Eight Days a Week (Iris)

[Abbey Jones]

Abbey didn't get to Hogsmeade much these days. She spent most of her time in London, mostly just working and going home. On the weekends, she still liked to slip out to the movies or the record store. But if she needed books, there was only one place she'd ever go.

Her best friend Iris owned a book store in Hogsmeade, and once a month or so, she'd send an owl to her old friend, asking if they could meet for lunch and a chat. After that, they'd go back to the book store, and Abbey would get a few new books for her collection.

Today was one of those days. She had owled Iris a few days ago, and found that her friend was available, so they made the arrangements to meet at the new Chinese restaurant in Hogsmeade. Abbey was eager to see whether it was as good as the places she liked to go in London.

Abbey arrived first, and was just getting seated when the door opened again.

[Iris Elliot]

Iris only closed her shop once a week and that was Saturday. And it was only when her best friend Abbey was in Hogsmeade for a visit. The two only saw each other once or twice a month as both were busy with full time jobs. Sometimes Iris would floo to London and spend a few hours and then on days like today Abbey would come to town and the two would spend hours catching up.

Iris could barely contain herself when she received the owl from Abbey. Not only had it been a month since she had seen her, but she also wanted to get her opinion on certain things. Mainly Dylan.

Iris frowned to herself as she was walked towards the new Chinese restaurant. She hadn't seen Dylan in close to two days. She didn't want to think that she would never see him again. After all, he said he would come back and Iris didn't get the impression that he was someone that would go back on their word.

Iris opened the door the small restaurant, a small gust of wind blowing her hair from her face, and she noticed that Abbey was just getting seated. She smiled brightly and walked over. Without saying a word, she hugged her. Next to her mother and now Dylan, Abbey was the only friend she had. And with her mother dead, she was the only woman in her life that knew her as well as she knew herself. She forgot how lonely she was sometimes.

[Abbey Jones]

"Iris!" Abbey barely had time to say before she was engulfed in a hug by her best friend. She hugged Iris back happily and broke into a warm smile. Sometimes Abbey felt like she was closer to Iris than to her own sisters, and that made her sad. She never really saw any of them anymore. But at least she had Iris, who really understood her better than anyone else in the world.

"You look amazing!" she said, pulling back to get a better look at her. She had a certain sort of glow about her that Abbey had never seen before. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. "Come on, let's sit down and you can tell me what's been going on in your life."

[Iris Elliot]

Iris took her seat across from Abbey and let out a small laugh. "Things have been...well, quite frankly a little weird on my part." She smiled a little. "But it's a long story and I want to hear all about your busy life in London. How have things been for you?"

On the rare occasion that Iris saw Abbey, she always made it a point to listen to every detail of Abbey's experiences in London. Truth be told, Iris was quite jealous. She never went to the city or took just a day to explore places that she hadn't been since she was a child. She was so busy with the bookstore seeing as she was the only one running it. She couldn't remember the last time she had been to London or Diagon Alley. Actually...she couldn't remember the last time she went outside of Hogsmeade.

[Abbey Jones]

Abbey smothered a laugh. She didn't really think her life in London was all that exciting. She liked being around muggles, and she liked the fact that she could easily blend into a crowd. But most of the things she did in the city, she did alone. She liked to go to old movies, and she liked to spend time in record stores, trying to find anything by any of the Beatles. But other than those things, for the most part, Abbey spent most of her time just going to work, coming home, and sitting home by herself. Well... except for that one time when she'd met Brady...

"Nothing much, really," she said. "I did meet a guy in a club last week, but I think we're just going to be friends. He's a really nice guy. But what about you? How's the bookstore? Have you thought about hiring some help?"

[Iris Elliot]

Iris choked a little on the tea and stared shocked at what Abbey had just said. "You met someone? Well, tell me about him!" She said in a rush, her tea and small meal left forgotten momentarily. "Why only the friends zone? Are you going to be hanging out with him again as "friends"? Iris realized she must have been pounding questions at Abbey and immediately cringed.

"I'm sorry. I'm just...you never...you met someone." She didn't want to offend her best friend, but Abbey was such a loner. Besides herself, she couldn't think of anyone that Abbey ever spent time with. It wasn't so much that it was a male, but just someone else in general.

