[gravesend] a half written story without any ending || isaac

December 31st, 2003

Magnolia should have been spending New Years’ Eve with her closest friends, welcoming the new year with giggles and well-wishes. Instead, her presumptuousness had led her to dismiss any plans, stating that she’d be expected to spend time with her family and therefore couldn’t do anything exciting. That had been a blatant lie. Magnolia and Isaac had been spending time together over break, nothing serious just sort of hanging out, but it was something that she felt hesitant to share with her friends. They weren’t a thing but she sort of wanted them to be and therefore the Gryffindor had convinced herself that if she let the flow take over, things would happen for them. But impatient as she was, Magnolia had also taken his willingness to spend time with her as a sign that maybe he did like her as much as she liked him. She hadn’t called it a date but he wasn’t stupid and Magnolia supposed that the amount of time she spent talking about going together gave it away. It would be the perfect event to tell him her feelings, and assuming he’d confess to feeling the same, the new year would start on an overwhelmingly positive note.

Needless to say, Isaac had turned her down and they hadn’t talked since.

So, pretending she had been completely unaffected by his response and that she had intended to go with or without him, Magnolia dressed up and went out. Rheya would probably have some time to pull away from her band to hang out, and then after the countdown, she’d go back home and spend time with Queen Victoria. At least her cat was always willing to curl up beside her when she was in a bad mood. The girl had briefly considered calling over her friends but decided against it, the guilt of not having called them in the first place consuming her instead. Magnolia should’ve known better, now she’d just have to suffer the consequences.

But Magnolia was a social survival and thrived in these types of social situations. After a few drinks (courtesy of a few friendly faces she’d never met before) Magnolia was enjoying herself as if nothing had happened in the first place. She’d remember it tomorrow when her mind wasn’t clouded by the alcohol but for now, she was determined to have fun.

The teenager had fallen into a group of older girls, recent Hogwarts graduates, that were giving her tips on finding a date. They were considerably drunker than she was but extremely concerned that she had come on her own. Magnolia had not technically gone by herself but it was nice to bond with people outside of her circle. After all, it was the first time they’d be hearing her boy woes, maybe they could relate. Magnolia was introduced to some of their friends, some handsome Ministry workers that were equal parts charming and obnoxiously loud. They were obviously much too old for the teenager but she wasn’t about to tell them her age. Plus it made her feel good to think that older guys found her interesting, much easier to forget that stupid boy whose attention she had been so ridiculously obsessed over.

When one of the guys suggested that they go to the bar for more drinks, Magnolia enthusiastically agreed. And it was then that she noticed him. Her anger was instantaneous. She reached out to hold the guy’s hand, she had sort of forgotten his name already, as she pulled him closer. Magnolia didn’t know if Isaac was even paying attention to her but just to make sure he had, she routed around the crowded space, shoving into him on purpose as she passed by.

“Sorry,” she called out but refused to look in his direction, pretending she didn’t know it was him. She did not care if he paid attention (she did), she just wanted him to realize she was there, too. Though she was much more curious to know who he had wanted to spend his New Years’ Eve with if not with her.

@Isaac Hackney

Isaac knew what she was asking when she tried to get him to go to a New Year's Eve thing with her. He knew it wasn't just going to a party; it was going to a party with her, as in together, and he had promptly declined. It would be a lie to say he hadn't considered it. They had been hanging out during winter break and outside of Hogwarts. Away from all the nonsense and distractions, they had been getting along rather well. Maybe it was the change of scenery or the lack of pressure from both of their friends, but things were just more comfortable. Until she asked him to the NYE party, Isaac rudely told her he didn't want to.

While he'd of enjoyed going with her, probably, he didn't want to go on a date. He wasn't the sort. It was too much to ask for, and he knew Magnolia would never leave it at that. She would always want more, and he didn't want to give anymore. If she wanted something casual, he could be good with that, but Nola wasn't the casual type of witch, and he liked that about her. As the day came around, Isaac found another party in Gravesend to go to, not that it was difficult, especially not on the year's biggest party night.

