[the fox & ivy] honey sweet. [tag; stewart]

Word couldn't describe how excruciatingly awkward she felt.

Like all fun stories, it seemed like a good idea at the time. She and Camm had broken up weeks ago and Isla was prone to not speaking for hours at a time when she was upset. Her friends weren't having any of it. For maybe the first time since they'd all graduated, everyone in the group was single.

Rachel, the bubbly redhead, had spearheaded the campaign. Speed dating was apparently a thing now. For Isla, she couldn't think of anything worse. And she was right. It was a lot to handle. Participants only had four minutes to make an impression and it was a little bit panicky. Facts were flying. They had to introduce themselves, flirt a little and then discern each other's entire personality in a handful of minutes.

The first twenty minutes had Isla internally crying but an hour in, she was starting to loosen up. But that just have been the fact that she'd already consumed her two free glasses of wine and she was on her third.

"Hi, I'm Isla," the petite blonde said with a smile after the bell clanged. She held out her hand across the table as a young man sat down. Isla was acutely aware of how much looks played a part and she swallowed her doubt back down. From somewhere behind her, she heard a cackle of laughter. It sounded like a foghorn and it was coming from Evie, the other friend that had come with her. She was off to the side, her dark bob swinging as she grabbed the man she was sitting across from hers arm. It was Flirting 101.

The man's name who had joined Isla, she learned, was Tom. They chatted easily. He liked the beach, Isla preferred the forest. She liked art, he preferred movies. She liked myths and legends and he didn't believe in them. Her smile faltered a little as realisation dawned. Was she being too picky? Their differences were just silly little things but she didn't think forcing him to like them would benefit either of them. Opposites did attract, after all. He had a nice accent, somewhere south of the Thames. She'd try. She had to try.

Bidding him a goodbye, everyone was awarded with a brief interval as they marked their cards. Isla wasn't really sure how it worked. It was something like participants put a tick in the boxes of those they'd like to see again and if the other person ticked their box, it was a match. Those matches would then be sorted out and they'd all find out in the mail. It was then up to the matched couples to meet again and decide if they wanted to go on a date.

Chewing her lip anxiously, Isla finally placed a tick in Tom's box and heaved a sigh. It felt weird to be moving on, in any shape or form. A few months ago, she didn't think she'd ever have to. Her big blue eyes looked around. It was set out pretty nicely, with small circular tables and cute little tealight candles flickering and picking out the pastel colours of her long-sleeved dress. The bar was reserved just for the event, so that took a bit of the pressure off.  The more the night wore on, the less terrible it was. Isla wasn't stupid, she knew she was odd-looking. Her eyes were huge, her hair a shock of platinum blonde. Some people liked it, some people thought she looked like a big headed alien but that was how it was.

Their host announced that this round would be the last and the small blonde couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. It had been both mortifying and exciting. Isla didn't think she possessed the necessary social skills to flirt successfully, unless being uncomfortable was the new sexy? Either way, she'd done it and it was an achievement…sort of. It was good.

A shadow caught her eye and she looked up, a smile fixed firmly in place. "Hello, I'm --" Silence descended and all Isla could hear was her blood whooshing in her ears at his arrival. She squinted as she wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Nope. It was definitely him. He was just taller and his clothes fitted him a little better. "Stewart?" Isla half asked, half laughed as she got to her feet. "Hi!" She gushed, lighting up for maybe the first time that night as her dimples appeared. "What are you doing here?" Looking for a date, obviously a voice told her and she flushed pink. Maybe the universe had a plan; it was saving the best for last.

@Stewart Ackerley

Stewart wasn't sure about being at the event, but his coworkers mentioned how speed dating would get his mind off of Mary, and that maybe he'd find a young lady that would sweep him of his feet and he'd go on a date with her. It made sense that he'd at least try it out, despite his gut telling him it was a bad idea. He had nothing to lose, after all his heart still hurt, so it could only get better from thereon out, and it slowly was. He wasn't anticipating the fact that speed dating was in fact speed dating with the rule of only four minutes a person per Rachel. It gave him anxiety, he wasn't going to lie about that. There were some witches that he knew he'd never talk to outside of the event, some of them just weren't his cup of tea, and others were gorgeous on the outside but were very, not so, on the inside. Stewart's first few rounds would likely make anyone laugh if they were a fly on the table. He stuttered a little, wringed his hands, and introduced himself, and he only had two minutes remaining to ask a question and attempt to answer a question. It was a disaster.

