Welcome! So glad you decided to drop in on this faaaaabulous occasion.... or what will be an occasion sooner or later.

What we first drop off on is our two favorite lovebirds - you guessed it! - Helena and Blake. Each rent separate apartments in London and have been dating for almost six months. Blake works at a nearby restaraunt while Helena manages a clothing store.

However, Helena has been having doubts about moving to England and is dying to move back to a more rural area, and she would have already if it wasn't for Blake.

The day we pick up on is the day before Helena's 24th birthday. We shall see what happens to our favorite couple from then on out....

Characters
Helena Crawley - Dee-Dee
Blake Wright - Yusrieee
Chris Kaplan - stan lanevski

Blake was leaning against the doorway leading to the teeny tiny kitchen of his apartment, sipping freshly-made, sweltering coffee in the middle of the night. Usually, he'd be sound asleep at this hour of the day but the anticipation of putting together a surprise for Helena, his girlfriend of nearly six months and the love of his life, kept him wide awake into the wee hours of the chilly, dark night. His eyes were half-closed, slightly red and his vision hazy as he gave the living room-cum-bedroom a quick look-over. There were heaps of scrunched up papers strewn across the floor, his clothes were all piled up in one corner of the room waiting to be laundered. In short, the room, and the whole apartment in general, needed a drastic makeover. After gulping down ever single drop of the coffee, Blake retreated to the bedroom, feeling much more alert. If he hadn't been working extra shifts at the restaurant and running round the city for that life changing break, he would have had probably planned the whole surprise by now. He felt really down about it, though.

With lots of ideas -some good, some bad- running through his brain, Blake flopped down on the mattress and stretched his hand out to grasp a notepad and retrieved the quill tucked behind his ear -yes he still used a quill, go ahead call him old-fashioned- as he started to scribble away ideas and possibly, the big surprise for the coming Saturday. Ah, he was excited and a bundle of nerves, all at once. He continued to jot down ideas until he could think no further. "Flowers? Checked. Food? Checked. And the rest?...." He paused. Oh boy, he ought to do something and quick. "This is a disaster! Merlin, don't let me ruin this, pleeeease." Blake croaked as he glanced at the alarm clock, pouting at the sight of the time - it was freakin' 4 O'clock in the morning. He chucked away the notepad and quill, stuffed his face in the pillow as he mentally vowed to do his utmost best in making this surprise and her birthday a huge success. And on that note, he fell asleep in a matter of seconds. Tomorrow was going to be a LONG day.

Helena woke up Friday morning feeling so-so. It bugged her that she had to work the day before her birthday, but she was soooo glad that she had her actual birthday off - all the more time to spend with Blake! Of course, she didn't want to do anything major. Just sitting around watching movies, maybe ordering some Chinese food? Mmmm, she loooooved Chinese food.

Rolling over with a yawn, Helena checked her phone and saw that it was almost eight o'clock. That mildly surprised her; she was usually up by six-thirty, but no matter, she didn't have to work until ten. She sent Blake a 'Good morning - breakfast at my place? Love you,' text and headed into the bathroom to get dressed and ready for work. Five minutes later, her hair was in a messy but somehow elegant ponytail and she was pulling on bootcut jeans with her flowly, flowered blouse. Smiling at her reflection, she went to the kitchen to put some coffee on.

A loud grunt escaped Blake lips when his pillow began to vibrate. After wrapping the blanket tightly around his athletic body, he slipped a hand under his pillow to grab his cellphone that had been sitting under it and vibrating. "What is it?" He mumbled, trying with all his might to open his eyes for he had a text to read and since it seemed to be from Helena, it made it twice as important as any other message. He compelled his strained self to sit up, the blanket still draped over his head, and smiled softly after reading it. And now, he was having trouble in deciding whether to pass up this offer or go. But he couldn't resist and so, a text saying 'See you in 30 minutes, babe. Love you too.' was now waiting to be read by Helena.

He flung the blanket off himself and stretched out. Stifling a yawn, he stood up and then dash through his morning routine. He had little time in hand and too much to plan; he couldn't laze today at any cost. Once he was done with the morning necessities, he tucked his wand into his wrist holster and permitted himself a quick glance in the mirror: a casual white t-shirt with Sponge Bob Square Pants on it, a loose fit navy blue jeans paired with neon green sneakers to top off and his hair, well, just as perfect as always. Taking a deep breath, he disapparated.

POP!

