A Private Showing (Josh and Esmerelda)

Esmerelda looked around the private gallery that she had in the bottom of her home, it was a lovely place, she had decorated it herself, but besides that it was rather minimalistic and she liked it that way, it meant that it kept her home and her work seperate which was hard when you often did your work in your own home. In the back of the room was a door leading onto the dark room, which was the most active room in the house.

After brushing her hair for what seemed like the millionth time, Esmerelda wandered back upstairs and she waited in the front room for Josh to arrive, of course there were a good few minutes yet and he would probably apparate here, however she didn't really have it in her to leave getting ready to the last moment. Running her hand across her face she tried to calm her nerves down...

What if he didn't come?
What if he didnt like her work?
What if...?!

With a small sigh Esmerelda got up and began pacing the length of the room.

Josh was nervous about tonight, and he wanted to look his best. Though it wasn't necessarily a date, it was the closest thing he'd had to one in quite some time. Eventually, he decided on khaki-colored shorts and a green polo, since he didn't want to overdress. Then he checked his appearance one last time, and realized he needed to be going. It would not do to be late, he preferred to be on time.

Apparating to her street, he checked the number of the house in front of him. This was it, and he felt the butterflies in his stomach zooming around. He also felt excitement, both at seeing Esmerelda, and her private gallery. Her work was amazing, and she claimed that she kept her best stuff here. How did he get so lucky as to be invited? Josh really had no clue.

Ringing the doorbell, he waited with a smile on his face. He was here just about three minutes early, not too bad. This was going to be a great time, he just hoped that he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of her.

Esmerelda happily bounced up and down, stopping her pacing when she heard the doorbell go, she was glad that he was here and he was early no less! Trying to calm herself down so that her smile didn't look quite so large Esmerelda walked slowly towards the door.

Waiting for a few moments, she didn't want to seem like she was too eager or anything, she opened the door with her gentle smile gracing her lips, glad to be able to see Josh again and he looked good in those khaki shorts she had to admit.

"Josh it's nice to see you again!" she greeted happily, hugging him around the neck "You look great, come on in."

Stepping aside so that he could enter the house she wandered into the living room, waiting for Josh to reappear again, with the same smile she asked;

"Would you like a drink or something?"

Josh couldn't help smiling a bit wider when he heard footsteps coming closer. Even though he'd only met her once, he already liked Esmerelda quite a bit. She was different from anybody he'd ever met, and the fame hadn't gone to her head.

It was ridiculous in his mind to think that a girl like her, his favorite artist, would ever fall for him. Still, it was a pleasant thing to think about. Being friends would be great though, she seemed like a really fun person. When she opened the door in a beautiful dress, he had to remind himself not to stare too much.

"It's great to see you again too Esmerelda!" he said happily, hugging her back. "I look great? Look who's talking. You really do look beautiful." Josh told her a bit shyly. He couldn't remember the last time he'd told a girl that.

Stepping into the house, he looked around, taking it all in. The living room was quite nice, and he wondered where her private art gallery was. That was going to be amazing.

"I wouldn't mind something. Whatever you're having is fine with me." he replied, smiling back at her. "This is a nice place you have here."

Esmerelda laughed freely when Josh told her that she looked beautiful and he looked like he really meant it as well, she couldn't remember the last time that a man had told her that and had actually meant what he had said. It was a pleasant change to her and she hoped it happened more often.

"Why thank you Josh, I would hope so, I did try and make myself look a little better than normal for tonight after all." she grinned placing a hand on her lip as she leant against the wall nearest the chimney breast of her home.

Picking up a glass of white wine, she handed another one to Josh with a small smile on her lips, she was glad he was here and she was bouncing with excitement to finally begin to show him her favourite and most cherished of works.

"The gallery is downstairs by the way, I try to keep everything down there so people don't sneak peeks of my work in my home. Please sit down for a little bit if you want to." she offered with a small smile on her lips.

Hearing that he liked her home Esmerelda grinned and was happy that he did so, she had put a lot of effort into it after all; "Thank you Josh, I did most of the decoration myself."

Josh wasn't quite sure what she was laughing at, but it was a lovely sound nonetheless. She looked pleased about something, and he decided not to ponder it. Trying to figure out a girl was an area he was hopeless in. Even his little sister, who he'd known her whole life, he didn't always understand.

