new moon rising | • e l a i n e

The storm was wild. It was unusual, for this time of year, to get a real storm. For many of the inhabitants of this area of the world, it seemed like it had been drizzling for weeks now. The weather cast a miserable grey mood over everything; seasonal waves of depression were rife. It did not, however, storm. Thunder boomed periodically, and thick flashes of light interrupted the absolute dark. It was windy and the wind might have howled, had all sounds not been drowned out by the fierce and constant wall of rain that hammered down on every surface. It almost felt too exciting to be natural.

Of course Eva didn’t know how miserable it had been for the past few weeks, she just knew that she was here, completely drenched, in the dark. The knight bus had dropped her off two blocks from where she was supposed to have ended up, and she’d tripped out into the rain before she’d had a chance to set up any sort of magical protection against it. The rain stung her cheeks and bare arms. In only a moment, the girl had been unable to feel her hands. She’d fumbled with her wand for a moment before deciding to just stomp her way through what felt like the river flooding the old and badly-made roads around Elaine’s house.

She was an impressive looking thing. Clearly she wasn’t prepared for this weather. Her clothes consisted of a denim jacket, frayed at the elbows, a dark t-shirt that was cut off just above her skinny midriff depicting some kind of band label, black shorts and stockings that were so full of holes that they barely managed to cling to her long legs. Her makeup had already been smudgy and a day old when she’d gotten on the bus; now it was running down her cheeks. Her vibrantly purple hair clung to her forehead, neck and back and she wore red boots.

The purple-haired girl finally made her way to the door she was seeking. Her boots were now completely filled with water and she was a bit muddy too. She tried the door immediately, but it was locked. Eva stared blankly at the doorknob for a moment and tried to remember what the time was. She didn’t know, but it was dark out and there weren’t a lot of lights on. Maybe eleven o’clock? Midnight? With a wicked grin, the tall girl balled her hand into a fist and started banging on the door. Her heart was pumping; it had been far too long, she decided. She’d stayed away from here far too long.

As the door opened, finally, Eva almost fell inside to escape the rain. She dumped her sopping wet backpack onto the floor and pushed long strands of straggly wet hair back from her face. Her hands were shaking and her teeth were chattering, but she was here. Finally. She couldn’t wipe the grin off of her face. The girl watched the person who’d opened the door, who seemed too shocked to speak. “I was worried you’d moved house,” she said, feeling her pocket for her cigarettes. She fished one out with two slender fingers, but it crumpled into wet mush in her hand. “Oh,” she said, disappointed.

The weather was depressing. Next to the fact that the days were getting shorter and shorter, it had also been raining for at least two weeks straight now. London was grey and gloomy and so were the people living there. On the streets everyone just hurried from place to place, not spending a minute more than necessary outside. Their eyes were focused on the ground or blocked by all kinds of umbrellas and there wasn't much communication going on. It was different in the pubs, though. There people were still laughing and talking and probably drinking a little bit too much because they didn't want to go home through the rain.

After work, Elaine Morgan had met a guy in the Rose & Crown, a place near her flat, and one drink had been followed by a second, and a third, and a fourth one. She hadn't actually thought of it as a real date, just a second meeting to get to know each other a little better, but one thing had led to another and before she'd had time to think about it, they'd been in her bedroom, taking each other's clothes off.

Adam was asleep now but somehow she was too restless to follow his example. Maybe it was the amount of alcohol she still had in her blood, maybe it was the rain pounding against her windows, whatever it was, it made it impossible to fall asleep. So instead of lying awake in the dark, Elaine had thrown a soft cream coloured pullover over her head and put some black leggings on before making a cup of tea in the kitchen. She didn't really feel drunk, the world wasn't spinning around her and knowing that she wouldn't be all hungover the next day made a satisfied smile appear on her face.

