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

“I’m not five, Isaac,” she rolled her eyes at whatever display of overprotective masculinity this was supposed to be. Magnolia was not really supposed to fall for it, could clearly see that it would be one of the many things that started little fires between them all the times, and yet, she could not help but to melt at the thought that had they been together, he might have been even more possessive of her whereabouts.

Naturally, it would only make her want to rebel, even more, push his buttons, and see how far she could go before she got burned by the flame. She was nothing if not curious to a fault. “Plus I don’t know why you’d care,” she muttered angrily, once again remembering that she was supposed to be angry, not encouraging his behavior with her inner thoughts, even if he was incapable of reading them.
Magnolia looked over in the direction that he was pointing just barely able to make out the outline of the building through the trees. It wasn’t anything like the fancy afternoon tea shops and cafes that lined the streets of Gravesend which only made it that much more intriguing. It looked old, at least as old as Isaac, and Magnolia wondered if he went there often, if it was just another little part of his history that he was unwillingly giving her access, too.

In the grand scheme of things, it was just another place to have a quick meal at. In her world, ruled by fantasy and ridiculously deep readings of things that didn’t matter, it was the opportunity to learn more about the side of himself that he kept just out of reach. The part of him that told her there was much more to Isaac than what he was letting on. He was the only sort of book she felt much too compelled to put down and that was going to become a problem.

But it was so hard to stay true to the person she wanted to be and to not fall for the person walking beside her. “I don’t want to go home,” she stated after he asked her to choose. She didn't want to take responsibility for what might happen for the rest of their time together but also had a fear of missing out on the possibility. “At least not right now…if you feel like it,” she clarified, always feeling the need to throw the ball back into his court rather than just answering him directly. It wasn’t her fault he made her so unsure of herself.

"That has nothing to do with it," Isaac shot back at her; he didn't care if she was five or seventy-five, Tilbury was not the kind of place someone should be walking around alone this late at night. Especially not dressed like she was. He exhaled loudly, the frustration returned when she acted like he didn't care, and the dark question of why did he popped into his mind. He shouldn't have cared about her; they were absolute opposites, they fought more than anything else, and yet, he couldn't just turn and leave her alone.

Part of him was angry, thinking she would cut the night short and tell him to take her home, and worried too. He didn't want to do that, but he would if it was what she asked. Isaac wasn't desperate enough to want to be around someone who didn't want to be around him. When she said that she didn't want to go home, the teenager frowned; it was a half answer, it was classic Magnolia (in his opinion), and he was justifiably (in his opinion) annoyed by the response. "Okay?" He began to say, his tone dry as if to say 'and what does that mean?' but then she sort of added on to the statement, and he nodded.

"Then we can go get something to eat," He said, ignoring when she asked what he wanted to do and moving past it. Walking quickly, because it was cold, and he was irritable, Isaac led them to the front door of the diner after a few silent minutes. It was always open this late, but it was usually pretty deserted; tonight was different. As he opened the door, a drunk couple walked out laughing, and Isaac felt the rush of warm air mixed with the smell of greasy fried everything. The music wasn't too loud, but there were quite a few people still celebrating inside. Enough that the bar was full, but there were still tables and booths open.

The World's End was a 'seat yourself and shout your order if you want to eat sometime this century' kind of place, it was Isaac's kind of place, and he waited for Magnolia before heading inside. As he moved to the bar to see if Cheryl was working (she would sell him beer), Isaac spoke to Magnolia over his shoulder, "Find us a table, yeah?" He'd let her pick a table, some tiny form of a white flag, but they were not sharing mozzarella sticks.

“Okay,” she agreed without so much as an argument. Magnolia decided that she liked it better when he made the decisions, that way if she was to become unhappy with how things happened, she would have someone other to blame than just herself. The Gryffindor had been doing a lot of that lately, putting herself in situations that lead to consequences that she did not want to take responsibility for.
It did not help that after a few days (or hours) of scolding herself, she would pretend to once again be surprised by falling into tried and failed old habits. But at least they weren’t left to their own devices in the privacy of his room all alone in the middle of the night, they were headed to the diner which she could already tell in the distance had drawn in a small crowd. What terrible thing could happen there? Surely nothing she would regret later that week, right?

