Welcome to Gaia! ::

Penelope hadn’t ever thought of Cenek as more than a friend. She loved him as her friend – they shared secrets and spent loads of time together. Plus, it was very convenient having him around to take as a date to events. She never would have expected to ever go on a real date with him, but there they were, making their way to Hogsmeade together, hand in hand no less. The brunette tried her best not to visibly flinch when Cenek’s fingers brushed up against hers, but she didn’t resist when they intertwined with her fingers. As the couple walked, they discussed NEWTs, which Penny was undoubtedly nervous for, among other things. After all, they were the most important exams she’d ever take.

At one point on their stroll to town, the conversation lulled, and the two walked in silence, each experiencing their own inner monologues. Penelope really liked Cenek and never wanted to jeopardize their friendship, so when he asked her out for pizza, she didn’t know what to say. He was the only guy that she could have wanted something more with that actually treated her well, but for some reason, she second guessed whether she really liked him that way. With Eden and Ashton, she always felt butterflies flutter around in her belly in anticipation for seeing them regardless of how wrong both of those boys were for her. With Cenek, on the other hand, she never felt that. Instead, Penny felt rather relaxed and comfortable around him – and when she hung out with him, Chadwick and Finley, she felt sort of like they considered her as one of the boys, except maybe a little more pretty and girly, and she obviously smelled better unless she had finished with a yoga session or Quidditch – which, let’s face it, took up a lot of her time.

Additionally, ever since the Deep Sea Horrors Masquerade back in October, it seemed as though everyone around them was trying to set them up together. It started with Sparrow, who had done everything in her power to get them alone together besides literally smush their faces together for a kiss. It didn’t end there, however. Even Finley and Chadwick had made comments about how they were almost on double dates although the remarks were few and far in between. The worst of the comments and attention came from her extended family at the Marteau wedding. All of the adults seemed so excited and nosy about how ‘little Penelope’ was all grown up with a boyfriend, who wasn’t even her boyfriend at the time. Yet nobody seemed to care that Jessica had brought her actual boyfriend to that wedding. She supposed that may have been because Jessica wasn’t born into the family whereas everyone knew Penny since she was born. Oh, how envious she was of the younger girl about the lack of attention she received that night.

Penelope was so consumed by her thoughts that she hadn’t realized that they had arrived at Moore Italian so quickly. “Thank you,” she said with a smile as she walked through the door that Cenek had held open for her. Upon entering, she noticed Brook behind the counter, who had reached for a birthday hat, and yelled out “HAPPY BIRTHDAY CENEK!” before offering free pizza for the two of them. Thank God it wasn’t Penny’s birthday, or her cheeks would have completely flushed... which they did a moment later when Brook asked if they were on a date and then declared that they were, loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear. Thankfully, the pizza joint wasn’t too busy. “Thanks for the free pizza,” she said once she got the chance to get in a word and take the menu, turning to look at Cenek before leading him to an empty table against the opposite wall from the kitchen.

“You’re the birthday boy, you choose,” she said, sliding the menu across the table over to Cenek’s side as she slid into her chair. “I just want some breadsticks,” she admitted with a small smile. Penelope took this moment to pull out a wrapped present – more specifically, a book – from her purse and handed it over the Cenek as she wished him a “Happy birthday, by the way.” Regardless of whether or not they were dating, she would have gotten him a gift just as she had last year, and what better than a book. The Ravenclaw loved to read and she’d never forget his birthday – it was only about a week before hers.

Penelope sat in silence as Cenek ordered for them. Spinach, mushrooms, feta, and sausage all sounded delicious on pizza. “Make that two, please,” she added, referring to the lemonade. She looked back over at her date as Brook left with their order, and smiled at him. “You’re getting me even more excited for breadsticks. I didn’t even think that was possible.” A chuckle escaped from her mouth as her stomach gurgled in hunger. The seventeen year old had eaten a light breakfast in preparation for their outing, and that had been a few hours ago.

“Oh, I know, right? I really can’t believe we’re graduating soon.” Penelope bit her bottom lip lightly at the thought. Part of her couldn’t wait to graduate and venture out on her own, but that also scared her a little. She wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do with her life, and she found herself under quite a bit of pressure trying to figure it out. At least her parents weren’t adding to it as some of her friends and classmates’ parents were. Her mum had taken time off after graduating before finding a job, and she was lucky that if she wanted to, she could do the same. Additionally, if she really didn’t know what to do but wanted to make money, she could work at a shop. Preferably not at All or Nothing, but if she was desperate, she supposed she could work there at least part-time.

Almost as if Cenek had read her mind, he asked about her plans after graduation, and then proceeded to complement her leadership abilities and overall smarts. “Really? You think that?” she asked, a little caught off guard by his comments. She didn’t think she’d be amazing at so many different things, but it felt nice to hear that he thought so. “I’m actually not too sure... Mainly focused on getting good grades and then I’ll figure out what I can do based on my NEWT scores, I guess. How about you?” she asked curiously. It was probably important for her to know what her possible future boyfriend would be doing in just a short few months.