if you leave the light on { d a n j e r }

She took a handful of crisps and put them in a pile on her leg, like she'd done with the cookies earlier. She started with one and ate it slowly.

Freya blinked slowly, still smiling as she turned to look at Danny where he was sitting on the couch. She’d half-forgotten he was there. “Mmm?” The blonde frowned a little at his words, then looked back at Greg. “Oh, you know Callum? CK?” She waited for a positive response before continuing. “He has this Hot American Friend.” She hadn’t meant to add the hot there at the start, but it had slipped out. Oh well. It wasn’t a lie, she thought – Indy was the Hot American Friend.

“We’re not dating, though,” she clarified, lowering herself down onto the floor slowly. She closed her eyes peacefully. Once again, her words were flowing out of her lips with no filter. “I asked him back to mine after the party,” she said slowly. Freya felt nice and relaxed until that weird, floaty movement sensation kicked in. She opened her eyes and started at the ceiling in a lazy attempt to combat it. “But he didn’t want to,” she added, resisting the urge to cuddle up to Greg and his stupidly toned body beside her.

Freya blinked slowly again, feeling a bit sick from all of the cookies. And the slidey feeling. She wished there was some pizza here instead. Merlin, she’d kill for a pizza. “But I might see him again,” she added with a shrug. He’d said that he wanted to see her again, but she didn’t know him very well or anything. Freya reached up and started playing with her hair again, running her fingers from the roots to the ends of her hair. There were lots of knots now. Vaguely, she wondered if Greg should be Danny’s Hot Housemate or something like that in her brain catalogue of Hot Men.

npc ~ hot greg

God, you’ve been working out, haven’t you?

Hook, line, and sinker. No one could deny the power of abs. Greg had to fight to suppress the grin that grew on his lips, but he couldn’t conceal the touch of arrogance that coloured his tone. “Every day - sometimes twice a day.” He flexed for emphasis, but if called out – he shot a swift suspicious look in Danny’s direction – he would vehemently deny. His body was just always that defined. When her hand met his abdomen, there was a sharp inhalation in reaction – another decent excuse. Greg lay there like a happy puppy while Freya patted him. Where had he been headed for making this stop again? Did it even matter anymore?

As she stumbled over a response, his ego took a blow. For a moment, Greg was sure she was going to reject him. The soft exhalation of relief he let out had been a surprise; he hadn’t realised he was holding his breath waiting for her answer. “Yeah, like a chill thing,” he repeated in agreement.

Greg perked up slightly at the rustling sound, eyeing the crisps. It wasn’t lost on him that Danny had only slid it over to Freya, but he stuffed his hand in the bag anyway. Consider it repayment, he thought, silently grieving his stolen biscuits. He had barely gotten to swallow when Danny pulled out a new piece of information and Greg sat up abruptly, nearly choking on the snack. Imagine, death by salty goodness on the way to the gym – that tragic tale would make him the poster boy for every fitness magazine in the wizarding world.

“Uh sure?” He had no idea who this CK bloke was but he was suddenly very curious about this American friend. Greg quirked an eyebrow, the confusion crossing his features the more Freya explained her tale. Ah, so he was an idiot then. Or maybe not entirely. They were meeting up again? Greg wasn’t really sure what was happening, but he was left with the feeling that he would definitely need to impress when they went out for drinks. Maybe he would join a dance class at the gym… “That’s cool,” he offered lamely, hoisting himself to his feet. His tank had fallen behind him when he got up and he reached for it to pull over his head.

 â€œWell you two, I have to get to a training class.” He’d already made his way over to the gym bag. “Try not to have too much fun without me.” He turned to Danny. “Don’t eat everything in the fridge.” Once there was a time when Greg had labelled his food, but for some reason that seemed to have given his roommates more of an incentive to dig in instead of deterring them. Tossing another 'see you' over his shoulder, Greg left for class. He wasn’t about to let some American friend get him down, even if he was apparently hot!

Danny eyed Freya with amusement as she made a pile of chips on her leg, his smile growing wider until he broke up into laughter that he couldn't control and didn't really have a reason for. At least she wasn't crying yet. And that thought sent him into another laughing fit. It wasn't until a few minutes later that seemed like years later was he able to pull himself together, somewhat, and in that time, he had noticed Greg had stolen some of his crisps.

His hazel eyes darted between Freya and his roommate, grinning smugly as Greg choked on some crisps. His whole ask Tricky out plan was going to shit and Danny was suddenly enjoying this bit of entertainment. "You know Callum," he interjected in a singsong voice, but providing no actual helpful information.

