Ginny Weasley (rebellious_) wrote in initiative_logs, @ 2020-02-17 20:29:00 |
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Entry tags: | char: lisa turpin, char: michael corner |
Who: Lisa Turpin and Michael Corner.
When: Valentines Day.
Where: Lisa’s House.
What: Reminiscing about the good old days.
Status/Rating: Complete and PG-13
Looking around her little living area, lit only with a few candles and a incense burner in the corner, she smiled brightly. While she knew it was hardly the Ritz, that the paint had chipped slightly in places or that there was an inescapable slightly damp smell that seemed to seep through the walls when it was wet, it was a place she could call her own. A place that she loved dearly and could hide to escape the horrors of the outside world for a few hours. While at times it could not bear thinking about, she knew that if things carried on the way that they were, that if she didn’t get a housemate soon or find a better paying job, that she would be forced to find somewhere else to live.
Tonight though, was a night where she was quite happy to pretend the outside world didn’t exist for a while. That she did not have any concerns, that her life was like anyone else’s for a moment. What had started off as an invitation amongst friends for a night of old school drunken debauchery, had turned into something slightly more curious to her. While her and Michael had been flirty towards each other many times over the years, there was something a little…different about the banter the other day. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Unsure of what he might have fancied drinking, she had set out a few different types of glasses in her small kitchen, had a couple of bottles of beer chilling in the fridge as well as a few bottles of wine on the side. Hearing a knock on her back door, she spent a moment fidgeting with her dress, before she ran her hand over her hair before opening the door to Michael, a beaming smile on her face.
---
Mike was ready for drunken dancing and general fun at Lisa's. It was the best way to do Valentine's Day when you were single, after all, and he might've proposed it if Lisa hadn't beaten him on that front. That was probably for the best, though, since he doubted his hosting abilities. Maybe one of these days, he'd learn to cook or something so he could have people over for more than just drinks. Then again, maybe that was all he was walking into, anyway. After the bad things that had happened recently, Mike didn't mind either way.
Since it was also Lisa's birthday, Mike didn't show up empty-handed. He brought with him a stack of three novels that he thought she'd enjoy, all titles from the list he'd given her and that she hadn't chosen to purchase herself. Was that a secondary reason he'd gone ahead and made that list? Maybe, but not too much. She'd never know either way, so Mike considered himself to be pretty clever.
He took the brief walk from his apartment in Diagon Alley to her home in the slums, wishing as he always did that those slums had never become a thing. But he wouldn't allow himself to dwell on darker thoughts: not tonight when he was supposed to have fun. It didn't take long for him to reach Lisa's door, though, and he knocked without hesitation, standing with the books behind his back and an expectant smirk on his face. "Hey," he said when she answered the door. "Happy birthday, Lisa." The books were bound simply in ribbon with no wrapping paper, and he held them out to her before he even stepped inside.
---
Opening the door to Mike’s trademark smirk, her smile grew a little bit brighter. Stepping to one side and gesturing for him to come in, she was caught off guard by the bundle of books in his hand. Taking the present off him, she closed the door behind them both before standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek. “Thank you! I cannot believe you remembered,” she beamed happily, turning the presents over in her hand. “I think the last time I had this many new books in one go, we were still back at school.” Showing him through to the kitchen, she carefully placed the books on the side before spinning around to face him.
“So, Mr Corner, what is your poison for this evening?” she asked him, rubbing her hands together. “There are a few bottles of beer in the fridge, I have red wine, sparkling wine, some rum, whiskey and vodka” she asked him, moving to pour herself a red wine. “I wasn’t sure what everyone would fancy, so I just got a little of everything in, I’m not bad enough to have all of this in, all of the time,” she smiled slightly shyly over her shoulder, before turning her attention back to pouring her glass of wine. “I’ve also made a few homemade pizza’s, so we can either put them on when the others get here, or we get hungry, whatever comes first.”
---
Mike's hands rested on Lisa's shoulders when she kissed his cheek, as though he was holding her steady due to her slightly precarious posture. "You think I'd forget your birthday?" he asked, feigning offense at the mere idea of it. "Between you and Terry, I don't think I'll ever forget that the fourteenth isn't just a meaningless but slightly fun holiday. I hope they last you for a bit." He followed her through the doorway, then, and through to the kitchen.
He listened attentively as she listed the beverage choices, not surprised at all that nothing appealed to him more than the first one. "I'll stick with beer, thanks," he told her with a bit of a laugh. "And I wouldn't judge you even if you did. Some people like to keep a well stocked bar at home, too." Not that Lisa was really the heavy drinker type on a regular basis, in his opinion. At the mention of the others, Mike raised an eyebrow at her. "So I'm only the first one, then? I thought for a second when I didn't see anyone else that you changed plans," he teased. "I didn't think I was that early."
---
Smirking up at him at the mention of her birthday buddy, she shook her head. "Whatever fates or gods that put Terry's birthday today, must have had a wicked sense of humour," she chuckled. "I can get why he is very anti the day, but like you said, it's all a bit of harmless fun. Like at school when we used to all send cards back and forth to each other on the day. I used to love that, it was always so fun."
Looking down at her pile of books, she nodded her head as she looked up at him. "They probably won't last that long as I'm a little giddy to read them. Now I have a contact who can procure me books on demand though, it shouldn't be an issue" she spoke as she moved to grab him a beer from the fridge. Taking the cap off for him, she placed it on the side next to a glass in case he wanted one. "The others said that they would drop by if they get a chance, but I think a lot of them have plans given what day it is, even Terry in his own way. We'll just have to see who filters through. Worst case scenario, it'll be just you and I getting drunk like the old days."
