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Post by Gary Goodwin on May 28, 2010 23:20:56 GMT -5
Gary took a sip from his drink, then peered back to look at the brunette that Brady had indicated. She was cute, to be sure, and he gave her an appreciative smile.
"Now, Junebug, you know I don't discriminate. Blondes, brunettes, redheads... unfortunately for poor Edna, however, I do have to draw the line at white hair," he added with a wink. "But Brady, you spotted her... you should go and try talking to her. Unless you need a little more to drink first."
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Post by Brady Ferris on May 29, 2010 17:15:56 GMT -5
June's comment made Brady stumble for words for a moment. "It's," he tried to find words, stumbling over the beginning of different words but then he gave up and took another drink. He averted his eyes from June and Gary for a second. He didn't even know really how to respond to her question.
Brady didn't want to leave June sitting by herself, plus he wasn't even sure how to, as Gary said 'flirt', with a girl. He didn't know if he doing it, besides he wasn't that great at conversation starters. After all it was June who started a conversation with him.
He shook his head in response to Gary. There wasn't any way that Brady was just going to go talk to that girl. Yes, she was pretty, but more than likely he would end up boring the girl to death.
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Post by Gary Goodwin on May 29, 2010 23:36:56 GMT -5
Gary rolled his eyes in disgust. "Merlin's pants," he groaned. "You are hopeless, mate."
He gave June a despairing look before he turned back to look at the brunette. Truthfully, the girl was cute, but she wasn't really Gary's type. She had an innocent, wholesome quality to her, which made her decidedly closer to being Brady's type than Gary's. But maybe the cause wasn't hopeless.
Taking another gulp from his drink, he grinned and got to his feet. "OK, I have an idea. Wait here."
Setting down his drink, he paused to run his hands through his hair and smooth out his clothes before he strolled over to the girl. He didn't speak to the girl right away, instead, he acted as if he was just dancing and didn't look at the girl at all. After a few minutes, he sort of turned toward the girl and caught her eye.
"Hey... haven't we met?"
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Post by Abbey Jones on May 30, 2010 0:50:20 GMT -5
(Bringing in Abigail, because 1. I'm bored, 2. I don't have any other available brunettes who would work for this purpose, and 3. I never use her.)
Abbey really hated clubs. This was just not her type of place, and she wouldn't have come at all if one of the other girls in her department hadn't insisted on celebrating her birthday here at the club. Abbey was really just looking for the first opportunity she could find to leave, so she could go home, put on a Beatles album--maybe Rubber Soul tonight--and take a hot bubble bath.
She'd only had one drink so far, and was dancing unenthusiastically near the other girls from the office. She hardly would have expected that she would have caught someone's eye.
When she caught the guy dancing near her and trying to make eye contact, she looked away quickly. Until he tried one of the most unoriginal pick-up lines ever. She rolled her eyes at him.
"Oh, right. Cute," she said. "If I say no, will you make some kind of lame comment about how my father stole the stars from the sky and put them in my eyes? Oh, or maybe ask me what my sign is?"
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Post by Gary Goodwin on May 30, 2010 0:56:23 GMT -5
Gary laughed. Of course, the lame, unoriginal opening line had been done on purpose. Not only was it true--he was positive that she worked at the Ministry--but it was deceptively simple, yet incredibly obvious. A smart girl wouldn't be fooled by it. "Yeah, I suppose I could try one of those. Or maybe I could accuse you of putting a love spell on me." For extra effect, he rolled his eyes, as if embarrassed by his own lameness.
"Actually, though, I'm serious. You work at the Ministry, right? I'm in the Muggle Relations department. My name's Gary." He held out his hand for her to shake.
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Post by Abbey Jones on May 30, 2010 1:14:04 GMT -5
Abbey was still unimpressed. She was also seriously thinking about murdering Jill, the girl whose birthday celebration had caused her to be stuck in this stupid club talking to some guy from the Ministry who seemed to be trying to pick her up, instead of being at home listening to records and taking a hot bath.
"Yes, I do work at the Ministry," she sad with cool politeness. "I do think I've seen you there before, Gary. But, look, I'm very flattered and all, but I'm really not interested in dancing or anything, OK?"
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Post by Gary Goodwin on May 30, 2010 1:27:47 GMT -5
Gary was not put off, however. Instead, he put on a sheepish look and held up his hands. "OK, I'm sorry. Look, I know what you must think. I'm just some cad in a nightclub trying to pick up a girl. But I swear, it's not like that at all. See those two sitting over there? The girl and the guy?"
