tongues always pressed to your cheeks {theophilus}

It had been a surprisingly long week for Julia. She had worked at the club straight from last Saturday until this Thursday and although she was swimming in money from tips, she couldn’t have been more thankful that Leon agreed to give her a Friday night off. Although after work she and the other girls and bouncers would often hang out at the club bar, knocking back a few drinks, it still wasn’t the same as being able to go out and do what she wanted. In addition to work her shifts at Sirens, Julia had also done many smuggling runs throughout the days for Leon, which was the only reason he agreed to give her Friday night off. This was Julia’s idea—instead of the nice new leather coat that Leon offered her, she said she just wanted a weekend night off. And, although Friday was busy, it wasn’t nearly as busy as Saturday, so Julia got her wish.

Julia was supposed to meet up with one of her girlfriends later that night and go to some party, but at eight o’clock, the seventeen year old already found herself at some hole-in-the-wall muggle bar. The place was nice enough—clean, but dark. Julia liked the darkness inside, she didn’t have to worry about someone recognizing her from Sirens. The darkness also made it easier for her to lie about her age. Although with her current make up, Julia easily passed for 20, the darkness inside made it all the more easier to lie and not have people be concerned that a seventeen year old was at a bar on her own. Not that they even bothered to check identification here, anyway.

Moving from her seat at the bar, Julia went outside to smoke a cigarette, grabbing her jacket to keep her warm. As she lit up, Julia leaned against a wall and exhaled, watching the smoke rise up and away. Lost for a minute in her dream world, she jumped slightly when a group of guys drove past her in a beat up looking car and cat called at her. Rolling her large blue eyes, she muttered the world “Muggles” under her breath and continued to smoke her cigarette. As she turned her head back to the sky, a figure caught the corner of Julia’s eyes. A very tall man was heading into the pub. He had a few visible tattoos that Julia could see and he was handsome. As he walked past her, Julia was sure she caught his eye, so she gave the man a cheeky smile with a devilish look in her eyes. She watched him enter the pub and Julia was certain her night was about to get a bit better.

Tossing her cigarette into the street, Julia entered back into the bar and saw the man sitting two seats over from her old seat. She smiled again at him, trying to catch his eye one more time. The blonde looked at her half finished drink and tossed her long tumbles of blonde hair behind her shoulder as she signaled for the bartender. Although there was still a good bit left in her drink, one thing Julia had learned through observation was to never leave your drink alone and drink it when you came back. The teen would much rather spend a little more money and get a new drink than end up with a spiked drink. As she took off her jacket, exposing her little crop top that showed off her tiny stomach and belly ring, the bartender came over, and eagerly asked Julia what she was ordering. The bartender was an older man and clearly none too familiar with women.

“Vodka and cranberry,” Julia said with a smile. “Double on the vodka.” She gave the man a little wink, which made him beam. She would have to give him a good tip, Julia thought to herself. Although she loved to toy with the boys, Julia also took pity on the ones that seemed to have no luck with girls. And although she wasn’t about to go out of her way to make this bartenders night, a little extra tip from a pretty, foreign blonde was sure to make him happy. As her drink arrived, Julia looked at the tattooed man again. He had been sitting on his own for the better part of ten minutes, Julia noted, which made her think that he was here on his own also. That meant no woman. Another grin grew on Julia’s faced as she sipped her drink.

“No friends on a Friday night,” Julia asked him in her accented English. Biting down on her lower lip just slightly the blonde gave a small giggle. “I may or may not be in the same boat.”

It was a long day. Theophilus Dayton just wanted to go home and sleep, but his night needed a drink. After work he normally changed his clothes to a muggle hoodie or something that was more comfortable before he went to get a drink but tonight he was going right after work so he was wearing his grey button up shirt, glasses, and black slacks. He did not feel like himself. He felt professional. His sleeves were rolled up to show off his covered arms. The man still looked decent. As he stepped into the muggle bar he decided that being alone and at the bar would be his choice for the night. He did not know many people that would frequent this place or even thought about it. It was close to his work, but there are other bars that were wizard bars. Theo did not mind muggles though, his mother was a muggleborn. She taught him to respect and love everybody. As he walked toward the bar he glanced around he noticed a blonde out of the corner of his eye but no way was he going to talk to her. Probably had a boyfriend here or someone was going to be coming here for her. Not the best to get involved with someone who might have a boyfriend.