Within seconds Blake appeared outside Helena's apartment. After rapping his knuckles on the door, he stepped back and restlessly waited for Helena to answer. It was now the time to make use of his stealthy and sneaky Slytherin traits and get useful information out of her without giving away any signs of a birthday surprise. In fact, he decided it was best to pretend like he had noooo idea that tomorrow was her birthday. Yay!

Helena heard her phone buzz softly from the other room as she yawned and looked through the fridge for eggs, but it took her a few minutes until she had a modest quiche in the oven to get to her phone that was still sitting in the bathroom. She smiled when she read the text from her boyfriend and slid her phone into her jeans pocket. She brushed a little green eyeshadow on with some black mascara and went to check on breakfast.

In what seemed like no time at all, there was a knock at the door. Helena walked over, setting her cup of coffee on the coffee table and opened the door. A wide smile took over her features as she saw Blake standing there. She opened the door wider so he could come in on one side of her. "Good morning," she said as her eyes fell on his shirt with a kind of bemused smile.

Another yawn found it's way out of Blake's mouth and at the same instant, the door flung open and Helena appeared before him. He instinctively smiled and then, he followed her gaze that led to his shirt. Heh. Apart from Helena, Sponge Bob has also been his childhood love and similarly to his love for her, the adoration for the yellow, super absorbent sponge hasn't withered. "What?!" He asked her when she gave him a confused smile and entered inside, closing the door behind as he took her hand in his and pulled her into a gentle embrace. Mmm. He loved the smell of her skin, it always intoxicated him. He slightly drew back from the hug, "If you hadn't agreed to be my girl, Sponge Bob would have been my second choice." He informed, a dead-pan expression on his face which, in a matter of seconds, broke into a smile as he bent down to plant a warm, smiling kiss on her pink lips.

Blake had no plans of cutting the kiss short but since he was in a time-crunch, at least for today, he pulled back and titled his head to the side, gazing into her eyes in a observant manner. "You look beautiful, babe. Mascara really accentuates your already long lashes." Neither Blake nor Helena were into makeup stuff but seeing that he was an aspiring model, he knew his way around the basics."So, do we have something baking in the oven?" He asked, shutting his green eyes as he sniffed the aroma wafting into his nostrils, pleasing him.

Helena was mulling over exactly how to break the news to Blakey on this one, but before she could figure it out he had pulled her close to him. She smiled slightly and after he explained himself said, "I'm not at all bothered by it, babe, but maybe you need to educate me because I honestly had no idea who it was." The chuckle that had rose to her lips died as Blake kissed her, but she willingly obliged to it.

Under his watchful gaze and observant eyes, however, Helena blushed and looked away for a brief moment with a quiet, "Thanks," and an itty bitty smile. She mostly wore make-up for work, but occasionally she wanted to. She looked back at him when he asked about the smell and Helena just watched him bask in it for a minute since it was so adorable. "Okay, don't laugh, but I'm trying to make quiche," she said as she took his hand and led him towards the kitchen, picking up her coffee along the way.

And of course, she had no idea about Sponge Bob. Hailing from a family of varied origin, - his father being a muggle and mother a witch - Blake was well acquainted with all things muggle and magic. He had the best of both worlds. "No matter." He said, smiling as he snaked his arms around her waist, "It won't be the last time you hear about it but I can certainly make arrangements for an educational evening if you promise not to keep me starving." Oh yes, it was hard for him to even move a finger without fueling himself and the delicious whiff oozing from the kitchen was surely not helping.

Aw, she blushed. And he loved it. Although the two of them fancied each other since their days in Hogwarts and had been dating for the past six months, still the simplest of things like seeing her blush or just the thought of meeting her gave him a stomach full of butterflies.

She grabbed his hand and led him into the kitchen though when she mentioned about making a quiche, his eyes expanded, "You're kidding right? Because the only thing you're good at cooking is Chinese noodles....and that too on my lucky days." Giving her an uncertain look, he tried to hold back a chuckle, and went over to the oven. Of course he was just messing around with her and was rather confident about her cooking skills...provided that she had a cook-book around here somewhere. Hehe.

Helena raised her eyebrows a bit at Blake's propositioning of an educational evening, but the smile on her lips was a dead giveaway at her attempts to seem suspicious or doubtful of him; it always was.