Even though they did not speak in the few minutes that it took them to walk to the entrance to the diner, her mind was filled with many thoughts about how things might have turned out had she not gotten upset about Allison. Well the girl did have a few ideas regarding the direction things seemed to be going towards. Had he been kidding? Or had he been taking the time to cash in on their new ‘middle ground’ status?

The girl was still unsure of what that even meant but asking for a proper sit down to discuss the terms of their newly found thing (friendship? with benefits? relationship?) did not seem like the sexy thing to do. Plus the last thing the teenager wanted to do was talk about it because then she would get stuck on the fact that she did not really have the experience for the job and that would just open up a completely different conversation she did not want to have. Not with Isaac, anyway.

Magnolia felt a little out of place when she walked into the diner, never having gone to a place like this before but also wondering why she had never ventured in a place like this. That smell (whatever it was) was probably going to imprint itself into her clothes and hair so much so that she’d need a shower before showing up at home (or find a way to sneak in undetected). Had it been Killian or Jae, she might have just asked to use their shower before heading home but yeah, she wasn’t going to ask him. It was times like this that she wished she could use magic outside of school when it was most useful to her.

She noticed that he wandered off to the bar but assuming he had business there and probably needed a little space, she surveyed the room, looking for a place to sit. Finding a booth in the far corner, far enough from the door so that the chill from the outdoors would not reach them, she patted the pockets of her dress (it did have them! Though they were rather tiny) producing a compact mirror, opening it, and recurling the ends of her hair with her fingers. It would be just her luck that her curls would fall flat around this time of night, she should’ve worn hairspray. When he reappeared, she snapped the mirror closed and set it on the table. “Sit here,” she offered, patting the seat beside her.
The least she could do was to be friendly.

The wizard continued to the bar without so much as looking back to make sure Magnolia had heard him. He pushed past the little crowd that had gathered at the high tables off of the bar and found a quiet place to stand at the end. Isaac knew if he stood in the middle of the legitimate drinkers, Cheryl wouldn't want to serve him. Too many eyes. Eventually, after what felt like half an hour (but was only like five minutes), the bartender acknowledged him.

One of the only upsides to living in a shitty small town was that everyone knew everyone, and some of them were even relatives. Isaac gave the witch behind the bar a smile when she passed him two very full pints, "Thanks, Aunt Cheryl," he said quietly before turning away from the bar. Gulping one of the glasses, Isaac peered over the rim as he looked for Magnolia. She couldn't have sat close to the bar; that would make things too easy on him; no, he figured she had picked some obscure booth in the middle of nowhere. And he was right. Finding her tucked in the corner, Isaac sighed and crossed the room carefully.

When he reached the table, the teenager slid her glass toward her, a little bit of the golden liquid sloshing over the top, and moved to take the seat across. Her words had him pausing and giving her and the cushion a look before he shrugged his shoulders. Part of him wanted to sit on the other side just to be a jerk, but he sat next to her instead. Usually, he was invading her space without asking, and now she was inviting him, and there was something about it that made him uncomfortable and excited at the same time. Maybe she forgave the Allison comment, or perhaps she would move on; either way, Isaac felt like he was winning.

"What do you want to eat?" He asked her as he took another long gulp of his pint, it was half gone now, but Isaac had a feeling he was more used to underage drinking than she was. "My aunt will kick us out if you get piss drunk, so take it easy," Isaac warned her, even though he was doing the opposite of what he was demanding she does. Typical.

The whole asking him to sit next to her had been more of a shot in the dark assumption that he would do as she asked, knowing well that the pattern with him was to do exactly the opposite just to peeve her. She might have told him to sit across from her, expecting he would take the chance to defy her, but even Magnolia knew that while he was many things, he was also smart enough to know what game she might be playing at. So, when he actually did as she asked, she gave him a look, one equal parts confusion, and delight. And she left it alone, not making too much of a big deal out of it just yet, thinking how nice it was to win with him even if those occasions were rare.

Magnolia picked up the menu and propped it up the table, opening the tall brochure that had been covered in plastic and still felt a little sticky between them so that they might both give it a look. “What is good here?” she asked, turning to look at him for an answer but more realistically just because she liked to look at him. “Oh look, they’ve got sweet potato fries,” she pointed at the listing on the menu, “and apple crumble, too” she pointed to that menu, just as excitedly as she had to the first thing.