"You are most welcome, the effort put in clearly shows. I attempted to do the same thing, how'd I turn out?" Josh asked. Then he did a twirl for dramatic effect on a whim, he was in a silly mood at the moment.

Esmerelda was bouncing up and down with excitement, to show him her work possibly. Taking a sip of the wine, he continued to look around at the unique decorations. She had a peculiar taste, but he found that he liked it.

"A good idea, it would be a shame if somebody copied some of your private work. I would, yet you seem to be bouncing to show me something. My guess is that you want to show me the gallery, so if it's alright with you, let's go see that." This was going to be amazing, seeing his favorite artist's private gallery. It was a chance that few, if any, would ever get.

Josh wasn't surprised when she told him she had decorated the house herself. He could tell that some of it echoed some of her artwork, just in the style of it. "Your artistic skills show through again." he said, smiling at her.

Esmerelda could see that her excited ways were confusing Josh a little bit, but she always seemed to laugh and have the nervous energy of a child when she got excited. When he did that little twirl she couldn't help but giggle lightly and she looked around Josh, circling him with an over exaggerated examination face on.

"Hmmmmm let me see here." she stated while she peered at Josh's clothes "Well I think that you turned out pretty good tonight, excellent job Josh." Esmerelda joked, giving him the thumbs up as she went back to sitting on the sofa.

When he said that he noticed her buzzing to show him her work, Esmerelda blushed lightly and stood back up again, with a little smirk she tilted her head to one side;

"So you figured me out, come on then let's get started!" she laughed happily.

Grabbing Josh's hand she led him excitedly to the door to the basement she was so excited to finally share the private collection of work she had with someone, someone who could actually understand it and just didn't want it for investment.

"Are you ready?" she asked with a grin as she placed her hand on the glass doorknob.

Josh was a bit perplexed by Esmerelda, she was so different from most people their age. It was all good though, he liked her a lot. She was more open, and not afraid to play around and have fun. A lot of times people tried to be what you wanted them to be. Yet she wasn't afraid to be herself, even though she was different. He admired that about her.

Standing straight as he was examined, he made sure not to let the laugh escape him. For some reason he felt a bit silly tonight. "Why thank you, glad I passed your inspection. It's quite a challenge trying to make this ugly mug look presentable you know." he joked, making fun of himself a bit. It was good to laugh yourself sometimes. "Thank you so much for inviting me, I'm already having a lot of fun Esmerelda." he said seriously, smiling at her.

When she blushed and stood up, he knew that he had guessed correctly. The blush made her look even prettier, and he decided he would try and make her blush another time. "A lucky guess, that's all. There's still lots I have to figure out about you." Jos said, laughing with her.

Her grabbing his hand took him off by guard, but it was a pleasant surprise. Instinctively, his hand laced through hers, and he noticed how soft hers was compared to his. Following her, he felt excitement rise up at being able to see her private collection. She said this was the favorite stuff she'd ever done, it was going to be brilliant.

The instant he heard her voice, Josh realized that he'd laced his fingers through hers and pulled it away, blushing a deep red. "Sorry, it just happened." Josh told her sheepishly. He kind of wanted to keep holding her hand, but was afraid she wouldn't want him to.

"As ready as I'll ever be, let's do it!" he replied excitedly. This aws going to be an experience he would never forget. "I'm prepared to be shocked and awed."

Esmerelda was about to scold Josh for his self depreciating remark, but then she realised that she often made comments like that about herself as well. With a small smile on her lips she shook her head, letting her ginger her sway a little bit with the motion, his thanks made her feel like this was something very special to him, and it made her happier to know that.

"Well I don't think that your mug is ugly at all Josh, and I don't think it takes much work to look like this." she smiled "There's no need to thank me, I want to show you my work after all, I want to show you a good time."

When he drew attention to the fact he had laced his hands with her own Esmerelda smiled softly and when he took his hand away from hers, she held up her own, and slotted her fingers in with his, with a soft smile on her lips;

"Sorry it just happened." Esmerelda laughed softly.

Opening the door she let Josh into the basement, there were many plastered walls where her artwork hung, and the door to the dark room at the back, the walls were white so the photographs stood out, the first thing you saw was a brilliant black and white of a sunset.

Josh saw her hold back a comment, and he wondered what it was that she wouldn't say it. He could tell that thanking her had a positive effect though. Coming over here was something special to him, because he knew that she kept her work private for a reason. Being invited here was something that she probably never did, or rarely. She'd made him feel special by inviting him.

