Please don't drive me blind [Tara]

Tara grinned triumphantly at the surprise she saw on Brian's face and that was even before he started choking on his beer. "Told ya you were gonna regret asking for truth," she said in a sing-song voice as she watched him struggle through coughs and watery eyes. She laughed and made no move to help him as she reveled in the fact that she had caught him this much off guard with her question. Tara leaned forward placing her head in her chin, feeling like her head was too heavy to hold up, but she listened with eager ears as he began to answer.

"Oh, so you're into cougars?" she asked, purposefully trying to needle him. "Blonde cougars. Got it." Tara laughed again and drug her pint closer to her, leaning her head down to the cup in an effort to conserve energy rather than lifting the glass to her lips. Her lips were tingling and her head felt fuzzy but Brian's answer to this question was just too good to not give all of her attention to him.

"And don't forget 'old'," she reminded him, adding that to his list with a grin. She nudged his fingers out of the way as she took a few fries from the basket as well. "I know some ladies who might fit the bill for you, McShane. You should let me set up a date for you," she told him and then burst out in loud laughter. She had tried to hold it together but it was just too funny and she didn't have the kind of restraint she did when she was sober. Brian and the Cougar. It could almost be a song. Tara laughed even harder, so much so that she grabbed her stomach with one hand as a stitch seared into her side.

It took her a few moments, but she settled down, wiped the laughter tears from her ears and heaved a great sigh as she was finally able to draw in a real breath. "Merlin, Brian, you make me laugh," she told him as she took a large gulp of her beer and then hiccuped in the most ladylike fashion. "Again? Alright. I'll go truth this time, only because I know you won't be able to come up with a good question anyway,' she told him, green eyes hazy but still twinkling, her smile bright in the dimly lit pub.

Brian shot Tara a glare as she gleefully began to tear into his confession. Jesus, this woman was a handful. The rules of the game demanded that he tell the truth, which he did, and now he was regretting it a bit. He ran a hand through his dark hair, causing a few stray curls to stand on end. “Old?” he asked, sounding incredulous. “Hardly,” he said, allowing her to push his hand out of the way as she reached for some fries. He eyed her narrowly as she laughed. Picking up his beer, he took another sip, waiting for her to finish.

“I don’t need your help getting a date,” he muttered, suddenly annoyed with the turn the conversation had taken. It was a good thing Tara was obviously drunk. Brian found that he was much more forgiving of her antics knowing that she wasn’t sober than he would have been otherwise. He made a face at her as she wiped away her tears of laughter. We’ll see who gets the last laugh… “Smooth,” he chuckled as she hiccuped, shaking his head in amusement.

“Truth? What, are you scared of another dare?” he gibed, a slow smile spreading across his lips. Brian gazed restlessly around the pub as he thought, trying to come up with a suitable question. What did he want to know about her that she might not have told him otherwise? Should he ask a serious or a silly question? He took his time, mulling over his options as he reached absently for another fry.


He chewed for a minute before an idea came to him. Struck by inspiration, he grinned and leaned toward her, hazel eyes shining with mirth. “Since you love the Griffins so much,” he began, waving his hand for emphasis, “tell me this. If you had to choose any of the bachelors on the team to date, who would it be?” He straightened up. “Don’t forget that this is a truth question. I’ll know if you're lying,” he said, his lips twisted into a self-satisfied smirk.

"Don't be a baby about it. I promise not to tell anyone that you needed help with the ladies," Tara teased with a grin on her lips and that ever playful glint in her green eyes. Why it was a victory that she had annoyed him was beyond her, but she found it amusing nonetheless. She was just grabbing another fry when he accused her of being afraid of another dare.

Her mouth dropped open as she narrowed her gaze at him, his joke not appreciated one bit. She threw the fry that she had been about to eat at him, saying, "F*ck off, McShane. You know better than anyone I'm up for any dare, anytime." And truth be told, with all the dares she had done as a Gryffindor at Hogwarts, she knew he had to be kidding. His smile confirmed it. Damn him.

She took another sip of her beer and then another as she leaned back in her chair, waiting as Brian tried to think of a truth question. She was getting a bit impatient when he suddenly got a look in his eyes that surely meant she was going to be in trouble. She sat up slowly and tracked him with hazy eyes as he sat up straighter and leaned toward her. She knew she was in for it, but the actual question he asked was nothing what she was expecting.

Tara scowled at him and immediately sat back in her chair, crossing her arms in front of her as she gazed at him with a frosty look in her eyes. "I don't f*cking date athletes," she reminded Brian, her tone cool and sharp. She wasn't even going to entertain the question and she didn't care if she was breaking the rules of the game. She wasn't just going to pick one of the Griffins. Who would she pick anyway? Handsome Rob was more like an annoying older brother, Archie was a baby and Tara wasn't in to cradle robbing. She didn't know much about the Cardozo and Bellamy? Hell to the no. Tara contined to glare at Brian as his question needled her.

