InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "SERIOUS CHEESECAKE!"

Eddie Carmichael (the_doxyboy) wrote in wished,
@ 2010-09-09 21:03:00

Entry tags:

!2003: 09, !incomplete, eddie carmichael, maisie cattermole

late night rendezvous
[WHO] Eddie & Maisie
[WHEN & WHERE] 9pm, Eddie's flat.
[WHY] Because Eddie's been gone for a while and he wants to make it up to Maisie.
[RATING] Low-medium/incomplete.

Eddie took a step back and admired the set-up he had created. Maybe this was going a little over the top, but he figured it was okay, because he himself was a little over the top and a little more couldn't hurt anyone. It wasn't like he had really gone terribly far out of his way; just cleaned up and moved some furniture around, washed down the countertops in the kitchen, wiped down the windows, and vacuumed.

There was much he had to discuss with Maisie. They were.... complicated, to say the least, and he didn't really know why but it bothered him that it felt like he should be doing more. It had been years since he had really been attached to a girl, yet here he was, feeling guilty for not writing her enough or not trying harder to see her while he had been taking care of Catherine. Maybe it was just his own sense of justice--which wasn't as rigid, and was in fact very free-flowing, especially compared to that of many Gryffindors--that made him do what he was doing.

He ducked into the bathroom and made sure he didn't look a hot mess. After deciding that he looked all right, he re-entered the living room and waited. At precisely eight thirty that evening, an owl had been sent to Maisie telling her that he would be ready by the time she got there. He sat down in one of the many comfy chairs around the coffee table and checked his clock. Eight fifty-seven. Perfect.

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amaisieing
2010-09-10 03:29 am UTC (link)

She wasn't under any false impressions when it came to her relationship with Eddie. Maisie knew that things were stuck somewhere between friendship and more...and she didn't know what was going through his head. Whenever she heard from him, it always seemed to brighten up her day. She wanted to talk about things with him, about the fact that they had definitely pushed the boundaries of their friendship, but there just hadn't been a good time since.

At least, not until now. It seemed that now she was going over to have dinner with him, and she was all wound up about it. She had hardly been able to concentrate on anything else that day. It felt like it had been entirely too long since she'd last seen him, and honestly...she wasn't sure how the appropriate way to act would be.

Nonetheless, she got ready, dressing casually like he had suggested. Summer was still hanging on by a thread, and she wasn't quite ready for fall clothes yet, so shorts and short-sleeves it was. When she got his owl, she had grinned to herself and waited patiently (or not so patiently) until almost nine before disapparating and making her way up to his door from there. She was just on time when she knocked on the door, waiting until it was opened before smiling, those vivid blue eyes sparkling with excitement, "Hi."

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the_doxyboy
2010-09-14 06:09 pm UTC (link)

To ask if Eddie and Maisie had a complicated relationship was sort of like asking if the sky was blue or grass was green, or if cats tended to own their humans as opposed to humans owning their cats (and as any cat owner would be quick to comment, cats definitely owned their humans). It was sort of like a mosquito bite right at your belt line that agitated you all day long but you couldn't really do anything about it. Not that Eddie was necessarily comparing Maisie to a mosquito, because--oh, for the love of... He shook his head to clear such inane thoughts from his mind, and just in time, too, because that's when the doorbell rang.

Eddie got up from his comfy chair and pulled the door open. He smiled at Maisie, then stepped back and held his hand out in a grandiose gesture, inviting her inside. The front door opened straight into a nicely-sized living room, which lead directly into the dining room and had a kitchen off to the left. A long hallway ran down the length of the apartent, and at the end was a master bedroom. On the right side of the hallway was a closet and, further down, a bathroom. Just across from the bathroom was a second bedroom. Eddie had taken good care of the place, and painted it in various shades of earth-tones (with of course a fair amount of blue. He had to keep up the Ravenclaw pride.)

"Welcome to my humble abode," he said, closing the door once they were both inside. "Can I get you anything to drink, Miss Beauty?" Always a perfect gentleman, he tried to be. Especially since he had a lot to make up for with her. He had what he hoped would be a fantastic night planned.

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amaisieing
2010-09-14 09:02 pm UTC (link)

It was a nice flat, she observed as she walked in. In all the time that she'd known him, they had mostly hung around her flat or elsewhere, but there she was over at his place for a late dinner and hopefully...well, she hoped that they'd work some things out. At the very least, she'd like to know a little bit more than she did when she walked through the door.

Of course, standing in the living room of his apartment just made this evening seem that much more real. There was a smile playing on her lips that she couldn't seem to tame, not that she really wanted to. At his little pet name, she gave him a mischievous look, "If I'm Beauty," she said in a good natured, teasing air, "does that make you the Beast?" She thought he knew enough about the muggle world to get the reference. She blushed, remembering that the Beauty and the Beast fell in love at the end of the story. But then, of course, she realized that he had been asking her a question.

"Regardless, I wouldn't mind a drink, my good Knight. What are the offerings?" she found herself always using vocabulary that she perhaps wouldn't in some other settings, but it was all done with a smile. Whatever it was that went on that night, she thought she would enjoy it simply because she was spending time with him again.

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the_doxyboy
2010-09-17 04:32 pm UTC (link)

As it was, Eddie had been raised almost exclusively in the Muggle world, with the only notable exception being his time at Hogwarts; as such, the reference was well-understood the moment he heard it, and he laughed a little, though he didn't respond in any other way. Commitment was something that Eddie usually had a 'bit' of a problem with, which was why he so rarely committed. Better to not risk more hurt feelings in the first place, he figured.

