Year/Job
Intrepid Reporter
Travis
|
Post by Martin Abbott on Oct 6, 2023 14:49:14 GMT -8
The year is 2003. It has been one week since Martin graduated.
He did everything he could to take his mind off of the very real possibility that she wouldn't show up. He paced back in forth in front of the Chilly Freeze, checked his watch, downed three snow cones and was weighing the pros and cons of a fourth. She wasn't going to show. Did his instructions even make sense? The Chilly Freeze on the corner of Sunset and Western, he couldn't get more specific. But she wasn't a Muggle like him, did she even know where Sheffield was?
When Martin sat down at the little metal table his legs kept moving, bouncing up and down as he counted the seconds. She wasn't late...but she would be in three minutes and the anticipation was killing him. Why did he even think she'd want to see him again?
|
|
Year/Job
Quinn Brooms President
My stubborn mind & his steady heart. |
Slytherin
|
Post by Liliana Quinn on Oct 7, 2023 10:12:33 GMT -8
It had been a long week, but for the first time in almost seven months, Liliana felt like she could breathe. She had been so preoccupied with the loss of her boyfriend to take a minute to even imagine a future without him. She’d been going through life in slow motion, her mind replaying what she could have done to keep him safe or make him stay. In all that time, she couldn’t understand that Dominic made a choice and she was meant to move on. She was only eighteen, she was basically still a baby. Eventually, she would move on but it would take almost another decade to do so.
Martin was like a breath of fresh air to Liliana who had felt like she had been drowning. The first time they had a conversation, like a real conversation, Liliana was surprised how easy it had been to engage in it with him. They were almost complete opposites. Almost. They both seemed terrified of the future, scared that they’d never change. And, somehow, between the confessions of dread, they seemed to have found a kindred spirit in each other. It only took until the very last night at Hogwarts to do so.
Normally, Liliana would have left any trace of their newfound spark hidden deep within the forest. But she enjoyed having someone to talk to. Her sisters looked at her with pity now and her parents were coddling her to the point she was starting to feel suffocated. Martin didn’t do any of that. She had a couple months left in the country so she was willing to see how this went for now.
“Is this seat taken?” she asked as she stopped right in front of his table, trying to be a bit funny but she didn’t smile. She wasn’t good at coming off warm or friendly.
|
|
Year/Job
Intrepid Reporter
Travis
|
Post by Martin Abbott on Oct 7, 2023 10:42:52 GMT -8
Everything was going to be different from now on, Martin thought. But it wasn't the first time he'd had that thought. It was where he started every year at Hogwarts after fourth year, but instead of willing the change in his life he waited for someone to do it for him. He imagined it like this: a gorgeous girl would enter his life and see him for everything he'd always known he was. And then they'd make out for the rest of their years at Hogwarts.
Of course none of that ever happened. Instead, Martin was forced to watch everyone else's stories unfold while he waited for his to begin. And then he met Liliana.
"Met" is a little disingenuous. Martin had known her for seven years, but he'd never known her to be anything more than the icy young woman who looked through him. Until she didn't.
Everything is going to be different.
And when Martin heard her surprisingly soft voice speak, "Is this seat taken?" What was left of his insecurity seemed to fade away when he looked up and saw her standing there. If he checked his watch, he'd see that she was a minute early. He couldn't look anywhere else but at Liliana when she was around.
"Actually," Martin smiled. "I'm saving it for this really cute girl." There was a beat as he questioned his own confidence then added, "That's a joke. You're the girl. I'm saving it for you. Hi. Hello!"
|
|
Year/Job
Quinn Brooms President
My stubborn mind & his steady heart. |
Slytherin
|
Post by Liliana Quinn on Oct 8, 2023 20:50:45 GMT -8
Liliana stood in place for a little longer than she should have. Part of her was telling herself that there was no point in being here, in a couple months they’d be worlds apart, but she’d pushed everyone else away and she craved company from time to time. Especially from someone who was so far removed from her situation that he wouldn’t ask her how she felt every five minutes.