A real frown did appear, though, as Blake went over to the oven, but it soon became a small sigh as she realized it was herself who was to blame for that comment hitting her somewhat hard. She slid up onto the table and sat there for a moment watching him watch the quiche that was due to set the timer off any minute now. "Weeell, I actually haven't been totally honest in that regard. I'm actually a very good cook, but I haven't cook-cooked anything past basic in years..." Yep, that's what happens when you're all alone in the world and all your normal habits bug you too much about the past. Yipee.

He slid his hands into the baking mitts sitting on the counter top then carefully opened the oven door to take a peek at the masterpiece being made. Honestly, the smell was divine which was a bit surprising because he never thought she could cook beyond the basic. Glancing over his shoulder at Helena who was perched up on the table, he remarked, "So far, so good." and closed the door before he went to sit next to her.

He nodded his head when she started to speak. From the tenor of her voice it was rather evident that his words had hit a nerve. Heh. "Aaand I've no doubt." He said as she mentioned that she was, in fact, a very good cook. Holding her hand, he raised it to his lips and placed a soft kiss. "I was just messing with you, your quiche looks superduperexcellento!" Blake exclaimed, a big grin plastered on his face. However, his face fell and he pouted, gazing at her. "But babe, I believe that real men don't eat quiche." He uttered in a dramatic, depressive tone. This little theory about the said cuisine was introduced to him by his Dad when his mother made a spinach quiche and he clearly refused to eat. Although, he still wondered why.

Helena didn't say much as Blake talked... and moved around... and sat beside her... and kissed her hand... Odd as it was, she was feeling kind of crappy all of a sudden. Not just mentality-wise either - she felt tired and slightly irritable for no reason.

Suddenly the timer above the oven went off and Helena jumped a little before she went over to fetch it. "That's too bad now that it's done," she said with a small attempt at a smile as she mitted-up and pulled the small pie pan out of the oven and set it on the stove to cool some.

Okaaaaaay, maybe eggs wasn't the best idea for breakfast - especially the day before her birthday! Helena grabbed the counter gingerly and pulled herself over to the sink where she poured herself a glass of water and took a few gulps right away. "Go ahead and dig in if you want," she said, waving to the oven as she began wetting a washcloth. This was soooo not good...

Was he talking too much? Because Helena seemed annoyed.

He simply watched her put final touches to the quiche. He really hurt her, didn't he? But Helena of all people should know better that his jokes aren't meant to be taken seriously. Jumping off the table, he then sauntered toward her, and grabbed a fork and knife from the holder. "Are you all right?" He asked considerately as he cut two pieces -one for him and one for her- and placed them on a platter. "You seem sad." He set down the fork and knife and hugged her from behind. Just one day left until the big day and...she's mad at him. Crap.

Helena turned around to answer Blake as she shut off the water, but the sight of pieces of quiche he was cutting made her stomach do a somersault and instead she turned back to the sink again and put the washcloth around her neck. She shook her head to answer both his question and his statement. "Not sad," she said, pulling out her wand and waving it, though, so that her piece and the rest of it were sealed a in a container and in the fridge. "I don't think I can eat anything right now, though. Why don't you come into the living room when you're done, okay?" she asked, turning towards him and putting her hands over his arms around her waist. She gave him a small smile and then gently eased out of his grip (even though she didn't want to) and headed back into the living room to lay down on the couch. It wasn't all relaxation, though, as she had to make a quick call to the store. There was just no way she would be able to go to work today. Groan....

Not sad.

He shook his head. Seeing that he had messed up big time, Blake opted to keep his mouth shut. It was all his fault. He could have not teased her for once! He was now mentally toying around with the idea of leaving because the manner in which she put away her piece and the rest of the food, spoke to him and then settled back on the soft in the living-room exuded that she needed to be left alone. "All right.." He murmured. Sticking his fork in the piece, he popped it in his mouth and closed his eyes, savoring the delectable taste as the cheese melted in his mouth.

Once he was done, he came to the conclusion that it was best if he left and besides, he had a lot to do to make it up to her. He dug out the shrunken notepad and pen from the pocket of his jeans, brought it back to it's original state and scribbled, 'See you tomorrow at 7 pm.' Head hung low, he stepped into the living room and bent down. Her eyes were closed. He smiled ever-so-slightly, carefully placed the note on the floor and with a quick kiss on her forehead, he disapparated.

After phoning the store that she wouldn't be coming in today, Helena sighed and closed her eyes, just breathing rhythmically and trying to quit feeling nautious. The sounds of Blake eating in the kitchen slowly fainted as she drifted into an uneasy sleep.