A crisp as halfway to his mouth when her words took him by surprise. She did what now? Whoops. He hadn't realized he had said that out loud. Then he followed up with a confused "He didn't want to..." Danny repeated it, very slowly as if the thought hadn't occurred to him before. If Freya had asked him back to her place after they had made out at a party and she thought he was hot, he didn't know what would stop him from saying yes. She hadn't even said he was hot or invited him back to her place and he had practically jumped her the other day in his room. He peeked again in his shirt and mourned his non-existent abs. Maybe he would've had better luck if he was a little more defined. Either way, the American friend was hot but also pretty dumb.

Danny breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw Greg and his abs headed toward the door. Thank Merlin's soggy nachos for Greg's dedication to his exercise classes. Ha ha. Soggy nachos. He started laughing again, trying at the same time to tell Greg goodbye in his most loving fashion. "Have fun at jazzercise," he called, lifting one hand airily above him and waggling his fingers. "Have fun without you? Easy," he added with a slow smile, his eyes getting even brighter at the admonishment about food. "Eat everything in the fridge? On it." And finally, he was gone.

He glanced over at Freya and shook his head, trying to keep a straight face. "Can't believe you agreed to a date with Greg. Fifth year Greg would be shittin himself right now," he said before shoving some more crisps in his mouth to cover his smile.

“Yeah he didn’t want to,” Freya repeated Danny’s repetition of her words vaguely, but she didn’t linger on the thought. Or, tried not to. He hadn’t seemed disinterested. They’d made out and all. He’d said cute things. But Freya’s self esteem was, well, eehhh not the best, and her brain had a way of twisting that sort of stuff back on her.

The boys bantered and Greg got up to leave. She watched his chest until he put his top on, at which point she waved and gave him a pleasant smile. “Have fun!” she said, at the same time as Danny’s snide: have fun without you? Hers was kinder. She watched Greg leave.

“Nooo, Dan, it’s just a chill thing,” Freya whined, pushing herself back up so she was sitting. Her head spun a bit, but it was better than it had been when she was lying down. She eyed the couch again, wanting to go back to when Danny was playing with her hair, but not particularly excited about the prospect of lying down in the chocolate. Then she stared ahead for a second as she adjusted, her eyes glassy and her thoughts floaty.

She pouted. “When I lie down it’s all slidey,” she complained. the chips she’d stacked earlier were now spread around her, some in crumby pieces.

Wow, this Indy guy was even dumber than Greg, he thought idly as he shoved another handful of crisps into his mouth and then glanced down his chest, realizing there were a trail of crumbs on his shirt. He almost smiled at the idea that he was worse than Freya as he brushed them off. And while he didn't have any want or need to stop eating, he did feel thirsty now, really thirsty.

He leaned forward a bit to peer into some of the cups that littered the coffee table, but didn't find anything that looked drinkable so he sighed before he slid his gaze to Tricky. He felt almost sleepy. His eyelids definitely felt droopy and if he didn't feel like his body was all loosey goosey, he would've gotten up to get a drink. Or found his wand wherever it had gotten to and attempted a spell. Either way was too much work right now. The smoke had done it's job and Danny was perfectly relaxed, his thoughts drifting slowly, wisping in and out of his mind almost before he could totally grasp on to them.

Whatever filter he normally had didn't really exist in this state. "Well, I dunno if he thinks of it like that," he doubted but let it alone. Tricky could date whoever she wanted to, he told himself even though the idea made him rub his chest. He smiled crookedly at her as he swiped some crumbs onto the floor and then laid back, stretching out on the couch fully. "I don't have that problem," he proclaimed as he held his arms open, his feet hanging off the other armrest. "Come sit up here," he said beckoning her. "You can play with my hair this time," he added with a grin, finding the idea more amusing than he normally would. 

“He said chill thing,” she protested, getting a bit frowny again. Chiiillll thing. Chill things were fine – it wasn’t like she was marrying Greg or something. “It’s too gross up there,” she complained, getting whiney again thinking of all the chocolatey bits she’d dropped all over the couch, and how some of it had melted into the couch. Besides, she didn’t want to play with his hair, she wanted him to play with hers. She scrunched her nose a bit.

I don’t have that problem.

Freya didn’t stop pouting; she was feeling a bit weird again and struggling a little to shake it. After a moment, she pushed herself up to her feet, blinking a bit as she steadied herself. She was less smiley now that Greg was gone, but she didn’t know why. “I wanna be comfy,” she said. Freya rubbed her eye with the back of her hand. After a moment, she spoke again. “Can we go in your room?” She looked up again to check his reaction, then started walking there.

"Sure, sure," he agreed as she pouted at him. He felt an inclination to reach out and pinch her bottom lip where it was all pouty and cute. He resisted by shoveling some more crisps into his mouth. He frowned and gave her a "whatt?" with his mouth half full as he glanced around him. Oh wait. There were crumbs everywhere and he was pretty sure that poo-looking stains were chocolate from Greg's cookies. Like 87% sure.

