Damn Fitzgerald. He just had to owl in sick, didn't he? This was going to be Drew's first Saturday off in months, seriously months. Weekends were hard enough to get off as it was. And having two jobs and managing to get off for both of them was even more difficult. Then add onto that the fact that he was the part-time help and therefore usually required to work all the days/hours that no one else wanted just because he was the lowest guy on the totem pole. This made the feat damn near impossible. But somehow he'd managed to do it. Well, not completely. He'd agreed to be 'on call' because it was a Hogsmeade weekend, the busiest days for the joke shop, and they figured they might need him at some point during the day, even if it was just to cover lunches. He said yes because, well, let's be honest he didn't really have any other choice. Besides, it wasn't like working at Zonko's on a Hogsmeade weekend was the worst thing that could happen to him, was it? The young man still had plenty of friends still left at Hogwarts, given that he'd only graduated the previous year, and it was always good to see them since there weren't a whole lot of opportunities to do so throughout the school year. And there were definitely worse things he could be surrounded by than toys. Although sometimes it was sheer torture to be around them and not able to play. Most of the time, he got away with it, convincing the managers that he had to play with the items in order to sell them properly, but on Hogsmeade weekends they needed all hands on deck, not on their toys.
Putting on his work robes, which were an audacious shade of orange, the color was akin to something he'd seen a Muggle prisoner wear. He grunted as he retrieved his razor out of the top drawer. When he'd had the day off, that had given him four days of not having to work in a row, his plan was to take advantage by growing some facial hair, just for kicks. Sam had never let him grow it out; she'd bitch about how it would scratch her when they kissed or that he just looked like a boy trying to be a man, like a kid who was obviously wearing his father's shoes and pretending to be man of the house. But with the woman no longer around, he was free to do as he damn well pleased. The first month of this freedom, or well the second month since they broke up...the first had been spent being a little nancy and being depressed all the time. But no more! He was going to take advantage of making all the shots. The first thing he did was get rid of all that healthy food bullshit. Honestly, it tasted like cardboard. He'd take a couple years off his life to never taste the rubbish again. Then went all those stupid ties for his dress robes that he simply wouldn't wear anywhere. They were girly colors and screamed 'My girlfriend dresses me because I have no spine." Then all of those stupid paintings and pieces of "art" had to go. He replaced them with pictures of his favorite Quiddich stars and different pictures of Muggle awesomeness such as the movie poster for the upcoming film Star Wars, a picture of the first man on the moon and yes, generally other outer space related things. He had quite the obsession.
After shaving his beard (which was thicker than he'd thought it would be after two days) he fixed himself a bowl of cereal, sitting himself down to read the funnies. Just as he was about to lift the spoon to take his first bite of the always delicious Trix, he dropped the spoon when he caught sight of the time on his watch. How had it already gotten so late? He must have spent more time hesitating shaving than he'd thought because he was supposed to have been at Zonko's five minutes ago. So with no food in his system, he apparated right outside of Zonko's. He hustled in with a sheepish grin as he apologized to his coworkers and most importantly, his boss. Thankfully they were too relieved that he'd showed up to give him hell for it because apparently he'd forgotten to send an owl back promising that he'd be in. Henry was working the register, thank Merlin, Drew hated that job because he always tried to be fast and usually ended up not being able to balance the drawer at the end of the day. Why they still let him work there was beyond him sometimes. As the first customer of the day walked in (or well, the first one of Drew's day anyways) he let off an exploding popper, which showered down confetti, glitter, bubbles, streamers and other festive ornaments as he greeted, "Welcome to Zonko's!" It was the one toy he was allowed to, nay encouraged, to use because the managers thought it would excite the customers and make them want to buy one.