He pointed at Brady and June and waited for her gaze to follow. "I'm here with them. The girl's my date, actually.... I'm just trying to find someone for my friend there. He's really shy, and doesn't get out very often... we practically had to drag him here tonight. And you seem like a nice, sweet girl... the type who would be good for him. And I understand if you're not interested, but... well, couldn't you give him a chance? Just come over and have a drink with us and talk with him for a few minutes."
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Post by Abbey Jones on May 30, 2010 23:10:38 GMT -5
Abbey looked over at the table he had indicated. While she couldn't be sure that she believed the woman was with this guy, she had no problem believing that the other guy at the table was shy and awkward. He seemed to hold his drink oddly and sip from it very slowly, and his expression was one of great discomfort. Somehow, Abbey identified with that, and she softened a little bit.
With a slight sigh, she looked back at Gary for a moment, hesitating. "Well... OK. Just one drink."
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Post by Gary Goodwin on May 30, 2010 23:21:39 GMT -5
"Great!" Gary said, smiling his most charming smile. He waited for a moment while she told her friend where she was going. Maybe Brady wouldn't appreciate this right away, but really, the guy had to loosen up, be more social. Sometimes Gary wondered how it was that he and Brady had ever become friends in the first place. The guy was just so very quiet.
As he led the girl over to the table, he continued talking. "I really appreciate this. He's a really nice guy, I'm sure you two will get along famously. His name is Brady, by the way. I don't believe I caught your name?"
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Post by Abbey Jones on May 31, 2010 0:00:12 GMT -5
Abbey still felt a little like she was being set up for something. If Jill and the other girls had anything to do with this, she really was going to kill them. She did not need to be set up on dates. On the other hand, the guy at the table kind of did look like he needed it. Not that he was a bad-looking guy. In fact, he was really pretty cute. But he also looked really uncomfortable sitting there. She couldn't help feeling bad for him.
"Abbey," she replied simply. "So, did this Brady guy put you up to this?"
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Post by Brady Ferris on May 31, 2010 14:04:06 GMT -5
Heat rose to Brady's ears and burned hot as he watched Gary go up and talk to the girl. He had an idea as to what he was doing and Brady didn't know how to respond. Looking to June, he looked at her questioningly. How was he going to talk to this girl without sounding awkward, and without getting any sort of eye rolling or laughing from Gary? Personally, Brady felt as if he would rather be hunting down and arresting a bad guy right now than see what Gary had up his sleeve.
He turned to look back to Gary and noticed that he was talking to the girl. When their eyes looked over, Brady looked down with the heat transferring to his face. This was not going to go very smoothly. Without looking at Gary and the girl, Brady took a drink from his glass suddenly wishing it was something that tasted stronger.
He wrapping his hands around his glass and looked at June. "Is he really doing this," he asked in a low more quite voice. Of course this sort of action from Gary shouldn't have surprised him but it just made him wonder what Gary's whole purpose really was for doing it.
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Post by Gary Goodwin on May 31, 2010 17:44:51 GMT -5
Gary smiled. "No, he didn't put me up to it," he assured her. "In fact, he's going to be mad at me for doing it. But it's just... you know, he's my friend, and he's so socially awkward. And he's a great guy, so he shouldn't be so shy all the time. You just have to get to know him, that's all. Just give the guy a chance. I think you'll get along really well."
Yes, he was perfectly aware of the fact that Brady was not going to like what he was doing. But maybe if he was with friends, he could find a way to loosen up and talk to the girl. After all, Abbey seemed like a sweet, unassuming kind of girl, and it would be silly for Brady to be embarrassed about talking to her. Some girls could be intimidating, but Abbey didn't seem like that type.
They reached the table at last, and Gary pulled out the chair next to Brady. "Abbey, I'd like you to meet my friend Brady, and this is June. Everyone, meet Abbey."
Then he walked over and sat next to June, draping an arm around her shoulders. "Just go with it, OK?" he whispered in her ear.
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Post by Brady Ferris on May 31, 2010 18:13:24 GMT -5
Before June could answer him, Gary was at the table. Brady had no idea what to do. Again it was June who came up to him first and started the conversation. Having a conversation with this girl shouldn't be so bad. She seemed nice enough. Maybe, just maybe he could do it.
As the girl appeared he put a smile on his face. He could be friendly. "Hey Abbey," he answered looking to her. This was fairly awkward actually. Brady, however, was doing the best he can.