Taking a seat at the bar Theo ordered a rum and coke rather than his normal fire whiskey. He was not even sure if they would have fire whiskey... which made him sad. He took a drink of his rum and coke and within ten minutes it was gone already. He quickly ordered another one and as he done so he heard a voice come from next to him. Looking up at the voice he seen the same blonde that he noticed early. Theo shrugged slightly about no friends on a Friday night... then when she giggled about being in the same boat he smiled slightly. "You can join me if you like." He patted the seat next to him with a bright white smile. Well at least he would have a little company.

Theo loved meeting new people. She had an accent which means she was not from around here. It would be amazing to meet someone from around the world and a place he has not been. Other than meeting new people he loved to travel. If he could find a place he has not been he would plan a trip to go. Normally it was hard working two jobs but he always wanted to make time for a new vacation. He did have some vacation time that was adding up. Waiting for her to join his company he spoke once more, "Theophilus Dayton, most people call me Theo or Phil. Never call me Theophilus." He chuckled. His name felt so old.

[Sorry so short.... :/ ]

A smile tugged at the corners of Julia’s pale lips as the older man offered her the seat next to him. With careful grace and fluidity, the short blonde slinked out of her seat and into the one her patted. “Thanks,” she purred at him with a mischievous grin. Up close, the man was even more handsome. Of course, the dim lighting in the bar made everyone look a little more attractive, but the teen was able to tell that even in fluorescent lighting, he’d be attractive. Sipping on her strong drink, Julia looked down at his arms quickly. His tattoos were a turn on—something about tattoos always peaked Julia’s interest. With the straw of her drink barely leaving her lips, she looked back up at his face and with a flirtatious smile that showed off her even, white teeth and said, “I like your tattoos.” 


Arching a pale eyebrow, Julia’s pale blue eyes studied the man for a moment. “Then why even bother introducing yourself with your full name then,” she asked with a jokingly mocking tone. A part of her was thinking that possibly the man was stupid—he couldn’t even decide on a name for him and was letting anybody call him whatever they chose? Granted his full name was dated and Julia wouldn’t like being called something so old, but she would have her own nickname chosen and not even bothered mentioning her full name. However, despite these thoughts, Julia wasn’t deterred from the man. His intelligence level didn’t really interest her as it wasn’t intelligent conversation she was after. Flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder, Julia said, “I think I like Theo.”


Knowing that now was the time to introduce herself, Julia has a small moment of panic. What did she introduce herself as? Julia, or Anja—her stage name and alias? What if he had been to Sirens before and recognized her? Of course, they were in a muggle bar, there was no reason to think he wasn’t a muggle. “Julia,” the blonde replied smoothly, deciding on using her real name. She’d probably never see this man again in a big city like London.


Finishing her drink, Julia picked up her pack of cigarettes and gave them a small shake. She knew that smoking wasn't her most attractive habit, but it's not like she was going out of her way to impress this man with her personality. “Care to join me? It’s gotten a little warm in here,” she asked the man. That was mostly true. Although the weather outside was chilly, the alcohol was making Julia's body warm and he flirting with this older man and the possibilities of things that could happen tonight were making her stomach buzz with excitement.



[its fine this is short too haha]

The blonde liked his tattoos. Normally people approved of them or disapproved. Thankfully she liked them. He smiled rubbing his tattoos on his hands. "They took a while to acquire" He smiled. He would not add in some of his tattoos came from magical ways of tattooing only because this girl might be a muggle. Normally he would use a spell to hide his tattoos so nobody would comment on them but once more this was a muggle place. Sometimes Theo liked to be alone when he wanted to think about things, but today was different. He really did not care what people thought of him. When she said the comment about the full thing name thing, he just wanted to smile. He was not even going to comment on it. The last time he said his name was Theo or Phil when they asked for his name, they always commented where the hell do you get those two names from. Theophilus was easier so they could make their own nickname for him. He would love to be called Baines, which is his middle name. Baines meant Bones in Welsh. He would be so happy to constantly be called Bones. When she said she liked Theo he just smiled gently at her and took a drink from his drink. The woman spoke her name in return. "Julia, I like that." He smiled at her once more.

