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

"Would've spent a much better time in your room too, I bet," , Isaac's breath caught in his throat when she said it, and he coughed to clear it. Covering his mouth with his fist and pretending it was a chuckle, the teenager turned to look at her. "Well, the ferry runs both ways; we could always..." He motioned back in the direction of Tilbury with a daring look on his face. He didn't expect her to agree, but he also hadn't expected her to jump to that quite so quickly either, so perhaps he had misjudged her. And for once, Isaac was practically begging to be proved wrong.

She snuggled against him, and he loved it but said nothing, just held her a tiny bit tighter. The idea that she could have been the one to make the first move was a thrilling one. She seemed like the ballsy kind of Gryffindor that lived for an adventure, but at the same time, Isaac knew he hadn't given her much reason to think it would be acceptable. He had flirted a few times, he supposed, but he'd spent half the night bitching about her almost-decisions at the party and the other half saying things that would piss her off. Being easy to read was not something Isaac was particularly good at. Not that he wanted to be.

Shrugging a little, Isaac turned to look outside the frosty glass window at the river. It was bleak outside, but it usually was around this time of year. Dark but somehow still gray, with fog rolling over the black waters. Clouds covered the moon, diffusing it's light, but Isaac could see the Gravesend harbor coming into view, and he sighed. The ride was almost over, which meant the night was too. "You have no idea how surprising you are," He mused softly as his thumb brushed gently over her shoulder.

Magnolia couldn’t help but to burst out in laughter at his statement, so much so that she leaned forward just a little, very aware of what he was proposing and feeling slightly regretful that she couldn’t go along with it. “You’re welcomed to stay in Gravesend,” she offered a daring proposal of her own, “though my dad might not care for it if you show up at breakfast tomorrow,” she added. It would be the sign of ultimate rebellion, inviting a friend who had stayed over at hers without permission to the breakfast table. A boy, nonetheless. If only Magnolia had the guts (and the death wish) to do something crazy like that. The thought was brief but left just as quickly, she was decidedly not that kind of girl.

But he had called her surprising and no matter how ridiculously square he had made her feel the entirety of the night, this part made up for all of it. The girl was already not the sort to hold grudges for long but when handsome boys said pretty things to her, she couldn’t help but be even more forgiving. It was probably a bad habit that would eventually catch up to her, like most of her other bad habits did (studying) but for once in her very short life, she wanted to enjoy breaking her own rules for a little bit longer, indulging in this non-relationship relationship until it was time to get back to school and back to the real world.

Magnolia followed his gaze out of the window, and she sat silently, reaching up to the hand that rested close to her shoulder, interlocking their fingers, and sighing contentedly. The position wasn’t the most comfortable, but she didn’t really want to let go, not yet anyway. She knew she wasn’t supposed to get used to this, but it was hard to think about anything else. “We should do this again, too,” she added, more specifically kissing but riding the ferry was just as good too. Spending all of her free time with Isaac was better than good, actually.

When she offered to have him over for the night, Isaac rolled his eyes, now he knew she was kidding around, and he supposed it was funny, and he tried to hide the disappointment from his face. He hadn't expected anything more from her, but Magnolia brought it up, she opened the door, and he almost thought she was serious. Either way, it was fine; he was still happy that they had come this far. "Don't worry, I would be gone by the morn," He offered, yet playful, but honestly, there was no way he would stay for breakfast even in this fantasy world of hers.

Magnolia admitted that she would have liked to do this again, and Isaac couldn't hide the smirk on his face. His eyes crinkled from it as he spoke, "Snogging? Or are you just really into riding the ferry?" The teenager asked with a laugh and squeezed her hand. As the ferry pulled into the Gravesend pier, bumping against the tiers nailed to the seawall, Isaac wobbled in his seat. He felt dizzy from everything that had happened tonight—drinking, arguing, walking in the cold, riding the ferry, and especially from kissing her. Not to mention it was four in the morning, and they both should have been in bed long ago. The teenager yawned, thinking about it, using his free hand to cover his mouth, as the 'Disembark' light lit up in the cabin.

"You ready?" He asked, peeling his fingers from hers even though he did not want to and standing up. Isaac tugged on his sweater where it had ridden up and followed her out of the ferry. As they reached the dock, and the walkway was wide enough to walk together again, he slipped his hand back over hers and locked their fingers together. "Which way is your house again?" He asked, blinking as he looked both ways, every one of the big houses and fancy restaurants on this road looked the same to him, and though it was only hours, it felt like a lifetime since they had walked past her home earlier in the night.

