Deamus : "The way you flirt is shameful."
Seamus watched from a Gryffindor arm chair as a group of girls giggled their way out of the common room. He lowered the parchment he was pretending to read and sighed. If he didn't find a date to the yule ball soon, he just wasn't going to go. He set the parchment, which wasn't even his homework to begin with, on the table next to him and made the trek up to his dorm, and was relieved when he saw that the room was empty. He fell face first onto his mattress and let out a growl into the muffling fabric.
"Everything all right there, Shay?"
Seamus froze at the sound of his best friend's voice, then looked up to see that he'd come out of bathroom they shared with the dorm next door. He rolled over to stare at his canopy. "It's just this…yule ball crap."
Dean chuckled and climbed onto Seamus' bed. The two of them laid there, their heads side by side and their legs hanging off of opposite sides. "You figure out who to ask yet?" Dean asked.
"I don't know. I was thinking maybe…Lavender?" Dean stifled a laugh. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing. She's pretty. A bit much…but pretty."
"What about you then?"
Dean was quiet for a moment. "Lisa Turpin is pretty."
"I guess, for a Ravenclaw." A laugh erupted from dean's throat, prompting a laugh from Seamus as well.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Still laughing, Seamus shook his head.
"I wouldn't even know what to do or say even if I did figure who I wanted to ask."
"You just ask them. Be confident, smell nice, give them a compliment, and ask them."
"Oh it's that easy, ay?"
Dean sat up then stood up. "Of course it is." He walked around the bed and pulled Seamus by the hands. This brought them within inches of each other. Seamus felt his heart speed up and took his hands back. Dean stepped back. "Okay, show me how you'd ask Lavender out."
"I don't know - I mean…" Dean looked at him expectantly and he cleared his throat. "Y-your hair is a…pretty color."
Dean snorted. "Your flirting is shameful! Her hair color? Really?"
"Okay this is stupid." Seamus made to push past him but Dean grabbed his arm. His throat went dry.
"It's not. You need to know these things."
"No, I just won't go to the dance. It's not a big deal. It's not like I even know how to dance anyway."
Dean's eyes grew wide. "You don't know how to dance?!" He pulled Seamus toward the middle of the floor. "Okay put this hand here," he began, placing Seamus' hand around his waist. "And take my hand here. Now, step forward with this foot…"
Dean kept explaining the moves, leading with out being the lead, but Seamus no longer heard what he was saying. All he could hear was the ever growing beat of his heart. All he could focus on was keeping his breathing normal. All he could think about was why any of that was happening in the first place.
"And then if you wanted to slow dance-" Seamus ripped himself away from Dean's grip.
"No! No, I'm good. I uh - think I can handle that. Thanks for…everything. I'm gonna run down to the kitchens."
The next day Seamus found Lavender after potions class and easily asked her to the ball. It was infinitely easier than figuring out what happened the night before.