Isaac had been ignoring the game of twenty questions going on next to him, figuring out the answer was some witches boobs about six questions ago (there were still twelve to go), and had begun to zone out. He always came to these things, but he never had as much fun as he thought he could. Not when there was good music, not when there was free beer, not even when he caught the attention of some older witch who thought he looked like he could have been at least seventeen. The wizard had been there for a half an hour, already a whole cup of something in, when he saw her. Well, correction, first he saw her dress. Blinded by the shimmering sequins and how very little was left to the imagination. Until this moment, Isaac had only ever seen her in her school robes and the ridiculously bright colored sweaters and skirts she seemed to love. All winter break, she'd looked cute, not that he had noticed or anything... but this was... this was different.

Nola agreed to something, and she was smiling, he noticed because she was almost always frowning when she looked at him. Isaac thought he didn't care; it wasn't like it was that big of a coincidence that they had ended up at the same party; he knew she was from just across the river. The teenager told himself to chill, and most importantly, to stop staring at her in that damn dress. But then she looped her hand with some guy who was too old for her, and he shot up in his seat. Knocking his glass over and gripping the arm as she pulled the stranger closer. Isaac stood up, wanting to say something to her, anything, but as she passed him, she bumped into his shoulder and pretended like Isaac was the stranger.

"Are you fucking for real right now?" He asked, spinning around and spitting his question at her with anger in his eyes. The older wizard, who Isaac one hundred percent felt like he could take, gave him a frown and said something along the lines of 'She said she was sorry,' but Isaac ignored him. The stranger must have thought Isaac was angry about her running into him as they passed by. And yes, Isaac was pissed, but that wasn't the reason at all. "Magnolia, you can not go anywhere with this fucking guy," He told her, her delicate name sounding rough in his harsh accent. The wizard holding her hand seemed to protest, but Isaac just glared at him. "Oh yeah, do you know she is fucking sixteen?" He asked him sharply, not caring that he was probably embarrassing Nola in the process; there was no way he was going to let her leave the party with this guy. Or any guy, he had decided.

Magnolia bumped into Isaac with the explicit purpose of informing him that she was there; it was a small, but very significant, way of establishing that her night and the fun she intended to have was in no way dependent on him. The teenage witch was sixteen years old now, she was practically an adult, and intended to show everyone that she was ready for all the responsibilities that came with being an (almost)adult. And that meant Isaac, too. He had ruined his opportunity and the girl was not hard-pressed to ever give him another chance at dating her, she decided. But really, it was more of the alcohol making these sorts of spontaneous declarations of girl power. Deep down, Magnolia knew that she’d change her tune. She’d regret giving Isaac the knowledge that she liked him. Had liked him, she scolded herself.

But then there he was, inhabiting that role of top-tier asshole that seemed made specifically for him, scaring off her date and announcing her age as if it even mattered. Whatever joy she was experiencing moments prior had all but dissipated at the sight of him. “Who the hell are you to tell me what I can or cannot do?” she retorted angrily, though all of the noise she was making was no competition to the sound of the music around them. She wanted him to know that she was angry, even if she was more upset by the fact that he had been pretending their time together meant something than because she was mad he had interrupted her date.

Magnolia might have been less inhibited because she had been drinking but she was not going to do something she completely regretted. Not like she had done when she spent all that time pining for Isaac. And she had been sober then! Things could only go up from there. But his words were all that it took for her date to do a double-take, seemingly confused by what was happening or whether it was true, to begin with. The man leaned forward, looking at her closely as if to confirm her age, and when he realized his mistake, he apologized for offering and left to find his friends. Magnolia balled up a fist in anger, inevitably moving closer to him to make sure that he heard her loud and clear. “Argh-“ she started in annoyance, but the sound hadn’t been any closer to helping her express what she wanted to say, “What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked once more, demanding an explanation.

