Winter Blunderland [open]

Jasmine shifted uneasily, her bottom had long since fallen asleep. The class period just seemed to drag on cutting into the free period she was due to have next. Though she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do, this defiantly wasn’t it. Normally she would be completely done with the assignment she had been given but not today. Distractedly, her eyes gazed out the window at the falling snow. Though it wasn’t snowing as hard as it had been this morning, Jasmine knew there would be a fair amount on the ground and she had a sudden desire to be in it. Drawn to the silence that accompanied a snow storm, Jasmine just couldn’t sit still. Wanting to be free of the walls that felt, to her, as if they were closing in around her making her confined, she started to think of ways she might escape; could she face an illness? Say she had pressing matters to attend to with another Professor? Each plan seemed even more ridiculous that the last.

Just when she felt she could take no more, the Professor stood and finally dismissed them. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jasmine hastily stuffed her blank parchment and quill into her bag, fallowed roughly by her heavy Ancient Runes book. Before anyone could stop her, she forced herself out of her seat, glad to stretch her aching butt muscles, and hurried from the room. On her way out she barely noticed the numerous people she bumped into. Some protested, others apologized while still others tried to stop her, no doubt to ask what he plans were for this free hour. On any other day she would have been glad to have the company of a fellow Slytherin or two, but not today.

Not wanting to face anyone else who might demand her attention, Jasmine rushed down the stairs and into the Entrance Hall. On any other day she would have paid a visit to the Girls Dorm located in the dungeon where she slept, but she was in a hurry, she didn’t even bother to grab her cloak, though at that moment she felt that was a mistake. With a sound like a choking cat Jasmine turned around just as she was about to exit into the dazzling winter wonderland that had been the court yard this morning. I’ll be quick, she assured herself as she hurried down towards the dungeons.

In her haste to escape, Jasmine did in fact grab her cloak but forgot to leave her school bag, unfortunately she didn’t notice until she was already almost back to the Common Room. “Damnit!” She cursed loudly, causing a few students to stare at her. “Got a problem?” Jasmine demanded causing the color to drain from the first years face. With a satisfied smile, Jasmine pushed on towards her destination not allowing anything else to distract her, not even the persistent demands from her fellow Slytherin who tried to catch her attention yet again.

The second the cold air hit her, Jasmine smiled, glad that she’d diverted from her course to grab her cloak; the Hogwarts uniform she currently wore didn’t give much protection from the winter chill. The court yard dazzled her as she stepped into the frigid air, snowflakes danced around her as a small gust of wind cropped up. To her satisfaction there were only a few other students brave enough to face the chill. Naturally when she walked by, all conversations stopped. It was amusing how easy it was to scare a couple into silence, all she had to do was appear. A smirk played around her plump lips as she passed a romantic couple who had been about to kiss, but when the girl saw her she whispered something to her partner causing them both to freeze. How pathetic.

No one knew just how soft she could be. How could they, no one took the time to get to know her, not even her so called friends in Slytherin. She was a girl after all, and one who happened to enjoy romance. Never would she have bothered the couple out of respect; she wouldn’t have wanted anyone to do it to her so why would she do it? As soon as her back was to the couple she heard them start to whisper again, but chose to ignore them. Her proud shoulder slumped and though she had been trying to find a more secluded place, she stopped at a bench she just happened to come across and sat down. Before she was completely settled, she noticed that the couple had gathered their belongings and holding hands made a quick getaway towards the castle.

Watching the couple, Jasmine sighed, “You sure know how to clear a room.” Closing her eyes, she allowed her bag to fall into the snow drift at her side and left it there. What a lonely life you lead.

Gryphon had spent most of the last Ancient Runes class wistfully watching the snow falling outside of the window. It seemed like he wasn't the only one that was bored to tears today, as everyone around him seemed to be uncomfortably shifting in their seats, and hardly anyone was taking notes any longer as the professor continued to drone on and on and, on, seemingly endlessly. The young man had never been much of a model student to begin with, so long, boring classes didn't sit very well with him. And all he wanted to do was to go outside; the cold didn't bother him much at all, and he already had his winter cloak neatly folded on the top of his bag, ready to spend a bit of free time outside as soon as class ended.

And while that moment seemed to take an eternity to arrive, finally, at long last, the class was dismissed. Gryphon left the class slowly, stopping to talk a bit to anyone who cared to listen as he made his way towards the door. When he did finally leave, though, he headed straight for the front entrance at a light jog, eager to feel the cold breeze on his skin and the snow in his hair. He paused only long enough to pull his cloak and scarf on at the door, careful to make sure they both looked pristine, before he entered the courtyard, smile already in place on his face.

Gryphon wandered around the courtyard a bit aimlessly, hoping to find someone he could chat with outside, but it was surprisingly empty. There were a few couples out there, sure, but he didn't really want to bother them when they looked otherwise....occupied. Why was it that no one else seemed to want to enjoy the cold? His brows furrowed in confusion; maybe living in the dungeon had made him less sensitive to the cold than it made people from the other houses or something, he wasn't really sure, but he could never understand why people didn't like snow.

The boy let out a heavy sigh - as much as he enjoyed being outside, he hated being alone, and was already considering defeat and headed back in to try to find someone else he could spend some time with. Thus, he turned around and was going to head back inside when he saw a familiar face - Jasmine Pucey, a fellow Slytherin seventh year. She was very, very attractive, and thus Gryphon had done his fair share of flirting with her over the years, though her attitude tended to be a bit cold - not that he really cared. He watched her for a few seconds as she crossed the courtyard to a bench and sat down - she muttered something he couldn't hear before dropping her bag in the snow, her expression far from a happy one.

Gryphon smirked - this situation certainly called for what he considered his charming attitude if any did. He quickly crossed the distance between them, crouching beside her to pick her bag back up from the snow drift and brushing it off casually for her. "Still down about how horrible that Ancient Runes class was, Jasmine?" he asked her with a slight grin, setting her bag beside her on the bench rather than back in the snow. He brushed off a bit of snow from the other side of the bench and then sat down himself, lounging as comfortably as a stone bench would allow him to. "Though to be honest, you never really look that happy, even when you're having dessert in the Great Hall. So what's bothering you this time?"

Jasmine jumped slightly as Gryphon seemed to materialize out of nowhere. It took her a moment to process that he was being nice while he picked up her bag and brushed off the snow. When had it fallen? Shaking her head lightly she allowed a small smile to turn the corners of her mouth. The class had indeed been unbearable and Gryphon had a charm about him that was hard to resist, so without meaning to she allowed a giggle to escape her lips before composing herself again. “Is it just me or did the class drag on more than usual?” Jasmine asked coolly, her proper posture returning now that she was no longer alone. It was hard not to snap at Gryphon for making himself at home on the bench next to her without asking her first, did no one at the school believe in social etiquette, but Jasmine forced herself to stay quiet; he was, after all, the only one who had even bothered to join her everyone else ran away. So Jasmine decided to forgive his lack of propriety.

