maybe the night will change us [marin]

"Thanks Mrs Clare! See you later!" Wini called over her shoulder even as she grabbed Marin's hand and started walking towards the stadium, a grin stretching from ear to ear on lighting up her face.

It was here, finally here. The 3Spelled concert! She had been counting down the days, literally she had proof, until this amazing, awesome, super fantastical night and she couldn't believe it was finally here, finally happening. She would finally be able to see Liam, Zack and Owen (Liam was her favorite, of course) and she had prepared for this momentous occasion. She had hand-painted white tshirts (and begged Marin to wear one too) that said "we love 3Spelled" on the front and a giant heart with "3S" inside it on the back. Her hair was pulled up into a high pony with a 3Spelled hair ribbon of Liam's face. She had painted "3S" on both cheeks and was even wearing her favorite pair of 3Spelled underwear under her denim shorts. Oh and she had a giant sign that said "I love you, Liam" on it, charmed to light up and flash when she was excited. So it had been flashing since she charmed it two days ago and hadn't gone out since. She hoped the charm didn't wear off.

The night was young over the quidditch stadium turned concert venue and gaggles of girls streamed into the arena. The sky was dusky, the sun having set only about ten minutes ago. It was a hot night, but the air carried a hint of coolness that warned the temperature would soon fall. Wini wasn't worried about being cold though. Her dance moves she had been practicing for the past month would keep her warm.

"Oh my gosh, Marin, I can't believe we're finally here!" she said as she grabbed his forearm in excitement, nearly bouncing in her steps toward the arena. "Thank you again so, so much for getting me these tickets. I'm really glad that you decided to go with me. Do you think they'll play 'Charmed by a Chaser'? It's my favoriteeee." Every song was her favorite, but this one was her special fave.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, stopping dead in her tracks as she glanced up at Marin with her brown eyes wide with worry. "Did you bring the tickets? I don't have them."

@Marin Clare

Marin hadn’t expected her to want him to go to this concert, but he probably should have. He was a smart young man, wasn’t he? Marin had spent the day anxiously deciding between three very similar looking outfits and going between being hungry and too nervous to eat. He’d never been to a concert before, but from the pictures of them that he’d seen and from other people’s descriptions he knew that he probably wasn’t going to enjoy it.

As it was, Marin hadn’t had to choose an outfit at all. Wini had already picked a shirt for him - handmade, no less. The t-shirt was a little too small, so Marin had worn it over the top of a long-sleeved shirt to hide the thin strip of belly that threatened to poke out underneath. Maybe he’d grown an inch this summer already? When they arrived, Marin was thankful to be so tall that he could see over almost every person in the cool, colourful crowd. He spotted the line up for getting in with pre-paid tickets and moved toward it. When Wini stopped, the Hufflepuff tapped his shorter friend on the shoulder, holding their tickets out. There was a reason that he’d been in charge of them, he thought distantly.

“It was their biggest hit from the last album, right?” Marin responded automatically, “Of course they’ll play it.” Marin’s personal favourite - one of the only ones he seemed to be able to listen to on repeat during their study sessions - was She’s a snidget. He’d already been rather fond of this particular song, but it had become even more appealing now that he associated it with his train reunion with Winifred.

The Hufflepuff heaved an amazingly large sigh of relief as Marin tapped her shoulder and took the tickets out to show her. "Whew! Glad we put you in charge of those!" she said with a giant smile as she wrapped her arm around his and squeezed, matching her steps with his much longer ones. It had probably been Marin's idea in the first place to hang onto them, which was a really good idea because she was just too scatter-brained in her excitement to pay attention to little details like that.

"Yeah!" Wini answered excitedly, nodding her head a lot as she glanced up, way up, at Marin. "The best one too. You're right. Of course you're right. I'm just excited to hear it in person. Think it'll be even better than the recording? It has to be, right? I'm so exicteeddddd!" Wini did a little dance, her blonde ponytail bouncing up and down with her movement.

Soon enough, both Hufflepuffs were in through the ticket takers and onto the main concourse area. Wini's eyes lit up as she saw the merchandise stand where Liam, Zack and Owen's faces all sang at her from tshirts and tote bags and trinkets galore. "I.. want.. everything," Wini whispered as she stopped still in front of the display, her eyes roaming from item to item, not knowing where to start or what to pick. "How many sickles did I bring again?" she asked him, hoping she had remembered to give him her money too.

"Better for sure," Marin agreed distantly. He doubted the audio would be better than the recording; even with magic, Marin wasn't sure he'd be able to hear very much over the sound of the audience screaming. Marin gave Wini a sidelong glance. She'd probably be one of the loudest, he thought. Still, the energy of the crazy crowd would probably make it better for Wini. He wondered what he'd do if she passed out from excitement.

For what felt like forever, the pair waited in line. Marin felt really confused; on one hand, the collective excitement around him made him feel excited for the show, and on the other hand, the amount of people was making him feel moody and anxious. His emotions were at war and he felt all muddled up. When they finally got through, Marin and Wini moved to yet another line while they looked at merchandise. "Here," he said, pulling a wallet out of his pocket. He'd made sure to keep her money in a seperate place to his so that they didn't get confused. When the two got to the front of the line, Marin bought a little keychain and popped it in his other pocket. He let Wini go mad with whatever else she wanted. Crazy girl he thought affectionately.

Marin had spent a lot of time with Wini over the summer, and aside from the times that were less fun - like with Vyn, for example - he'd had a really good time. Despite the fact that he felt a little nauseous by the sheer numbers of fans here today, Marin was glad he was here with her. Wini really was a wonderful person. She made his life a whole lot better. "What?" Marin asked abruptly, realising that he'd just been sort of looking at her and had missed whatever it was that she'd just said.