rp log - michael and padma Characters: Michael Corner and Padma Patil Setting: Pub night on Friday, July 3rd, close to 11 PM. (Backdated) Summary: Smitten Michael gets a rude awakening when the girl he's crazy about walks in with her ex-boyfriend. Rating: R for a bit of language
Despite having a blast at Lisa's baby shower, pub night was still on for Michael, at the time he had mentioned in his journal entry. He hadn't anticipated the shower to be boring for him to request a pub crawl. It was more of the fact that he'd been feeling pretty good the past week or so and he just needed this. While there were plenty of bars to visit in Paris, nothing beat the familiarity of London's pubs, in his opinion.
The good feeling was a likely result from a build-up of confidence on his feelings for Padma. No, he hadn't told her yet, or even come close to hinting about it, but trying to mentally prep himself for the moment had started to give him a lot of optimism. Who knew? Maybe tonight he might actually tell her. He hadn't seen her around at the moment, but even if she wasn't going to come, if he had enough alcohol in him, he might just apparate over to her place and tell her.
Speaking of... Michael headed straight for the bar, after greeting his colleagues that were already there. He wasn't sure, but he might have had a glimpse at Charity somewhere there. Tonight, however, his mind was solely on Padma Patil. "Black and tan, please," he ordered with a smile, as the bartender approached him. When he received his drink, he turned to head back toward the "faculty table". From where he stood, though, he could see the door clearly, and before he had even taken some steps, he spotted it opening and Padma heading inside.
Well, okay, she was there before the alcohol could get into his system but that wasn't a big problem. He'd just hang around her for the time being, just having a good time.
But when the door opened wider and someone else stepped in behind her, Michael's smile fell from his face. Simon Capper? With his arm around her even? Glass was still in his hand, but Michael found himself unable to move his feet at all.
The nerves set in the moment they were outside of the pub. There'd been no less than four times Padma had stopped in her tracks with all intent to flee. But if Simon could do this, she could, too, and so she soldiered on. Upon entering the pub, though, her blood turned to ice in her veins. Simon's hand at her back was a calming force, keeping her grounded, but she'd always had a tendency to over-think everything.
When her eyes met Michael's, she whispered to Simon that she was going to get them their drinks and he should find the pair of them a seat. Hesitating for a moment -- she knew that Michael was less than thrilled already, that expression told her everything -- Padma decided to buck up and get it over with. She headed right for him (and the bar). It was definitely going to be one of those nights. "Hey..."
He hadn't seen this coming. So... it couldn't be what it looked like, right? Because of all people, Michael would have expected Padma to come out sooner and tell him. Unless this happened, uh... overnight. Then why hadn't Michael seen this?
Or it really couldn't have been what it looked like. "Hey," he replied back, watching her carefully. She didn't look like she had thrilling news to tell him. His head continued to run a thousand and one explanations for this. "What... I.. what's going on?" He was hesitant in asking, almost afraid of the answer, but if he didn't get one, those theories in his head were going to drive him mental for the next Merlin knew how many hours they were there for.
Let's see. Padma could play the "I have no idea what you're talking about" card, but Michael wasn't stupid, and neither was she. He'd seen her walk in with Simon Capper, and he was her best mate. He deserved to hear it from her. "Er, yeah... see, I wanted to talk... to you about that..."
Padma glanced over her shoulder toward Simon. She gave him a soft smile, hopefully conveying that she might be a while. "Simon and I are... well, we're going to give it another try. We had a long talk about two weeks ago --" Yes, she thought silently, before we went to Paris. "--and just... it sort of all fell into place. Didn't want to tell anyone just yet, because -- well, I can see that look of consternation slipping across your face. I'm happy, and I didn't really want to hear all the, 'Oh Padma, are you sure after what he did?'"
Even with Michael, while he was quick to cover up his emotions, sometime, as he listened and let something be absorbed in his mind, the wall was let down a bit before he realized he was completely visible. His jaw immediately tightened after her last word, and he took a long gulp of his drink to cover up his face and compose himself. Yeah, those worst case scenarios in his head? This was definitely the worst one. And when she had turned to smile at him, he tried his hardest not to look in that direction as well.
Damn. The black and tan was not strong enough. Because he had a vision of Padma and Simon embracing before they left for Paris. Where in just the bloody hell had he thought everything was going great because she wasn't with him but with her? No, as a matter of fact, she was with him! Before they took off to Paris, and probably mentally with him too! "Two weeks ago," he echoed back, swirling his drink in his glass before reaching over to place it down on the bar counter. Definitely not strong enough.
It wasn't difficult to gauge Michael Corner's reactions; Padma had known him since they were in nappies, after all. She recognised that look. She'd seen it only a few times in her lifetime, but she knew that look. That look was more than just worry for her emotional state. But... that wasn't right, was it? Oh God, was it? Suddenly, everything made sense.
