Callie laughed as she disengaged herself from the press of the dancing and straightened her floral playsuit. Sweeping her dark hair back off her face glowing face, she lifted her chin to enjoy the cool, evening breeze which played on her face now she had a little space. She was having a wonderful time. The party was exactly the opportunity she’d been craving, to relax and have fun with the people she cared for the most. Her experience of Atlantis had changed recently, largely due to the growing number of people around her who she counted as friends. While she had loved having her family around and still did, she no longer had to rely on them for social fulfilment and that made her feel much more like herself again, much more like the person she’d become at Hogwarts where she’d had the space to grow out of the shadow of the Spinnet name and her parents’ bad reputations.
Needing a drink, partly to quench her thirst and partly because she was enjoying being tipsy and wanted to maintain that pleasant state of being, Callie sought out the bar and ordered a White Negroni Punch. She knew there was a chance it would have a strange effect on her - this was an Atlantis party, after all - but, perhaps due to the joyous atmosphere of the evening, she was feeling remarkably adventurous.
Solstice parties in Atlantis were ones that Roman genuinely enjoyed. They were a lot different than the solstice events he’d been to over the years, but he still enjoyed them and the tradition behind them nonetheless. It was like he could feel the energy in the air, and the summer was a nice time of year to really be out and enjoy it.
Wanting to stay mostly clear-headed, or at least be able to control his own intake, Roman stuck to beer for most of the night, though he might venture trying some of the additional drinks if he liked the idea of some of the side effects. He’d been in Atlantis long enough to proceed with caution whenever it came to parties and large events. Going for his second drink, Roman caught sight of a young woman with her own drink and seeming to be enjoying the event so far.
“Enjoying yourself?” He asked her and took a sip of his new drink.
The punch was delicious and just as refreshing as Callie had hoped. She’d already drained half her glass when she heard someone speaking to her. The breeze caught her hair as she turned to face the voice and she had to laugh as she pushed it out of her eyes to see who was talking.
“Oh, yes,” she grinned, tucking the dark strand behind her ear. “I really am.”
She vaguely recognised the man - she thought she’d seen him at a few of the previous Atlantis parties - but she couldn’t for the life of her remember who he was. Nor, indeed, could she get over just how attractive he was. He looked like a classical sculpture come to life, only with far more beautiful eyes. She felt her cheeks flushing just looking at him.
“Goodness, you’re really handsome. Why are you talking to me?”
It took Callie a moment to realise it was her who had spoken. She gasped and clapped her free hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in embarrassment.
“Merlin’s beard, I’m so sorry,” she mumbled through her fingers. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”
Roman noticed the blush, but a blush on a pretty girl wasn’t something he hadn’t seen before over the years. He knew what his reflection looked like in a mirror. It was her words that took him by surprise, though, judging by the horrified expression on her face, she was even more shocked than he was. His eyes danced a bit, and Roman let out a light laugh.
“No need to worry,” he said with a shrug. “I can take a compliment in stride.” It wasn’t like he was going to be offended by a pretty girl calling him handsome. “So, thank you very much.”
Roman paused long enough to take a sip of his drink, a smile casually playing over his lips. “Would you rather I not talk to you?” He asked her, teasing a little.
“No, don’t stop. I like it,” Callie assured Roman, sounding far more eager than she would normally have allowed herself to.
“It’s the drink,” she added, pointing down at the glass of punch in her hand by way of explanation. “I’m not normally so… blurty.”
“Aren’t you joining in?” she asked, nodding at the beer in Roman’s hand. Although she wasn’t always one to throw herself so wholeheartedly into the Atlantis party spirit, something about being out on the beach, in the lovely, warm evening air, under the stars, made her feel like it would be a shame not to flirt with fate a little and try a few of the special drinks.
“Atlantis parties have a special way of taking us out of our comfort zones sometimes,” Roman said. As someone who generally wasn’t able to get drunk without drinking a whole dislittery full of whisky, he used to enjoy having a little of everything if only to see what happened, but it had been a while since he’d really let himself take part.