Her lips slightly curled up to form a small smile before she took a seat. She folded her hands in her lap and looked around before clearing her throat and turning to look at him. “Is this how you usually spend your summers?”
|
|
Year/Job
Intrepid Reporter
Travis
|
Post by Martin Abbott on Oct 8, 2023 21:08:08 GMT -8
Martin hadn't expected Liliana's question, heck, he hadn't expected her to be here at all. He looked around the Chilly Freeze parking lot and realized that this was a completely new environment to her. "I guess I usually spend them at the theater, or the library, or the arcade. You don't spend a lot of time around Muggle places, do you?"
|
|
Year/Job
Quinn Brooms President
My stubborn mind & his steady heart. |
Slytherin
|
Post by Liliana Quinn on Oct 8, 2023 21:21:50 GMT -8
”I went to a movie with my older sister once,” she said in an attempt to relate to him. “But no, not really. After being stuck in a castle for most of the year, I like going to warm places. The sun makes me feel better.”
|
|
Year/Job
Intrepid Reporter
Travis
|
Post by Martin Abbott on Oct 8, 2023 21:32:13 GMT -8
Martin looked up at the dreary cloud cover then looked back to Liliana and felt a bit of panic set in. Had he made a mistake picking Sheffield? Should they be on a beach somewhere in like, Frigiliana? He felt the cold touch of a rain drop on his skin.
"Do you want to go somewhere else?" Martin asked.
|
|
Year/Job
Quinn Brooms President
My stubborn mind & his steady heart. |
Slytherin
|
Post by Liliana Quinn on Oct 9, 2023 7:54:50 GMT -8
If Martin had given a sign that he was panicking, Liliana didn’t seem to even notice. Her eyes were looking at the clouds forming across the sky. “Like where? The library?”
|
|
Year/Job
Intrepid Reporter
Travis
|
Post by Martin Abbott on Oct 9, 2023 8:03:39 GMT -8
Martin bit his lip, uncertain of how to read Liliana at all. But, trusting his newfound confidence, he said, "That's up to you. What do you want to see?"
|
|
Year/Job
Quinn Brooms President
My stubborn mind & his steady heart. |
Slytherin
|
Post by Liliana Quinn on Oct 9, 2023 8:27:40 GMT -8
”You grew up here?” She didn’t answer his question. Sometimes, other people felt like they were having two completely different conversations with Liliana. The Quinn girls each had their own issues when it came to talking.
|
|
Year/Job
Intrepid Reporter
Travis
|
Post by Martin Abbott on Oct 9, 2023 8:42:58 GMT -8
"Yeah," Martin smiled, again not expecting this level of interest from Liliana. "My house is actually down the road from here."
|
|
Year/Job
Quinn Brooms President
My stubborn mind & his steady heart. |
Slytherin
|
Post by Liliana Quinn on Oct 9, 2023 9:34:48 GMT -8
Liliana finally sighed and looked back at him, making eye contact for the first time. She’d never wondered how a muggleborn spent their summer let alone how different life must have been growing up, but for some reason she anted to know more and more about him. “That close?” She never would have asked him to meet her anywhere near her home.
|
|
Year/Job
Intrepid Reporter
Travis
|
Post by Martin Abbott on Oct 9, 2023 10:06:11 GMT -8
Martin smiled. "Yeah, just down the road." There wasn't really any intentional meaning to the location, but truthfully it was where Martin felt safest. It felt a heck of a lot safer than the Forbidden Forest.
|
|
Year/Job
Quinn Brooms President
My stubborn mind & his steady heart. |
Slytherin
|
Post by Liliana Quinn on Oct 9, 2023 11:53:56 GMT -8
“It seems nice,” her voice was soft and quiet as she watched their surroundings again. There was a small family enjoying their day out, it was the kind of thing Liliana didn’t get to enjoy growing up. She couldn’t remember her childhood being warm and loving. Sure, her parents loved her but they were busy living separate lives.
“Do you have siblings?” Is this how people talked when getting to know each other? She couldn’t remember. She’d had her group of friends since she was eleven and they rarely let anyone in.
|
|
Year/Job
Intrepid Reporter
Travis
|
Post by Martin Abbott on Oct 9, 2023 13:09:59 GMT -8
There was something very soothing about the way Liliana spoke. She was soft spoken, but not in the way some of the girls form Hufflepuff were. Soft spoken but assertive in her way. He found that very attractive.
Martin looked down and said, "No, I'm an only child."
|
|