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Post by Derek Burke on Oct 16, 2008 0:44:08 GMT -5
Derek had just flown in, and after meeting up with his family had owled Zach in advance to meet him at the local nightclub. Zach had been one of his oldest friends, one of his first rivals. The guy was two years older than him, but Derek never let anything stand in his way.
Rivalry aside however when Alicia married Thatcher, Zach truly became his brother and Derek always had his back in times of need. There was some saying about a good friend always being there to bail you out, well that wasn't exactly how it was between the two of them, instead like best friends they were usually in cells right next to one another laughing about what stupid thing they had done and how both brothers would come down hard on their heads but how it had always seemed worth it.
He wondered about Zach now and reminisced on the good old days while waiting for his friend to show.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 16, 2008 8:31:06 GMT -5
(Note: For reference, I am going to say that this thread is taking place before Suzette arrived in town, mainly because I don't think Tanya and Thatcher are going to permit me out of their sight after Susie's arrival. It was established that she came about a week after I returned, so this thread will be sometime during that week. )
Zachary had laughed upon receiving the owl from Derek. Somehow, his old friend always knew when he was in town. They occasionally ran into each other during their travels, as well, but it had been a little less than a year since that had happened. Pretty much the entire time he'd been in California. Ironic that the longest time he'd stayed in one place would be the one time he wouldn't run into Derek.
He slipped away from Thatcher's house for the evening, dressed smartly in black silk dress robes. Of course it was a bit much for the nightclub and Derek, but the two of them had always been great wing men for each other. And even though he couldn't get Susie out of his head, he was certainly willing to try and move on.
As he entered the club, his eyes sought out Derek immediately. Derek was easy to spot in a crowd; he was the one that all the women were looking at when they weren't looking at him. Smiling, he walked casually to the bar, right next to Derek. After ordering a vodka tonic, he turned to his old friend. "Derek, old chap," he said. "It's been a while, hasn't it? I haven't seen you since Vegas."
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Post by Derek Burke on Oct 16, 2008 11:40:52 GMT -5
Derek had yet to turn to him but he knew the second Zach arrived, it was when he lost half of the attention that was riveted on him before. They did compliment one another really, one was dark haired yet slightly fair and the the other was blond and well by the looks of it now ruggedly tan, you had the best of both worlds, and they knew each other, and they were sitting in the same club, a club that now should have charged double the admission.
Finally he quirked a side smirk, " Bout time you showed up." he nodded to the bartender it was his way of silently "calling it". Somewhat of a side joke between the two that whoever was the first to "call it" got to be the "man" and pay for the drinks, old habits were fun to reminisce upon.
He sighed, "I knew the moment you stepped in the door I'd lose half my crowd. " he shook his head, "Ah yes ...Vegas." Derek smiled faintly, he had lost some and won some and came out slightly ahead.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 16, 2008 12:41:12 GMT -5
Zachary grinned. "Yes, and I only got half of the attention I usually get when I walked in. All I have to do is follow the glazed expressions to find you." Clapping Derek on the shoulder, he laughed heartily. "All I know is, I would hate to be any of the other men in here tonight."
His drink was delivered to him, and he raised the glass to his lips. "So, tell me, what have you been up to all this time? And what brings you back to town?"
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Post by Derek Burke on Oct 16, 2008 12:54:32 GMT -5
Derek shrugged, "The dig went well, I'm home early, but the holidays are coming up and I think I have a few nephews and nieces that would hate me if I didn't deliver presents." he smiled.
There was a redhead and a blond across the floor and Derek could do nothing but smile as his mind conjured all sorts of images.
"But what about you? I wasn't expecting for you to be here before me. Not that it's not a pleasant surprise but I was hoping to make a few claims before you came to the scene."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 16, 2008 13:08:02 GMT -5
Zachary smiled, but it felt forced. In the past, whenever he returned from his travels, he also brought gifts home to his niece and nephews. But this time, after his longest absence ever, he had not done so. They hadn't said anything about it, but he was sure it hadn't gone unnoticed, especially by the younger ones, who surely only knew him as the "fun uncle" who always came bearing gifts.