“Not just yet,” he added. “I like to observe and see what I might be getting myself into.” Over the last few months, Roman had started feeling old more so than usual. He couldn’t really explain why - okay, he had a small inkling but not an inkling he’d ever talk about with anyone - but he was only starting to really come out of the mood that had plagued him for a good while.
“I don’t believe being ‘blurty’ is always so bad. Could help to get things off your chest sometimes.”
“Well, for reference, this is the White Negroni Punch,” Callie laughed, pointing an accusatory finger down at her glass.
Callie considered his point for a moment. It was true that there were some things that would probably flourish out in the open but there were also things she definitely didn’t want to end up saying to people’s faces. In fact, the thought made her glance around her, just to make sure there wasn’t anyone she could make things potentially awkward with nearby. Luckily, the coast was clear.
“I’m not so sure if the relief of getting something off of my chest would outweigh the potential damage I could do.” Words were powerful, after all. “Some things should stay secret, don’t you think?”
“I’ll keep that one in mind,” Roman said with a nod. For now, though, he was content to stick with his beer. Maybe something a little more daring later once the party really got up and going and he felt more loose. Solstice events tended to bring that out in him in the past outside of Atlantis.
Roman weighed back and forth on her question. “Wellll… yes and no. Secrecy has its own power, sure, but that largely depends on the secret.” There were a handful of people he would have liked hearing the real truth from, but honestly wasn’t sure if it would have done any good. Truth serum hadn’t brought it out, so why would this? He shrugged and smiled a little.
“By the sound of it, you might need to watch who you’re around for the rest of the night.” If she had secrets she didn’t want out in the open, at least she’d found out what her drink could do with someone like him, embarrassing for her as it may have been, but he was basically a stranger and not someone she knew personally.
Callie nodded.
“I need to avoid Flounder until this wears off,” she said, immediately wishing she hadn’t. She’d been feeling sorry for Flounder ever since they’d shared a little kiss earlier that night. For months he’d been being completely adorable towards her and for months she’d been wondering whether there might, possibly be something between them. Tonight’s kiss had confirmed to her, however, that they were only ever going to be friends.
“He’s lovely,” she explained (although she wished she didn’t have to). “But I don’t like him in the way I think he would like me to like him, if you know what I mean.” She sighed. “I definitely want to find a better way to let him down than just blurting it out to his face.”
“And that’s not even starting on some of the things I could end up saying to my mum.” She closed her eyes and shook her head, willing herself to shut up. After a moment, she looked back up at the handsome man with wide, imploring eyes.
“For Merlin’s sake, please keep talking to me until this wears off.”
Roman couldn’t help but raise a brow when she began talking about a mate of hers that had a potential something or other but ended up being the ‘other’ at least on her part. Poor guy. He’d been there a couple of times himself - some more recently than he’d ever like to admit. There may or may not have been a ‘something’ on the precipice before a certain someone was taken from Atlantis, but he’d had other similar moments with that someone that hadn’t worked out in his favor.
“Word of advice, if I may?” Roman didn’t necessarily want to step in the middle of what most assuredly was none of his business, but she’d brought it up and asked him to keep talking until the effects of her drink had worn off, after all. “No, don’t tell him when you’re under the effects of whatever this is,” he started, “but unless you want to make this worse for him then tell him soon. If you’ve already realized how you feel about him then don’t put it off long. Delaying the talk only will make it worse for him in the end.”
There, that was his wise and helpful speech for the evening. Ugh, he really was getting old. It was bound to happen sooner or later.
Laughing lightly, he reached out and patted her gently on the top of her head. “Alright then, come on. I overheard someone talking about some kind of cheesy treat earlier. Could be interesting.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Callie replied. “I don’t think he’ll be too surprised but I still don’t want to keep him on tenterhooks longer than necessary.” She sighed heavily then looked up at Roman and gave him a grateful smile.
The smile turned into an over exaggerated wince when Roman patted her head.
“I’m not a dog,” she said before she could help herself, then she laughed. “But I do like cheese. Both kinds,” she added.
As they started to move away from the bar, Callie paused and reached behind her to put down the rest of the half-drunk punch. She could be doing without any more of that particular drink.