“And they will add ice cream for five pounds fifty, is that like five sickles?” she wondered, still not acquainted enough with muggle currency to really know how it converted. And even if she did, Magnolia had very little knowledge of money in general, the policy in her house being that she would simply ask for it if she wanted something. For the most part, if it was within reason and she had not given her parents any problems, they would buy it on her behalf. In all honesty, Magnolia wasn’t actually starving or anything, but the girl’s eyes had always been significantly bigger than her stomach.

She finally stopped looking at the long list of food to take the pint in one hand and take a small sip. After her little emotional display earlier that night, she was more than happy to take it slow. Isaac, on the other hand, seemed in a hurry to get drunk again. Was this whole thing making him uncomfortable? “I won’t,” she said with a small smile, nodding in the direction of his half-empty glass, “but you’re well on your way, you’re going to wake up with a crazy hangover tomorrow…well, later today,” she added, turning back to the menu, “is there anything you don’t care for?”

"Everything? Nothing?" Isaac said between more of his beer and a shrug. It depended on who was cooking and exactly how drunk you were, he supposed, but that seemed like a lot of explanation for a question he wasn't sure she cared to be answered. She was going to pick whatever she wanted regardless of what he said, or so he was feeling, so he remained quiet while she gamed it out. "Uh," Isaac stopped for a moment when she started asking about pricing, wishing he hadn't breathed in half a pint on very little sleep and then nodded. "No, a pound is barely a knut, so it is like a sickle and a half," Why he was explaining the exchange rate to her when he had muggle money in his wallet Isaac wasn't sure, but at least they weren't arguing.

She was probably right, and he would most likely feel all of this in the morning, but for whatever reason, Isaac wasn't too worried about it. Maybe because it was already morning, or because he generally felt invincible either way, he took another sip just to spite her words. Smiling when he set the glass down, the teenager pointed at the menu and spoke. "How about I just order us a bunch of stuff, and you can eat whatever looks good?" Luckily nothing was all that expensive. It was bar food and Isaac getting the family discount because sooner rather than later, the impatient wizard would get frustrated talking about what to order.

He didn't wait for her to answer before standing up, heading back to the bar, ordering six different appetizers and the stupid apple crumble (with ice cream), and then returning. The food would take a minute, but hopefully, someone would bring it to them, not that Isaac would get his hopes up. One downfall of knowing the bartender (and having worked a few nights here before getting fired for bad-mouthing a customer) was that Isaac was expected to do half the work. Isaac probably should have waited for her to decide, be patient, and all that, but the teenager just wasn't wired that way. He liked to be in control, make all the decisions, and didn't even notice he was doing it most of the time.

Returning to the table, he slid back into the seat next to her, bumping into her by accident, and realizing he'd drank a little bit more than he thought he had. Or maybe it was because he hadn't eaten anything (or the fact that he was a teenager); either way, he was feeling it. Leaning against the back of the booth, he laid his arms flat on the table top. "So, if your parents think you are at your friend's house... what do your friends think you are doing?"

Magnolia was not really processing what he was explaining to her as much as she was enjoying the sound of his voice, finding the fact that he was so aware of these sorts of things terribly attractive. Then again, it was the middle of the night and she was starting to feel a little buzzed again; it was everything at once: sitting next to him, drinking the pint he had set in front of her, enjoying this time they were spending together even though they had been fighting for a significant portion of the night. It was nice when he was like this, talked to her rather than down to her, explained things without giving it second thought.

When he was sweet like this it made her feel special, like this was the sort of treatment he had only reserved for her and she fell for it every time. It made her want to hug him or kiss him or do something to close the distance between them. But only just, Magnolia was not drunk enough to be as bold as she had been on the porch and she doubted she would get there by the end of their time together. A little unfortunate but she would treasure their little outing all the same.

“Sounds like a plan!” she said enthusiastically, finding herself much more willing to comply when he did that thing where he told her what they would do, devoiding her of that fear of taking responsibility for her actions. Either way, he knew much more about the diner than she did, so it only made sense to make him choose on their behalf. And they would be sharing food which only made the entire thing that much more romantic. Now, she had to tease him about it. “You want to share food with me, Isaac?” she asked playfully, “people are going to start talking, better hope none of it gets back to your friends,” she added. She hardly meant anything by it though that was probably hard to imagine consider how she had practically walked out of his room for making a similar comment earlier. But the girl was like that, she wanted to be in control of how his friends and Allison were being spoken of regardless of how unfair it seemed.