Don't bury meDon't bury me I'm not yet dead, Not a walking zombie with no head, Not a Stepford wife made to obey, Don't want to go through life that way, I'm alive I'm alive that's what I say, I'm alive I'm alive gonna live that way, I'm alive and I'm gonna live today.Really, it had been an accident. Everyone was completely overreacting - the girl's nose wasn't even broken. Just severely bruised and a little bit swollen. Nothing to start a fuss about! And yet there Abby was, facing a lecture from Sprout about how punching idiotic people in the face wasn't 'acceptable' here at Hogwarts. Really, the other girl had started it, so shouldn't she be getting the lecture? A right fool that Gryffindor was, picking a fight with a girl who had biceps thicker than those scrawny things she deemed fit enough to call legs. Twigs would've been much more acceptable, given their size and stature. Besides, wasn't this whole thing just an example of Darwinism? She deserved what had happened to her considering she was dense enough to try and bully someone who, though shorter, was at least ten times stronger. That is not a wise move. If they'd been animals in the wild, the pack would have praised Abby for putting the weaker specimen in it's place. She'd even have been given a higher rank for it!Too bad things didn't work that way for humans. No, instead Abigail was getting scolded about her actions, the curly hair of her Head of House appearing twice as large and far more bouncy than it usually did. In fact, it was a rather comical sight, and one that prompted the muggleborn to let out a small laugh. "Abby, did you just laugh?" she asked, her voice conveying both confusion and irritation. The muscular blonde gave a small nod, wise enough know opening her mouth and speaking would just cause another one to come out. The older witch before her let out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head in disappointment and massaging her temple with two fingers. "You know I hate to do this, darling, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to bar you from the Hogsmeade trip today. "HA! Whatever you say, crazy.Putting on her most defeated look (one she'd perfected summoning up over the years for occasions such as these), Abby trudged out of the office and headed for the kitchens. She began fiddling with the furry neck of her jacket and staring at the ground, knowing that they would seem submissive to the naive eye of Professor Sprout. Finally reaching the corridor that would take her towards her common room, Abs flashed a look behind her and then promptly turned the opposite direction, nestling herself in a crowd of sixth year girls. It would take Sprout about fifteen minutes to transgress through the castle to the gates of Hogwarts, and it was for this reason that the fifteen year old practically sprinted through the hallways to try and beat the professor to it. After all, the other teachers had no idea she wasn't supposed to leave.Arriving at the gates in five minutes' time - come on, that's gotta be some sort of record - the young Puff bounced on the balls of her feet, trying to will the group to move faster. The wind bit at her face, turning it a brilliant shade of red and causing the girl to give a shiver of displeasure. Her scarf in gloves were back in her bedroom, nestled right beside her comfy snow boots and her new earmuffs. She's been planning on getting them before leaving for the village, but plans change. Instead she had snow in her converse, ears the color of lobsters, and a face that stung every time the wind touched it. Awesome.The sight of Pomona Sprout rounding the corner of the castle put Abby into hyperdrive, and she shoved as forcefully (yet subtly so as not to draw attention) as possible to the front of the other students. Not a second too soon she made it past the teacher in charge, running away from the castle with a laugh on her lips and celebrating her successful prison break. She hated it in there, surrounded by all that magic, and it was these monthly trips to the village that made the whole thing somewhat bearable. You could almost forget that you weren't in a muggle school in a muggle town when you were out here.....well, no, not really. But it was loads better than the castle, that much was certain.Immersing herself in the smells of Hogsmeade, Abigail wondered where she should start out. There were so many places, and so little time. C'est la vie. Her hazel eyes settled on Zonko's, deciding it was as good a place as any to begin. Her brother, after all, would love to have more 'magical toys' to mess around with, and she supposed it was worth a few coins to make him happy. Stepping into the shop, she was greeted with a shower of glitter and confetti, watching in amusement as it settled on her coat. Quickly taking it off and shoving it in her backpack, she took another step into the shop and basked in the warmth it offered."Welcome to Zonko's!"The voice was slightly too-happy, the first indication that it was an employee who was saying it. The second was that she recognized the voice, though it had been a while since she'd heard it. Turning and quirking an eyebrow at the boy, she couldn't help but grin. "Well now, looky what we have here," she teased, laughing and walking up to the boy. "I thought you worked down in Diagon, not here in Hogsmeade!" Then again, it had been well over a month since she'd received a letter from him, and even when they had exchanged pleasantries, they hardly talked about work. Still, you'd have thought she'd of seen him at least once during her many trips here.On the other hand, she was rather short and the place was always so crowded...OUTFIT: Click! WORDS: 977 NOTES: Happy fun toy time
At Hogwarts, well and out in the real world too, Drew hung out with just about anyone he deemed interesting regardless of age, gender, blood status or any other qualifiers out there. It also was not a difficult feat to interest Drew who could find a reason for just about anything to be deemed 'freaking sweet.' There were still, however, some things that he just flat out didn't care about and couldn't swing it in any way that he could consider even remotely interesting. Like people with just boring old desk jobs at the MInistry who worked nine to five every weekday and lived their days all the same. Routine was positively boring...especially when it involved just working their lives away for something that really didn't interest them at the end of the day. The exception would be people who were passionate about their jobs, despite the boring nature of it, because passion was contagious and could make just about anything seem at least mildly interesting. He, generally speaking, does tend to get along better with those younger than him or close to his own age but he does have some older friends as well. His level of maturity coupled with his interests make him a much better suit for someone younger than himself rather than a thirty year old who thinks they have life figured out.
