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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 1, 2009 23:53:27 GMT -5
(I couldn't remember where we made Alison's house, and I don't think I actually made her a house, so...)
Geoffrey's head was not in a good place. He was still trying to deal with Roland's death and all the repercussions it had on the family. Christine was a wreck, Aunt Cara was crying all the time, and Amandine... He couldn't even look at her face. Uncle Mathieu seemed to be having a nervous breakdown.
And then there was Riley. She'd loved him, or was starting to, at the time of his death. How was she supposed to deal with that? All those unresolved feelings, now never to come to fruition. She'd live a lifetime not knowing, forever wondering. And no matter how badly he wanted to help her, what exactly could he say or do to make things right for her? He just didn't know... he felt so terribly helpless.
So he turned to the one person who was entirely removed from the situation. Someone who could just... be there for him. And maybe she'd have advice. Or maybe she'd help him forget. But no matter what... at least he would have someone to talk to who wasn't also grieving.
He almost couldn't breathe as he knocked on Alison's door.
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Post by Alison Hale on May 2, 2009 0:13:40 GMT -5
Alison had just filled Benji's empty food bowl and cleaned out his water bowl, as well as refilling that too. She put both bowls back in the corner in the kitchen where they always sat. Benji ran over and started to hungerily eat. After washing her hands, she put a pot of water on the stove so that she could make her a cup of tea.
She hadn't actually bothered to pick up a Daily Prophet; however, she had heard about the death. Alison wasn't sure what she was supposed to have done, but she did go by to see if Geoffrey was at the Ministry when she was there. She was relieved to find that he was taking time off, yet she was still worried. Alison didn't mind giving him room to grieve, that was completely understandable.
After the water was hot enough, she poured it into her cup and added a little sugar to her tea. Just before she picked it up, Benji ran to the door and just sat there, looking up at the door with his tail wagging. At first, Alison just thought that he wanted to go out but a second later, there was a knock. She left her cup on the kitchen counter and walked to the door.
Alison opened the door and looked at the person on the other side of it. The way he looked, Alison couldn't imagine what he had been really feeling. She offered a small smile in greeting. "Geoffrey, hey."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 2, 2009 0:20:17 GMT -5
Geoffrey leaned against the doorframe. He was so tired of being strong for everyone... he wanted someone to take care of him for a change. And maybe he was asking a lot of Alison so soon in their relationship. But he really needed someone. It was a terrible burden to try and carry the family on his shoulders. He didn't know how Hayden and Jamie and Liam were managing to do it.
"Hey," he said, his voice heavy. "Mind if I come in for a bit?"
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Post by Alison Hale on May 2, 2009 0:29:02 GMT -5
"Yeah, of course," she said stepping out of the doorway and letting him in. After he entered, she shut the door behind him. "I'll get you a cup of tea since I just made some." Alison motioned for him to follow her. "Go ahead and sit on the couch, I'll be right back."
She walked into the kitchen and grabbed another cup and poured tea into it before walking back into the living room. Setting both cups on the table in front of the couch, she grabbed the container of sugar and a spoon, just in case he wanted any. Alison took a seat on the couch. The question of how he was doing entered her mind, but she knew that he probably didn't want to be asked that. "I wasn't sure if you wanted sugar in your tea or not, so I just brought it over if you wanted any."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 2, 2009 0:46:31 GMT -5
Geoffrey nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. Thanks."
He took the cup she had poured for him and stirred in a spoonful of sugar before straightening back up to face her. He didn't say anything for a moment, as he took a sip from his cup, but his eyes said it all. He was tired and hurt and confused and stressed... and he needed relief from it all, even if just for a little while.
"I guess you heard, right? About my cousin?"
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Post by Alison Hale on May 2, 2009 0:59:02 GMT -5
The slience did tell of what was going on. Geoffrey was no where near his usual cheery mood, and his eyes said it all. Alison could read the pain and misery written in his eyes. She knew that she was going to do whatever she had to in order to help. If that involved her just sitting there and listening, then that was exactly what she was going to do.
"Yeah, I heard about it," Alison started. On instinct, she reached out with one of her hands and gently placed it over one of his. "Word was traveling through the department. I usually don't really listen to office gossip, but I overheard the last name and couldn't help it. I went by your office to check up on you, but they said that you were gone. I wasn't sure where exactly I could have stopped by."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 2, 2009 1:45:29 GMT -5
Geoffrey shook his head. "It's just... everything's a mess now, you know? I wasn't even that close to him, and all of a sudden, now that he's gone, I miss him like crazy. And the rest of my family... they're a wreck. My sister... I don't know if she'll ever recover. She adored him."