The tea was almost done when a loud bang startled the former Ravenclaw. What the... Elaine quickly closed the door to her bedroom and walked over to the entrance door, curious who was visiting that late in the middle of the week. She opened it and froze. Eva was standing in front of it, her purple hair plastered against her face, her clothes plastered against her long thin body. Drops of water were falling down on her floor but she barely registered it. Her friend was grinning as if nothing had happened and when she fished for a wet and broken cigarette, something in Elaine snapped.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" White hot anger washed through the petite brunette, her voice trembling. "You've been gone for months without a single letter or any sign that you're still alive and that's the best you can do? I've been worried sick." Elaine almost spat out the last word, her hands clenched into fists at her side. She'd thought she would cry in relief as soon as she saw Eva again but she had clearly been mistaken. The anger was burning in her chest and the muggleborn had to gather all her strength not to slap the girl in front of her right in the face.

The grin disappeared, but the sorry expression that replaced it was clearly teasing. There was guilt there, but it was very minimal. She was back now, wasn’t she? Eva didn’t know about Elaine, but she’d missed this little brunette very much lately. Missing her was probably the only reason she’d even come back to this wet, grey city at all. Australia had been hot, humid and sunny. She’d spent almost her entire last eight months or however long they’d been apart in the sun. Elaine had to be a pretty big, magnetic force to be able to pull her back here.

Eva shrugged off her dripping jacket, struggling a little as she tugged her clammy arms out of the sleeves. She wondered if her friend would notice the slight change in her accent. She couldn’t tell if it was a New Zealander thing or an Australian thing, but her vowels were a little different. She shivered. The girl was still drenched, still freezing. Goosebumps still covered her arms, chest, legs. Still, she was more focused on the woman in front of her.

Her jacket fell to the floor with a wet splat. Eva’s teeth peeked out as she bit her lower lip playfully. The young woman lowered her gaze, playing coy. “C’mon,” she said, drawing the word out as she swayed from side to side. The girl reached out with damp, slender fingers and she plucked at the bottom of Elaine’s jumper, feigning apology. “Didn’t you miss me, lover?” She peeked up again, her smile spreading as she tilted her head to the side. Okay, perhaps she wasn’t entirely sober.

Eva was alive.

Eva was alive and mostly well and Elaine knew that she should be happy about it. She should embrace her, give her a kiss and then something warm; a cup of tea and then a blanket. New clothes as well and a drying spell. She should bring her too bed and stroke her hair, listen to the stories the Bulgarian surely had to tell. She couldn't, though. Not after everything the woman had put her through. Everything had started just fine. They had travelled Australia and New Zealand together for more than a month until her job had forced her to go back to England. Eva had stayed and sent letters sporadically and she'd been okay with that.

Elaine knew her friend was a free spirit and that she wouldn't send letters every week but around March or April the letters had stopped completely and since then she hadn't heard a single thing. At first she hadn't worried, Eva often disappeared for a while but month after month had passed without a single sign of her best friend and slowly she'd begun to worry. Eva wasn't stupid but she was careless. She had that devil-may-care attitude that was interesting and attractive most of the time but that could also get her into real trouble. For Merlin's sake, after a while Elaine had thought the woman was dead.

And now she was standing in her flat, slowly getting out of her wet clothes, thinking that everything was just fine. It was so Eva that she would have laughed about it if she hadn't been so furious. Eva swayed from side to side and Elaine bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from screaming. Of course the tall witch was drunk or stoned or whatever. She was driving her crazy. "Don't you dare play games with me now." The brunette glared at Eva before she picked her jacket up and walked over to the living room where she put it over the back of a stool to dry.

Her gaze fell on the closed bedroom door and suddenly she remembered that Adam was still in there. Shit. Why couldn't she have nice things for once? Sighing, Elaine picked up her wand, pointed it at Eva and worked a drying spell to warm the girl up. "Sit," she said, her voice firm. After getting two cups out of the cupboard, the former Ravenclaw placed them on the table and filled them with the amber liquid. She summoned a little jug filled with milk and sat down once she had the tea in her hands. "Where the hell have you been?"

No hot make-out session? No hands fumbling, neck-nibbling; no line of clothes leading to the couch, or at the very least a teary kiss? Eva sighed. Okay, okay, she’d fucked up. Elaine wasn’t happy. The brunette moved away from her, pulling her tight little body away and tugging the soft material of her jumper out of her hands. Eva stayed there, still, for a moment before leaning over to unlace her boots (which were more like tiny baths now, Eva thought). She stepped out of them, wincing at the squelching sounds made when she pulled her feet free.

