How long 'til I'm cancelled? [Wini]

This was way more nerve-wrecking than he truly imagined it would be. It shouldn’t really be that big of a deal, but he did kinda like Wini. For awhile at the beginning of summer, he had thought there was something there, but when he started seeing Circe, that all went out the window. If anything, he owed her an apology for leading her on a bit only to date some other girl right under her nose. They hadn’t spoken much since the early summer, but he had been so lonely lately that he’d finally gotten the guts to owl her back after Circe had dumped him and let her know what happened. He explained that he’d fallen off the face of the earth because he had started seeing someone (in case she knew Circe, he didn’t mention who), but that it didn’t work out and that he felt bad neglecting her. This wasn’t necessarily a date. He was just going to see his friend, right? Why did it feel like so much more than that?

He dressed a little nicer than usual, in a plaid shirt over a Nirvana tee, a black leather bomber jacket, some jeans without holes, and dark shoes. He still had a wristband on from the club the night before, but didn’t notice it. He hadn’t scored or anything and hadn’t been trying to do anything but get trashed to stop being nervous about today. His hair was washed, not combed neatly but brushed a bit, and his body wash and deodorant smelled really nice. He cared about stuff like that. He hated being dirty, greasy, or grimey. He rolled a few before leaving the house, in case, then grabbed his menthols too, for good measure, using the light green box to hide his ‘special’ cigarettes.

He decided top portkey rather than try to apparate all the way, and he didn’t want to put the miles on his 1993 Yellow Mustang, Honey—named for the beautiful owner of the Honeydukes candy shop. He found the spot, paid the cheap fare, and grabbed the old boot. Soon, he found himself on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, feeling a little dizzy.

He walked towards the Three Broomsticks, finding a seat inside and ordering a butterbeer—with ginger—and sipping the warm liquid carefully as he waited for her. He struck up some conversation with the group of teens next to him, and soon there was a little posse forming. Some people recognized him from last year at school, from quidditch commentating probably, and he was having a good time showing off and doing accents for them. He was doing a very good Bostonian accent as he saw Winifred come through the door. He pulled away and smiled at her.

“Hey, come on over. What’ll you have, you think? You wanna get some chips and gravy?”

@Winifred Gwartney

Wini smoothed her white lacy dress nervously as she played with the rolled sleeves of her dark wash denim jacket and  took a deep breath before pushing open the door to the Three Broomsticks. After a summer of hanging out and finding Ezra more on her mind than she had anticipated, she had been disappointed when he seemed to drop out of existence. She tried to tell herself lots of rational things like he was busy with his band or probably hanging out with friends who were cooler and not still in school or something. So it was a surprise when he owled her, explained what had happened, and expressed wanting to hang out in Hogsmeade. While on one hand, Wini couldn't help but think he had picked the other girl over her, she tried to be more mature than her childish thoughts prone to jealousy and comparison.

And while neither of them said this was officially a date, Wini had consulted a few Witch Weekly columns for answers, but she didn't come up with anything definitive. She tried not to get her hopes up and just go into it thinking she was just meeting up with a friend. She couldn't resist asking Marin for advice though. He seemed more cool-headed about the whole thing and had told her to remember that she was 'much better than him" which Wini had laughed at and swatted him gently on the arm. Marin was always saying hilarious things like that.

So nerves and excitement mixed but both turned lighter and a wide smile lit up her face as he noticed her by the door and beckoned her over. She felt fuzzy with happiness as he smiled at her and she noticed the group around him as she joined him, giving him a quick hug in greeting, trying not to get overwhelmed with how nice he smelled. "Oh, I'll have a butterbeer too," she said and then nodded at his suggestion for food. "That sounds good too," she agreed easily even though a second later she was hoping the food wouldn't make her breath smell bad.

She looked over at him, thinking he just looked so cool as always with his black leather jacket and distressed jeans. "Glad you could make it. How're things with the band?"

Ezra smiled widely at Wini as she showed up, ordering her butterbeer and putting it on his tab, and also putting in the order for the chips and gravy. Their drinks arrived soon, and he took a long, deep sip, before responding to her. “Hey, it’s nice to see you, Wini. You look great, by the way.” He offered with a genuine grin. “Band is going really well, actually. You know, we’re supposed to have a gig on New Years at this London club. Janae and Jam set it up for us. You think you’d wanna come with us? I’ll pay your cover as long as you hang out with me when we’re done playing.” He teased.

He felt guilty for the way things had transpired with Wini. He had really liked her, but of course Circe had been his dream girl for ages. He was underwhelmed with how things had gone with her, but he was glad he had at least tried. He was glad Wini agreed to hang out, even as a friend. He would have understood if she never wanted to talk to him again, as much as he didn’t like that idea.

“So, tell me Wini. What all have you been up to lately? Sorry I kinda fell off the face of the Earth for a bit there.”

Wini had not exactly expected him to pay or put her food and drink on her tab, after all, she had coins herself tucked into her small clutch, but it made her smile at him with appreciation. It had to be a good sign, right? Her brown eyes light and her brows rose a little as she slide the mug toward her and sipped, her eyes on his over the rim of her glass. "Mmm, always so delicious," the Hufflepuff said with a smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Oh thanks, you do too," Wini said, a faint blush warming her cheeks as she touched his arm gently before wrapping them back around her mug. "No way, on New Year's? That must mean you're big time to get such an important gig," Wini added, happiness and pride for him in her voice. She really did hope they succeeded, made it big, rock n roll hall of fame, and all that. She had even, perhaps once or twice (or twelve million) listened to some of their songs, so much so that Marin had grumbled about her playing it on repeat so much. She blinked up at him, surprised but delighted at his question, swallowing as she nodded immediately. "Of course I'd love to come," she told him and then her smile became more playful. "I'll be one of your groupies even ..but if Rupert Hartwood is there, I make no promises," she teased right back.

She leaned back a little, trying to appear the picture of cool and casual, even as her heart raced as he said her name. Ezra's voice was so nice, smooth and low and even a bit musical when he spoke. No wonder he had ended up in a band. Wini gave a little shrug and waved a hand as if it was inconsequential. "No worries, I know you're busy with everything. I've just been focused on school with NEWTs coming up, a little stressful but I'm sure you remember all that." She didn't want to talk about school much, it reminded her too much that she was younger than him and probably seemed less cool than the other girls he hung out with his age who weren't still parading around in school uniforms and prefect badges.

"What other gigs do you have lined up? How are Jam and Janae?" she asked, curious about everything, wanting to know anything about what he had been up to lately. Their letters were nice, but she loved chatting with him in person, seeing how his dark eyes lit up when he spoke about something he was passionate about. Wini smiled to the server with a quick 'thanks' as she came over and dropped off the chips and gravy and Wini sat up, nudging the plate toward him first. "Go on, dig in, these look good."