Magnolia rested her head on her arms when he stood up to walk to the counter, taking a moment to close her eyes and remember how tired she was, but just as quickly sat back up upon his return. She had meant it when she said that she did not want to go home, she was still a little exhausted from the entire ordeal. His question took her by surprise, but she considered it, wondering just how much she wanted to tell Isaac and deciding that it was not really a secret at this point in their non-relationship. “Probably hanging out with my sister, I sorta said I didn’t feel like going out though, so I guess maybe they think I’m at home,” she added. Magnolia had not only lied to her friends but included them in her lie to her parents. “They’d never guess I’m sitting at a diner hanging out with you, what about your friends? Weren’t you hanging out with them earlier at the party?”

"It is not like we are banging or something, so chill," Isaac replied when she began to tease him for wanting to share food with her. Falling right back into the push and pull, she teased, and he got annoyed, he was playful, and she got frustrated. One day maybe they would figure out how to have a conversation without irritating each other... one day. Despite his words, Isaac's lips turned upward, pulling into a smirk at the idea he had just presented them, and he watched her face closely for a reaction.

"So you lied to them?" Isaac questioned, his eyes moving from the tabletop to meet hers, an eyebrow raised. Was she the type to ditch her friends or tell them something that wasn't true? Or had she meant to stay home tonight but ended up going out when the opportunity arose? Either way, he found it oddly interesting. Magnolia's friends were in his year, but they weren't precisely his friends, other than Jae, so he wondered what the dynamic in their group was like. He assumed it wasn't much like his own group of friends, mostly because Killian probably wasn't messing around with all of the girls, and if he were, Isaac would have to congratulate him later.

"Why not?" Isaac asked, wondering what part of hanging out with him was so unbelievable that her friends wouldn't accept it. For a moment, dark thoughts invaded his mind, and he assumed it was because her friends thought they were better than him. Or that Magnolia had no business being around him. Probably both things were right, but whatever, he didn't care. "Yeah, I was," Isaac admitted with a bit of a shrug. Leaving without giving Duncan or Allison any notice was not exactly unusual behavior for the teenager. They were all the same, though, and honestly, Isaac couldn't remember the last time he'd seen either one of them at that party anyway. And he didn't care.

Banging? Banging!? her eyes widened just a little and she suddenly felt much more awake than she had moments earlier, What? Who? Why? The girl could not control the wayward direction that her mind suddenly went into when he made comments like that. He had been sweet just a minute ago and here he was back to his usual self, saying things like that out loud where anyone could hear and come to conclusions about. Magnolia didn’t want anyone in the diner to make assumptions about her. But then again, the way he had said it made her wonder if he had said it because he was not interested or because they in fact had not, would they, eventually? Was this part of their middle ground agreement? Had this been some sort of jab at what had happened earlier in the apartment? Instead of replying with something witty, she just laughed it off and drank some more, surely the alcohol would help.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a lie as much as omitted a part of the truth…” she explained slowly, realizing as she spoke that it made her sound even more devious than she had originally intended to sound. “Like I’m not trying to be deceptive or anything but…my friends have opinions plus sometimes it’s nice to meet new people, like those girls I was with earlier, they were pretty cool,” she explained even if she did feel like a traitor as she did. What would the gaggle of friends she regarded so highly think of her for wanting to spend time away from them? Life outside of Hogwarts was so different, so free, and there were so many more possibilities. Was she really a terrible person for wanting to explore a little bit of that without the usual group of people she spent time with? It did make her feel a little guilty.

“Oh you know,” she shrugged it off. Magnolia couldn’t explain it apart from the fact that Roderick had been a terrible experience and her friends had sort of all told her to give up and she’d gone for it anyway. If she said it like that, the fact that she had ended up in the same situation with Isaac would be much too clear. She didn’t want to think about how confessing to Isaac had more or less been a failure because they were still spending time together, even if just as friends, and she was supposed to pretend she was over it. “Won’t they like ask you where you’ve run off to? My friends would be worried sick if we got separated, you know,” she added. Magnolia didn’t understand how his friends worked but was curious enough about it to ask. At least, it would give him a little more insight into who he was.