---
"Oh, I know," Mike replied with a laugh. Terry and his birthday were a frequent source of humor for him, and for the rest of the guys as well sometimes. "Talk about spiteful." It was as though he'd been predestined to either hate the holiday or be obsessed with it, and if those were the choices, Mike was somewhat relieved Terry had gone with the former. Lisa, being a woman, didn't seem to have the same pressure on her for her birthdate. It just was. She accepted it as fact and moved on. Terry had to rail against it. "Well, not everyone makes as much sense about stuff like that as you and I do."
He grinned down at her when she mentioned that she'd probably devour them. "Now I wonder why I didn't offer that service sooner," he said. It wasn't as though he had anything against getting books for his friends who, for the stupidest reasons in the world, weren't allowed inside Flourish and Blotts. Maybe it had just never occurred to him to use his privilege in that manner. Taking the bottle from her, Mike waved off the offer of a glass and concentrated on the news of the rest of the invitees. "Worst case scenario," he snorted. "You say that like it would be so awful." He couldn't help teasing her a bit about it, even though he knew that wasn't at all what she'd meant. "I'm just wondering how you'll get me to dance if nobody else is here."
---
Topping up her glass a little further, she moved to lean back against the counter as they spoke. “I’ve long come to learn that fate seems to have a twisted sense of humour. The fact that I share my birthday, the day of love, with the Prince of Darkness is just one in a long line of those sorts of thing,” she paused, taking a sip from her glass. “Anyway, I’ve not completely given up on showing them that there is light and good still in this world. He’ll come around to my way of thinking sooner or later,” she beamed positively. While many thought it to be a lost cause, being a hopeless romantic, Lisa was adamant she was never going to stop trying. If it was the last thing she did, she'd make sure Terry had a more positive view on love.
Opening her mouth to make a comment about how the worst-case scenario comment was more for him being stuck with her, she quickly closed it again, a smirk crossing her lips. “Oh, is that a challenge Mr Corner?” she asked him, placing a hand on her hip. Taking a few steps closer to him, so they were barely inches apart, she looked up at him with a tilted head with a coy smile. “Because I think a comment like that is just asking to find out just how awfully persuasive, I can be when I want to be.” Then turning on her heel, she headed off in the direction of the living room, only pausing to wink at him over her shoulder.
---
Hearing Terry referred to as the Prince of Darkness made Mike laugh out loud. If he suspected she were at all serious about it, he might've defended his friend. He knew Ter had gone through some things that had soured his outlook on life, and he had very good reasons to be the way he was now. It didn't mean Mike didn't miss who he'd been before, but there was no going back. "You're even more of an optimist than me, if you still think that," he said, raising the bottle to his lips and taking a generous swig. "But it would be nice to see him be a bit less...of an arsehole." He couldn't think of any other way to describe it, and he was pretty sure Terry would use that description on himself anyway.
The proximity wouldn't make him back down, and Mike stood his ground as Lisa stepped toward him, his head following her movements easily. He smirked back at her, amused at this new turn of things. "Is it a challenge? Or is it just hard to dance when you're the only two people there?" he replied, giving nothing away. He entirely believed her about the persuasiveness, though, and made to follow her as she walked away. The wink surprised him. He hadn't thought she'd had that in her, to be honest, but Mike found he didn't mind one bit. "Go ahead, though. Try to persuade me. This'll be interesting." It honestly probably wouldn't take much, once he got over the awkwardness of being the only ones in the room to be dancing. With several people around doing the same, he was all for it. One on one? Not so much.
---
Smiling brightly at him, she nodded her head firmly. “Oh, I’m a complete optimist on that front. What's the point in living if you’re not hoping for a better day? I mean, the man just needs something to give him back that glimmer of hope, once he does, we’ll have the slightly cuddlier version of Terry back school. I can just feel it.” While she knew that some might view her outlook as borderline naive, it was one of the things that helped get her through the day. It was what made he want to pursue the discussions with the ministry, even after everything that had happened
Chewing on her lip as she bent over slightly to turn on a lamp, she shot him a smile over his shoulder. “Every word I’m hearing here is a challenge, or are you forgetting what a fiercely competitive house we were both part of?” While admittedly a lot of the competition had been around grades, it was not uncommon for it to have bled out into other activities. Even a simple game of cards in the common room had gotten rather uncomfortably competitive at times, at least between the girls. Switching on the wireless at low, she turned to face him. “Mikey, based on the fact that you have brought this up and not me, it tells me you have at least thought about it. If you didn’t want to, you’d have not mentioned it, hoping I’d forget. I think seeing as you have mentioned it, I won’t have any problems,” she told him rather confidently. Sitting down on the couch, she patted the seat beside her. “I think you’re just curious to see how persuasive I can be.”
---
He was glad Lisa had retained her optimism. Even with all her struggles and all the horrible things the Ministry had done to her and other Muggleborns, she managed to find a spot of light in the darkness. They could hope it would rub off on Terry, but Mike still had his doubts on that front. That wall he had up seemed to grow thicker by the day. Still, he didn't want to dampen Lisa's spirits, so he brought up something he'd almost forgotten to tell her. "Well, the balloon didn't work, so we'll have to try something else," he joked.
Mike stood around, looking around the room he'd followed her into. It had been a while since he'd been at Lisa's place, but not much seemed to have changed. Then again, he could be misremembering. "I always had a bit less of that than the rest of you, though, didn't I?" He definitely didn't consider himself to be fiercely competitive. A normal amount, sure, or maybe slightly more than normal. But now he was about to get stubborn. "I didn't say anything about hoping you'd forget, Lis," he countered, poking that hole in her little hypothesis. "All I said was that the dancing bit will be weird if nobody else shows." Mike punctuated his statement by sitting down next to her, resting the beer bottle on his knee. "So what's your next argument?" His smirk, this time, was indeed a challenge.