That comment made his ears turn bright red. "If you say so, I'll have to take your word on it." he said, smiling a bit. "Yes I do, I really appreciate it. No doubts this is going to be a good time, I still can't believe I'm in the home of my favorite artist. I keep telling myself it isn't a dream." he admitted.

After she put her hand back in his, a huge smile suddenly appeared on his face. Maybe he did have a shot with her after all. Holding her hand just felt natural, and he told himself to try not to be so shy with her. It seemed that Esmerelda liked him, so he should take some chances.

"That I don't believe for an instant Esmerelda." he replied, winking at her. "Your hand feels quite nice, much softer than what I would have guessed." Josh said.

Walking into the basement, he saw that it was completely covered with her art. This was probably where she spent most of her time while at home. The first of her art he saw was a beautiful black and white sunset. "Wow, that's beautiful. You have an eye for finding beauty, you know." Compared to some of the pieces that she showed publically, this was a lot better. How in the world did he get invited here?

Esmerelda smiled cheekily and she nodded her head, he would just have to take her word on it, after all he didn't seem like the kind of boy to go around complimenting himself all of the time. Maybe nobody else had taken the time to do so either? Seeing his blush made Esmerelda smile happily and she poked his cheek.

"Yes you will just have to take my word for it." she laughed gently before she herself blushed "You know I'm not really that good an artist there are better people out there, but I guess art is all about personal taste, so, thank you for your support." Esmerelda smiled happily.

When he said that her hand felt much softer than he had expected Esmerelda's mouth popped open in mock hurt, after all she was an artist so the materials she worked with sometimes made her hands rougher than normal so it was understandable.

"I was going to pretend to be offended before I realised that artists do have rougher hands, but I don't use much else but my camera so I'm fine." she teased, sticking her tongue out.

Happily she smiled when Josh commented on her work and she decided to give him a little bit more background information about it, just in case he was interested in learning about it.

"Thank you Josh!" she grinned "Well I took this photograph on my last day of Hogwarts, it shows how a new era in my life was beginning at the time, I never sold it because of that reason, it's so sentimental."

Josh burst out laughing when she poked him on the cheek. It seemed she was pleased with being able to make him blush. He wasn't used to getting compliments from beautiful girls, so blushing was inevitable. Getting compliments at all was rare for him, he never got any while at home from his father. Every once in a while a teacher would give him one, but he didn't think he was anything special.

"Good thing I already know you have excellent taste." he replied cheekily, trying not to laugh. "I can't say that witha straight face." Josh admitted, letting the laughe scape him. "Well I like yours the best, and you'll just have to live with it. Give yourself a little credit." he replied, smiling at her.

Because she was an artist he'd expected rougher hands, that's why he was surprised. Also it had been a long time since he'd held a girl's hand, he'd become accustomed to the rough grips and hands of men. Holding her hand made his heart beat a little bit faster than normal.

"That's one of the reasons why I was surprised. The other is that I'm used to handshakes with guys, they don't have soft hands." he admitted. "I have to admit though, holding your hand feels wonderful." Josh said. "Thanks for letting me." he told her, kissing her on the cheek.

Josh listened to her explain why she loved it. Her explanation made sense, the last day of Hogwarts is the beginning of a new chapter in your life. He remembered his last day of Hogwarts pretty clearly.

"I can see why it's special to you. The last day of Hogwarts is a pretty big day, the start of living life on your own." he said. "Time to see more awesome artwork, lead on." Josh told her with enthusiasm.

Esmerelda grinned cheekily at Josh, he was someone she could see herself spending a lot of time with as a friend, or maybe...getting friendlier, it was odd that she had actually found someone who interested her in that way, she had never really had a proper boyfriend before, maybe this could be him?

"Well then I shall follow the advice of the wise and mighty Josh Night, and give myself a little credit, where credit is due of course." she grinned happily.

Blinking a little bit when Josh kissed her on the cheek, Esmerelda gently pressed her other hand to the place where he had kissed and grinned like an idiot, well, it was nice to finally get some affection out of somebody around her. Reaching up she pecked him on the cheek too.

"I should hope that you would thank me, I mean it's a very tall order letting you hold my hand like this, whatever would my mother think." she joked happily.

When he asked for some more artwork, Esmerelda lead him through the rest of the gallery and eventually came to stop in front of a photgraph she had taken of the face of a rather beautifully carved oak clock, but the face of which was chipped and cracked.