Eva popped back up just in time to find Elaine pointing a wand at her. The drying spell was like a whoosh of air; the purple-haired girl shivered as all of the wetness from her clothes and hair was magicked away into nothing. Her skin was still cold and clammy, but she wasn’t dripping anymore. The girl wondered what her hair looked like. She used the edge of her dark t-shirt to wipe at the makeup under her eyes so she looked a bit less like a dead body in a gutter. She supposed she wasn’t so pale anymore, which made her look more alive. These days she had quite a glowing tan. Constant sunshine did that to a person.

Despite being drier, Eva peeled her shorts off and pulled off her stockings; they ended up being basically a mess of strings rather than anything wearable anyway. She took a detour to the kitchen to dump them in the bin before returning to the table half naked. She felt her friend give a little as she commanded her to sit down. Yes M’am! she thought, obeying her much smaller friend and sliding into her seat. She gave her friend a hopeful smile, unable to keep the spark out of her eyes. Yes, she was in trouble and yes, she was prepared to grovel, but she couldn’t do it with total sincerity. Eva made sure to touch her bare knees to her friend’s covered ones under the table.

“Where have I been?” What a question. Eva tossed her now frizzy and drying hair over one shoulder, revealing her slender collarbone and long neck. There were a couple of new tattoos there too. She leaned her cheek in her palm. “I stayed where you left me for a while,” she answered, “East coast of Australia. I fell in with a group of travellers who were heading north, made my way through the middle…” The girl drew a line on the table with her free hand, mapping her path. “…Fell in love with a dragonologist in central Australia…” She gave a small shrug. “I’ve been all over.” Her blue eyes found Elaine’s brown ones and she reached across the table for her friend’s hand.

“I missed you,” she breathed honestly, teasing more with her eyes as she gave the girl’s hand a light squeeze. Eva tilted her head to the side, asking silently if she was still in trouble.

Eva behaved as if she hadn't just come back from the dead and Elaine didn't know if it calmed her down or made her even more angry. The purple-haired girl clearly didn't realise how much she'd scared her. It was no surprise, though. Eva usually didn't think things through and disappeared for weeks without telling anyone but the former Ravenclaw had always thought that she was special, that her friend would never disappear on her like she disappeared on everyone else in her live. It was probably what hurt her the most, knowing that she didn't matter more than all the other friends or lovers Eva had.

She swallowed when the Bulgarian's naked knees touched hers and shuffled a little on her chair so that there was some space between them again. She couldn't do this. Not yet. Her friend began to talk abd Elaine listened only half-heartedly. Instead, her gaze wandered from Eva's face to her bare arms and back to her face. Her usually so pale skin had acquired a tan during the past months and it suited her well. She looked healthier, even more alive than she'd looked before and seeing her like this made it very hard to stay angry. The witch had always had that effect on her, no matter what she did, Elaine never stayed mad at her for too long, she just couldn't.

The brunette was just checking out her friend's new tattoos when Eva's hand suddenly reached for hers and this time she didn't pull away. "I missed you too, you idiot," she replied softly, her thumb stroking the back of Eva's hand without her realising it. "Promise me you won't do this again. Not to me. I don't mind you disappearing every now and then as long as you send an owl at least every two months or something. I need to know you're safe." She paused for a second, taking a sip of her tea. "I'm not one of them." The witch emphasised the last word, knowing that Eva would understand.

It had always been Eva and Elaine against the world. They had a bond that was special. Their relationship was like a rubber band; no matter how far they were apart, at one point they always found their way back to each other again. She just had to know that she couldn't treat her like everyone else.

Eva felt a pleasant shiver race up her arm and spread down her back as they made contact. This time it had nothing to do with the cold. “Never again,” she promised, leaning in slightly as she did so. Eva was a very intense person, her body language, focus and energy only seemed to have two modes; airy, light and whimsical or intense, serious. Right now she flipped from the former to the latter. Her lip twitched slightly as she watched her friend, and then she followed her impulses and got to her feet, moving gracefully around to the other side of the table where Elaine was sitting. Her blue eyes were sparking; she was here, completely present. 