Sure, she had asked for something like this to happen, but it had not been so irritating in her head. He did not have that look of regret on his face; it was one of irrational anger, the sort that was hell-bent on ruining her night. Magnolia was not about to let that happen. “Don’t act like you care now, just leave me alone, Isaac,” she said pointedly, making an attempt to shove past him again but this time to never turn back again. Magnolia had been stupid enough to let him drag her down once, but she wasn’t about to let him do it again.

Isaac ignored Magnolia's words; his eyes focused only on the way-too-old-for-her wizard until the man had the better sense to take off. He hadn't noticed he'd balled his fists up and that his heart was racing, but the anger was so apparent on his face. How dare this fucking guy try to take home a teenage witch. Magnolia probably lied to him or pretended to be older than she was, but Isaac only blamed the wizard right now. At least, until the wizard took off toward his friends, and it was just Nola and Isaac again. And then all of his blame turned on her.

"Me? What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you even know that bloke? Or where he was going to take you? And you were going to fucking go with him? Are you mental?" His words came out quick and without pause, cruel and slick, and he did not attempt to soften them. Shifting his weight, Isaac blinked a few times, suddenly hating how loud the music was and how many people were around them. He should have just agreed to spend New Year's Eve with her. It had been what he wanted, but when she asked, he flipped and said no instead. He didn't want to go on some official date with her, he knew she would make all sorts of crazy teenage-witch assumptions, and he did not want to deal with the drama. Now though, he was starting to get the impression he was never going to outrun the fallout of Magnolia's drama.

He exhaled loudly when she told him to leave, setting his jaw and refusing to go. "No," He said, no explanation, nothing offered. And then she tried to walk past him and leave, and Isaac moved before realizing what was happening. He grabbed her arm, stopping her as she tried to pull her arm away. "Just," He started, letting go of her as soon as he realized what he had done, and then sighed. "Let me get you some water, okay?" He asked as softly as he could over the blaring music. He needed to get out of this house before he lost it. There was still anger in his eyes but something else too. "Will you go outside with me?"

“No, it’s called having a good time, you ever heard of that?” she retorted angrily, furious that he’d had the audacity to call her out in front of this perfectly decent (and handsome) stranger but more importantly that he felt he had the right to say anything to her about who she hung out with. “Plus it’s none of your bloody business, now is it?” she added, leaning in closer to make sure that he was well aware of the anger in her voice, and that she was yelling at him, not just so that he’d hear her over the loud music. “You think there aren’t tens of other guys I can leave with? Don’t be such a prick and go back to wherever you came from,” she added bitterly. He had a point, even if she wanted to ignore that truth a little longer.

Magnolia had no idea who that guy was or what his intentions were, he had been buying the table drinks and had asked to spend some alone time but the girl figured they could have a chat outside about music or whatever and she’d get to know him. It was nice meeting people that weren’t aware of her reputation at school or that were interested in her rather than her friends; in her group of girlfriends, Magnolia felt like the outlier, and wasn't as interesting as Mavis, Josie, or Billie combined. The Ravenclaw girl had two guys after her, and who knew how many more waiting in the sidelines. And it was not from Magnolia’s lack of trying, she had tried with this very boy that was trying to pull her away from the crowd and had failed, miserably.

But she wasn’t going to dwell on that now, she just wanted to get out of there or find someone else to distract her, she couldn’t very well return to that group of girls now that Isaac had practically outed her teenage status to their friend. Maybe if she lingered around long enough, someone else could get her some more drinks, she could use one right about now. When Isaac grabbed her arm however it was obvious that he had other plans. Before she had a chance to pull her arm away, though, he let her go. She gave him an incredulous look, “No thanks, I’d rather stay drunk as long as possible,” she replied, but her anger had already turned into disappointment at this point, after he asked her to go outside, her shoulders dropped and she relented. “Fine,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes at him, “lead the way.”

"Yeah, I am pretty sure your definition of a good time would not have been the same as that dick's," Isaac informed her like he knew exactly what the wizard's motivations were. He could assume, especially while Nola was wearing that fucking dress. How could the wizard be thinking anything other than what Isaac could not stop thinking about since he'd seen her? Impossible. Her words cut through him, he knew there were too many guys here who would line up at the chance to 'escort' Magnolia home, but he was dead set on not allowing it. It was Not. Fucking. Happening.

