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Post by Abbey Jones on Jul 6, 2010 21:59:17 GMT -5
If Abbey was disappointed, she didn't let it show. She didn't actually talk about her Beatles obsession with anyone, not even her sisters. Ever since that day she had wandered into a showing of A Hard Day's Night, her love of the Beatles had been kind of her little secret. She had talked about it with a couple of muggles in the past, just people she met on the street who shared her feelings, but never with a person in the wizarding world. She rather assumed that most wizards and witches had never heard of them, and Brady seemed to be proving that to her.
"They're really good. You should listen to them some time. Maybe... Well, not to seem like I'm being forward or anything, but maybe you could come over sometime and listen to my records. I'd offer to loan them to you, but I could never part with them, not even for a minute."
Oh, Merlin, here she went... her nerdy fan-girl side was starting to show. Maybe it was because she had never allowed it to do so before. "I love each of them... there are four Beatles. Somedays I find myself more drawn to one over another. But I think my absolute favorite is George. He's so sweet and quiet and sensitive... you remind me of him."
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Post by Gary Goodwin on Jul 6, 2010 22:25:43 GMT -5
"Gary," June replied, setting their now empty shot glasses on the bar and ordering another two. Her goal was not to get wasted- just tipsy enough to stop thinking about Talon. "You are, without a doubt, my favorite person." June laughed here, even if it was kind of truthful, in some areas. Gary didn't know how to not tell a person exactly what they needed to hear. It wasn't always what they wanted to hear- but then again, sometimes, it was. He just had a knack for knowing what to say and when. "Cheers," she added, handing him the second shot. She really wouldn't have minded if he wanted to go flirt. She'd make the most of it- but she wasn't going to push it. But he couldn't just leave her to her own devices. If she had brought someone else--Talon or a female friend--that would be one thing. But he'd invited her out here tonight, and he wasn't about to just abandon her like that. It wasn't right. He gulped down his second shot, then grinned at her. "The feeling's mutual, babe," he teased. "I mean, Brady's a good guy, but you're definitely prettier." He winked at her, then waited a moment for the alcohol to hit his system. He could feel tendrils of warmth spreading through him, and although he was no where near drunk, he suspected that she was already starting to relax. Which meant it was time to address the elephant in the room. "So tell me, why is it you're stuck here with me tonight and not with your boyfriend? If you ask me, it's an absolute crime that you don't have a guy here doting on your every word... well, except for me, that is." |
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Post by Brady Ferris on Jul 7, 2010 15:21:58 GMT -5
At her suggestion, Brady's face warmed but he smiled when she started to mention the Beatles. "I might take you up on that," he said. Somewhere in them talking, Brady finished his drink and he found himself wanting more. Abbey didn't strike him as the type that would want a whole lot, but he would wait and ask if she wanted a drink in a few.
"You seem to know a lot about them. I'm sorry I'm not really music literate or whatever you call it. I just, I never really have time." Brady gave a shrug. "Although it's nice to know that someone is more well rounded." He gave a smile. "Tell me more about The Beatles."
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Post by Abbey Jones on Jul 7, 2010 23:20:57 GMT -5
Abbey giggled with embarrassment. Here she was, with a perfectly nice guy, babbling about her love for the Beatles. Maybe, she reflected, the real reason she hadn't ever been in a relationship was because in her heart, she knew no one could ever compete with John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Maybe a part of her wanted a guy who was a mixture of all four Beatles.... sensitive like Paul, smart like George, cheeky and outspoken like John, and fun-loving and earnest like Ringo. Did such men exist?
"One day, when I was 16, I cut school. I just... didn't feel like going to Potions class. So I walked to Hogsmeade and took the Knight Bus to London. I had no reason for it, and it was probably a stupid thing to do, but I did it anyway, and I found my way to a muggle movie theater. The movie that was playing was called A Hard Day's Night. I didn't know that it was a few years old, and I didn't know anything about the Beatles then. But I fell completely in love with them. Ever since, I've been a devoted fan... I love their movies and their music and I read articles about them and books and... you probably think I'm completely crazy now."
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Post by June Bankman on Jul 8, 2010 3:11:04 GMT -5
June laughed at Gary's comment and glanced over her shoulder at Brady and the other girl. June had already forgotten who she introduced herself as. "I dunno... Brady has very nice cheekbones."
She could feel the alcohol taking over, that numb feeling in her lips settling in as a nice buzz took it's place. One or two more shots, and she would push the brink from buzzed to drunk.
Her smile dropped almost instantly when Gary breeched the topic that she knew she wanted to talk about, but also knew that she couldn't. Talon wouldn't want her talking about their problems. "I chose to be here with you, Gary. I would hardly call that 'stuck.' Besides, Talon doesn't like clubs." Or people. Or her friends. Or dancing. Or her, lately, it seemed. At least she managed to stop herself from listing the twenty or so reasons she had decided to leave Talon unaware that she was even coming out tonight. She had no doubt he'd bring it up when she got home, though.
Turning to the bar again, she ordered another shot.