Abby was a perfect example of a younger person, four years his junior, that he got along with really well. She was a bit of an oddball int he magical world. For one, she didn't really like magic all that much and seemed to wish she had just stayed in the Muggle world. While Drew loved magic and didn't want to give it up, he also was completely balls deep in obsession with the Muggle world. He had a habit of attaching himself to Muggleborns because they were the only ones in the wizarding world that could answer his endless strings of questions about Muggles (or at least pretend they knew the answer and that was enough for momentary satisfaction as he always took whatever they told him as the truth no matter how unrealistic or ridiculous). Most Muggleborns he talked to on a regular basis, save a few of them, seemed to like the idea that there were wizards who wanted to know more about Muggles and their way of life. He and Abby became buddies during her first year, his fourth...or fifth, he couldn't even remember. While they weren't insanely close, they talked a lot because Drew find her stories fascinating and she seemed to enjoy that someone found them fascinating. He also happened to know about gymnastics, not a whole lot but he watched the Olympics and knew enough to be able to talk about it and respect the sport (there weren't many sports he didn't respect), so that was probably another reason they bonded like they did. She even taught him some things too! He wasn't great at it but she usually made sure he as liquored up before trying the crazy stuff so at least it didn't hurt as much when it fell...although the alcohol probably made him screw up more than he would have sober.
Once he graduated, the two of them kept in touch. This was done solely through letters; he had yet to see her since he graduated last spring. He thought about asking her to hang out in Hogsmeade but given that he worked most weekends that the students were allowed to enter the village, he hadn't really had an opportunity to do so. He also had specifically not told her about his job at Zonko's, just like most of his friends that were still at Hogwarts, so he could surprise them whenever they decided to come into the shop. It was fun and added a certain zest to work.
His face brightened as he looked at who walked in, watching the confetti and glitter rain down on her as she registered that it was him. Surprise! He grinned at her as she quirked her eyebrow, obviously she had no idea she should expect to see him there. He laughed, "I've got the two jobs. I couldn't pick just one of 'em," he responded. "I've been waiting forever for you to come in here. Didn't want to tell anyone because it's been really fun seeing everyone get surprised. I thought you were more of a frequent customer," he added with a laugh. The place was normally packed and she, given her height, would not have stuck out in the crowd so it was highly possible that he'd missed her before. The place was a madhouse on Hogwarts weekends. "So how have you been? All ready for those OWLs?' he asked with a snort. That was probably a fifth year's least favorite question. "Keeping yourself out of trouble?" he asked with a sly smile. She was a firecracker and hearing about her getting into some kind of brawl wasn't exactly uncommon. His boss walked by them so Drew put on his business face, "Looking for anything specific today?"
