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Post by Riley Neves on May 13, 2009 11:53:12 GMT -5
Riley nodded. "Let's just go somewhere easy," she said, trying not to let herself seem as anxious as she felt. "Like the Hot Panini. I'm a little too embarassed to go back to that sandwhich shop today."
She looked up at him and smiled, but then shrugged. "I think we're going to be okay, Geoff." She wanted to take his hand as they walked... and she let him lead because she couldn't remember where Alison worked... but she kept her hands to herself. The other girl probably wouldn't like seeing them like that. She knew from Christmas that Roland hadn't. Not that that mattered anymore.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 13, 2009 13:59:36 GMT -5
Geoff nodded, but he was still worried about her. It was too hard not to be. What she was going through... no one should have to go through. The war was just beginning, and already the cost was too high.
He sensed her reluctance to hold his hand, and he understood it. Still, he reached out and took her hand anyway, giving it a gentle squeeze before releasing it.
"Alison's office is just down the hall," he said, as they entered the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.
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Post by Riley Neves on May 13, 2009 14:25:46 GMT -5
Riley nodded, feeling slightly reassured by that hand squeeze. She wasn't nervous about meeting Alison... she was just... jealous, she guessed. She was jealous of Lina and Cyrus, too, though she was also incredibly happy for them. She was jealous of Ted and Andromeda, and she barely knew them. Vincent and Emily... there was so much happiness going around that Riley couldn't help but want part of it.
"Lead the way," she told Geoffrey, gesturing down the hall and smiling for him.
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Post by Alison Hale on May 13, 2009 14:41:21 GMT -5
This morning had been extremely busy. Since she didn't have to do anything for herself this morning, she decided to help the girl that always tried to talk to her. However, Alison should have known that once she volunteered to help someone out, that she was going to have a pile of work put on her on top of what she volunteered to help out on. Sighing, Alison tried to hurry and help Shelly so she wouldn't be so far behind.
It took her half the morning to help Shelly finish up, then Alison started on her work for the day. She wasn't even sure where half the stuff came from but she started to go through it nevertheless.
Once Alison finished up one file, she left her desk to put it away. On her way out, she noticed Geoffrey and another girl, who she thought would have been Riley, coming down the hall. She gave a wave. "I'll be back in a second." Alison smiled. She didn't realize that time had flown so fast. Walking into the filing room, she handed the secretary the file and then walked back into the hall.
"Hi," she said greeting both of them. Looking to the girl, her smile found itself back on her face. "You must be Riley."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 13, 2009 14:45:50 GMT -5
Geoffrey led her around the corner and down the hall, to where Alison's desk was. He still felt a little uncertain, and hoped that Riley would be OK seeing him with another girl. He knew Alison and Riley would get along, but he was still worried about Riley. It would probably be a long time before he was able to stop.
Catching sight of Alison, Geoffrey broke into a smile. She was so pretty, and it struck him every time he saw her.
"Hey, Alison," he greeted her.
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Post by Riley Neves on May 13, 2009 14:51:11 GMT -5
Riley saw the girl wave, and the smile that broke onto Geoffrey's face told her this was definitely Alison. And Geoffrey really liked her.
She took a deep breath while the girl dsappeared, and when she came back, she found herself wanting to reach for Geoffrey's hand again. But she couldn't, at least not around Alison. Merlin, the girl was pretty. It struck Riley too, and she wished she could just make her brain shut up.
She nodded slowly, then seemed to shake herself out of whatever trance she was in. "Yes, I'm Riley," she said, extending her hand to shake Alison's. "And you must be Alison. It's nice to finally meet you."
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Post by Alison Hale on May 13, 2009 15:05:32 GMT -5
The light tint of pink would not stop appearing every time she saw Geoffrey. "Hey Geoffrey." Sometimes Alison felt like she was a school girl whenever he was around, but she tried not to show it.
Looking back to Riley, Alison reached her hand out shook Riley's. "I am, and its nice to finally meet you too. Geoffrey has talked a lot about you." She had been looking foward to meeting Riley. The way Geoffrey had talked about her, Alison thought that she would like her.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 13, 2009 23:48:22 GMT -5
Geoffrey couldn't help but admire the pink tint that appeared on her face everytime she looked at him. It was just the most adorable thing he'd ever seen. And he, in turn, always got this goofy-looking grin on his face when she turned pink.
"I, uh... I figured it was time you two met," he said. "Since I'm always telling you about each other and everything."
He glanced at Riley's face for a moment, gauging her reaction. She was smiling, but Geoffrey could see the sadness hiding behind it. But then, that expression was fairly typical for her these days. She'd been through so much.
"So, hey, Alison, um... Riley and I were going to head over to the Hot Panini for lunch. Would you care to join us?"
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Post by Riley Neves on May 14, 2009 0:28:59 GMT -5
Riley have Geoffrey a good, long, hard look, and she sighed, struck with the realization that the dopey grin he was giving Alison was the same one she'd received from Roland once or twice, usually when he was getting a kick out of annoying her.
Merlin, she missed that grin. Alison was lucky to have it. She forced her smile wider. "Geoff's talked about you quite a bit, too," she said, being friendly. Both Alison an Geoff deserved that from her.
"Please join us. It will be a nice lunch, and I'd like to get to know you."
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Post by Alison Hale on May 14, 2009 8:33:18 GMT -5
The grin on Geoffrey's face never went unnoticed and it made her smiles always turn into shy ones. Alison looked almost shy whenever he and Riley mentioned that he talked about her.
