January 14th, 1888 - Simpson Home
Bella Scrimgeour

'Cause we're young and we're reckless / We'll take this way too far
It'll leave you breathless, mm / Or with a nasty scar
Blank Space - Taylor Swift

It had been two weeks since the New Year's Eve gala put on by the new hospital director. Normally this really wouldn't have been something Gemma had put any thought into. She supposed though, that wasn't exactly the reason she remembered the event itself. Its purpose, though wonderful, had been the scene for something altogether surprising. Gem would be the first to admit she wasn't one of those girls who put a lot of thought into boys. Sure, she knew lots of boys, was friends with lots of boys, but honestly, beyond that, she never gave them much attention, at least not in the way other girls did.

Maybe she was weird like that? She'd never really thought about it. Of course she recognized that some of them were certainly handsome, August, Nate, Alfie, all handsome in their own right, but they were her friends and that was that, plain and simple. Or had been. Not that Alfie was no longer her friend. It wasn't quite as plain and simple anymore, not really. Which was exactly why Gemma had never thought of her male friends that way- or any gentleman for that matter. It just wasn't one of those things that she happened to think of, even when she probably should. Her own debut for instance, the entire reason for the event was to catch the eye of a suitor, but Gemma had been too busy dancing and wrecking things to pay any specific one much attention.

Even now, she supposed she wasn't inclined to think of them any differently. She didn't have to after all. Nothing had to change if she didn't want it to. Right?

And so she sat on the edge of her bed, trying not to think if anything differently as the warm sunshine of the early afternoon peeked through the windows and a fire crackled merrily in her room. She and Bella had retreated to her bedroom after lunch while everyone else went about their own amusement. New Year's was at the forefront of her mind though and since she didn't have many female friends, she supposed she should make good use of her time with Bella now. "Bella, have you ever kissed a boy?" The question sounded much more abrupt out loud now that she thought about it. Oh Merlin, that sounded so bad and Gemma would never make presumptions about her friend, but honestly she had no idea how to go about this!

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   Bella Scrimgeour

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set by MJ my love

Work had been busy, but being an intern granted her the privilege of not having to be there at every hour of the day (or at least not at the busiest and most statistically dangerous times of the day). As such, she was free to spend the afternoons being idle — and more importantly, far away from the confines of both the Scrimgeour and Flint household. As much as her Aunt Laverna had tried to have a chaperon keep tabs on her at all hours, it was nearly impossible, as Bella could be as impulsive with her sudden apparition and movements as a distracted squirrel.

But Bella (fortunately) was not getting into trouble that afternoon; rather, she was spending it with Gemma Simpson, who was one of her more appropriate friends. The two girls, while separated by a year in school, shared a house and similar interests, making them a perfect pairing!

Years spent in a wealthy (and arguably prudish) household meant that mentions of kissing were slim, at least when it was insinuated that that kissing took place before marriage. Bella, for all her failings, had not yet broken propriety by means of kissing, though she could barely deny the thought had never crossed her mind! No, for now she was just a harmless flirt.

“If I had kissed a man, you would know by now,” she commented, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “—and the entire magical world would likely know, too.”

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —

Pursing her lips Gemma supposed that was true. Though sometimes she forgot what it was like to see her girlfriends on a regular basis. Without Tilda and Kenna readily available in the next bed, or Bella easy to find in the common room or down the hall, it was harder to keep in touch than Gemma would have liked. They were all busy of course, apprenticeships, the season and social events for some, distance, it spread them all apart and though she didn't like to think about it, it was all part of growing up. School had been so much easier.

Of course Gemma rarely thought of herself as an adult and perhaps that's why when Bella used the word "man" over Gem's own choice of "boy", she realized that she was in fact, an adult, and so was Alfie and that he was most assuredly not just a boy anymore. "Not even when Peeves did the mistletoe thing?" Gem highly suspected she would have heard about that too, but it was a shot in the dark. Then again she was not the most feminine of her friends, they didn't always come to her with such news.

Flopping back on her bed dramatically, which was mildly out of character for her, Gemma let out a long sigh. Just how did one go about telling their friend such a secret? With Gemma there really was only one way, "I did, on New Year's." She blurted out, rolling her head to the side to look at Bella.

