[TBB] nobody likes you when you’re twenty-three {open/PM}

The Burning Beard | Saturday, April 26th, 2003

Drumming her fingernails lightly on her glass of water, Emma leaned into her forearms (which rested on the bar) and reflexively glanced towards the pub door. The Slytherin alumna typically had a chronically-late-to-everything-that-wasn’t-important habit, and so she pleasantly surprised herself when she was out the door relatively on-time; but now that she was the first one to arrive, for once, she didn’t quite know what to do with herself.

Twenty-three wasn’t a particularly monumental milestone when it came to birthdays, per se, but Emma was all for any excuse to catch up with friends and have fun. Many of them were at the point in their lives where they’d branched out pretty significantly – both geographically and professionally – and so it was especially nice to bring everyone back together and reunite when the opportunity arose. She’d reached out to a handful of friends and co-workers including Harri (of course), Oliver, Edith, Quinn, Alex, and Joanna; judging from what she’d heard thus far, there would be at least a decent turnout.

Her actual birthday fell on a Monday this year, and so the witch figured the preceding Saturday would be a more convenient time for a larger gathering. (Regardless, she would absolutely be heading to Frida’s after work on her actual birthday as well; margaritas and tacos were her kryptonite.) As for tonight, she figured they could start at The Burning Beard and migrate from there as they so pleased. She’d heard great things about a few new places in the city that boasted board games and other activities, and was keen to try them out – hopefully people would have good recommendations. The witch was also determined to make it to Merlin’s at some point or another; Nyx Nightclub had thoroughly lost its appeal, and though she’d only been to Merlin’s once she had enjoyed it.

Her expression lit up as the first arrival made his way into the pub. Beaming, Emma moved towards him and immediately wrapped him in a signature hug.
“Ollie! So great to see you, thanks for dropping by! How are things?”

Party is technically for Emma's friends/ those she'd feasibly know, but all are welcome to turn up!

"Sorry, excuse me—" Oliver cast a cursory glance at his watch as he made his way through the London crowd. Everyone, it seemed, was moving in the opposite direction. Despite his ire, the wizard beamed under the early evening spring sun. It was the first warm (well, warm enough) day in what felt like a lifetime. Shifting the wrapped gift under his arm, Ollie's white t-shirt billowed in the breeze despite being tucked into his light jeans, torn at the knees.

He'd been to The Burning Beard a few times, it was a popular spot for those in the service industry. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen it in daylight, though. As he entered the buzzing establishment, he scanned the crowd for his friend and spotted the familiar hue of her hair after a few moments.

Giving a quick wave, he shuffled to the bar, touching the shoulders of those he shimmied through as he went with a grin.

"Emma," His Scottish accent was drawn out at the last vowel, arms open for an embrace. He couldn't recall when he last saw the witch, but it felt like no time at all once she was in his arms. "Happy birthday," He rested one hand on her shoulder to get a better look at her, producing his present with the other.

It was visibly a record, covered hastily in brown wrapping paper with a sparkling gold bow slapped in the middle. The album was from a muggle band that was heavy in rotation during his later years at Hogwarts, but at the last minute, he magically secured a tube of lip balm to the side that he recalled she had been particularly fond of.

He remembered the smell—the taste.

"What can I get you?" He leaned over the bar, running his now free hand through waves of chestnut-colored hair. Beer wasn't his first choice but he would make do. Catching the eye of the blonde behind the bar, he cast a glance back to Emma with a smile. "Make it two," He gestured to the tap of choice before fishing through his pocket for some galleons.

Emma was a very sensory-oriented person. She liked physical contact, – hugs, a hand on the shoulder, and so on – and harbored a strong emotional connection with smells. In the several seconds that their embrace held (she never skimped out on hugs), Ollie’s familiar smell wrapped itself around her – and suddenly she was transported back in time, a perfect snapshot-memory. She was seventeen, not twenty-three, and they were down by the lake in early June, not in a crowded bar in late April. She’d been using his sweatshirt as a pillow on the grass, head turned toward him so that her cheek was cradled in it, as he played guitar and she sang happily along (albeit terribly off-key) without a care in the world.
So much had transpired since then: Dumbledore’s death just two weeks later, the revival of the D.A., the Battle… It felt like a lifetime ago. Someone else’s lifetime ago.

