Somewhere Only We Know

[reynardkemp]

Oh baby, why don't we go
Somewhere only we know...

Reynard practiced smoke rings as he hide in the tree line of the Forbidden Forest, waiting patiently for Alice Prewett to arrive. He brought the cigarette to his lips and slowly drew in breath. After holding it for a moment, he exhaled in small puffs through his slightly pouted lips and watched at three perfect little smoke rings floated away into the atmosphere. There were magic cigarettes, of course, that promised a perfect smoke ring every time as well as many other smoke creations… But it just wasn’t as exciting as actually doing it of your own power. Plus, the witches at the pubs always went wild for a guy who could blow smoke rings. It may, of course, be because they were sufficiently drunk at that point… But none the less it added to his overall charm, and Reynard was all about adding to his charm.As his eyes followed the dissipating smoke rings upwards, he was drawn to looking at the stars. The sight of the millions of glimmering lights brought a small smile to his lips as the memory of star gazing with his mother drifted through his mind. To test himself, he tried to name a few of the constellations that looked down upon him. He was pleased as he successfully spotted the stars that grouped together as Aries, Perseus, and Cetus but couldn’t remember the names of any others even as he recognized the shapes they formed. Perhaps he’d have to brush up on his astronomy and astrology some evening when he didn’t have plans. Yes, certainly.

He hoped Alice had followed his instructions to dress warmly, it would definitely put a mark on his charm skills if she complained about how cold it was all evening. Though of course he would be a gentleman and offer his coat if that was the case. Reynard had no hesitations about being cold so a lady could be comfortable. He also hoped though she would be dressed a little, dare he hope, sexy. There was just something about a finally dressed woman that made it so much easier to be charming. And, he had also taken the extra effort and changed from his uniform into a pair of black slacks and dress shoes with a collared shirt and jacket, even if he was wearing a warm black coat over it.

Reynard took another drag off his cigarette as his eyes wandered over the sights before him, ever keeping a look out for Alice. It was past dark now, and he was starting to suspect the young lady had decided to stand him up. He certainly hoped not though, it would be such a waste of planning and candles. Definitely candles. Reynard had even gone along and prepared everything without magic, knowing that using effort instead of spells and charms could definitely show a girl you thought she was worth something. Well, he had to use a little bit of magic, but only to get all the candles up into the trees where he couldn’t reach and to put a charm on them so they wouldn’t burn out quickly or be put out by the wind. But that was something that didn’t take away from the overall effort, just added to the charm of things.

It was strange, but the thought struck him that he wanted to tell Adelia, his mother, about what he was doing. He considered writing her a letter after it was all done, but he didn’t trust the orderlies to read it to her and she could no longer read it on her own. He’d have to instead document it, so when he visited over the winter holiday he’d be able to share all the details. Reynard was sure it’d make her smile, as she often did when he told her of kind things. He never told his mother of the manipulations and cruelties he got up to, hating how it caused he to cry and wail until finally the orderlies had to usher him away so she would calm down. Reynard sighed, then shook his head to clear it of such sad thoughts. This was an evening to be smiling, because he could be as charming and sociable as he pleased but if Reynard didn’t smile then it didn’t actually mean anything.

And he wanted Alice to believe him.

[[ALICE..PREWETT]]

[Alice Prewett]

so tell me when you're
gonna let me in

Fact: looking really good during winter is pretty damn difficult, especially when it got really, really cold by mid-December and all you wanted was to bundle up and be as warm as possible when you went outside and braved the cold. The problem with "bundling up", though, was that coats were often bulky and awkward and, if you wanted to look sexy, there was the huge disadvantage of being unable to show any (appropriate, of course) amount of skin, because then you ran the risk of getting frostbite, and, honestly, Alice would much rather keep all her bits pink and alive and be swaddled in cloth rather than blackened and about to fall off, despite looking brilliant. It wasn't the first time she'd fretted over what to wear, and it wouldn't be the last, but damn it all she wanted to impress him, and she couldn't do that if she went looking like an Eskimo. Him being Reynard Kemp. A small smirk crossed her lips at the thought of the Slytherin seventh year whom she'd flirted away with during Charms class. To be completely honest, he hadn't exactly ever been on her radar. Oh sure she'd noticed him. You'd have to be blind not to notice someone who was as tall, dark and handsome as he was, and Alice was anything but. However, she definitely hadn't ever considered him as a potential love interest, although she uses the word 'love' here very lightly; perhaps 'flirting partner' was a more appropriate term to use. Nevertheless, it was unexpected, although perhaps that was better. If she'd been mooning over him, then she would have never been able to continue their banter seeing as she tended to act like a complete and utter nincompoop who blurted out embarrassingly geeky facts, blushed like a school girl and tripped all over her words (and herself) around the boys she happened to have feelings for. Thankfully, Reynard had been saved from meeting that Alice. She had a feeling he would have found it more of a turn off rather than endearing, both of which would have been mortifying anyway. And now she wanted to keep up her lucky streak of successful flirtation in hopes of getting a second date -- Merlin that sounded desperate, didn't it? Alice scrunched her face in distaste at her own thoughts. It's just that I haven't had a boyfriend - or been on a proper date - in almost eight weeks, she tried to justify. And that, in Alice's world, was way too long. Like, sadly long. And having a boyfriend was just...nice. And, feminists be damned, she liked having one. And while she wasn't exactly sure whether Reynard did "girlfriends" or not, she was sure she could sway him to change his mind -- okay, that was a lie, she actually had no idea if she would be able to, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to try.