"Like that jack-off, you were with earlier, you mean?" Isaac said it like a question, but there was a judgment in his eyes. She wanted to meet new people? He thought that was such bullshit. She tried to pretend she was someone else. To get away from the Hogwarts group and act like she was older. He could understand the want, but at the same time, he didn't think she needed to be anything other than who she was. Isaac liked who she was, not that Magnolia was piss drunk at an adult party, letting some bloke take her who knows where. Thinking about it made him feel irritable, so he tried to let it go, but it wasn't easy.

Luckily, or unluckily, she was still stuck on his friends (Allison, he assumed) and what they would think about him leaving the party unannounced. Shrugging, Isaac spoke with very little concern attached to his accented words. "Why would they give a fuck? I do this all the time, and so do they?" While he didn't often go to adult parties, the teenager was no stranger to hangouts with people their age. He spent half the summer at parties, on rooftops, in the skatepark, or generally up to no good. Magnolia was the first girl he'd ever brought back to his bedroom, but not the first he'd picked up at a party. Far from it.

"I get the feeling you do not go to a lot of parties? At least, not like that kind of party..." Isaac took another drink from his cup, eyes darting to the little door that led to the kitchens and back to her. "But I bet you have lots of sleepovers with that little group of yours, you know, the loud ones?" Isaac knew who her friends were, there weren't that many fifth years at Hogwarts, so it was unavoidable, and besides, they were always together. More than once, he had wanted to talk to her at school, but she was always with those damn friends.

Smirking, a little Isaac bumped his shoulder against hers, "Lots of pillow fights, yeah?"

“You could learn a thing or two from that jack-off,” she responded, “He was actually nice to me you know, probably wanted to take me somewhere nice so we could chat, he was all proper probably from the city,” she added though details of her conversation with whatever his name was were vague at best. He had been polite, that much was a fact, and though he had a nice face he was hardly memorable. She lingered on the thought of where she might be had she gone off with that guy instead of walking away from him to spend time with Isaac instead (albeit unwillingly at first) but didn’t feel she had missed out on much.

Maybe he had been right earlier, maybe something would have happened. But she was sixteen now and thought it was about the right time for something like that to happen though. Magnolia couldn’t decide if she wanted it to be with someone she met randomly at a party or after months of dating her perfect guy, neither seemed likely at the moment anyway. She would have to bookmark that topic for her next girl’s talk.

Magnolia was curious about what a guy might have to say on the matter too but didn’t want to ask Isaac because then she’d have to reveal that she was not as experienced as she had been pretending to be all along. She knew plenty but she hadn’t done any of it, and she sort of felt weird about it as a sixteen-year-old but not completely alone as she knew that her friends, too, had a variety of experiences themselves, some she could relate to more than others. But around Isaac, she felt the need to play a role that didn’t quite fit her and explaining her reasons behind it felt too complicated so she did it without considering how she’d probably have to eventually tell him the truth, especially if they were actually going for this whole middle ground thing they’d been dancing around all evening.

“Because they’re your friends…?” she said slowly, her brows furrowed in confusion as she considered how much they disagreed on things that she thought were common sense, like friends and their roles in friendship. Then again, she wasn’t really a very good friend if she was keeping secrets from hers. “When I go out with mine we always stick together,” she explained. “I’ve been to plenty!” she defended herself, feeling very square as she said it.

His next question made her smirk. Well if he was going in that direction, then she might as well let his imagination run for a little while, too. “Oh absolutely, sleepovers every chance we get; pillow fights in our underwear, talking about boys, practice kissing with each other, typical girl stuff,” she shrugged it off watching for a reaction as she drank from the glass but having a hard time staying serious. After she put her glass back down, she burst into a fit of giggles. “No, no, poor Billie would be horrified, just talk mostly about makeup, sometimes we play games, what about you, what do you lads get onto at sleepovers anyway?” she wondered, trying to act as casually as possible even though the girl really did want to know.

"I doubt that," Isaac might not have had half the amount of experience that Magnolia assumed he did, but he knew enough to know he wasn't going to take pointers from a bloke who picked up half-drunk minors at a party. "You know that is not what he had planned, though, right? Having a fucking chat was the last thing on his mind," Isaac rubbed at his temples, rolling his eyes at Magnolia, and continued, "Please, at least tell me you understand that?" The idea that she thought that guy was 'nice' for offering to take her somewhere not well lit and with no witnesses pissed him off, but considering that she might have known what the guy wanted from her (and wanted it to) was even worse.