She always forgot just how small her brunette friend was. After what felt like years away, she wondered how the young woman had changed, what she’d gone through. She could be married with children for all Eva knew, and the thought helped her understand her friend’s reaction a little. “Never,” she repeated, taking Elaine’s hand again and tugging her to her feet. The purple-haired girl moved closer still, until their chests touched and her long, bare legs brushed against her friend’s. A loud clap of thunder erupted somewhere high above them, and Eva felt it through the floorboards.

It felt fitting, that this is how they’d meet again. The first time she’d turned up on Elaine’s doorstep – the first time they’d ever met in person – had been sort of like this. The weather had been moody and intense, just like now, though in that scene, Eva remembered less… electricity. She didn’t speak; she didn’t need to. After years of being close, after extended periods of time spent alone, taking on the world together, there was no need to speak. Her blue eyes spoke volumes. This was the reason that Elaine always forgave her for her sins, and she knew it. Eva had a way of unintentionally making people feel like they were the only person in the world that she cared about, but it was the closest to the truth with Elaine. They were connected by something stronger than blood.

Eva leant in for an embrace that was far too sensual to be sisterly, only breaking eye contact at the last moment before burying her face into her friend’s neck and hair. Her hands snaked around the other girl’s waist, pulling her in tight. “I hate this city,” she murmured into Elaine’s neck, intentionally brushing her lips against her skin. “You’re the only reason I’m here. I only came back here for you.” Eva breathed her friend in, her fingers finding skin as she felt her way to the small of Elaine’s back.

Never again.

The words stood there for a moment and Elaine noticed that something had changed. Eva was serious now, the playful look on her face gone, replaced by a more intense one. Her words were sincere and all of a sudden the anger she had felt only minutes ago evaporated, leaving only relief behind. Relief that the Bulgarian was back, relief that she was unharmed and safe. Eva stood up and let go off her hand, leaving an empty feeling behind. It didn't last long, though. When she pulled her up, Elaine followed without hesitating, realising how much she had missed the physical contact.

They were close now, so close that their chests were touching and the height difference forced the brunette to look up. In that moment nothing else mattered. Elaine barely registered the loud clap of thunder that was interrupting the silence nor did she care about Adam who was in her bedroom, probably - no, hopefully - still asleep. No one spoke but words weren't necessary. She could see it in Eva's eyes, she felt it too, the electricity that seemed to be stronger than it had ever been before.

Elaine didn't know what would happen next but she didn't care. Everything would be okay now, they were together again, it was all that mattered. She leaned closer towards the other witch and a surprised gasp escaped her lips when Eva buried her face in her neck. She felt the woman's lips brushing her skin and it sent a shiver down her spine. Elaine's arms went up and her hands met behind Eva's neck, pulling the taller woman closer. "I know you did," she whispered, grateful to hear her say it out loud. "And I love you for it." Eva's hands found her skin and in reaction she buried her hand in her friend's hair.

They had been together like this before but somehow it felt different this time, more intense. She didn't know if it was the relief that Eva was safe or simply the fact that they hadn't seen each other in months, but whatever it was, it made her pull back slightly, just to look in her friend's blue eyes again before placing a kiss on her lips.

Eva could feel Elaine’s hands in her hair, around her neck, and it felt good. London was a wet, grey city with wet, grey people. Eva had experienced a vibrant undercurrent – a hidden, beating heart in the queer, artsy, party scene here, but she’d had to actively hunt for her fellow neon creatures. The young woman had been to cities where those folk hunted for you. Still, despite its overbearing greyness, there were small pinpoints of light that always drew her back here, the brightest and most beautiful of which was Elaine. The brunette was always waiting for her to come home to the city she hated to be with the girl she loved.

Eva made a sound of protest when Elaine pulled back, but her friend had only pulled back to kiss her. It was a soft kiss, it would have almost been chaste if not for her hands moving unhurriedly up her friend’s back. She savoured every moment. Soft skin, warm bodies. She’d missed this feeling, the feeling of connection with this particular girl. The purple-haired witch rested her forehead on her friend’s, her hands still moving slowly upward. She wanted to show her friend that she meant what she said. They’d barely exchanged two sentences, but Eva could communicate so much better without words. Body language, little looks, affectionate touches; those things were her language, her native tongue.