Trying to convince her to get out of this noisy room, drink some water, and stop flirting with strangers, was proving more difficult (and more aggravating) than even typical conversations with her were. "Fine, I will get you another drink, just, come on," He huffed, and when she agreed, Isaac barely believed it. He blinked. Had she just accepted what he was saying, no sassy one-liners, no bitter insults? It was a New Years Miracle.

Isaac shifted so that she could walk in front of him toward the kitchen. He held his arm out, motioning for her to start walking; there was no way he was going to turn his back on her. She'd probably run back to her bad ideas. "You are an angry drunk," He said over the sounds of the music; he was still pissy, but walking behind her in that dress was certainly improving his mood.

What did he know? If anything, that guy’s intentions were probably much better than any of the intentions Isaac had when talking to girls, she could probably come up with ten examples of that. Even if he was right, which she still did not want to admit was the case, she didn’t like his tone or the way he acted like he was saving her from whatever awful fate he insisted awaited her, “Maybe that’s exactly what I wanted,” she countered. Magnolia was not entirely oblivious to those types of things; she did read a fair share of trashy romance novels to know what happened at parties like these with handsome strangers. And she probably was not going to actually do anything with that guy, she could not even remember his name, but it was nice pretending she would even if just to piss Isaac off.

It surprised her that he would give in so quickly to her request for another drink, after all, Magnolia thought that part of his anger had something to do with her drinking with strangers. “Well I don’t want it if you’re going to be a jerk about it, at least they were much nicer to me,” she grumbled as she walked in front of him, looking over at the group of girls she had abandoned moments earlier and feeling like a little child being scolded by her parent. Isaac was the worst.

“I am not an angry drunk, I’m angry at you,” she insisted once they entered the kitchen. There were still plenty of people there too, but the music was not deafening, and it was certainly much easier to talk when there were not so many people in such proximity. Noticing some people, she had talked to earlier, she smiled at them, pulling Isaac into the corner so that she could yell at him without drawing too much attention to herself. That was the sort of attention she did not want. “And I wouldn’t be so angry if you’d just stop pretending that you give a fuck, don’t worry I’m sure you’ve just about ruined my chances with anyone else,” she added, “so thank you.”

"Was it?" Isaac asked sharply, nearly reaching for her arm so he could see her face when she said it but holding himself back. Was that what she had wanted to happen? Was she that desperate to catch up with the witches in their class that she would go off with some stranger? Isaac's hands were in fists before he knew it, wanting to find something or someone to punch, but he followed Nola into the kitchen instead.

She shot another insult his way, and he ignored it. Isaac didn't pretend to think he was nice to her, but he was pretty sure she was a lot safer with him than anyone else in this party. They were all a lot older, a lot drunker, and, well, he didn't want her to be around anyone else. He should have just fucking agreed to come here with her in the first place, he knew it, but it was too late to change it now. "No, you are," He replied, not listening to her explain why she was not an angry drunk but just pissed at him. What else was new. He followed her toward the corner of the kitchen, grabbing a can of beer out of the sink filled with ice on the way, and cracked it open as she laid into him again.

Taking the first sip and holding it out to her, Isaac smiled, "You are welcome," He said pointedly, ducking his head toward hers with enthusiasm. "And I am not pretending," Isaac leaned up against the window sill, sighing a little and forgetting she would be able to hear it now that they weren't in the middle of a bass battleground.

Magnolia wasn’t about to give him an answer, even if she was full of words now that she was a little less inhibited. He didn’t deserve an answer to that, she decided, he deserved to come to his own conclusions like he’d been doing when he decided to come over and embarrass her. Whatever she planned to do with that guy wasn’t any of his business, and for someone that had rejected her so carelessly twice already, she didn’t really know why he cared to begin with.