The spell was lifted as they broke apart, bringing her abruptly back to the present. But as his hand went congenially to her shoulder, she automatically reached up for it and gave it a friendly squeeze.
“Thank you, thank you,” she accepted with a grin. “Headed for old age at an alarming rate, now, I'm afraid…”

Her eyes widened slightly when he sneakily produced a present (with the most delightful glittering gold bow, too) and handed it to her, which she accepted with thanks followed by a mildly indignant exclamation of: “You really didn’t have to get me anything, though!” Truthfully, she was just thrilled that at least someone had shown up (maybe she did have friends, after all!), and was in no way expecting presents – but she certainly wasn’t about to refuse them, either.

“D’you want me to open it now, or— ooh!”
She’d interrupted herself mid-sentence, as she’d discovered the lip balm.
“Merlin, how did you remember?!” Emma laughed gleefully. Immediately, she uncapped the lip balm and applied it, and the wave nostalgia nearly knocked her off her feet again. But she beamed at him again, slipping the tube into the front pocket of her jeans.
“It’s perfect, thanks.”
It really was; she still had no idea what the item in the brown paper was, but that was beside the point. Little sentimental things were her favorite.

“What can I get you?”

“Oh! Hmm…” She gave the options on-tap a brief once-over. She didn’t want to start with anything too heavy, but wasn’t exactly feeling something terribly light either…
“Eh, what the hell. A London Pride, please,” she replied, catching Ollie’s eye and returning his grin before thanking him for the third time in three minutes (the word came as easily to her as breathing, after all). When their filled glasses hit the bar-top, she raised hers and touched it lightly to his.
“To good friends and reunions!”

She had to get out of the house. It kind of terrified her that people she knew -- besides Emma and Harri, maybe -- might be there at the party, but Kate knew that letting her divorce turn her into a recluse wasn’t exactly a healthy way to be navigating it. Instead of thinking of things in terms of right and wrong, Kate was trying to shift the narrative and think of them in terms of healthy and unhealthy. It hadn’t entirely worked yet, but she knew that stuff took time and in-depth, hands-dirty work. She constantly felt bad for things she shouldn’t feel bad about: like prioritizing her own life and emotions and health and, and, and. The list could go on miles if she wrote it all out, but she didn’t have time for that. Focusing on getting ready for the party was priority number one right now.

Her outfit wasn’t attention-grabby. Kate knew that Emma liked margaritas from previous hangouts, so she was counting on getting at least a little drunk. Drunk Kate plus an attention-grabby outfit sounded like a recipe for disaster. Since this was one of her first times out since she’d left Charlie, Kate wanted to keep things relatively lowkey. She was good at talking people up, so maybe she’d use the bubbliness she acquired when tipsy to make sure the birthday girl was having the best time she could. That was what birthdays were all about, right? Kate liked making people feel special.

She pinched her cheeks for a little color, spritzed some of her favorite perfume across her collarbones and wrists, and ran her hands down her sides. Her boobs had gotten smaller. How that was possible, she didn’t know, but maybe she should see a nutritionist. Figure out what exactly the missing link was -- maybe going out for greasy foods on occasion the way Charlie liked to do was the missing piece. Some uncomfortable feeling gnawed at the lining of her stomach.

Kate apparated from the place she was staying at in London to the bar they were meeting at, The Burning Beard, she thought, and froze in her tracks when she appeared over the landing. Was that…?

Instead of interrupting their conversation, Kate zig-zagged between tiny clumps of people to access the bar and order herself her first drink: a plain margarita. Nobody she knew would have been surprised. As she noticed the possibility for an in, Kate waved gently and gave her friend a smile. “Hi, Emma. Happy birthday!” She hoped her cheerfulness didn’t sound as contrived as it felt.

As she raised her glass to her lips, a gently-waving hand in her peripheral vision accompanied by a soft familiar voice caught her attention. Emma turned towards them, and beamed.

“Kate!” she chirped, delighted, and hugged her friend, taking care to hold the glass a little ways away so she wouldn’t accidentally spill her beer on the younger woman. “Thanks. You look great, so glad you’re here!” She meant it, too: news of Kate’s divorce from her famous now-ex-husband back in March had ravaged the tabloids like Fiendfyre for weeks afterwards. It was good to see her out and about. Personally, Emma was relieved for her friend because he sounded like a real sleaze and she knew Kate deserved better… but, unsurprisingly, it had been tough for the California native. It was why she had specifically refrained from asking her usual ‘How are things?’ – Emma already knew the answer, and in any case today would hopefully be an opportunity for the younger woman to focus on other things. Kate was only two-and-a-half years younger than she; Emma couldn’t imagine how devastated she must feel.