"But how could he not want that from you? I mean, look at you," Isaac motioned toward her dress and all of the things it barely hid underneath before sighing. As much as he made fun of her or she irritated him, Isaac wasn't blind. He'd noticed how pretty she was from day one, and that had been when she was all covered up under unflattering Hogwarts robes and that awful Gryffindor red. Seeing her like this was like torture, especially seeing how the other wizard had looked at her. Isaac knew that look. He felt it too.

Suddenly talking about his friends, and about Allison specifically, was a much safer territory. He brought his thoughts back to the conversation, even though he didn't give a fuck where his friends were right now, and he knew they weren't worried about him either. "Except for when you lie to them about where you are going," Isaac offered, finishing his pint and sliding it away from him as he turned to look at her. He had been joking about the slumber parties, but when she took it further, he didn't hide the interest in his eyes. Closing her in slightly, Isaac rested his arm on the back of the booth as he smirked.

"Oh, really?" He asked, and even though he was pretty sure she was messing with him, Isaac entertained the pictures she had just painted for him. "Maybe you are not a total square," He offered just before she took it all back, and then he laughed loudly, "That is more like it," Isaac said with a nod. The teenager ignored her question about sleepovers; boys didn't have fucking slumber parties, but instead, leaned in toward her. Maybe he was a little drunk, or it was because he was overtired, or he'd let too many thoughts about her in tonight, but he felt this ache to be closer. "That is too bad though, it sounded like a fun time," Isaac said slowly, his face lingering close to hers for a moment before something pulled him away.

"Isaac! Food's up!" He heard his aunt shout over the crowd, and Isaac sucked in a breath. He wasn't sure what he had been about to do; his body had moved all on his own, but hearing his name called pulled him out of the moment, and he frowned as he slid out of the booth. Isaac walked away without much notice, grabbed the overplied tray of food, and brought it back to the table. "Do you want another drink?" He asked, setting the tray down but not sitting until he found out the answer.

“Yeah well grown ups aren’t like that, don’t have their mind in the gutter all the time like you and your gaggle of fifth-year boys,” she retorted, feeling more special about the fact that an adult had taken noticed in hear rather than the fact that at his age, he should be better at telling school girls and adult women apart. Magnolia intended to eventually tell him, though, because she wasn’t trying to entrap him or anything like that but wanted to enjoy it a little bit longer. “Anyway, even if it would have led to that well you’d only have yourself to blame,” she added in, but felt guilty for saying it that way. Sure, she had only been invested in this random person because he had noticed her, and yes it was mostly because after Isaac had rejected her she felt a little down on her luck. But he didn’t have to do anything, in fact, it was probably better that he did not go with her since he was obviously not interested. That would only save the trouble in the long run. “But it worked out now, didn’t it?” she added with a small smile, not trying to judge him too harshly for having a mind of his own.

And it would have completely worked out in her head had he not done that thing where he said things that made her believe he might be more interesting that he led on. Really all it ever did was wreak havoc on her head. Magnolia looked down at herself before looking back at him, “I’m looking, I don’t know what you’re talking about, I just dressed for the occasion is all,” she shrugged it off before the thought took root in her head and started making her sprout all sorts of nonsense like she had earlier on the porch. This was much better, she decided, but mostly because they were communicating (through code like usual) without a fight.

“Yeah, yeah, I deserved that one but I don’t expect you to understand,” she gave him a look, her tone turning serious for a moment but only because it was a sensitive issue she could not really wrap her mind around, and also because it had much to do with him even if he’d never realize it. After giving Phillip such a hard time for being outside of the group, turning around and sort of doing the same thing by being interested in Isaac made her feel like a hypocrite. But the longer she kept their non-relationship to herself, the more she had to deceive her friends to keep appearances. At this point, she wasn’t sure what to do anymore.

Magnolia noticed that he leaned in closer but stood her grown, knowing that he’d only make a big deal out of it if she reacted. This was a game she was becoming accustomed to playing with him. “I’ve told you several times than I’m not,” she replied, even though she knew her insistence that she was bolder than he thought only made her argument that much weaker. “Well maybe next time I’ll have to invite you and we’ll have to see now won’t we?” she said in return, it was a little ballsy on her part because if Isaac ever did show up at her door, she’d have a complete mental breakdown before ever letting him in. Just imagining him rummaging through the stuff in her room, judging her space gave her high levels of anxiety. Not to mention her father knowing that his precious little girl had had a boy that wasn’t Killian in her room. Killian was sort of safe, Isaac was decidedly not safe.

