Stars
Benjy was nervous. He was really fucking nervous. He didn't think he had ever been this nervous! Not even when Professor McGonagall called on him in third year to answer a question when he wasn't paying attention and happened to be staring at Mary's hair. Her hair had been lovely that day - he remembered vividly - and he couldn't keep his eyes off of it.
He had been wearing a path into the floor for the past five hours. He felt like he was going to throw up, scream and pull his hair out. He knew what he was doing was the right thing. He knew it since the moment he met her. A smile slowly appeared on his face at the thought.
The first years were all waiting outside of the Great Hall. Benjy was short and couldn't see over the sea of heads around him. He was anxious for the Sorting. He wasn't sure what House he was going to be in. None of them sounded like him and it frightened him a bit.
"Hey, are you all right?" He heard a voice to his left.
He turned his head and saw a girl that was the same height as he was with blond pigtails and big blue eyes. She was the cutest thing he had ever laid eyes on.
"Erm, I'm fine."
She laughed. Benjy just stared at her. She was laughing at him? He thought over his answer and found nothing funny about it at all.
After she calmed down she smiled a wide Cheshire Cat smile at him. "I think you're lying."
He blinked at her. "E-excuse me?"
"You heard me. I think you're scared like the rest of us, except well, me," she smiled her dazzling smile again.
He blinked again. "I am not nervous!"
She laughed again. "Sure. Whatever you say. Say, what's your name anyway?"
"Benjamin Fenwick. And you are?"
"Mary, Mary MacDonald."
"Well, um, nice to meet you."
"Yes, it certainly has been interesting, hasn't it? Well, hope to see you around Benjy." And just as abruptly as she came, she was gone.
He blinked after her not sure what to make of the girl.
Mary was it for him. Every since she randomly popped into his life, he couldn't get her out of his head. And once she told him she loved him, he knew that he couldn't ever think about loving anyone else.
Mary looked nervous and that's what alerted Benjy first. Mary always looked confident and strong despite her short stature and innocent face, but not tonight. She wasn't her usual take charge self. They had been laying on a blanket by the lake staring up at the stars when Benjy finally decided to ask her what was wrong.
He turned his head to look at the gorgeous girl beside him. She usually sensed when he looked at her, always laughing (one of the best sounds in the world) and telling him to stop it, but he never listened. And that's when she'd turn to him and kiss him just to make him close his eyes so that he wasn't staring at her any longer. But now, she was quiet and Mary was never quiet. Something definitely was wrong.
"Mare, what's wrong?"
She didn't turn her head, but answered him anyway. "Nothing, Benjy. Everything's perfect."
He snorted. "Mare, I know you better than you think. You can't lie to me, babe."
She finally turned her blue eyes to his face. She gave him a weak smile. "I could never sneak pull the wool over your eyes."
"Never. So spill!"
She sighed and didn't speak for a long time. "Benjy, I know how you feel about me and I've been thinking about it for weeks. I know you said to take my time and say it when I felt the time was right. And I'm so glad that you haven't pressured me or anything. You're the best boyfriend I've ever had Benjy Fenwick," she smiled, a real one this time, "and I love you."
It was quiet between them for four heartbeats before Benjy rolled over to his stomach and pulled her to him. He looked down at her eyes, the ones he loved so much. They shined with apprehension and love. He smiled down at her.
"And you've been the best girlfriend I've ever had, Mary MacDonald," he leaned down and kissed her lips passionately. When he pulled away, he smiled, the goofy smile she loved. "And I love you, too."
She smiled at him, cupped his cheeks with her hands and kissed him again.
Benjy smiled at the memory. They had had so many great memories over the years and he couldn't believe it took him this long to do this.
He heard the flat door unlock and Mary's heels against the hardwood floor. Benjy's head instantly lifted and waited with bated breath as she walked into towards him.
"Benjy?"
"In here, love," he said, his voice cracking. He cursed under his breath.
She walked in and a smile instantly lit up her features. She walked to him and gave him a swift kiss on the lips.
"I cooked up dinner."
"Dinner?" She asked lifting an eyebrow.
He nodded. "I figured you'd be tired by the time you got home."
She looked at him skeptically. He just gave her a smile.
Mary walked into the kitchen and saw her favorite food waiting for her on the table. She turned around and gave Benjy a smile. "You're the sweetest."
"I know," he laughed.
She sat down and he sat down opposite of her.
Throughout dinner they chatted about their day and random topics. It was a good night and Benjy couldn't be happier. This would go smoothly, he thought.
Once Benjy cleared the dishes away, he smiled at Mary. "Come outside with me."
She gave him a look, but took his hand and followed him. He led her to the field next to their flat where a blanket was waiting for them. Candles were around the blanket, their only source of light besides the moon. They sat down.
"You better not burn us, Benjy Fenwick."
He chuckled. "I won't. I charmed them."
She smiled. "So why are we sitting out here?"
"Well, since you're so impatient...I wanted to tell you how much I love you. You mean the world to me, Mary and I don't know where I'd be without you. I've never forgotten you since the first day of school when you laughed in my face about being nervous. I think I even loved you then. But where I'm going with this is," he pulled out a box from his pocket, "is I wondering if you'd do me the honor of marrying me Mary MacDonald?"
Mary looked at the box and then back to Benjy's face. He almost laughed at the comical expression on her face, but refrained. She finally looked at his face and into his eyes. He could see tears starting to well up in her eyes.
"Yes," she said quietly. "Yes!" She said louder.
He smiled and opened the box. The diamonds in the ring sparkled in the limited lighting around them. He took it out of the box and placed it on her left ring finger. He cupped her face and kissed her.
"I love you, Mare."
"And I love you, Benjy."
They kissed again. And Benjy knew that everything would be all right from now on.