---
Gasping, Lisa placed her hand over her mouth as she shook her head at what he was saying. “You honestly, didn’t…………..did you?” she grinned at him, unable to believe he had done it. “How many howlers did that earn you? Or did he just go with a casual fuck you?” she asked, shaking her head at the thought of Terry’s face when he received it. “You do realise though you have potentially just opened yourself up to retaliation right? I’m almost intrigued to see how he might return the favour.”
Hearing his attempt at a counter argument, she tilted her head and attempted to look as non threateningly adorable as she could. “Ahh yes, but if no one else shows, who are you going to feel judged by?” she countered, gently poking his leg. “It would be just your word against mine and I doubt the boys will believe that I willingly got you to dance without you first ingesting copious amounts of alcohol and photographic evidence to prove it.”
Chewing on her lip, she looked around the room, before her eyes settled back on him. “You know, for someone who a few moments ago was trying to convince me you are slightly less competitive then the rest of us, you are not overly convincing, right?” she teased, taking a sip from her drink. “Argument?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him, “And here I thought we were just enjoying a nice quiet evening, Mr Corner. Seeing as you’re the one who is feeling argumentative tonight, you can pick from the topics: a) Which one of the two of us is the better dancer, b) Which one of us two of us is a better drinker, or c) we could debate just exactly why you are enjoying this banter so much,” she teased.
---
"I did," he admitted with a laugh. "Just one balloon, but it was shaped like a crescent moon, and I wrote something on it too. I think his exact words were, 'I'll strangle you.'" They'd both expected that sort of outcome, and yet Mike had been unable to help himself. "Between the picture battle and the balloon thing, I think we'll go on fighting about various things for a long time. But it's not like he'd actually kill me, so it's all good." Mike wasn't worried about Terry retaliating. In fact, he was sort of interested in the next possible thing his friend would come up with.
The debate about dancing was gradually progressing into absurdity the longer it went on, which didn't surprise Mike at all. It wasn't as though it was a very sensible topic to begin with, but it amused him to bring it up. He feigned offense as Lisa poked his leg, plastering an expression on his face of shocked amusement. "Poking, Lisa? Poking at a time like this?" he teased, taking another healthy swallow of his beer. "That might be true, though." Not that his qualms about dancing alone had anything to do with being judged, but he'd let that slide.
"You know argument doesn't always mean fight, right?" he countered, raising an eyebrow at her. He could phrase statements as questions, too, clearly. "And if you're not enjoying it, you're the only one." Mike was definitely enjoying their banter, even if it was small on scale. The evening had just started, though, so they had plenty of places to go once more people got there. And then Lisa proposed her little list of topics, making Mike laugh again. "I'm not touching the dancer one because I'm sure it would be you. And the drinking one...I'm bigger, so probably me. As for the bantering, since when do I need a reason to have fun talking to you?" Maybe he was playing dumb, but he was interested in what Lisa's response would be to that.
---
“You are a man with a death wish!” she exclaimed. “Like when you said balloon, I was just expecting…..well a normal helium type balloon, I wasn’t expecting you’d go that far with it all,” she laughed, shaking her head. “Well, I suppose in a twisted way you have done Terry a favour? I mean, you have given him a genuine reason to be grumpy. As for the picture battle……well, all I can say on that is be very careful not to drag me into that game. I have some rather brilliant pictures in my possession of you in your cute long hair phase.”
Chewing on her bottom lip, she laughed as he looked at her with such mock offence. While she knew the whole conversation was beyond silly, it had felt so good to talk about something so inconsequential in the scheme of things. It was so refreshing for her to stop thinking about the world outside of her front door for five minutes. “Yes, poking at a time like this,” she responded, “Anyway, I’m not sure why you are complaining, I think you’re secretly enjoying all the touching.”
Opening her mouth, about to fire back a retort, she was caught slightly off guard by his final statement. A faint blush crossing her cheeks, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and took a sip from her drink in an attempt to recover. “The dancing one, I am glad that you concede. I’d have hated to destroy you on that one. As for drinking, well based on size you are probably right, but I would like to think that I could give you a good run for your money on that. As for the rest……” she trailed off for a moment, taking another sip from her drink. “I guess not. For the record though, I am enjoying this. The banter, the back and forth, it’s been a good while since I have had fun like this and it's not fair how good you have got at this all.” she smiled at him.
---
Mike laughed right along with Lisa, a mischievous sort of laugh to go along with the topic of the prank he'd played on his friend. He knew as long as he didn't do them very often, which he definitely didn't, Terry wouldn't stay too mad at him for too long. "Yeah, for once, he had a reason," he agreed easily. At the mention of the picture she had, Mike's expression shifted slightly, two dark eyebrows raising in Lisa's direction. "Thanks for reminding me. I'm going to need you to surrender that to me so I can burn it," he said, trailing off into a chuckle at her joke about it being cute. No way that was possible.
Had Lisa voiced that thought out loud, Mike would've agreed with her. There was a time for dealing with serious things like everything else that was happening in their world, and then there was a time for letting go and remembering to live a life. There was nothing wrong with stealing a moment to have fun and let go. "I wouldn't consider poking my favorite form of touching," he replied with a grin, "but go ahead if you want."
The light was dim enough for him not to notice the blush creeping across her cheeks, but Mike did notice her other actions. "And what, me being good at it makes you uncomfortable? That's got to be new." He drained the rest of his beer and set the bottle down on the nearest surface before looking curiously at Lisa.
---
“Oh god, what I would have paid to have been there and seen his face when he opened that package,” she said shaking her head at the thought. While she knew that it was bad to encourage this, she had always enjoyed watching the silliness and playfulness that went on between the Ravenbros. It was times like this she missed Mandy, and having a partner in crime to chat with as they watched the shenanigans unfold. Looking up at him as he mentioned the picture, she wagged her finger at him. “Not a chance, you look adorable in that picture, we all do, I would never consider a surrender,” she laughed.