She moved opposite of him, jumping up onto the kitchen counter across from the windowsill to sit down. She was angry but she wasn’t about to storm off, that would give him way too much power. Instead, she intended to make him walk away. If he thought she was frustrating so far, he was in for a wild ride. “Literally out of every party tonight you had to end up at this one,” she rolled her eyes, “wasn’t enough to just say no, now was it? Had to show up too and make things even worse. I don’t even know why you’d bother; you obviously have better things to do with your time,” she added.

She looked at the can of beer but ignored his gesture. She wasn’t ready for a peace offering just yet. “When you said you didn’t want to come with me, I didn’t expect you to go all chaperone-mode” she scoffed. Was he trying to be sincere now? “Do you mean you do give a fuck as in enough to ruin my night?” she asked, knowing that she was probably being a little extreme but too worked up about losing her chances with that perfectly acceptable man a few moments ago and now arguing in the kitchen of somebody’s house with the same person she had been fighting with for the last three months.

Taking a breath, she finally took the beer from him, taking a small sip before handing it back to him. It was a little hard to ignore that they had just shared a drink which was sort of a weird friendship area for her, because had this been Killian or Jae she wouldn’t have thought twice about it but this was Isaac and they were sharing a beer, like from the same can. She frowned a little. Magnolia was not done being angry, yet. Concentrate she scolded herself. “Okay I’m not going to go home with him, don’t you have your date to take care of or whatever? Or did you come over to rub that in my face, too?”

Isaac realized she didn't answer him, and the not-answer was unbearable enough that he was visibly frowning by the time they reached the kitchen. She was the most infuriating person he had ever met. He asked a question; she refused to answer; he didn't ask, she never stopped telling him answers he didn't want. It was out of control, and he was going to need more than this one beer to navigate her nonsense tonight. She ignored the gesture, and he took another swig, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head as she hopped onto the counter. He watched her over the top of the can, taking another sip so his jaw wouldn't slam against the tiled floor.

"I did not know you were coming to this party, trust me," He told her, taking another sip before shaking his head. "I said no to going on a date, not to go to a party, you took it the way you wanted to. Like you always do," Isaac shot back at her; of course, he blamed all of this one her. When she finally reached for the beer, Isaac took a step closer to where she was so that she could get it. Magnolia handed it back as quickly as she had taken it, and he wondered if that meant she was done, or if she was sharing, and then asked himself what that meant. He was so confused by tonight.

"Yeah, but I do not trust that," He told her, "You are half-drunk; who knows what you will do," Isaac didn't want to think about it. What if he hadn't been here tonight? Would she have gone home with that wizard? Would she have come back to Hogwarts as someone else? He sucked in a breath, drinking half the can of beer in a gulp, and moved forward as someone tried to pass behind him. He took a step forward, closing all of the remaining distance between them, and his torso pressed up against her knees. "I did not bring a date, Magnolia," He said softly, his eyes searching hers as he swallowed nervously.

Standing this close to her was dangerous. Isaac's eyes betrayed him, flickering down to her lips before back up to her eyes. "I did not want to be here with anyone else," Isaac whispered, suddenly feeling like eye contact was entirely too intense but holding her gaze anyway.

“I never called it a date, you did,” she shot back. It was clear that he had taken her words to mean that she was interested in being more than friends and that was totally true but she didn’t think she had been that obvious? Had he just done what she had asked, and they’d come together, she would read the situation better and then decide whether he actually liked her or if he just thought they were friends.

Magnolia always felt like she was running out of time with him like she didn’t have the chance to decide who he was or what they were to each other or if she was reading into everything like she always did and it frustrated her. Just as she thought that they were just acquaintances, he’d be nice, just when she thought they were just friends, he’d do something mildly sweet or romantic or say something, and just as she wanted to move things along, he’d deceive her again. “Anyway, it wouldn't kill you to go on one date,” she mumbled before she really had the time to process what she was saying. At this point, he probably wasn’t even listening to her anyway.

“Yeah, whatever, I can take care of myself,” she retorted, and if there were any consequences for her actions, then she’d act surprised come morning time when she was hungover. But maybe she wasn’t really drunk enough to get hungover, because she still had a bit of a filter left though, she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d have it.

