Welcome to Gaia! ::

As soon as he misspoke over his friend's name, Seb felt a weight of guilt sit on his heart. Even with Alice saying it was okay, that it was a big change, Seb knew just how important this was to her. He nodded, but there was a small frown on his face. She told him to hold still, then went to her knees to tie up his shoes. "You don't hafta do that! I don't mind if they're undone." He blushed, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Bubs, I don't think that's why she's doing it. Remember, we live at the top of stairs. What happened last time?" Kinzlie looked over at Seb, who appeared for a second to be in thought. "Oh... right. Probably ought to keep 'em tied up."

Before they stepped out, Alice asked Mrs Nora about cookbooks. Seb nodded, smiling happily. "Yea, 'cause 'Liss is the captain of the cooking club at school! Linsey said she was the best ever so now she's in charge!" He couldn't possibly be more proud of his very best friend. "Of course we can grab you a nice cookbook. And, if you'd like, before we get you back to your Uncle's house tonight, we can stop by my house and you can look through my cookbooks. It must be a very exciting responsibility to be running the club, and I'd love to help however I can." Seb grinned over at Alice, then held out a hand for his Mama. Despite being a teenager, the alley was super easy to get lost in! His other hand reached over for Alice, sending a smile toward the blonde. For her... he just liked holding hands.

Alice hadn't enjoyed the train ride home because it meant that she'd have to spend time with her parents and be Declan. She'd spent pretty much the whole train ride home holding Seb's... her boyfriend's... hand and trying to keep herself calm. Once they hit the platform, there was the wildness of the platform to deal with and she couldn't think much about the commotion. Mrs Nora did let her know she'd informed her parents that they would be returning on Sunday, rather than Saturday, so Alice could spend the night at the Moon flat... Would they let her sleep in the same bed as Sebby? Her cheeks blushed at that thought but thankfully everyone was too busy to notice it. Alice looked around at everyone meeting up with their families and waved at her cousins when they arrived to gather Aina. She stayed close to Mrs Nora and Momma Kinzlie until they were apparated over to the Moon flat. The blonde took a moment to orient herself, then slipped off her shoes to be more comfortable.

Sebby was practically vibrating with excitement and Alice could feel his happiness radiating to her. She smiled back at him, then nodded when he asked if she wanted to tell them or if she wanted him to do it. "Mrs Nora, Momma Kinzlie. Sebby and I have a big announcement." She glanced between the two elders, wondering if they'd have the same reactions as their friends. Pretty much all their friends had responded "no duh" or "you weren't already?" or something in that fashion. But still, Alice was excited to share the information. "As of a couple weeks ago, Sebastian and I are officially dating." She smiled and took his hand in hers, which wasn't something out of the ordinary for them.

Alice beamed when Momma Kinzlie hugged Seb and said she was proud of them for their news, but her smile faltered a moment when some coins exchanged hands. Mrs Nora hugged her and she returned the gesture. Then Seb asked if they'd bet on them and Momma Kinzlie confirmed it. "I'm pretty sure several of the professors were betting on us too," she said with a slight frown. Did all adults do that? Or was it specifically them that people were betting on? Was it really that obvious? Alice glanced over at Seb who still seemed in really high spirits. All their friends seemed to know they were going to date, the professors seemed to know, even Mrs Nora and Momma Kinzlie seemed to know. The blonde tried to objectively view their relationship and see if she could see the obviousness behind their relationship. Viewing their friendship objectively, Alice figured she could see it... they were almost always together, they held hands everywhere they went... Seb and Alice even fed each other sometimes. "It makes sense," she mumbled out loud, continuing the conversation from inside her head out loud. She shook her head and smiled, then rolled up onto her tiptoes and kissed Sebby on the cheek.

This summer was supposed to be a relaxing time before the final year of school, but Alice had jam packed it with extra studies, as well as interning with her uncle again. However, when Sebby had invited her for a weekend over at his flat, the blonde couldn't turn down the invitation. She was aching for time with her boyfriend and she couldn't wait to see Momma Kinzlie either. Sebby had said they were going to have a little party for her, since Momma hadn't been able to celebrate Alice's birthday while they were off at school. Those two always found a way to make her grin. So on the morning that they had decided to hold this little birthday bash, Alice had gotten dressed in one of her favorite sundresses, got on some jewelry, and finished getting ready. Her wrist still felt a little naked without her watch, but it had finally quit working and the watch repair guy had looked at her with a weird glance when she asked him to fix it. He'd said it would make more sense financially to just replace it, rather than fix it. Alice had huffed, but agreed. She still had to go out to a shop to replace it. The blonde also packed enough clothing to make it through the weekend at Seb's, which was meticulously placed into her purse. Her wand was also tucked inside, since she was seventeen and could do magic outside of school. Once everything was ready, she apparated over to the flat. "Sebby! I missed you!" she exclaimed, practically tackle hugging her boyfriend when she spotted him. After giving him several kisses, she disengaged from her hug to give Momma Kinzlie a hug too. "Hello Momma, I missed you too!" The blonde grinned from ear to ear, practically bouncing with the excitement.

Alice squealed when Sebby picked her up and spun her around, playfully kicking her legs a little until she was set back down. The blonde grinned when Momma Kinzlie apologized for missing her birthday, waving away the thought that Kinzlie had missed her birthday. After all, she'd been at Hogwarts and she couldn't really leave to celebrate her birthday. But Momma did say she did some research about her gift, which also made her smile. Alice loved research. Opening the box, she looked at the very beautiful watch inside the box. It had a blue band and a lovely blue and rose gold flower patterned face. She smiled widely, listened as Kinzlie explained that she'd heard about her watch failing, then about the tradition of giving a watch when a "wizard" turned seventeen. Alice knew that it was meant to be a boy who received the gift, but figured that Kinzlie hadn't figured out that was what it meant. She didn't assume at all that Kinzlie meant any ill will by it. And the watch was really beautiful and Alice really wanted it. Seb spoke up and explained that it was supposed to be boys who received watches on their seventeenth birthdays.

Alice looked up at Kinzlie when Seb explained that and saw the look on her face. When she immediately began to backpedal, Alice felt a tug on her heart. Oh no, she didn't assume for a moment that Kinzlie had meant any ill will by her gift! "Momma," she said, trying to interrupt Kinzlie's apology, but then she was pulled into a hug and her hair pet lovingly. "Momma," Alice repeated, returning the hug as best she could without dropping the box. "You've been one of my biggest supporters throughout my transition and I never suspected for a moment that you meant any ill will by the gift. It's a super beautiful watch and I absolutely love it! Do... do you want to help me put it on?" Of course Alice could easily put the watch on herself but the offer of having her help put it on would solidify that she loved the watch and wanted to wear it always. Taking the watch out of the box, she held out her wrist so that Momma could put it on for her.