Written for:
February Event at Hogwarts: (dialogue) "You're late." / "You're stunning." / "You're forgiven." and (colour) baby pink
200 Characters in 200 Days: Romilda Vane
If You Dare Challenge: 804. When The Light Goes Out, You'll Understand
Minor Characters Bingo: Romilda Vane
Chocolate Frog Cards Challenge: Fairy – Write about someone perceived as narcissistic or vain.
Valentine-Making Challenge: Heart Shaped Hole Punches - Write about a break-up.
Gringotts Prompt Bank: (colour) Baby Pink, (Once Upon a Time Quotes) "If only your wits matched your looks." - Cruella (Great Literature Quotes) "Beauty is an enormous, unmerited gift given randomly, stupidly." – Khaled Hosseini, And The Mountains Echoed. "The only lies for which we are truly punished are those we tell ourselves." – V. S. Naipaul, In A Free State (Communal Locations: Restaurant/Pub Names) The Pearl Pantry, (said words) complained, declared, groaned, questioned, responded, quizzed, retorted, proclaimed, explained, confessed, quipped, wondered, remarked, breathed, affirmed. (emotions/feelings) uneasy, incensed, miserable
Words: 1453

The Relationship Talk

Romilda stood outside the restaurant, tapping her foot. She could have gone inside, but she preferred it out here, where none of the other diners could see her, watch the minutes go by, and look on her with pity as they guessed he wasn't coming, muttering to themselves about how she was "such a pretty girl" and how he "probably doesn't deserve her anyway". She'd heard those lines countless times with each man she'd hung out to dry on her washing line of exes. She'd really thought that Colin wouldn't be one of them.

But twenty minutes had rolled by and there was still no sign of him. Romilda sighed, running a hand through her loose dark curls. She was past the point of caring if she messed her hair up.

She hadn't been with Colin for long – this was only their fifth date – but he'd been great so far. They'd been owling each other every couple of days, and he'd never been late before. He was attentive, and always told her she was beautiful.

Romilda wasn't crazy; she knew it wasn't love. But that wasn't a problem for Romilda. Love wasn't what she was looking for. She knew it was shallow of her, but she wanted attention. She wanted a man who would show her off to his friends just to make them jealous. She wanted to feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. So Colin being late was a problem in more ways than one. It was difficult to feel drop-dead gorgeous when your date couldn't even be bothered to show up on time.

She looked around one last time, telling herself she'd give him five more minutes before leaving. That was when she saw him. He was on the other side of the road, watching the traffic for a safe moment to cross. She folded her arms and put on her best bitch face, ready to give him a grilling. As he drew near, she couldn't help but be impressed by his attire: a three-piece tailored suit with well-shined black shoes. Even if he was looking dapper, it didn't make up for the lost time.

"You're late," she complained when he was close enough to hear.

She watched him as he appraised her, his eyes travelling down her body, tucked neatly into a little black dress, heels, and a short coat, and back up to meet her gaze as he smiled appreciatively. Romilda was finding it harder and harder to be mad by the second. He greeted her by pulling her straight into a kiss, his hands snaking around her waist. She kissed him back, and when he pulled away, she saw hints of her baby pink lipstick on his mouth. She couldn't help but smile a little.

"You're stunning," he declared.

Romilda tried not to smile, she really did. She didn't want to give in that easily. She pursed her lips, but the humour snuck through, and she sighed.

"You're forgiven," she groaned with a roll of her eyes.

"Good," he quipped. "I am sorry, though. I didn't mean to leave you waiting. I only got out of that meeting at seven. I got here as fast as I could."

"You mean you went to work in a three-piece suit?" she questioned, confused and impressed in equal measure.

"We had clients in today. I had to make a good impression," he responded.

As he spoke, he dropped his arms from around her waist and took her hand instead, leading her into the restaurant.

