WHO: Demelza Robins, Theodore Nott
WHEN: October 11th, 2001
WHERE: Muggle London, Diagon Alley
WHAT: It looks like a date. It smells like a date! But it's not a date?
RATING: PG-13?
WARNING: None so far.
STATUS: Private/InComplete

Muggle theatres were so odd. Even after sitting through the horrible movie that had been Zoolander, Theodore found himself looking around for the source of the picture and eyeing up every fixture and gadget in the immediate area on their way out of the building. He felt sufficiently awkward in the presence of muggles. For one, he didn't know how their money worked, but more importantly, he was worried that one of them were going to try to talk to him and he wouldn't know what to say. He hadn't exactly rehearsed a muggle-normative lifestyle before coming out, but had instead focused on finding clothing that they would appropriate. He had settled on a black button-down and dark jeans, but had discovered quickly enough that he seemed to be dressed a little... nicer than everyone else. And everything in the building was so disgustingly sticky.

"Well, that film was horrendous," Theodore informed Demelza as they made their way out the doors of the Odeon. He wrinkled his nose at the nearby street, finding the sound of the passing cars kind of obnoxious and the general smell of the area unpleasant. He didn't like muggle areas of the city. Everything was glass, plastic, or medal because they lacked the magic to preserve anything, and they used electricity for everything. It was so cold and foreign to him, and this was coming from someone who lived alone in a big, empty house. Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, Theodore glanced up and down the street as though completely lost before turning his eyes back on Demelza for help. He was tempted to apparate elsewhere, but figured it might draw attention and he really wanted Demelza to go with him. "Where to now?"

Demelza had rather enjoyed the movie - it was exactly what she needed to pick her up after the disappointing loss to the Appleby Arrows that afternoon. And it wasn't even as though she'd been playing any part of the game, but there was something about possessing the team spirit that caused you to empathise with the disappointment. And sure, it was just Quidditch - but she was passionate about it, and determined to make a career out of it. So, really, it wasn't ever just Quidditch.

And that didn't make any sense. So she was going to just have to stop thinking about it entirely. That was the point of this evening wasn't it? Or that had been her newly adopted point of the evening. She couldn't be sure what this whole adventure had been about. Theodore decidedly hated the movie, looked uncomfortable, and she'd already threatened to throw popcorn in his hair twice out of grumpiness.

"I think you said that already. Possibly 10 minutes in," she replied as nonchalantly as she could as they emerged from the cinema. "I actually liked it. You probably need the right sense of humour to enjoy it properly," she teased. "And I think tea. Um, you want to go somewhere here, or head to Diagon Alley?" He looked so lost, it was endearing.

"Diagon Alley," Theodore responded quickly, making a face and jumping a bit when a car horn honked nearby. Could muggles have chosen a more obnoxious noise? He really didn't think so. It was appropriate, though, it seemed. It was nice to have a warning system when one was steering around a death trap. With his hands still in his pockets, Theodore pressed his right palm into his side and felt to make sure his wand was still tucked into his jeans. It was so awkward carrying it around because it didn't fit in the pockets of these clothes, so he had been forced to tuck it and nearly snap it every time he went to sit down. Robes were so much more convenient than all of this.

"If you don't mind," Theodore added a beat later, figuring that he had sounded a little too desperate. He didn't want to come off pathetic, but he was so out of his element that he almost felt too distracted to think. It had been easy with the lights out in the theatre and everyone paying attention to the stupid screen, but out here he was surrounded by crowds of people and moving cars. It was traumatising. "I'll pay for the tea. And whatever else you want to buy. If we could just... not stay in this part of town."

That eliminated most possibilities, then, and made Demelza's decision-making a whole lot easier. They'd just have to find somewhere secluded to Apparate from. Now that she thought of it, it would probably be easier to go back inside in the cinema and leave from there.

"I don't mind at all," she replied smiling. "You can pick which cafe. I just need to go back in, I think I forgot something. Come with?" Living caught between both the Muggle and Wizarding world as Demelza had been for most of her life left her fairly adept at managing unsuspicious excuses around Muggles. It wasn't bad, actually, she felt pretty lucky. Except for when it came to the line of too much and too little. Her dad was the curious sort. And, she'd been informed more implicitly by her siblings, jealous of the world she was party to. She had a vague suspicion he'd been dying to try using her broom for years now.