That was until he opened his mouth again. “Excuse me?” Taken aback, Jasmine turned herself to so she was now facing Gryphon, anger welling up inside her. Did she really look that miserable? Feeling suddenly ashamed, Jasmine looked down and laced her fingers together across her lap. It was hard for her to refrain from lecturing Gryphon for having so little tact in the matter, but he was right. Jasmine couldn’t argue with him, she was less than happy most of the time. The way she was raised, to be proper all the time, was apparently starting to take a toll on her even more than she realized. And now, even when someone was taking an interest in her when she was apparently at her worst, she couldn’t drop her composure and let him in. Though her mother would have scolded her, Jasmine started chewing on the inside of her cheek, her eyes focused on the snow at her feet. She had to do, or say something, now it was she who was being rude.

“I’m sorry Gryphon.” She whispered. “It’s not that I’m not happy at times, I was just raised in a way that taught me to show emotions in a more restrained way.” Inwardly she groaned. She sounded like a miserable old fool, aged well beyond her seventeen years. How on earth had she become so shut off? After so long of closing herself off to others, it was hard for her to unwind even in the slightest, even now when Gryphon seemed so demanding for that to happen, she still couldn’t let herself open up. “I have a tendency to shut people out, don’t I?” Jasmine sighed and scratched the fingernail of her thumb across the other. “I suppose that’s what is bothering me this time. I seem to repel people without trying.” She paused and sighed again. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy company, I was just raised to have high standards for what company I keep.” Flinching, Jasmine cringed and closed her eyes. “Forgive me.” Something had to change before she scared him off like she did everyone else. “I need to work on that.” Finally she looked at Gryphon and smiled, a genuine thing that didn’t quite touch her eyes. “Maybe you can help me… unwind?”

Jasmine had to admit she liked Gryphon, though she didn’t show it she found him charming and quite good looking. There was just something about him and the way he talked to her that made it hard to stay composed. The only other person she had that problem with was Scoprius, but there was never anything between them. Scorpius was her brother’s friend, and maybe an acquaintance to her so she found it easier to stay composed with him rather than Gryphon. Gryphon made her want to let loose, to laugh and smile and for once not be proper at all. Maybe Gryphon will be the one to help me get past who I was raised to be, Jasmine thought. She could feel the heat rising to her face even through the bite of the cold and knew she was blushing. Normally she would have hidden the reaction, but this time she didn’t stop it. At least this is a start, she thought again as the color flushed her cheeks. Maybe I won’t scare him off after all.

At least at first, Jasmine seemed to open up to Gryphon, commenting on the Ancient Runes class as well. He chuckled a bit at her words before nodding slightly. "And that's a high accomplishment, being even more boring," he happily participated in their comfortable small talk - it served as a good icebreaker considering he had approached her completely uninvited and had just assumed she didn't want to be alone purely because he didn't want to be alone. That sort of mentality was pretty common for the young man though, and he was never even aware it was happening. Someone didn't want him to come and spend time with them? Preposterous idea. They just didn't know how much they actually wanted to talk to him yet but he would show them and change their minds, of course.

Gryphon's second comment about Jasmine's usual demeanour didn't seem quite as well received. Her exclamation was clearly one of offence or at least something similar, but Gryphon didn't react much. He glanced sideways at her as she turned to face him, not bothering to push himself up from his comfortable lounge on the bench. He had only been stating what he had observed over the past seven years and if she wanted to get offended about it, that was fine by him. He wasn't much of one for taking back anything that he said, especially when he couldn't see a problem with it. So rather than apologize or anything, he simply shrugged, hoping that she would concern herself more with his inquiry into her current emotional state rather than get hanged up on his observation.

When Jasmine started suddenly opening up to him, Gryphon simply listened for a bit, steepling his fingers under his chin as she talked a bit about the way she had been raised, and how it had affected her behaviour and her attitude. "You do shut people out a lot, yeah," Gryphon then answered her question, and while he was being honest, he did at least say it softer than he usually spoke. She was opening up to him a lot more than he had expected, and he had enough sense to show a bit more respect than he usually did. He considered her situation for a few moments before continuing to speak, a thoughtful tone in his voice. "I may not have been raised in some posh, British, aristocratic society or whatever it was you were raised in to make you like this," he began, "but I was raised in the most emotionally stifled culture in the world. You don't have to let it control who you are forever, you know." Gryphon finally shifted a bit to face her as well, meeting her eyes with his and holding her gaze, the look in his own eyes an intense one. "Don't use it as an excuse, Jasmine. I'm pretty sure you're stronger than that." With that, he gave a curt nod before finally dropping his gaze and letting her continue to speak.

Gryphon couldn't help but snort a bit when Jasmine said she had been taught to be particular about the type of people that she kept in her company - he wasn't entirely sure if that was meant to be about him as well or not, but he was amused all the same. "Do I fit in those 'high standards' then?" he asked her, only half teasing as he flashed a quick grin. "Or are you breaking all the rules by having this conversation at all? Not that that would mean I have any intention of leaving though - there's a lot more to you than you let on, you know." He smirked then, but his eyes flashed rather mischievously, betraying that he was mostly teasing her. Mostly.

Jasmine's final question for him actually threw him off guard a bit. He had not been expecting that sort of inquiry, but he certainly wasn't going to complain about it either. He met her gaze again then, his own rather unwavering as he tried to read her to figure out exactly what it was she was asking him - what did she mean by 'unwind?' Because he was certainly interpreting it in a few different ways, but if she was suggesting what he thought she might be suggesting....he then noted that her skin was becoming quite a nice shade of red, which was hard not to notice against the white snow all around her. Seeing that reaction in her he knew was probably quite rare for anyone to see considering how guarded she usually was, and he didn't take it lightly.

She really was opening up to him - that was extremely unexpected, but not unwelcome. And to think, he had thought this would just be a casual conversation to pass their free hour and give him an excuse to be out enjoying the snow....

"Depends on what you mean by 'unwind,'" Gryphon finally replied, showing another quick grin he hoped would be at least a little disarming, or thus was his intention with it, "I am a Prefect remember, so tragically we can't go running naked through the corridors as much as that would probably go against your normal behaviour. I'm sure we could find another excellent way to help you not be so uptight though." Gryphon paused for a moment, raking his fingers back through his dark hair as he considered his next words. Finally, he settled on just asking her and being a bit more straightforward about it. "Just what are you looking for, Jasmine?" Again he held her gaze with his own intense one, his eyes serious even as a wicked grin crossed his features beyond his control.

Jasmine nodded, of course she shut people out. It was just easier than being proper while still showing how she felt. Merlin how she hated being perfect all the time. Was she stronger than this? Jasmine wasn’t quite sure she believed this about herself, but it seemed Gryphon did. She watched him intently, wondering how it was so easy for him to be…. Well him. Don’t start that, Jasmine scolded. You may need to lighten up, but getting annoyed with Gryphon will do no good. He’s here to help. The annoyance inside her was ill placed, but she felt it nonetheless. She only felt so because she had never been able to let go and it seemed easy for everyone else.

“Oh Merlin no!” Jasmine gasped, her face flushing. “You are quite acceptable-,” she stopped and closed her eyes. “I enjoy talking to you.” How many more times was she going to slip up talking to Gryphon? Here he was being sweet and charming in his own way and Jasmine was blowing it. How on earth could she be so socially lacking? When it came to common everyday situations she was ignorant but if you put her where others would feel insufficient she would excel. With a light sigh, Jasmine opened her eyes and forced herself to relax. As her eyes softened, she was able to give him a gentle smile that brightened her face, making her less cold. “I’m glad you would stay even if I said otherwise.” She laughed softly, but shifted uneasily. That was her problem, admitting her true feelings to anyone.

