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Post by Brady Ferris on Sept 27, 2010 9:40:09 GMT -5
"It's just our nature to want to protect you and 'fix' things," Brady said with a shrug. "Well, some of us anyway. Some guys are just down right jerks. Those are the ones you need to watch out for. They will do whatever they can to do other things than protect you." He leaned a little further on his arms on the table. Guys like that made him angry, and his mind went to one particular person. Of course, it was just sort of a guess since Brady didn't really know the full situation but still, he was going to do what he could to 'fix' the problem.
Taking another drink from his glass, he looked to Abbey again. "Yes, food is the important key, although I don't think they serve food here, just maybe the little peanuts they have."
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Post by June Bankman on Sept 27, 2010 11:50:37 GMT -5
The last thing Gary had expected her to do was walk out. When she opened the door and stepped outside, he was still a few feet behind her, and he faltered for a moment. Was she leaving? Seriously, what had he done wrong? They had just been talking and dancing, and although he admitted that he had a tendency to stick his foot in his mouth, he really didn't think he'd done anything wrong this time. After all, his previous attempts to try and get her to tell him what was wrong hadn't managed to get her upset enough to walk out. Frowning deeply, Gary followed her out of the club, hoping that Brady was doing all right with Abbey. June was ahead of him by a good distance, and there were enough people milling about and it was dark enough outside that it was hard for him to keep her in sight. He moved a little faster, but she still disappeared from view after a minute. She seemed to be heading toward the alleyway, though, so he took a guess that this was where she went. Sure enough, as he rounded the corner, he saw her flattened against the wall, looking like she was barely holding herself together. He stopped again, weighing his options. On the one hand, she looked like she wanted to be left alone. But on the other hand, in his experience, when someone wanted to be left alone, it was usually the last thing they actually needed. And he couldn't in good conscience leave her out there alone. He took a breath and approached her slowly. "Hey, Junebug?" he said, his voice gentle. "Are you OK?" A stupid question, of course, since she very obviously was not OK. He just hoped it would be enough to break the ice. June wasn't surprised by Gary's appearance. As much as she just wanted to be left alone to clear her thoughts, she knew he would have followed her, and June was such a people person that she knew being along wasn't a good idea right now. She thought too much when she was alone. "Yeah, I'm fine," June replied quickly, running her hand through her hair. She needed the buzz to go away (well, the 'drunk' by this point, if she were honest). She didn't like the feeling right now, or the fact that she couldn't get Talon out of her head. After a moment, she turned her glassy-eyed gaze to Gary, and it was almost apologetic for doing this to him. "I need to get out of here," she blurted, though she didn't mean the club. She wanted to run, basically. She wanted out of London, out of bloody England for all she cared. She couldn't keep living like this. |
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Post by Gary Goodwin on Sept 27, 2010 22:47:19 GMT -5
Gary, of course, naturally assumed that she meant that she wanted to leave the club. If he had known what she was actually thinking, he might have been even more concerned. But at the moment, his biggest concern was Brady.
He could leave now and take June home, but he didn't want Brady to think that they were abandoning him. Even though he seemed to be doing well enough in his conversation with Abigail, Gary didn't think that Brady would be very happy if the two of them just left without telling him where they were going.
On the other hand, if he left to go tell Brady where they were going, would June just take off without him? He didn't think she was in any shape to be going home alone. And another, sudden thought occurred to him, and he wondered whether she wanted to actually go home at all.... home to the boyfriend who didn't like to go out or dance or do anything fun...
"OK," he said. "I'll take you out of here. Anywhere you want to go. But we need to tell Brady that we're leaving first. Will you promise to wait by the door, while I go in and tell him?"
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Post by Abbey Jones on Sept 27, 2010 23:48:20 GMT -5
Abbey had no idea that Brady was thinking of one guy in particular, but she thought it was sweet that he was trying to warn her against guys who were jerks. She knew quite well what jerks some guys could be, but she was also firmly of the opinion that there were plenty of really great guys out there, too. Her sister had snagged one of the good ones, after all.
"I'll be careful," she said, smiling lightly. "I knew a few guys like that back at school, so I think I can mostly spot them."
She let out a little giggle, watching as Brady seemed to get more and more loose with each sip. He was leaning halfway across the table at this point, and he certainly seemed to be opening up to her.
"They should serve food here," she proclaimed, a little more loudly than she might have done if she hadn't been drinking. "I could really go for some French fries. How about you? I know this great burger place just a few blocks from Diagon Alley."
