I DON'T MIND YOU COMING HERE AND WASTING ALL MY TIME.
'CAUSE WHEN YOU'RE STANDING OH SO NEAR I KIND OF LOSE MY MIND.
the cars

"YOU LOOK HOT."

"Liar."

"You look so hot I think I'm going to cry, Rory."

"That's a little extreme, Angie. Fine. I look hot but I'm not going out on your weird double blind date thingy."

"It's not weird and it's not even a date. You're being dramatic. Throw some lipstick on and let's go! We don't want to be late."

Rory rolled her eyes and took the cap off her lipstick. She twisted the bottom and applied the sheer peachy color.

"Beautiful. C'mon, now, take my hand," Angelina said, holding her hand out.

Rory held up a finger telling her to wait and carefully removed the dainty silver chain from her neck. She nodded and took Angelina's hand and the two apparated to a back alley.

"It was only like a ten minute walk," Rory said, hinged over slightly as nausea took over.

"It's sprinkling and you just had to wear those shoes. Better safe than sorry. I'm sure some tequila will help your stomach."

Rory looked up at Angelina and furrowed her brows, "You're insane." She straightened up and followed Angelina on to the sidewalk and into the bar. They never had to wait in line, even when there was one.

The atmosphere was fairly lively which Rory liked. It was easier for her to slip under the radar and gave her more potential to meet someone if she wanted to. She didn't fancy meeting people at bars but desperate times call for desperate measures. Her eyes danced around the bar and the tables just to scope out her territory.

"You're joking me," Rory groaned as her eyes landed on a pair of men sitting at a table towards the back. She had forgotten their names again, but knew they were familiar.

"Did you expect different people? Did you really expect us to be meeting with literally anyone else, Rory?" Angelina mumbled before flashing a smile and walking towards the table.

Rory just sighed and followed Angelina to the table.

As they got closer, Rory remembered that the very attractive one was named Cassius and the other was called Ezra. She didn't care to plaster on a fake smile as they approached and sat down with the men.

"Hello, boys," Angelina smiled. "Rory, say hello."

Rory rolled her eyes, "Hello!" She said about three octaves higher than her usual tone.

"Lovely to see you, Rory," Cassius said with sarcasm.

She ignored him as Angelina began salvaging the situation with her charisma. Rory used to be charismatic. She missed it sometimes.

"Didn't you mention you were a teacher?" Cassius asked Rory as Angelina and Ezra broke off into their own conversation.

"Yeah, I did. At least I think I did. Hard to remember every little conversation. What do you do?"

"I'm also a teacher."

Rory just nodded. There was a moment of silence until it hit her that she should ask him another question.

"What do you teach?"

He looked pleased she had continued the conversation and replied with, "Chemistry."

She nodded and replied simply, "Lovely."

"How about yourself?" Cassius asked.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow. Rory had become distracted in the middle of their conversation with a list of excuses and escape plans she could use to leave the "date".

"What do you teach?" Cassius asked with a slight chuckle.

Rory sighed, snapping back to reality. "Oh... er... Modern Studies. Yeah. That's what I teach. The subject I teach is Modern Studies."

"Sounds like you're trying to convince yourself of that, dear. D'you want a drink?"

Rory nodded quickly, knowing that a drink would certainly relax her.

"What would you like?" He asked.

"Just something that'll make the pain of small talk with you easier to manage!" She said with a fake smile. He smiled back and left the table. Ezra followed his lead and went to get drinks for him and Angelina.

Rory glanced over at Angelina who looked quite happy herself. That was when Rory realized that messing up her date with Cassius on purpose would only mess up Angie's date with Ezra. Rory had been a shit friend to nearly everyone in her life for years while they went out of their way for her. It was a very sudden epiphany that Rory needed to be a better friend. So, she made a promise to herself for the rest of the night to be tolerable and smile through the pain for Angelina' sake.

"He's great, isn't he?" Angelina whispered.

"Ezra? Yeah. Quite fit. He's your type on paper that's for sure."

Angelia didn't really have a type but tall, charming, and respectful ticked all the boxes for most people.

"How's the chat with Cassius? I know you hate seeing a man more than once but I thought the whole thing would be a lot easier in a group setting." Angelina sighed.

Rory nodded, "He's actually quite nice." Lie. "I think we get on quite well." Lie.

"That's wonderful! Oh, they're coming back!" The woman replied in a more hush tone.

Rory pretended as if everything was just fine as Cassius returned with a glass of whiskey for her.

"Thanks, love," she said as she accepted the drink.

"You're quite welcome, sweetheart. So, Rory, where are you from?"

"I'm a London native. You?"

"Cambridge."

Rory scoffed, "I could have guessed."

"What gave it away?" He smirked.

She raised an eyebrow and leaned forward slightly, "D'you really want me to go there?"

By the time Rory was at the bottom of her glass, forcing laughter and faking smiles wasn't so challenging. It really never was for Rory given the fact she'd been doing it for years now but it was even less difficult with a bit of whiskey in her system.

She hated small talk and especially with a Muggle. No question was harder for her than "Where did you go to Uni?" She liked switching up her fib every time though. This time, she told Cassius she went abroad in America for a while. Of course she had never been to the states but nothing ended a conversation quicker than saying she studied at the University of Wyoming (with a name like that it made Hogwarts sound normal).

"Angie and I met before Uni. We've been friends since we were eleven." Rory explained as the conversation flowed into more of a group exchange.

"Same with me and Cassius, actually." Ezra said.

"Reeeaaalllyy?" Rory said quizzically. "What do you do again, Ezra?"

"He's a doctor," Angelina said, almost bragging.

Ezra humbly shook his head. "I don't do anything fancy. I work in sports medicine. I basically travel with teams and tend to any injuries that happen during matches or practice. It's nothing special... more interesting than teaching Chemistry though."