Tilting her head at him, she chewed on her bottom lip as she resisted the urge to be too cheeky to him. “Is that right?” she asked him. “Do I dare ask you what your favourite form is? Or could I guess?” she responded a little cheekily, trying her best to keep up with his level of playfulness. It was hard though, she had always been a sucker for his boyish grin, and it was only worse for her now that they were both adults.
“Uncomfortable? Who said I was uncomfortable?” she asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, trying to distract him so he wouldn’t notice her blush. “I just said it was not fair. I remember the days when I would be able to beat you at a back and forth like this. Admittedly at the time we were all teenagers,” she responded, trying her best to sound casual. Noticing that he had finished his beer, she turned her attention to that. “Would you like me to fetch you another bottle?” she offered.
---
Still chuckling at the whole balloon thing, Mike nodded as Lisa shook her head. "Too bad I had it delivered, so I can only guess what he looked like." He'd had a good reason for doing it that way, though: it prevented Terry from immediately retaliating by punching him in the face. Of course, Mike could only guess at that being what would happen, but he was willing to bet something of that nature would've occurred if he'd delivered the balloon himself. "One person's adorable is another's ridiculous," he pointed out, while at the same time sensing he wouldn't be able to change Lisa's mind on the subject. "Just keep it to yourself then, yeah?" Truth be told, all of the guys had pretty much had ridiculous hair in those days, but Mike didn't need the reminders.
He smirked, dimples deepening in his cheeks as Lisa volleyed back. "See, I get where you're coming from, but I'm pretty sure I don't have a favorite for that. I'd be surprised if anyone did, honestly." Mike was reasonably certain people only had types of touch that they didn't like. He'd never even paused once to consider what type he might prefer above all others. Most of it was pretty good, after all.
"Nobody did. I'm guessing based on the little hair tuck thing you're doing," he pointed out, and laughed again at the idea of her beating him. "You thought you were beating me because I let you," Mike teased, not that it was even a competition. He didn't mind letting Lisa think so, though. "Actually, I think I'll move onto something stronger. Anyone else who comes will just have to catch up to me. How about whiskey?"
---
Chewing on her bottom lip, she nodded her head. “I promise I’ll keep it to myself…..for now at least. If I ever get anything like Terry did though in the post, you can expect a nice journal post with it plastered across it,” she grinned at him, though it didn’t last too long when he commented on her hair tuck. “Am I not allowed to tuck my hair behind my ear now, without judgement?” she asked before taking a sip from her glass. “You must remember how it was when you had long hair, it gets in your face a lot,” she attempted to reason, despite knowing he had a point.
Standing up at the mention of whiskey, she patted him on the shoulder and drained the last of her glass. “I’ll be right back. Also, I think you're lying, I’m pretty sure that at least some of those historic wins are genuinely mine,” she said before flashing him a wink and disappearing into the kitchen. Returning a few minutes later, she had a mostly full bottle of whiskey in one hand and two glasses in the other. Placing the tumblers onto the coffee table, she topped them up with healthy measures of alcohol, before passing a glass across to him.
“I warn you now, I’m not quite sure how strong this is, it’s been in the back of my cupboard for quite some time,” she told him, taking a seat beside him. “Actually, keep drinking it as much as you want, I might just get to see some of those trademark Michael Corner dance moves.”
---
Mike appreciated Lisa's assurance on that front, and he had no problem taking her at her word. "Believe me, there's no plan for that," he replied, grinning at her. "I don't even plan on showing any more pictures of Terry unless he goes first. He started it. My hand was forced, Lisa." Was it childish? Oh, sure, but Mike didn't care. Sometimes, you had to act younger than your age for a little bit. "That long hair phase was over a decade ago, you know," he said, "but you probably have a point." He wasn't going to push her buttons unnecessarily, after all.
He smirked as she winked and headed back into the kitchen, briefly wondering how she could be both bold about that and seemingly uncomfortable about what he'd said earlier. Yes, he was going to let her think she got away with it by letting the hair tucking thing go, but just because he wouldn't bring it up didn't mean the thought wasn't still in his head. "Are you familiar with the phrase 'wishful thinking'?" he teased. Okay, maybe he did have a slight competitive side.
Taking the offered glass, Mike raised an eyebrow as Lisa made her excuses for the liquor's condition. He took a cautious sip, then, letting the liquid roll over his tongue and down his throat, and shrugged. "It's not awful. Not the best, obviously, but not bad." Lisa was lucky he didn't choke on it as she spoke again, though. He uttered a sound halfway between a cough and a scoff. "Sorry, what are these trademark moves? You might have to show me."
---
Rolling her eyes, she shook her head and laughed at him. “No, you are not competitive at all Mikey,” she drawled sarcastically. Then chewing on her bottom lip a rather devilish idea occurred to her. One that would probably end up messily, but would no doubt be fun. She was enjoying this though, the playful banter, the light flirting, it had been a long time since she had felt as much like her old self as this.
Not one to be outdone though, she decided to try and up the stakes a little. “Are you familiar with the phrase bring it on?” she smirked back at him. “If you’re feeling that self assured we could always settle this properly? Maybe we could play a drinking game or two? That is if you are not worried that little old me would outlast you on the alcohol,” She suggested, trying her best to look as innocent as possible.
Taking a sip of the whiskey, she enjoyed the warming feeling that seemed to seep through her body. Adjusting herself on the couch to face him, she rested her head on the back of the chair. “I would, but I’m sure that I could not do it the justice that it deserves,” she grinned at him. “I’m also not overly sure that you could handle my moves, you’d be unable to resist me,” she told him rather cockily.
---
He'd been about to make another argument - something along the lines of never having said he wasn't competitive at all, just that he wasn't as competitive - when Lisa continued. Needless to say, his interest was well and truly piqued, though he had a feeling he knew how it would go. "Listen, if you think you can handle yourself that well, then I'm all for this idea," Mike replied, not at all convinced by that look on her face. He might be able to drink more than she could, but at the same time, she was still capable of holding her own. "What games are you thinking?"