None of it would probably play out the way she had intended it in her head but it certainly didn’t stop her from using his comments to fuel her romanticized fantasies about what their life as a couple was like. At least she wasn’t scrapbooking wedding things on the floor of her bedroom with Mavis, that would probably eventually come later, but she felt herself being very mature about it, being into taking things one day at a time especially if they involved a lot of snogging.

“Uh…both?” she looked up at him, realizing that their faces were close like this and she would totally be into kissing him again right now. And just as she leaned up a little to do just that, the boat lurched forward, indicating that they were once again across the river and in her territory. Things felt a little more real on this side of the Thames, more surreal on his. As if that marked the end of their fantasy time together, she nodded, only half-listening to what he had said, and stood up as well, missing the feeling of his hand in hers. It was almost as if being apart from him suddenly reminded her of how cold it was.

Magnolia followed him off of the ferry, trying to figure out a way to complain about a fact that they were no longer attached to each other as they had been moments earlier but in the end didn’t have to say anything at all, his hand finding herself as soon as he was able to. She had to admit that it made her melt a little. “Right over there,” she pointed at the large house in the corner, though as she walked in its direction she slowed down again. “Wait, wait,” she said, turning towards him and leaning in to kiss him. She lingered for a moment, before moving back and smiling, “Okay, let’s go.”   

Magnolia was telling him to wait, and it took Isaac a moment to register why. His brain was fuzzy, it was so late, and he was so far on the other side of being drunk that his head was starting to buzz. A little pain was growing in his forehead, begging him to go to sleep, drink some water, or consume more alcohol, but he wasn't doing any of that yet. However, he did very much enjoy what they were doing. Isaac smirked into the kiss as she pulled him closer. The idea of her initiating had him spinning; he loved that she was bold like this, Isaac had a thing for adventurous witches, but he'd only ever been around ones like Allison. She was controlling, demanding, and had an absolute lack of self-respect. Magnolia wasn't like that, and the more Isaac realized it, the more he liked it.

"Well, hold on," He countered as she moved away from him; Isaac wrapped his arms around her waist, connecting at the small of her back, and pulled her close again. Thankfully she wasn't insanely short; he thought as he leaned down to kiss her again, more urgently this time. Isaac was used to feeling his body's physical reactions when he kissed her, but the mental stuff was new to him. He found himself fighting back his thoughts but also being entirely consumed by them. Had she kissed someone else before? Did she like the way he was kissing her now? Self-doubt was rare for the Slytherin, and he did a good job hiding it, but it was there. He wanted her to remember this, enjoy it, and, most importantly, to want more the way he did.

"Now.. we can go," Isaac said between rushing to catch his breath. His hand wrapped around her shoulders again as they walked, and even though he had no idea where they were going, he suddenly could not have cared less.

Of course, Isaac had to have the last say in everything even here when he pulled in to kiss her again and while under different circumstances she might have minded terribly (and actively looked for a way to get him back in the next ten seconds). But instead she sort of just smiled against his mouth and let it happen, thinking how perfectly couply it was for them to be kissing at the end of a very interesting night together. It was really difficult not to pick favorites when there were so many different sides to the Slytherin boy but whatever involved kissing had to be the best, at least she hoped as much. Maybe two thousand and four was not going to be a complete disaster after all. Naturally, the kiss only managed to ignite all sort of ideas that lead to the two of them being some sort of something more than middle ground whatever he thought they were going to be. No, he had kissed her first that had to mean something even if she’d have to stay up all night trying to figure out what it meant.

Magnolia hesitated to walk forward, perfectly content to sit on the nearest bench and figure out what all this fuss was about snogging but it was freezing out and soon enough her dad would probably get up for his morning jog or whatever other ridiculous exercise schedules the former Quidditch player had to keep up with in order to “stay in shape”. She wrapped her arm around him instead, figuring that as long as the lights were off at the house in the distance, they were safe. “Maybe I’ll tell my parents I’m staying at Mavis’ more often,” she mused quietly, she was joking, of course (no, no she wasn’t) but it was a nice thought to know that this might happen again. He had sort of promised as much on the ferry. Magnolia resolved to be much more prepared next time.

"You should've just come with me to the party," she lamented after a few moments of silence, it was the entire reason all of this was happening at four o'clock in the morning and not earlier, it suddenly felt like they had wasted too much time arguing. "You and your silly boy ways," she teased lightly.