"O-o-oh." Iris stuttered, trying hard not to blush and failing miserably. "The bookstore is good. A little busier than usual...so I, uh, had to hire some help." She muttered under breath, saying it all in one breath and taking a huge bite of a crumpet immediately afterwards. Hopefully Abbey heard the last part, because thinking about and or talking about Dylan tended to make her blush.

[Abbey Jones]

Abbey was blushing, too. It was true; she didn't often meet people, especially not men. She kept to herself most of the time; she preferred it that way. Maybe that was why she liked Iris so much... both of them were shy and quiet.

"I got dragged to a club with some work friends. I was planning to slip out early, but this guy came up and told me that his friend thought I was cute." She shrugged. "He was nice and cute... but I really didn't act like myself. I had a little too much to drink--which I'm never going to do again, by the way. Anyway, I think this guy liked someone else, but he wouldn't tell me who."

Abbey couldn't help but notice the way Iris blushed when she mentioned have hired some help. A smile crept up on her face. "Help, huh? Is he cute?"

[Iris Elliot]

Iris had to laugh out loud. "You had a little too much to drink?" She laughed again. "I wish I was there to witness that. I feel like I miss all the juicy things that happen in your life." She eyed her best friend quietly and then asked, "Did you at least get a name of said friend that thought you were cute? It kind of reminds me of being back at Hogwarts and the guys would have their friends come up to us and ask us to date them." She smiled fondly, but soon returned to blushing furiously when she brought up her store help.

"Oh Abbey." Iris fussed, taking a long gulp of her water. "You know I don't pay attention to those. His name is Dylan and he's very sweet, quite the gentleman, very well read and mannered, and he actually likes literature. The good books you know? Not those smutty things people call a good read and he actually accepts payment in books and wouldn't take gold. Of course, I'm going to start giving him money..." She trailed off, realizing she was gushing. Her blush was so bad now that it was actually starting to make the room a little warm for her and she took another huge swig of water. After a moment and another bite of her food she said, "And yes. He is extremely handsome." She smiled out of habit, just thinking about him.

[Abbey Jones]

"Usually there's nothing juicy for you to miss," Abbey said, blushing slightly. "Normally, it's go to work, go home, eat dinner, go to sleep, then repeat. This was definitely a rare occasion.... I wouldn't even have gone, but the girls from the office insisted I join them for the night. It was one of the girls' birthday, and she wanted everyone there to celebrate."

She took a sip of tea, then smiled. To anyone else, this story probably would have seemed dull and anti-climactic. So she went out, had a few drinks, and walked home with a guy who deposited her safely at the door. Most girls probably would have thought this very disappointing. But for Abbey, this was a big deal, and she had to admit that she'd actually had a lot of fun that night.

"Anyway, his name is Brady. He's a nice guy, that's all. I think getting drunk was even more rare for him than it was for me, actually."

The way Iris seemed to light up and turn pink as she mentioned the "help" she had hired for the shop told Abbey all she needed to know. Well, not all she needed to know... but it told her enough to know that she needed to hear more. It was obvious that Iris already had a little crush on her helper.

"OK, now you have to tell me about this guy. What's his name? What's he like? Do you think he likes you?"

[Iris Elliot]

"Will you be seeing Brady again? You know, minus the alcohol part this time and possibly just you two?" She questioned, only pausing long enough to let the waiter fill her glass. It never occurred to her that they didn't use magic to do simple tasks here. But Iris had always been fascinated with muggles and their customs eventually growing accustomed to them. It never phased her now whether or not someone used magic. She supposed that was why she was slightly attracted to Dylan. Besides his devilishly good looks and unusually good manners, he liked literature. Muggle literature included. He was so shy too and definitely a sight for sore eyes. Iris wondered when she was going to see him again when she realized that she had been staring at her glass of water for what seemed like forever.

"I'm sorry Abbey. What was I saying? ...Oh yes! Will you being seeing...um...Brady! Will you be seeing Brady again soon?" She asked, quickly sipping water and trying to drive the conversation away from Dylan. She was already flustered with herself because the more she thought of him, the closer she got to the realization that she might be attracted to him and that would not sit well with him. She certainly would never see him again if he were to find out.