The longer Jasmine sat with Gryphon the more awkward she felt. This was not her normal scene, he was not her normal companion, this happened whenever they were together. Though she would never tell Gryphon to his face, whenever he sought her out in the past she would usual cut the meeting short just to avoid awkward feelings such as this. This was not who she was, Jasmine was never awkward and yet somehow Gryphon had a way of making her feel so. This has to stop!

Jasmine felt even more uneasy as Gryphon scrutinized her. Under his gaze she felt the face flood with even more heat which meant even more color. Stop it will you, she pleaded inwardly, but to no avail. Just when she thought she had more of a handle on things, Gryphon smiled which would send her into a whole new wave of blushing. With a light whimper, when had she ever made that sound before, she brought her hands to her face and shook her head. The way Gryphon worded his statement made something stir inside her. Was he implying something? And then came the most shocking part.

Her hands fell to her lap, her eyes grew wide, her face flushed even dark, was that possible? “What!” A sudden image popped into her head of her removing her cloths in front of Gryphon which sent violent chills down her spine. Quickly her hands shot to cover her mouth in shock at her own thoughts and at the look in Gryphon’s eyes. She watched Gryphon, not sure if he was teasing her or not. Surely that’s what it was though, he had to be teasing her, trying to get her to break free of her shell. That was it, he had to be teasing her. Finally seeing things for what they were, Jasmine blushed even darker still. If she blushed anymore she was going to end up melting the snow around them. By now she was sure Gryphon would be able to feel the heart radiating from her face alone.

Not sure what else to do, Jasmine allowed an awkward giggle to escape from behind her hands as a stunningly wicked grin crept over Gryphon’s lips. Her heart did a funny little hiccup which she tried to ignore. How had she never seen this from him before? Jasmine felt her hands shaking uncontrollably which she wanted to hide from Gryphon if she could. Dropping her hands to her lap she rested on hand on top of the other in hopes that the shaking would stop; it didn’t. At this point Jasmine knew she was going to have trouble speaking, but refused to let him make her feel even more awkward so as she cleared her throat to speak, she looked into Gryphon’s eyes. With a heavy sigh she smiled at him, still nowhere near her usual demeanor. “Um,” and naturally her voice broke. Horrified, Jasmine cleared her throat and tried again. “I-I,” damn it, “I need help not being me.” She managed finally. Feeling slightly more confident, she breathed deeply and continued. “You seem sure of yourself and aren’t afraid to tell people what you think, I want that.” Though it was true, it wasn’t enough. “I want to be able to laugh and express myself freely and I feel you could be the one to help me.” With a groan she cupped her face in her hands again and shook her head. “I’m asking a lot I know, but I can’t take it anymore!” Was she about to cry? Merlin please! That’s the last think I need right now!

Jasmine wasn’t quite sure what she expected of Gryphon, but she was sure he would have some idea of how to help her and even if he couldn’t maybe he could help her help herself.

When Jasmine said that she considered him to be 'acceptable' and least, and was glad that he wouldn't leave her alone right now, Gryphon offered her a genuine, warm smile - which was a rare occurrence from him, but her words did make him genuinely happy. While he could certainly be naive a lot of the time, he wasn't so naive as to believe that he could never be bothering someone. He didn't like to believe it, of course, but the realization was somewhere in the back of his mind that it was a possibility. And while it was true that he probably wouldn't have left her alone right now, not with the way she was acting and his thirst for social interaction, having her reassure him that it was okay was still a nice thing to hear. "Good to know," he then replied, the smile still pulling at the corners of his lips, "because I enjoy talking to you too."

Gryphon couldn't help but laugh at Jasmine's reaction to his suggestion to run naked through the castle - her face was even more red than ever and her eyes were wide, and it was obvious she hadn't been expecting that. He let his laughter lighten the air between them a bit, hoping it would make her more comfortable because he could feel the tension between them growing even if it was just one sided, before smiling as he regained control of his emotions. "I was joking, Jasmine. Well, mostly," he then said with a quick wink before laughing lightly a bit more. "You don't have to look so afraid, you know. I only bite if you're into it."

Jasmine's face only continued to become more and more red, and Gryphon wasn't entirely certain why - he hadn't really said a whole lot to her yet and had mostly just been listening, and yet....well. Something was clearly going on inside her head that was making her uncomfortable and embarrassed, and he was naggingly curious about just what she was thinking that had gotten her into such a state. He thought several times about calling her out on it and asking what was going on, but bit his tongue - she was starting to open up more and more to him, and he knew that asking her about her flushed features would probably end that really quickly. He was already uncertain whether or not he was treading on thin ice with her or not - they had never really talked this much before. In the past seven years, while he had attempted to talk with her and flirt with her on numerous, uncountable occasions, she had always cut the conversation short and left. He didn't want to blow it all now with a smart comment. Not this time.

And then she was stammering a bit, and Gryphon felt a bit of vicarious embarrassment for her. People were usually fairly laid back around him, probably because of his own attitude, but he seemed to be having the opposite affect on Jasmine for the better or the worst. "You don't have to be so nervous around me, you know," he then pointed out to her with a shrug, "I'm not judging you or anything like that. So just...calm down, okay?" His voice was soft once more, softer than usual, and he looked away from her towards the courtyard and at the snow. It was such a peaceful day too, and it looked like they were now alone in the courtyard, which he would usually see as a shame but right now it seemed to be for the better. He still wasn't entirely sure where this conversation was going, but being alone did seem like the better option.

When she did finally open up and tell him what she wanted, Gryphon didn't respond immediately, continuing to stare ahead of him at the falling snow, fingers steepled under his chin once more in thought. She wanted him to help her be more relaxed and open and show her emotions. She wanted to be more like him. This was the first time anyone had ever said they wanted to be more like him - sure, people remarked about wanting his confidence, or his looks, or his social prowess, but never the way that Jasmine was speaking to him. And the fact that it was Jasmine saying it of all people made it a pretty significant deal. And for once he was slightly resolved to think about what he said instead of just...speaking.

"I think," Gryphon finally spoke, glancing sideways at her, "that you're not asking the right question. You said that you want me to help you not be you. But that's not really what you want or what you need. What you really need help being....is who you really are. Without being so nervous about what other people think and say, or what impression you're giving to other people." He paused, shifting so that he was fully facing her on the bench, his face set with a rare, serious expression. "You don't want to change who you are into someone else. You just need to be more comfortable being....well, you."

And then, Gryphon was back to grinning again, his serious moment over even though he had meant every word. "We can't all be me, after all, even if that's what we all aspire to me in life," he then said lightly, raking his hand through his already messy hair again even as he grinned right at her. "But if you really do want my help, I can at least try, even though I'm still not completely sure what you expect from me. But my first piece of advice? Don't apologize when you haven't done anything wrong. And you're not asking a lot." He shrugged then, shifting a bit so that he was more comfortable on the bench as he brushed a bit of accumulated snow off of his clothes casually, "I'm flattered you're asking me, really. In seven years you've never been this forward with me." Might as well state the obvious.