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Post by June Bankman on Oct 1, 2010 18:28:12 GMT -5
"No, stop," June said, frustrated suddenly. Her frustration was more at herself and the whole situation that Gary, though. "I mean I can't do this anymore. Any of it. I hate my job, my boyfriend is never going to ask me to marry him. I've been stuck in London forever, and I can't handle it. I'm trapped here, and I.... could just apparate away right now and no one would even know."
She ran her hands through her hair. She was drunk, so she couldn't be held accountable for her sudden outburst. She'd been emotional already, and the alcohol just intensified this in her.
So she really couldn't be held accountable for the next bit of info that slipped out of her mouth, either. It had been bothering her for a while, and she couldn't keep it to herself anymore. Her eyes met Gary's. "Talon hit me the other day."
Merlin, she hated being this girl. She didn't want to be emotional or anything like that. She didn't want to be on the verge of tears over this.
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Post by Gary Goodwin on Oct 2, 2010 0:11:30 GMT -5
When she first started talking, Gary felt awkward, like he shouldn't be hearing this. This was very personal stuff, the kind of thing a girl would say to her female friends. She should have a girl friend here to talk to her, to comfort her, to hold her when she cried. Or a boyfriend who wasn't an insensitive clod. He tried to put his arms around her, to try to get her to calm down.
But everything changed when she confessed to him that the son of a banshee had hit her. That was when Gary saw red. A guy who would hit a girl.... that was pretty much unforgivable, in Gary's eyes. He wanted to find Claw and hex the living daylights of of the guy. In fact, it took almost every bit of strength Gary had not to take off in search of the guy right at that moment.
But June was more important right now. She needed someone, she needed.... he wasn't sure what she needed. Someone to protect her? Someone to give her advice? Someone to just hold her and comfort her? Would she let him protect her from Talon? Would she let him tell her that she should not go back to him? Would she even remember that she told him about this in the morning?
"June.... You can't let him do that," he said hesitantly. "You can't go back to him."
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Post by June Bankman on Oct 2, 2010 3:54:16 GMT -5
June made a noise, followed by a miserable "I know." She knew it was wrong of Talon to ever touch her that way. And she didn't want to be one of those girls that held on to a horrible, abusive relationship. But that didn't mean she wasn't willing to give Talon a second chance. Whatever happened to the girl June use to be when she met Talon, even June didn't know.
"I know," she repeated. "I told him to never to do it again. And if he does, I'll walk away. I just... It was on my birthday, Gary. This whole thing is just..... bad." Her drunken mind didn't give her many other words to choose from. "I swear I'll walk."
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Post by Gary Goodwin on Oct 2, 2010 23:38:45 GMT -5
Gary shouldn't be here. He wasn't the guy that girls confided their secrets to; he didn't know what he was supposed to do. A part of him, the Slytherin in him, wanted to run away and find Brady, who would surely have a better idea what to do in this situation.
But he didn't move. "Ah, June...." he sighed. If the guy had hit her, even once, he would most likely do it again. And based on the couple of things he'd heard her say--and not say--about this guy, he didn't really sound like much of a prize, even without physical abuse. She deserved better than that. She deserved the world.
Gary wasn't in love with June, but in that moment, he wished that he was. He wished he had a reason to sweep her off her feet, to be her knight in shining armor, and rescue her from this creep. But what did he have to offer her? He liked June, he cared about her, he might even say that he loved her as a friend. But he couldn't be what she needed. He'd be better for her than this Talon jerk, but then, that wasn't saying much.
"Even before he hit you, sweetie, were you happy with Talon? Do you love him?"
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Post by June Bankman on Oct 7, 2010 20:10:31 GMT -5
June groaned, her hands still tangled in her hair, giving her anything to hold on to. She knew from the very start that drinking tonight was a bad idea. She wanted a brief escape, and this clearly wasn't the way to do it.
"Merlin, stop," she told Gary. She didn't want him to reason anything through with her. She didn't want him to make sense or tell her what she already knew she needed to hear. "I really don't want to be that girl right now." Or ever. Talon spoiled her, lavished her with jewels and whatever she wanted. Except some of the intimacy that she craved. But that was fine.
"I just needed some air. Take me back inside and dance with me?"
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Post by Gary Goodwin on Oct 8, 2010 17:37:48 GMT -5
Gary had no idea what to do. He was fairly certain that going back inside and dancing was not going to help June. She wasn't really in any shape to be dancing, anyway. But he couldn't offer to take her home, either because taking her home meant taking her back to a man who had hit her. That felt wrong. What if he saw the state she was in, or the fact that Gary was with her and he lost it again? Gary would never forgive himself if anything happened to June after he left her.
