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Post by Ross Anderson on Sept 28, 2009 16:03:54 GMT -5
"See," Ross said turning to Brad with a smile on his face, "we didn't have to drag him out." He looking jokingly to Geoffrey, attempting to lighten him up a little bit.
Walking toward Geoffrey, Ross clapped a hand on his back. "Glad that you decided to join us. Now let's go out and have some fun, hm?" He smiled again and headed for the door. "Your parents have a really nice house by the way. I think Alabama was seriously admiring the decor." He was acting as his normal joking self, hoping that Geoffrey would feel any kind of ease.
Once they were out the door, Ross stopped. "So, we'll all meet outside Stu's? Vic is probably already there."
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Post by Vic Alvarado on Sept 28, 2009 23:09:34 GMT -5
It just so happened that Vic was already there. He had been hanging out at Stu's since he got home and found the note from Brad and Ross. He thought it was good to get Geoffery out of the house and into the swing of things again. But he wondered if it felt more like 3 versus 1 in this situation.
Vic sat at the bar, firewhisky in hand and checked his watch.Where were those guys?
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 29, 2009 0:22:14 GMT -5
Geoffrey let out a laugh that was just a slightly higher pitch than normal. "It's actually my Uncle Edward's house... but it's so big that my parents and sister and I all live here, too. My Aunt Sheryl did most of the decorating. I'll be sure to give her your compliments."
Great, now he was running off at the mouth. Even worse, if anyone had bothered to really look in his eyes, they might have noticed a sort of wild desperation in them. It was almost like he was anxious to get out so that he could come back home again.
"Anyway, yeah, we should go. I'm sure Vic's getting impatient."
He again turned abruptly and headed for the door. He figured if he hurried outside and apparated to Stu's, he would be there before the panic set in. And maybe a drink or two would calm him down.
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Post by Brad O'Dell on Sept 29, 2009 8:36:24 GMT -5
"Ha ha, real funny Ross," Brad said rolling his eyes. He didn't take that much notice in Geoffrey, except for the fact that his laugh was a little high pitched. Although, Ross had told him before that they weren't going to mention anything about what happened in the Ministry, nor how well or how bad, Geoffrey was recovering. They were supposed to make tonight fun, or at least try.
"Alright ladies, see y'all there," he said smiling and apparating in front of Stu's.
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Post by Stu on Sept 29, 2009 14:38:08 GMT -5
Stu was working the bar alone tonight. Since he hired Nathalia (or rather, since she strolled into his office and declared herself hired), he hadn't been working much out front. He had enough bartenders to cover his shifts, and it was practically like the blonde begged for extra shifts. She was keeping herself busy, and the bartender in him wanted to get her drunk so that she would talk about it.
Inappropriate, though, he thought. In addition to his bartenders, Vanessa had joined the family, and he truly did feel like his employees were family.
Somehow, they all managed to be busy elsewhere for this shift, and Stu was left pouring drinks for the night.
He came back to Vic, who was still nursing his firewhiskey. "Just hollar when you need a refill," he said, slinging his towel over his shoulder. "Is it a girl you're waiting on?"
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Sept 30, 2009 0:02:07 GMT -5
Geoffrey couldn't breathe. They were outside, and Brad had already apparated, and now Ross was looking at him expectantly. He was half tempted to tell Ross to go first... and then just not bother to show up. But he also suspected that Ross was already anticipating something like that, and that was why he was waiting.
He took a deep breath, clenching his teeth as he did. He could feel a panic attack coming on, but maybe if he got there fast enough, he could get some alcohol in him and it would help him relax.
Concentrating very hard, he closed his eyes and apparated to Stu's.
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Post by Ross Anderson on Sept 30, 2009 6:15:35 GMT -5
Geoffrey was right about the reason why Ross was waiting. He wasn't going to let Geoffrey back out of going out with them tonight. Ross wanted his friend to see that going out with them wasn't going to be that bad.
Once Geoffrey was gone, Ross followed right behind. A smile stretched across his face once he was in front of Stu's. "Well then fellows, let's go meet Vic, shall we?" He patted Geoffrey's shoulder as he passed him to get to the door. It was just a small gesture saying that he was proud that Geoffrey didn't back out. "Ladies first," he said opening the door.
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Post by Vic Alvarado on Oct 5, 2009 0:14:14 GMT -5
"A girl?" Vic asked cluelessly. "No man, not tonight," Or these days, any night. Vic had been too busy at work, or at home, to deal with any thought of meeting a girl. He sighed at the thought. Maybe after they got Geoff out a bit, Vic could focus on his own lack of a social life.
He downed the rest of his drink just as the guys walked in the door. "Geoffrey!" He called, pushing down his earlier thoughts to focus on the guys. "Ross, Brad! Took you three long enough," He called out.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Oct 5, 2009 0:54:18 GMT -5
Geoffrey followed the others into the bar, his hands jammed into the pockets of his jeans. He felt so awkward, like everyone was staring at him. He felt like a first year student at the sorting ceremony. "Hey, Vic," he said, pasting on a smile. "How've you been?"
Seeing Stu nearby, he waved the bar owner over. "Could we just get a bottle of firewhiskey and 4 glasses?"
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Post by Stu on Oct 7, 2009 0:21:35 GMT -5
"Coming right up," Stu replied, glad that the other man at the counter hadn't been left waiting for too long, and he set the glasses in front of Geoffrey before opening a bottle of firewhiskey and handing that over as well.
"If you lads need anything else, please just holler. I'll be here all night."
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Post by Vic Alvarado on Oct 15, 2009 1:23:38 GMT -5
"Make it three glasses Stu," Vic called after him. "I already got mine." he held up his now finished glass, glad he was one ahead of the guys.
