Alice Connolly (dragonheartedly) wrote in feinted, @ 2012-01-22 00:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | alice-connolly, vladimir-poliakoff |
Who: Vlad and Alice
What: Drinking...and something else!!
Where: By the lake. Again.
When: Last Thursday, January 19th.
Rating: PG?
Status: COMPLETE!!!!!
It was strange being back at Hogwarts. The overcast, steel-grey skies at least looked as familiar as those same steel-grey skies in Moscow. It was clearer out here in the Scottish highlands though. Holidays were over now and he could feel the cheer creeping out of the castle, to be replaced by bickering about Sex Education and Apparition classes. Naturally. Vladimir’s breath misted in the air as he walked, strode really, through the castle grounds, looking as if he was simply out for a ramble. But he wasn’t. It was Saturday afternoon and Vlad had a bottle of firewhiskey tucked inside his coat. He rather thought that the firewhiskey was a nice touch since vodka was becoming far too predictable a drink for a Durmstrang student. He liked to buck the trend, etc. The chance meeting was not really by chance. It was a well-executed accidental meeting after several days of failed attempts. For some reason or another, the girl proved elusive when she wanted to be. But on Thursday, Vladimir finally succeeded and, without any pretense that she’d actually say yes, asked if she wanted to catch up and have a drink sometime. Alice specified when and where, and thus, here he was. He could see that she was already there, her bundled up frame just visible as she sat under what seemed to be a birch tree. At the sight, Vladimir found himself hastening his pace just a little--but not too much because he didn’t want to see too eager. “Hi,” he greeted as he approached, putting on his best winning grin. “Nice to see that you actually showed up.” Of all the people in all of the foreign teams: she had to pick the one that grated on everyone’s nerves. Every time she turned around, she was hearing grumbling about Poliakoff. Something stupid he had said. Something stupid he had done. And to boot, he was only a reserve. If she ever wanted the opportunity to brag about doing something crazy with a member of a foreign team, it wasn’t going to be much to say something about him. He seemingly had eyes for every girl in Hogwarts, besides the younger years, and behind his cheeky smile and his winking, teasing eyes, she knew he was dangerous. Especially for the fifth years who had a tendency to get themselves in sticky situations. But when he’d asked if she wanted to have a drink sometime, the offer came at a time when she could hardly refuse. Another letter from her mother. Sex ed lessons to be given to the entire school. A disappointed owl from her grandda who wrote of her family’s great sadness that she hadn’t deigned to spend the holiday with them. On top of that, if her dorm asked for another girls’ night in with Maggie Wood, she was going to scream. So she agreed. By the lake again, she’d requested. So she had dressed the part, taking a proper coat, a heated blanket, a bottle of her alcohol and a bottle of his, and lastly, a tin of cookies, which she’d been gifted and had yet to consume. She figured, at least, if he ate them, they wouldn’t go to waste. Alice had been a little early, probably eager for the time away, and was tossing stones onto the icy lake as he approached. She turned slowly to look at him, brushing her hands on her legs as she stood up to greet him, sliding over so he would have a spot on the warm blanket, too. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she replied, her voice tinged with sarcasm. “Did you need to talk? Get something off your chest? Is the burden of being too sexy for your shirt finally becoming so overwhelming you need a support group?” “I knew you’d come around eventually,” Vladimir replied as he bent down to sit next to Alice, “People who seem to hate me the most are always the ones I get along with the best, surprisingly.” And it was true. Vasili seemed to detest Vladimir on their first meeting but months of gruelling Quidditch training had forged a tentative sort of friendship between the two Russians. (Well, Russian and half-Russian.) Perhaps it was just Stockholm Syndrome. Vladimir was hoping that Alice was going to be similar, except with less Stockholm Syndrome and sit-ups. It had been strange how often she had crossed his mind ever since the last time they drank together. He had chalked it up to the alcohol and the situation. Now he knew more about her than most people at Hogwarts, possibly. Vladimir didn’t really get into the habit of blatantly mining for information every which way he went. There was also the fact that Hogwarts seems to be notoriously quick on the uptake with gossip and he really didn’t want to put Alice through an Essie Warbeck post just because he was curious about her. He could just ask her. But maybe later after she’s drank half a bottle of firewhiskey. “Can’t two... acquaintances... meet and chat about this and that?” Vladimir said, hesitating at the word ‘friends’ before settling for another classification. No, they were not quite there yet. Yet here they were, sitting together near the Lake, preparing to consume copious amounts