The Slytherin alumna gave Kate an extra squeeze before releasing her from the embrace.
“You snuck up on me, didn’t even see you come in!”
She spotted her friend’s drink, then, and waggled her eyebrows. “That’s my next one, after this,” Emma grinned, tapping her glass for emphasis. “You in for Frida’s on Monday?”

Suddenly remembering her manners and that Ollie was still standing on her other side, Emma took a step back from the bar so she wasn’t completely blocking the line of sight between her two friends. The almost-twenty-three-year-old was pleased to remember that they had some common ground; she loved when her different friend groups had an opportunity to overlap but, like the worrier she was, never wanted anyone to feel out-of-place or left-out. Over the years, she’d discovered that identifying a mutual interest during the introduction usually kicked things off nicely.

“Oh, Kate, this is Ollie!” she gestured towards the Hufflepuff alumnus. “Ollie and I are friends from school, he’s a musician. Ollie, this is Kate – she’s from the States, and also in the industry!”
Emma didn’t volunteer any further information given Kate’s current circumstances – she’d leave that to her friend’s discretion, of course – but took another sip of her drink, pleased with herself for connecting two of her good friends.

There was an energy in the air., light and exciting. Something about a birthday, Ollie thought to himself— something about a birthday that wasn't his. He much preferred the attention on anyone else. "You're welcome," He said as he watched her reaction carefully, beaming in return. Personal gifts, not those just tied to monetary value, he found meant more.

"Good memory," He tapped an index finger to his temple with a wiggle of his eyebrows before touching the tip of his glass against hers. "Cheers, Em" He nodded, holding her gaze, before taking a mouthful. It was nice to be around her again, she was familiar, and she brought him back to his actual life— not the foreign one he'd assumed. Most nights lately he caught himself trying to hold onto who he really was outside everything new that was going on.

A newcomer caught Olver's attention. Kate Baker— or Duenas— he wasn't sure. He nearly spat out his drink. So much for avoiding this new life of his. "Hello," He grinned after Emma's introduction. While good-natured, it was clear she had no idea that the two of them already knew each other, by proxy at least. "We actually—" Ollie started to explain but paused when he realized he had no idea how to. Not properly. They didn't know each other, not really, but they kind of did.

"It's nice to actually meet you," He said swiftly, giving her a quick one-armed hug, not holding it for too long. He turned to Emma with a closed mouth grin, stopping short of saying that he'd heard so much about her— given who he was dating, she might think the worst.

“Oh, yeah?” Kate’s eyebrows rose. “Well, have as much as you want. It’s your birthday, so I’ll be here to get you taken care of, if you need it.” Her hand touched Emma’s forearm in a simple reassuring gesture. Nothing worse than being wasted and not having a good support system. “I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation, that’s all. I’ll definitely try to see about coming out for Frida’s.” She smiled.

Kate felt bad for practically tuning Emma out as she spoke after the spiel about her drink and going to Frida’s. Her brown eyes were trained on Oliver during the whole introduction and she was scrambling for something, something to say that wouldn’t reveal just how awkward things between them could be. She didn’t know that much about him, but he seemed like a nice boy. She couldn’t understand why he was hanging around the people he was(but his being friends with Emma comforted her a whole lot), but Kate supposed her friends had said similar things about her. And being around Charlie all the time. Such was the music business.

“Hi, Oliver.” Kate offered another smile to the person she was speaking to, but it was a different kind. She was certain that Oliver knew about her divorce from Charlie and subsequently quitting managing Banshee. If he was hanging around Liam at all anymore, from what little she knew, she was sure he might’ve gotten an earful about her sudden dip--both from Charlie’s life and from her responsibilities as their manager. Not that this was the time to discuss such connections; it was Emma’s birthday and that was why Kate was here.

The witch was startled(though not necessarily in an unpleasant sort of way) that he reached out to hug her and she clunkily accepted it, trying to smooth her facial expression out. “It really is great to finally meet you. Officially, you know. Emma is fantastic, so I’m sure we’ll have some things in common,”

Ever the peacemaker, ever the includer. Things like that tended to become part of a person when they had a volatile mess for a sister, a history of dealing with cheaters, and a family like hers. Kate missed California, but she was going to miss the new friends she’d made here in London, and being away from what she’d grown up in for 17 years. “Are you going? On Monday?” She asked him. Kate had an odd feeling this would influence her decision whether or not to go, but she wasn’t certain which direction yet.

