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Post by Ted Tonks on Mar 10, 2009 1:17:45 GMT -5
Ted smiled, proud of himself. "Done. I won't mention her."
He couldn't make promises for the other two, and he sincerely hoped they did bring her up.
He turned Roland around and walked him back to the bar. "Guys, you know Roland. And you know Fabian and Arthur." He turned to the barmaid. "Can we get one more butterbeer, please?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 10, 2009 1:26:31 GMT -5
Roland was frowning deeply as he allowed Ted to lead him over to the bar where the other two guys were sitting. Luckily, Fabian was the farthest away from him, sitting all the way on the end.
"Hey, Arthur," he said, nodding at his neighbor. "Prewett," he added, his expression darkening slightly.
Ted ordered him a butterbeer, and Roland was about to protest. Butterbeer was what he drank when he was out with Jamie and Amandine. The rest of the time, he usually preferred something stronger. And tonight... well, he needed it. But for now, he would settle for the butterbeer. If he got drunk in Prewett's presence, there might be a fight. Riley would be furious with him if that happened.
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Mar 10, 2009 1:51:50 GMT -5
Arthur's eyes widened as Roland joined them. So that was why Ted hadn't seemed to be particularly thrilled about their earlier conversation. He had known that Ted had invited someone along, but didn't know who. Welll... this was awkward.
Nonetheless, Arthur gave him a friendly smile. He didn't look particularly thrilled to be there, but he hoped to put him at east. Roland was an intense guy, but he'd always been nice enough to Arthur.
"Hey, Roland," he greeted him, waving. "Glad you could stop by."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 10, 2009 2:37:34 GMT -5
Roland genuinely liked Arthur. He thought of him as the kid of guy that was almost impossible not to like. So Roland's smile was sincere as he nodded in Arthur's direction.
"Hi, Arthur," he said. "Good to see you again. Hope all is well down in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office."
His butterbeer had arrived, and he took a long gulp from the glass, wishing that it were stronger. "Look, don't mind me. Just continue with whatever you were talking about before."
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Post by Fabian Prewett on Mar 10, 2009 12:35:03 GMT -5
Fabian wasn't expecting Roland to show up. Once he walked in the door, Fabian tensed just slightly. He continued to keep a cool expression on his face. "Hey Roland," he said friendly. He finished off his butterbeer and the barmaid refilled it. As Roland said go back to whatever they talking about, Fabian looked at him for a second longer, then turned back to Arthur.
"I'm sure that you'll do just fine with Molly. She hasn't really been quite the same without you around." Fabian grinned then looked to Roland. He might as well be friendly, right? "So Roland, how are things going with you?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 10, 2009 12:49:11 GMT -5
Was he really supposed to sit here and talk to Fabian Prewett about what was going on in his life? The absolute truth was that, at this moment, his life really kind of sucked. Things were not going well for him, and he had no idea how to explain that to Prewett, since at least part of that involved Riley.
He took a sip from his drink before looking over at Prewett. "Things actually aren't going so well for me right now, to be honest," he said. "But I'm sure you don't want to hear about it."
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Post by Fabian Prewett on Mar 10, 2009 13:50:30 GMT -5
At least Roland didn't look at him like he could kill him or something. Maybe that night when he walked Riley home was just bad timing or something. "Well, I'm certainly not going to make you spill everything," said Fabian. "Although, if there is anything that I could possibly help with somehow or another, just let me know." That was friendly enough, right? He wasn't asking to be Roland's best friend, nor a friend for that matter, but he was just wanting to make sure that they were on good terms.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Mar 10, 2009 13:56:46 GMT -5
Ted met Arthur's eyes. Granted, none of this was planned, and it was very awkward. He blamed that on Roland, though, and thought that maybe he did need something stronger.
"Is it the case you're working on?" Ted asked, deciding right then that he and Arthur were probably going to be the ones that decided where this conversation went and how. "You always seem like you're busy with it... I just hope you make a breakthrough soon." True to his word, he didn't mention Riley once.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 10, 2009 14:18:20 GMT -5
Roland sighed softly and glanced at Ted. Obviously the guy was trying to relieve some of the tension... even Fabian was. The trouble was, Roland really was just a bundle of tension these days, and it was getting harder and harder to hide.
"The case... Actually, the case is fine. We're working pretty hard on it, but I think we're really close to solving it."
He coould have mentioned some of the other issues he was having, besides Riley, but he hated telling other people about his problems, especially when he barely knew them. Instead, he just drank from his glass of butterbeer and forced a rather insincere smile. "Thanks for asking, though."
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Mar 10, 2009 16:20:54 GMT -5
Arthur nodded at Ted. Of the three of them, he had probably talked to Roland the most, so he understood a little more than the other two. He was a moody sort of guy, and it didn't seem he was in the best of moods today. Whether that was because of Fabian, or just in general, Arthur couldn't begin to guess. But he was going to go out of his way to be friendly.