She had a way of making the people she was with feel special because she always felt like they were special. When she was interested in someone, she was interested intensely. This was an example of that. Eva had never been very introspective; she actively tried not to be, a lot of the time. She just moved where she moved, got caught up in other things – people – and let her impulses lead her. Right now, every path led to Elaine. Elaine’s back, her lips, her skin. A part of her wanted to worship her friend every way that she could.

Their relationship had, undeniably, always been more than friendship. There was a strong sexual energy between the girls, but despite Eva’s highly sexual nature, the sexual chemistry between them was hardly the thing that she felt set their relationship apart. They were always affectionate, they kissed, but they rarely slept together. She had friends who she had sex with in the same way that many people had friends who they might watch a quidditch match with or go to the pub with. But none of those relationships even scratched the surface of how she felt about Elaine.

Her brunette friend had summed it up nicely already. She wasn’t like them. Their relationship was different to all of both of their other relationships. Elaine and Eva both saw other people regularly, but their friendship always meant more, sex or no sex, boyfriends or no boyfriends.

Eva didn’t like looking to the past. She often fell passionately, fiercely in love with people, but after things ended, it never took her too long to move on. She didn’t hold on to old emotions, old memories. She wasn’t quite so sentimental. Eva had abandoned her old life and most things that came with that, including her family, her old friends; her name. But Elaine wasn’t like those things, either. Elaine had saved her at a time when she’d been a desperate, defeated shell of a girl and Eva had whisked her away when the muggleborn’s life had been threatened.

She always came back, and Elaine always forgave her for going away.

Moving her hands from the small of Elaine’s back to her waist, she pressed her fingers into the girl’s skin. Her eyes were open; she was nose to nose with her friend. Eva nipped playfully at Elaine’s lower lip before maneuvering them so that Elaine’s back was pressed against the table; she pushed forward, spurred on by her friend’s reactiveness. “How can I make it up to you?” she asked huskily, moving to kiss her neck.

The witch's emotions were running wild. The anger she had felt only minutes ago was still there but it was getting weaker and weaker and Elaine was sure it would soon fade away completely. It was part of Eva's magic that she couldn't stay mad at her no matter what she did or maybe it was the magical bond between them that did it. Their relationship was something different, something more than friendship, more than the regular love between a couple. The Ravenclaw's rational mind told her the concept of soulmates didn't exist, that it was something poets had invented to improve their work but her heart had another opinion. Besides, as a little girl Elaine had never thought that magic really existed... Life had proven her wrong once why shouldn't it happen a second time?

Her eyes were still closed when Eva's forehead rested against hers and she enjoyed every single moment of physical contact. Elaine's hands were still buried in Eva's colourful hair and just like she'd expected, the anger that had been burning in her chest evaporated. Her friend was alive, she was safe and she was here with her, it was everything that mattered. Their noses touched and the brunette opened her eyes and looked straight into Eva's clear blue ones. A smile tugged at her lips and transformed into a wider one as her friend nipped at her bottom lip. Elaine just wanted to react when Eva suddenly moved them so that she found herself pressed against the table.

It was different to the last time they'd been together like that. The urge to be close to Eva was even stronger than it usually was and her hands moved from the woman's neck to the small of her back and slipped under the Bulgarian's shirt. Eva's skin was warm despite the fact that she'd been out there in the cold only a short while ago and it was as soft as she remembered it. Elaine smirked at her friend's question, her fingertips wandering upwards. "By making breakfast tomorrow, for example. By staying for a while..." Goosebumps were forming on her skin as the purple-haired witch kissed her neck and she pressed her small body closer against Eva's.

The muggleborn didn't doubt for a second how the whole situation would end but there was one tiny thing Elaine had completely forgotten while being wrapped up in her friend. Her bedroom was still occupied and now the door was opening slowly without any of them noticing...

NPC; Adam Copeland

Rain.

The rhythmic spattering of water against window panes was relaxing. Sleep had taken him over, luring him in like a siren song. The rain was heavy. By the time he'd got up these stairs, he was soaking wet. He'd met a girl. A nice girl. He was drowning in paperwork at work and the pub had always been a much needed and welcome release.