Padma took a step back, studying Michael's face intensely. The sad thing was that she thought had it not been for intense feelings for Simon all these years, she could have been quite happy with Michael. A few quick images of a sort of life with him flashed in her head, and she felt her limbs turn to jelly. To say she felt bad was an understatement. "Oh Michael... I-I'm sorry. I had no idea..."
Oh, fuck. Michael turned away immediately, grabbing his drink again and letting the rest of it slide down his throat. Before speaking to her, he ordered something from the bartender, because he damn well knew now that he was going to need it in his system to just keep himself from yelling. Even when he received it, he had to take a second to drink part of it before turning back around.
"How... I don't get it, Padma. How do you just forgive him for what he did and go back to him?" Sure he was feeling a lot of resentment and pain but the question wasn't a rhetorical one. It really did confuse him. The guy pushed her away and then disappeared. How was everything better now that he was back? Plus, if he focused on that question more, he'd be able to ignore the tightening feeling in his chest that only seemed to intensify when realization dawned on her.
How did she not even notice this before? Padma didn't want to see that look on his face, but at the same time, she wanted to hug him, to apologise, to make him feel better. Michael was her best friend, after all, and she knew that telling him something stupid and insensitive like telling him that if it hadn't been for Simon, this would go so differently. She didn't pity Michael, but she felt pathetic and small. Like she'd just shoved this in his face, even if she hadn't intended to.
Focusing on his question was the better way to go. "It's been eight years, Michael. People do stupid things when they're young, and toss in the whole getting bitten by a werewolf and your whole life suddenly in the toilet... holding that over someone's head just seemed petty, especially when I still love him." Rubbish, she hadn't meant that last bit to come out, at least not now, but it was important that he understand that she didn't do it to hurt him, or to spite him. And some things just couldn't be helped when you loved someone.
He didn't really want a hug or an apology at this moment. Maybe a little while later, but at this point, he was too annoyed, at Simon for coming back into her life, at Padma for never giving him a thought and at himself for start thinking so idealistically. While he wanted to scream out a lot of stuff, particularly against Simon, he had enough of his Superego to tell him that it would not be the brightest or most sensitive move to insult him.
But damnit, if there hadn't been that whole werewolf thing, this would have been easier.
Still, that didn't mean he didn't feel another feeling of cold numbness wash over him as she said the word "love". For a second he cringed when he heard it, because, really, it did hurt. And suddenly he felt completely exposed, as if everyone in the room was staring at him, gauging his reaction, judging him on what he would say next and it really did not make him comfortable. Because what the fuck else did you say after the L word?
"Fine," was the best he could muster up. "Just fine. Can I get another drink?" Michael directed that question to the bartender who'd been hovering by.
Padma's hand hovered by her mouth while she waited for a reply, something to show that their friendship wasn't gone because of this. God-damn, she hadn't meant to hurt him; she hadn't even known. But that knowledge wasn't enough to stop her from feeling like shit.
She ordered two drinks, despite that nagging voice in her head that told her to just run away, that she'd already done enough damage here, and she just prayed that perhaps this was the worst the evening would throw at her. If she had to suffer a similar reaction from everyone, she didn't know if she could handle it. Her drinks pushed over to her, she gave Michael another glance. There wasn't really much else she could say, was there? "I really am sorry, Michael... I know that doesn't... really.. matter, but I am. I'm gonna... go.."
Michael felt like a complete tool but at the same time, he didn't want to correct anything. Not at the moment. Not when he was more than pissed off and mentally kicking himself. But he could give a tiny bit, instead of nothing at all. "Don't..." A fucking lump in his throat was not what he needed. He was not going to be himself for the rest of the night, and there was a chance that she'd know this. He wasn't happy after Ginny dumped him, and he most certainly wasn't happy after he caught Cho with someone else. This was not the place to let it out, though.
He had turned partially away from her to order his second drink and hadn't turned to face her again. Maybe it was because saying the next thing was less hard when he wasn't looking at her anymore. "You deserve every bit of happiness."
It was probably best to take her leave from Michael now. There was nothing she could say to ease his feelings, and the more she tried, the more ticked off she knew he'd become. Or at least, that's how she'd feel. And Michael was a little more hot-headed than she was.
"Probably best if I -- you know... go away," she said eventually, picking up her drinks. Padma thought the worst bit about this was that after Ginny, after Cho, at least he had her to talk to. Now he didn't even have that. Gnawing on her lower lip, she started to say something else, thought better of it, and shuffled off in the direction of the tables. Strike one for the evening.
Michael didn't react till he heard her leave. He didn't need to look behind his shoulder to know she had gone away. Nor did he want to, considering that paranoid feeling of being watched by everyone was still there. After she left, he pulled out the stool in front of him to sit down and sighed heavily, as he dipped his head to massage at the temples. The night was ruined before it even began.
Drinking at that bar wasn't really going to do much to all the resentment pent up inside of him. He could do was sit there, try to avoid talking about what's bothering him if anyone came up, nod and agree in small conversations, and then head out much earlier than intended.