"Been good Geoff," Vic smiled at his friend. It was almost sad how awkward Geoffery looked like he felt. "how bout you, come and take a seat," He led Geoffrey to the stool next to the one he was sitting in and they sat down, waiting for Brad and Ross to follow suit.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Oct 15, 2009 22:32:00 GMT -5
It felt like everyone was staring at him. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up and he had to grip the edge of the bar to keep his hands from shaking. When Stu set the bottle and glasses down in front of him, he quickly poured himself a healthy serving and took a few quick gulps. He was sure the alcohol would soothe his nerves.
"That's great, Vic," he said, managing a shaky smile. "I'm just... you know... I think I'd really been needing a vacation, and staying at my parents' house is like staying at a luxury resort. All my meals are prepared for me, I get to swim and exercise and play tennis whenever I want...."
He tried to make it sound great, but it wasn't. He only did most of those things to keep from going insane.
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Post by Ross Anderson on Oct 18, 2009 12:22:56 GMT -5
Ross took a seat beside Geoffrey while Brad took a seat on the other side of Vic. Once he poured himself a glass from the bottle, he passed it down toward Vic and Brad.
"Geoff has been living the life while we are all working our arses off," Ross said jokingly before drinking from his glass. It was the guys' goal to make sure that Geoffrey didn't think about what happened. The intention of dragging Geoffrey out was to make sure the poor guy kept his mind wondering. Maybe after a few drinks, things would be a lot better.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Oct 19, 2009 0:00:06 GMT -5
Geoffrey had now down more than half of his glass, but his hands were still shaking and he was having to fight to control his breathing. "Something tells me that the Floo Network department is getting along just fine without me," he said, his tone lighter than he felt.
But as he said this, he suddenly realized something. He didn't want to go back. It was a crap job, and anyone could do it. He could be easily replaced, and he no longer cared one bit about the floo network. Or the Ministry at all. He wasn't sure he ever wanted to see the inside of that place ever again.
Realizing this gave him a slight surge of confidence (or maybe it was the firewhiskey), and his hands stopped shaking. It was just a little bit empowering to reach an important decision like that. It made him feel like he had some measure of control again.
"Anyway, you lot are always welcome to come by and take a swim in the pool or join me for a round of tennis, if you waned."
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Post by Ross Anderson on Oct 23, 2009 21:39:41 GMT -5
"Looks like your offer might be taken by Brad over there. He sure could use a little bit more exercise. He looks like he's getting flabby. The same thing goes for Vic." Ross grinned at his friends. He was just trying to be normal.
Ross took a few sips from his glass. Tonight, he was going to have to be the designated person. He knew that Vic probably wouldn't drink that much, but he was unsure about Brad and Geoffrey. That was pretty much the point of coming out tonight, however. If Geoffrey wanted to drink and drink, then Ross wasn't really going to stop him, unless things started to get out of hand.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Oct 27, 2009 20:40:49 GMT -5
Geoffrey gulped down a little more of his drink. The glass was already almost empty. "You know, being back home, I'm sort of wondering why I thought the gym at the Twilight Apartments was so great. We have a lot more equipment there... you know, we have a bar downstairs, too. I mean, you have to serve yourself, but it's really well stocked. You guys should come hang out there sometime. Of course.... we don't have karayoke at home..."
He glanced over at the little makeshift stage, where an elderly witch was warbling Smoke on the Water. "But maybe that's a good thing."
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Post by Ross Anderson on Oct 30, 2009 12:54:01 GMT -5
"Ah, come on Geoffrey," Ross said jokingly. "You know you want to go up there and sing. I'll do it if you do, but I have to have a few more drinks first." He wasn't much of a singer, but if he drank a little more, he'd probably out up there and sing a song or too, just because. If he was out with his friends, Ross wasn't the reserved guy he usually was if he was alone.
"Anyway, you know that I'll take you up on that offer. Can't tell you exactly when, but I'll let you know before I just show up."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on Nov 1, 2009 23:40:46 GMT -5
Geoffrey let out a nervous laugh and looked over his shoulder at the witch who was singing. "Oh, I don't know about that. Maybe after a few more drinks. I'm not nearly drunk enough to go up there on my own free will."
Geoffrey couldn't actually imagine ever being drunk enough for that, but he supposed there was a first time for everything. But he didn't normally drink very much when he went out; he liked to remain in control of his faculties. But he already felt like things were spiralling out of control, and maybe it would be good to loosen up a little bit. Maybe it would calm the panic that was threatening to cripple him.
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Post by Vic Alvarado on Nov 2, 2009 1:39:19 GMT -5
Vic stayed quiet as he sipped at his next drink. He didn't want to even nominate the idea of getting up on the stage. He couldn't sing, at all, ever. Even so completely drunk that the guys would have to drag him up on stage. He chuckled at the thought and finished off his glass, then setting it on the counter. He dicided to stop drinking for a moment, seeing that he was a whole drink ahead of the boys.
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Post by Ross Anderson on Nov 17, 2009 15:29:02 GMT -5
Taking a drink from his glass, Ross patted Geoffrey on his shoulder. "Ah, don't be nervous about it. We'll all embarrass ourselves up there along with you." He laughed and looked between Vic and Brad.
"I'm not drunk enough either, but I figure after a couple of drinks, we all can go up there. It'll be fun. Probably something that will never happen again, but fun." Ross was trying to make things fun, to make Geoffrey's mind go anywhere but back to where it was before. "After all, what are friends for?"
Seeing that Geoffrey's glass was almost empty, he refilled it, as well as his own. Ross knew that he wasn't going to be the one that got drunker than anything. He had to make sure the rest of the boys got home in one piece.
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