“Could be fun. To go together.” She gestured between the three of them. “I haven’t been out in weeks.”

Noah had intended to head to the bar with Emma, but between being called into work unexpectedly and an incident with a giant can of paprika, he’d come home right as she was heading out. “I’ll meet you there,” he’d promised, jumped in the shower, and gotten ready in record time.

He’d been to The Burning Beard exclusively with Emma -- craft beer wasn’t his thing, but he had been converted to British fish and chips in the establishment, at least. By the time he entered the bar, Emma was already surrounded by a small gaggle of friends -- nobody he knew, yet aside from Harri, who’s hip he bumped on the way into the main group.

Noah grinned -- all teeth -- and raised his chin in a reverse-nod. “Sup?” he greeted the boy-- man? -- manboy nearest Emma as he pushed in for a hug with the birthday girl. As he turned to face out to the group, arm still looped around her lower back, his eyes locked onto the pretty brunette he’d seen glimpses of in his shared apartment. He smiled warmly and slipped his arm from around Emma. “Hey,” he chewed on his lip softly.

Why did it feel like he’d just interrupted something? Like, he had -- he knew that -- but it felt like more than just a normal interruption. There was a weird tension in the air. Best to try and disperse that.

His attention fell (by way of trying to subtly check the shorter brunette out) to the drink in her hand. He glanced at Emma’s beer then back to the other girl’s beverage: a margarita. “Sick, I’m ordering one of those. Didn’t even know they did liquor here,” he grinned. “You good?” he asked Emma, seeing if she was up for a refill.

“It’s nice to actually meet you.”

Emma’s brows went up slightly, her brain slow to catch up. On one hand, she supposed she shouldn’t be surprised; she knew precious little about the music industry, but she figured it must run in relatively small circles. Kate’s dad (or at least the label he worked for) was a relatively prominent name in the industry from what she understood, albeit from more of an administrative perspective. Still, Emma would have thought there would be some degree of separation between Britain and the States, with regard to labels and contracts and agents and managers… and Ollie had never spent time in the States.

Then she caught Ollie’s expression. Something about his close-lipped smile and look in his eyes when they met hers dropped all of the pieces into place at once as the implication of his word choice hit her; he knew exactly who Kate was. And – judging by the somewhat frozen expression on Kate’s face – her friend knew it, too.
The Slytherin alumna sighed inwardly. So much for keeping Kate’s mind off of Charlie-related things, and for her goal of helping prevent her various friends from feeling out-of-place…

Ollie was a delightful human, however, as was Kate, and so she hoped this singular moment would be the most awkward that things would get on the subject. Emma seized upon Kate’s next words with alacrity, and was relieved to feel some of the tacit tension seem to dispel.

“Emma is fantastic, so I’m sure we’ll have some things in common.”

“You really are too nice to me,” she laughed, looping an arm around her shorter friend’s shoulders and giving her a quick squeeze. Her expression brightened further when Kate mentioned the Monday plans.
“Please come, Ollie!” Emma gave her best puppy-dog pout, followed by the flash of a wicked grin. “Plan is to give Frida’s some well-deserved happy hour business.” She nodded a vigorous affirmative to Kate’s speculation.

Before she could say much more on the subject, she was engulfed by an all-too-familiar tall and lanky form; fortunately he’d just showered, because her face was pretty much squashed to him at armpit-level. Emma grinned and squeezed him back.

“This goober is Noah,” she added by way of introduction, tilting her head towards the gangly form beside her. “We met as kids when Ryan and I would visit the States; his family lived a few doors down from our grandparents. He’s a chef at Frida’s! And Ollie” – she nodded in his direction now – “is a musician; we’re friends from school. And Kate, whom I think you’ve at least met in passing by now, is from California; her family is in the music industry.”

Fortunately, Noah’s arrival seemed to break up any awkwardness that might have remained, and Emma’s shoulders relaxed infinitesimally as he engaged Kate. Emma would have been surprised if her pseudo-elder-brother and Kate hadn’t at least known of each other at Ilvermorny; but perhaps it was a much bigger school than Hogwarts, such that it was less likely for student several Years apart to know each other.