"You should do that," Isaac replied quickly, pulling her as close to him as he could while still being able to walk. The wizard found it increasingly easier to agree with her now, especially when what she was proposing could directly benefit him. If her parents thought she was staying the night with a girlfriends, but she actually came to see him, the teenager was sure they could find exciting ways to fill the time. The idea thrilled him, and so he nodded, agreeing again, and let out a chuckle.

Her next comment wasn't as easy for him to concede to, however, and Isaac turned his face from her so she wouldn't see him grimace. "I still would not go to that party with you," he stated, but something smart kicked in despite the exhaustion his brain was up against, and Isaac quickly modified. "Just kidding," he added, looking back at her and flashing a convincing smile. He was lying, but he knew this lie was better than the truth. At least she would see it that way, the Slytherin assumed.

Being with Magnolia and being with Magnolia was still such a big deal to Isaac. The teenager wanted to date her but without all of the added nonsense. He didn't mind the restrictions, Isaac wasn't planning on making out with anyone else regardless of the labels, but he hated the things she would expect if they were together. She would want him to do stupid couple things and assume they would sit together during every class and every meal. And while he felt like he would want to do those things anyway, he knew himself, and he knew if she required them that he would pull back and fight it. Isaac hated being controlled or told what to do, and even if it were against his best interests, he would refuse just because she expected it.

Magnolia looked at him suspiciously as he spoke, not sure if he was trying to make a joke or if he had simply remembered that things were different now so he had modified his sentence appropriately. Because things were certainly different now, her feelings, a little bit of interest before, would be transformed into a full crush come tomorrow now that her feelings had been validated by the kiss. While she anticipated that such change was not the sort Isaac had signed up for when he had suggested middle ground, the Gryffindor was no master to her own emotions. She was a teenage girl, after all.

But she promised herself to keep the feeling to herself for as long as she might be able to, the thought of ruining whatever this was outweighing the cost of her silence. So instead, she smiled, “Whatever, you had the time of your life with me, admit it,” she demanded playfully, shoving him a little with her body weight. This felt nice, more like the sort of relationship she had wanted all along, less of the weird in-betweenness they had been trying to balance the rest of the time they’d been spending together.

“This weekend,” she said decisively after a moment’s pause, overtaken with a sort of resoluteness the closer they got to her house. “Let’s do something then, we can make a day out of it, do something, go to the movies, grab dinner, that sort of thing,” she suggested, turning to look up at him as if waiting for him to agree. She had chosen dinner over lunch on purpose, it was more of a couply thing to do than lunch (lunch was for friends) but she could easily play it off as a symptom of her night owlery. “If you want to invite your mates…” she started, trailing off to let him decide whether that was a thing he wanted to do. If anything, Magnolia wanted to rub whatever this was in Allison’s face and intended to act every part of the role of the girlfriend if given the chance. In front of her friends, however, well, inviting someone into their circle wasn’t as easy.

"Yeah, yeah," Isaac didn't fight her about having a good time. It had been exhausting and frustrating, but it had also been endlessly entertaining. Magnolia was fun to be around because she wasn't like everyone else. She kept Isaac guessing, and that was certainly something. Having successfully dodged accidentally starting a fight with her, Isaac smirked, feeling triumphant in some new way, and nudged his shoulder against hers as they walked. Maybe he could figure out how to not piss her off at every other turn. Maybe it wouldn't be all that difficult.

This weekend. She was decisive about the timing now, and Isaac had to keep up. He had been put off earlier by her lack of response, but now that she was specific, he wasn't sure how to feel. Doing things on the terms of someone else was not something he was accustomed to. Around his friends, Isaac made all the rules and decisions, and there was never any push back. Around Magnolia, it was different. She fought him for control, and he hated it, but also, he was coming to respect it. "Maybe?" Isaac gave her a smug look and a playful shrug; he already knew he'd clear any weekend plans he had for another chance to hang out with her, but he couldn't say that out loud. He couldn't give Magnolia that much power.

Stopping in his tracks, Isaac turned to give Magnolia a puzzled look, a bit of sourness in his tone, "Why would I invite them?" And then what she was playing at occurred to him, and he shook his head. Running his hand over his hair as he realized she had laid a trap and he fell right into it, Isaac sighed. Magnolia didn't like his friends, he was sure of that, but her comment wasn't authentic. Isaac was decently sure that she only wanted to get him to say he wanted to hang out with her alone, which he did, but still. Convinced she was playing games, Isaac shook his head again. "No, it will just be you and me," He began walking again, pulling her along with him before sharply looking back at her, "And do not invite your friends,"

Maybe? hadn’t been as certain as he had sounded earlier, before they had kissed, and it only made her wonder if Isaac was (in a roundabout way) deciding that this entire thing was not as good of an idea as he had initially made it seem. But it didn’t seem like him to do things to avoid hurting her feelings, either, so it only made her feel slightly confused, unsure of herself, and a little worried that she was starting to misinterpret things again, as she so easily did whenever things seemed to be going in the right direction. Whatever, she was just going to go with it, it was too late (early?) for all of this thinking. She’d had her first kiss, as far as she was concerned, she was winning so far.