He caught Derek eying the blond and the redhead across the way and grinned. He wasn't much interested in the girls for himself, but he was certainly willing to entertain the other, while Derek approached the girl of his choice. Somehow, Susie had ruined him for all other women. He hoped the effect would fade soon.
But at the mention of his unexpected return to town, Zach's smile faded. "Ah, yes... well, I'm afraid I've had a run of bad luck of late. I decided to take in the comforts of home for a while. But don't worry, the field is still wide open for you."
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Post by Derek Burke on Oct 16, 2008 13:12:36 GMT -5
Derek on the other hand had no intention of sharing the blond or the red head unless Zach wanted one for himself, he was more than willing to take care of both. But then Zach's words caught up with him, "A bit of bad luck you say?" he inquired turning his attention his friend's way. Bad luck was one thing but bad luck that brought you home even when you had siblings like Thatcher and Tanya to face...that was something else, "You're not in any trouble are you?"
The true sign of friendship came out then, of brotherhood, if Zach was in trouble, no matter the price Derek would bail him out. Zach was the kind of friend that you helped bury the body for and Derek wasn't afraid of getting his hands dirty for him.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 16, 2008 13:24:14 GMT -5
Zach took a sip from his drink. "Well... yeah, I might be. I thought I'd wait around here to see if it blows over. See, I... Well, actually, I fell in love. Never thought it would happen to me, but she was just... magnificent. She threw me all out of wack, I couldn't concentrate, and I started getting reckless. Making bad bets. The worst part is, she has a fiance, real bastard... and he wasn't real keen on giving her up. He trapped me into a losing bet, and then had his thugs work me over a bit. He told me to leave town or he'd kill me. But I'm still not sure if he'll change his mind and come after me to collect the debt."
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Post by Derek Burke on Oct 16, 2008 13:33:06 GMT -5
Derek had brought his glass to his lips but never took a sip, he had paused completely after the word Love and his hand kept steady until the very end when he decided to down the whole thing. Perhaps he had , had too much to drink already, but he didn't know how he was going to even believe what Zach was saying unless he had more alcohol in him, "Okay...run that by me...just a bit...uh...slower..."
Zach in love? Merlin he never figured that one, and it scared him slightly as well...if it was possible for Zach...no Derek didn't want to think about that.
"Bad bets? wait...Worked you over how? The guy wants to kill you...? No wait wait wait...Love?"
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 16, 2008 13:54:04 GMT -5
"I know what you're thinking," said Zach, swirling his drink around in his glass. "It's pretty much the same thing I've been thinking these past few months, even before I left her. It started out as a little flirtation, and before I even knew it, I was in deep. Shocked the hell out of me. I almost ran away as soon as I realized what was happening, actually... but I couldn't. I missed her." He took a sip from his drink and regarded his friend seriously. "It all happened so fast. I'm still reeling from it. Even now... I can't even look at other women."
He gulped down the rest of his drink and ordered another before turning back to his friend. "Maybe I should have let the bastard kill me. Put me out of my misery."
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Post by Derek Burke on Oct 16, 2008 19:35:58 GMT -5
Can't look at other women? Derek was stunned, he was reeling, he was about to fall off his chair. CAN'T LOOK AT OTHER WOMEN?! Something had to be done. "Oh no...no not You Zach...dear Godric say it isn't true." this was awful, but finally Derek's mind was catching up with him, "Wait a minute...someone threatened you? A Scotts? Who the hell had enough balls to try that?"
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 16, 2008 21:26:38 GMT -5
Zachary would have laughed at his reaction if the situation wasn't so messed up.
"I'm sure I'll get over it," he said, trying to sound casual about it. "After all, there are a lot of beautiful women out there, and it would be a crime to waste myself over just one, right?" He chuckled, but it felt forced. "I'm just going through a rough patch, but I'm sure I'll snap out of it soon and give you a run for your money." He smirked.
"As far as the threats, the guy is a pretty powerful wizard in America. If I'd been on my home turf, he wouldn't have been able to get away with the threats, but the Scotts name doesn't have quite the same weight in America."