But then an idea occurred to her and the hardness in her expression morphed into more of a smirk. "Alright, you got me. If I had to pick anyone, I'd pick Rathbone," she admitted with a growing grin. And with that, she set down her glass and excused herself needing the little girls room. But she didn't quite realize just how much all the beer was affecting her because as she stood, her head spun and she clutched at the table to steady herself but couldn't get a grip. She felt herself falling but it was like her brain and her arms were moving in slow motion and she couldn't catch herself. Dammit!

Brian laughed at Tara as she chucked a fry at him, catching it easily thanks to his chaser’s instincts, though it had been a decade since he had played on a team. He popped it in his mouth and waited for her response to his question. The look she sent him told him that once again, he’d struck gold. He was glad to see the tables turned. It didn’t occur to him that they were both doing the same thing by annoying the other with ridiculous questions and dares. This was a side of Tara he did not often see, though he found that he was not at all deterred by her obstinate determination to get under his skin using any means available to her.

“You don’t? Could have fooled me. Wasn’t Leifr a beater for the Hogwarts team?” he asked innocently, attempting but failing to hold back another laugh. His stomach was starting to ache from all the laughing he had been doing that evening. Brian knew very well that Leifr had played for the Gryffindor team, since the two had been teammates while they were students. Since school, Brian didn’t really know much about Tara’s dating life, but clearly from her reaction she wasn’t seeing any athletes. As she told him that she would choose Roxy, he nodded, saying, “Good choice.” Once upon a time, he and Roxy had been a thing, but they had quickly realized that they were not compatible, and had ended the relationship with no hard feelings. They were still very good friends.

Tara made her excuses, and stood so she could make her way to the loo. Brian had a sudden premonition, his protective instincts kicking into high gear as he pushed his chair back away from the table at the same second that she stumbled. As she lost her footing and began to fall forward, he was at her side, just to the left of her. His arms automatically slid around her waist in order to stop her from completely face planting on the floor. “Steady on, Kingsley,” he teased as he helped her right herself. This was the closest he’d been to her in a long time. As he inhaled, he could smell the faint vanilla scent of what he presumed was her shampoo. His head was spinning a bit, and it was enough to let him know that he was decently buzzed. Silently, he resolved to not let Tara have any more alcoholic drinks that night, no matter how much she protested. Though maybe after nearly becoming acquainted with the floor, she would not want any more drinks.

“Here, let’s get you to the ladies’ room,” he said, keeping his tone light. His right hand lingered at the small of her back as he guided her through the maze of tables that separated them from her destination. Even if she disliked his help, he insisted on giving it. The last thing either of them needed was for her to get injured due to her drunkenness. While she took her time in the loo, he leaned against the wall just outside the door, waiting for her to finish, hoping that she wasn’t in there getting sick or worse, passed out.

She frowned at her friend and gave him an unimpressed look as he easily caught the fry she had thrown at him. Tara had been hoping for a more comical reaction. Like the fry bouncing off his forehead and into his beer. Stupid git, she thought and then narrowed her eyes further as he commented on her dating history. "Professional athletes, dimwit," she clarified. "I don't date professional athletes. And besides Leifr wasn't even that good of a beater." Then she grinned, slow and sly, as a different thought popped in her head which she chose not to voice.

Tara saw the floor rise up to met her, but before she could feel its impact, she felt a pair of strong, sturdy arms wrap around her waist and halt her downward motion. Her head spun dangerously and the floor seemed to waver and wobble as Brian helped her regain her feet. As much as she hated to do it, she had latched onto his arm's as her eyes fluttered close for a moment. Her world was spinning and she was not going to barf in front of McShane. In that moment and mostly because her mind wasn't tracking, she opened her green eyes and found herself looking at his chest. Her fingers moved over his arms and she found her first smirk since almost falling onto her face. "Since when did you get all muscly, McShane?" she asked as she squeezed his arm and tilted her head back to glance up at him.

But even that made her a little dizzy and she squeezed her eyes together for a moment until it passed. When Brian offered to escort her to the loo, she pushed at his hands and muttered a Tara-standard. "Don't need your help," she told him stubbornly even as she allowed him to lead her there with a hand on her back. She did her business and as she was washing her hands, she had an idea that put a dangerous glitter in her eyes.

Emerging from the room, she set her sights on Brian leaning against the wall and grinned at him as she hooked on to his arm. "I've got an idea," she told him lowly, her voice edged with excitement. It included two brooms she had back at her apartment, a deserted alley she knew wouldn't be busy with muggles, and some more beer. "Let's go," she told him as she pulled him toward the door. She pulled a couple of galleons out of her pocket and slid them across the bar to pay for their tab, waving to the goblin in the back to keep the change and then went out of the bar and into the cool night air.