Eleanor, was it? Emma? No, Elaine. He smiled in his sleep. His handsome face was pressed into a smooth cotton pillowcase that smelt like girl; soft and floral. Beer had turned into wine when they got talking and then it turned into tequila when they weren't talking and when tequila wasn't enough, it turned into sex. They'd clumsily undressed one another, jackets slapping against the floor, leaving small puddles over the floor of her home.

It was blurry. He remembered fevered kisses, hair pulling, skin stroking. It was good. To be honest, in his dry spell, anything would have been good.

Adam twitched in his sleep, the sheets slipping off and revealing an expanse of smooth, gently freckled skin. He frowned in his sleep as a crack of lightning lit up the bedroom, much like the previous strobe lights in the clubs they had passed as they tripped home. A rumble of thunder made him groan as he slid a hand over the mattress, hoping to come into contact with the warm body he'd spent the evening with. Much to his dismay, his hand came into contact with nothing but cool sheets.

Bleary-eyed, he blinked. His head hurt. With effort, Adam pushed himself up to hold his weight on his hands, elbows bent to support him as he rested against the pillows. The bedroom light was dim, a pale glow from a light through the crack in the door. His dark hair was sticking up at comical angles, making him look like a rather confused and hung over hedgehog. He pulled a face. His head felt like it was full of cotton wool and his tongue felt furry. He wanted a snuggle.

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Adam winced when the soles of his feet connected with the cold floor. Instantly, he recoiled. Rubbing his eyes, he strained his eyes. Someone was shouting. Something had gone bang. His eyes were unfocused as he looked around the foreign sleeping quarters, wondering where his clothes and his watch were hidden. Not that it mattered. He didn't fancy stumbling home through this storm. It was a storm now, he'd realised. Another flash of lightning thrust the room into a brief bright light as he looked around.

Deciding he was thirsty, he stood and stretching, enjoying the surge of pleasure as his bones cracked and his muscles relaxed. Wrinkling his nose, Adam scratched his bare stomach. Heading towards the door, he let out a grunt of pain and annoyance as his knee connected with the edge of the bed. He mustn't be that drunk if he could still feel pain. Once upright, all the blood seemed to shift. With his legs shoulder-width apart, he wobbled before shaking his head. He was too old for this.

Adam yanked open the door and stopped mid-yawn, totally naked and not wearing a single stitch and a rather confused expression.

His bright blue eyes widened as his brain screeched to a halt. They flicked back and forth from the girl in the pub to a lilac haired stranger. They seemed…preoccupied. Rather busy, if anyone would have asked him. His eyes looked as though they were playing pinball; back and forth, double quick. He felt as though he was intruding. His brain was sluggish, wondering if he had just exited the correct bedroom.

Feeling a lot like a spare part, he shifted in the spot awkwardly. He felt like an intruder. He felt like one of those Renaissance paintings. The one with the rich colours depicting an extra character, in the corner, looking at the main characters caught in an illicit  and clandestine clinch on a balcony somewhere in Europe. Adam was struggling to keep up. He saw two women, limbs tangled, half on a table and he wondered, fleetingly, if he'd be able to squeeze between them. An Adam sandwich. The feeling of playing gooseberry was overwhelming and without knowing what else to do, he lingered in the door frame and cleared his throat lightly.

Eva wasn’t entirely sober. Letting herself sink into this familiar, hungry haze was all too easy in her current state of mind. She felt comfortable in a place where she was driven by her emotions and her body, rather than careful thought. The purple-haired girl’s hands started exploring her friend’s curves. Elaine was responsive. Sooo… she was off the hook, then? The little noises Elaine made as she nibbled on her neck were pointing to yes. She couldn’t help but smile into the other girl’s skin.

Eva wanted to hoist her up onto the table and lay her down and remind her why she always forgave her for going away. Of course, in reality sex had very little to do with it. Right now, however, that was where her head was at. A noise from behind her made her pause. She might have jumped if she’d been a little more aware, a little less single-track minded. Instead, she turned her head slightly, just enough to look at the naked man who’d appeared in the doorway. Her blue eyes scanned him quickly. Boyfriend? Fling? One-night-stand? She couldn’t tell from just a look, but he looked pretty surprised to see her here.

