Never Been Kissed

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not in love with Hermione Granger. Or Ginny Weasley. Or Luna Lovegood. Or... well, I think you get the picture. In all honesty, I'm not in love with anyone, even though there is a girl I really fancy. Only problem is; I'd gotten it in my mind that she was unattainable.

The first time I saw her was on the Hogwart's Express. She was sitting with a group of girls, twirling a piece of red licorice between her fingers. I could tell by her school uniform that she was a Ravenclaw, but I didn't know what year she was.

As I walked by her, she gave me a soft smile and I almost tripped over myself. You see, girls never smile at me unless they want something or they're taking pity on me. I quickly took an assessment of myself to make sure my trousers were zipped or that I didn't have toilet paper on my loafers. When I saw everything was clear, I smiled back at her. And that was about the time Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan showed up and pushed me into a different compartment.

We went into a compartment that was occupied by Harry Potter and his fan club. Don't get me wrong, I respect Harry but his fan club is a bit too much. As they spoke about the latest happenings with The Order of the Phoenix and relived our adventures at the Ministry of Magic, I thought about the girl who dared to smile at me.

Maybe I'd just seen her for a few moments but I had memorized most of her features. She had dark auburn hair that fell onto her shoulders and her cheeks dimpled when she smiled. And I believe her eyes were brown but I was too busy looking at her smile to really notice.

When we arrived at the castle, I pondered going back to her compartment but was stopped when Seamus started talking Quidditch stats with me. I began to wonder if he'd ever understand that I didn't care that much for Quidditch.

Later I tried to look for her in the Great Hall during the sorting ceremony and great feast but someone was always pulling my attention away to speak to me. For the first time in my life people where paying attention to me and I wished they would just stop.

On the first day of classes, I saw her twice but never had the chance to speak to her. I finally gathered that she was a Fifth Year since I spotted her coming out of classrooms with Luna. And, after a week of wondering, I finally decided to ask Luna who the girl was.

Luna Lovegood was a fountain of information and within ten minutes, I knew the girl's name was Rebecca Collins and that she didn't have a boyfriend. My heart fluttered but quickly stopped. After all, I am Neville Longbottom and I don't ask girls out or even speak to them, unless I know them well.

I decided to just watch from a distance and wonder what it would be like to have her as a girlfriend. Maybe I'm being inane. After all, just because she smiled at me doesn't mean she's nice or even interested in me.

Soon weeks turned into months and our first trip to Hogsmeade came. There was a rush to get dates for the trip and I pondered if I should ask Rebecca or not. I almost did, right outside the potions classroom but that git Professor Snape started yelling at me about something and by the time he was done, she was already gone.

Maybe me having a girlfriend wasn't meant to be. After all, I was sixteen and I'd never been kissed. Well, that's a lie; there was that one girl when I was seven who kissed me on the cheek. But of course she did it as a dare so it didn't really count.

We soon went to Hogsmeade and I got stuck with Seamus and Lavender. I had to watch them snog and carry on as we sat in The Three Broomsticks. That's when Luna showed up, wearing some off-color dress and earrings shaped like the moon.

"Someone wants to say hi," bounced Luna as she gave me a strange look. I furrowed my brow and shrugged my shoulders. Maybe it was her imaginary friend that wanted to talk to me. "Don't shy... he's sitting right here."

And that's when Rebecca stumbled up. I looked at her and she looked at me as I finally figured out that she definitely had brown eyes. "Hi," she shyly said as she pulled at her blue jumper.

"Hi," I said back and smiled. She was about as nervous as I was, which made me feel a bit better.

"Y'know Seamus," said Luna as she leaned toward him, "these two might want some privacy." Leave to Luna to get to the point.

Seamus and Lavender looked at each other and then at me. I didn't know if I wanted them to stay or go. Then Seamus got a rather cheeky look on his face and I decided that he needed to leave. "Why don't you go find Ron or something," I quietly suggested. "He was talking about some new Quidditch book he was going to get."

That got his attention and without saying another word, Lavender and he were gone. I then looked at Luna, who smiled and skipped off, leaving Rebecca and I alone. "By the way," I said as I extended my hand, "I'm Neville."

"I know that," she smiled as she took my hand. I blushed and smiled back. "I was wondering if you wanted to maybe get some ice cream with me."

"Oh. Sure," I said as I stood and knocked my chair over. I blushed and she giggled as she helped me pick it up. "After you."

Rebecca gave me another smile as she tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and started to walk toward the door. I smoothed down my hair and then caught up with her. "Thanks for saying yes," she said as we walked out into Hogsmeade. "I've been wanting to ask you since that day on the train."

I smiled at her and I suddenly felt light on my feet. I softly took her hand in mine and walked her toward the Ice Cream Shoppe while thinking that maybe she wasn't unattainable after all.