Sighing, he set down his teacup and rubbed his face tiredly. "But the worst is my best friend. I've told you about her... Riley? She was his partner. And she was in love with him. She won't come out and say it, but I'm sure of it. And I'm trying to be there for her and I just... I don't know what to do."
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Post by Alison Hale on May 2, 2009 1:57:40 GMT -5
She knew what it like to lose someone who she adored greatly. For awhile, Alison had been unsure if she was going to make it through her Grandmother's death.
"The only thing that I know to do is just be there for her. I'm not saying that you should act strong for her or anyone for that matter. Acting strong does nothing but only delay the pain longer. If someone wants to talk about him, just listen. Sometimes you don't really have to reply back to them. Just listening and then letting it out yourself is the best thing I think that you can do. Even if she doesn't admit that she was in love with him now, she probably will later."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 2, 2009 13:12:19 GMT -5
Geoffrey took a breath. "It's just not fair, you know? I know for a fact that he was crazy about her, too... they could have been together. They could have been a great couple. He could be hard to deal with at times, but he was always so gentle to the people he loved. And now he's... He's gone. And she's always going to be wondering... thinking about the what ifs and the what could've beens. She's the kind of person... she doesn't trust easily. I'm really the only close friend she's got... she's not even close to her own family... I'm just scared that this might have broken her heart."
Taking a sip from his tea, he looked at her. "I have this thing... I want to take care of everyone... he was kind of the same way, only his was more like the protective thing. I just want to help everyone, make them feel better. To fix things. And I can't fix this, you know?"
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Post by Alison Hale on May 2, 2009 13:31:48 GMT -5
Listening to all the could have's made her start to frown. It really wasn't fair that something like that could be taken away so quickly. Life was precious and anyone could go without warning but it just wasn't fair. Life was never going to be fair.
"You're not really supposed to be able to fix this. You can help start to fix it, but it is really the other person's choice if they want to be fixed," she said softly. "She probably is heartbroken, but for times like this is whenever friends and family really matter. It never helps for someone to shut themselves off, but somehow those emotions that they could be bottling up end up coming out. Just visit with her and let her know that even though it could feel like the end of the world, its not. When you hit rock bottom, the only way you can go is up. Something has to help you up however, and you can be that something that helps her up. Just continue doing what you do. Even if it doesn't seem like it is helping, just having someone there that cares, does do wonders."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 2, 2009 14:38:05 GMT -5
Geoffrey nodded. He knew that everything she was saying was true, but even still... the situation sucked. There was just no other way around it. And nothing but time and distance would make it any better. And yet, right now, the idea that Roland would just be a disant memory was terrifying, and heartbreakingly sad. Would he always be the lost love of Riley's life? Her one biggest regret? How were any of them supposed to move on from this?
"Roland was... well, he was a force of nature. He was that guy who just walked into a place like he owned it, and all eyes were drawn to him--especially the women. How can someone like that be gone... It doesn't make sense."
But there was one thing he had learned from Roland, and maybe that was the legacy his cousin had left behind. He'd fought his feelings for Riley, denied them, and died never telling her how he felt about her. And it was true... no one knew what was going to happen. Geoffrey could walk out of Alison's house and be trampled by a runaway hippogriff. So it was important to tell the people that you cared about how you felt.
Taking a deep breath, Geoffrey set his cup down and leaned forward to Alison. "Alison... Have I ever told you that I think you're beautiful?"
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Post by Alison Hale on May 2, 2009 15:03:31 GMT -5
She wanted to tell him that life was not really supposed to make sense. That was just the way life was and it was up to them to try to find out what they were supposed to do in a senseless world. Alison held those words back because she wasn't sure how they would affect him. She didn't want to open wounds wider with something like that.
Alison took a sip of tea from her cup as Geoffrey put his down. If she hadn't already swallowed what she drank, Alison thought for sure she would have choked. Luckily, she was holding onto her cup as well. Her cheeks started to get warm and turn pink. "I, I think that you have said something similar before, and thank you," she responded with a light shy smile.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 2, 2009 22:40:19 GMT -5
Was he in love with Alison? He liked her a lot. And he'd been drawn to her right away. Sometimes when he was at work, he found himself daydreaming about her. Was that love? He wasn't sure, but it was something close.