Don't bury meDon't bury me I'm not yet dead, Not a walking zombie with no head, Not a Stepford wife made to obey, Don't want to go through life that way, I'm alive I'm alive that's what I say, I'm alive I'm alive gonna live that way, I'm alive and I'm gonna live today. "I've got the two jobs. I couldn't pick just one of 'em."Typical Drew. Abby flashed her teeth at him in an amused smile, tilting her head and crossing her arms. She wasn’t surprised in the least, and if she’d ever taken time to think it over, she would’ve realized Zonko’s was the perfect place for him to work. Made sense, given his rather outgoing attitude and childlike passion for fun. Her polar opposite in both categories, and yet oddly enough it worked for the two of them. She still remembered having sat next to him, so much taller and more intimidating than her, after being sorted into Hufflepuff. It had been her muggleborn status that she believed initially drew him in, as he had instantly begun questioning her about various things in the muggle world. Of course, she didn’t mind, and despite her lack of social skills (or want for them), she had found herself immediately enjoying his company. He’d put her at ease after one of the most chaotic experiences she’d ever been through, becoming her anchor in the Wizarding World and convincing her that she could make it through school without going completely insane. "I've been waiting forever for you to come in here. Didn't want to tell anyone because it's been really fun seeing everyone get surprised. I thought you were more of a frequent customer."The laugh Drew let out then said exactly what Abigail was thinking – that she was much too short to both be spotted or spot him. She gave him a playful punch in retaliation, letting out her own small laugh. ”I come in here all the time, you git, though I s’pose it’s no surprise you don’t see me. Generally I’m hidden by all the giants that seem to occupy the halls of Hogwarts,” she teased, making a face at her companion to convey her irritation at being so short. It should be an official disability, or something, given how much trouble it tended to give her. "So how have you been? All ready for those OWLs?'Abby considered punching him again for asking that, though this time in a much less friendly manner. She’s been asked this countless times over the past few weeks, by professors, upperclassmen, her mother (how in blazes did she even know about them, anyways?!), and just about everyone else who knew she was a fifth year. In all honesty she didn’t really care too much about the silly tests, though she probably should given that failing would mean repeating her year. Another year at Hogwarts? Far from ideal. So instead she merely stuck her tongue out at Drew in a childish manner, placing her hands on her hips and making her look no different from a stubborn ten year old – especially given her height (or lack thereof). "Keeping yourself out of trouble?"Ah, well now that certainly brought a smirk to this particular Puff’s face. She held up her right hand, the knuckles still the tiniest bit red from where they had connected with that daft girl’s face. ”It’s entirely possible I gave some silly Gryffindor girl a nosejob. Just trying to help her out, honest.” Of course, Abby’s ever growing grin likely said more than her words, as did the twinkle in her eyes that always settled there after a fight. So sue her, she liked punching idiots in the face. Wasn’t like she was hexing them into the Hospital Wing or anything. Just good ole’ fashioned muggle fistfights. Completely acceptable, really. "Looking for anything specific today?" Abby nodded her head, also having spotted the superior in her peripherals and not wanting to get Drew into trouble for talking to her. ”Looking to buy something for my brother,” she announced, loud enough to reach the ears of her companion’s boss. She lowered her voice to add, ”Though given he’s a muggle, I doubt it’ll take much to entertain him…” It was true, she could send him back some owl dung from the Owlery and he’d likely go crazy over it. The joys of knowing magic is real and not having it thrust upon you. Oh how she envied her twin at times like this.”So what about you, Drew? Anything new and exciting to report?” the tiny gymnast asked, picking up some Frog Spawn Soap. She wrinkled her nose at it before putting it down with a laugh. Perhaps there were some limits as to what he’d find entertaining.OUTFIT: Click! WORDS: 766 NOTES: Hufflepuff friendships FTWthx xo monster @ ATF
Drew couldn't help but return her toothy grin. She was just so small and adorable and he just wanted to put her in his pocket. Though he imagined she would absolutely hate it if he said that aloud. The two definitely had their differences but hey, spice of life, right? It's what kept things interesting. He couldn't really imagine her ever working in a place like this...or even wanting to work in a shop like Zonko's. That wasn't to say she wasn't a lot of fun! She's just a move reserved type of person and people kind of have to approach her in order to get to know her. She was the one who saw everyone as strangers and he was the one who'd never met a stranger. They balanced out. In all honesty, they hadn't hung out a whole bunch at school. There' d been the whole age gap thing (though he swore up and down she acted more mature than him despite that) and Sam had taken up a lot of his time but he hung out with her when he could. They got some gymnastics in, yeah that's right he could do some shit...just not nearly as well or as much as the tiny girl deceptively full of muscle in front of him. They definitely had some fun and had connected over a shared love: the Muggle world.
