Nora was his first actual kiss, and now they were both shirtless. And on the same bed. Ross wasn't sure if he should be hopping up and down screaming with exitement, or freaking out with nervousness. Surely she had more experience in this department than he did, which made him more anxious than he would've been in the first place. He had no clue what he was doing. It wasn't that he wasn't sexual... he just wanted to wait for the right person. Multiple people at work had made advances on him, but he always just shot them down. Most of the time it was just so they could get a promotion or something, but Ross wouldn't budge. But for whatever reason, Nora actually wanted to do this with him. She wouldn't gain anything important, and Ross was having a difficult time understanding why she would offer herself up like that when she would get absolutely nothing out of it. But maybe she genuinely liked him... who knew. He reached out snake his arms back around her waist and pull her closer to him, then went back in for a slow kiss. He didn't want to rush this if it actually meant anything to her. He had waited 29 years for a girl. He could wait a couple more minutes.

[nholt]

[trolol fast forward like a boss]

Needless to say, neither one of them had quite expected this. Only a short time ago, they had been complete strangers standing in the middle of a shop in Knockturn Alley, Nora talking about poisoning people and Ross staring at the clerk like he was going to be attacked at any second. Probably for good reason they had left, Griffin wasn't the most personable being one had encountered in their lifetime. And even then they were supposed to be going out for drinks... and then after that it was supposed to be playing chess... and after that it was supposed to be just talking. Clearly things had not exactly worked out as planned. Not that she was complaining about that in the least. Hell, she was the one making advances on him. The whole evening had been somewhat of a surprise, but there was nothing wrong with that. Nora was not a creature of habit and she liked the unexpected. Yes, she was liking this quite a bit, probably more than she should have.

One thing led to another, that always seemed to happen, though the blonde certainly wasn't protesting any. Ross was funny and sweet and several other positive adjectives that she could think of. They had barely been around each other for more than few hours, but after that night Nora felt she had gotten to know him rather well. Maybe it was foolish of her to believe that she could possibly know someone well enough after that long. But the girl didn't think about it too much. Why over analyze something and take all the fun out of it? She liked Ross and that was more than enough for her. Nora usually wasn't one to be quite so physical about these sorts of things, but she mine as well express it, right? Romance had never been one of her strong suits, but this was different. Good different, as the two of them had teasingly said.

Nora smiled at him, wrapping her arms around Ross' neck before moving her lips against his and kissing him softly. It was with a good deal of effort that she pulled back for a moment, dragging her hands to his chest. The blonde traced lightly on his skin, then glanced up, looking at him quizzically. "This isn't... too much, is it?" the Ravenclaw asked him. "I don't want to be one of those desperate girls that fling themselves at you and like you don't want to say no or something. My feelings won't be hurt," Nora said, smirking slightly. She just didn't want him to regret whatever was happening between them. "Not to talk you out of it or anything." She leaned her forehead up against his and murmured quietly in his ear.

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[ross]

Sure, the girl was weird. There was no denying it… but perhaps that’s what made her so damn attractive to Ross. All normal girls turned out to be far from normal… they were obsessive, liars, and cheaters. But he also felt like he could relate to Nora on an emotional level… they were both outcasts, it seemed. People generally tried to avoid them both just because they were unusual. Nora talked too much, and Ross didn’t talk enough… they just evened each other out, it seemed, which scared Ross. He was sure that he was going to be alone for the rest of his life, never have a girlfriend, and never have sex. But here he was with a girl in his bed… and she wanted him. That didn’t happen. She must’ve been deranged… although she had already proven that with the whole dragon blood thing. But strangely enough, Ross didn’t care.

Ross started to frown as she pulled away… was he doing something wrong? He hadn’t had any experience with girls before, especially not in the whole touching-department, so he was probably making a fool of himself. He certainly wasn’t very good at it, so he felt bad for having to put Nora through it all. But she seemed to be enjoying herself too. He shivered as she ran her fingers up and down his chest, then grabbed her hand and held it to his chest. He kissed her lips lightly once more, then said, “It’s not too much for me unless it’s too much for you,” with a nod. He didn’t want to go too far if Nora wasn’t comfortable with it. He had just met the girl an hour ago… why was he even acting this way? Nora… if I thought you were one of those desperate girls you wouldn’t even be here,” he said with a laugh. It was true… girls had tried and failed to seduce him multiple times before. He had turned down everyone else… but for whatever reason, Nora was still here. “You’re not going to talk me out of it,’” he whispered as he pulled her closer once more and kissed her again.

(Fade to Black)

Next morning?

[nholt]

Nora wasn't even quite sure what was happening at the moment, but was trying not to over-analyze it. She was running on instinct rather than rationale. It seemed like forever ago that they had been in Knockturn Alley, even though it was only earlier that same evening it felt like ages. Well, clearly things had changed a bit since then. Not that the woman was complaining about that one bit. Still, the whole thing confused her. In all technicalities she barely knew Ross and wasn't exactly the type of person to do anything like this with a practical stranger. With anyone, honestly. But he wasn't just anyone. It sounded quite sappy and dramatic to think about it, like out a bad romance novel, but there was something about him she enjoyed. They were different enough to balance each other out, but still similar as well. It had worked out well enough so far, though that admittedly hadn't been very long. And though the snatcher could have spent much more time trying to figure out all the details, she would rather live in the moment, and so chose to do so.