He watched her stand up with a lazy gaze, shrugged and then nodded, slowly, as he shut one eye and then the other. His brain told him that would help him get ready to get up. He pushed himself up and then paused before unfolding himself to stand. He didn't even bother himself with a glance at the mess they were leaving behind. Someone would clean it up. Eventually. Danny grabbed the bag of crisps, pinching the top of the bag between two fingers, and letting it bump against his leg as he followed her into his room. It was messy, like always, clothes spewing from his closet and onto the floor, a collection of mostly empty cups littering his bedside table, and there was definitely a frisbee with some cereal in it on his dresser. His bed was unmade, but Danny just always thought that meant it was always ready for the impromptu nap, no preparation required.

"Incoming!" he called before he flung himself down and bounced a little before he settled and then stared up at the ceiling, regretting the action immediately as he closed one eye again and then the other, but that didn't help his brain from feeling like it was swimming in his head. "No making out with me this time, Tricky," he joked, snickering at the thought, remembering the last time they were in here.

Freya got into his unmade bed clumsily, shifting over to the wall side like it was hers. She always liked sleeping on the side that was away from the door. Especially if it was against a wall; cosier, that way. With a not-small amount of effort, the blonde shifted the pillows around so she could be comfy on her back. She wanted to shut her eyes, but she kept them open because of the dreaded slidey feeling.

“Ugh,” Freya grumbled as he fell into bed beside her. She felt a bit like the ceiling was folding in on itself above her as the bed bounced a bit, but she tried not to focus on it too much, rolling onto her side to face him instead. “You kissed me,” she teased, her voice a bit vague and distant, even to her own ears.

This was better, she thought. Better than being out there. Absentmindedly, Freya reached for his hand again and moved it up to her hair. She smiled a bit, trying to look cute so he’d do what she wanted.

"Iiiiiii'm pretty sure you kissed me," he told her in a singsong voice as he turned on his side to face her, curling one arm under his lumpy but favorite pillow. He squeezed one eye shut as he gazed at her, curling up next to him, grinning widely as she pulled his hand up to her hair again. Wow, real subtle, Tricky, he thought before giving in. "Couldn't resist my handsome face, I don't blame you," he said as he patted her head.

Then in the next moment, he was playing with her hair again. Silky soft, he thought, not realizing he had said it aloud. He twisted her curls around his index finger before bringing his arm up slowly to slowly massage his fingers in little circles on her scalp. His thoughts felt floaty and he couldn't really track any of them for too long, but he couldn't quite look away from her either.

The quiet that cropped up between them felt comfortable and Danny wondered if he would wake up cuddling with Freya again. He did kind of like being the little spoon to her big spoon...

“Nuh-uh,” Freya said, pouting for exactly one moment before his hand made contact with her hair and she had to smile instead. There was a little something like victory in her expression. “Nooo,” she complained, still smiling. She was right to have come in here, she thought. It was so much nicer than out there. Cooler, somehow, too. Less sticky. Slidey still, but… Not terrible now that the bed had stopped moving.

“Remember?” she asked, struggling a little to get her sentences in order in her head. She was smiling though, and she laughed a little before her chuckles faded slowly into a comfortable silence. He played with her hair, and she made a little “mm,” of appreciation when he started massaging her scalp. She curled her arm up in between them, resting it flat on the bed. Her pinky aaaaalmost touched him.

Her eyes didn’t leave his face for what felt like fifteen minutes and was probably more like two or something. She felt sleepy now, but was a little nervous about closing her eyes. “Remember?” she said again after the silence, remembering her own train of thought out of the blue. Her voice was gentler now. “I dared you to do what you wanted?” She smiled a little bit just then, eyes still trained on his.

"Yesssss," he said, talking over her whiny voice and laughing the whole time. He was mostly being contrary just because that little pouting expression she had was so funny. He got the urge to pinch her pouty bottom lip again so it was a good thing his fingers were tangled in her curls currently.

"'member what?" he asked, losing track of the conversation. Her soft sounds of pleasure made his chest feel tight and the thought occurred to him that Greg could be doing this for her after their 'chill' hang out. Wow. He did not like that idea. He was very glad all of a sudden that they were in here, less likely for his roommate to come in here, strutting around with all of his abs just to show off. He kept moving his fingers in little circles against her scalp, encouraged by the way she was looking at him.

I dared you to do what you wanted. "Oh, that. Yeah," he said, remembering what she was talking about while simultaneously forgetting that he was pretending that he hadn't remembered kissing her first. Whoops. He had a thought, but got distracted by the color of her eyes. Were they always this honey color, soft, almost shimmery. Wow, how much had he smoked. He was almost poetic. Danny laughed at himself, the bed shaking softly as he chuckled.