"Now who doesn't want to dance?" he teased, needling her a little bit. "You're all for getting me to do it, but when it's your chance, you turn it down. I see the game you're playing." He didn't mind, though, not really. For one, he sincerely doubted that he actually had trademark moves. For another, he didn't actually need Lisa to demonstrate how he danced if she didn't want to. "As for resisting, I think we both remember it was always the other way around," Mike added with a smirk. It might be dangerous territory to bring up her old crush on him, but with this back and forth they were having, how could he help it?
---
Chewing on her lip, she smirked the moment she saw his face change at the mention of a bit of competition. Swilling her drink in the glass, she looked thoughtfully down at it as she considered her options. “Depends on whether you can be bothered to get up from the couch or not. I have some plastic cups under the sink so we could play beer pong or flip cup. If you want to sit down we could play stuff like two truths and a lie, higher & lower or never have I ever. It all comes down to what you think you could take me at,” she challenged him right back.
“I never said no. I just said I don’t think you’d be able to resist my moves, there’s a difference,” she responded quickly, not wanting him to think he had the upper hand on her, unfortunately though it seemed an ongoing theme for the night. “And what do you mean by that?” she asked him, her heart starting to beat fast. Taking a sip from her whiskey, she tried her best to mask her feelings. At school she had formed a bit of a crush on Michael after the Yule Ball, but she hadn’t thought she had been that obvious with it. He couldn’t have meant that, could he? she thought a little panicked to herself.
---
Mike took another sip from his glass as Lisa listed your typical drinking games, the corners of his mouth pulling downward as he considered the options. He bobbed his head back and forth as she spoke as though literally tossing her ideas around in his head. "Flip cup definitely needs more than two people, and I think it's pretty safe to say by now that nobody else is going to show." He didn't quite regret that bit, but he figured Lisa had been hoping for a better turnout. At least he'd come, though, so she wasn't alone. "Let's do beer pong. Or whiskey pong. Whichever you'd rather do."
"That depends on what sort of moves you've got, doesn't it?" he asked back, pointedly raising an eyebrow in Lisa's direction. "If it's practically a lap dance, then yeah, there's going to be a bit of an issue." He chuckled at that. Not that he at all thought Lisa would go that route, of course, but it was the most difficult-to-resist dance he could think of. "Come on, Lis. Fourth year, right around the time I started seeing Ginny. Or are you going to pretend you don't remember?" He stood, then, extending a hand to her so they could go to the kitchen and set up the game.
---
While she had played Beer Pong multiple times, she had never played Whiskey Pong before. Despite knowing it would probably end up horribly for them both, she couldn’t help but feel compelled to agree to it. Apart from anything else, she couldn’t seem weak in front of him and go for the lesser option. “Their loss,” she shrugged casually at the comment about nobody else turning up. While it would have been nice to see more of her friends, she was intrigued to see where a night of drinking with Mike might end up. “Whiskey Pong it is, that is if you are brave enough to play against me.”
Finishing the last of her glass, she gave him a small coy smile. “And how do you know that I cannot do something like that?” she asked trying her best to bite down a smile. “You might not know this, but before Hogwarts I did a lot of gymnastics, I am very flexible,” she grinned at him, trying her best to not look too satisfied. Something she was doing well at, until he brought up their fourth year. Taking his hand, she stood up from the couch and began to head towards the kitchen, the bottle of whiskey in her hands. “I do not know what you are talking about,” she responded, trying her best to keep ahead of him so he would not see the colour her cheeks were going.
---
Mike had never played whiskey pong, either, but the bottle was staring at him. It could either go well, or it could be a complete disaster, but he was still intrigued by the idea. He'd left it up to her, though, in case she had anywhere to be the next day. He definitely wouldn't have thought less of her for wanting to stick to beer for the game. "I'm the one who changed the alcohol, so I think I'm up to the task," he replied, looking very self-assured as he did.
The challenge in her eyes surprised him, but not more than the way she took the lap dance comment and ran with it. "I didn't say you couldn't," Mike pointed out. "I just wasn't considering it likely you'd do that right now is all." While their flirting might have taken on a different tone recently, her giving him a lap dance or even a strip tease would've been another matter entirely. "You can pretend you don't remember, if you like," he said, shrugging again as he headed into the kitchen with his glass in his hand. "I don't mind that you had a crush on me though."
---
Moving into the kitchen, Lisa moved ahead of him to grab the cups from under the sink. Splitting the pile, she placed one half of Mike’s end of the table and the other half on her end of the table. Setting out her glasses, she poured measures into her cups before handing the bottle over the table. “We’ll see what your stamina is like, Corner” she teased with a wink, before going searching for a ping pong ball in her junk drawer.
Adjusting the cups on her side of the table so they were a little better positioned, she looked up at his comment. “Well, it goes to show you how much you know me if you think I won’t go to those lengths to try and beat you” she grinned playfully. That was until her face turned a bright shade of red at his comment about her school girl crush. “You had dimples, could grow facial hair before most of the other guys we went to school with and didn’t ditch me when hormones kicked in, of course I liked you” she said casually, as though it was no big deal.
---
Mike mirrored her movements, arranging his cups in the obligatory pyramid shape and adding whiskey to each one, setting his now-empty tumbler on another surface so it wouldn't be in the way. "You seem to still be forgetting that I'm bigger than you and that's half the battle," he retorted, spinning the cap back onto the whiskey bottle and setting it aside while she rummaged through her drawers.
His mouth fell open briefly as she alluded to playing dirty. "Right, establishing rules now. Rule number one, no distraction dances," he said, a smirk forming on his face as he finished. "And if those were your standards, they're pretty low. I don't remember anyone else ditching you, either. Did they?" It was possible his memories were different than hers, naturally, since it would've been Lisa's experience and not his own. "You go first."