"This photograph is one of my favourites, I like it because to me it illustrates that time, can be worn away and stopped for even a moment, like the broken and chipped clock suggests."

Josh laughed a bit at her cheeky grin, smiling back. Esmerelda was so silly sometimes, it was a lot of fun being with her. He should ask her out sometime, on a proper date, he really wanted to. It would be different having an actual girlfriend, he hadn't dated much at all. Perhaps with Esmerelda it would be good though, she was a great girl.

"Wise and mighty is a bit of a stretch Esmerelda. Now if you went for dangerous and sexy Josh Night that would be more accurate." he teased her, and then burst out laughing. "Oh gosh, could not even say that. Excuse my bad joking, it's pretty pathetic."

He could tell that his kiss on her cheek caught her off guard, he was shocked he did it himself. Esmerelda's smile said that she didn't mind it though. Josh blushed a tomato red and grinned foolishly when she kissed his cheek. Did she really just do that?

"She'd probably say it's about time you found a man." he joked back. "No, I know it is, and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it." Josh said seriously, smiling at her. "W-w-would you like to go on a proper date with me sometime Esmerelda?" he asked her nervously. "I understand if you don't, I mean why would a great girl go out with a guy like me. But, I would love to go on one with you." Now he his cheeks were both burning a beet red.

Josh happily followed her to the next picture, still holding on to her hand. The clock was beautiful, and he loved that it was chipped and cracked. Her explanation of why she liked it made sense to him, that made it much more interesting.

"I can see why you like it so much. Another great picture, and what it suggests is quite interesting. Kind of shows how things change over time, nothing stays the same."

Esmerelda thought that it was important to have someone that she could laugh and joke with, especially when it came to considering going out with somebody, and Josh seemed to have the perfect sense of humour for her, he never went too far and most of the things that he said were at his own expense.

"Well dangerous and sexy Josh Night." she purred happily "That name rolls off the tongue much better and doesn't make you sound like a geek, so I'll stick with that one."

Raising her eyebrow Esmerelda pretended to take offense before she heard the question that Josh asked, it was strange to her to actually have a guy ask her out and she bit her lip, standing still for a few moments before she nodded her head with a smile.

"I would like that Josh, I really would. You're a great guy after all, just my type, so, I'll accept your offer! Where are we going?" she asked happily, excited to be going on a date with Josh, she had only thought about his happening seconds ago.

Gently she kissed each of his cheeks again, the artwork forgotten as she anxiously awaited his reply.

Josh loved joking with Esmerelda, she always knew how to make him laugh. She also seemed like a really sweet girl, and she had a job that she loved. He hadn't dated much, but he thought that it might work well with Esmerelda. Definitely worth a shot at least.

"The geeky one's probably more accurate." he admitted. "But you can call me whatever you want to, Miss Tenebrae." The way she had purred it made his heart beat a little faster.

This was it, the moment of truth. He waited in suspense, with butterflies in his stomach and his heart racing while she mulled it over. When she nodded a huge grin crossed his face. I can't believe this is actually happening.

"I can't believe you actually want to, but I'm really glad you do. You are a pretty amazing girl." he told her. Now he had to think of a good place, he hadn't thought this far ahead. "I hadn't thought this far ahead, let me think." Again he blushed when she kissed him on the cheek. "What do you think of Rizukia Pub? I've heard it's pretty nice." he suggested.

Esmerelda smiled softly and shook her head, to her Josh wasn't geeky he was just passionate about things that people would perceive as geeky when really they were just intelligent persuits, although she didn't really want to argue with him about this, she was sure that she would be able to convince him otherwise.

"Well if you're a geek we best get you some of those nerdy glasses then hadn't we?" she grinned "And while we're there I can get myself a pair too, and we can be geeks together."

Josh's grin was adorable, but also, rather attractive and Esmerelda felt herself grin back at him, she was glad that Josh felt the same way about her she did about him, it would have been awkward if he hadn't because she was beginning to feel that these feeling wouldn't be going away any time soon.

"Well you're a pretty amazing guy, so we go well together. But...what about your sister? Is...is she going to take this alright?" Esmerelda asked, not wanting to upset his little sister "I like that place yeah, it's really nice in there, I approve of your decision."

Josh luaghed a bit at her joke, if she was trying to make him feel less geeky she had succeeded. Perhaps he wasn't so geeky after all, or maybe they boths were. Either way, he was glad she didn't seem to mind. He returned her grin.