“I dunno, they’re your best mates,” she shrugged, there was no defense to what she had said, though she couldn’t keep the smile off of her face when his tone (and his words) suggested that he would not be inviting them. Her heart skipped a beat or two but no big deal, she wanted to be mature about this and would have her victory dance whenever she made it home unless her dad was up and she got grounded into another lifetime. Hopefully that could take effect after their first date, was that what it was? She knew that she wasn’t allowed to say date in his presence, but in her head that’s exactly what she was going to call it.

“I won’t,” she promised, snuggling into his side more comfortable, and still not able to wipe that stupid smile off of her face, “It’ll just be you and me, promise,” she repeated. But eventually, when Mavis’ French boyfriend made his way over to London for a visit, they could do things like double dates, those sounded romantic. But she’d hold that thought for later. “I can do better than Diagon Alley,” she said, referring to their earlier conversation, “Let’s go to Bristol, we can take the train and go anywhere if you know how to navigate it, really, I’d be into it,” she said looking up at him to gauge his reaction.

Part of him wanted to assume that she was judgemental, like she thought his best mates weren't worthy of being anyone's 'best' mates, but Isaac bit down on his tongue to stop himself from saying anything. Her opinion on his friends didn't matter because if the Slytherin had his way, they would never be in the same room together. He liked Magnolia in a way that was different from why he hung around with the gang. She was nothing like them, and having them together would be a trainwreck, especially if Allison was included. No, best to keep it compartmentalized. And on that same thought, Isaac hoped Magnolia didn't get any ideas about him hanging around her squadron of Gryffindor friends. No, thank you.

Isaac leaned into the warming sensation running across his chest as she snuggled against him and said it would just be the two of them. Something about the sentiment made him smile, a real, deep smile, and he didn't fight it. He was exhausted, so everything felt more intense, but he loved the way it had sounded coming from her. It'll be just you and me. It was a good idea, he liked it, and he absolutely agreed with something Magnolia had said for once. How strange? "Bristol, really?" Isaac hadn't expected her to change her mind about Diagon so quickly, but he was relieved when she did. "You'll like the trains," Isaac stated, squeezing her shoulder again and feeling like they had just made all the plans. He'd have to check the schedule and figure out how much muggle money to bring, but that wouldn't take very long.

"Want to meet at the docks then?" Isaac offered, he considered asking if he should pick her up at her house, but the longer he could avoid meeting her parents, the better. He wasn't really trying to get into that kind of a relationship with her, after all.

“Bristol’s nice,” she defended herself almost immediately, not sure if his response was judgement or general curiosity in her choice of location, “I’ve been there a couple of times, never on the train though,” she noted. He said she’d liked the trains and she was inclined to believe it as long as she didn’t get sick on them like she had on the ferry. “They’ve got like this really nice market with vintage stuff, and there’s a huge art gallery that’s been there forever and has dinosaur bones and things like that,” she continued to explain, not sure if he’d ever been there before but really intent on selling the location though she had not been there as many times as necessary to really give an in-depth review of the city.

Magnolia knew London like no one else but everything outside of the city was more of an adventure; the girl rarely did things like explore out of the city limits without her mates and unfortunately, they could not accompany her whenever she got the urge to travel. “Or we could go to the Downs, have a picnic,” she explained, outdoorsy, picnic-type things weren’t really her style, but Magnolia was flexible, and it was then when realized (for the hundredth time really) that her crush on his was probably really starting to show. Time to reel it back in. “Or whatever,” she shrugged, trying to play it off like she wasn’t making a million plans in her head because that wasn’t really middle ground at all, was it? And he had already said that he liked this but maybe not all the extra, cute, couply things, though they’d been doing plenty of that all night.

“Yeah, maybe ‘round brunch?” she offered. Magnolia’s excitement to spend time with him properly might have tempted her to say something crazy like meeting up at eight on the dot and making an entire day of it but the Gryffindor knew her limits. “Or we can meet at the station if you’d like?”