She thought about working through lunch, but they were both there, asking her to go. "Yeah, I'll go. I probably should take a small break anyway." Alison smiled again. "Just let me grab my coat and I'll be ready to go." She walked over to her desk and put on her coat as she joined Riley and Geoffrey again. "I've been looking forward to meeting you and getting to know you too."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 14, 2009 21:14:09 GMT -5
Geoffrey couldn't help but smile. The timing may have been strange, but he couldn't help but be happy that two of his favorite girls were meeting at last. Alison had already met his mother and sister, so Riley was the only other person that she hadn't met.
Well, and Roland. But if Geoffrey was honest with himself, he doubted he would have gone out of his way to introduce Roland to Alison if he were still alive. Now, the fact that he couldn't bothered Geoffrey more than he knew how to admit.
"I knew you two would get along," he said, dragging his mind out of the depressing thoughts. "And I haven't been to the Hot Panini. I heard they fixed it up really nicely after the Hogsmeade attack."
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Post by Riley Neves on May 18, 2009 15:15:40 GMT -5
Riley smiled at the blonde. "If Geoffrey likes you, you're good in my book," she told her, still smiling, and missing Roland more than she knew how to admit right then. She had a mental imagine of the four of them on some kind of double date, and she wondered where the thought came from. She and Roland were never a couple. She'd pushed him away too many times for that to happen. It seemed so stupid now.
"I've been once since they cleaned it up," she said, also pulling herself out of her thoughts. "And it is pretty nice. You'll like it, Geoffrey." She looked at Alison. "You've been, right?"
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Post by Alison Hale on May 18, 2009 16:04:53 GMT -5
Riley's words made Alison's smile a little brighter. She had never really been a people pleaser but she did hope that Riley did like her, although she wasn't going to force her to.
"I've been a few times actually," she admitted. "Although it was before the attack." Alison used to stop there for lunch or even dinner if she didn't feel inclined to either eat lunch in the cafeteria or cook dinner for herself. "But it is really good."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 19, 2009 2:09:34 GMT -5
Geoffrey was smiling, but he kept glancing uncertainly at Riley. If he got even the slightest hint that she was uncomfortable, he would change their plans. The lunch had been Riley's idea, and here he was bringing Alison along. And she was going through so much right now, he couldn't help but be worried that this might be too much for her to handle.
But she seemed fine... or, as well as could be expected. So he smiled and led them both to the apparation area. "OK," he said. "Want to do this all together, or one at a time?"
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Post by Riley Neves on May 19, 2009 15:10:17 GMT -5
Riley was barely standing on her own two feet, though she was doing an incredible job of hiding this fact. She was a little worried that if she went by herself, she'd splinch herself. But she didn't want Alison to feel uncomfortable or like Riley was in any way a threat, which meant she couldn't really lean on Geoffrey right now.
God, she was so alone.
"I can get there on my own," she said, looking at the two of them. "And that's less energy for whoever would apparate us, anyway. I'll see you two there?"
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Post by Alison Hale on May 19, 2009 19:45:53 GMT -5
She didn't feel like Riley was any kind of threat at all. Alison just wasn't the type of person to get jealous easily, and besides they were best friends. She wasn't going to step in between that.
"No, you don't have to apparate yourself," said Alison. "Why don't you just apparate with Geoffrey? I haven't had that much experience with apparating with someone." She offered a smile. Alison wanted Riley to know that she didn't mind if she needed Geoffrey. "I'll just meet you two there."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 21, 2009 0:28:41 GMT -5
Geoffrey hesitated. It was incredibly sweet of Alison to offer, and it made him like her even more. But he knew Riley well enough to know that she hated to be treated like she was helpless. Even still... she was going through so much. He wanted her to know that he was always there for her, no matter what else was going on in his life.
"It's really not a big deal, anyway," Geoffrey said. "It's only a second. Come on, Riley, let me take you."
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Post by Riley Neves on May 23, 2009 14:45:49 GMT -5
Riley looked between them both, but nodded, not putting up a fight about. She hated that she needed to lean on Geoffrey so much, and she hated that they both saw it in her. Shouldn't she be doing better now? Wasn't time supposed to make it easier?
"All right," she said. "We'll meet you there, Alison."
Maybe she just needed to take some time off work. Time to hide away from the world and just cry and hate things as much as possible, and get it all out of her system. She never would, but she was beginning to think that maybe she needed it.
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Post by Alison Hale on May 23, 2009 20:45:49 GMT -5
It was the only way that Alison knew to let Riley know that she didn't mind the fact that Riley needed her best friend. After all, she wasn't going to step in between their friendship, that was the last thing she wanted to do and she couldn't just say out loud that it was alright for her to lean on Geoffrey. Just verbalizing that fact would probably make Riley feel worse or something, and Alison wasn't about to do anything like that.
With a broad smile, Alison apparated with a single pop to the restaurant.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 23, 2009 22:56:44 GMT -5
Geoffrey stared for a minute at the empty space that had, only moments ago, contained Alison. The goofy grin was locked on his face. "Isn't she great?" he asked, turning to Riley.
But as soon as he did, he felt horrible. She was smiling, but he knew her well enough to know that there was something missing there. She was smiling on the outside, but on the inside, she was crying.
He pulled her into a hug. "It's going to get better," he said. "It has to."
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