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set by MJ my love

Ah, the mistletoe. That had been a particularly amusing thing to watch go down, if only because so many of the young ladies at school had made it such a big deal. Sure, there had been chastity cuffs to deal with and they didn't get a choice in their kissing partners, but they'd been so prudish! Even Bella, who would have likely been red in the face in the same situation, would have found something pleasant in the situation. Not that she was whore, though.

"I think I was one of the few friends of mine who didn't get personally victimized by mistletoe," she giggled — for a moment at least. Gemma then decided dropping a bombshell of a confession was the appropriate thing to do, causing Bella to stare at her with wide eyes.

She'd never imagined Gemma as the kissing type, perhaps because conversation of men had never come up. Usually it was plants, newsflashes that Gemma had somehow missed, and then more plants, because this was Gemma.

"What?" she shrieked, grabbing one of the small, square pillows and chucking it playfully towards her friend. "You kissed someone? Who? What was it like?" She needed all the details!

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —

Gemma caught the pillow clumsily as it was thrown her way and rolled over to get a better look at her friend. She should have anticipated such a reaction, but honestly this whole situation was well above anything Gemma had ever dealt with.

"Yes, there was apparently some errant mistletoe in town after Christmas this year." Gemma wasn't sure if this would have happened otherwise. She supposed that also wasn't what the big deal was about. After all, there had only been one way to get free and Gemma had initiated it, ever the Gryffindor, being the hero where Alfie was the one who'd gotten stuck. However, it was the kiss after that one that she'd been wholly unprepared for!

Gems mulled over whether or not to tell Bella who it had been. Was kissing and telling a bad thing? This is why she was so flustered! Never mind that she had feelings on a matter; Gemma didn't do difficult emotions well. Or at all. She'd lost half of her brothers and her step-mother and had been rather stoic each time. Though this was clearly not as hard as that, it was pretty perplexing, to say the least!

"Somebody I've known for a long while, a friend." She decided on, though would likely cave if Bella pushed for a name. "He was stuck outside on the terrace at the hospital gala and I heard him, got caught with him and then clearly to get out, I kissed him." It should have been that easy! "I had intended for it to be a joke mostly, little me coming to the rescue, but as soon as it ended," She could feel the blush creeping up her face. "He kissed me again..." Ah, this was so embarrassing to admit!

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set by MJ my love

Despite claiming to hate gossip publicly, Bella always enjoyed a good juicy story if it was (1) about someone she knew, and (2) coming from their mouth. That way, she knew she was getting the truth and only the truth, and no malicious gossip at that.

"So... Did you like it? Did it feel nice?" she asked eagerly. Whe society promoted the stereotype that young women were clueless and prudish, she hardly believed that she was the only one to ever ask such questions! "And his 'friend' — do I know him?"

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —

Gemma pressed her face into the pillow that had been thrown at her and let out a silent scream.  This was dramatic and ridiculous; two things she hated being or being involved with unless she was purposefully  making a fool of herself to have a good time.

She uncovered one eye to peek at Bella and nodded when asked if Bella would know him. That was the easier question to answer, the 'did you like it?" however was really troublesome. It certainly hadn't bee bad, but the surprise of the moment had prevented her from enjoying it as much as she could have. "It was... lovely." Really. For a girl who had never, ever put thought into what it would be like to kiss someone it had been surprisingly enjoyable.

"I don't know how to describe it," She whined. "Unexpected? Kind of thrilling? Like flying for the first time." That was the best analogy she could come up with. "It gives you that heart-racing, drop-in-your-stomach kind of feeling." And it made her blush again just thinking about it!

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set by MJ my love

Bella could not relate; she'd been avoiding broomsticks since her first year after Flying class. She knew, however, that Gemma had enjoyed flying and all that nonsense, so she could at least grasp the emotion behind it. Maybe it was like seeing magic used for the first time. Maybe it was like using magic herself for the first time.

"Ooh la la, Gemma has crush," she giggled, her smile widening as she watched her friend's cheeks flare red. "And it's obvious he likes you, too. I can't imagine he'd kiss you again if he didn't." Which obviously proved Bella's knowledge of men bordered on none, not that that was an insult at her age and... unmarried state.

