tilly dawlish. (curleh) wrote in caged, @ 2013-10-03 12:05:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | ! 97-09, [ log ], brian finkley, tilly dawlish |
WHO: Tilly Dawlish and Brian Finkley.
WHEN: BACKDATED to September 30 night, after Slug Club meeting.
WHERE: Halls.
SUMMARY: Tilly is a little smashed.
RATING: PG.
STATUS: Complete.
Tilly had been excited that she had made the cut for the Slug Club. She was never extraordinary when compared to some of her peers, but she had decided to apply for the club anyway, because she wanted to prove to herself that she was worth it. Tilly figured that her exceptional and impressive Transfiguration skills were the cause behind her acceptance into the Slug Club, and she was all too happy to attend the little get-together that evening. What she hadn't anticipated, however, was to be served mead. She was already a tiny little thing, but she figured that saying no wouldn't be so impressive to Professor Slughorn so she accepted. She was starting to feel a little off near the end of the get-together and so much so, that she hung onto Brian more than she normally did. Never was Tilly more grateful for Brian being part giant than she was at that particular moment. "Ha, you're so big," she remarked at him, as they were exiting from the room. She threw Ruby and Ginny an amused look, before returning her attention to the only Ravenclaw of the club. She couldn't even walk straight, and kept fumbling with each step. But she assured herself that she was fine. She was just a little sluggish, that's all. "Congrats on making the Slug Club with me, Bri-Bri!" she exclaimed, a toothy grin following her statement. “Ha, you’re so pissed,” he replied dryly, awkwardly wrapping an arm around her shoulders so she didn’t tumble to the floor. Of course she went and got drunk on one of the most important nights of his life. Slughorn saw his potential. It was the sort of validation he had always been craving and his life finally seemed to be going on the right track. Brian had spent most of the afternoon making sure he looked perfect for the gathering. There wasn’t a hair out of place. Brian had allowed himself some indulgences, he had earned this afterall, but he was far from tipsy. He wouldn’t give Slughorn an opportunity to second guess his place in the club. Then there was Tilly. Sweet, small, trashed Tilly. She was probably drunk after taking a sniff of the stuff. Brian was clearly aggravated with her, but the feeling eased the further they walked away from the room. It might not be his job to take care of her, but he was hardly going to allow her to fend for herself. “Don’t call me that. Now, next time you need to stop drinking while you can still feel your face. Fair enough?” "I can feel my face," Tilly insisted, huffing in the process. To prove it, she let go of him, though her footsteps weren't any better. She paused in her tracks, blinking, suddenly aware of how dizzy she actually felt. She resumed her position along Brian's body and wrapped an arm around him, feeling like this was much better. Yep. She definitely needed to hold onto someone, or something. She offered Brian another lame smile at him insisting not to call him Bri-Bri, and she decided she could comply with it. "Oh, fine. But one day, I will come up with a nickname that's solely for you from me, and you can't stop me from calling you that." Tilly giggled slightly, and kept walking though she wasn't even sure where they were going at the moment. She tried to remember exactly where this hall led to, but gave up using her brain and figured Brian was probably well-aware of the direction they were headed in. "Heeeeeey," Tilly spoke, moments later. "Did Ursula give you an update about her love liiiiife?" She drew out the syllables to give emphasis on those particular words, and though logically, she knew that Brian was probably well-aware of the updates, Tilly felt the need to ask him, anyway. “Submit all nickname requests to me in writing and you’ll have your answer within five business days.” Now that he was away from people he was trying desperately to impress, he was slightly amused by her antics. He couldn’t help but wonder if she had ever been drunk before. He was guessing she hadn’t. “Try to find one that doesn’t make me sound like a stuffed bear and you’ll be on the right track.” There was no use in fighting her, it would only make her more determined to find an impossibly annoying name for him. It was a testament to their friendship that he tolerated such antics. “Oh Merlin, not from you too.” Brian’s sigh was far more dramatic than necessary, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to hear about it the first time. He wasn’t sure how he had given them the impression that he wanted in on their gossip, but they seemed determined to include him. “I’m not sure snogging Coote in a broom closet counts as a love life. Why, do I get to hear about yours now? Please say you have better taste.” Tilly didn't really have a response to his first request, besides a soft giggle that she only suppressed after a moment. She was content with walking along -- or at least, trying to. When the two of them were out of earshot from people that could actually hear them and Brian was actually engaging her in a conversation about Ursula's love life, she shot him a look. "Ritchie Coote is a wonderful person," she insisted, with a bit of a frown. "But that wasn't who I was talking about." She inhaled sharply, as