---
Chewing on her bottom lip as she looked across the table, her fingers drummed against the table in anticipation for what was about to come next. “Are you trying to tell me still that you will take me?” she asked playfully. “Because, I think I still stand a pretty good chance at taking you down, Corner,” she grinned at him, placing the bottle a safe distance away from them both so it would not get knocked over.
Tilting her head at him, she looked at him curiously. “Why?” she asked as innocent as possible. “Are you admitting you might actually get distracted if I was to do something like that, Mikey?” she asked, trying her best to look at him as innocently as possible. Picking up her ping pong ball, she stood across the table from him. Pausing for a few moments, she threw the ball across and landed it straight in one of his cups. “I believe that is a cup for you,” she smirked at him, “And everyone got a little distracted, myself included at times. It was only natural. We were all driven by hormones at that point.”
---
They each maintained they were going to win, of course, but there was only ever one winner. Whether it was about the game itself or who would show fewer signs of serious inebriation after the fact didn't matter. The same went for both. "I don't think so, but I also don't want to be the one to preemptively crush your dreams. We'll just have to see," he replied, hoping that would satisfy Lisa for the moment while being completely unconvinced that it would. She was in rare form today, after all.
Mike leveled a serious gaze at her, not sure Lisa quite realized what she was asking. "I'm a straight man and I have a pulse, Lisa, of course I'd get distracted." It might be unfair to boil everything down to those facts, but it was purely unavoidable. Lisa was either playing stupid for effect or goading him; his money was on the latter. She had to be aware of what effect something like that would have on a human male, after all.
Fishing the ball out of the plastic cup, Mike downed the amber liquid inside it and set the empty cup to the side. "Now hush, because I'm going to kick your arse at this game." Yeah, yeah, sue him. The competitive side was out now. He lobbed the little ball back to her side of the table, landing it easily in one of her cups. "Not so cocky now, yeah?"
---
Chewing on her bottom lip as she watched his reaction to her comment about a dance, she tried her best to not laugh at him too much. “Oh, I never realised I could have that effect on you,” she smiled, trying her best to sound as innocent as possible, but failing miserably in the process. “Don’t worry, I will not use it against you……...not much at least,” she grinned at him, before offering a cheeky wink.
“Why do I need to hush? Am I distracting you?” she asked smirking brightly at him. That was until his ball ended up in her cup. Fishing the ball out of her cup, she cleared her throat before taking the drink back in one go. Coughing a little at the strength of the liquid, she stacked her cup inside of his discarded cup.
While she knew it was more than a little cheeky, she decided to pull something that was a little underhanded. Bending over the cups a little, she made a point of giving Mike an ‘accidental’ view down the top of her dress. Closing an eye in an attempt to aim, she threw the ball and unfortunately missed. Standing up straight, she looked across at him. “Bring it on, Corner. I still like my odds.”
---
Mike had a hard time believing Lisa right then. "Are you saying that because it's you or because you forgot I was a grown man interested in women?" It had to be the former, in which case, she needed a bit more confidence. But he was entirely susceptible to things like that, and if she tried it, she'd find out just how much. "If that's supposed to be convincing, you need to try harder. I'm keeping my eye on you, Turpin," he joked.
He smirked at her reaction to the whiskey. Yeah, he was definitely going to out-drink her, and far too easily. Mike waited for her to take her turn, watching Lisa's posture as she bent down and...practically flashed him. His eyes widened slightly at the view before he managed to tear them away. "You know," he said after she missed, "If I didn't know any better, I might think you're trying to seduce me." His tone was still playful and flirtatious, in keeping with the trend of the evening, but the glimpse down her shirt made him wonder if there wasn't just a bit more to it.
---
Moving towards the sink, she grabbed two glasses of water and set them down on the side of the table for them both. If she was going to have to drink whiskey at this rate, it was probably best for both of them to try and at least water it down a little. Resting a hand on the table, she leant slightly. "Grown women yes, but women you've seen with no makeup at the most awkward points of their life, I'd imagine less so," she shot back.
When Lisa had bent over the table like she did, she hadn't been entirely sure what she had been trying to achieve. While she liked to think it was to distract him, the truth was she was enjoying the attention from him. It had been a painfully long time since anyone had bothered to flirt with her like this, let alone someone handsome. "You should be so lucky," she grinned at him. "Has it occurred to you that maybe I am not afraid to play dirty?" she challenged him, a coy smile playing on her lips. "I believe it is your turn," she said, gesturing at the cups.
---
Mike smirked, tossing the ping pong ball up into the air and catching it a few times. Lisa probably thought she had a point, but honestly, Mike didn't think so. "So you don't think my head could be turned by pretty much anyone we both know? Or just you?" he asked, raising a questioning brow in her direction. Because if they went back as far as their Hogwarts days, he'd seen most of the women he currently knew without makeup and at awkward stages. It was unavoidable.
He'd been getting ready to take his next shot when she interrupted his focus to echo something she'd already said once. "Uh huh. And you remember what I said last time you said that?" Mike teased, wondering if she'd done it on purpose or not. His money was on yes, of course. It would've been too coincidental otherwise. "But that doesn't surprise me." Ignoring her reminder, Mike lined up and threw the ball again, watching it fall right into another cup. "If you're going to play dirty, you might want to start now or I'll win the whole thing."
---
"We have known each other for years, I doubt I could do much at this point to surprise you," she shrugged. She had been playing with her cup of water when he made his comment about repeating herself. Looking up at him, a devilish smile crossed onto her face. "That you could be charming and lucky at some points? I mean, I have to accept the luck based on the way the game is currently going, but so far the charm is lacking," she responded, as if she was a little bored with what he was saying.