Jasmine wasn’t trying to be nervous it was just happening. Everything about this situation was new to her. Gryphon was bringing emotions out of her that she knew he would, hence the reason she tended to walk away in the past. Even though it had helped her at the time, she was suddenly regretting it. Apparently she didn’t know enough about Gryphon to realize that he was a flirt and a tease and still the perfect person to help her. He was blunt with what he said and so fart most of what he had said had made her nervous and uncomfortable. He had succeeded in bringing out emotions that no one else had ever done before. “Believe me, being nervous is not what I’m used to.” She laughed a little, the color slowly draining from her face and she hoped it would stay that way though with the track record of how things had gone so far… her hopes were sure to be dashed.

For the first time since Gryphon arrived Jasmine looked around the courtyard, Gryphon having done so suddenly gave her the same urge to do so. The natural beauty that had drawn her here in the first place seemed amplified with the falling snow. Everything was quiet and inviting, no matter where you looked snow was accumulating on any surface that was open to the elements. The footprints that the retreating couple had left in the wake, were now almost completely covered. The calm of her surroundings seemed to cause a sudden change in her nervous state. With little effort, Jasmine smiled, a real and warm thing that did in fact touch her eyes. Gently she raised her hand, palm up, and waited for it to fill with snow. Her hands were cold and the snow didn’t melt as fast as it would have had she been wearing gloves, and so when a small amount covered her palm, she blew it away playfully. As the snow swirled away, she smiled even more.

When Gryphon addressed her again, he seemed different. Jasmine was forced to give him her full attention. It surprised her to see how well Gryphon actually knew her. He was right, she hadn’t been asking for his help to change who she was but rather how she was around most everyone else. This side of Gryphon was shocking, he wasn’t being playful he was being serious which was weird in a refreshing way. It almost made Jasmine want to slip back into her usual stiff and cold state… and then he shifted back to who he was. Pressing her lips together she tried to suppress a giggle, but thought better of it. Instead she put a hand to her mouth and giggled, loudly. It felt nice to let out a real emotion without holding it back.

”You know Gryphon, you probably know me better than almost anyone else.” She smiled again. “I didn’t really want to be you, not that you aren’t fabulous,” she teased, turning her head to the side and puckering her lips slightly, not a bad attempt at playfulness for her first attempt if she did say so herself, but the awkward bubble started rising inside her again. “I do just want to be me, just a more warm, open me.” She continued quickly, trying to force down the bubble that didn’t feel as if it wanted to leave and of course he had to bring up her past discretions which only made it worse. “About that,” she started, “I do have to apologize for that. I was so scared to let myself relax and open up, that I sort of avoided you. It was only because I knew that this would happen. You would bring out the part of me that, at the time, I didn’t want to expose.” She frowned, but didn’t feel nearly as awkward as she thought she would. With a light weighted sigh, she smiled at him again. “I should have told you then that I was scared so you didn’t think I didn’t like you or something, though it doesn’t seem to have affected you much.” Jasmine teased, this time more successfully or so she felt. “Actually, I regret not allowing you in. Maybe we’d be closer by now.” With a shrug she looked away again, but as she turned her head snow fell from her hair.

Looking at her shoulders she laughed. She’d seen Gryphon brushing snow off of him, but completely forgot about herself. Naturally if Gryphon had snow accumulating on him then she would too, but she was so lost in what they were talking about that she forgot. Smiling, Jasmine shook her head quickly, sending snow falling around them. Seeing her loose hair and snow flying all around her, she couldn’t help but laugh, not a small clipped giggle, but a real, happy, enjoyable laugh. Jasmine couldn’t believe how good it felt to let it out. Her eyes found Gryphon’s again and held them. She could feel it in herself that her eyes were sparkling and she knew Gryphon would see it as well, actually she hoped he would. Jasmine wanted him to see it and what else she didn’t know, but it felt good to finally let loose.

“I’m glad I asked you for help.” Jasmine admitted wholeheartedly and she meant it. Admitting this small truth set something in her free. Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly, it was strange, but it felt good. Maybe this was going to work after all.

A small frown formed on Gryphon's features when Jasmine said she felt like he was the only one that knew her, but he looked away from her in a hope that she wouldn't see his expression change. He knew that wasn't possible - sure, he was somewhat observant sometimes, and he had an excellent memory for remembering things about specific people if he chose to, and since she was an attractive girl, he had. But he doubted he knew her better than anyone, right? This was the first time they had had what could even be considered a mature, real conversation without her leaving before it could get past mere small talk. If she thought that meant he knew her best, well. She must not have that many conversations -- was that possible? That she closed everyone out so much that no one knew her very well at all? Gryphon couldn't even fathom living like that but he supposed maybe it was possible, somehow... "I'm sure you have friends," he then muttered. "I'm just good at guessing stuff." It felt like an awful lot of responsibility to know someone best, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Sure, he wanted to get to know her, and sure, he was really enjoying talking to her. That just seemed like...a lot. And he just didn't believe it was possible still.

Gryphon quickly locked onto the next thing that she said though, pleased that she used the word 'fabulous' to describe him and completely missing that it might have been somewhat sarcastic, or at least joking, and taking it at face value. He quickly looked at her again with a wide, rather boyish grin, linking his hands behind his head. "I'm glad you understand at least, but it's quite a burden to be me, so I wouldn't wish that upon you," he then said lightly before wistfully sighing a bit. Such was his life, at least through his eyes.

The boy listened as Jasmine apologized once more, this time for her treatment of him in the past, and he frowned slightly again, but this time he didn't hide it from her. Rather, when she was done speaking, he smiled once more. "Forgiven and forgotten, it's okay," he then said to her, "but you already broke my first rule that you need to stop apologizing. Stuff happens sometimes in the past - you should move on, you know?" He shrugged. That has always been his philosophy; sure, sometimes things didn't work out, but dwelling on them and apologizing for them and thinking about them didn't make them go away, or make them any better. That just made your present a less comfortable situation, and that wasn't something the hedonist in him was going to accept. It was also why he rarely apologized for things himself - it wasn't going to fix anything, and most of the time, he didn't see the need anyway. It was likely not everyone agreed with his choices to live his life like that, but Jasmine was asking for his advice, and Gryphon always took an opportunity to speak his mind when it was given to him.

He met her gaze again when she said maybe they would have been closer by now - okay, that part maybe he did regret. If she had been willing to talk to him for more than five minutes at a time over the last seven years....well. Maybe they would have been closer indeed. Much closer. And that sounded very appealing... "Well, no time like the present to start that now," he then said to her, raising an eyebrow and holding her gaze as long as she was willing to hold his, "Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu - uh, nothing ventured, nothing gained? I think that's what you'd say here." He gave her one last moment of an intense look before finally breaking into a grin again.

Gryphon laughed a bit when she finally admitted she was glad she was talking to him, absently brushing a bit more snow from his hair where it had been threatening to accumulate. It was already starting to soak through a bit, and he could feel his hair matting to his head, but he didn't really care. He was too happy being outside to be overly concerned with his appearance for once. "I'm glad you did too," he then admitted himself, "and you're already smiling and laughing more than I think I've ever seen you do, so maybe my charm is already rubbing off on you!" When his eyes met hers he saw the emotion behind him, finally unbarred, and she actually looked, well, genuinely happy maybe.