It hadn't been love at first sight for Riley and Roland. They'd hated each other in the beginning, he knew that. But there was something undeniable between them that had been slowly bringing them together. If he hadn't died, who knew where they could have ended up.
And this left Geoffrey with a confusing dilemma. Did he try to rush things too quickly and then find out much later that they weren't really meant for each other, or did he try to take his time and get to know her, only to lose his chance somehow when something unthinkable happened?
He leaned a little closer, and, taking a deep breath, pressed his lips against Alison's in a shy, tentative kiss.
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Post by Alison Hale on May 2, 2009 23:22:43 GMT -5
Alison moved to set her cup down after she smiled. She just had to move her arm in order to set her cup back on the table. Looking back at him, Geoffrey seemed to be thinking about something. She let the slience remain.
A few thoughts were running through her own mind. She had daydreamed about him before, yes. Although she got caught spacing out at work once by a girl that worked near her. Needless to say, that was slightly embarrassing because the girl had to call her name at least three times to get her to snap out of it. Alison knew what she was feeling, but she wasn't sure how he felt. In a way, it sort of scared her but she was going to go with the flow.
At first, Alison hadn't really noticed that he really leaned closer. However when she finally focused back on reality, she realized that Geoffrey was closer than what he had been. Before she had time to really think about what was going on, his lips were on hers. She couldn't help but feel a warm feeling run through her. It was shy, she could tell that and there was nothing wrong with that. After a quick moment of shock, she leaned slightly into the kiss and kissed him back.
She pulled away slowly and reached up to push her hair behind one of her ears before meeting his eyes with a shy smile.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 3, 2009 0:43:54 GMT -5
Geoffrey's cheeks felt warm as he pulled back to look her in the eyes. "I'm sorry... maybe it was too soon. I just... I don't want to wait and possibly miss my chance. Life is too short to wait, you know? I like you, Alison. Do you think maybe we could start saying that we're boyfriend and girlfriend?"
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Post by Alison Hale on May 3, 2009 1:00:24 GMT -5
"Don't apologize for that," she said. One hand was on her opposite elbow. "Besides, I didn't think that it was too soon for something like that." Alison's cheeks grew warmer, if that was even possible. She fought the urge to look to the floor after saying that.
"And I like you a lot too Geoffrey." A shy smile fell across her face. Before she had time to answer his last question, Benji was sitting down with his tail wagging and gave a quick bark. Alison looked to Benji and gave a small laugh before looking back to Geoffrey. "I think Benji is going to look forward to see more of you," she said. "And yes, I think we can."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 3, 2009 17:37:50 GMT -5
Geoffrey smiled. He'd been so stressed out and confused ever since learning of Roland's death that the smile, usually a permanent fixture on his handsome face, felt alien and strange. But it also felt good, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds.
"Good," he said. "I'd like that. I... I don't know if it's going to be appropriate for me to do much dating right away, at least not until the funeral. But I have been at work... maybe we could keep meeting for lunch."
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Post by Alison Hale on May 3, 2009 17:53:36 GMT -5
"Hey, that's fine with me," said Alison. "I'm not even sure how to really go about the whole dating thing to be honest, and I don't mind waiting for awhile." Honestly, Geoffrey was really her first boyfriend. Alison never dated while she was in school, considering she was mainly focused on her ballet and school work. Then after her grandmother's death and her finishing up school, she went into work and never took the time to really look around her. He had found her when she wasn't looking for anything.
Alison offered him a light smile. "Whatever is fine with me."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 6, 2009 11:38:40 GMT -5
Geoffrey felt better already, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. But there were still things that troubled him. What would his mother think? He hadn't been quite sure what she thought of Alison--not her specifically, but the fact that he'd brought a girl home at all. He hadn't exactly warned them of his plans to do so.
And then there was Riley. Maybe it was irrational of him to think it, but he wondered if she would be upset to see him dating Alison. Riley was still mourning for Roland, and maybe a part of her would always wonder what could have been. Would it be weird for her to see him happy with Alison?
"Yeah, I think the best thing would be to take it slow. I mean.... not too slow, but slow enough. You know?"
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Post by Alison Hale on May 6, 2009 12:05:00 GMT -5
Rushing into something was something that Alison didn't want to do. She didn't want to regret anything that she did.
"Slow is good," she agreed. Alison didn't want to go too fast and have everything piled on at once. This was something new and she did want to experience everything, but not all at once. Taking things slow would be that opportunity. She understood what was going on in his family and with his best friend and she didn't want to make anything awkward.
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