The teenager sucked in a breath when he came closer, not fully aware of how close he was until she could feel the zipper of his hoodie brush faintly against her knee, which was weird because she normally wasn’t this hyper-aware when she had been drinking and maybe she was sober. But before she said anything, she reached over to take the beer from him, taking a much more generous sip this time, fully intent on getting drunker and not noticing these types of things. “Well, why didn’t you?” she asked instead, frowning just a little at him.

Magnolia didn’t really understand what he was saying, or maybe she did but wanted to stop reading into everything he said. So, no, whatever she thought he meant, he probably did not mean that. “Yeah, yeah, even if I were the last girl on Earth you wouldn’t date me, I get it,” she insisted, handing the beer back to him, “It’s fine, I’m over it, forget I asked in the first place. So, what now? Need me to help you pick up some girls?”

"Because that is not what I wanted," He told her, his voice low. Isaac thought he was unequivocal, thought he was telling her something that she would want to hear, but as it always happened with Nola, everything was backward. He tried to be friendly, and she was rude, he was cold, and she asked him on a date. It was a disaster, but one he couldn't just walk away from. He probably should have moved away from her, but he didn't. Isaac never did what he should have.

She took the beer from him, drank enough of it, and then he moved to take it from her hand. It was empty, enough that he didn't plan on taking the last sip, so he set it down on the counter beside her thigh. "Still hanging on to that?" He asked as if November 28th had been a lifetime ago instead of barely a month. "What I meant was that I do not want to date anyone, not you specifically," He clarified, but she was 'over it,' and he frowned. "No," He said sharply, finding his patience wearing relatively thin, and it wouldn't be long now until he said something he would come to regret.

"I do not need any fucking help, especially not from you," Isaac was perfectly capable of picking up witches; he figured he could find someone easy at this party in less than five minutes, but he didn't want easy. He didn't want someone who just accepted whatever bullshit he said. He didn't want someone who didn't pick on him right back when he was pissy. He didn't want someone who wasn't sitting on the kitchen counter in front of him right now. Isaac had known it since she'd asked him on the date, but he hadn't said anything.

He didn't want anyone else; he hadn't even looked at Allison in weeks; he just wanted to be around Magnolia all the time. Since the start year, he'd been finding stupid excuses to be around her. To bicker with her, talk to her, and learn things about her. It was ridiculous, and he felt childish, but it was what it was.

"Why are you are so fucking irritating?" He asked suddenly, leaving out all of the nice things he wanted to say and ignoring the fact that she couldn't hear his inner monologue.

Of course, it wasn’t what he wanted, he had made that clear enough the last three dozen times the subject had come up. He didn’t want to be with her and yet he didn’t want to see her with anyone else, but it didn’t really feel as deep as it did in her trashy romance novels, it just made her angry to think that he’d go out of his way to keep her attention on him. He didn’t evenwant her attention, he just wanted to make sure that she didn’t give it or get it, for that matter, from anyone else.

“I’m not hanging on to anything, I’m agreeing with you, isn’t that what you want?” she asked bitterly, mad that he had pointed out that she was still hanging on to his words because she did, hang on to everything he said and it pissed her off because this wasn’t supposed to be how this played out. Magnolia was supposed to have a perfectly good year, spending time with her friends and trying to be better at school, not getting distracted by boys who just strung her along for the hell of it with no intention of following through with anything. It was like she was asking to be the girl with the broken heart all the time, and it pained her, just a little bit.

“Well obviously you can’t,” she replied instead, intent on saying everything she could to make him go away but also hoping that he wouldn’t just abandon her for some pretty face who’d do whatever he wanted her to do. That seemed like his thing, to prevent her from getting a date only so that she’d hope he was interested and find some random girl to kiss on the arrival of the new year, that sounded right up his alley. And if he planned to do that (he did say he didn’t need any help which obviously meant he was going to eventually look) she didn’t want to stick around to see it.