A few seconds after Blake kissed her forehead, Helena woke up to the usual sound of Disapparation. Her heart sank as she immediately knew she was alone when her eyes fell on the piece of paper laying on the floor. She picked it up while not trying to move too fast and read it with a sigh. Picking up her phone, she headed into the bathroom to rinse her face with cold water and change into sweatpants and a tanktop. It was then that it dawned on her that Blake being Blake might have assumed that hemd offended her. She groaned slightly once more and sent him a quick text on her way back to her room.

Once there, Helena curled up under the covers once more and was instantly asleep. The text said:

After he left Helena's apartment, his next stop was the restaurant. The place wasn't bustling today; this gave him the perfect chance to excuse himself for a day. Also considering that the owner was one of the most sweetest people around, he took the plunge and like he assumed, Loraine posed no trouble. With a hasty thanks, he ran outside in the direction of a nearby park, ready to brainstorm.

It was a lovely fall afternoon despite the chilly wind and deserted playground. He sat down on a bench and took his cellphone out to make some quick calls. Blake was surprised to see an unread text. How strange that he never felt it buzz! But then again, he was very much distracted by the earlier occurrences. Taking a deep breath, he began to punch numbers in, oblivious to the fact that he hadn't read the text.

One hour later, Blake succeeded in selecting a location and a very beautiful one at that. But now what? He had to make arrangements for food, drinks and that special gift. However, right then an idea sprung in his head. Without wasting a moment, he grasped his phone and disapparated after making sure that no one was near.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Blue eyes opened slowly at the sound of a beep and darted a frantic glance around the room. Oh wow. What was the time? He struggled to keep his eyes wide open as Blake crawled out of bed to retrieve his cellphone from the pocket of the jeans tossed on the floor. "Ummm...." His voice fainted at the sight of 20 missed calls and all from the same person - Lavi Saitoh. "What the heck...." He muttered but something caused a lump to appear in his throat. Helena had texted him hours, HOURS before. And he never read it. How the hell did he not read it?!

As he sped-read the message, his heart did a DOUBLE somersault followed by a back flip when his gaze landed on the time. Friggin' 1'O clock in the morning! For a split second, he froze. She needed him - Helena was sick. And he ignored such an important text. She'll loathe him forever...maybe not forever but for an ample amount of time. Grabbing his jacket, he hurried outside his apartment, then dash across the street to a close by Pharmacy and as quickly as humanly possible [it was a muggle shop hence no magic], bought some OTC cold medicine and once he left the shop, he disapparated in a dark corner.

Apparating just outside her home, Blake gave a gentle knock at the door as he anxiously bounced on the balls of his feet, adjusting his appearance.

Helena's eyes fluttered open a few hours later and she realized she'd been sleeping for over five hours. Woooow, she must really be sick for that. She checked her phone beside her and saw with a frown that she had no messages or calls from Blake. Gulp. Was he mad at her? Ughhh.

After seriously considering going back to sleep, Helena decided she needed some hot tea to soothe her throat, so she reluctantly left her nice, warm, comfy, inviting bed and headed into the kitchen to put on some hot water, stifling a yawn along the way because it made her throat throb more. She coughed a bit as she poured the water over a teabag a few minutes later and stirred a LOT of honey in to make her throat better. And it did after one soothing sip.

Smiling slightly and trying to take her mind off her disappeared boyfriend, she went to the living room couch, wrapped herself in a blanket, and popped in a musical from too many years before to count. After a half an hour and finishing her tea, Helena's weariness took over again and she drifted off to sleep on the arm of the couch.

It wasn't until a few hours later when a gentle knock on the door awakened her. The timer on the television had shut it off an hour or two before and it was all dark in her apartment. Wrapping her blanket tighter around herself, Helena started making her way through the apartment slowly. Of course, that didn't help - after banging her foot off of a table by the door and cursing, she pulled open the door.

And there was Blake, bouncy and hyper as always, looking a little more tired an anxious the usual but still flawless. Aaaaand Helena knew she looked like Hell, but she couldn't really have cared less at that moment. "Blake? What time is it?" she asked with a yawn that turned into a cough as she stood in the doorway in confusion. Was he there to yell at her or something? Whaaaat was going on..?