Eddie brushed off the moment with a natural grace, leading her towards the kitchen. "Your usual assortment of teas, some Muggle soft drinks... Do you have any preferences?" he asked. The kitchen was a decent size, roomy enough for a small table and chair set. Whether or not he noticed it, the kitchen also had a slight Frenchy feel to it; and one day Eddie would probably look back and realize he had modeled it after his grandparents' house in France where he had spent countless summers.

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amaisieing
2010-09-17 06:52 pm UTC (link)

"Any sort of tea will do the trick. Surprise me," she challenged, shrugging softly. It didn't matter to her one way or the other what she ended up with. Maisie was really rather fond of almost all teas. She gave a bit of a glance around the kitchen and saw that it was a bit different than most kitchens she'd been in before, but it was tasteful.

She made sure she was out of his way and leaned against the counter, tilting her head slightly, "So, what's on the agenda? Or am I not allowed to know?" she really wasn't sure whether she wanted a surprise, or if she was going to go slowly crazy from the not knowing. Because lately...she hadn't really been sure about anything when it came to Eddie. At least, not about anything other than the fact that she didn't regret what had happened.

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the_doxyboy
2010-09-25 03:12 am UTC (link)

"It's a surprise," Eddie said with a grin, as he turned towards one of the cupboards to grab her some tea. His favorite was this orange-French vanilla combo he had picked up at some random Muggle supermarket back in the States. He liked it so much that he sometimes ordered it, despite the expense of shipping to the UK. As he got the box down from up top, however, his wallet fell out of his pocket and several pictures fell out. He didn't notice his wallet falling, but as soon as it was brought to his attention, he would be incredibly unhappy.

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amaisieing
2010-09-26 12:59 am UTC (link)

"Tonight will be just full of surprises then," she said with a bit of a laugh. She tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear and watched him set about gathering tea. It didn't go past her notice, however, when his wallet fell onto the floor. It it with a nearly inaudible sound and Maisie bent down to pick it up and hand back to him, along with the few pieces of paper that fell out. Only, once she picked them up, she noticed it wasn't paper, but pictures.

Eddie was distracted with the tea, and Maisie's attention was suddenly fully on the girl that was staring at her from the pictures. She was beautiful to be sure. She looked nothing like Eddie, so there was obviously no relation...this wasn't his sister. Maisie's gut clenched unhappily...who was she? Obviously she was important or Eddie wouldn't have a wallet full of pictures of her. Was this some other girl he'd been kissing too, or someone from his past? Considering her own looks in comparison, Maisie thought she might as well just call it quits right then. She was nothing like this girl...she was far from it, "You dropped this," she said, a bit more quietly than she had been before, her tone holding no hint of a tease anymore. She waited until he turned to her, until she was handing it back, and she tried not to sound jealous, "...who's the girl?"

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the_doxyboy
2010-09-26 01:14 am UTC (link)

The moment Eddie heard the question, he seemed to -- stop. For once, the suave Eddie Carmichael seemed at a loss for words. This wasn't supposed to happen. Nobody was supposed to know about her; she who had been the reason he came back to this country in shambles; she, who he had loved, who he had wanted to marry. She, who had left. He inhaled deeply, trying to think of some quick-witted way out of this, but there really wasn't. God damnit. He had sworn to never speak her name again, to never speak of her, and now this was all glaring at him in the face and shit he still had to answer Maisie before she got up and left, too.

"...no one," he said at long last, his voice lacking the usual charm and elegance that everyone had come to know. He really didn't want to talk about this - not now, not ever. It was to be the secret he kept with him till he was dead in the ground. But the silence was still there, still eating away at him, until he exhaled slowly, examining each of the pictures in turn as he held them in his hand. "Just some girl I knew in California." Just some girl my ass, he thought.

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amaisieing
2010-09-26 01:28 am UTC (link)

Just by his original reaction, Maisie could tell that this had not been just any girl he knew in California. People didn't just keep three pictures of 'some girl' in their wallet. They didn't go dead silent and stare at the pictures like they'd lost something...and they definitely didn't brush it off like that. She suddenly hated this girl that she didn't even know. She hated her for making this moment happen...for whatever she'd done to make him react like that.

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" her tone was an almost forced calm, but she was angry at Eddie too. Not for the girl, but for lying about it. Yeah, there were things that both of them would like to leave in the past, but dammit if he didn't call her out on everything that she brushed off like that too. He wouldn't let her get away with it, and she sure as hell wasn't about to let him either, "I'm not an idiot. You don't keep pictures of 'just some girl' in your wallet, Eddie. No guy does...especially not you, and you don't get to lie to me like that." She knew his habits...knew that there was something significant about the girl.

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the_doxyboy
2010-09-26 11:50 pm UTC (link)

Ah, if only his remarkable cleverness would kick in right now and give him a quick escape route. But in his heart of hearts he knew, indubitably, that such an escape route did not, would not, could not exist. He inhaled and exhaled again, with great control, slowly, staring past Maisie out through the hallway, as if willing a distraction to spontaneously exist that would get him out of this situation. Of the many potential events Eddie had a list of prepared excuses or explanations for, this was not one of them.

In this moment the realization came upon Eddie--although he acknowledged it with great stubbornness and resistance--that he probably would have had to let his secret out eventually. But this wasn't the way it was supposed to happen, and like a child he wanted to continue insisting that this be a tale never told. He continued flipping back and forth between the pictures, a small part of him wanting to go back to that night with Heather and that god damned fuckface Mark, and knock the bastard out before he had a chance to appear that night.

Yet another part of him wanted to confide this secret in Maisie, for he knew her well enough to know that she could be trusted--but he found himself unable to speak the words. "I have not spoken of her, or to her, in many years," was all he managed to say. No; if this secret was to be excavated from his soul then it would have to be dragged out by force, and the force required for such an action was not something that Eddie possessed right now. It was not something he wanted to possess right now.

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