The woman shook her cigarettes in front of him asking him to join her. Theo did not drink enough to want to smoke but he really did not want a woman going out there by herself. "Sure, let me finish this real quick." He chugged his drink and stood up. He was going to let her lead the way. Once outside it was pretty chilly. He loved the cold weather. Fall was his favorite season. The crisp air and leaves were just something that always made him happy. It seemed like walking weather to him, but was not sure if the girl would join him. He really did not know much about this girl. He knew her name... that was it. "So where you from?" He raised an eyebrow at her as he crossed his arms. He leaned against the wall looking up at the sky. It was so beautiful outside.

Theo just felt like moving once more as he waited for her to smoke. "Care to go for a walk? Trust me... not one of those creeper men- just nice out and my feet feel like moving." Theo usually could not sit still. He loved moving. It made him feel more comfortable. His foot normally tapped half the time or wiggled his feet when he was laying down, but standing around was just making him feel impatient and uncomfortable. Theo felt like doing something fun and a little more adventurous. "Or we can do something else if you got anything else in mind?" He probably scared her after talking about creeper men. He was just putting himself in that corner that he cannot get out of. He probably scared the girl away.

Biting her pink lip, Julia gave a small grin. "I bet they did, they're very intricate," she replied. Moving her arm up onto the bartop, she exposed the underside of her wrist and the small anchor outline tattoo that she had. It was very stark in comparison to her pale skin, but small enough that most people barely noticed it. "I only have this," the young blonde stated with a shrug. Recalling the night that it happened--a blur of bottles, shots and smoke, Julia let a small laugh escape. She didn't really remember getting the tattoo, but when she woke up in the morning with a stinging pain on her wrist and the red and bruised skin surrounding the area, she made a note that getting drunk with tattoo artists was probably not the best decision for an impulsive girl like herself. "It's kind of dumb. I got it in a not so great state of mind, but it's growing on me."

"Thanks," Julia replied to him saying he liked her name. She had pronounced her name differently growing up and while at Durmstrang, but now that she was living in an English speaking country, she went by the English pronunciation. It took some time getting used to, but not as much as Julia thought it would. Like the tattoo, the new pronunciation of her name had grown on her and made her feel like she was finally away from her old life. Not an entirely new name, but new enough that it felt fitting to the runaway. "Oh," Julia said softly as she watched the man chug. A playful smile grew all the way to her eyes and she let out another small laugh. "Impressive drinking, sir." Another playful giggle could be heard from her as she lead the way out after grabbing her jacket. The alcohol was beginning to reach her head and the seventeen year old felt light and happy. She could always tell when she was getting tipsy by how much easier it was to make her laugh.

As she lit her cigarette, she looked up at the man as he asked where she was from. She studied him in silence for a moment, before blowing the first drag of her cigarette out of her mouth. These were questions she usually liked to avoid, if possible, because there was too much to explain about her life before London. With a small shrug, Julia stated, "Germany. A small town, no ones really heard of it but it's somewhat close to München--well, Munich for you." She always assumed that most London-ers didn't speak German and she was usually right, although a few people tried to impress her by knowing greetings, pleases and thank yous. One girl surprised Julia by knowing nothing else except for how to ask for a pencil. Not wanting him to prod her about her school, Julia quickly added, "I went to local high school there and finished my schooling about two and a half years ago." Doing math quickly in her head, she knew the man would then assume she was about 20.

Taking another drag of her cigarette, she giggled again at his creeper comment. Julia was rarely worried about men trying to take advantage of her, although it had never happened. In her naivety, she was certain she could handle any threat--especially when she was armed with her wand. Although she knew that it wasn't allowed to use her magic in front of muggles, she figured if she was getting attacked, what else would she be expected to do? "Sure we can walk, and I'm not worried about you," Julia said playfully with a devilish grin as she exhaled another puff of smoke. "I'm a big girl despite my size, I can tie my own shoes and everything." Locking her bright blue eyes with his, she gave another flirtatious look, hopefully making her intentions with the man clear. "No walking sounds nice, it's not raining out so why not?"

Being a forward girl, Julia tossed her cigarette and laced her arm through his and rested her hand on his forearm. She was thankful her boots gave her small body an extra two inches. Theo was very tall for an average man, and it was especially obvious next to how short Julia was. "So she said as she began leading the two of them away from the pub. "I told you about me, what about you? Anything that might impress me?"