Of course, being late to their very first date wasn't a good start, so Alice figured she better haul butt and pick an outfit. She hesitated a moment longer over whether to go for her adorable jeans skirt and risk freezing her legs off, or go for the much-less-flattering pair of black jeans that would keep her limbs in tact, and then decided to compromise and wear a pair of dark stockings under the skirt, and even used a charm that would trap heat for good measure. The top was easy - a white, boat neck sweater that gave a teasing flash of collarbone while still keeping her warm. Her favourite pair of white boots completed her outfit, allowing her to move onto make up, which she made an extra effort with than she normally would, and accessories (can't go wrong with dangly earrings). A last fluff of her hair, which she'd kept her hair down and casually mussed, and Alice was ready to go. After checking to make sure she'd packed her wand and the pepper spray she'd picked up last time she visited muggle London (muggles sure did have excellent, if not unusual, means of protecting themselves) and grabbing a coat, Alice left the common room, just as the sun started to sink into the horizon. If she hurried, she'd only be a few minutes late, which wouldn't be so bad. If she was lucky, she could pass it off for being "fashionably late". Besides, she was totally worth waiting for (on the inside, she laughed at herself, because, sure, she was confident but she wasn't that confident, and it would serve her right if she tried to be fashionably late and he ended up ditching her. It would be just like her to be later than fashionably late. How late was fashionably late, anyway? And how long did it take before you stopped being "fashionably" late and was just late? Ten minutes? Twenty minutes? An hour? Did it depend on the event? Maybe you had to be an hour late to a party to be fashionably late, but to something like a date it was only five or ten minutes because otherwise the date would think they were being stood up, because an hour was a long time, and Alice would never make a person wait a whole hour. But then, if everyone decided to be "fashionably late" to the party, then the person throwing the party would think that no one was going to show up because she's just sitting there all alone for an hour surrounded by balloons and other decorations and wondering where everyone is and if she gave them all the wrong address. Then again, there would always be those people who just liked to be early to everything and, really, she assumed that only snobs like Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy were "fashionably late" to things.

You're going to be seriously late if you don't do less thinking and more walking, she reminded herself and, hushing up her inner monologue, Alice quickened her steps and was soon pushing through the enormous front gates. Almost instantly, she was grateful for her decision to wear tights, because it was freezing outside, just as mid-December weather should be. Shivering, she shoved her gloveless hands deep into the pockets of her coat and made her way towards the Forbidden Forest, cringing inwardly since it seemed that, with every step she took, the sky became darker and darker until, eventually, she had to take out her wand and use Alohamora so that she could see better. When she didn't immediately spot him, Alice's paranoid mind immediately jumped to the conclusion that he had left already and she gripped her wand tighter, becoming agitated, partly because she'd been so late and partly because he'd left, but then her wand light fell on a pair of dress shoes, then traveled up slacks-clad legs, a broad torso and then, finally, settled on Reynard Kemp's face. There was no stopping the relieved smile from spreading across her lips and she stepped closer, lowering her wand so that she wasn't quite blinding him. "Thought you'd left already. My apologies for being late, beauty takes time," she said, only half-way joking. "So what exciting activities do you have planned for us tonight? I hope I didn't come all this way just to be disappointed,"

[/color] she teased. "But if we're going to go looking for werewolves or something of that sort, tell me now so that I can leave before you lure me into the forest,"[/color] she deadpanned, although not seriously. Well. Not very seriously.

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