Then the thought came back to him. "We never did finish playing, Tricky... truth or dare?" he questioned, asking both if she wanted to play and which one she would pick.

It felt stupidly good, him playing with her hair, and she wondered if she was going to end up falling asleep with him again, like she had when they’d listened to that dumb radio show. She wanted to stay up for when Jeremy got back – assuming he would be back, that was. And alone, too. God, imagine if he brought a girl back?? Freya smiled at the thought, knowing it would absolutely be on her shoulders to keep Danny in check if that happened.

Freya laughed at his words, then hesitated at the look in his eye and wondered if he was actually asking her which one she wanted to pick. “Um,” she said, feeling a little uncertain for the first time in a little while. She searched his eyes a little, and took a little too long to respond.“Truth?” she asked gingerly. Her lips tugged into a smile then, though, because it was the shameful option that she always picked, and right now that was kind of amusing. Maybe she was a bit too nervous to let Danny dare her to do something. Here in his bed, anyway.

Her hesitation made him smile slowly and he raised his eyebrows high on his forehead. He wanted her to answer, but his thoughts kept tumbling in and out of his head in messy little zigzags that he couldn't keep track of. For some reason, he kept thinking his eyebrows were hats for his eyes and he kept trying to make them into different shapes.

Freya's answer distracted him from that though. "Truthhhh?" he repeated, a little disappointed, his hand stilling in her curls. Truth or dare for Danny only had one correct answer. Dare, always dare. He shrugged lightly though a second later. "Fine, fine," he gave in, smiling at her as he started to shake his head and then stopping as it felt like his brain was rattling around. He tried to pulled his hand back to hold onto his head, but his fingers were tangled in her hair and he couldn't free them so he just gave up on that and twisted a curl around his finger again.

"I'll make it an easy one, Tricky. What would be the perfect date? Like where would you go, what would you do?" he asked, quickly tacking on the extra questions for clarification mostly because he didn't want to hear anything about Hot Duncan or this new Hot American.

“Perfect date?” she repeated, ignoring his clear disappointment at her choice. He’d said it was easy, but she wasn’t sure if that actually was the case. “Ummm, lots of things could be perfect. With the right person.” It sounded cheesy so she laughed, shaking the bed a bit, but she really did mean it. She was pretty easy when it came to the details. “Prosper took Ari to this rooftop somewhere in Paris... and stole a bottle of champagne to drink,” she said, her words a bit slow and meandering, “and they danced and stuff... That was her first kiss, you know – Prosper.”

Freya sighed, “but I don’t know, it could be something all romancey like that, but it doesn’t have to be. Could be something more fun… like spending a day at a theme park or hiking or like…” she blinked slowly, her words trailing off. She tilted her head a little as his hand moved closer to her neck. Felt good.

He’d said perfect date, so she should probably be more creative. “Like island hopping on a little boat… Ooh, with good food too, like really good pizza. Wine. Maybe uh... Italian islands,” she said, her fantasy getting more and more elaborate. “And we could just spend all afternoon eating good food and swimming and going to the different beaches. And then go to a beach party at night. Or have a cabin somewhere with a sea view. Or stay on the boat and just have sex under the stars or something. Maybe somewhere more tropical,” she added, changing her answer a little. Somewhere closer to the equator might be more in line with what she was imagining.

“What about you?” she asked abruptly, wondering if Danny had every really thought about this before.

Wow. If he hadn’t already been lowkey hating on and intimidated by the guy, Danny definitely was now. “He did all that?” he asked his brows high on his forehead in disbelief. “I would’ve kissed him too,” he admitted, surprising himself with the thought and then laughing at the idea. But damn if that Frenchie wasn’t the smoothest guy he’d ever met. He should probably start taking notes. What did she say he did? Rooftop, stole a bottle, kiss. Seemed simple enough although that French accent he had made everything seem more romantic.

As Freya gave her ideas, Danny could picture each one in his head. Sitting next to her on one of those muggle roller coasters, their hands up in the air as they free fell strapped into the contraption. Eating and fighting over the last slice of pizza on an island somewhere. Dancing around a bonfire on the beach as the sun set behind them. Wait - did she say sex under the stars? He paused again, stilling as their eyes met, and he wondered who she would do all these things with since it wasn’t going to be him. They were just friends. That thought felt sad though so he focused on her question.

“Easy,” he answered breezily. “Appetizer of nachos followed by main course of nachos and then we’d have sex and she’d brag about my sexual prowess to her friends,” he told her as he tried to waggle his brows at her, playful Danny returning in full force.