"Well, see, that's a good thing," Arthur said brightly. "In times like these, we have to focus on the good things that are going on... and if you can catch that killer, that's going to do wonders for morale."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 11, 2009 15:19:01 GMT -5
Merlin, this was awkward. And Roland knew it was his fault. The other three had probably been sitting here, having a great time, before he got here. Ted mentioned that Arthur had invited Fabian for a similar reason to why Ted had invited Roland. Which meant they'd been talking about Riley.
He sighed and set down his glass. He never should have come. "Look... This was a mistake. Thanks for the invitation, Ted, but I don't belong here." He took out a few coins and set them on the counter to pay for his half-finished butterbeer.
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Post by Fabian Prewett on Mar 11, 2009 15:28:29 GMT -5
"Hey Roland, don't go," said Fabian standing up after working on his second glass of butterbeer. "I was just going. You have fun with them. I have a few things I need to do around my apartment anyway. Its been awhile since I did anything in there." He didn't know why exactly he was explaining himself, maybe he thought that it would give Roland a reason to stay.
He put a few coins on the bar. "Thanks Arthur, by the way. Good luck with my sister. You have to let me know how that works out, even though I'll probably get Molly's side first." A grin appeared on his face. "Nice talking to you again Ted, and congratulations with Andi. And Roland, good to speak to you too. I'll just see you three later."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 11, 2009 15:36:33 GMT -5
Roland's reaction was a curious mixture of emotions--part relief, part annoyance, and part resignation. He couldn't avoid talking to Prewett now. Riley was between them, as surely as if she had been standing in the room with them. They couldn't avoid discussing her.
"No, you shouldn't go," he said. "You were here first. And the three of you obviously get along really well. I'm the outsider here. Why don't you stay? I know you probably want to talk about her... Let me just get out of your way."
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Post by Fabian Prewett on Mar 11, 2009 15:50:51 GMT -5
"Like I said, I have a few things to do and I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow. Just stay Roland, really. You three seem to get along pretty well too. It'll be fine, I was really thinking about leaving in a few minutes anyway." He gave a friendly smile, but it fell when he said her. Fabian only shook his head.
"No," he said. "Just stay, relax, whatever. Seriously, its okay, and I don't need to talk about her." Fabian didn't really want to talk about Riley around Roland. It just didn't really seem right, because he wasn't sure what Roland would do. "Enjoy yourselves, and I'll just catch you later."
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Post by Ted Tonks on Mar 11, 2009 15:54:38 GMT -5
Ted groaned inwardly and looked at Arthur, though he wasn't sure he really wanted to break up this arguement. Hell, it might be good for both of them, though if Riley knew they were fighting over her...
Well, he didn't think Roland would get the good end of that deal.
"Guys, really, sit down. We'll order actual drinks and talk about the Ministry or Quidditch or anything."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 11, 2009 16:10:28 GMT -5
Roland shook his head. "No, you know what? I think we need to talk about her. She may as well be standing right in front of us now. I promise... I won't throw a punch or anything like that. We'll just talk. I know as well as the rest of you that if we fight over her, she'll blame me."
Sighing, he sat back down and waved the bartender over to order a glass of firewhiskey. "You like her, right, Prewett? It's OK to admit it, I won't hurt you."
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Post by Ted Tonks on Mar 11, 2009 16:16:23 GMT -5
"Okay, that's enough," Ted said, stepping in, the smile gone from his face. "No good can come of this conversation, and I'd really rather not be a part of this. You said you didn't want to talk about her, Roland. Neither one of you are actually dating her, so I don't see a problem."
Oh, but he did. He saw a big problem, and if he had only know Fabian was coming, he would not have invited Roland.
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Post by Fabian Prewett on Mar 11, 2009 16:18:31 GMT -5
Fabian fought to hide an audible sigh that wanted to escape him. He wasn't worried about Roland hurting him. That was the last of his worries. Fabian could take care of himself, even against someone like Roland. He wasn't scared of him, yet he didn't want to make a scene. If so, that would be talk of the entire Ministry for a while.
Stilling standing, Fabian just stared at Roland after his question. He debated if he should answer it or not. "Yes," he said, "I do." He wasn't sure what Roland was wanting out of him, but Fabian figured that he could just make him happy for a few minutes.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 11, 2009 16:27:50 GMT -5
Of course he had known the answer, but hearing it was a little like being punched in the stomach. He took a breath, then met Fabian's eyes. "Then we have something in common, right? I like her, too. The difference is, she likes you, and she doesn't like me."
His firewhiskey had arrived and he took a quick drink of the glass before turning back to Fabian. "I saw her kiss you the other day at lunch. Did you know that I've kissed her, too? I bet she never told you about that."
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Post by Fabian Prewett on Mar 11, 2009 16:36:40 GMT -5
He was keeping his calm while was still standing there listening to Roland. At the mention of him liking Riley too, Fabian swallowed. All the arguing, and everything that Arthur mentioned, that was why.
There was just a little bit of butterbeer left in the glass sitting on the bar and he picked it up and drank it. He was going to remain quiet for the time being, however Roland's next comment made his jaw tighten. Something started to strike a spark. "You know what, I think it is best that I go," he said still attempting to be calm, but it was slowly slipping.
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