of alcohol again. It was sort of like friends, Vlad mused as he unbuttoned his coat to take out the bottle of firewhiskey and deflty uncorking it. He offered the first sip to Alice with a wry smile. “So you’ve heard about our little club, yes? It’s getting so much attention already. Cody and I thought it up when were having lunch together last term.” Vladimir tried to stop himself before he got too carried away with his excitement about the Handsome Men’s Club and tried to steer the conversation towards her. “How were your holidays?” She arched an eyebrow at his question, watching as he handed the alcohol to her, very kindly offering the first sip, which she took before she passed it back to him, reaching into the folds of her coat to procure a bottle of vodka, which she uncapped and pointed in his direction. “As for your club,” she sighed, holding back a smile, which really turned into a smirk, “yes. I’ve heard of it. It has gained quite a lot of attention as of late. I have heard many rumors as to how you picked your first batch of initiates.” His small club went from a little thing between friends to a big deal in the castle. News always spread fast. But before they could dwell, he was moving on and she canted her head to the side, just enough to show her curiosity. “My holidays were lonely,” she answered candidly. “I stayed at the castle on purpose. I wasn’t invited to the gala, so I had to wait longer than several of the other students who chose to stay as well to see my friends. Thank you for your gift,” she added thoughtfully after a moment. “I was surprised you’d thought of me. How were your holidays?” She took the opportunity to drink a little more, from whatever was closest. The exchange of the alcohol bottles amused Vlad quite a bit and he barely stopped himself from retorting on it. Why ruin a perfectly nice-ish moment? Taking a swig from the proffered bottle, he passed it back to Alice before shifting in his seat to get a bit more comfortable. He was busy with this until he saw the smirk on her face and the insinuation-filled statement. “Mhm,” Vladimir said, raising an eyebrow, mirroring Alice’s expression, “And what did they say exactly?” Obvious jabs about his sexual orientation, no doubt. He could be slightly offended but he found himself really not caring. “Oh,” his expression shifted from playful to serious in the space of a few words, “Why didn’t you tell me? You could have been my plus one. I ended up going solo anyway. You could have--” He stopped himself, feeling a little foolish with the tangent he was getting on, “Next time, you should tell me because I could, you know, extend an invite.” Vlad tactfully swerved around the idea of going together, in case that was too much too soon somehow. “Of course I thought of you,” he said, then quickly added, “I had a list. I was very organised this year. Thank you for your present as well, I never knew bacon and beer could be turned into fudge, but there you go.” A flash of a grin before he took a sip of firewhiskey. “Mm, well,” Vladimir began after prompted about his Christmas, “I went to Berlin to see my father first and he introduced me to his new girlfriend--only 10 years his junior this time around, maybe it’ll last--and met up with a old school friends. Then back home to Moscow with mother. Alexandra, my sister, was home as well. All aflutter about New York, of course, it was very irritating.” He was about to go off into a spiel about how his grandmother told him he was gaining weight when he realised that all of this probably made Alice more miserable. Despite how scattered and disjointed his family was, Vladimir at least liked them (in varying degrees) and they reciprocated. It was simple. From what he learned before, Alice’s family situation was hardly simple. He slowly raised a hand and tentatively patted Alice’s shoulder and offering the vodka with the other. “I’m sorry your holidays were lonely.” “Oh, a bit of everything. Pulled names from a hat, you used divination, that this was a way of telling all the guys of Hogwarts that you’re into them,” she shrugged a little. “A few very vain third years in Hufflepuff were terribly upset to not have received an invitation from you and were planning on sending you a hexed hairbrush to ensure the loss of your hair until I caught them scheming and put a quick end to it. Either way,” she took another sip of firewhiskey, “it’s caused quite the stir. No matter how you picked your potential club members.” Alice’s hair fluttered into her face as she looked down at the ground and then out into the lake, pulling her coat a little tighter around her frame. She was grateful for the warmth of the blanket they were sitting on, even as the wind picked up around them, cold and powerful, a constant reminder of what it was capable of. She offered another shrug. “Part of me just wanted to be invited and the other part didn’t want to go. I imagine it was a lot of work for a night of staring at what everyone else was wearing and considering I’m not that big into fashion, it was more about everyone else going. And less about really wanting to attend.” She turned back to give him a look as she handled the bottle of firewhiskey, shaking it a little in her offering. “But thanks. Even if I