"Of course," Theodore responded, smirking back before leading the way back to the doors. He held them open for a couple exiting the theatre, and then for Demelza, stepping inside behind her before scanning the area and looking for a place to discretely slip away. Once the crowds thinned out a bit he was eventually able to tuck himself into a corner, scanning the area before nodding a bit at his friend and giving her a short wave. "Meet me in front of Gringotts. We'll go from there."

With this, Theodore concentrated and disappeared with a very faint pop. He arrived in Diagon Alley and was welcomed by familiar sites and sounds. As a result, it wasn't long before the tension in his shoulders began to ebb away, and finally able to think, he began scanning up and down the somewhat dimly lit street. He wanted to scope out the possible café choices before Demelza arrived.

It wasn't more than a minute until she made her appearance in front of Gringotts. She cast a wary glance at the building. What on earth was going on with the Goblins who worked inside it, she didn't know, but she thought Shacklebolt, regardless of what her brother might say about him, might have it right for once. They were becoming restless and undependable and there were other ways of accessing money, if wizards would only adopt a few ideas from the Muggles. It would make life so much easier. She didn't know anyone from her childhood who went to the bank nearly as often as she did.

"Hey. You're in one piece?" she asked her friend upon approach.

"Yes. I know how to disapparate, Demelza," Theodore responded, smirking over at her as though entirely amused by the casual question. He knew that she hadn't meant anything by it, but now that he was feeling a little more comfortable with his surroundings, his desire to tease the woman mercilessly had come back in full swing. He really liked her reactions - she made the cutest faces. Of course, he was hardly at the point where he wanted to admit any of this to himself, and if asked, he would hold up that he teased her because she was easy to tease. Simple as that. Demelza wasn't frightening like some girls. Theodore actually felt relatively relaxed around her because she didn't come off as the type of woman that liked to hint around things or hide her true feelings.

"How about this place?" Theodore asked, signaling towards the nearest cafe. He was really just looking to sit down and relax, and to be honest, he didn't really have much of a favourite place on this street. He'd held little meetings in just about every little establishment and found most of them acceptable enough, but then again, he never came here to enjoy the food and drink. When in school, his goal had been to collect supplies, and these days he met with bank personnel to discuss his money issues. "None of these cafes can go wrong with tea."

"I didn't mean I thought you didn't know," she protested, frowning slightly. Heavens, did anyone not take her casual questions seriously? She then looked up, saw him smirking and immediately understood he'd just been teasing her. And she'd fallen for it. Again.

Feeling somewhat idiotic, she turned her attention to the cafe he'd pointed out instead, determined to shove the former episode out of her mind. It wasn't going to do anything for her to dwell on it anyway. "Oh, I like this place! They have these lovely little cupcakes that come in the strangest array of flavours." She grinned. "You'd hate it, but I don't care."

Theodore lifted his brows at the girl as he began to make his way towards the cafe, attempting not to dwell on Demelza's report. He didn't like cupcakes, really, as he tended to think that they were for little girls. It wasn't that he didn't like the taste, because he really did, he just didn't want to be seen eating them. Especially not if they were tiny or covered in pink icing. Due to his lack of interest in sports and his habit of dressing well and grooming himself properly, Theodore already felt the need to prove his manliness. His complete lack of a sex life lately did not help his case. People were going to start thinking he was in the closet.

"You don't care. That's hurtful," Theodore bullshitted as they approached the cafe. He held the door open for Demelza, stepping back and ushering her into the place first. Proper manners really worked to Theodore's advantage. He never wanted to be the first person to walk into an establishment. Following the girl inside, Theodore scanned the place. It was warm and cozy inside, and private booths were available for seating. It was going to feel very... date-like, but they'd already gone to a movie together, and Theodore had once heard that going to 'the movies' was a popular muggle date scenario. He really didn't care if the people around them thought they were on a date anyway. Demelza was pretty - it would look good on him. "Where would you like to sit?"

Demelza checked his expression carefully before answering. "You look like you're very cut up about it," she returned, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to have one. I will, though, so it's fair warning."

She picked out a booth somewhere near the back, not considering at all anyone else's perception of this entire adventure if it were to be related to them. Dwelling on what other people thought wasn't a very big part of her nature. Of course, she would prefer to have her reputation unslandered and clean - but basing any of her decisions around things that someone else might say in response was a somewhat foreign concept. She liked to be nice, but not a puppet. As they took their seats, she glanced at the menu. Not interested in any of the meal options, she cast it aside. She already knew what she wanted.