The smile though lasted the whole of ten seconds, right up until he landed his ball into her cup. Picking it up, she looked down into the contents for a moment to ready herself, before taking it back in one go. Placing it in her pile she looked back across the table at Michael. "I guess you are right," she nodded, her mind beginning to spin with ideas. Taking aim at his cups once again, she threw the ball and luckily landed in his cup. "We could always make the game more interesting too, of course if you're that confident in yourself," she challenged.
---
"Are you joking? The lap dance bit really surprised me back there. Just because I've known you for a long time doesn't mean anything, you know." Especially since people continually changed, you could always learn something new about someone. Even about people you considered to be close friends. Mike laughed at her insult, though, not bothered in the least. "I'll pretend for a second that you're a good liar," he replied with a chuckle, bracing his hands on the edge of the table.
Always interested in upping the stakes, Mike fished the ping pong ball out of his cup and downed the whiskey inside it, stacking it with the other. "If you say strip whiskey pong, I might be able to be convinced." Of course, he wasn't at all sure that's what she was going to say, but the liquor was setting in and loosening his lips a little, to the point where he didn't mind saying something he normally wouldn't have. "What's your idea?"
---
Raising an eyebrow at him over the lap dance comment, she chewed on her lip for a moment. "While I'm sure it is nothing compared to the ladies down the road in terms of dances, it has served me well when I needed it too," she shrugged, trying to be coy about it. Then his comment about charm came and she rolled her eyes at him. "I can be an excellent liar when I need to be, I'm just not quite feeling the charm from this side of the table."
Picking up her water cup to have a sip, she half choked on its contents at his suggestion. "I am quite sure that I could convince you of that if I wanted to, but strip whiskey pong would hardly be fair, would it? One more ball and I would be stood in my underwear, whereas one ball for you and you would only lose your shirt," she pointed out. "No, I was thinking that as well as a drink, the other could ask a question that the other one has to answer. If you do not wish to answer, you have to forfeit another cup. What do you think?" she asked.
---
"Well, if you were that good at it, you'd probably work there, right?" Not that the thought was an enjoyable one, but it wasn't his business. If Lisa had chosen to make her money that way, when so few options were open to her, then everyone would have to get over it. But it wasn't an issue, and he hoped she wasn't bothered by his question. "I think if I try to up the charm, I'd make myself sick. Maybe you're just immune to it after so long," he said with a shrug. But he doubted it.
Mike laughed again as she pointed out how awful and unfair his idea was. "All right, all right. Good point. I didn't think that was going to be your idea, anyway, but it was funny." He tapped his fingers on the table as Lisa announced her actual idea and gave a half-hearted shrug. "That could be interesting. So if you make it in, you get to ask me a question, or I'd have to ask you a question? Either way, I'm for it. Let's do it."
---
Chewing on her bottom lip, her fingers played with her plastic cup as she contemplated his question. “I probably could if I wanted to…….I just don’t know if I would want to,” she answered honestly. “Like, don’t get me wrong I do not look down on anyone who works there, I am just not sure I am strong enough to do it myself. I’ve seen how that place changes people, changes their outlooks on life and relationships and I just do not know if I would want that for myself. I know people accuse me of being a little naive at times, but I’m not. I know the world is a crap place for my kind right now, I’ve watched people die needlessly. I just…...you’ve got to keep a bit of hope when things are like this, and I’m not convinced I could do that if I worked there full time as a dancer or such,” she shrugged trying to sound as casual about it all as possible.
Smiling shyly up at him, she realised her little speech might have dampened the mood a little. “On the up shot, I know I cannot be completely awful at that sort of thing if you are trying to get me out of my dress so quickly,” she teased, trying to change the mood to being a little playful again. “As for rules, I think if I make the cup, I get to ask you a question, but if I miss the cup you get to ask me a question. If you do not want to answer the question given to you, you have to forfeit and drink a cup,” she explained. “I believe it is your turn.”
---
Mike could see where she was coming from on that, as far as someone like him could relate anyway. He wasn't faced with those choices, so he'd probably never be able to truly relate. "I'm glad that wasn't your only option, then. I didn't mean to start something by bringing it up, by the way. I wasn't trying to bring the night down." Which, in itself, sounded rather insensitive. It was the way of life for a lot of Muggleborns, and Mike was friends with several of them. But at the same time, couldn't they have a night off from the realities of the horrible world they were stuck in?
"No, I don't think anyone would say you were awful at it," he replied with a smirk, nodding along as she explained the rules in more detail. "Right enough," he said, taking aim once more and tossing the ball. Of course, now that there was something on the line aside from intoxication, it bounced off the rim of one of the cups and kept bouncing behind Lisa. "Go ahead with your question, then," Mike said, throwing his hands up in slight, but not at all serious, annoyance.
---
Smiling across the table reassuringly, she nodded. "I know, it's fine," she nodded. "There is one other good reason I wouldn't voluntarily go that route if I could. I enjoy sex, its my release valve and my way of forgetting about all this for a while. I wouldn't want it to become a chore or a burden," she told him honestly, her cheeks turning a little red in the process.
Opening her mouth to make a comment about how he wasn't denying that he wanted to see her without her dress on, she decided against it. It was a curious thing the way things had shifted between them of late. Hell, she was almost tempted to tell him she wasn't against being half naked with him when his ball missed her cup. "Hmm…" she pondered, as she bent down to pick up the ball. "If you could enjoy a hedonistic day with no consequences, what would you do?" she asked, curious to hear what his answer would be.
---
Had they ever discussed their sex lives like that? Mike couldn't remember, but it didn't feel strange. It didn't feel like information he shouldn't have. Perhaps that was just him being an adult or maybe there was something else to it, he wasn't sure. "I know what you mean," he said, looking down at his rack of cups. He enjoyed sex, too, but Terry had something right with all that mocking; it had been quite a while for Mike. After all, he wasn't seeing anybody, so there wasn't much opportunity.