"I know what would really help you loosen up a bit," Gryphon then said softly, a rather mischievous idea popping into his head. Something he was a little bit afraid to do, but he figured the chance would be worth whatever bad reaction he might receive in turn, and he had full confidence in his ability to talk his way out of it if he had to. Yes, yes, it was a very good idea indeed.... He leaned towards her, closing the distance between them somewhat quickly and stared directly into her eyes, his own unblinking and he barely breathed for a few moments, brushing a bit of snow from her shoulder with the back of his hand as his eyes dropped to her lips....

....and then with his other hand he took a large fistful of fresh snow and dropped it on top of her head in what he hoped was a distracted moment for her before quickly jumping backwards off the bench and away from her, hoping to miss any instant retaliation the girl might have, all the while laughing. "Too old and high class for a snow ball fight?" he then offered, his words still full of laughter. Yeah, that had been worth it for sure.

How is it that he can look so cute when he frowns, Jasmine wondered. Even though Gryphon had tried to hide his frown from her, she had seen the slightest hint of a change in his expression and she hated it. She knew exactly what it meant and it irritated her, but she refused to let it show. “Yes, Gryphon I do have friends, just none that close.” She frowned and let out a sigh, but smiled as well. “I’m closest to my brother. He’s the only one that’s seen me like this. Everyone else has gotten the cold me.” She shrugged and looked away. How could someone be as miserable as she was?

Jasmine was glad to see Gryphon return to his joking nature. When he mentioned not wishing being him upon her, she couldn’t help but smile. It was strange how she could go from feeling annoyed to feeling at ease yet again. He had a charming smile and he had a weird way of making her feel self-conscious even though she didn’t really feel the need to be. Gryphon was easy to be around. The way he held himself and spoke just made her want to open up, let him in so he could get to know her more. She had only felt that way one other time with Scorpius, but she was too scared to let him in.

When Gryphon quirked and eyebrow at her, she felt herself blush again because of the topic. It had been the truth, but when she said they could have been closer had she let him in earlier, she hadn’t been thinking about what he apparently was now. Just knowing, or having an idea of where his thoughts were going, made her own thoughts go there and the idea was not an unpleasant one. “I agree,” she smiled and blushed but when he slipped into his native tongue she gaped at him. Never had she heard anyone use the language around her. It had a very beautiful sound to it which only made her want to get to know him better. All she could do was nod in response to his assumption.

The way he looked at her made it hard to think, hard to talk, hard to breath. He was attractive to her in a way she didn’t dare admit. When he found her here, she had every intention on splitting until she realized how much that had been hurting her. Gryphon was someone she wanted to get to know and she regretted the fact that she shut him out for so long. His laugh was infections as was his smile which only made her want to smile more. “It appears it has, she teased. “Apparently you have enough charm for the both of us.” With a giggle she bit her bottom lip as an idea occurred to her. She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination or not, but she felt that she had just successfully flirted with Gryphon for what felt like the first time. It actually felt… refreshing.

“Oh?” She smiled and leaned closer to him. “And what is that?” In all actuality she was curious, but also worried at the same time. If Gryphon thought it was a good idea, the chances were that she would find it awkward even if it was only slightly. When Gryphon leaned in, Jasmine eyes grew wide. Instinctively she moved back ever so slightly, but then stopped; she didn’t want to move away after all. His eyes held her gaze. She could feel his warm breath on her skin even though it felt like it took longer than it should have. Inside her, thoughts of what was about to happen blocked out her reasoning. She wanted to make the move before he did. From the corner of her eyes she saw him raise his hand to brush the snow off her shoulder. As he brushed his hand across her shoulder, her skin tingled under her cloths. While her eyes held his, she saw his gaze drop, but to where she wasn’t sure and then she understood. Her heart rate accelerated out of control. Now she really did want to make the move before Gryphon did, but to do what? What would making the first move mean? Jasmine was scared….

She was so focused on his eyes and his hand on her shoulder and how warm his breath was on her face, that she didn’t realize what he was actually doing until it was too late. Instantly she gasped and straightened up. Her eyes and mouth were wide open. In her mind she went from confusion, to understanding, to embarrassment and then to retaliation mode in the matter of a couple seconds. When she looked to where Gryphon had been seconds before, but he wasn’t there. His voice sounded from her left so she turned to face it. He was all smiles and laughs and again it was infections, but she had an idea to get even with him for making her think something completely different was about to happen. “What if I am too old and high class?” She demanded with a smirk, the whole while she was slowly reaching into her pocket for her wand. “If I refused to engage in such a childish activity, what would you do?” The smirk still in place, she pulled her wand from her robes and held it out of sight. “I wouldn’t imagine you would stay much longer if I refused, would you?” Finally, unable to take taunting him any longer, she waved her wand quickly and sent a large amount of snow flying across the yard towards his face. Almost certain that she hit her mark which just happened to be his face, she quickly jumped to her feet and ducked behind the nearest support column with a full on belly laugh. “Take that Kisaragi!" She called from behind the column.

But while she hid her mind went back to just a minute ago when she thought Gryphon was about to kiss her. She had actually wanted him to, but would she let on to that? Absolutely not! That didn’t stop the disappointment she felt from rising within her, but she refused to let it stay. She vowed then and there that she would get even with him for tricking her and she would have a blast doing it.

So she had a brother - one that she was pretty close to, from the sounds of it. Was it truly possible that her brother was the only other person that she honestly ever opened up to, and otherwise really did just show the cold side of herself to everyone else? Except Gryphon now, suddenly? Yeah, that was definitely a lot of responsibility that he hadn't been intending to shoulder, but there wasn't a lot he could do about it now. People did tend to open up to him sometimes - maybe it was his face or his personality or something, but whatever it was, it encouraged people to talk a lot quite often. But what did that mean for Jasmine? Did she know see him on a level like she saw her brother? He certainly hoped not; a familial relationship wasn't what he wanted at all with her, nope, far from it. So a....friend? A good friend? Maybe.

For as many people as Gryphon spent time with, he had very few 'good' or 'close' friends, mostly because his time was spent spread so thinly to maintain so many different relationships at once, and it was difficult for anything deep to ever thus occur - and the fact that he shied away from anything that sounded vaguely like a long term commitment to anything didn't help that, either. But he supposed that he could be a good friend for Jasmine at the very least...maybe he could try a bit harder. They were in the same house so it wouldn't be as hard to maintain a relationship of some kind....it wasn't an idea that he entertained very often about many people, but Jasmine definitely intrigued him. Suddenly he was seeing a side of her he didn't even know had existed, and he wondered what other secrets she had. He was curious by nature, and he wanted to know more about her.

Plus, he had been unsuccessfully trying to flirt with her for seven years, and now he seemed to finally be making progress - he couldn't just let that go.

"I guess I'm just easy to talk to," he then offered with a shrug, deciding it was best to not make a big deal about the situation any farther. He would deal with having to have the responsibility of being someone's 'close friend' or whatever later, when he actually had to, and not a moment before. It wasn't important right now, so it wasn't worth dwelling on in his eyes.