“You good?”

“For the moment, thanks,” she replied with a wink, raising her glass to him. “Though I wouldn’t say no to a tequila shot in maybe ten minutes if anyone’s game…” She waggled her eyebrows playfully.

Noah’s attention seemed to shift back to Kate for them moment and so, turning slightly so that her back was to the bar, Emma leaned against it and rested her elbows casually on either side.
“So, O, when’s your next gig? What color glitter should I put on the signs this time?”

Danny straightened and smoothed his clothing, patting down the wrinkles, mussing his hair to get that pop star artful bedhead look, as he grinned and shot a look at his red-headed friend. It was Saturday night and they were already three drinks in at least. It's not like they were keeping count exactly. Needless to say, they were out on the town, ready to have some fun, ready to let loose after a work week that had felt longer than his first and second years at Hogwarts combined. Y'know, the years he couldn't get any girls to talk to him. He cast his gaze over to Jeremy and tsked as he thought. Poor bloke, still can't get any girls to talk to him.

Tonight, though. Tonight was going to be epic.

Working as the mail delivery wizards at the Ministry gave them a few perks. The best one was the gossip. Now, Danny had never really been a gossipy student, but he swore Jeremy's hair was growing longer just because of all the secrets he was hiding in there. So they had heard about a birthday celebration going down for a friend of theirs and sure enough, the boys had decided to attend. In style, of course.

"C'mon, let's go," he said. Shining the silver badge on his chest, Danny nodded towards the bar and weaved his way through the people, the dim light making the place feel cozy and understated, spying the unsuspecting birthday girl with a group of friends. Hey, wasn't that guy the one who--- Willbond, focus. He shook his head and glanced back at his friend. "You ready?" he asked, a huge smile lighting up his face, the anticipation killing him. It was safe to say that this kind of shenanigan was run of the mill for two friends, but it was still just as exciting every time.

He cleared his throat and then the boys stepped up to the group, commanding attention, their long black robes swirling round their legs. "Hey, you lot! We've been sent here to investigate a noise complaint," Danny said, trying his best to keep a straight face as he and Jeremy stood side by side, shoulders back, wearing the black of Auror robes, shiny little plastic badges with A on them stuck to their chest. He glanced at Jeremy and perked his brows, waiting for the cue.

When he'd first graduated Jeremy wondered what life after Hogwarts would be like. He worried it would be boring, mundane, and worst of all routine, but the wizard had been so wrong. With the help of his best mate Danny the party never seemed to end. Whether they were breaking things at the ministry, getting into trouble with the landlord, or earning sickles in unconventional ways, they always seemed to find the party. Joining Danny after the two had heard about a certain Ministry workers birthday party Jeremy was exhilarated. It didn't matter how many times they did wild things, or how crazy crazy could really get, it never got old. The former Gryffindor felt bold as the pair made their way across the pub and toward the little gathering.

The fabric that made up the dark Aurors robe was itchy in all the wrong places and Jeremy was spending way too much of his focus on not scratching. Finally reaching them he gave Danny a knowing nod, completely committed to the job before them, and put a straight face on. Danny started, as he often did, but Jeremy was right behind him playing his role in the good cop/bad cop routine they had down to near perfection. "And if things got too rowdy, we might be forced to make some arrests." He said, a saucy as he could muster as his mane of fiery red hair fluffed about. He shifted his weight from one hip to the other, as they began to circle around Emma, the birthday girl.

"Seem's your the biggest offender." Jeremy said in a mischievous tone, eyes flicking from Emma to Danny and then back again. "In need of some magical justice~" As he said the last word Jeremy dramatically ripped his dark Aurors robe from his body. Revealing a tight fitting shirt that had been enchanted to have the Birthday witches face on it and a pair of too tight fitting metallic spandex shorts. Gyrating closely to (but not touching) Emma he smirked, playing into it, and making it all about her.

[ooc: in case your wondering what this looks like: link~]

"I'll be there," Most days, Oliver couldn't say no to a party, or to any sort of begging. Besides, he quite enjoyed this now infamous Frida's. It seemed that everyone in this impossibly intermingled group of friends felt the same, too. "Big fan of the prolonged celebration, Em," He nudged her shoulder with a grin just as another new face joined them.