Frowning herself as he did, Nora didn't want to worry him, but it was probably for the best that they er... straightened things out and made sure. The blonde nodded slightly at Ross' words, it wasn't too much. At his next comment she had to let out a small laugh. "Well, that's slightly reassuring," she said with a smirk, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. Wondering about how many said desperate girls he had encountered made an odd sort of envy rise up, but she quickly left that aside. It didn't matter anyways, he was there with her, wasn't he? She gave a small smile to Ross as he assured her. "Good. Then I suggest we stop talking." She didn't give him much of a chance to protest, and with that, resumed their contact once more. [lalala fade]

-

Shifting slightly, Nora's eyes fluttered open and she yawned as she stretched out. Turning to face Ross more, the blonde laughed and poked his cheek before kissing him lightly. "Morning," she said with a grin, then rested her head in the crook of his neck. She let out a content sigh, not quite able to wipe the smile off of her face. The girl was genuinely happy, more so than she had been in a long time. Sinking deeper into the covers, Nora smirked at Ross and ran her fingers across his skin. She was perfectly comfortable laying at his side. Their impromptu sleep over had been rather enjoyable indeed.

[sorry for the bad-ish reply :/ and um... I suppose this is starting to wind down?]

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[ross]

Ross was awakened by the movement coming from somewhere next to him, then rubbed his eyes and turned on his side. It took him half a second to recognize the face of the woman next to him, but the moment he saw her face he remembered everything that had went on last night. Ross Benjamin Bennett was no longer a virgin. And Nora Holt was still here with him. He leaned in to kiss her back, and then placed a hand on her waist. “Hey there,” he said with a smirk before shaking his head with amazement. Never in a million years did he think he’d wake up in bed with another person… especially not someone as beautiful as her. Even with her hair a wreck and no clothes on, she still looked absolutely stunning. He gave a huge goofy grin to her, and then kissed her forehead. He placed his head on hers, and then pulled the blankets over them and tucked the both of them in. He could’ve just stayed there with her forever, he didn’t need to move. He ran his hand up and down her side, then just stared her in the eye. He could barely believe that she was smiling even more than him… but she seemed to have enjoyed herself almost as much as he did.

It made absolutely no sense to him… why did a girl like her want to stay in bed with him? If he was her, he would’ve left the minute they were finished. Actually, if he were her he wouldn’t have even talked to him in the first place. But maybe Nora didn’t care about looks… maybe not all pretty girls were stuck up and self-centered? All of the pretty girls he encountered during his Hogwarts days would only date the bad or the hot guys… he was as good as they could get, and he was scrawny and nerdy. Girls wouldn’t give him a second look. But Nora was apparently different, and Ross suddenly realized he couldn’t let this one get away. She was everything he had ever wanted in a girl, and for whatever reason she might feel the same. He had nothing to offer her. Yes, he had a small sum of money, but he wasn’t emotionally or physically exiting in any way shape or form. He was boring. And a girl like Nora, who surely dealt with adventure around every corner, was the exact opposite of boring. But perhaps opposites attract? Maybe their personalities evened the other out. They complimented each other, and it left Ross feeling a strange mix of contentment and confusion.

[nholt]

Nora stifled a yawn as she began to fully wake up. For a split second as she drifted out of sleep and into consciousness, the woman couldn't quite figure out where she was, why it didn't look at all like her flat, and various other idiotic thoughts that one had when they were half asleep and half awake. It only took a moment for her to recognize Ross and feel him next to her, though. She smiled at him, remembering the night prior. He seemed to believe that her realization would come with regret or guilt or dread, but it was anything but that. Nora got a weird sort of lightheaded feeling when she was around them, and wasn't sure if she should enjoy that or be scared of it. She decided to focus on the good.

Leaning over to kiss him, Nora pulled away before he spoke, smirking slightly and biting at her bottom lip. Returning his grin with one equally as goofy, she had to let out a laugh as he shook his head. Taking in Ross' expression, the blonde ran a hand through her hair and gave him a teasing smile. "You don't have to look so damn surprised," Nora said, giving him a playful shove in the shoulder. "Really, did you think I was going to escape into the night or something?" The woman snorted at the idea, though she didn't doubt that was what he had been thinking, or something along those lines. She moved farther under the blanket, but still shivered as his hang ran along her side. Taking in a sharp breath, she turned over to face him better, simply enjoying the moment.

Unfortunately, Nora wasn't quite sure if Ross understood that she genuinely liked him, more than just a night. She wasn't sure if she quite understood, either. The whole opposites thing the woman had never really believed in. This shouldn't work by any line of logic, but somehow the blonde found herself ignoring whatever her brain was saying. Her thoughts were too muddled to think clearly anyways, not that they were much better on a normal day. Nora couldn't help but smile at him once more, moving her fingers along the light bruise she had left on his neck. She let out a small sigh and then laughed at herself. "Merlin, I feel like... a giddy teenager or something." Nora burrowed her head into his shoulder, turning slightly red at the thought she had spoken aloud.

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