He rubbed his arm after she punched him with a full display of a feigned injury, rubbing his arm, scrunching his face and ended the show with a few shakes of his arm. Drew snorted, "I don't think these alleged 'giants' are the problem," he teased, rubbing his hand on the top of her head to muck up her hair. "I could see how they might look that way to one of the little people," he joked, not wanting to push her too far because he'd been hit by her before when she wasn't completely playing around and it made him sound like a pansy, he knew it, but girl could pack a punch. Rubbing his arm once again where she'd hit him (just to be dramatic and not because it actually hurt) he commented, "I see you're still bringing the heat." There was an odd sense of pride in his voice though he had no idea why - it wasn't as if he had anything to do with her strength or fighting spirit. Maybe it was because he kind of fancied himself to be an older brother figure to her, at least in the Wizarding world where her actual brother couldn't join her.
Drew snorted yet again when he saw the irritation written all over her face and in the tensed arm that looked ready to fly at him and sock 'em again. He chuckled as she took a stance that reminded him of Peter Pan. "Easy there, tiger. I was only joking. No need to get huffy," he joked with a broad smile as he looked down at her. This was the only unfortunate part about spending time with Abby (at least when he was standing up); he had to crane his neck down to look at her and it started to get uncomfortable after a while. He imagined she felt the same, having to cock her head up to look at him but let's be honest, she'd have to do that with most people over the age of twelve.
He grinned down at her when he saw that familiar smirk that told him exactly what he'd suspected: she had not been keeping herself out of trouble. It wasn't like he was about to lecture her for it. He'd gotten in a lot of trouble at Hogwarts during his day (he often spoke about Hogwarts as though he was a student over a decade ago rather than not even a year). But his kind of trouble was more along the lines of partying, pranks, thinking he was cute enough to get away with stupid things in public, that sort of gig. But she was a fighter which was really admirable for a girl her size. He'd seen her take down a few people over the years. Everyone always underestimated her because of her size but little did they know she was a strong as freaking bull. She beat him in arm wrestling! Although he does not talk about that day. It was highly embarrassing and in front of a lot of his friends (and girlfriend).
Ah, the red knuckles. She'd been in another fight ,He couldn't wait to hear about this one. He crossed his arms over his chest, spread his legs a little bit apart to lower himself and save his neck some pain, and gave her his full attention. He laughed, "Oh yeah, I'm sure you had her best interests at heart," he joked with an exaggerated eye roll. "So other than having a nose that offended you, what did she do to piss you off?" he asked curiously. Her fights usually had good stories and he was ready for one. He'd missed the fight stories since he graduated (although she had filled him in on a couple through letters but that wasn't the same!).
He stiffened his back and stood up tall again after asking her his professional question. Besides, she'd come here without knowing he worked there so she probably was actually looking for something. He gave her a small smile and nod of approval when she spoke loud and clear, making sure his boss heard. What a good friend. Drew chuckled, "I'm sure we can find something worth sending home," he encouraged though really, finding something to entertain a Muggle boy at Zonko's was no challenge.