"Sup?" He repeated though he had no idea why. So apparently people really said that. Oliver gave a little wave instead of addressing how strange the word had sounded coming out of his mouth. It much better suited the American accent, he decided, once he was able to place it. "Good to meet you, mate," He grinned, already forgetting his faux pas because Noah hadn't seemed to notice. In fact, he was now saying sick.

Oliver turned back to Emma's question. "I've meant to tell you— " He glanced over at Kate to include her. "— we've got a bit of a party planned for the album release," He couldn't help but grin. The label would, of course, do their own schmoozy event, but this one the band could control.

"We'll play the album in full, very casual," He explained. "You're both welcome, I'll send through the details," Just as he finished up, some new arrivals caught his attention (how could they not?).

Now this was going to be a party.

Kate would have been content enough with just the three of them at the party--three was a crowd, after all, and a crowd made a party, but she wasn’t surprised when more people started showing up. The first was a very, very tall man who dwarfed her by more than a foot (he was even taller than her husband--ex-husband, damn it), but he didn’t intimidate her. He was exactly reminiscent of a puppy, and he was polite enough to greet each person individually.

“Hi,” Kate replied to him breezily and shiny-eyed, ending with a toothy little grin to hear another American accent. Kate zoned out again right after hearing his name and how Emma had met him in America, paying close attention to the details she was observing with her own senses: how he sounded different enough to not be from the West Coast, how she didn’t recognize him from Ilvermorny so he must’ve been older (he didn’t look younger) and that there were plentiful tattoos covering the skin on his fingers and hands.

“Yeah, uh. Music,” Kate smiled more sheepishly this time. She almost would have preferred to deny that, but Emma and Oliver were both here so there would be no skirting around her career of choice, even though it was currently in moderate shambles. Kate knew she could get someone to hire her, it was more an issue of whether or not she wanted to be hired right now. She couldn’t imagine that she’d be the best employee in the world until all of this was well and over.

“I probably should have checked before I ordered one like an idiot, but it’s kinda my default order,” She said to Noah and laughed. It was true, not every pub did spirits, but beer was so wholly unappealing to her. Kate was planning on getting healthily trashed at Frida’s on Monday; they had the best selection of tequilas, syrups and margarita flavors in wizarding London.

“Tequila shots!” Kate exclaimed, complete with a lift onto her tiptoes, and finished the last part of her margarita, setting it on a nearby surface to clap her hands together enthusiastically(just the once, she wasn’t a psycho). “You know I can’t say no to tequila. It’s sort of written into my biological code. Whenever you’re ready, birthday girl.”

Emma was adorable. Glitter on a sign? It wasn’t a quidditch match, but the innocent, wholesome support she harbored for her friend was admirable at the very least. Kate knew her ex was used to crazy fangirls, and so was she, for that matter, but she wasn’t sure how he would have been if someone they knew came with fan memorabilia. Perhaps it was comforting to have such a strong base for someone still getting his name out there, like Oliver.

He was inviting them to his album release, now, and that put the fear of God in Kate’s heart. Charlie could be at either one of those events--the close gathering and the schmoozy label party were both likely, but if Kate was trying to make (and keep) new friends, wading through some uncomfortable, disgusting, seaweedy water might be something she’d have to be okay with. And she could take Emma with her. She nodded after a moment and relaxed through her shoulders. “Yeah, sounds great, I’d love to.” Enthusiastic accepting of offers always made people feel better about things.

This entire night, all twenty or so minutes of it, had been a verifiable rollercoaster ride, and it didn’t stop after the party invite. Kate was beyond startled to note a pair of two boys, who didn’t really look old enough to be fully-fledged Aurors yet, planting themselves right in the middle of their group. Kate narrowed her eyes. Their badges looked suspicious, didn’t they, or did she need her eyes checked?

She gravitated automatically toward Emma and Noah by proxy, and practically fell into him when the redhead started swiveling his hips around in what she guessed was supposed to be a jokingly provocative way. Kate’s eyes were wide, and she looked up at Noah to check in with him nonverbally. She felt like he’d understand her meaning, even though they’d known each other all of two minutes. The two newest guests were obviously kidding about the noise complaint thing, but they were also visibly extroverted and Kate was… bad at navigating that without help. She would keep a close eye on Emma, but Kate’s glass was empty and that was an excuse for her to not be so directly in the mix. “I’m gonna grab another drink, Emma, did you want to do those shots really quick? On me, everyone.”