And then....what was this? Jasmine was flirting back with him? That was a bit unexpected, but certainly not unwanted. Gryphon smirked at her words - first she had agreed that it wasn't too late to start getting to know each other more now, and then she had played the game a bit with him admitted he was charming. Of course, in his mind, she certainly should flirt with him - what wasn't to like? He was cool and casual and handsome and confident...all good qualities. To Gryphon, everyone should be flirting with him. But that tragically wasn't how it seemed to work for some confusing reason, and up until this point, he felt that his flirting with her had been rather one-sided. And then it suddenly wasn't. Definitely a nice change; maybe she really was opening up to him more and more. And maybe that wouldn't stop here....

Even while Gryphon had been planning to dump snow on Jasmine's head all along, he hadn't been totally unaware of her reaction to his other feigned action, either. She had pulled away a bit, admittedly, but that was only natural - and then she had stopped. She'd stopped moving away, like she was waiting for him. Waiting to see what he was going to do - maybe even giving permission for him to take action? To follow through with what he had looked like he was intending to do? And for several moments, the temptation had been quite strong - he could just kiss her there, in the snowy courtyard, after she had opened up to him so much and been flirty herself and was just sitting there looking extremely attractive and something that he had always assumed would probably be unobtainable. He could have done it.

But the temptation to dump snow on her head just happened to have been stronger at the time, and thus, he had gone with his first instinct.

It looked like it was lucky he had fast reflexes, because Jasmine had gone through a wide range of emotions and reactions very quickly right after Gryphon had attacked her. And judging from her expression, he figured revenge was probably on the cards, which was what he had wanted. If she would have just left then and there, maybe he would have felt a twinge of regret for like, the third time in his entire life. But it didn't look like she was going to, even as she smirked at him and claimed that he would probably leave if she didn't play with him. "I'm sure you could think of another way to keep me here, you seem resourceful," he then teased her, waggling his eyebrows a bit suggestively - if she was willing to play his game earlier, than he was more than happy to play it even more now.

And thus, he had been too busy being suggestive to notice that Jasmine had drawn her wand, and it was too late for him when the large drift of snow suddenly hit him in the face. It was rather disorienting and sudden and Merlin was it cold and for a few seconds all Gryphon could do was blink, open mouthed, before he even had enough of his senses back to shake his head and try to get all the snow off. When he did recover, he could hear her laughing from behind one of the columns in the courtyard. She really had got him - that was a lot of snow and he felt chilled to the very bone now as a lot of it fell into his clothing. "I don't know where you learned how to have a snowball fight, but I'm pretty sure using magic is cheating, you know, Pucey," Gryphon then called to her, imitating her use of his last name by using hers, but he wasn't mad. Ego a bit bruised perhaps but nothing he wasn't willing to sacrifice now that he had Jasmine of all people laughing with him and playing in the snow.

With that, he crunched through the snow towards where Jasmine was still behind the column, faking as if he were going to go around one side of it, and then doubling back to go around the other at the last moment. He appeared right in front of her suddenly, the distance between them not more than a few centimetres - he could feel her body heat in sharp contrast to the stone of the column even as he placed a hand on it above her head to lean his weight on. In his other hand, he held up a newly acquired large chunk of snow in front of her face. "I'll give you one opportunity to surrender now while I'm feeling merciful," he then said, though the low tone in his voice and the mischievous flash in his eyes betrayed that his words were about more than just the snowball he was brandishing before her eyes.

“You have no idea just how resourceful I can be,” Jasmine smirked from behind the column, her voice oozing a new found seduction that she was falling in love with. So this is what it felt like to have fun and to flirt even? It was exhilarating and something she was not about to give up, at least not around Gryphon when they were alone. Granted, she still owed Gryphon a little more revenge and she had the perfect revenge in mind, but this wasn’t the time. Jasmine might not have be familiar with the situation she now found herself in, but she was a fast learner. Gryphon was about to get school at his own game. “Oh, is it?” Jasmine feigned innocence at his statement about her cheating. “I’m sorry.” Jasmine did the best she could to make a pout audible in her voice and thought she succeeded quite well.

Something had certainly changed within Jasmine. Already she could feel the change setting deep within her. Her whole body shook with excitement which was a new feeling for her. Even though the air around her was bitter cold, she felt heat radiating from her body which she knew Gryphon would feel if he got close enough to her and for her future plan to work she would have to allow him to get very close. With her plan forming, she stayed where she was, knowing Gryphon would for sure come to take his own form of revenge on her. On the other side of the pillar she heard the snow crunching as he approached. She could have run then, but chose to stay, allowing him to place himself right into her trap. Just before he popped around the column, Jasmine stooped down and gathered a handful of snow which she hid behind her back as Gryphon popped into view. Again he came towards her, making it so easy for her to activate her trap, but the closer he got the less her trap seemed appealing.

There he was, centimeters from her, so close that she could feel the heat coming off his skin and his breath against the skin of her face. He was so close, and the proximity sent chills down her spine. No one had ever been that close to her before. She felt tapped against the column, but it was not unwelcome, actually it was quite the opposite. She could feel the snowball melting in her cold hand, but she wasn’t ready to drop it, actually she couldn’t. Jasmine couldn’t do anything, but stair into Gryphon’s eyes. They were so deep and inviting that she found herself wanting to spring her trap before she was even ready. Her heart started racing. Inside she still felt the seduction that was so new, but it was harder to access with him as close to her as he was. She didn’t even care that there was a snowball in her face.

Jasmine didn’t feel brave at all. Every muscle in her body was telling her to do something opposite of what she wanted to. Her upbringing tried to push itself forth, but she was not about to let it. As Gryphon spoke, she allowed a smirk to play at the corner of her mouth seconds before she started chewing on her bottom lip. Slowly she lowered her head so when she looked at him it would have to be through her eyelashes. She hoped this move would make her seem more seductive as she spoke, “I don’t surrender,” she whispered with the seductive tone she had been working for. “Before I’m done with you,” she paused, letting her words hit Gryphon as she licked her lips, “I’ll have you begging for mercy.” Now she had him and the time had come.

She wasn’t sure what emotion crossed her face when she finally decided it was time to act, but she hoped it was one of surrender. Slowly she closed the distance between them, pinning the snowball and his hand between them as she threw her arms around his neck, still holding the snowball in her own. Now they were so close nothing could get between them. Jasmine made a point of not looking into Gryphon’s eyes, but instead she licked her lips again and glanced at his. Inside she felt exhilarated and scared; she wasn’t sure what she was doing, but whatever it was she liked it. Jasmine was never the first one to make a move like she was attempting now, but it stirred something within her that she didn’t want to let go. Very slowly, she shifted her eyes back to Gryphon’s, their lips almost touching, this was it….

The hand that held the snowball moved to his neck and let the snow fall down the gap in his robes, but there was nowhere for her to go except back to leaning against the column so she did just that. A smile spread across her face which she hoped was satisfied, but she actually felt the opposite. If she felt anything when Gryphon seemed like he was going to kiss her, it was nothing to what she felt now. A fire had been lit inside her and the flames were hot. She felt lightheaded and unsure of her own footing. If the column hadn’t been at her back she would have already been in the snow. She couldn’t believe how close she had come to actually kissing him. Her whole body shook uncontrollably. More than anything she wanted to sit down, because her legs were hardly able to hold her up. As she watched Gryphon, her smiled started to fade, sure this was fun, but it wasn’t what she wanted now. She had stirred something within herself that wanted to be set free. Kiss me, her mind pleaded. Never had she felt the way she did then. She hated herself for being so weak, but it was something more than a want; she needed to kiss him.