"No, I think I'll be alright without them. I don't need glasses to show people I'm a geek." he joked. "You are a pretty funny girl, Esmerelda, I rather like it." he said with a wink.

Everything felt so natural with Esmerelda, he was relieved that she actually liked him too. Part of him was worried that he was going to be turned down. Thankfully, she did indeed like him back though, and that made him pretty happy.

"Aww, thanks, glad you think so." he said with a grin. His sister would be thrilled with this, she would know it wouldn't be a problem if she had met Naomi. "Quite the opposite, she's been on me about getting a girlfriend recently. When I told her I'd met a possible one, you, she was thrilled." he told her, laughing a bit. "Okay, is next saturday at seven alright?"

Esmerelda was very happy now that she had been able to tell Josh that she had feelings for him, she didn't know how it was going to go just yet but, maybe she would find herself in a relationship for the first time, she would have to see how the date went when they settled on a date.

At his comment, Esmerelda grinned and winked at Josh sticking her tongue out, being funny was something lots of people commented her as being, and she didn't mind that one bit.

"Ah well humour is the spice of life! Said some old and famous dead guy, so thank you very much." she chuckled "You're not too bad yourself Night, maybe we should go on tour as a duo act."

As soon as Josh said that his sister wouldn't mind, Esmerelda felt more relaxed and she was glad that he was not going to be getting any hassle from her that she didn't want him to have a girlfriend or something like that, who would she be to cause them trouble?

"I am glad of that," she smiled gently "Sounds like she's quite the pistol, how old is she? And I guess I can fit you into my busy schedule, let me have a look at my planner and get back to you." she teased.

Josh was excited to see where this would go, he really hoped he didn't screw up their date. He hadn't been on one in quite a while after all. Things had gone well with her so far though, so maybe it wouldn't go too badly. She was such a great girl, he still couldn't belive she'd said yes.

When Esmerelda stuck his tongue out at him he burst out laughing. In response, he stuck his tongue out right back at her, amused by her antics. The silliness was quite fun, he was enjoying himself.

"You are very welcome, and an excellent quote. I can't think who said it though." he admitted. "Go on tour as a duo act, huh?" he asked. "I don't know if the world can survive my bad jokes."

Josh saw Esmerelda visibly relax when he told her that Naomi wouldn't mind. It was definitely a good thing that she didn't, she could be a bother when she wanted to be. Generally she was a great little sister to have though, he missed her.

"Gosh, she's sixteen now, can't believe how grown up Naomi is." he said, thinking about her. "Well thank you for that consideration Miss Tenebrae, I appreciate it."

Esmerelda happily grinned when Josh told her that he couldn't remember who had said that either, it seemed that both of them weren't too hot on their quotes even though Josh seemed to do quite a bit more reading than herself. Shrugging her shoulders Esmerelda grinned;

"I couldn't either, I guess we shall never know who said some random quote I will probably never say again." she smirked before continuing "Well I've managed to survive them so far so, I'm pretty sure they could stomach them until my comedic genius kicks in."

When Josh told her that Naomi was 16, Esmerelda thought that it was a pretty good age, she wasn't going to want her to play with her all the time, she wan't going to be bratty about taking Joshs attention, and she would be old enough to understand their relationship. Win win.

"Wow 16! A special birthday this year, sweet sixteen, I hope you threw her a special party for it." she teased lightly "You'll have to make it up to her for her 18th if not."

Now the art seemed completely forgotten and Esmerelda was just happily talking with Josh, and feeling like she was about five stone lighter she was so happy.

Josh was normally pretty good with quotes and the like, but he was drawing a blank on that one. Oh well, you can't remember all the random quotes that were out there.

"Such a tragedy, I'm sure it will bug us to no end not knowing." he replied with his own smirk. "So you have, I'm quite surprised by that actually." he told her. "Your comedy would certainly be able to redeem mine."

Whenever he saw Naomi she seemed to be more mature, and he was trying to make sure to keep up with her while at Hogwarts. He missed her when she was gone, she was always a great person to talk to.

"It certainly is, and I did make sure to throw her a party before she went to Hogwarts." Josh told her. "What kind of brother would I be if I didn't?" he asked.

Spending time talkikng with Esmerelda felt great, he was really enjoying it. He couldn't stop smiling, nor did he want to.