Eva felt an unfamiliar flash of possessiveness. It took her by surprise. The young witch was a big fan of polyamory and didn’t usually feel very jealous about her relationships. She’d had her fair share of open relationships and other non-monogamous kinds. Closed triads, open Vs… Love didn’t seem to be something that required jealousy. She was a firm believer in the concept of being able to love multiple people at once. Sex seemed even less in need of a governing force like jealousy.When people got possessive of her she found it attractive at first, and then stifling.

The flash subsided after a moment, however and Eva cleared her throat too, stepping reluctantly back from Elaine; she put some distance between them. She really didn’t want the interruption. Her head was still in some kind of physical haze daze. Who was this guy? The girl wasn’t wearing any pants, but the guy in the doorway wasn’t wearing anything at all, so there you go. She was the more proper one of the two of them. Weird. “Elaine?” Eva looked at her friend curiously, feeling pretty frustrated physically. Mentally, she told herself to cool off. Eva bit her lower lip. In another situation maybe she would have asked him to join in. Right now however, a part of her wanted to tell him to go back to bed. 

Someone cleared their throat and when she opened her eyes, her gaze fell on a completely naked Adam standing in the door to her bedroom. Shit. The brunette ran a hand through her now messy hair and took a small step away from the table. She could still feel Eva's touch, her kisses on her neck and all that had been the reason why she'd completely forgotten about the man in her bed. Well, until now. Eva was watching her, Adam was watching her. Was anyone of them upset? Elaine couldn't tell. Adam certainly didn't look upset, he was probably still drunk and besides... She didn't know him well but she wouldn't be surprised if he liked what saw. And Eva? Well, to be frank she had no right to be upset. After all she'd just come back from the dead without a warning. Still, she had to do something.

Her gaze wandered from Adam to Eva and back to him and all of a sudden she burst out laughing. Her right hand moved to her mouth immediately to stop herself but it wasn't that easy. Merlin, how ridiculous must this look to an outsider? A naked man, a half naked woman staring at each other in confusion while she stood there, completely dressed. "I'm sorry, I just..." Another giggle escaped her and she fumbled for her wand on the table. "Accio towel," she managed to say and after a quick flick of her wand, a bog white towel flew out of the bathroom and into her hand. She tossed it over to the man and hoped he would catch it. "Could you please wrap this around..." Elaine laughed again before managing to utter a quick "Sorry!".

Looking back at Eva, she shrugged slightly before gesturing at Adam. "That's Adam, I met him earlier." Turning towards the wizard, she pointed at Eva and repeated the procedure. "That's Eva, my..." she paused for a second "best friend. She just came back from a long trip." Okay, so what now? She couldn't just kick him out, that wouldn't be fair, especially not in his state, but then again... The former Ravenclaw glanced at her friend, already missing the physical contact. Why couldn't she have come back just a day earlier?

Afraid that she would start laughing again, Elaine walked over to her kitchen, opened a cupboard and turned around a little so that she could see Adam. "Tea?" It was her solution for almost everything and maybe he'd be ready to go home after sobering up a little and they could continue where they'd left off...

Eva could feel her heartbeat all through her body. She took a deep breath, running her hands through her hair, snapping herself back through the daze she’d been floating in moments earlier. She exhaled in a heavy sigh. She noted that she was the tallest person in the room. This Adam guy seemed pretty unfazed by her appearance, and Eva wiggled her fingers in a half-wave when they were introduced. He was good-looking. Fit brunette, just Elaine’s type, really. Eva resisted the urge to give him a bit of a cold shoulder.

She liked feeling sexy. In another situation she’d have no troubles just inviting Adam to join them, if that was the kind of thing he was into. She didn’t mind being objectified and reduced to her sexuality in the right contexts. Right now she didn’t exactly feel like being an object under the male gaze. She didn’t want tea. She wanted full-blown, lady-charged sexiness. She wanted Elaine’s curves and her skin and scent. She didn’t want this intruder. The woman glanced up as Elaine paused right in the middle of introduction. “…Really good friend,” she finished, speaking at the same time as Elaine said best friend. The overlap made her smirk a little. She liked that they were on the same page.

