love is what i got [léon]

The place was packed for the night, and the tips were just flowing in. Janae was loving this flow. She had been lucky to get a job right out of Hogwarts, especially one in the nice area of London. She actually didn’t feel all that terrified walking to and from the safe apparition zone, and even though she’d asked her brother to escort her the first few times, she hadn’t bothered in the last few days. There was apparently a famous headliner coming in from the night, some French jazz vocalist she had never heard of. She had never listened to jazz and cabaret songs before, but she liked the vibe of this small place. She went back up to the bar, smiling at the slightly older woman behind the counter who had been like a mentor to Janae for the short time she had been there. She was pretty but obviously had been in the service industry for awhile, looking a little worn out and tired pretty much constantly from the time spent on her feet. From what she told Janae, she worked two jobs—her second being a diner waitress in the early morning hours, right after Coven closed for the night.

Janae praised her for being able to work so much, but was lucky that, so far, her bills were being paid. It had a lot to do with Ezra’s wealthy parents, who were subsidizing the apartment they lived in—paying for everything and only asking a small sum of money from each of them per month. As it was, they had their small rent fee, groceries, and the rest went to whatever they wanted. Janae had already decorated her body with a few new tattoos and piercings since graduating, and had dyed her hair a light-brown almost blonde ombre.  She liked the way it contrasted with her little black dress. She wore a silver necklace and black kitten heels. She was tall enough, at five-foot-eight to not need the extra height. It was all topped off by a blackberry balm on her lips, giving them a hint of color and sheen.

She delivered the drinks, then walked up the next table, making eye contact with a handsome boy about her age. That was definitely a different demographic than she was used to seeing around here. “Hey there, welcome to Coven. What can I get you?” She couldn’t help looking at his face. She wondered what he was doing here, all alone. “Do you want a special’s menu? I haven’t seen you around here before. Must be here for the headliner. I hear she’s really good.”

@Léon Lachapelle

Inés Dubois was a dream come true, and possibly one of the very few women that Léon lusted for creatively; the way in which she sang enough to drive his heart into a frenzy and remind him of how truly gifted someone needed to be to compose such beautiful music. He could not help but thank his lucky stars for the fact that he was out of school and could indeed travel to London to see the show. He had never been to the city before and though his English was intermediate at best, as soon as he found out that she would be headlining a show at a new club, he knew he had to try his best to be there, no matter what.

With the help of an older friend’s acquaintance who agreed to guide him in the right direction, he was able to find the club without a problem, slipping in under the guise of being with a group of boisterous woman, he assumed in their late twenties but one could never be too sure, that had engaged him in conversation, complementing him on his looks and the French accent so obvious when he spoke. Had Léon not been so preoccupied with getting a good seat for the performance, he might have ventured towards their table to figure out just how serious they were when they had said he was “attractive”.

But there was no time for that, he was here on business, intent on finding the opportunity to speak to the fabulous woman himself if the occasion allowed for it. Finding a booth near the front of the stage but still quiet enough to keep him undisturbed, he tapped his fingers impatiently against the table, eyeing the equipment that the band was setting up on stage as he wondered just what sort of piano that was and how it was able to produce such a quality sound. In comparison to the crowd, he felt a little young and out of place but he figured that was simply due to his taste in music.

He loved the contemporary but could not help but to feel drawn to the music that appealed to his older acquaintances. There was something about the rhythm, the lyrics, everything that came together so much better than it did with the sort of kids his age. It was why he enjoyed attending these sorts of things alone, he had a reputation to upkeep and his taste in music or his seriousness with which he viewed it would probably not score him any points with the girls he often pursued.

He was talked away from his thoughts when a young woman came to the table to ask about what he wanted to drink. He had not even thought to look once at the menu but figured he ought to buy a drink or two as part of the “sitting” fee. Léon smiled in her direction, admiring how pretty she was and suddenly feeling a little distracted from what he had come here to do, “Oh yes, hello to you too,” he stated, feeling a little awkward speaking in English when it wasn’t his native language, “I do not know what is good, maybe you can…recommend?” he asked, glancing down at the menu and pushing it towards her in case she needed to look at it.

As soon as she mentioned the headliner, his interested peaked. “Ah yes, Miss Dubois, I love her work, most excellent artist in all of France, you’ll never hear any jazz singer like her,” he guaranteed. “I’m Léon by the way, you are—very pretty, what is your name?” he added. He knew how to put a few decent sentences together, at least it would be fun to have someone to chat with in between sets.

