APOLLINE.

           “ right, well. ” he took a last look out the large, glass windows as the snow came down in angry flurries, wind whistling loud enough for them to hear, “ guess we’re stuck. ‘m gonna be drinkin’ from THIS stash – ” he pulled one of his drawer’s open, bottles clanking as they moved together, seven or eight in total. “ don’t bother me. thanks. ”

she stood in the middle of the room, searching for someone she recognized that wasn’t ronan avery. a relieved smile emerged at the familiar woman looking her way. “can you imagine leo as a father? talk about making my year.” she crouched down, contorting her features into a silly expression for the little girl. 

“mind if i sit?” her head nodded to the spot beside the woman and child. “i threw out my ten reasons why appoline delacour is the worst list beginning of third year, promise,” she added with a laugh. remembering her childhood crush on leo flint and deep resentment of his gorgeous, age appropriate girlfriend.

Every time Annabelle saw Apolline, she was reminded of their school years at Beauxbatons, everything that happened between them before Apolline had transferred to Hogwarts, all of the feelings that had been pushed back to the ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ file of her brain… They all came back, no matter how much she wanted to keep them locked up. “Five hundred?” Annie repeated in their native French, “Is that all?” She teased, “I thought you were serious about this. What are your new reasons?” 

he sat, unfazed and half amused at the brunette’s roiling temper. there was no shortage of people he managed to piss off in a day, and for good reason. he wasn’t there to play nice and to make people happy. he was there to get the job done and that was that. 

“i trust people i know. and i don’t know you, except for the fact you’ve got one hell of an imagination.”

he watched her face change again, frustrated, angry, frustrated. good. it shouldn’t be easy-

chill out brother dear. let the toddler wobble on her own for a bit. cait lifted a brow down at him that he caught in the peripheral as he listened to the thoughts filtering around their potential client’s head. he heard it before she said it. it nearly made him cringe. 

“because a giant flying lizard in the sky breaking out of the depths of a bank in the middle of diagon alley isn’t going to be obvious or anything. impossible to track something of that size. you’re totally right. and then what?”

dorcas didn’t bother giving their regrettable line of drinks a second look, already reaching for seconds when apolline got a chance to speak. “of course i mean that. cheating was like, definitely an incentive though.” the woman probably shouldn’t be having any more drinks than all the ones she’d downed already yet there she was, third glass in her hand, barely winning the competition so far and slightly nauseous look in her face. “i mean, have you looked at yourself? say the word and we’re out of here, duh.”

           it hasn’t been that long since she last saw annabelle, yet the sight of her still causes the same surge of electricity to rush through her bones. once upon a time, she let her break her heart, and she won’t make that mistake again --- so she always has her guard up around her, careful to not let herself get hurt again. but that doesn’t mean that she can’t still be FRIENDS with her. after all, beauxbatons girls stick together. through thick and thin. “ hey, i’m ready to go again whenever you are, “ she says, rapid words in French spilling from her lips. she gives her a teasing smile, eyebrows raising in query. “ i have about five hundred more reasons as to why you shouldn’t use dragon horns. so what you got? or are you ready to give up? “

   it’d been a rough and exhausting shift at the three broomsticks that night. he’d had to break up one bar fight too many. and had been given quite the shiner as a reward for his trouble. so, needless to say, he was a little less than thrilled to see someone lingering a bit too closely to his PRECIOUS motorbike that was parked outside. before he even bothered to take note of who it was, he quickly called out, “ i’d say you’re a bit close there, eh? why don’t you back up?  “

             “ oh, would you relax? i was just admiring the bike,” she said, her accent thickening as her voice turned sour. emotions always got the best of her -- which was why she, against her better judgement, took another step towards the veichle and reached out a hand, letting her fingers trace the metal. she could never resist doing something she had been explicitly told not to do. “it’s nice. judging by that brooding look on your face, i’m guessing its yours?”

“as dessert, after the pints?” the actual bartender was nowhere to be seen, so she simply made herself at home, already reaching for the glasses to fill. “celestina is wild. like i said, fucking legend.” she shrugged, despite every word of that story being fabricated. “oh my god, yes. i like the way you think.” and with that she filled two more, setting them in line. “apolline, if we don’t survive this, you need to know one thing that i’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time.” her expression was serious as she perfected their lines of regret. “i’dtotally shag you. GO.” dorcas was already tipping in one glass.

      apolline fired her friend a smile and leaned forward, elbows placed on the bar counter. “wouldn’t have it any other way,” she replied, amusement written across her face. she had never been able to resist a challenge ( and it constantly got her in trouble ). “we should all be more like that, probably.” she watched as the drinks were placed in front of her, and there suddenly seemed to be... a lot more than she had anticipated. but what the hell... she had done worse and lived. a questionable (but working) lifemotto to live by. lifting a glass to her lips, she suddenly froze when dorcas spoke, surprise flickering in her eyes. well, she hadn’t seen that coming. “do you really mean that or are ya cheating to get ahead of me with the drinks?” she asked, giving dorcas a curious look before downing a shot herself.