As soon as he misspoke over his friend's name, Seb felt a weight of guilt sit on his heart. Even with Alice saying it was okay, that it was a big change, Seb knew just how important this was to her. He nodded, but there was a small frown on his face. She told him to hold still, then went to her knees to tie up his shoes. "You don't hafta do that! I don't mind if they're undone." He blushed, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Bubs, I don't think that's why she's doing it. Remember, we live at the top of stairs. What happened last time?" Kinzlie looked over at Seb, who appeared for a second to be in thought. "Oh... right. Probably ought to keep 'em tied up."
Before they stepped out, Alice asked Mrs Nora about cookbooks. Seb nodded, smiling happily. "Yea, 'cause 'Liss is the captain of the cooking club at school! Linsey said she was the best ever so now she's in charge!" He couldn't possibly be more proud of his very best friend. "Of course we can grab you a nice cookbook. And, if you'd like, before we get you back to your Uncle's house tonight, we can stop by my house and you can look through my cookbooks. It must be a very exciting responsibility to be running the club, and I'd love to help however I can." Seb grinned over at Alice, then held out a hand for his Mama. Despite being a teenager, the alley was super easy to get lost in! His other hand reached over for Alice, sending a smile toward the blonde. For her... he just liked holding hands.
xx☼Wʜᴇʀᴇ Aᴍ I?Home Sweet Home xxx☼Wʜᴏ Is Wɪᴛʜ Mᴇ?Mama, Liss, Miss Nora xxxx☼Wʜᴀᴛ's Gᴏɪɴɢ Oɴ?Finally home! xxxxx☼Wʜᴀᴛ's Iɴsɪᴅᴇ Mʏ Hᴇᴀᴅ?I can't wait!
A whole lot had happened since the last time Seb had really gotten to sit down and just... be with Mama. Plus, according to Professor Clarke's big ol' moon calendar, he was going to get to spend the whole break feeling pretty good. He'd have to start taking his potions a couple days before going back, but that was okay. The potions weren't really the worst part of the whole shebang. Either way, they were planning on even spending a whole week with Mama off work so they could just spend time together. It was something he'd been quite looking forward to.
The train took forever, then they weren't able to talk on the platform much since it was super duper busy. However, Miss Nora had gotten Alice some extra time away from home, so she was going to spend the night at the Moon Flat! After the Abrams and Heulwen families all managed to leave, Miss Nora carefully apparated the little group home. Finally, it was time to talk! Seb looked over at Alice, a still dopey grin on his face. "Do you wanna tell 'em or me? 'Cause I think you should, Liss." He looked over, noticing the glances between the grown ups too. Honestly, he couldn't wait for them to know their big news.
Alice hadn't enjoyed the train ride home because it meant that she'd have to spend time with her parents and be Declan. She'd spent pretty much the whole train ride home holding Seb's... her boyfriend's... hand and trying to keep herself calm. Once they hit the platform, there was the wildness of the platform to deal with and she couldn't think much about the commotion. Mrs Nora did let her know she'd informed her parents that they would be returning on Sunday, rather than Saturday, so Alice could spend the night at the Moon flat... Would they let her sleep in the same bed as Sebby? Her cheeks blushed at that thought but thankfully everyone was too busy to notice it. Alice looked around at everyone meeting up with their families and waved at her cousins when they arrived to gather Aina. She stayed close to Mrs Nora and Momma Kinzlie until they were apparated over to the Moon flat. The blonde took a moment to orient herself, then slipped off her shoes to be more comfortable.
Sebby was practically vibrating with excitement and Alice could feel his happiness radiating to her. She smiled back at him, then nodded when he asked if she wanted to tell them or if she wanted him to do it. "Mrs Nora, Momma Kinzlie. Sebby and I have a big announcement." She glanced between the two elders, wondering if they'd have the same reactions as their friends. Pretty much all their friends had responded "no duh" or "you weren't already?" or something in that fashion. But still, Alice was excited to share the information. "As of a couple weeks ago, Sebastian and I are officially dating." She smiled and took his hand in hers, which wasn't something out of the ordinary for them.
xx☼Wʜᴇʀᴇ Aᴍ I?Home Sweet Home xxx☼Wʜᴏ Is Wɪᴛʜ Mᴇ?Mama, Liss, Miss Nora xxxx☼Wʜᴀᴛ's Gᴏɪɴɢ Oɴ?Finally home! xxxxx☼Wʜᴀᴛ's Iɴsɪᴅᴇ Mʏ Hᴇᴀᴅ?
When Alice started, saying they had a big announcement, Seb happily nodded his head along. It was big news indeed, much like his confession of being nonbinary had been. Though, he figured this news was probably better. "Do share, sweetheart." Miss Nora said, her voice soft and kind as always. Then the news was broken, and Seb grinned happily. "Yep! We sure are!"
"Aww, I'm so proud of you kids. That's such exciting news." Mama pulled Seb into a hug immediately, though her other hand was held out toward Nora. The older woman smiled softly as she set two shiny galleons in the younger's hand. "I'm so proud of you dears." Nora added, gently brushing Alice's cheek before giving her a hug as well. "Hey! Were you guys bettin' on us?!" Seb questioned, earning a few laughs. "Well... yes. We could all see the love you two kids have. And fourteen is usually when people start dating. So... I bet you'd start a relationship before winter break, while Nora said springtime was your time to shine." Kinzlie explained, laughing as she ruffled her son's messy hair.
Alice beamed when Momma Kinzlie hugged Seb and said she was proud of them for their news, but her smile faltered a moment when some coins exchanged hands. Mrs Nora hugged her and she returned the gesture. Then Seb asked if they'd bet on them and Momma Kinzlie confirmed it. "I'm pretty sure several of the professors were betting on us too," she said with a slight frown. Did all adults do that? Or was it specifically them that people were betting on? Was it really that obvious? Alice glanced over at Seb who still seemed in really high spirits. All their friends seemed to know they were going to date, the professors seemed to know, even Mrs Nora and Momma Kinzlie seemed to know. The blonde tried to objectively view their relationship and see if she could see the obviousness behind their relationship. Viewing their friendship objectively, Alice figured she could see it... they were almost always together, they held hands everywhere they went... Seb and Alice even fed each other sometimes. "It makes sense," she mumbled out loud, continuing the conversation from inside her head out loud. She shook her head and smiled, then rolled up onto her tiptoes and kissed Sebby on the cheek.