"Get to fuck," Cassius rolled his eyes, hiding a friendly chuckle as he sipped the last of his whiskey.

Rory glanced over at Cassius and smiled slightly before quickly turning away and darting her eyes on the wooden table. Holy shit he was attractive. Was it just the whiskey though? Or maybe she was attracted to how much she resented him. Pretentious Cambridge Chemistry teachers were probably the subgenre of people she found most irritating.

That didn't mean she couldn't sleep with him, though. He had very nice hands... Whether or not these thoughts came from her own sound mind or were a hormonal flash for her upcoming menstrual cycle, it seemed Angelina could read her mind.

"Rory and I are going to run to the loo. Be back in a bit. Feel free to get another round, yeah?"

Rory sighed and stood up, following Angelina to the toilets as if she were a child in trouble with their Headmaster.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Angelina asked as they entered the slightly dingy room.

"Loads."

"I think I'm going to go back to Ezra's after drinks. You should have Cass walk you home." Angelina said.

The brunette furrowed her brows, "Oh?"

"I don't think you should sleep with him but it's your life so I'm not going to stop you. I'm just confused because I was under the assumption you hated him."

"You can hate someone and still want to do bits, no?" Rory attempted to justify.

"I've never experienced that phenomenon personally but I don't doubt that's truly how you feel. Just be safe. Emily is too young to be an aunt."

Rory scoffed, "You're looking at the daughter of the inventor of the protection spell, sweetheart."

"And how'd that work out for him?" Angelina teased. "Plus, he's a Muggle, remember?"

"Could you imagine if they weren't though?" Rory joked. "Alright. Let's go back out there before they think we've fallen in."

"Well I've actually got to piss so you're going to have to wait a second."

Rory sighed and fixed her appearance in the mirror while she waited for Angelina. After washing their hands and fixing each other's outfits they headed back into the bar. Cassius and Ezra were waiting for them at the table with the second round of drinks plus waters this time around.

Sarcastic banter with Cassius quickly turned into more obvious flirting as her second drink made its way down her throat.

"Shit," Rory sighed after taking a moment to look through one of the windows across the bar. "It's raining."

"Your point?" Cassius raised an eyebrow.

"We walked here." Rory explained.

Cassius leaned in closer to Rory and said softly, "I have an umbrella."

For some reason, his words made Rory feel something which was impressive in its own right. She bit back a smile and ran her tongue over her teeth to hide it. She could taste the whiskey on her lips. It was nice. She wondered what Cassius' lips tasted like. Like old money and lingering cigarette smoke, she assumed.

"Angie," Rory said, abruptly interrupting her conversation with Ezra. "I'm tired."

"Well I'm not," Angelina said.

"I have to agree with Rory on that one," Cassius said. Rory could have sworn she saw him shoot her a wink but her mind was notorious for playing tricks on her.

"Why don't you two head off and Angelina and I will just grab a cab or something. Angelina mentioned you live fairly close, Rory?" Ezra compromised.

"I'll just walk Rory home under the umbrella as to not in any way spoil her near perfect appearance." Cassius said with such smoothness Rory felt as if she were going to faint.

She finished the rest of her drink in one swing and exhaled sharply. "Glad we've sorted that out then. Goodbye, Ezra. Angelina, call me tomorrow morning."

"I love you, my sweet dove," Angelina said sarcastically, but with a genuine smile.

Rory blew Angelina a kiss and stood up. Cassius said his farewell to Ezra and a very polite goodbye to Angelina before joining Rory and leading her out of the bar.

He truly did have an umbrella although Rory hadn't seen one on him in the bar. Once again, she wasn't going to question the inconsistencies in her own mind.

It was raining much harder than before so Rory was grateful she flirted her way to an escort home even though apparation was an option. To rephrase: she was glad she flirted her way to an escort home regardless of her magic powers or the torrential downpour occurring.

"I don't live too far," Rory said. "Thanks for walking me though."

"The pleasure is all mine, darling."

"Do you always talk like a character in a Jane Austen novel?" Rory teased.

Cassius shrugged, "Only when I feel particularly inspired to."

Rory felt their conversation close up the sky and bring the sun back out. However, that didn't actually happen but walking with Cassius seemed to make Rory forget all about the rain.

In the short walk they learned each other's birthdays (his was January 27th, 1973), favorite colors (purple), and favorite films (Rope). However, Rory was eager to learn more.

So naturally once they reached her building she invited him upstairs.

Outside the door to her flat, she paused before letting him in.

"Wait out here a second, yeah? I want to make sure it's in acceptable condition for a Cambridge lad."

He just nodded as she slipped inside. She grabbed her wand out of her enchanted clutch she brought to the bar and quickly performed a tidying charm along with one to hide any enchantments from Muggle visitors (not that she really had any besides a moving photograph or too). These were usually precautions taken before she'd go out but Rory wasn't expecting to bring Cassius home with her.

"Alright, you can come in," she said after putting her wand away and opening the door.

"It's lovely in here. That's quite the fruitful record collection. And those books – "

"You read?" She asked sarcastically, taking a seat on her couch.

Cassius smirked, "I was just commenting to say how pathetic that bookshelf is to mine."

"You can leave, you know?"

He brushed off her quip and rested his arms on the back of the couch, standing behind it like a weirdo.

"Rory, I'd like to see you again sometime before the summer is over. With our profession it won't be as easy come September."

Rory smiled and turned her neck so she could see Cassius in all his cocky beauty. "Why don't you stay the night?"

And he did.

Except by the end of the night they were only half naked and he slept on the couch.

What a prick!

a/n:

long time no see babes! apologies if this chapter is a bit rough it's been like five months oops <3