though she were about to divulge in some secret and heartbreaking topic. "Samson Capper," Tilly sighed loudly. "Apparently he has been fancying her for so long, and she only found out recently but she also sort of fancied him, but hadn't told me and I felt like a right twat after that." The logical part of her brain knew that it was a bit of a word vomit, but who else could she complain about her best friend to? "But I mean, it isn't like my love life hasn't always been complete shit, right?" she let out a snort, but she didn't even care how that looked. “Are you sure? I’m surprised you can tell from that pot cloud that surrounds him, or maybe that’s the part you like so much.” Brian certainly didn’t hate the guy, but he had no respect for him. He didn’t have respect for anyone who acted like they were above the law. There was an order to things for a reason. He was simply one more example of someone who should have been a squib instead of his brother. Wasted potential. “Why would you feel like the twat? You’re not expected to read minds, Til.” Brian wasn’t an idiot, she was clearly upset for a reason. He could hardly badmouth Ursula in this scenario, not that Tilly wanted him to, which meant he was left with Samson to place the blame on. This was exactly why he tried to avoid all of this relationship shite. “You’re looking at this thing too closely, love. You don’t want to waste your time on someone who has eyes for someone else. Besides, if Ursula could have a bloke fancying her for months, why couldn’t you? That’s the whole point, you wouldn’t know. You’re a catch. Wait for someone worthy and it will work itself out in the end.” That sounded good, right? All logical and fair. “Besides, none of the guys are worthy of you. You haven’t been missing much.” Tilly couldn't help but giggle slightly at Brian's apparent distaste for Ritchie. She could see why, but as far as Tilly was concerned, it was a bit silly. Ritchie may have had the philosophy of a hippie, but he looked at the peaceful side of things which, all things considered, wasn't such a bad take on life. Tilly didn't respond to Brian's distaste and instead just laughed it off. Changing Brian's mind, once it had been made up, was quite a difficult task; a task that a tiny, inebriated blonde should not even attempt. She did, however, flash him a smile at his attempt to cheer her up. He was right; she didn't want to waste time on someone who had eyes for someone else. Logically, Tilly was aware of that. And she knew that she shouldn't have been angry with Samson or Ursula; they couldn't help how things had panned out. But she wanted to be angry at someone, and Samson just happened to fit the bill perfectly. "You're way better at this than you give yourself credit for," Tilly remarked, a few silent moments later. She followed it with a giggle, but stopped walking a few moments later. "No one is worthy of me?" she quirked a brow, attempting to cross her arms across her stomach. “Don’t tell anyone, I don’t plan on making a habit of it.” He looked down at her, an amused smirk playing at his features. “I’m only good at this when I care about the person, and there are few people I would make the effort for.” Life would be too exhausting otherwise. As much as he moaned and complained, a part of him loved that his girls were willing to come talk to him. He like feeling valued, even if that meant listening about other boys. “I’m sure someone is. Somewhere. Samson isn’t the only guy in the world. Don’t worry about it, that’s all I mean.” "Merlin, Brian," Tilly started. "It's not like I was in love with him or anything!" Her exclamation was followed by an expression that suggested that even the thought of being in love with Samson was a bit gut-wrenching. She wrinkled her nose, furrowing her brows together in the process. "I mean, it's good he has a nice face. He isn't really that great at anything besides Quidditch, especially for a Ravenclaw. That has got to be some sort of insult for your house." She smirked slightly, as she looped her arm around his. “Thank Merlin, I can’t imagine all the tears I would be dealing with if you actually loved the bastard. You’ll get a new crush soon enough, I’m sure.” Brian tried not to read too much into her emotions, blaming it all on the alcohol. What had seemed like a glorious perk was now a frustrating exercise in patience. Clearly they couldn’t be trusted with alcohol. Pity. “You’ve really got to stop caring about quidditch, it means nothing. I’m sure my house can handle it. Have you seen what Gryffindor has produced lately?” Tilly protested, assuming that Brian was talking about her in his implications. "Hey, I'm not that bad!" she insisted, pouting at him. "I mean, yes, there are some questionable people," she paused, laughing as her brain thought about questionables such as Ginny and Neville Longbottom, "but doesn't mean we are all rule-breaking morons!" Except she had just drank alcohol, as a minor… so in some way, she was a rule-breaking moron. She pouted again, as the turned a corner. "Shut up," Tilly added, preemptively. “Fine, maybe not all of you. There was bound to be one exception.” Brian could forgive a little rule-breaking, but cocky ignorance was a constant irritant that could not be soothed. “Don’t worry, love, I wasn’t talking about you. Think I’d walk just anyone back to the dorm?” "Wellllllllll," Tilly drawled, pretending as though she was pondering his rhetorical question. She even