Not missing a beat, Eva slid into a seat, crossing her long, slim legs over one another, not apologizing when she accidentally bumped Adam’s under the table. Eva felt cold again now that her pulse had slowed. “So Adam,” she started, breaking the ice and ignoring Elaine’s lingering smiles. She didn’t feel jokey, she felt robbed. The purple-haired girl drew little circles on the tabletop with one slender finger. “What do you do? How do you feel about walking in on your date making out with a strange woman in the middle of the night?” Okay, so she wasn't a very subtle person.

NPC; Adam Copeland

Right, okay.

The purple lady was odd. He might still be a little inebriated but he wasn't as dumb as he looked. It was clear that these two were together. Had he known that Elaine was dating, he would…well. He probably would have still gone home with her.

As the towel came flying at his face, Adam lifted a hand and managed to catch it before hit the floor. As instructed, he wrapped it around his waist and tucked in the edge securely. It seemed that Elaine was apparently embarrassed by his state of undress. An hour or two previously, she'd seemed to be feeling quite the opposite. He didn't know if he was offended or not, actually.

Eva? Adam's eyes slid towards the statuesque woman with an accent he couldn't place back to the diminutive brunette. "Best friend," he echoed. Ah. Why didn't she just say girlfriend? It was obvious by the way they'd been holding one another. And in such a frenzy, too. He didn't miss what Eva had said. He was used to this. But usually, he dealt with possessive boyfriends, not possessive really good friends. Whether they were lying to themselves or not, Adam knew what he saw. Best friends didn't kiss like that at all.

He gave a brief smile at the finger waggle wave. When he'd gone home with Elaine, Adam hadn't imagined that he'd be fighting for her affections with another woman. Actually, now that he knew Elaine wasn't exactly free and single, he wasn't sure he wanted to stick around.

"Tea would be great," he told the girl in the kitchen before walking around the table, scooping up the discarded boxers on the living room floor before wriggling them on beneath his towel. He blinked as Eva jostled him beneath the table, not missing the *implication there. Adam dropped into the seat, feeling very much like he was in some sort of interrogation. He was half expecting the purple haired woman to shine a torch in his face and scream at him.

He took the tea, curling his fingers slowly around the hot china. Adam felt very exposed and he wasn't really sure why. There was nothing wrong with having sex with someone that he'd met in a bar. His eyes flicked over to Elaine. She had chosen him. Not the other way around.

"I work in the Ministry," he told Eva distractedly as he blew on his tea. "Administrative Registration Department," Adam added, as though either woman actually gave a shit. He doubted they did. His job wasn't exciting. He sat behind a desk most of the day, hating his life, getting paper cuts from the masses of files he had to order and waiting until five o'clock so he could go back to his crappy flat.

"And yourself?" He asked Eva as Elaine hovered. He'd actually forgotten what Elaine did for a living, come to think of it. He'd already forgotten her surname. At the taller woman's word, he choked on his tea. His eyes flicked wildly to Elaine's. Whatever game was being played, he wasn't sure what he wanted to a part of it. Being in Eva's presence felt like he needed to gain her approval in order to date her apparent lover.

"It's not really any of my business," Adam said as he drank his tea. Was Eva trying to get a rise out of him? Was what how this was going to work? "You'e been gone for a while, right? Away on a long trip?" He asked, directing that towards Elaine. "Question should be; how do you feel about waking in on your date with someone else?" He blinked, feeling uncomfortable. He was clearly missing something. Elaine wasn't his "date". She wasn't his anything. Adam felt suddenly unwelcome, like he was being subtly pushed out and away. "Seems like you're a little bit mad at me and I don't know why."

In truth, it was a bit of a shock. And a little frustrating. Adam felt a little belittled. He could see why those two girls were involved. As he sat, his eyes trailed down Eva's body. From her damp hair, down her long neck and lower. Momentarily, he'd forgotten Elaine was there and he took this as his cue to leave.

"I should go," Adam said as he stood, leaving his barely touched tea on the table as he turned towards Elaine and leant in to whisper in her ear, "No offence but I probably won't be getting back in contact. Sorry."