What was this new tone in Jasmine's voice? Where had that come from? Had this part of her really just been hiding beneath the surface all this time, waiting for a chance for her to let someone actually see it? Gryphon was probably being a bit unfair and selfish to assume that Jasmine didn't flirt with anyone very much just because she hadn't flirted with him in the past, but that didn't cross his mind because that was exactly how he saw it. Or was it possible that she was just teasing him, messing with him because he had started this? What if she was just playing him? It wasn't like he hadn't done the same to countless other people before. For a moment he frowned, but he quickly shook the feeling aside - why would anyone want to play him? Jasmine didn't have a real reason to, right? This had to be real.

Merlin, he hoped it was real, because he really liked the direction this afternoon had gone in thus far.

And when he was standing before her, partially trapping her against the stone column, the heat radiating off her body and melting the snow in his hand, and she was chewing her lip....yeah, this definitely felt real. And her words - wow, that word choice. "Oh, really?" he then asked her with a cocked eyebrow, his own voice quite low now as he stared down at her, the snow in his hand nearly forgotten at this point - were they having a snowball match? Maybe. But this now had total priority in his mind. "I'd be very much interested in testing that claim," he continued, "especially since you don't seem to play by any sets of rules. But that's okay - I don't either."

Gryphon's gaze had dropped to Jasmine's lips once more, and this time he was fully appreciating how full they were - her face really had a classic sort of attraction to it. She looked mature, classy, yet tempting; they had grown up a lot in seven years, and Gryphon was fully appreciating that at this point. And before he could make another move, her arms were suddenly around his neck, trapping the chunk of snow between them but he hardly noticed because she was licking her lips and looked at his and then she was so incredibly close he could feel her breath on his lips. He closed his eyes, wondering if she was going to make the first move - that wasn't usually how he let it play but this time he was willing to let it go...

....and then suddenly a sharp rush of wet and cold trickled down the back of his neck and down his back, managing to get under his robes as well as his sweater and shirt, and the contrast against his overheated skin was enough to make him jump a bit and involuntarily cry out as he backed a couple of steps away from her. Had she really just done his own move right back at him? Really? Maybe he deserved that but he wasn't going to admit that. For a moment he narrowed his eyes rather darkly at her - he hated being taken for a fool, but the expression on her face made him quickly reconsider. Her smile was nearly gone as he leaned back against the pillar looking like it was supporting her more than she was supporting herself, and the look in her eyes...he knew what it was. She might have attacked him back out of pride, but that wasn't what she really wanted.

It wasn't what either of them wanted.

"I'm not going to forget that you did that, so don't think what happens next means you're forgiven," Gryphon then said to her pointedly as he pushed his wet hair out of his eyes and back from his face, trying to ignore the cold, wet feeling on his back. He closed the distance between them again quickly, one hand returning to above her head against the column as he leaned his weight on that arm, the other dropping what little snow was left in it and slipping behind her neck as he wasted no more time in connecting his lips to hers. There wasn't any teasing this time, no chance for either of them to do something ridiculous again - no, this time he just went for it, taking what he was pretty sure both of them wanted. What he had wanted for a long time.

Jasmine didn’t play by the rules, he was right, she never had and she could tell Gryphon was the same. She realized then that they had something in common which seemed strange, but surely it was inevitable that they would have at least one thing they viewed the same way. Who knew, maybe they were more alike than she thought. Even now, as Gryphon looked down at her, his eyes narrowed she could tell that they had more in common than she previously thought. When she sprung her trap she had taken Gryphon for a fool, which is what he had done earlier (on a much smaller level) to her and hadn’t she felt somewhat similar to how Gryphon felt now? The way he looked at her made her feel even more weak in the knees. She hoped he would do or say something soon because she didn’t know how much longer she could stand there. She felt like a weak fool the way she had to use the column for support. Even though she wanted Gryphon to act, she hoped he wouldn’t tease her.

Jasmine’s heart sank as Gryphon spoke, and then he was walking towards her which made her heart rate increase again. He closed the distance quickly and then he was in the same place he was before, but this time he had a hand on her neck. In the seconds it took for their lips to meet, Jasmine felt herself panicking slightly. What if he decided what she’d done deserved retaliation? What if he was doing to her what she had just done to him? What if she was getting her hopes up again only to have them dashed yet again? Jasmine didn’t think she could take anymore up and down emotions, if he proved to be teasing her again she knew the column wouldn’t be enough to hold her up. Then a cold sensation radiated from her neck down her spine as Gryphon put his hand on her neck and then everything went foggy.

The feel of Gryphon’s lips on hers was surprisingly warm against the cold contrast her lips had been feeling since coming into the cold. Jasmine’s natural impulse was to analyze how the contact made her feel, but her emotions wouldn’t allow her. At first, she was too stunned to react, but as she allowed herself to just go with the feeling, she found herself melting into the kiss. Gently her hands found their way to their previous location around his neck, but as they rested there she found it wasn’t enough for her. As she kissed him deeply, her eyes closed she slid her hands to rest on the back of his neck, but it still wasn’t enough. One hand slid up into his hair where it held onto a handful, not pulling on it, just letting it slide slid through her fingers. It was surprisingly soft, and wet from the snow, but again she was analyzing things more than she ought to.

The fire inside her began to build again. It surprised her just how much she was enjoying the contact from him. The rough way he had pressed his lips to hers had actually made her even weaker in the knees if that was possible. The closeness of their bodies was actually holding her up, that and the column behind her back. Even the way his body pressed against hers made her hungry for more. With a soft whimper from her, she intensified the kiss further, brushing her tongue against his lips. The confidence she felt was strange to her. She had certainly kissed boys before, but it had been nothing like this. They had moved in and kissed her and she might have kissed them back, but there was no heat, no passion; in other words it was nothing like this. Jasmine wanted more, she wanted to deepen the kiss, to make him feel the way she was. At that moment she realized just how sorry she was for not letting Gryphon in sooner. This had been something she wanted for years which she didn’t know she wanted until that moment.

Gently she pulled away from the kiss and noticed she was panting. How long had they been locked like that. Her eyes opened and found his. She wasn’t sure what he would see, but what she saw was someone she wanted to kiss again. Her head swam dizzily, but it was a good feeling. The hand that had been playing with his hair now froze, still holding a handful of it. What was Gryphon thinking now? Surely he wouldn’t disappoint her with having a filter now. Then she smiled to herself, maybe he was like her and didn’t want to waste time talking. The idea made her smile and bit her lip as she watched him, waiting for a sign if he wanted more. “I definitely should have let you in sooner,” she admitted in a whisper. She could feel his breath on her skin which only made her want to kiss him again.

