I realize that I'm staring into her deep velvety eyes and getting that annoying feeling in my stomach again, must get away.

"Well......I should, uh, go," I say letting my hand fall form her shoulder where I had set it and my eyes drop to the ground.

"Yeah, ok," She says sitting back in her chair. And ducking her head back over her heavy book. I start walking away, getting this awful urge to look back at her over my shoulder, I do just before I step out the door and she's watching me, I turn away quickly, face bright red.

"And she said...?" Harry coaxed when I stepped through the portrait hole, Dean, Seamus and now Neville too, were waiting for me.

"Erm, she thought I was joking, but in the end said yes. Probably to be nice," I muttered trying to get the red out of my face. They all exchanged these looks.

"Right Ron, just to be nice, or just because she has it bad for you," Seamus said grinning. I glared at him.

"We're just friends," I insisted.

"Sure," They all said at the same time. I scowled.

"No hidden messages then?" Harry asked.

"I-...I dunno," I muttered dodging Dean who was standing in front of the boy's dormitories and going into them, slamming the door behind me.

She said yes.

She said yes and I was overwhelmingly happy. What does that mean? Does that mean I... FANCY her? Or maybe we're just going as friends, I didn't exactly ask. What if that's what she meant? What if she thought that's what I meant? I opened the door back up and headed for the portrait hole again.

"Where you going mate?" Harry asked.

"I've gotta talk to Mio- Hermione," I said not looking back at Harry for fear he'd have that look on his face again and I'd turn red.

She wasn't in the library when I went back there. I wandered around the grounds for a while thinking about everything and looking for her.

She had been crying, said there was something in her eye. I thought back to the look on her face, she looked angry. Maybe annoyed that I had asked her first and not someone that she wanted to go with. Maybe she thought I was stupid...

She obviously didn't want to go with me... There was nothing in her eye that I saw. She was mad, maybe that I was the only one that asked at all. That someone so much stupider then her, and not very good at anything was all she could ever hope for...

"Ron?" Hermione's voice asked behind me. I turned around realizing for the first time that I was outside.

"Uh, hi," I muttered dejectedly.

"What's wrong?" She asked. I shrugged.

"Look, Mione, if you don't want to-" I started.

"What?" She interrupted. I gave her a questioning look, "What did you just call me?" She elaborated I blushed. I'd forgotten not to use that nickname with other people.

"Uh, I just thought Hermione is kinda long, so I made up a nickname..." I trailed off staring at my shoes.

"You are so lazy," She said laughing. "Hermione was to much work to say?" I looked up, she was grinning. I shrugged grinning also. How can she do that? Change my mood in two seconds? With just a smile.

"Well, I also thought it was kinda..." I searched for the right word.

"What? Cute?" Hermione asked. I nodded. "Oh great next thing, you'll be going all soft on me," I felt my face heat up slightly, was I going soft on her? "What ever happened to insufferably annoying, tough, Romance-hating Ron Weasley?" She joked.

"Are you calling me a, a, Gentleman?" I asked in mock anger.

"If the shoe fits," Hermione joked. I shot off chasing after her, she turned with her wand and shouted "Non Firmus!" Which seemed to make me go in slow motion. I followed her al the way back into the castle and up to the gryffindor common room, Finally remembering the counter charm and letting me go normal speed, about halfway up to the common room.

I tackled her both of us falling onto of the couches in front of the fire, both laughing insanely.

"Take it back!" I shouted at her pinning her underneath me with my knees,

"Get off of me!" She shouted jokingly.

"Take it back first!" I shouted

"Ok, ok, your Not a gentleman," She said laughing, I rolled off of her sitting on the end of the couch and ignoring the looks we were getting from the other inhabitants of the Gryffindor common room.

"So anyways, what was it that you were saying out side? If I don't want to... What?" She asked.

I'd forgotten about that. I was going to tell her she didn't have to go to the ball with me if she didn't want to... But now, now I was thinking that maybe I DID really want to go with her.

"Well, I was just, uh, wondering, if we were, um, going to the Valentine Ball, as um, friends... Or..." I broke off staring at the fire in front of us. Hermione followed in suit lowering her voice as I had so that the nosy students couldn't hear.

"Oh. Well, I guess I didn't think about that... What do you want to go as?" She asked. I could tell she was looking at me. Damn.

What do you want to go as? Was that really a question or another of those hidden message deals? If I answered wrong would she get mad? Or maybe it wasn't one of those hidden message deals, maybe she really hadn't thought about it, and wanted my serious opinion.... But that didn't seem likely, Hermione thought about EVERYTHING.

"I guess um, friends," I said slowly. Watching her reaction.

"Ok," She said. Her expression was blank, I couldn't read it, I hate it when she does that. Makes her expression unreadable.