would never ask that of someone.” She listening intently as he explained his holidays, laughing a little at the idea of the craziness of the traveling. “Well, it sounds like it was fairly busy on your end! I can’t imagine all that traveling and how tired you must’ve been. Makes me a little glad I was here by myself. I had time to catch up on a lot of things.” And the fact that her cousins completely filled her grandparents’ home to capacity was enough reason. Beyond the fact that neither parent enjoyed the holidays. And if she had to see her mother’s husband or that new baby, she would’ve screamed. Add the fact that her birthday was added on top of the Christmas celebrations and it was enough to make anyone want to jump off a building. “So what’s your sister like?” she inquired quickly, hoping to steer away from herself as her feelings started to bubble to the surface dangerously. “Is New York really as bad as you’re making it out to be? What’s she doing there? Work? School? And how did your father meet someone so much younger? How’s that working out?” He listened along as Alice listed the theories as to how he and Cody whittled down the invitees to the Handsome Men’s Club, his face growing more and more amused until she said something about the club being a front to tell all the invitees he wanted them, at which point he actually laughed. Vladimir heard the same thing from Eirik and it did not cease to be not funny. His vanity got the better of him, “What do you think?” “That wasn’t entirely the point,” Vlad admitted, reaching for the nearest bottle, which happened to be vodka and taking another swig, “Although I suppose I should have expected it. Well, we did expect it. I don’t think the ladies can quite resist such a good-looking congregation of men milling about.” Vlad nodded and watched Alice closely for a moment. No, no she wouldn’t do that. She wasn’t one of those people. (And he’d met quite a few, given his background. There were always people who tried to take advantage of things.) “It’s fine, you wouldn’t have missed much anyway, fashion-wise,” he said, opting for lighthearted after the sudden dip of seriousness, “Some of the clothes were atrocious. Mother would have wanted to set herself on fire. Or, set them on fire, which is more likely. Anyway, I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other chances this coming term, things are getting quite busy already and we’re only a few weeks in.” “Yes, it was little...” Vladimir trailed off, searching for a word and getting distracted by Alice’s hair flicking around her face, “It was a little exhausting. I don’t much like living out of a suitcase, to be honest. It’s nice when I get to stay over at either my father’s or mother’s for a couple of months each year. Maybe I’ll like it even better when I finally move out,” he wondered out loud, passing the bottle over to Alice. “Have you thought about what you’d like to do after school yet?” Vladimir tried to answer Alice’s rapid barrage of questions as best as he could. Alexandra was bossy and annoying. New York is a little overrated. She’s working there. His father met the new woman three months ago at a work conference... somewhere. He can’t remember. Probably not going to last, but there’s no charge for being optimistic. Vlad gave her a puzzled look and tried to read her mood from her face. Impassive. Seemingly impassive. This always confused him. She said things that were obviously of emotional significance but she seemed detached from them, or she tried to be detached. Alice nodded about most of the things they talked about, smiling and drinking and laughing, but she failed to contribute more than a few noises of agreement until he was talking about his sister and his father. And his failure to appreciate living out of a suitcase. “I’m sorry that your sister is bossy,” she replied, taking another swig as she smoke billowed out of her nose, the alcohol finally taking effect. As for the relationship...Alice kept silent. Since she failed to believe any relationship had a fighting chance. Screwing the top onto the bottle thoughtfully, she laughed a little at his question. “You know, I haven’t the slightest anymore. So much has changed. And so much has stayed the same. I think it’s hard to choose at eighteen. What do you want to do?” “No, it’s fine,” Vlad relented from his tirade about Alexandra’s most recent comments regarding his hair (specifically, that he should have kept the long hair because it hid the fact that he had an almost awkwardly long neck--a fact that he removed from the conversation with Alice because he rather wanted her to think nice things about his neck). “I suppose she still cares in her own infuriating way.” He paused, suddenly realising the insensitivity of the statement. “Er,” Vladimir cringed, failing to backpedal into apology quickly enough. “Then don’t decide,” he shrugged, after another swig from the bottle--firewhiskey this time, “Still young and all that. That’s what I’m capitalising on, anyway.” Vladimir smiled roguishly at Alice, leaning back for greater effect. “I don’t know. But I know what I want to be.” Really, his ‘insensitivity’ had no effect with Alice. She wasn’t one of those people that wanted everyone to be unhappy since she didn’t