She could tell that English was not his native language, and was grateful she knew a little bit of French.  How cute, a French boy her age at a place like this. Did he like jazz music? She supposed he did, because he soon began talking about the headliner and she smiled. She didn’t know much about jazz, but she did like the sound of a guy who did. She tried not to be distracted by him being cute. She was such a flirt in real life, so eager to slide in next to him and make him tell her what was so memorable about this artist and what he found prettiest about her. She had to remind herself that she was at work.

“Oh, yeah? What kind of drinks do you like? We’ve got a pretty interesting twist on a gin daisy, but it’s got tonic and I don’t know how you feel about that. It’s kinda bitter. We’ve got a vampy themed one that’s cranberry and Cabernet Sauvignon?” She offered, speaking French to the best of her ability. She was a little less than fluent, but decent enough at it. She had an accent, though.

“I’m Janae, by the way. Nice to meet you Léon. Thanks for the compliment.” She smiled widely, beaming. She wanted to tell him he was handsome, but didn’t know if that was appropriate. She looked up at the empty stage. They had awhile before the show. “I can make you a special one, too, if you want. Just tell me what your tastes are, and I’ll surprise you.” She flirted lightly.

Léon was pleasantly surprised when she replied in French, not really having given much thought to the idea that people outside of his home country were able or even willing to use it, therefore he had come prepared with some phrases of his own. But he smiled, appreciating the effort and finding it adorable that she did so, relaxing back in his seat as he listened to her closely, disregarding the occasional mistake here and there. In comparison to his abysmal English, she was quite fluent. “You speak French! It’s very good, where did you learn?” he asked, mindful to keep his sentences simple and speak slowly, so as not to overwhelm her suddenly.

“Janae is a very pretty name,” he offered, never having heard the name before but finding it very suitable for the woman in front of him. “I like sweet things,” he said as she offered to make him a drink of her own creation. He thought she was a waitress but it seemed like she might have been a bartender too? Maybe she was much older than he thought but she seemed just about his age.

“But maybe something with red wine would be perfect, I think red wine and jazz go together really well,” he said, though it wasn’t an idea he had given much thought to in the past, just something that he had considered in passing as they had spoken. “Too bad you cannot sit and enjoy this with me,” he said in broken English, “I am sure her performance will impress you as well,” he continued. But he would keep an eye on her throughout the night and find another reason to approach her again, she was working after all.

“I’ve been trying for awhile!” She offered, smiling at him. “I have a penpal at Beauxbatons I practice with. Her name is Manon, do you know her?” She asked, a little excited that he complimented her French. “and thanks!  I’ll bring you that cranberry and Cabernet one.” She smiled, giving her hair a little flip without thinking.  She really thought he was handsome, and he seemed sweet.  “That is a shame, yeah, but I can enjoy it from afar.” She admitted. “You’ll have to let me know if she’s as good live as you expected.”

She gave him a little wave as she went up to the bar. She was still training to be a bartender under the senior bartender, so she let the other woman make the drink. She checked on a few other tables, eyes raising to Leon every now and then, then brought the drink when it was ready.

“Voila.” She teased, presenting the drink to him. “Let me know if it’s not sweet enough for you, but I think you’ll like it.” She assured. The opening act was setting up. She stood by, lingering, to see if he liked it.

“Sounds familiar,” he nodded in agreement. Though it sounded a little more than familiar, he was almost certain that Manon hated him like most of the girls around his age. He wasn’t about to encourage Janae by telling her he did and having her ask about him to her friend, his reputation would be ruined in moments. “Thank you,” he continued, “I’ll be sure to give you a full report,” he said playfully, giving her a wink for good measure as he watched her walk up to the bar, no longer as completely invested in his jazz performance as he had been on the way to the bar.

Léon had little experience engaging in conversation with girls that were older, an assumption he made because she was working in a bar. But Janae seemed pleasant, much more so than the girls in the little bubble he surrounded himself with most of the year. He didn’t want to give her any hints of his status as a student though, as he assumed she might become disinterested. He perked up when she returned again, bringing the drink up to his lips before he made a sound synonymous with complete satisfaction.

“Absolutely amazing,” he complimented her, “You’ve read me just like a book, this is exactly the sort of thing I like,” he added. “But please, stay a little longer, I came alone and it’d be nice to have some company,” he suggested, eyeing the other guests she had been attending to, hoping that they could fend for themselves for a while.