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Post by Brady Ferris on Jul 8, 2010 10:23:59 GMT -5
"You cut class," he asked. Abbey didn't seem like the type that would have cut class but looks were usually always deceiving. Brady continued to listen. "No, you're not crazy. You have a passion for something." He shrugged. "You know what you like and love, there's nothing wrong with that." He gave her a smile.
"You've surprised me twice," he admitted. "You cut class before and you're in a club." Before she could take any offense to what he said, Brady quickly added, "You just don't seem like the kind of person that would do either of those things, granted you came with your friends." His eyes drifted to June and Gary and his eyes lingered on them for a moment before looking back to Abbey.
"Would you like another drink? It's on me."
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Post by Abbey Jones on Jul 8, 2010 17:52:44 GMT -5
There was a little more to Abbey than met the eye. Though it was hidden, she actually had a fierce rebellious streak, and was very independent. She wasn't one to cling to other people, even her family, and in a lot of ways, she was much happier when she was by herself.
"I only skipped class that one time," she admitted. "I got caught and had detention with Professor Slughorn for two weeks after that. I had to reorganize his storage closet and clean the insides of all the ingredient vials by hand. I never skipped class again after that."
This was all going better than she would have expected, and she felt a little bit of warmth on her cheeks as Brady offered to buy her a drink. "Um, OK. Sure," she replied.
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Post by Gary Goodwin on Jul 8, 2010 21:02:05 GMT -5
When he was growing up, Gary hadn't really had a family. His parents had been killed when he was just a baby, and he had been lucky to survive. He'd been shuffled from one foster family family to another, never really having a home of his own... At least, until he was accepted into Hogwarts. Then Albus Dumbledore had kindly made arrangements for him to live with a childless couple of magical blood. It was from them that he came to know what it was like to love and be loved, and to have a family.
What he had observed while living with them was that an important part of a loving relationship was being willing to compromise; to do things that one did not like, simply because the other person did like it. His adoptive mother, for example, loved cats, but his adoptive father did not care for them. But because it made her happy, he tolerated her two cats and acted as thought he liked them.
If Talon really loved June, Gary thought, he would do things with her that she liked, just to make her happy. He would take her dancing once in a while. Instead she was here alone, and Gary wondered just how stupid this Talon character really was.
"That's a shame," he said simply, shaking his head. "What kinds of things does he like to do?"
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Post by June Bankman on Jul 9, 2010 13:13:13 GMT -5
June gave Gary a dark look. Why was he suddenly so interested in Talon? Wasn't the rule generally that she didn't talk about Talon? Besides, she didn't exactly want to tell Gary that Talon liked hanging with his boys, or generally just staying home. Everyone who knew June knew that she did not do well staying home. This didn't bother June, though. She didn't need to justify anything to anyone. She loved Talon, and that was all that mattered. No one else had a say in their relationship, so she wasn't going to get into it. Not with Gary, not with anyone.
So what if Talon didn't like to go out? She had friends that did, so it wasn't like she was being deprived of the things that made her happy.
She tilted her head back a little, nodding because she was definitely feeling the affects of the alcohol now. "Why don't we go back to talking about how pretty I am?" she joked, winking at the end of the question, and entirely avoiding his own.
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Post by Brady Ferris on Jul 9, 2010 17:54:41 GMT -5
"But you still cut class," Brady raised his eyebrows. It was still something that he thought that Abbey would have done, even if it was that once. He smiled. "You were much braver than I."
He looked back to the bar, then to Abbey again. "I'll be right back." Walking over to the bar, Brady had no idea what to order. That was something he didn't know about. For a moment, he wished he had Gary there to tell him what would be decent to drink, but he was on his own. It appeared that he and June were busy talking so he wasn't going to interrupt them, and he didn't want to ask Abbey what the drink.
Ordering two glasses of firewhiskey, Brady made his way back to the table and sat beside Abbey once again. "Here you go," he said sliding her the glass.
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Post by Gary Goodwin on Jul 17, 2010 0:44:46 GMT -5
Gary caught the look from her and interpreted it as a warning. It was odd to him how intensely private June was about her relationship with Talon. He would have thought she would be the kind of girl who would love to talk about the man she loved, and would take any chance she could to talk about him. But he couldn't even ask her a simple question about the guy. Something wasn't right about that.
But he knew when to back off--for now--and so he drank another shot and grinned at her. "Ah, well, you know that's a topic I could go on about forever. I'd compose a poem to your beauty... if only I could come up with something that rhymes with beauty. Besides duty, 'cause that's just lame."
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Post by Abbey Jones on Jul 17, 2010 0:58:44 GMT -5
(I swear, every time I am posting as Abbey, a Beatles song comes up on my iPod.)
Abbey blushed slightly. The truth was, the only reason she had cut class was because her older sister Janis had done it several times, and Abbey wanted to know what it was like, just once. Of course, Janis had never gotten caught.... she had always been luckier than Abbey.
"You don't drink much, either, do you?" she said as she realized he had gotten them firewhiskey. She was OK with it, although she had to sip it slowly. She hoped he would follow her example.
