This is totally what it looks like..[Emily]

Nodding, she managed to choke out in a softer voice, “Yeah, yeah. Just fine.” Lifting her hand to rub her teeth a little bit with her fingertips, she grabbed a napkin from a nearby dispenser and wiped them off on it. Em couldn’t tell whether he’d asked her if she was okay because he really wanted to know or if he was just being polite, but either way, at least he knew how to be polite. That wasn’t something she’d seen from him the first time they’d met, and even though the beginning of this meeting hadn’t exactly started out picture perfect, they were certainly getting along better now. She thought so, anyway. They weren’t glaring at each other or insulting each other’s sexual tendencies -- not yet. She was not privy to any thoughts of how the rest of the night would turn out for the pair of them, and Emily was ready to know the point of their conversation and why she was sitting here in the first place.

Her nerves were set on edge again when she turned around, spoke, and saw the frown take its place on his face. Looking at him at all was kind of unsettling, and to see him frowning in suspected discomfort at her words made everything a lot more … well, she didn’t know how to put that, either. Disappointing? Nerve wracking? A mixture of the two, maybe. He looked at her then, his eyes seeming to bore into her own, and said something else. Something that made her pretty green eyes widen a little bit in mild astonishment. Had what she said really been that severe? Her intentions had been basically innocent. All she’d wanted to know was whether he was okay or not, and judging by his behavior, he obviously wasn’t, and then he’d told her otherwise again. This was so confusing.

Emily’s mouth hung slightly open, her eyes still a little wider than normal. “I’m.. I’m sorry, then. I didn’t mean to pry, but I still don’t believe you.” Shit. Had she said that last part out loud? She hadn’t meant to. That was an afterthought of the original thing she’d meant to say and it had sort of just decided to come out on its own. What on earth was he going to say to her now? He looked away from her for a second, playing with his glass just as she’d been doing a few minutes ago, and then he finally turned back to her to answer the question he’d left hanging.

No longer feeling ashamed, but offended, Emily’s mouth snapped shut and she gave a curt nod. So that was what he thought of her. That she wouldn’t understand whatever was going on in his head. She wasn’t an idiot, and she didn’t like being made out to look like one, not at all. “Things that I wouldn’t understand, hmm?” Crossing her arms as she’d done outside, she got up slowly and stood, successfully maintaining precarious balance on the wooden floor. “Well, excuse me, then. If you’d rather not enlighten me with your secret information, I’ll just leave you alone.” She knew that she was drunk, drunk enough to be in danger of stumbling if she didn’t walk slowly or deliberately enough, and that would be an awful embarrassment, so she took the slow steps her brain was telling her to.

“I’m sorry to have been such a bother.” Another scoff and she was halfway across the room, feeling a little humiliated and annoyed with herself for even trying. That was what she got, she supposed, when she tried to be personable. A closed book.

The moment he saw her face and heard the words tumble from her mouth. Leifr regretted what he’d said immediately. She didn’t believe him? That was a shocker, but it had been worth a shot. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he let his gaze drop to his shoes. That had been stupid of him, very stupid at that. Sighing the man cleared his throat and was about to take back everything he’d said before, and apologize, but then the witch in front of him went from apologetic to offended. Shite He’s really gone and messed things up, yes he had. Leifr had learned at an early age that trying to stand up for ones self while he was being yelled at by a woman got him nowhere. He kept his gaze trained on his shoes till she had finished most of her speech. The one thing that had him lifting his gaze was her mention of leaving.

He didn’t want her to leave, not if it was going to end like this, but that was all his fault. Instead of rushing after her right away, the ex-Gryffindor kept an eye on her as she attempted to make her dignified exit, knowing that she’d had a decent amount to drink tonight, and he wasn’t about to let her get hurt, even if she was angry with him. Leifr took advantage of the fact that she was walking slowly to not rush what he had to say “ I only meant that you wouldn’t understand because I don’t know how to explain it” He sighed exasperatedly, angry with himself, and hating that he was about to admit something he wasn’t quite ready to admit to anyone, himself included “ I don’t want you to leave” There. He’d said it. He didn’t like the vulnerable position that this was pushing him towards, but he also knew he had nobody to blame but himself.

Leifr knew that if he didn’t do or say something soon, that Emily was going to walk out of the door, and likely not come back. He didn’t want that. Why that was, he wasn’t going to think about, but he knew it was true. Voice apologetic he spoke again “You’re not a bother.” Another sigh. Anything to do with feelings had the man feeling irritated, even if they were harmless “ I enjoy your company” he hoped that would at least get her to stop her leaving. If not, he could resort to something a little different, but that was a question he wasn’t quite ready to ask, either, and so he’d stick to the little things for the moment.   

The couple of times Emily looked over her shoulder at Leifr, he resembled something close to a kicked puppy. She didn’t know what she’d said to him to make him look like that, because it had been snippy, but nothing really personal. Just … general offense. She stopped when she heard him sigh and say something that neither surprised nor pleased her. “Mmm.” She hummed, her gaze still hard. She was trying to keep this as emotionless as possible. He’d already hurt her enough for one night, hadn’t he? Emily didn’t want to let him get under her skin any more than he already had, because every time he had, it hadn’t been in the good way. Not really. The closest it had gotten to that was some weird kind of bittersweet. When anything had turned for the better, something she said or something he did had shot down the hopes of a civilized, maybe even stimulating conversation.