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Post by Abbey Jones on May 31, 2010 20:24:46 GMT -5
Well, maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Brady seemed nice enough, really, even though he still sort of seemed like he wanted to be anywhere but where he actually was. But it was sort of flattering that, of all the girls in this club, they should single her out. She was not the prettiest girl there, in her own eyes anyway. There were many other girls who were much prettier, sexier, sophisticated, and fun. Abbey was just an ordinary girl.
"Hi, Brady," she said. "It's nice to meet you... both of you," she added, looking over at June. "Er... do you all work in the Ministry?"
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Post by June Bankman on Jun 1, 2010 11:50:21 GMT -5
June looked up as Gary approached their table again, and she didn't quite have time to answer Brady's questions- but yes, Gary was really doing this. Gary had no shame, and June loved that about him.
When the girl approached them as well, she smiled and nodded, returning the greeting. She was quiet about it however, since she was here for Brady anyway. She nudged the MLE officer under the table and leaned into Gary, who now had his arm around her. "I'm impressed," she whispered, a smile on her lips though she couldn't quite place the feeling in her gut at the thought of them flirting.
"Hey, come dance with me? I need another drink, too. We can leave these two to it."
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Post by Brady Ferris on Jun 1, 2010 14:06:42 GMT -5
This was the time that he was supposed to be answering the girl sitting next to him. Why did he have to be socially awkward? He had never experienced anything like this, especially with someone trying to set him up. Brady wasn't even sure what flirting was. He was quite sure if a girl was flirting with him, he wouldn't even really realize it.
"June works in the Portkey office," he answered for her, thinking that that would be an okay answer. Once June nudged him under the table, he didn't know what to think. Was he doing okay? Brady cleared his throat lightly. "I work in then MLE." He made sure to look at the girl, remembering that politeness was key when talking to people, well most anyway.
As June asked Gary to dance, he should have seen it coming. The two were going to leave him be and Brady wasn't sure if he was going to do okay by himself but he couldn't very well voice this outloud.
"You work at the Ministry too, don't you?"
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Post by Gary Goodwin on Jun 1, 2010 22:39:11 GMT -5
"What can I say, I'm a hell of a guy," Gary replied, grinning back at her. He had actually be prepared, if necessary, to stay here with Brady and help give him a boost if the conversation lagged any. But June seemed confident in Brady, and he seemed to be doing well enough, so he nodded.
"I would love to dance with you," he told her and led her off to the dance floor.
He positioned them so that they weren't too far away from Brady and Abbey, so that they could monitor the situation. If things turned sour, or she threw her drink at Brady, they would be close enough to rescue him. Not that Gary thought it was at all likely that Abbey would be throwing her drink at Brady. In fact, she was more likely to lapse into a coma if the silence dragged out too long.
"Think he'll do OK?" he asked June.
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Post by Abbey Jones on Jun 1, 2010 23:18:20 GMT -5
Abbey was surprised when they both got up and left, leaving her there with Brady. She didn't think she was exactly the most interesting conversationalist, either, and they could probably both use the prompting of others to help them along. When Gary and June left, she felt a little like she was being thrown to the wolves.
But that was silly. Brady wasn't a wolf. He was perfectly harmless. And he worked for the MLE, so he was probably a pretty good guy. The least she could do was give him a chance.
"Yes, I work in the Ministry," she replied. "I'm in the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. Mostly just putting people back together after they've splinched themselves, but every once in a while we get something interesting."
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Post by Brady Ferris on Jun 2, 2010 8:27:04 GMT -5
"I thought I had seen you there," he said trying to continue conversation. Brady was fairly observant. He could usually recognize faces pretty well even if he had just seen someone's face once. Abbey gave him the feeling that she wasn't exactly used to this either, so that did make him feel a little bit better. Had she been one of those girls who were those extremely flirty girls, he probably would have had a drink thrown in his face.
Brady grew quite for a second then looked at Abbey again. She seemed to be a fairly nice girl, and a little shy if he was correct. "I don't do this often, well, at all," he said hoping to ease any sort of extreme awkwardness. "Gary and June thought that it would be a good idea if I got out for a little bit."
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Post by June Bankman on Jun 2, 2010 13:53:57 GMT -5
June and Gary were positioned in such a way that they could both see Brady. He seemed so stiff and uncomfortable, and she almost had to laugh.
"He'll be fine. He's a good guy, and that will take him pretty far. And she seems sweet. Not quite his type though."
She tore her eyes away from Brady and the girl, looking at Gary. "Thank God you're not trying to pick up a girl right now. I'd be all alone, and then what would I do?"
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