Isaac's eyebrow raised slightly as she defended Bristol, he hadn't meant to put her on guard, but he realized how she might have taken it that way. He'd have to be more careful with how he said things if he would keep this 'not bickering' thing going. Isaac was good at chess, knowing how each piece affected the others, and he supposed talking to Magnolia was a lot like that. Even if it sometimes felt like a Cold War and there were too many countermeasures in place. "Yeah," He commented, not really caring about the Vintage market or the dinosaur bones but finding the way she seemed excited by it a bit cute. He nodded, "Sounds cool," Isaac gave it as much enthusiasm as he could muster (which wasn't much, it was four am! they should have been sleeping!) and nodded again.

"No fuck that, picnics suck," As it always was, Isaac found the energy to be negative quite easily. He frowned at her, "Bristol it is," the teenager declared. They had a good enough plan, and picnics were not something the Slytherin was keen on. Why would he want to sit on the ground and eat ant-infested snacks? Also, it was December, so fuck that, he thought to himself and shook his head. No picnics. Or whatever, Isaac agreed with her statement but stayed quiet. If they spent too much time trying to make a plan, he knew they would end up arguing. Talking to Magnolia was like holding a grenade; once they took the pin out, there was only so much time before it exploded. Best to move on.

Brunch. Isaac hated the idea of 'brunch'. What was it with rich people needing to smash in another fancy meal between Breakfast and Lunch. Why not just stick to the time-honored three meals a day. Isaac sighed but agreed and decided to keep his opinions on the timing to himself. It worked well enough. "No, the docks are better; we can walk to the station from here; it is not far," Was he trying to edge in more time alone with her? Probably. But Isaac was careful to play it off as something else entirely. "I will never fucking find you at the station; it's crowded on the weekends, especially around... brunch."

“They do not,” she insisted, but wasn’t invested in making an argument out of it because she, too, had thought the idea wasn’t a very good one, “well maybe they do, but just a little,” she added as an afterthought. Magnolia had been so comfortable in his sweater that she had (momentarily at least) forgotten that it was indeed the middle of winter, and probably not the sort of weather for a picnic, she would have to save that moment for the spring, she decided, if they were still a thing by then. Because couples did things like have picnics and it sounded romantic enough in her head to try even if, realistically, the girl knew she would be terrified of getting bitten by ants the entire time. But the Gryffindor was not feeling particularly fatalistic at the time and was perfectly content with following along with whatever he wanted if it meant that he’d kiss her like he had earlier, she’d be open to doing that as many times as he wanted, Bristol or anywhere else in the country.

“I was thinking of wearing something neon, you’d spot me right away,” she teased, though whatever she chose to wear for the date that she was already planning extensively in her head would surely get a rise out of him in one way or another. That was the hope, anyway. “But fine,” she relented again, it must have been the exhaustion that was making her so amenable, “eleven at the docks it is, don’t forget,” she added, slowing down as she caught sight of her house in the corner, not exactly ready to part ways even though she knew at this point it was inevitable. Magnolia pulled away from him slightly just in case a nosy neighbor would think it the perfect time to peek out of the window and start forming ideas about the Gryffindor.

“Don’t forget,” she insisted again, her voice sounding a little more serious this time around as she gave him a look, one that probably read between don’t abandon me and I’ll never forgive you if you do but hopefully whatever he got from it got her point across.

"No, they do," Isaac argued, but he wasn't devoted to the cause and laughed instead of giving her a frown. When she came over to his side a little, admitting they kind of did suck, Isaac chuckled again and felt that warm feeling in his chest once more. Maybe the key to getting along with Magnolia was to be exhausted, half hungover, and alone. It didn't sound sustainable, but he did enjoy spending time with her, so whatever worked. "Neon, of course," Isaac added, his tone suggesting it was the most natural thing in the world even though he desperately hoped she didn't show up looking like a fucking Easter egg. He doubted she would, and some part of his brain noted that even if she did, she would still look good, so it didn't matter.

"Eleven," He repeated, proving he had heard what she said and frowning when she pulled away from him. Isaac's eyes moved from Magnolia to the neighborhood and assumed they had gotten close enough that she had to pretend like she wasn't sneaking in at four am wearing some wizard's sweater. His eyes rolled over the sweater again, lingering on the curves that the fabric clung to, and he found himself hoping she never gave it back. It looked good on her, and in some primal, ridiculous, archaic way that he hated to admit, it felt like some claim. And Isaac liked that too.

Isaac reached for her hand again, refusing to let her head home before he could kiss her again and pulled her toward him. He should have cared more about why she had pulled away, but Isaac had never been very good at putting the needs of others ahead of his own. "Not so fast," He whispered, smirking, and pressed his lips against hers once more.