However, the next thing the attractive man spluttered out quickly was something that threw her for a little bit of a loop. The brunette’s eyebrows shot up, creasing her forehead and widening her glassy eyes, and she took an unnoticed step forward. That had basically contradicted everything she assumed he’d been thinking this whole time. He didn’t think she was a nuisance? He didn’t want her to leave so that he could go to bed or owl someone much prettier to come satisfy his… whatever he needed satisfied? He was still sitting in his stool. Maybe he thought she needed space. He was half right, anyway.

Just as the Ravenclaw opened her mouth to reply to his broken-sounding, unsure statement, he kept going and she was further surprised. She had to try hard not to make any incoherent noises or gape. If that was how he felt about her, he’d sure gone the shitty route of showing it. If he enjoyed her company, why had he been such an ass about it before? It just did not make any sense to the logical twenty-one year old at all, and she knew the only way to clear it up was to ask more personal questions than he was probably prepared to answer.

Why was he sighing so much? What about admitting that he didn’t hate her was so grueling? Before she knew it, words were pouring out of her mouth in a still-understandable, but less composed than before flurry. “Really? You’ve got an unusual way of showing that you want me to stay here when you’re jumping all over me for my curiosity and concern. Do you piss off all the girls you want to get to know on purpose? Is it some kind of hot and cold tendency you have and don’t intend to get rid of?” She snapped, realizing that it all sounded a lot worse than she’d intended to. Her guard was still up, despite what he’d said, despite her wanting to stay and see him be… well, not unhappy with her.

Emily turned around again, away from Leifr, and reached the door they’d closed some minutes earlier. Em hesitated before placing her hand on the doorknob, her fingers curling back towards her body in uncertainty. What came of this would be in her hands, really, and did she want to risk never seeing him again when she felt so drawn to him?

If there was one thing Leifr had learned as of late, it was that Emily was good at driving him up the wall. Not because he found her to be irritating, but because she challenged and pushed his regular habits and tendencies. He was fairly sure the witch had no idea what it was that she was doing, but that didn’t help make it any less irritating. It was all on him, that much was true, so far, anyway, which only served to make him less cooperative. The more of his patience he lost with himself, it seemed the less he had with the witch in front of him.

So, when Emily decided to dress him down again, it was no surprise to the wizard when he felt himself rolling his eyes. His patience with the whole situation wasn’t fairing very well, and seemed to be getting thinner by the minuet. She might have a point, but that didn’t mean she got a pass for not being able to understand how uncomfortable this whole thing was for him. Leifr had been raised with a very large family, with plenty of women in it to teach him how to treat a woman, but that didn’t mean he could always lay down and take it when he was being yelled at. Gone was the remorseful look, and in it’s place was a scowl, clearly showing his frustration. But even then, the wizard made himself wait till she’d finished speaking.

Unclenching his jaw Leifr made himself take a breath before he spoke “ Really. And you might have a point. Sure I’m not very good at stringing my words together like you are. But did you ever stop to think that maybe I don’t even do this very often?” He paused, not wanting to let himself start yelling, as that would accomplish nothing. Taking a drink, the wizard continued “ Excuse me for protecting myself in the only way I know how. It might not be right, but I’m not sure why or how it’s not okay for me to be at least a little defensive....and I don’t have tendencies.” He finished bitterly. Now he was just feeling downright grumpy. Feelings were not something that came easy to him, not in the least. But despite that he knew he had to clear the air. Keeping his eyes fixed on her the ex Gryffindor spoke up again “ Like I said, I like you being here, and I enjoy your company. I’m just not the easiest book to read” It was like pulling teeth, but he’d said it anyway. 

When he saw her pause, even after all they’d said, Leifr ground his teeth silently, knowing he’d have to stop beating around the bush if he wanted her to stay, because as far as he could tell, Emily was going to walk out of the pub for good. Damn her for putting him in this position, even though he knew it was on both of them now. He watched her and it seemed like she was hesitating. It was just like ripping off a band-aid and was something he’d done before, just not in this same context. They couldn’t both hesitate forever. Downing another drink, Leifr kicked himself and made himself spit the words out “Look. I like you being here and whatever. But I’d rather just as you if you’d like to be my date.” He was such a wimp. He was feeling edgy and uncomfortable, but he’d said what he needed to say, with his luck she’d probably still leave. 

All the things Leifr was saying didn’t really ease the tension, and none of it was making her feel any better. He didn’t do this very often? That didn’t make sense. He’d said only at their last meeting that he’d been with plenty of women, and she assumed that it was pretty clear she was rather inexperienced. One man, that was all, and she knew that it was wrong that she was here with Leifr instead of at John’s or at home, but Emily didn’t feel wrong here. Her brain and her logic had always been large driving forces in her life, but very human and very female emotions sometimes got in the way.