“Goober?!” He shoved at Emma playfully. Still, he nodded along with his intro. He got a return sup from the manboy, Ollie, and Noah grinned. “You too, man.” His attention was quickly drawn back to Kate, who he hadn’t been formally introduced to before. California. “Ah, thought I heard a bit of valley girl,” he teased gently, his straight white teeth flashing out as he grinned again. “New York,” he volunteered, imagining she’d be wondering the same thing he had been up until now. He didn’t think he recognised her from school, but she did look vaguely familiar (not including the times she’d been in the apartment with Emma), so maybe…

“I was gonna say, ballsy going for a cocktail order in a craft beer place,” he laughed. “Not all heroes wear capes,” he joked, biting his lip softly before Emma captured his focus with mention of shots. “A tequila shot!” He said at the same time as Kate; he grinned at her before turning back to Emma. “Am I gonna have to piggyback you home again?”

Ollie (a musician, ooh la) made a point of inviting the two girls to a party, and while Noah wasn’t the most prim and proper person he knew it was a little rude to exclude someone from the group. But whatever, wasn’t a big deal. He turned ready to head to the bar and get those shots lined up, but stopped in his tracks when two more manboys in serious-looking black robes approached the group. Noah instinctively placed himself a little closer to Emma and Kate, just in case, but it quickly became obvious the boys weren’t real Aurors -- or if they were, Merlin help the British Ministry.

In the time it took him to blink they were out of their robes and that image was going to be seared into his memory for some time. Noah took half a step back, careful not to be in range of the redhead’s exaggerated gyrating. He felt a movement to his right and-- it was Kate, clearly as keen to not be involved as he was. Their eyes met and he tried to communicate -- without saying anything -- that no, this wasn’t what he’d anticipated for the night. “Let me give you a hand, we’ll bring a tray back,” he said as she offered to pay for everyone’s shots (which was a blessing because he’d only been planning on paying for his and Emma’s -- chef’s wages).

They made the short distance to the bar and Noah glanced back to check they hadn’t been followed. “Man, that was… somethin’.” He turned to face Kate again, his mind blank of potential conversation starters that didn’t seem lame or leery. “Uhh, so how do you know Emma?” he asked, trying not to cringe outwardly.

Emma beamed at Ollie as he accepted the Monday invite to Frida’s – not that she suspected he’d turn it down unless he had good reason, of course, but she loved having her friends all together. She nudged him back and winked.
“You know me, all about the hoopla and fanfare.”

When he turned back to her and mentioned the album release party, her grin widened even further, feeding off of Ollie’s obvious excitement.
“Excellent, thanks mate! I know I’d love to.”
She’d never been to anything like it before – well, sure, she’d been to numerous Quidditch Galas and events by now, but this? Athletes knew how to have a good party, she knew… but she’d heard a lot about the musicians’ ones. Caution would need to be exercised, of course, but it was Ollie and his crew after all.

Before she could say anything further on the subject, two all-too-familiar figures clad in very suspicious Auror garb waltzed up to the bar. Emma hid an anticipatory grin behind her hand as they approached; she knew that mane of red hair anywhere. And when the rowdy man-child it was attached to flung off his robe and began to gyrate, she let out a soft yelp of mirth before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Fortunately she was not one to be easily embarrassed, and found the whole thing downright hysterical – and thoughtful, in their own very eccentric and bizarre way.
“For the love of—! Merlin, Jere, you’ll get yourself thrown out!” she choked out, tears of laugher blurring her vision as she reached out to pull him and then Danny into a hug, one arm around each boy’s neck. “How in Merlin’s mangy pants did you manage to make that shirt?!” She swatted him playfully in the chest with the back of her hand, grinning all over again.

Kate’s question pulled her out of her hysterics and she took a deep steadying breath, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
“After that visual… yes, please, I think we all need some tequila shots. Thank you, love,” she added, beaming in her friend’s direction.

“You’d better hope no one reports you two for impersonating Aurors,” she admonished playfully, focusing back on Danny and Jeremy as Kate and Noah moved off to order the shots. “You’ll have to take your mugshots in that regalia, memorialized for all time.”

Over Jere’s shoulder she saw Ollie was still standing by the bar, and made a note to re-engage him in the next minute or so if he hadn’t found someone else to chat with by then. She didn’t want anyone feeling left out.