"Junie..." he said, sighing. "I don't think you really want to go back in there. The air's not any fresher in there now, and you're pretty drunk. Why don't I take you somewhere else? To get some coffee, maybe? Or... maybe... I could take you to a friend's house? I think you need to get some rest."
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Post by Brady Ferris on Oct 11, 2010 14:12:44 GMT -5
Abbey had no idea that Brady was thinking of one guy in particular, but she thought it was sweet that he was trying to warn her against guys who were jerks. She knew quite well what jerks some guys could be, but she was also firmly of the opinion that there were plenty of really great guys out there, too. Her sister had snagged one of the good ones, after all. "I'll be careful," she said, smiling lightly. "I knew a few guys like that back at school, so I think I can mostly spot them." She let out a little giggle, watching as Brady seemed to get more and more loose with each sip. He was leaning halfway across the table at this point, and he certainly seemed to be opening up to her. "They should serve food here," she proclaimed, a little more loudly than she might have done if she hadn't been drinking. "I could really go for some French fries. How about you? I know this great burger place just a few blocks from Diagon Alley." "Good," he replied his words still coming out perfectly clear, or at least that one word did. Brady rested his head on his hand and then he brought his head up a little and took another drink, leaving one more drink in his glass. His head was feeling sort of fuzzy and he felt a lot better now than he did before he got here. As if on cue, Brady felt like he was hungry. "They should," he replied his words starting to slur a little. He pushed himself up so that he was sitting up again and then took the last drink in his glass. "We should go and get something to eat," he agreed. "I'm starving. I'll even pay for it." It was just Brady to offer to pay for it. "We could go whenever you like." |
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Post by Abbey Jones on Oct 11, 2010 21:59:34 GMT -5
Abbey began to look around, twisting around in her chair and leaning back at a funny angle. "Where did your friends go?" she said, her words also slightly slurred. "Last I saw, they were at the bar, but now... it's like they just vanished! Like magic or something... oh, right."
She broke into a fit of giggles at this, and she lost her grip on the table, causing her chair, which was at a rather precarious angle, to tip over, sending both the chair and its occupant to the table. of course, this only made her laugh even harder, especially since she had been gripping her drink with the other hand, and its contents were now all over her.
"Ooopsie," she said.
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Post by Brady Ferris on Oct 12, 2010 5:49:27 GMT -5
He let out a laugh as Abbey's realization that his friends were gone. "I dunno where they went," he said with a shrug. Even though Brady's head was feeling a little fuzzy, he was still able to have some sort of balance. He watched as Abbey lost balance of the chair.
Brady shook his head as a response and gave Abbey a smile. "I can clean that." His mind was still able to think of the drying spell. Pulling out his wand, he muttered the incantations, even though his word was a little slurred. He slowly put his wand back and then offered his hand to Abbey.
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Post by Abbey Jones on Oct 12, 2010 23:49:03 GMT -5
Abbey was still giggling as she sat on the floor. The logical part of her mind, which would have told her that there really wasn't anything funny about this situation, seemed to be long gone. She just felt so.... good... light, and yet heavy at the same time. A comforting warmth seemed to be spreading through her entire body, and a part of her very much wanted to lie down in a cool patch of grass.
But when he held his hand out to her, she took it gratefully and let him pull her up to her feet. She wobbled, and grabbed onto his shoulder to steady herself.
"You know," she said, her words now heavily slurred. "I drunk I might be think. I mean... I've never much that drank before..." She giggled. "That doesn't make any sense, does it?"
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Post by Brady Ferris on Oct 13, 2010 12:50:08 GMT -5
Brady let out another quiet laugh. He didn't laugh that often but when he did it was usually quiet.
Once Abbey was up, he still held onto her arm to make sure that she was still standing okay. Brady wasn't even concerned if he could really walk straight or not. He let out another laugh at her rambling. "Yes, makes sense," he said able to follow what she was saying. Maybe it was just the fact that his thoughts were slightly jumbled that he understood her perfectly. "I've never drank too much before now." His words were still a little slurred but his words were still able to be made out.
"Let's go for food."
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Post by Abbey Jones on Oct 13, 2010 17:29:52 GMT -5
After a moment, Abbey felt a little more steady on her feet. At least, she felt reasonably certain that she wasn’t going to pass out imminently, which was good enough for now. Still, she decided it would be best to avoid any sudden movements.