“How do you even know I’m good at stringing my words together, hmm? You haven’t even seen me calm and clever yet.” He didn’t know how to protect himself in any other way than snarking at her when she was asking if he was alright? For crying out loud, how closed off was this man? Emily understood. She really did, to an extent… but not to the point where she would snap at someone she was trying to get on her good side, especially when they were only trying to be friendly… caring, even. Though, she wouldn’t let herself think that way. It was silly to be thinking along any lines that involved her caring about Leifr Trickett or his opinions. She’d known him for how long? A couple of hours at most, in total?

He obviously didn’t know that she read people like books so easily when he told her that he wasn’t easy to decipher. Almost all of the time, she’d been right about her first judgments concerning people. This situation, however, was proving to be quite different. It was frustrating to her that she was unable to predict what he was going to do or say to her… and it also made it more difficult to cultivate more witty remarks. Even while tipsy, she could do that, but it sure has hell complicated the thought process she normally went through.

“You obviously do have tendencies.” She wasn’t in the mood to argue. She was at the door, lingering, ready to leave, and if she kept arguing with him standing there so close to departure, it would look like she was aching to stay. Em knew she wanted to, of course, but she really didn’t want him to know that. That would give him a weapon she wasn’t prepared to let him wield quite yet, and there was that thing again. Her thoughts tricking her into believing there would be future meetings between them, that she’d have a chance to see him again, when that would only happen in a separate world entirely different from the one they currently lived in.

One without complicated relationships, fading friendships, estranged families. Maybe then she’d be less jaded, easier to love. Sometimes, she felt like the only person that had ever really loved her was dead and gone, but that was dangerous to ponder while in the hyper-fragile state she was in now, what with the inebriation. Taking a deep breath and turning the handle to finally follow through, she felt a cold sliver of air hit her in the face, and then heard his voice. He had quite a pleasant voice, when his tone wasn’t harsh and defensive.

It took her a moment to register what he’d said, but then realization hit her. Not unlike the cold air a second ago, it was harsh, sudden, unexpected, all of what he’d asked her. Before she felt anything, Emily was turned back around, a few steps forward and closer to him. Gulping and nodding her head slowly, a slow smile curved her gentle lips. “I suppose I’d let you take me out.” Pause. “I guess mostly because you ‘like me being here and whatever’.” A silent laugh came out in a short burst through her nose. What the hell had she done? She’d just been so rational a minute ago when she’d told herself it would only work in another universe, but her willpower had fallen off of her like a loose slip and she’d submitted to his charm like every other stupid doe-eyed girl. It was pathetic to think she really wanted to go out with him that much, and she hadn’t even bothered to ask what they were doing.

God, she was such a dishrag sometimes, she made herself sick. “Where are we going?” She asked, a little more timidly. She didn’t know what to do with herself anymore, so she stood awkwardly in the middle of the pub, sliding her hands into the pockets of her jeans uncertainly while she waited.

He’d been bound and determined to keep his mouth shut until she’d given him an answer to his question that hadn’t really been a question at all. But of course, true to his nature, Leifr found himself getting defensive for what felt like the umpteenth time that night. The ex-Gryffindor had managed to not do anything more to make things worse for  himself up until the point where Emily had insisted he did have tendencies. Frowning lightly Leifr felt a little petulant as he retorted “I do not have tendencies.” But he was being stubborn and was in no mood to admit that she might be right.

Being stubborn was one of the things that Leifr seemed to be quite good at, particularly when he was in a mood. Biting his tongue the wizard waited and watched Emily as she continued to make her way toward the door, presumably walking out without giving him any kind of an answer regarding what he’d asked. Naturally, he told himself he shouldn’t be surprised. She wasn’t going to give him the time of day anymore, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. The one time he’d been genuine about asking someone out, probably the first time ever, he was going to have to watch her walk away. That was something Leifr was becoming more and more sure of by the second. Until he’d realized she’d stopped her abrupt exodus, and had actually acknowledged him.

Oh. Blinking the only reply that Leifr’s mind could come up with within a few moments of her accepting his offer was ‘Really?‘ but he stopped himself before he could manage to make himself look more dense than she probably already thought he was. It took the man a few moments to think of something even semi intelligent to say, honestly he was feeling as surprised as she looked. But he also knew the longer they stood there looking at each other, the less competent it made him look. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Leifr automatically began digging for a cigarette, his nerves were on edge as it was, and if he was going to put coherent thoughts together into sentences, he’d need a smoke.

While he searched for the box the wizard made himself speak “Great...that’s more than I was expecting really..” Laughing nervously Leifr paused to pull out a cigarette, only to find that he’s smoked them all already. Mentally kicking himself the man sighed and forced himself to continue, absently biting his lip and frowning slightly “Well, I do like you being here and whatever...” He didn’t find it as nearly amusing as Emily did, but he figured he’d earned a little bit of what he was getting based on his earlier behavior. Glancing up at her he tentatively answered her next question “A wedding. My best mates wedding, actually..” He was sure she’d be backing out quicker than she’d agreed a few minuets ago when she heard what he’d said. But at least at this point, he’d tried, and made himself look like a complete ass, if nothing else, right?