Big Question (Ari)

Derek had been thinking about this for months now. The day when he asked Ari to go out on a date with him, followed by the day he asked her to be his girlfriend. But he needed to start at the beginning. The plans were all made. Like usual, he was thinking about things logically and calmly. Having grown up in a shop often occupied by people on dates, he'd seen plenty of guys ask their girlfriends or boyfriends out, and often they seemed very nervous. Derek didn't plan to act strangely like that. The point was to get Ari to go out with him, not to make her think that he was weird. He was almost certain that she'd say yes; she always seemed to like him so much. And if not, they could still be friends, because she'd have to get over it pretty quickly, since she worked with him at his family's tea shop.

Since he'd spent the last couple of weeks making plans, flowcharts and graphs and mindmaps on loose pieces of parchment, he felt confident that he was ready for this. The plans were pretty perfect, if he did say so himself. His best bet, he had decided, was to ask her in the teashop, during their ten minute break. This way, there was absolutely no chance Matthew could intrude on anything like he always did - Derek didn't think Matthew would be caught dead in a shop like Madam Puddifoots', where there were people kissing and girly decorations. It also provided a nice environment in which to ask someone out on a date, being the typical romantic, lovey-dovey sort of place.

He really, really liked Ari. It had been that way for a while, since he met her, actually. She was beautiful and intelligent and kind and confident. Although he'd missed hearing her voice this term, he felt like he'd seen a new side of Ari, which was more serious and sensible, and it only made him like her even more. Unfortunately, she was still using the whiteboard - he had no idea how she'd managed to work as a waitress this term - but he wasn't going to let that stop him from liking her almost as much as he liked himself. It was sort of adorable, he guessed, and even though her answers could sometimes be a bit short and curt, she was still Ari. And Ari was awesome. He felt a bit lovestruck. But he was certain that this, for sure, was not love. Eventually, if things worked out, Derek reckoned he could love her quite easily.

The shop was quite busy today, so he hadn't really seen much of Ari, having been stuck in the backroom ferociously brewing tea for the stream of customers coming in and out, while she was out in the main part of the shop doing whatever she was meant to be doing. Derek had started obsessively checking his watch, slowing down his tea brewing and biscuit arranging considerably. Five minutes. Four minutes fifty seconds. Four and a half minutes. His job was great, and he'd enjoyed helping out in the shop all his life (especially now he was getting paid for it) but today time seemed to be going ridiculously slowly. Maybe he was making too big a deal out of this whole thing, like those dramatic, blubbering guys in the shop sometimes. But it suddenly dawned that it was quite important she said yes. He didn't want to face rejection. That would suck.

Eventually, finally, the time came, and he yelled for his brother Trevor to come in and take over for him. Meanwhile, he practically sprinted back into the main part of the shop and grinned at Ari. "Come outside for a bit?" he asked casually, trying to hide the blush from his face. Hoping with all his heart that she'd follow, he lead the way to the door, holding it open so she could follow him out. "Hey, Ari, can I ask you a question?" he asked quietly after they'd left the loud noise of the shop behind. It was cold out here. Colder than he'd planned for it to be, by a good few degrees. Gosh, he hoped this wouldn't ruin his chances.

Ari had managed to go all term without speaking. She had explained to Derek's parents semi what had happened and how she wasn't speaking, and they seemed to be cool with the idea as long as she could use her white board to communicate with the customers and Derek. Which she was cool with. If they didn't agree with it, she would've quit. She didn't need a job with her weekly allowance that her parents sent her, but she still wanted to pull her own weight. So she worked her ass off pretty much to get spending money for Honeydukes, and other things that she wanted to get. Today was a rather busy day. She was busy talking to customer's, getting their orders, and getting them back to Derek. Poor kid was working like a dog back in the back brewing tea and doing everything else. At that moment, she was just counting down to when she and Derek would go on break. Even though she didn't talk, she still liked to write to Derek, which was pretty much what they were doing.

Ari moved effortlessly around the tea shop. She loved it there. It was her second favorite place next to Hogwarts. She loved the smell, the family that ran it, and Derek being there was just a plus. She had grown to really like the boy since she met him. Mrs. Lawrence was so nice and understanding, and Derek's brother was just so darn cute. Today, Ari supported her famous Princess Anna braids, and wore her usual attire that she wore now a days. She smiled when she saw the time. Break! She smiled when Derek came up to her! Of course, she didn't say much. Ari didn't say much these days. Derek asked her to come outside with him. What he didn't seem to understand was that she would go anywhere with him. He was almost just as important to her as Matthew. And if both of them left her she wasn't sure what she would do.

Ari realized she had changed a lot in the summer. Instead of becoming more dependent on herself, she became dependent on other people. Which wasn't good, but she hated the feeling of being alone. Which was what she had felt all summer when her parents where gone, and she had left. Since she Ari couldn't find the means to even speak her name. Sure she had written, but Ari didn't care enough to write back. She had left, she had made her choice, she abandoned Ari. Ari didn't give a shit about the people who abandoned her. It was when Derek was being straight forward, that made her pay more attention. She usually didn't listen to people unless they where talking about Ari. But he seemed serious. She decided to stop getting distracted by the clouds and actually pay attention to  him. He deserved that much.