Iris figured that although boys was a subject that neither one of them had talked about or even thought about lately, what with both of them being so busy, Abbey would be the one to find someone first. After all, she lived in the city. She had a great job and she was going places. She had all these opportunities and Iris had never managed to make it out of her small town. Although her situation was a sad one, she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy for Abbey's life. But then Iris would have never met Dylan. The thought cheered her up a bit. He was special and definitely different.

Iris let her thoughts trail back into the conversation just in time for Abbey's question. Of course it was about Dylan. Iris decided that the best approach to this was to answer the questions directly. No extra details and no gushing.

"His name is Dylan. He is polite, quiet, and he likes books. And no he does not." Iris smiled at her friend and took a sip of water. She knew that this plan for short answers would not go over well with Abbey.

[Abbey Jones]

Abbey didn't really think that her life was so very glamourous or interesting at all. She lived in London, but she had no one to share it with. Her best friend was here in Hogsmeade and never seemed to leave, despite Abbey's frequent invitations to visit her in the city. Her sisters, too, were mainly absent from her life. Penny was still in school, Janis was busy with her husband, and Helen... well, Abbey wasn't even sure what Helen was doing most of the time, but it certainly wasn't responding to her owls. So she had no close friends, no family, and no boyfriend. She was the sad girl who went to restaurants as a "party of one," which always bothered her because, by definition, a party consisted of more than one individual.

She frowned slightly at all the questions about Brady. Well, she'd brought it up, so she should have expected the questions. The thing was, though, she still wasn't sure what to make of the whole thing with Brady. She liked him well enough. He was sweet and nice and funny... and yes, he was very cute. And it was always nice to have a cute guy tell you that you were pretty. But she suspected--and this was just a feeling--that he liked someone else more... someone who was off-limits, but he couldn't get over her. She remembered the gorgeous brunette that had left with Gary and wondered if maybe she was the one Brady carried a secret torch for.

"We left it kind of open," she said, glossing it over a little. Really, they hadn't left it any way at all. He'd taken her home, they'd hung out in her living room for a while, drinking tea and talking. When he was sober enough to walk the rest of the way home, he'd left, saying he might see her around sometime. Which was true, since they both worked at the Ministry. "He probably won't even call me."

As she talked about Brady, though, another face floated through her mind. She'd only met him the one time, and she didn't know much about him, but Jay Tyler, the man who'd run into her while she was looking at a display of wedding dresses of all things, had definitely made an impression on her. She wondered if she'd ever see him again.

But she quickly pushed this thought out of her mind. The last thing she needed to do was to start daydreaming about a guy she'd probably never see again. And besides, this Dylan person that Iris had met sounded very interesting.

"I bet you're wrong," Abbey said, shaking her head. "You've only just met him, and it's much too soon to give up and just assume he doesn't like you. He'd be crazy not to! You like him, don't you? Is he cute?"

[Iris Elliot]

Iris narrowed her eyes a little at her best friend, slowly lifting the fork to her mouth as she listened to Abbey talk. She didn't want to press her about the issue and after all, it was just a guy. Well, a guy and Abbey...which was actually kind of a big deal. But after a grueling mental debate, Iris decided to stop interrogating her. Abbey was her best friend after all. If there was anything else important to tell, she would surely tell her...right?

"Maybe you should owl him. Ask him if he got home safe or fake like he left something at your flat." Iris flashed her a bright smile and wiggled her eyebrows at her. Abbs would probably spew water across the table at her comment, but Iris lived for those reactions. Mainly because they both knew that they were merely words. Neither one of them would actually do something so audacious.

"Oh Abbey." Iris shook her head slightly, the warmth in her cheeks making her warm in her cardigan. She looked out the window thinking about Abbey's question. But did she really need to think about it? Of course she liked Dylan. She knocked a hole in her office wall just to have an excuse to have him around more. She knew if she told Abbey that part that her friend would die of laughter (and possibly embarrassment on her friends part).

Iris turned back to her friend and with a small smile behind the rim of her water glass, she nodded once. "He is quite handsome." After a sip, she set her drink down and staring down at the tablecloth, she took another moment of silence.

"I was thinking I would take you up on one of your offers to come and visit." Looking back at her best friend with serious eyes, she wondered whether her friend would know instinctively what was bothering her.