InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'm fighting an octopus"

cassandra runcorn (forwarding) wrote in ultrarpg,
@ 2008-09-04 22:02:00

Who: Sebastian Harper and Cassandra Runcorn
What: Former house mates run into each other.
Where: Leaky Cauldron
When: September 4, 2002
Rating: TBD
Status: In Progress

Cassandra wasn't a huge drinker. She wasn't one to frequent bars, either. After the events of the day, however, she felt the need for a stiff drink, and that's how she found herself at the Leaky Cauldron, sitting at a small table in a corner, a tumbler of firewhiskey in front of her as she rubbed at her forehead.

It had all started with the Ministry's owl. Her step-mother had spent the morning alternately screaming like a mad woman and sobbing into whoever's shoulder was closest at the moment. When Alexia had cornered her, starting in about how she was a terrible daughter and what in Merlin's name was she doing back in her father's house, she hadn't cared, she was just there because he was dead and she wanted her inheritance, it was all Cassie could do to not pack up and leave again right then, her problems back in Greece be damned. When Alexia had suddenly started crying and apologizing, and she had seen Ethan giving her a pleading look from the door of the room, Cassandra had paused, taken a deep breath, summoned a house elf to bring tea, and went about trying to calm the hysterical woman down. She had finally convinced her to take a mild sleeping potion, and, seeing her step-mother to bed, she had bolted from the house with a promise to be back before too long.

That had been six hours ago, and Cassie was having second thoughts about going back to the manor at all. She was running out of energy, emotional and physical, and maybe it would be better to go back to her aunt's and deal with being the poor, jilted darling instead of someone who wasn't really welcomed. And yet...if she had to sit and accept one more pitying look she was going to hurt someone.

Letting that line of thought dwindle into nothing, she picked up the glass with a determined look on her face and bolted half of the liquor down in one gulp, only to end up choking at the strong, unfamiliar burn. No, Cassandra definitely wasn't a drinker. The scowl she had focused on the glass was transfered up as she noted someone hovering near her, and, still gagging slightly, she noted that it was a former house mate of hers, and one she only just remembered the name of. Fantastic.

"Can I help you?" she asked sharply, her voice slightly rough from coughing, though no less defensive for it.

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forwarding
2008-09-11 07:30 pm UTC (link)

Sebastian's arm sliding around her waist brought Cassandra back to reality; she found it strangely grounding, actually. Her hand came up to rest on his shoulder while she found her balance again, and then were feet weren't on the ground, that couldn't be good, but -- he was helping her back into her chair. Alright. Chairs were good. Sitting was definitely good. Her balance didn't feel so off when she was sitting. Once she was sure everything wasn't going to tilt to an angle when she opened her eyes, she glanced up to see water and coffee being placed in front of her by an amused looking bartender. Cassie wished she could get angry at the older man, but she couldn't. It was her fault for drinking so much in the first place.

As she took a sip of the coffee (it was wonderfully strong and perfect) she glanced over at Sebastian. The part of her that wasn't managing to be both extremely grateful and extremely embarrassed was shocked that he was being so...gentlemanly, and, for the life of her, she couldn't find any reason for him to do so. She wondered briefly if she should be suspicious, and studied him, using the last bit of clarity in her to decide that, no, she could trust him -- for the moment. She wasn't so sure about other times, or if it would have been wise in any other situation. She wondered if even between Slytherins, being a fellow broken heart counted for something.

It seemed to be in this case.

"England," Cassie said. "Though it would probably be wise to leave the bar as well. Eventually. I'm not sure going home in this state would be the smartest thing to do." She sipped slowly at the coffee, enjoying it in the way she supposed she should have enjoyed the firewhiskey. She was feeling a bit like a silly teenage girl with no sense getting drunk by herself for the first time, and then she realized that though she wasn't a teenager anymore, and she didn't count herself as being particularly silly, she was still out getting drunk by herself. It wasn't the first time, but it still happened so infrequently that she never remembered what a bad idea it was until it was happening again.

"You...could have walked off and left." Cassandra wasn't sure why she said it, but she managed to stop feeling like an idiot and met Sebastian's eyes. "You didn't. Thank you." She even managed a small, but sincere, smile.

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harpingly
2008-09-11 08:45 pm UTC (link)

Sebastian took the final sip of his scotch and looked over Cassandra with appraising eyes. She was a good-looking woman, he had to admit, so it really said something about him that he got a woman good and bloody pissed and then he .. did nothing. He really hadn't been trying to get her drunk for any purpose of his own; he'd just wanted someone to comiserate with. It seemed that they had done just that, while barely speaking. He liked comfortable silences.

Then he turned his eyes to the bar, running a finger over a gouge in the wood. "Do you think if you get far enough away, it will stop hurting?" He barely heard her expression of thanks, too lost in his own thoughts. He often wondered if moving would have helped him feel any better, but he'd never gone anywhere.

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forwarding
2008-09-11 09:04 pm UTC (link)

Cassandra sighed. Was getting far away from Greece helping? Maybe a little bit. She wondered if things would be better if she had gone to France, and not home for her father's funeral. She wasn't sure if she had a response for him, as much as she wanted to be able to give him some sort of definite answer.

"I..." she started, glancing down at his hand as it ran over the bar. He had nice hands, she noted, then wondered why the thought had even popped into her mind as she went back to her coffee. Sebastian looked -- maybe a little sad? She wasn't sure. She wondered if he was alright, though she wasn't sure how to go about asking him. Cassandra wasn't sure it would be entirely welcomed.

"It hasn't helped so far. I'm not sure if running ever does." Cassie looked down at her coffee as if perhaps it would hold all the answers they both needed that night. It didn't, of course. "I'm not sure if there's anything that helps when you're so -- hurt, so betrayed like that. Maybe things get better with time. Maybe they don't. I can't say, not yet."

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harpingly
2008-09-12 09:39 pm UTC (link)

"I .. don't know if time ever makes it better either." Sebastian had time. It had been just over a year since Charlotte had left. An entire year and he still thought about her constantly, still thought about how she had hurt him, betrayed him. He thought Cassandra's use of the word was quite fitting. It was unnerving, how this woman still had power over him, still had the power to keep him from selling that stupid ring or at the very least throwing it away. A ghost of a smirk crossed Sebastian's face as he thought that Charlotte probably didn't even think of him at all anymore. He was sure she had been able to move on easily.

It was disappointing answer that Cassie had given. Sebastian, in the moment he'd asked the question, had one fleeting thought that maybe, if he left the country, things would be better. He should have known the answer. Cassandra wouldn't be sitting next to him now, drowning her sorrows, if distance made things better.

They weren't the only two broken-hearted people in the world. He knew that. In that moment, though, it certainly felt like it.

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