moved her hand so that her forefinger was tapping lightly against her jaw. "I mean, I know you're practically in love with me and all," she giggled, giving him an amused look. "So I don't really mind that you're the one walking me back." Tilly followed with a flirty grin, suddenly feeling better about herself. “Practically.” Brian would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t so amused, but instead he pulled her in closer. If she were a few inches taller he might have kissed the top of her hair, but the urge passed. “Well that’s good, because I’m not sure you had a lot of options. Unless you wanted Slughorn, of course. I hate to think I denied you that experience.” He wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or boredom, but he knew that grin. He didn’t mind it directed at him for a change. It was nice to get some attention now and then. The flirty grin turned into something of a disgusted expression, as Tilly wrinkled her nose, and turned her head so that she was staring up at him -- and in her line of view, she could only really glare at Brian's jaw. Damn him for being so tall. "That is disgusting," Tilly insisted, as they got closer to the Gryffindor tower. "I much prefer being with a fit bloke, thank you very much!" “Oh, so you’re saying I’m not fit,” he retorted, purposefully misconstruing her point. “I always knew you thought you were too good for me. See if I pine for you anymore,” he added, haughtily, his tone betrayed quickly by his amused grin. “Now that my heart has been well and truly broken, I shall live the life of a bachelor and it will be all your fault.” Tilly stared at him with an expression that suggested that she was confused beyond belief. In her head, she had been joking with him but what if -- oh, Brian was joking. She wrinkled her nose once again, and hastily punched his arm -- not hard, but not soft, either. "Prat," she responded. And deciding that it would be hilarious to keep it going, she continued with, "I mean, if you weren't so damn tall, I could have snogged you and all." “If you really wanted to snog me you would make the effort. They invented these shoes called heels, you should look into them.” They were nearing the Gryffindor tower and as much as he might have been annoyed with her antics during the meeting, he found himself wishing the walk was slightly longer. It wasn’t that he disliked his own dorm, he was simply enjoying her company. She was amusing in any state, but this was one he hadn’t gotten to see before. "Brian," she started, dropping her flirtatious state for a moment. "If you really think I'm going to lug around all my heels to Hogwarts, then you're sorely mistaken. Plus, I've got the essentials, which I am saving for a Hogsmeade weekend, providing that I actually have a date." She ended with a firm nod, smiling slightly. "And in any case, wouldn't it just be easier for you to kiss me? At least you can bend down! I'm just beginning to think you're repulsed by me and my hair!" Tilly ended with a faux gasp, but grinned at him a moment later, as they neared the portrait of the Fat Lady. “The essentials, huh? I guess you’ll have to find yourself a date, then. Or I can take you if no one else offers. I’d hate to miss out on your Hogsmeade outfit.” Besides, it would be a complete waste if she skipped out just because she didn’t have a date. Or if she went looking like a bum. “You just want me to do all the work. Maybe I’m waiting for that special moment. Can’t have you going around telling people you only snogged me because you’re drunk. How would that look?” Tilly couldn't make out whether Brian was serious or not, but she decided that he wasn't -- after all, they joked around about this stuff a lot, and if he really wanted to do something about it, Tilly figured that he would have done it by now. So she settled for rolling her eyes and she stuck out her tongue at him. "I'm not drunk," she insisted, but as if the gods were planning to prove her wrong, she fumbled on her next step, which only made her grip on Brian's arm stronger. "Ha, ha, whoops." Once they had reached the portrait, she turned around to face him and smiled. "Thank you for coming with me here, even though I would have been perfectly fine coming by myself." “I’m sure you would have,” he allowed, knowing the halls weren’t exactly crawling with murderers. “I appreciated the company, so thank you.” He made a point to ignore her fumble, figuring he had teased her enough about it. He just hoped someone kept her from falling down a bunch of stairs as she made her way to her room. “Get some sleep, yeah? I’ll see you tomorrow.” Brian leaned over, placing a kiss at the side of her mouth before raising up with a wink. “Night, Tils.” Tilly's reaction was slow -- it took her a moment to register that Brian had, in fact, kissed her (albeit, on the side of her mouth, but nevertheless) and she just blinked, in response, when he pulled back. Her eyes followed his face when he returned to his stance and she blinked again, but finally a shy smile appeared on her face, as she dropped her gaze to the floor, now that she was blushing slightly. "Yeah. Goodnight, Brian," she spoke, licking her lips nervously. Tilly finally forced herself to look at the Fat Lady, and she quietly muttered the password, waiting for the portrait to swing open. She smiled at Brian once more, before retreating to the common room. It was a nice ending to an interesting day, all things considered. |