She wanted to write on her board, but he seemed so serious. He had said it so quietly she could barley understand him. But she somehow knew what he was going to ask. She could feel it. Since the first time she met him. She did like him. But she knew she liked Matthew a tad bit more, but didn't know if her and Matthew would ever happen with how stubborn he was. But at the same time, she wasn't sure if what she felt for Matthew was brotherly love, or that kind. Either way, she shuddered at the thought. Maybe going out with Derek would help. She knew her answer right away, and without even thinking, she asked, "What is it?" She blinked several times, confused by the sound that came out. She hadn't spoken in so long, it felt almost weird. It felt strange, unnatural. But at the same time she missed the sound of her own voice. She smiled at the whiteboard and threw it to the ground. Never again in her life time would she go without speaking. She just loved her voice too much. Now, if only she could find Matthew and annoy the shit out of him with Let it Go, then this day would be perfect. After all, she already knew what she was going to say to Derek.

Suddenly a scary feeling of anxiety and doubt washed over him. Since when did Derek Lawrence have any doubt in himself? He never worried about anything. He was just like the blubberers. Did it make him stupid? Or was it just some sort of weird automatic reaction that any guy who really liked a girl should have? He'd always wondered what he was scared of - really scared of, more than spiders, or accidentally destroying the world with a swarm of zombies - but now he knew. He was afraid of rejection and failure. At least, he was afraid of rejection from Ari, who he considered his best friend and one of his favourite people. So all he had to do, in that case, was ask her, but ask her in the most convincing way possible, so that she wonder even consider making him face that awful feeling of rejection.

Since she didn't seem to be writing anything on her whiteboard, he took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself to ask the question. But before any words had come out, a voice had interrupted. Ari's voice! Shocked, he glanced at her to check he hadn't imagined it. She'd gone so long without talking! Why was she stopping it now? It wasn't that he minded - it was nice to hear her voice after so long. But it suddenly seemed hard to formulate a normal sentence himself. He was too bewildered. Derek didn't know what he'd expected, but he hadn't expected her to speak. Wow, and now she was dramatically throwing her whiteboard to the ground! He looked at her with admiration. "You're speaking again!" Derek grinned. Stating the obvious, because he didn't know what else to say.

Anyway... what was it he had been about to ask her? Oh yeah, to go on a date with him. In the excitement, he'd actually managed to forget the nerves and doubt. So before he could think himself out of it, Derek pulled a cheesy orange-red rose (similar to the colour of Ari's hair) from his pocket, which he had charmed to be much larger on the inside. "I got you a cheesy rose," he said, with a nervous laugh. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade sometime?" Was that too casual? He'd forgotten the scripted proposal he'd planned. Would she even understand what he meant?! "I mean, on a date. Not for work. Obviously. I wouldn't need to ask-" He cut himself off before he could accidentally convince her not to go, and so that she could have a chance to speak. Because she was speaking now. Which was awesome.

Now that he'd got asking her out over with, he'd have to decide on a date. He knew she liked ice-cream. But ice-cream was too generic. And he didn't want to take her to Puddifoots', because they worked there anyway. And so did his family for that matter. Maybe the Three Broomsticks or something? But like he'd cut off his rambling, he cut off his thoughts, deciding that what was most important was to focus on Ari, not be rude and stare into space. He smiled a little awkwardly as he waited for her response, his face turning red in embarrassment at himself.

It was cute. How nervous he was getting about the question he was going to ask. Talking felt so good. She should've listened to Matthew and talked just at Hogwarts and not let them know she was speaking. But at the time, she had committed to it. And after all, she was her father's daughter. When Derek noticed her speaking, and commented on it, she laughed and said, "Way to go captain obvious. Must be amazing to hear my voice again huh?" Ari smiled widely at Derek. But Derek was getting off topic. He needed to get on topic, even though it was funny watching him sweat bullets, and stutter words. But then he did something that nobody has ever done before. He gave her a "cheesy rose" as he put it. But in her mind, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. And then he did another thing that nobody ever did. He asked her to Hogsmeade. Sure they had been before together, but Matthew was there, and she was only doing it to piss him off. But this was for a completely different reason. Her mind spun and she realized he must be sweating even more bullets waiting for an answer. She had an answer it her head. Yes, of course.

But she couldn't find the means to say it out loud. Why? She had no idea. What would Matthew think? Why was she concerned about Matthew? What would Aunt Evelyn think? No. It was time for her to be more independent. And not dependent on other people. But could she do that AND be with Derek at the same time? Derek was the only one who had the guts to actually ask her out. She wasn't very popular, and didn't get all the guys. But Derek was one of her best friends.... not THE best, but one of them. He came in second place. She realized she had kept him waiting long enough. Poor guy. She gladly took the rose. It reminded her of that one show, the Bachelor that her Aunt made her watch. She shoved the memory aside but said, "I accept your rose. And yes, I'll go to Hogsmeade with you."

What happened now? Did they hold hands? Hug? KISS? Ari wasn't sure she was ready for that. She had seen it done in the muggle movies she watched, but she was positive she wasn't ready for that shit. Maybe if Derek agreed to take it slow, this thing, or whatever they had could actually work! She just had to believe that Derek wouldn't abandon her like everybody else seemed to be doing. And if he did, she probably just wouldn't speak again. She took the rose, and stuck it behind her ear. This was going to be an interesting adventure, and she was ready to face it.