She wasn’t even convinced that he’d even come alone but she didn’t want to make a big deal about it either, lest he did end up coming with Allison and she’d have to see her annoying face. This was not how she imagined spending her New Year's Eve, in fact, it was far from it. Realizing that this conversation, like every other conversation the two of them had in this tone, would get them nowhere, she sighed, frowning at his question before shoving him lightly.

“If I’m so irritating to you, then why are you even here?” she asked, but she didn’t want to wait around for the answer to that, either, “Whatever, move, I’m going home,” she declared, her feelings too conflicted to put up a good fight that wouldn’t leave her crying or actually angry by the end. “

"Well, yeah, but, no," Isaac's answer confused even himself as he blinked at her. Why did she agree with him? She never agreed with him. It made him want to change his position on whatever they now agreed on; he was that unsettled by it. He'd only had half of a beer, but now he felt like he was dizzy. Squinting a little, the teenager shook his head. She was back to telling him he couldn't do or have something, and things felt a little more normal. Well, as usual as they could, but he was still feeling something.

Telling her she was irritating had not been precisely what he had planned, but it had still happened. There was something about Magnolia that drove him crazy. She was frustrating and abrasive and always had something to say. She was a lot like him in that way; maybe that was why he felt so drawn to her. They were so different yet so alike. Like two raging waves, they'd either destroy each other or become something even better. Probably both.

She told him to move, but he refused. Instead, Isaac's hand moved to space just above her knee, so close to her thigh that his heart raced. "Wait," He demanded, his eyes looking at his hand on her bare leg before moving back up to her face, trailing slowly along with the tiny shiny dress on the way up. "Look, I did not mean what I said."

He sighed, "Okay, I did, but not as you think, you make me crazy, and I say shit, that is all," He felt like he was baring his soul or something by telling her this, but he was in it now. He wanted another beer, wanted to leave this party, wanted to take her somewhere less distracting, anything, to get away from right here and right now, but at the same time, his hand was absolutely glued to her thigh.

What? there he went again confusing her with his words when he’d only said just the opposite earlier. If he was trying to get a rise out of her he was succeeding and that only made the situation more frustrating. They had had decent conversations before, right? Where they sort of agreed on things and had a good laugh about it. Maybe she was reading too much into what was happening here, maybe Isaac had fallen into their usual pattern and she was resisting because she did not want that anymore. But he did not want anymore more either and she felt stuck, with all of these extra feelings she couldn’t just toss into the rubbish on her way out the door, and that pissed her off, too. Magnolia had never been this angry before meeting Isaac, and that said a lot about how the girl felt around him. It would have just been easier to walk away.

She would have made a successful run for it had he not only decided to stop her with his words but much worse, his hand had actually found its way onto her body (well more specifically her leg) and she couldn’t stop the highly reactive and extremely hormonal side of herself to internally freak out. Magnolia was only half listening to what he said, her cheeks suddenly feeling very warm by the implications (or the ones she was seeing) of his actions. She might have been able to laugh off the blush that was probably on her face right now as just good ol’ drunkenness but the racing in her chest? Not likely. “Um—” she started incoherently because she didn’t really know what to say. It sounded like he was saying something important but his hand.

“Don’t worry about it,” she settled after a long pause, probably one a little too long for the phrase she had come up with. Of course, he should worry about it, she was still upset with him but other things had been pushed to the front of her mind and she wasn’t really thinking about the fact that he didn’t actually like her or that he had rejected her three times now or that he was probably only around to make sure she didn’t have any fun. Focus, Nola she reminded herself, finally releasing the breath she had apparently been holding. “If you’re looking for an apology, you’re not getting it,” she said, though she didn’t sound as threatening or confident as she normally did.

“So,” she said after a moment, feeling bold enough to place her hand on top of his, squeezing it just enough so that he’d realize that she realized his hand was there, “You’re planning to hold me prisoner on this counter or what?” Not that she’d mind if he did but then again, considering the circumstances behind their recent tiff, it might be better he didn’t suddenly do the unexpected.