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —

The temptation to smother herself with the pillow in her hands was high. It wouldn't be that hard, would it? She let out a long, low groan into the pillow before surfacing again. She'd been thinking about this part, did it mean she had a crush? Sure maybe she'd had one or two in passing here and there, but nothing at this level. And clearly nothing had ever stuck like this!

"Don't you do that. It could be nothing! Boys just like to do that right?" It was a thing right? Gemma had no idea! She knew girls obviously weren't supposed to go running around kissing people, but the same rules didn't apply to boys, did they? "I was just so good at it, had to try again?" She was joking, clearly, but the high squeak to her voice said she was starting to panic.

Oh Merlin what was this turning into?

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set by MJ my love

Oh, Gemma. She really didn't know, did she? (Well Bella didn't really know, either, but she at least knew more than Gemma!) She couldn't help but release a giggle before her lips spread into a smile so wide her dimples showed.

"But if he's your friend he wouldn't take advantage of your lips, silly!" she laughed. "Unless he's not a good friend, but from the sound of it he's more than that," she teased, wiggling her brows suggestively.

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —

Gemma returned to whining into the pillow.

Bella was right of course. She at least had some knowledge on the subject, not from experience, but maybe it was just that she paid better attention. Gemma had no idea what this meant now. Did Alfie want to be more than friends? Did she? Was that even allowed? All of these questions kept popping up in her mind and she had no idea how to answer them! Though she hadn't ever had to think about this before, she was starting to think that her previous naivety was easier. Much much easier, preferred even. It wasn't the reason she  never thought about it, but it certainly would be in the future!

"What do I do nowwww?" She whined, barely lifting her face from the pillow she was attempting to suffocate herself with.

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set by MJ my love

Bella had never seen Gemma this way, and now the mere sound of her friend whining was enough to make Bella erupt into giggles. While her love life was, well, practically nonexistent (not counting her crush that was complicated by work relationships, but she'd ruled out hope that that would get anywhere), she still enjoyed watching her non-obnoxious friends get all giggly over those matters!

"Well, you could always try flirting with him — subtly of course. Stroke his ego. Tease him. Maybe steal a touch." All three of those have garnered reaction from men in the past in her own experiences, but she imagined it would be more successful if the man actually liked Gemma already!

"The most important thing to remember is to be yourself. If he already likes you, you don't want to become someone you're not — I doubt he'll like that person too!" she advised. Now she was likely pulling things from cheesy romance novels, but the advice seemed logical.

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —

Nope.

Nope, nope, nope.

There was a whole lot of nope coming out of Bella's mouth and Gemma used the pillow to cover her ears. Flirt? Tease? These were not words Gemma knew how to utilize. She'd been called a flirt a time or two, but that was all innocent fun.

Gemma had zero intention of doing any of those things. This was Alfie for Merlin's sake! They played quidditch together, they made snacks in the kitchens at Hogwarts, he patched her up every time she got injured! They did not flirt!

"I really don't think that's going to happen." She muttered sarcastically. She hated mistletoe, she was going to burn every last little branch she ever saw.

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   Handsome Whitledge

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set by MJ my love

Bella's face fell into an exaggerated pout, and she reached forward in an attempt to displace Gemma's comfort-pillows.

"But whyyy? I'm sure he'd love it!" she whined, swinging her shoulders dramatically. "Who is he, anyways? Was he in Gryffindor? Your year, I suppose?" she asked, trying to filter through the names she remembered.

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —

Gemma would fight for her pillow haven tooth and nail if she had to, that was where she was at with her day.

And now they were back to who it was. Gemma had thought she might get away without revealing it was Alfie, but not it looked like that wouldn't be an option. "No Gryffindor; yes, my year." But she wasn't going to make it EASY.

In this instance, it was lucky she had so many male friends.

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set by MJ my love

So he wasn't Gryffindor, which left- well, a lot of people, really.

She had to think through this logically. Slytherins didn't seem like a good mix for Gemma, and Ravenclaws- Well, this was Gemma. Hufflepuff was the obvious choice, then, and it wasn't a bad choice seeing Bella's own preferences.

"It wasn't Humphrey-Mavis, was it? He's cute." And sporty, which aligned with Gemma's own interests, but Bella doubted the younger son of an Earl would pursue that relationship seriously. Boo. Maybe it was someone else?

  

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— MJ is MAGICAL —