have a fantastic family, too. But she still faced out toward the vast waters of the lake and imagined herself, very briefly, with the family she’d always wanted. Her mother had given in and taken her father’s last name. They’d fallen madly in love and after spoiling their only daughter for three years before having a son, both properly named, they spent most of their lives simply loving one another. The thought panged and she reached for the vodka instead, this time taking a much longer pull than she had before, banishing any further malicious ideas from her head. “I’m sure, by the end of the year, I’ll have some incredible idea about what I’m supposed to be doing,” she replied, also offering her own shrug. “But I’m sure you do. If it has something to do with how much emphasis you put on your good looks, it’s likely an underwear model. Or one of those blokes who ends up on a talent show on the telly singing god awful, but hoping to win because they’re beautiful.” She offered a wry grin. “Have I figured you out yet, Poliakoff?” Vladimir watched her from the corner of his eyes, letting the moment pass quietly before clearing his throat and masking the silence with an equally long drink from the nearest bottle. Well, if she wasn’t going to acknowledge it, he wasn’t going to bring it up again. Vlad might be called a lot of things, but he wasn’t stupid... about these things. Yes, he wasn’t stupid about these things. “Oh? And what are your options so far?” he asked with a quirk of an eyebrow and an encouraging smile. “I’m sure you’ll do brilliantly in whatever you choose to do.” A rather sweeping statement, but they have been drinking for a while now and Vlad usually became more affable after a few drinks. He grew quiet as Alice elaborated on her vision of his future. The singing contest. Oh sweet, merciful Merlin. (Or whichever wizard it was.) Did she know about his past? Vladimir gulped and tried to steer away from the singing part of the conversation. “So you think I’m beautiful then?” “Well, it would be pretty easy to get into quidditch, but I haven’t really got the inclination. But I’m at a toss up between professional hermit and an Unspeakable. I really just like the idea of staying at home all day and reading. I think the quiet would do wonders for my sanity,” she replied, laughing a little. Alice didn’t tend to show the effects of her alcohol intake. At some point, she would stand up and stumble and then slowly find her way back. But it eased the tension, at least. “Of course I think you’re beautiful. Most of the school is quite taken with you. I think the only people who don’t find you fantastic are the other schools. And well, your own.” “Will you be a hermit that lives in the woods, hunting and growing their own food?” he said after a moment or so of laughter. “Would it? The silence would drive me mad. Now, Unspeakable, on the other hand,” Vlad quirked a brow at her, “I can see that happening.” He, of course, alluded to the fact that he found her incredibly mysterious. He did not even know what Unspeakables did aside from being under the Department of Secrets or Puzzles. Vladimir couldn’t remember. The grin that lit up Vlad’s face was almost comically like a light bulb. “So you do find me attractive,” he repeated the obvious and did not care the slightest. “I was afraid my charm was wearing off and had to start putting on a more affected accent.” Vladimir shrugged at the mention of the foreign teams and (Durmstrang) being unimpressed by him. “Their loss, right?” “Hmm,” she hummed thoughtfully, smiling at the thought of living somewhere in complete seclusion without anyone else, hunting and growing her own food. The loneliness stole the smile and she quickly shook her head. “No,” she said a little quickly, almost ready to stand up at the thought of it, like she would if a spider had crept on the blanket, ready to run. “No.” She took another gulp of alcohol, shivering in her very warm coat as a wave of wind caught them again. “As for the Ministry, I think it would be very fulfilling to do something that no one can talk about or know about but those involved. It would be accompanied with an incredible sense of importance. I’d like to be important for once.” The last part slipped out before she could catch it and Alice prayed he hadn’t noticed. Turning to look at him, Alice nodded, almost laughing at how silly his expression was as he reacted to her finding him attractive. And his shrug... She set down her bottle, shifting a little closer, and gently placed a hand on his cheek so she could steady his face, as the world spun around her, so she could press her lips carefully to his, kissing him in response. Pulling away after a moment, she nodded, looking up into his eyes. “Absolutely. Their loss.” Vlad was a little taken aback when Alice’s mood shifted from almost dreamy to sharp, panic somehow skirting around the edges of her expression. He reached out a hand in an effort to calm her but the moment passed and she began talking about the Ministry. Alas, for Alice. Vladimir heard it. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, “You can matter. Which is to say, you will matter. It’s not like any of us matters right now. Experience makes you important, doesn’t it? It’s what my father says sometimes.” When they are not bickering about what Vladimir wanted to do with his life, for instance. The next thing that happened, Vlad would not have guessed in a million years. One moment she had an amused look on her face; the next, Alice had a hand on his cheek and her mouth on his. He kissed her back, tentatively at first--as if second-guessing whether this was really happening and that he wasn’t lying unconscious somewhere--then more insistent and enthusiastic. When she pulled away, he was about to make a noise of protest when she spoke. He had to laugh, “Now I think you’re just trying to flatter me.” Vlad tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his hand resting on the side of her neck. He wanted to say something. Something of importance somehow. But he was at a loss. She was so... interesting and her loneliness tugged at him, pulling him in. He leaned in for another kiss, gentler this time. It would have been relieving to talk about her feelings, Alice realized. It would have been liberating. But she just...couldn’t bring herself to dump all of that on Vlad, who was happy and silly about everything. No one needed to be burdened with all of her infuriating troubles. And as he tried to comfort her, Alice shook her head, not wanting to talk about it, her expression practically locking down. Any openness that she’d shown, however briefly, was gone. As he carefully kissed her back, Alice let herself slip into it, just enough to feel something, however little. And in her drunken panic, she found that it was nice to kiss him. Very, very nice. He was excellent company when he wasn’t gallivanting around making faces at everyone, trying to convince them that he was the best thing since sliced bread. This Vlad was complex. And sweet. “Maybe. But I think you might need a little flattered sometimes,” she whispered, rubbing her fingers softly along his jaw, feeling his skin as if almost wondering if he were a dream. It was so long since she’d let anyone this close to her. He leaned forward again and she kissed him back, a hand moving to grip his coat, as if drunkenly begging him not to let her go. To not let her drown in herself. Because every day that she lived, she paid for her father’s mistake. Every day, she woke up and drowned alongside her brother. If anything, Alice was more dead than he was--and for just a moment, she felt like she was living with Vlad, however silly or however much a lie that was. And as it began to get colder, the wind swept snow around them, tiny snowflakes catching in hair and on cheeks. After weeks of flirting at Alice (and occasionally getting glimmers of something not exactly reciprocity but something), Vlad felt a sense of disbelief that he was there with Alice and they had abandoned all sense of personal space a few minutes ago. He knows that they have been drinking and that, potentially, was a scapegoat for either of them; but he also knew that Alice could hold her alcohol. Or at least remember everything the next day. He vaguely wondered if she’ll regret this all tomorrow but that was a problem for tomorrow, surely. He looked down at her as he pulled away from another kiss, he smiled--genuine, warm, more earnest than flirtatious--and said, “So do you.” As if acquiescing to the unspoken request of Alice’s grip on her coat, Vlad pulled her closer to him and burrowed his head on the crook of her neck, her hair occasionally whipping him in the face. The discomfort was worth it. “We should do this more often,” he said, his voice slightly muffled. The closeness was like giving food to a beggar. She melted into it, partly because she was cold and partly because she’d wanted to be close to someone for so long. His head was so close to her and his voice was different, soft and sweet and Alice found herself oddly comforted by the lake. Something she hadn’t anticipated at all. At least not from Vlad. Talking about her brother had been a mistake, she’d originally thought, but now.. Now she had someone who could at least sit and drink with her when she needed it. He wasn’t ideal. He was arrogant. And beautiful. And careless about who knew any details about his life. But she didn’t have anyone else. He would do. “Yes,” she replied quietly, her forehead resting gently against his shoulder, due to its proximity to her face. “We should. But we should also probably go back inside. Before we freeze to death.” Vladimir was reluctant to let go. It was not exactly the physical proximity that was making him want to hold on a little longer to the moment. He had been entangled like this with a number of other girls before, some he was fonder of than others. Sometimes after exercising the “benefits” of their “friendship”, Katja would be too tired to go back to her own bed and they would somehow end up spooning. This moment, despite being relatively innocent, was similar to that closeness and the thought unsettled him for a moment. “Mm, I suppose we should,” Vlad unwrapped himself from Alice and began packing away the empty bottles, handing the half-empty firewhiskey bottle over to her. For next time. He held his hand out to help her up and as she stood to the side, folded the blanket as neatly as he could before slinging it over an arm. “Shall we?” |