Whatever tension lingered between them was broken by the woman calling him up to pick up the food and just as quickly she looked away, finally releasing the breath she had been apparently holding moment’s prior. “Uh,” she blinked at him, a little confused and her thoughts very focused on wanting to kiss those lips of his rather than to hear what he was actually saying. “Yeah, yeah, another drink’s good,” she added, figuring that the liquid courage would do her some good (said no one ever). She refocused on the food, “this looks so good!”

The entire walk to the bar to collect the food, Isaac was tortured by thoughts of what could have just happened. All night he felt like they were going back and forth with this. The 'what could have been' was starting to drive him insane. He wanted to kiss her; Isaac knew that he wanted to, so why hadn't he done it yet? The teenager had never been the feeling shy or backing down from things type. He didn't overthink it; if he wanted something, he figured out how to have it. It had always been as simple as that, but nothing with Magnolia was simple.

He didn't just want to kiss her, hook up, or any of the ordinary things he did with witches. The Allisons of the world knew a different Isaac than Magnolia. He was mean to Magnolia, but he was also friendlier to her than anyone else. He felt protective over her at the party, in his possessive kind of way, and he'd brought her to his flat, which was something he never did; not even Duncan had been there, and now, he was buying her a veritable buffet of food. Isaac didn't just want the physical stuff with Magnolia; he wanted to spend time with her and listen to her stories. Isaac wanted to know when she was having a good day and who had pissed her off. He wanted the details. And it was such a strange fucking feeling for the selfish, self-absorbed teenager, and it was challenging to navigate.

Returning to the table with the food, Isaac nodded when she wanted another drink and turned away again. He needed another moment away from her anyway, to sort out his thoughts, not that it would help any. His aunt told him they could each have one more, and Isaac nodded, figuring he'd convince her in a little while to change the rule, and brought the pints back to Magnolia. Setting them on the table, Isaac slid into the seat across from her instead of right next to her, figuring it'd be more comfortable for both of them to eat with more space to move.

"Aunt Cheryl said this is the last one, but I doubt that," Isaac said as he took a mozzarella stick off of the place and bit into the end. The cheese nearly burnt his tongue, and he swore under his breath. "I will just blackmail her," He finished the bite and waited a moment before taking another, letting the deep-fried goodness cool off a little bit first.

By the time Isaac had returned to the table a second time, with their drinks in hand, Magnolia had decided to let the little tense moment between them earlier go, in an effort to keep thing at where they were right now: at easy level. With months of practice, the back and forth between them felt effortless, and though she would occasionally get a hint of something else at work between the lines of their interaction. These feelings she thought she was seeing only further confused her: was she projecting her own feelings and thoughts onto him? When he had said he wanted this did he mean her or their jokes or just a hookup? She knew enough about Isaac to be aware that his attentions did not make her any different than any of the other witches he talked to. But even then, she tried hard to make the narrative fit, desperately wanting to be the one that made all the difference.

Maybe, she considered, it was worth giving it another try after the excitement of the night dissipated. Magnolia considered spending some time with him in a couple of days but wondered if she’d have it in her to wait several days before owling him first. She had sort of expected that he wouldn’t owl her after this but only because he probably did have a much more exciting time with his mates than he did keeping her safe from alcohol and predators. She hoped that at least one part of their time together would turn into a happy memory they could reflect back on in the future. It would be much easier to take it all in stride once she got over him. If she ever did.

But when he sat across from her she reconsidered her thoughts once again. What did it mean? she wondered, trying to ignore the fact that he had probably moved because he no longer wanted to be next to her. Had she taken it too far with her jokes? Had he gone to pick up the food and in that time decided he’d had enough? Had he chosen friendship over whatever middle ground he had been talking about earlier? If he had been interested he would have made a move, said something by now. But as the time ticked on and nothing actually happened, Magnolia realized that maybe nothing ever would. It had all been in her head after all.

“That’s cool,” she said finally, managing a smile, “I should probably go home after this if I want to sneak back in before my dad wakes up,” she said. She felt a little disillusioned with herself and the situation and that kind of made her want to give up altogether. She took a French fry rather than one of the mozzarella sticks, dipping it in the ice cream on top of the apple crumble and eating it absentmindedly. “You lived in Tilbury all your life?”