No matter what she wanted, she knew there was no going back. After today Jasmine knew she wouldn’t be able to ignore Gryphon again. No matter how the day ended she knew she couldn’t go back to ignoring him or avoiding him, no her feelings wouldn’t let her ignore him again. At this point she didn’t know how she had managed to ignore him for so long. Had she known all along that this would happen? Whatever her reasoning was before it was long gone now. As she stood there she ran her fingers through the hair on Gryphon’s neck and smiled, then she froze. What was she doing? They had only kissed once, she wasn’t even sure what it meant for them and yet she was enjoying how everything was making her feel and so decided not to question anything else. Just go with it, she thought as she looked into Gryphon’s eyes.

There was one moment, right when Gryphon first pressed his lips against Jasmine's, that he wondered if she would reject him - push him away suddenly, change her mind, have not really wanted this for real after all, remember that this wasn't in her usual character, remember that she didn't really like him much until less than an hour ago. But that fear didn't last very long when he felt her kissing him back; of course he had read her right. There was no mistaking the look that had been in her eyes, and he was certain his own had been reflecting the exact same thing back. He wanted this, he wanted her, and he was glad that she seemed to want the same thing.

What wasn't to like, after all?

Jasmine's hands didn't seem to know where to go, and even as Gryphon kept his with one firmly supporting his weight against the pillar and the other on the back of her neck, hers threaded over his shoulders and then finally into his hair, which she started pulling on. He couldn't help but grunt a bit against her lips at the action as it stung a bit but not unpleasantly so - he quite liked having his hair messed with and pulled in these sorts of situations. His own hand on the back of her neck tightened a bit, holding her closer to him, firmly. Possessively. The cold snow that had now melted into just freezing water on his back was completely forgotten as he felt nothing but heat spreading quickly through his body, all the way to all of his extremities...

And then she was running her tongue along his lips and Gryphon was more than happy to oblige her, opening his mouth to her and deepening their kiss as he leaned his weight even more against her, pressing her against the pillar and feeling all the fantastic curves her body pressed against his own. When they were finally forced to pull away for a few seconds out of a necessity to breath, he smirked at her words. "Well, I could have told you that," he then agreed, his voice more breathless than he had intended it to sound. Why was she having this affect on him so quickly? Typically, Gryphon didn't have any problems with jumping into things like this quickly and without much thought, but typically, they didn't make him feel his overwhelmed as this already was.

As Gryphon met Jasmine's eyes, he tried to read her a bit but couldn't pick up what she was thinking - just who was this woman, and what was she doing to him?

For a moment, his internal alarms began to blare, telling him this was a bad idea suddenly and that he might be getting in too deep with her, that this was a dangerous game to play, but Gryphon quickly ignored them - didn't that only make this better? Predictability was boring, and this was an unpredictable situation. Good. He liked it that way. And the last thing he wanted to do was to take the time to think this through and be responsible about it - not that he was ever very responsible, but he definitely wasn't about to give himself the chance to be and miss this.

"No more talking," Gryphon then muttered as he made his decision and leaned down to take her lips again, this time even harder, more demanding than before. As he leaned his weight fully into her, he didn't need to support himself any longer, which gave his hand the chance to fall to her waist and hold it there tightly, pulling her hips towards his as he did his best to grip her through all of her layers of winter clothing and school uniform and his own gloves, suddenly less happy that it was snowing than he had been before. His other hand remained where it was, holding her head as he focused all of his attention on making that one damn good kiss that she wouldn't be quick to forget rather than letting his thoughts wander beyond that moment - not just yet.

The fact that this was only meant to be an hour break before their next class was long forgotten somewhere way before the snowball fight, at least for Gryphon.

The pause in intimacy felt too long for Jasmine’s liking. Just when she was about to close the distance between them, Gryphon’s words washed over her as he slowly leaned in to kiss her again. With a smile, Jasmine closed her eyes and welcomed the feel of his mouth against hers. Merline, don’t let this stop any time soon, she thought, well sort of, she tried to think about it but mostly her mind wandered to the way Gryphon was pressed against her, the heat rising inside her, the way her heart started racing, how he reacted to her pulling lightly at his hair. All this didn’t give her much room to think about anything else, but of course she didn’t mind. The pressure of Gryphon pressing against her mixed with the hard cold of the column made it hard for her to breathe which wasn’t unwelcome. The feel of his hand on her waist made her gasp through the kiss, but as she felt herself pressed even more against him caused her eyes to snap open for a few seconds as she whimpered again. What was this boy doing to her?

In all her years of knowing Gryphon, she had never heard of him getting this heated with anyone. Something was off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it not was she sure that she wanted to. This was an experience Jasmine had never had before and it was one that she wanted to keep having. Though she was new to all this passion, she thought she was doing well, at least Gryphon didn’t seem to be complaining, but what could would when a good looking girl was wedged between him and a cold column. Jasmine found herself wondering if this had been what he had been wanting for the last six years or if this was all new to him as well. Until that moment she had never wanted to be this close to him, but now that she was she didn’t want it to end. He had melted her coldness and made her open up in a way that never had before and felt that she never would again. Was this Gryphon’s plan?

All thought of the class period to come was washed from her mind as she tried to press herself even closer to him. Her hand tightened on his neck and wound tighter through his hair. This was not who she had been, but maybe it could be who she was now. Jasmine opened her mouth to allow him in which only caused a small moan to escape her lips. All this passion was more than Jasmine felt she could take. Needing air, she pulled away again and took a deep breath, her eyes still closed. Her mind raced with thoughts of what she wanted, what was expected not only of her but what Gryphon expected as well and then for a split second she thought about the class that they were probably supposed to be heading to at that very minute, but all thought vanished as she opened her eyes to look at Gryphon’s lips again. Bugger me, Jasmine thought as she as she pressed her lips to his roughly.

Nothing else mattered, not the cold or the fact that they were standing in the courtyard in full view of the Clock tower where at any time someone could look down at see them, not the fact they were about to be late for their next class and not the fact that she was scared. Scare because she didn’t know what would happen after the moment passed. Was that all this was to him a moment, was that all it was for Jasmine? How could she possibly know what was to come when she hadn’t known that this was to come. She had asked Gryphon for help and gained so much more in return. No matter what happened at the end of this she knew he had done what she wanted, he had helped her in a way she never would have thought. This moment never would have happened without Gryphon. Now after him she was open to feel this with anyone who would allow her to get this close.

Suddenly Jasmine wanted to know what this all meant for him, but she was too scared to ask. Instead she continued to kiss him feeling the heat steadily rise within her. Every second she spent in his arms made her feel more normal and more… well just more. She wanted to be even closer to him, the fact that you couldn’t slip a card between them didn’t matter, she wanted to be closer still. She leaned into him, bringing her body away from the column slightly as she licked his lips again. Somehow she knew what to do, but wasn’t sure how since this had never happened before. Maybe this part of her had always been there, just locked away waiting for the right person to come and let it out. Apparently Gryphon had been that right person. Jasmine knew this never would have happened with anyone else. She had always been attracted to Gryphon, but obviously that attraction was more than she had originally thought.

Thought she didn’t want to the nagging of her upbringing made her pull away again, “Do you think we should get to class?” She asked breathlessly, but secretly wanting more than anything for him to say no; she wasn’t ready to stop kissing him, but she wasn’t quite sure where to go from there, not wanting to force Gryphon away.