A creaking sound pierced through the stillness of the night and the door cracked open. His heart was thumping very hard against his chest and he could even hear it beat in his ears when Helena came out. "I'msosorry." He muttered so swiftly that the whole sentence sounded like one muddled up word. She coughed and it made his heart jump. It was her Birthday and only because of his lateness, she fell sick. And then, he leaped at her, scooping her up in his arms, he took her inside but as he shut the door, the room fell into inevitable darkness. "I can't see, where do I turn on the lights?" Switch boards were useless for him until now. Blake still carried her a little further then a loud 'ARRGH!' filled the room when he banged his foot against the table. THE TABLE. This meant that the sofa was just around here somewhere.

Helena looked up at Blake in confusion at his run-on set of words, but she barely had time to before he scooped her up into his arms and started carrying her back in.... to the DARK apartment, mind you! "Just hold on a second," she said when he asked about the lights, but seconds later she knew he banged his foot off the table.

The table!! Helena bent down before Blake started moving again and grabbed her wand from the table. With a small flick of it the apartment was flooded with light from the one large and two small lamps that had turned on. Helena blinked and squinted against the bright for a moment and then tossed her wand back on the table. "Are you okay?" she asked looking back up at him from still being in his arms.

He ought to calm down or else he'll injure either one of them, and that would've to be the worst thing ever. But the remorse of ruining her day earlier and then thanks to his tardiness, her exaggerated cold was not the nicest feeling to live with. He felt her lean down, probably grabbing her wand and soon, the room illuminated with bright light emanating from the lamps.

At her question, he shook his head and lowered to place her on the couch. "I can't express how sorry I am, Helena." He said, sitting on the carpeted floor, looking down at his hands as he fiddled with his thumbs. "First, I ruined your day yesterday and now this." He pursed his lips, the feeling of guilt once again taking over him. He slightly raised himself on his knees, slid his hand in his pocket and dug out a packet of tablets for cold. "Now, just lay here while I get you a glass of water and a blankie, okay?" He smiled at her softly while his thumb caressed her hand.

Helena frowned as Blake shook his head and sat up again almost immediately as he sat down on the floor beside the couch. She could barely stand seeing him sitting looking so depressed and soon found her hands gently going through his hair as she listened to his reasoning.

Then she understood. Yet she didn't. "How did you ruin my day... yesterday?" Helena asked finally still a bit confused by the days. Did that mean today was her birthday? "Okay," she heard herself saying a moment later when he handed her some medicine and went to get her a glass of water. "I love you," she said looking up as he left the room.

Before he could stand up, a question was put forward by Helena. "You know...how I spoiled your mood by making a jeering remark about your cooking skills." He said quietly, gazing at her beautiful face basked in the faint light emerging from the lamp and added, "It was all in good fun, really!" After giving her hand a squeeze when she said she loved him, he stood up and disappeared into the spick-and-span kitchen.

He accio'ed a glass, poured water in it from the tap then headed for her bedroom, winking at her on his way. Helena's bedroom was his favorite feature of her apartment. It was neat, organized -unlike his room- and seemed so warm and cuddly. He was yearning to nose-dive into the bed right there and then but he didn't and quickly grabbing the blanket, he came back to his earlier spot in the living room. "Here you go," Blake bent down on his knees as he handed Helena the glass and then, wrapped the blanket around her. "This should keep you warm and nice." He said, a pleasant smile broke quietly over his lips, "Aren't I a good nurse, or what?"

Helena watched him go silently, as he had left before she had a chance to respond to his explanation. Her eyebrows rose only slightly as he made a detour into her room on his way back, but she was happy to find the mystery solved when he returned with the blanket that had been on top of her bed.

Helena thanked Blake quietly as he handed her glass and then allowed him to wrap the blanket around her before she actually took the cold medicine she gave her and helped it go down easier by taking a few swallows of water. "A very good nurse," she commented with a small smile as she set down the glass on the end table and gently pulled him down to sit beside her. "But, hun, I wasn't upset at all with you yesterday. I just started feeling really sick really fast," Helena explained looking over at him and pulling her blanket tighter around herself.

Reactivated by creator's request!

It felt like a massive burden had been lifted off his chest when Helena disclosed that she wasn't upset with him at all. "Phew..." He heaved a sigh of relief than scooted closer to her, "So, are we good?" He questioned, offering her one of his sweetest smiles. Then, leaned in and planted a kiss on her pale forehead. "I have to get going, it's getting late." He said, placing his hand on her cheek as he caressed it with his thumb .