The Pearl Pantry was one of the most expensive restaurants in Norfolk. It was one of those places that tried to look rustic and authentic, with open log fires, beams in the ceiling, mismatched furniture and uneven floors. Of course, the price for the slight discomfort caused by these faked authentic features was about double what you'd pay in any other restaurant in the county, making it the place to be seen at. They were quickly shown to their table on arrival, and Colin pushed ahead of the waiter to take Romilda's coat and hold her chair out for her. He even attempted to order for the both of them, but when he asked for the crab ravioli with a tomato and olive sauce, Romilda had to step in to inform him she didn't like olives.

Romilda was, all in all, having a wonderful time. He'd not let her glass get empty; he'd referenced how good she looked four times now; and she'd spotted at least three men at other tables eyeing her up. She was feeling more than a little special, and it suited her just fine.

That was, at least, until about halfway through the main course, when Colin looked up to ask her something.

"Where do you see this going?" he wondered aloud, drawing his eyebrows together in contemplation.

Romilda paused for a few moments and swallowed. She bought herself a little time by taking a sip of wine. They all asked this question at some point, Romilda knew that. She'd had enough experience. Most men waited until around the three-month mark, but apparently not Colin, who appeared to think it was acceptable to have "The Relationship Talk" after a mere four and a half weeks.

"I'm not sure I quite know what you mean," she laughed, attempting to keep the atmosphere light-hearted, or at the very least non-serious.

Colin wasn't having any of it. "You know exactly what I mean," he remarked. "Don't get me wrong. You're a wonderful woman. You're beautiful and funny, and I think we really could have something here. I just get the feeling we aren't in this for the same reasons."

"Well, what are your reasons?" Romilda quizzed.

"I'm looking for a future. I know it's only early days, but I want you to know where I stand. I've been in enough relationships just for the sake of being in a relaltionship," Colin confessed. "Can you honestly say the same?"

Romilda shrugged and looked away. "I'm just having fun," she explained.

"I feel like you just don't really want anything out of life. You're just happy to float on through," he told her.

"Well, what's the matter with that? I don't need love just because the world tells me I do," she declared.

"Love's not some new lipstick, you know. It's not an overhyped, mass-market beauty product the magazines are gushing over today, but they'll have forgotten about by tomorrow. It's real, you know. Your whole life so far, you've lived in this sunny world inside your own head. But when the light goes out, you'll understand," Colin proclaimed.

Romilda felt affronted. She'd never known someone be so direct with her, not someone she was still getting to know. She felt like he'd made presumptions about her, but even worse than that, she was worried he was right.

"Why do the lights need to go out? Why do you presume that they will? They won't if I don't let them," she retorted, anger bubbling just beneath her words.

"Because they do for everyone at least once. Life isn't always happy. It's not meant to be."

Romilda said nothing as she stared down at her cannelloni, no longer feeling hungry enough to eat.

Colin's sigh broke the silence. "Beauty is such an enormous, unmerited gift given randomly, stupidly," he commented, and Romilda struggled to understand what he was trying to say.

"Are you telling me I'm stupid?" she accused.

"No, that's not what I meant. If only your wits matched your looks," he breathed.

"Okay, if you weren't then, you are now," she argued.

They were drawing the attention of other diners now, but Romilda was past the point of caring.

"Let's just agree to disagree, and leave things to rest. We both want different things, and we're not going to find those things with each other," he affirmed as he made to stand. "Goodnight, Romilda. Have a nice life."

Romilda was incensed. Not only did he have the audacity to start an argument with her in the middle of dinner, but he was now going to leave her there alone. She watched as he walked to the bar to pay before he left, and felt entirely miserable. She waited until he'd definitely gone before she made her own exit, wanting nothing more than a couple of shots of her favourite whiskey to take the edge off the evening.

There was a small part of the back of her mind, a part she tried to squash as well as she could, that felt uneasy. It was a part of her that was trying to convince the rest of her that maybe, just maybe, Colin was right.