Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mad Eye Touz 
Aspen wasn't oblivious to change in Cornelius. Of everyone at Hogwarts, this was the ONE person she was certain she knew. Or, at least she knew him more than anyone else. She wasn't oblivious to WHY he had changed, too.
Problem was, there wasn't much she could do about it.
So, Aspen swept her thoughts under her brain's rug and focused on her gift. She loved the wrapping - it was very, very Cornelius, and she loved inspecting which page of the paper he'd used. She took the bow off and playfully stuck it to his leather coat, right to his chest.
THEN she broke into the box. Aspen never spoke, she didn't feel a need to, much like MOST of her times with Cornelius. She took the delicate chain out, and of course, inspected every detail, every link, every curve, indention, and flawless bit of silver.
Aspen put the box into her pocket and pushed her hood back, then pulled her hair to one side. She could put it on herself, but it'd be easier with help. She offered him the necklace back, then stepped in closer to him. He'd know how to clasp it, right?
Cornelius watched as Aspen began to unwrap the gift, seeming happy with the wrapping but not saying anything at all. He wondered vaguely why she hadn't said anything yet, trying to understand exactly how she was feeling. But he didn't have much time to think on extra things as Aspen kept his attention, attaching the bow playfully to his chest and forcing him to surpress a smile. He hadn't expected that. He hadn't expected to be so...enthralled with her. But he was.
He had been sure that when he saw Aspen, all he would think about was that kiss she had with Joao. He figured it would be the thing he couldn't get off his mind. And though the mere thought of it still made him feel ill, he surprisingly found that he wasn't thinking about it at all. He couldn't. His mind just didn't have any room for it as his light brown eyes focused in on Aspen as she took out the necklace and examined it thoroughly. His gaze swept over her expression, taking in every detail of her greedily, not realizing how much he had missed her. But seeing her again made him realize just how much he had missed seeing her face, being around her in general.
He was snapped out of his daze as she started moving back her hair, offering him the necklace in a silent request that he help her put it on. He gave a brief nod before taking the necklace into his hands and stepping towards her until they were face to face, much closer than he originally anticipated they would be. But he couldn't say that he minded. Cornelius gently reached around her to fasten the clasp of the necklace, doing so within a couple seconds, and then setting it softly down around her neck. Once this task was done, he slowly retrieved his arms from practically around her, a momentary reluctance in his pace. But he didn't move back yet. He didn't step away simply because he enjoyed being next to her again, and he couldn't quite bring himself to separate entirely from her once more. He allowed his gaze to note how the necklace looked on her before, unable to help it, his light brown eyes found her lighter ones and got stuck there.