And then, out of all the possible questions Lisa could've asked him, she picked that. How could Mike possibly answer that? He wasn't even a very hedonistic person. He paused for a moment, doing his best to think of a decent answer, but he couldn't. Shaking his head, he shrugged. "Anything I say is going to be boring as all hell," he replied, giving up and picking a cup to drink from that would make it more difficult for her to land her next ball. He swallowed the whiskey inside it, beginning to feel its effects in earnest now, but still able to remain on his feet and speak without slurring his words. "Your turn."
---
Watching him as his mind began to turn over her question, her face fell a little when he gave in so easily. She wasn’t sure why, but she was curious to know what his idea of pure unadulterated fun was, even if he had thought that others might find it boring. Michael had always been a curious one to her, he had never been the loudest of the boys by a long stretch, but it was this that had always drawn her towards him. She liked the thought of unravelling the mystery that was Mr Corner. Pouting playfully at him across the table, she was about to complain until she saw it put him a cup down. "Michael Corner, I cannot believe a man as imaginative as you couldn't think of something to say," she teased playfully.
Running the ball between her fingers, she chewed on her bottom lip a little as she tried to weigh up her options. With every cup that came off the table, it was getting harder for her to try and find one she thought she could land the ball in. Taking a chance on a cup towards the front, her face fell as little as it seemed to hit the rim of the cup for a moment before falling onto the table. Taking a sip from her water, she looked across the table as she readied herself for what her question might be. “Go on, do your worst. What do you want to know?” she goaded him a little.
---
Lisa was clearly disappointed, but Mike was still sure she'd have been even more disappointed with what his answer was going to be. She probably would've been able to guess it, too. His idea of fun was reading a book in a comfortable chair and having the time to do little aside from that, after all. "I'm incredibly vanilla, what can I do about it?" he replied with a shrug, knowing he probably deserved the teasing. "If you were expecting to hear something scandalous, which you probably were, you were going to be disappointed either way. So I might as well save myself further embarrassment and not answer, yeah?" Mike felt like that was the best option, obviously, and waited for Lisa to take her turn.
When she missed, too, he smirked. He'd already thought of a good question, and he had no problems asking it right away. Plucking up the tiny white ball from where it had landed, he looked across the table at Lisa and his smirk widened into a mischievous smile. Gracious enough to wait until she'd swallowed, he wondered if Lisa would regret picking this game. "Do you still have that crush on me?" he asked, trying in vain to suppress the smile now that he'd asked. No need for Lisa to think he was mocking her, after all: far from it.
---
Shaking her head at him, she allowed her eyes to move over him as she took a sip of her water. Part of the reason she had been so disappointed by his answer was that she had been secretly hoping that there was a slightly scandalous side to him. “Vanilla is never a phrase I would have associated with you, Michael”
Looking across the table at him, she was unable to hide the shock from her face at his question. Of all the questions he thought he would pick, that was certainly not one of them. She had just assumed that it would have been something that would have caused her discomfort and made her blush. Which, if she had thought about it, she would have realised this ticked all the boxes for. Instead, her cheeks just flushed a bright red colour, as she looked down at her feet. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him, summoning all of courage. “If that is you way of trying to ask me whether I find you attractive, then yes, yes I do” she told him, trying her best to hold his eye contact so he didn’t think she was backing down or shying away.
Moving away from the table, she slowly approached him before pressing a hand to his chest. “Now I know it isn’t my turn yet, but could you answer one question for me?” she paused for a moment. “What would you do if I was to kiss you?”
---
Lisa was being generous about that, but Mike was going to allow it. He didn't feel like debating her to prove how boring he was, after all, because what was the point in that? What good would it do? So he shrugged somewhat guiltily, making it clear he didn't believe her while still conceding to her judgment. If Lisa didn't think he was vanilla, then he wasn't going to try to change her opinion of him.
He wasn't sure what he'd expected her answer to be. She could've easily scoffed, said no, and they would've kept playing the game. But from how red her face turned, which Mike could easily see in the kitchen lighting, he suspected that wouldn't be the case. And then Lisa put it into words, and completely abandoned her side of the table. Mike stood still as she approached him, turning his body to face hers, the smile wiped clean off his face. "Well, you're cheating," he deadpanned, gesturing to the cups still on the table. "I'd call foul play but...I actually think I'll allow it." Instead of waiting for her to make that move, Mike bent down and pressed his lips to hers. If she'd wanted to be the one to do it, too bad. That's what happened when you cheated at the game.
---
Looking up at Michael, she felt as though a century passed before he responded to her. When she had seen his face looking down at her all deadpan, she had been unsure of what to expect from him. Whether she was about to be pushed away and laughed at. While she knew that there was a pretty good chance after the amount of flirting he might be interested, it was still intimidating for her.
Then his lips were on hers, and any doubts quickly left her mind. Pushing him gently back against the wall, she wasted no time in deepening the kiss. Running her hands across his chest, she felt herself getting quickly carried away with him. Oh god it had been so long since anyone had excited her this much, had wound her up that badly. Breaking from the kiss, she looked up at him, her fingers playing with the bottom of his shirt. “I want you” she whispered breathlessly, then standing up on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips hard against his.
---
He'd had a feeling about what he was getting into with this and was completely open to the possibilities, but Lisa shoving him into the wall was unexpected. And somewhat amusing. Mike found himself smirking against her mouth as he slouched down to make the height difference a little easier on both of them. Even though she'd done it gently, he still hadn't quite expected that from Lisa. Then again, they were in new territory, so it was easy enough to shrug off.
"So pushy," he teased, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her body against his, but his words were cut off by her lips. No worries, he was sure Lisa had gotten the point with the bit he'd been able to utter. But he couldn't be distracted by the feeling of her against him like that, not when they were still in the kitchen. Distantly, his liquor-logged brain seemed to recall that there was still an open invitation for people to come over. "Let's at least get to your bedroom, then," he said, pushing off from the wall and taking her with him.