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Post by Derek Burke on Oct 16, 2008 21:54:01 GMT -5
Derek scoffed, the Scotts name had weight in America as did the Burke name and if it wasn't so it was about time that Derek went down there to remind them. No one threatened family and came out of it without some scars. The love issue was in the past, as Zach said he would get over it the important thing was someone had threatened them, had actually chased a Scotts out of a country, " This won't stand we'll find the bugger and remind him who he's dealing with." Derek said. He was quick to anger sometimes but he had gotten that undercontrol, perhaps not as much has he previously thought however.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 16, 2008 22:17:16 GMT -5
Zachary waved his hand in front of him. "Honestly, Derek, I think I'd rather just let it go at this point," he said. "Going back there would mean going back to... where she is. And it's really just best if I put that whole thing behind me. He said he'd let the debt slide if I stayed away from the girl, and here I am, away from the girl. Hell, it's no worse than some of the things I've been through in the past. I'll be fine, I'm a survivor, remember?" He took another sip from his drink and hoped that his tone sounded light enough. "Say, have you by chance heard from Edmund lately? I understand he's been keeping the ladies busy around here without us to create any distractions."
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Post by Derek Burke on Oct 16, 2008 22:30:11 GMT -5
Derek nodded solemnly getting his control back underway he didn't like it when people threatened what he perceived as family but if Zach wanted to let it go Derek could do that.
When he mentioned Edmund Derek's smile was back, "Ah now there's a bubble I don't mind bursting, poor man's probably gotten lazy without competition around, now to find that we're both back in town." his smile turned maliciously gleeful, "Ah yes this should be fun." of course he loved Edmund just as much, they were the unholy trinity after all.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 17, 2008 13:52:00 GMT -5
Zachary laughed, glad for the change of subject. "We should probably send the old boy an owl, don't you think? Reunite the unholy trinity? We could probably bring this place to its knees."
Those had been the days, just after school, when the three of them had gone around to the local club scene, drinking and gambling, and picking up women. Zach had come home more often in those days, before his wanderlust had taken him farther and farther away for longer periods of time.
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Post by Derek Burke on Oct 17, 2008 14:04:00 GMT -5
"Probably should." he laughed, " To it's knees? Oh I rather like that imagery there." he said with a mischevious glint in his eye as he was still eyeing the redhead and the blond.
"Merlin, you don't think he's settled down or done anything horrific like that do you?" he asked suddenly worried.
He never thought it of Zach but if Zach could fall in love he supposed so could Edmund.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 17, 2008 14:20:15 GMT -5
Zachary laughed again and shook his head. He doubted that Edmund would have settled down, but he supposed it was possible. After all, if he could fall in love, it could happen to anyone. "Well, I rather doubt it, since his parents never put the same pressure on him to marry that our families do on us. But still, without our influence, I suppose it's possible."
He took out his wand and conjured a piece of parchment. Tapping the parchment with his wand, he grinned as a large symbol appeared in black on the page. It was a symbol based on the Christian symbol for Trinity, but with a snake's head at the top. It was a symbol they'd devised to represent the three of them, the "unholy trinity."
Underneath this symbol, the word "Spellbound" appeared, and nothing else. He trusted that Edmund would figure out the rest.
Then he transformed the paper into a flapping paper bird, which flew out of the club and headed towards Edmund.
"Well, we should see him shortly," Zach said, as he returned to his drink.
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Post by Derek Burke on Oct 17, 2008 15:10:16 GMT -5
That left a bad taste in Derek's mouth as far as marriage was concerned but he brushed it off. He saw what Zach was doing and laughed at the symbol long ago devised by adolescent boys he shook his head.
"Well that'll take the surprise out of it...The idea of stealing one of the fairs here from his fingertips without him knowing it...now that might have been fun."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 17, 2008 18:33:53 GMT -5
Zachary took another sip from his drink. "Yes, well, who knows what he's up to right now; I think it might be easier just to give him a reason to come. As you mention, we haven't seen him in a while. He could either be married with children, or up to his old tricks with some random barmaid." He laughed. "I'd lay odds on the latter, though, knowing Edmund."
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