"Anyway, I could never regret cutting class that day, even though I got in trouble and I never did it again. Because of it, I found the Beatles and fell completely in love with them. They split up a few years ago, but I've been following their solo material. It's all really good. I'm probably boring you by talking so much about them when you've never even heard of them... I'm sorry."
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Post by June Bankman on Jul 20, 2010 14:59:23 GMT -5
When June laughed at his short lived attempt at a poem, she realized the shots had all finally hit her. She felt good, relaxed... and thank Merlin for it. She needed time to unwind, and it was hard to do that when she went back to Talon straight after work. Besides, that tension in their apartment was thick enough to choke on.
"There you go," she told Gary, her smile wide- it was that smile she was known for. "You're too good to me, Gary. We need to get you a girlfriend to dote on. And I'll make sure she dotes on you, too."
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Post by Brady Ferris on Jul 20, 2010 20:52:07 GMT -5
"That obvious,hm" he asked with a light tone. Brady gave her a light smile. "No, I don't drink very often. In fact, this is really my first night." He rubbed the back of his head. There was no reason in making something up. He always thought that it was better to be completely honest.
Brady didn't really pay attention to how Abbey took a drink of her firewhiskey. He just took a drink and it was a little bit bigger drink than a sip. Feeling the burn of the drink, Brady's eyebrows came together as he looked at the glass, but then he turned back to Abbey.
He waved off her apology. "No, it's quite interesting actually." Brady actually liked the burn he felt when he drank the firewhiskey and he brought it to his lips again and tasted the burn once more. "Like I said, it's good that you have something you're passionate about. I will have to see about listening to them."
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Post by Gary Goodwin on Jul 22, 2010 21:12:51 GMT -5
If there was one thing Gary was sensitive about, it was the idea of being fixed up with someone. Sure, he could try to fix up Brady, but he didn't need anyone trying to find him a girlfriend. He wasn't really sure he was ready to commit to an actual relationship. He would rather flirt and have fun than try to make a relationship work.
He just smiled at her and shook his head. "Nah... I'm fine, really. You know me... big workaholic. I don't have time for a girlfriend. Besides, if I had a girlfriend, I wouldn't be able to be sitting here with you and doting on you."
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Post by Abbey Jones on Jul 22, 2010 21:20:48 GMT -5
It was a strange thing, Abbey thought, how she was normally the quiet, shy type, but she found herself talking so much with Brady. Maybe it was because he was even more quiet than she was, or maybe it was because he just made her feel at ease. It was a good thing, really... she needed more friends.
She took a slow sip of her drink, then leaned a little closer to him. "Do you have anything that you're passionate about? Or is it just your job? Don't get me wrong... there's nothing wrong with that. It just... I always think that everyone's got to have something else that matters to them."
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Post by June Bankman on Jul 23, 2010 12:01:11 GMT -5
"Or I could just be your girlfriend," June replied, raising her eyebrows. She was joking of course, and the smile that spread on her lips just after she said this would prove as much. She nodded and laughed a little, and downed another shot. She didn't remember ordering it, but the bartender put on there anyway.
"Come dance with me, Gary. Please?"
It hadn't taken her long to get to this point, and she felt amazing. She was going to make the most of the night before she had to go home. And she'd need to sober up before she made it home, too, because Merlin forbid Talon should find out.
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Post by Brady Ferris on Jul 23, 2010 19:44:43 GMT -5
That was an interesting question. What was he passionate about? Brady never thought too much about it before. Since Abbey leaned closer to him, Brady could feel his face get warm. He wasn't too use to the closeness but he didn't move from the position he was already in.
Before answering Abbey's question, he gave a shrug. "All I've ever thought about was helping people and making sure that justice prevails. Granted it doesn't always work out in the way you think it would, but someone has to try. That was the reason for my job. I knew that I wanted to do that, since I was passionate about it."
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Post by Abbey Jones on Jul 25, 2010 15:15:48 GMT -5
Abbey couldn't help but feel warm inside at his answer. Here she was, prattling on about her love for a muggle rock band that wasn't even together anymore, and he was declaring his love for helping people. If he was a workaholic, no one could really fault him for it, because it wasn't just a job for him. It was important to him; it meant something to him.
Abbey thought about her own job. She liked working on the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. She got to help people, too. And she was good at it. But at the end of the day, it was just a job. For him, his job was a way of life. And something told her that he took that same honorable, heroic approach to everything he did.
"You keep saying things like that around women, and I promise you, you will not be single very long," she said, smiling softly.
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Post by Gary Goodwin on Jul 25, 2010 15:27:28 GMT -5
He almost asked her how Claw would feel about that, but he held his tongue. She seemed to get defensive anytime he brought up the guy's name, and he didn't want to upset her. But the mere fact that she would even suggest such a thing--even in jest--confirmed to him that things were not going well between June and her absentee boyfriend. She had not invited the guy, not because he wouldn't have wanted to go, but because she didn't want him to go.
He did not voice his observations, of course. He was already feeling a bit light-headed after his drinks, and he just wanted to relax and have fun.
"I'll tell you what," he teased. "We can pretend, just for tonight." He took her arm, partially to steady her, and led her out to the dance floor. "I think I'm def'ley drunk enough for dancing now...."
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