"Hello, I'm Stewart, I'm a Potioneer and am working to solve medical problems. I have a pet cat who was a friend of mine's... she died, so that's why I have her cat, his name is..." the witch got up without introducing herself and walked off. The wizard sighed and ran a hand through his hair. If only being genuine and himself wasn't so difficult. He was just trying to introduce himself in barely a minute, and supposedly pets were a good conversation piece, but obviously not with that woman. Another witch sat down before him and introduced herself as Danielle. She was pretty, had blonde hair, was wearing a shirt that momentarily distracted him because he could see her pink bra through it. "Erm," he looked up to her face, "I'm Stewart, I'm a Potioneer, I do medical potions." She shared she was a shop worker just down the street. "That's lovely, what's your favorite thing in the shop?" Supposedly the cupcakes. He'll take her word for it. She asked him what he did in his spare time, "I don't have a whole lot of spare time, though I wish I did. I'm on this research committee for the Ministry of Magic that partners with St. Mungo's to find cures for magical bugs and diseases, and I'm working on.." DING. Oh. "Well thank you for speaking with me," he smiled at her. She smiled in return, before moving on. Stewart marked his with a little star next to her. The only one to receive any sort of mark over the course of the event so far.

Stewart didn't even know if it was right to do that, but she was nice to him, and within the four minutes, seemed normal. He got up from his chair and wandered over to the next person, without really realizing it was his former school mate. He was jolted from his daze when he heard the familiar voice, "oh," he was a little surprised himself, "yes Stewart. You are Isla." It was nice to see a familiar face in all honesty, he hadn't considered he'd run into anyone he knew here. "Hello," he smiled. What was he doing there? Uh, oh, yeah. His cheeks went slightly pink as he thought about the fact that it was speed dating and he was here. "Speed dating," he said as a matter of factly, "though I don't think I'm doing it right." He scratched the back of his head for a moment feeling awkward. "What about you? What are you doing speed dating?" Wasn't she dating that one guy? Or did things change? Obviously she's single the little voice shouted in his head.

"Yes. Hello." His smile encouraged one of her own but she was acutely aware of the amount of times she'd said the word hello. to him. Isla took a step forward, as though to embrace him, before remembering that they…probably weren't friends any more. Isla had gone through a period of crushing on Stewart. In fact, she'd wrestled with the idea of asking him out before she realised she didn't have the courage. Then Camm happened and everything sort of snowballed.

Stewart's blush coincided with one of her own as the tips of her ears turned pink. Speed dating he'd said and without a trace of irony. She nodded as she looked around. She didn't think either of them were the type to partake in this sort of activity but what did she know? "I'm sure you're doing brilliantly," Isla was quick to placate him, her Highlands accent soft and warm.

Her smile faltered somewhat at his innocent question. "Oh," she answered smartly, rubbing the tip of her nose as she was prone to do when she was nervous or anxious. "I'm pretty new to London," she admitted. "And I don't know many people so I was persuaded -" she added, shooting a dark look to her vivacious friends who were having the time of their lives in the pub. She might as well be honest. "And I've been single for a little while so I'm sort of just adjusting."

She'd gone from being fine with her own company, to getting completely wrapped up in another person, to suddenly finding herself alone. And she felt it. She didn't have any security or a safety net. There wasn't anyone to ask about her day or give her a hug or go to her exhibitions. She and Camm hadn't worked out and it had come to a point where things had become a bit strained. It was the wrong time. She couldn't remember who initiated it and while she still wasn't okay, she knew it was for the best.

"But hi, I'm Isla," she grinned as she continued on with their four minute countdown. "I'm an artist and I specialise in watercolours. I work part time in a cafe, I like plants and forests. I tried becoming vegetarian but then I remembered bacon sandwiches existed. I'm not scared of spiders but I am scared of the dark," she offered him a wry smile. "My favourite food is beans on toast, I chew on my hair when I get stressed and I'm really hoping I'm not making a complete fool out of myself."

With that, she gave a sigh of relief as her slender shoulders sagged. Wow, that was a lot to handle. Isla didn't wait until Stewart had left before she marked his number with a little tick; of course she wanted to see him again. She'd always liked him. He was a genuinely nice young man and Isla liked nice. She wasn't one of those girls who liked bad boys. She wasn't really into spontaneity. She was much more a babbling brook as opposed to a raging waterfall kinda girl (but that wasn't to say she thought Stewart was boring.)

"You're here alone?" She asked him distractedly, her overly large blue eyes scanning the room to see if she recognised anyone. There were two young men at the tables close to them, shooting glances over and Isla frowned as she heard some familiar laughs. Evie, her friend, was flirting hard and Isla was overcome with a pang of jealousy; why couldn't she be footloose and fancy-free? "Ah," she admitted as the bell dinged, signalling their time was up. "There goes my ride home." Both of her friends had scored and Isla - most definitely - had not.