“OK,” she said. “And maybe… maybe we should have some coffee or something.” She giggled again. Normally, the idea of coffee at this time of night would also be quite unusual for her, but it seemed to make sense now.
“Do you think your friends left?” she continued. “I mean, we should pro’ly tell them that we’re leaving…”
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Post by June Bankman on Oct 13, 2010 18:52:40 GMT -5
Gary had no idea what to do. He was fairly certain that going back inside and dancing was not going to help June. She wasn't really in any shape to be dancing, anyway. But he couldn't offer to take her home, either because taking her home meant taking her back to a man who had hit her. That felt wrong. What if he saw the state she was in, or the fact that Gary was with her and he lost it again? Gary would never forgive himself if anything happened to June after he left her. "Junie..." he said, sighing. "I don't think you really want to go back in there. The air's not any fresher in there now, and you're pretty drunk. Why don't I take you somewhere else? To get some coffee, maybe? Or... maybe... I could take you to a friend's house? I think you need to get some rest." Merlin, June wanted to just cry. She wanted to sit down and just sob away her whole life, all of her worries, the world. Why was she being this girl right now? Guys liked June because she didn't act like this. "No... don't take my to anyone's house. The only place I could go is Virginia's, and I don't even know how well I know her anymore." She wasn't making much sense probably, and her big browns met Gary's again. "I'm so sorry. I don't mean to do this to you. I just have nowhere to go." The option of going out for coffee was sounding pretty good to her, but she couldn't bring herself to ask him. |
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Post by Gary Goodwin on Oct 13, 2010 23:46:45 GMT -5
Gary didn't actually have a problem with the way she was acting. The way he saw it, her reaction was entirely normal, considering her situation. What was not normal was the way she had been holding it in, pretending that it had never happened. The bastard had hit her. He found himself studying her face, trying to spot the bruise he had certainly left behind.
Sure, it probably could have been a lot worse. Talon had only slapped her. He hadn't beaten her up, left her bloody and broken. On the outside, she was fine. It was the inside that was broken, and June did not deserve that.
Gary rubbed the back of his neck uncertainly. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. He supposed he could take her to his apartment for the night, at least... But he wasn't sure she would go.
"OK.... tell you what? Instead of going back to the club, why don't we go for some coffee? I know this great little all-night coffee shop about 2 blocks from here."
It wasn't a perfect solution, and it was only temporary, but maybe he could help her calm down and sober up a little. Then, if he had to, maybe he could take her to the Avalon hotel, or to his apartment.
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Post by Brady Ferris on Oct 14, 2010 5:39:20 GMT -5
"Coffee might do some good," he added nodded his head. "I dunno where they are." Brady looked around to see if he could see June or Gary, but he didn't notice them at all. "It'll be okay. They'll figure it out." Had Brady been sober, or alone, he would have sat there until June or Gary came back to the table. However, since he had someone else with him, he figured that it would be alright if he just left.
"We might see them on the way out."
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Post by June Bankman on Oct 15, 2010 13:52:31 GMT -5
Gary didn't actually have a problem with the way she was acting. The way he saw it, her reaction was entirely normal, considering her situation. What was not normal was the way she had been holding it in, pretending that it had never happened. The bastard had hit her. He found himself studying her face, trying to spot the bruise he had certainly left behind. Sure, it probably could have been a lot worse. Talon had only slapped her. He hadn't beaten her up, left her bloody and broken. On the outside, she was fine. It was the inside that was broken, and June did not deserve that. Gary rubbed the back of his neck uncertainly. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. He supposed he could take her to his apartment for the night, at least... But he wasn't sure she would go. "OK.... tell you what? Instead of going back to the club, why don't we go for some coffee? I know this great little all-night coffee shop about 2 blocks from here." It wasn't a perfect solution, and it was only temporary, but maybe he could help her calm down and sober up a little. Then, if he had to, maybe he could take her to the Avalon hotel, or to his apartment. June sighed. Gary offered the very thing that she thought she needed most- just some coffee, something to sober her up. A quiet environment. Away from people, even. She was just having a hard time dealing with things right now. Talon had never hit her before, she she wanted to forgive him easily. It just... hurt. And it didn't seem like he wanted to be forgiven. So she just nodded. "I'd like that." She wasn't so drunk that she would make a fool of herself walking down the street, just enough that her emotions were running unchecked. "Okay," she said again, a moment later as she ran a hand through her hair and met Gary's eyes again. "Should we find Brady and tell him?" |
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