The young man was about to answer her when she picked up the frog spawn soap and gave it a sniff. That stuff was revolting. With a look of disgust he shook his head, "Yeah, don't get him that," he advised even though it was clear she'd already decided as much. "Our better deals are in the back," he muttered out of the side of his mouth as he put his hand on her back, gently dragging her forward briefly as he walked towards the back of the store. "Are you looking for stuff to entertain him, trick him or both?" he asked with a childish grin. Oh right, she'd asked him what was new with him before his mind had started whirling with the best toys to show her. "And you know, I've been doing pretty good. I can't remember when I last gave you the update," he said and avoided eye contact as he was about to bring up the forbidden topic. "Pretty sure I told you about Sam and I going our own ways," though he hadn't told her the details. Telling everyone how she'd not only turned down his proposal but left him without even looking back was embarrassing and painful. "But I've just pretty much been working, drinking too much and all that fun stuff," he added with a smile. "Oh! And I got a car over the holidays! It's an old clunker but I'm working on taking her apart and putting her back together," he said proudly. He'd taken it apart...he was just really having to study his shit before he'd be able to put humpty dumpty back together again.
Don't bury meDon't bury me I'm not yet dead, Not a walking zombie with no head, Not a Stepford wife made to obey, Don't want to go through life that way, I'm alive I'm alive that's what I say, I'm alive I'm alive gonna live that way, I'm alive and I'm gonna live today.One thing Abby absolutely adored about Drew was his innocent, moderately dopey-looking grin. He reminded her very much of a puppy, and considering how much she loved animals, it was no surprise that she had latched on to him over the years. The older wizard was just so sweet and innocent and genuinely excited by the most trivial of muggle things. She would talk about something incredibly mundane, like a washing machine, and he'd go bat-shit crazy over the whole thing. Really, it was a great relationship the two had worked out, and she was happy to have him around. Drew kept her from being completely anti-social, having popped her personal bubble long ago and accessed the more fun-loving girl within. They were polar opposites when they first met, and even to this day had so many differences it was a miracle their friendship even worked out. But work it did, and if anything their contrasting upbringings had helped their relationship grow to the spot it was out now. Plus, it was just too damn funny to throw a gymnastics skill and watch him try to copy her. He almost always fell on his face, and she laughed at with him as soon as she knew he was ok. Even that one time she'd done her standing full and challenged him to copy it, only to end up simultaneously breaking both ankles, he'd been a good sport. It had helped that someone else at the party had wanted to be a healer and fixed him right up, of course, but still, almost immediately he'd asked for something new to try."I don't think these alleged 'giants' are the problem."Abigail rolled her eyes, placing both hands square on her hips and staring up at the boy. It was uncomfortable, certainly - he had a good foot on her - but still she tried to maintain her glare. Of course, apparently this had zero effect on the boy given that he ruffled her hair, causing it to stick out in odd angles every which way. When he decided to deem her as one of the 'little people', she let out an outraged huff and had to clench both fists in order to stop her from pummeling one of her few friends in the middle of his shift with all these witnesses to see. Of course, Drew promptly made up for his lapse in judgement by complimenting her and informing her that she still brought the heat, a fact she was quite proud of. "I do still bring the heat. And don't you forget it, or I'll have to remind you," she teased, lifting both arms up in a muscle-man pose and laughing. Abs felt so much more at ease around the older boy, able to showcase the carefree spirit that so often alluded her nowadays. It was a nice change of pace, and part of the reason why she missed the boy at Hogwarts, despite how rarely they'd seen each other even then. The castle was definitely emptier without her pseudo-brother around to entertain her."Easy there, tiger. I was only joking. No need to get huffy."Well at least he's not dense enough to keep pushing me, the young Puff thought, grinning up at him in amusement. OWLS were such an old topic, and one she was thoroughly bored of talking about. He was smart to have caught on to her irritation, given that pressing on with it would've likely ended up with giving him a bruise. A friendly one, but still painful enough to remind him not to mess with her. Thus was the basis of their relationship, and as odd as it sounded, it actually worked quite well. Especially when she beat him in tests of strength - that was her favorite. Of course, at least he put up a challenge, unlike half the nancy-boys left in the school. The thought alone made her grin, though him squatting down to look her in the eyes helped as well."Oh yeah, I'm sure you had her best interests at heart. So other than having a nose that offended you, what did she do to piss you off?"Quirking an eyebrow at the boy directly in front of her, Abby mirrored his eye roll with her own hazel eyes. Letting out a small cough, she began alternating between an obnoxious, high pitched tone and her usual voice to convey the story to her older friend."Look girls, one of Willy Wonka's midgets escaped from the factory.""Excuse me??""Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm sure you'll hit puberty eventually.""Judging by your voice, I'll assume you already have. Tell me, is having your balls drop as painful as having to look at your face? Because if so, I'm so sorry you had to go through that.""Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that Mickey Mouse mated with a human and had a child, but one can only assume that's what I'm looking at.""Hahaha, that was really funny. You know what else is funny?""And that's when I punched her in the face," she concluded, the cheeky grin on her face looking very much like it belonged to a toddler on Christmas morning. Fighting made Abby feel alive, as twisted as that was, and if someone deserved to be punched in the face she was more than willing to deliver. The adrenaline was like a drug for the fifth year, and she loved how it felt as it coursed through her veins. When Drew mentioned finding something to send home, Abby laughed, knowing that wouldn't be difficult in the least. Adrian was easily entertained, even by muggle standards, and anything magical would be coveted by him. She allowed herself to be dragged led to the back, grinning back at him as he asked his question. "Hmmm, let's go with trick him. I always send him stuff to entertain him, may as well try something new.""Pretty sure I told you about Sam and I going our own ways."Abigail solemnly nodded, not sure how to tiptoe around the subject and glad he had brought it up himself. She'd been worried, knowing how close the two had been, and unwilling to discuss it through mail. She'd actually been planning on visiting him over the summer at some point; this just worked out better. "Yeah, what exactly happened there? If you don't mind me asking? Of course, if he didn't feel like delvin deeper that would be fine too. She'd accept that. Abs wasn't very touchy feely, but she understood compassion. If he needed to talk, she'd listen. But she wouldn't feel pity for him. From experience she knew nothing was worse than being pitied, and she wouldn't put such an annoying feeling on anyone else. It was useless, really, and just made the other person feel their shitty life was even shittier. Not exactly a picker-upper.The mention of drinking way too much and taking apart cars had Abby shaking her head in laughter. "Just promise me you won't mix alcohol and power tools, alright?" she pleaded, the twinkle in her eye complimenting the smirk on her face quite well. That was just a disaster waiting to happen if ever there was one, and she wasn't in the mood to receive word that Drew had cut off his head in his intoxicated mechanic mind. No no, she rather liked him with all his apendages intact. Call her old-fashioned, but she believed her friends shouldn't be cut up into little pieces. OUTFIT: Click! WORDS: 1281 NOTES: I accidentally deleted this post sooo I'm too lazy to go back and put in bold/colors/whateverthx xo monster @ ATF
Yeah, these two had a lot of differences but Drew had never been the type to be hindered by that sort of thing. He would try to embrace the differences and when that couldn't be done, he'd just focus on the things they had in common. At a glance, he and Abby seemed like completely different people but they had their similarities too. They were both athletic, didn't mind doing something they thought would be fun even if it meant they'd probably end up hurt by the end of it, they both liked the Muggle world (in different ways, yes, but that's just not important) and they had a good time together. So why focus on anything other than that? Sam had often times deemed the young girl a 'bad influence' on Drew - which was hilarious to the boy because of their age difference. Sam didn't even really know her all she knew was that whenever he hung out with Abigail Bennett he usually ended up hurting himself somehow and Sam deemed this as promoting Drew's 'natural tendency for self-destruction via reckless behavior.' This made Sam wary of the younger girl while it made Drew want to hang out with her even more.
Drew tried to keep a straight face as Abby stared up at him, hands on her hips and staring at him as though she was fantasizing about hitting him right in the gut. Yeah, they had an abusive relationship - well, not a mutually abusive one, she was the only one dealing out the hits but Drew could handle it. It was better than the abusive of captivity he'd felt under the reign of Sam Wilkinson (which he'd only realized was present in their relationship after the fact). But usually she didn't aim to actually hurt him (Abby, that is) it was more like a 'hey, remember I'm strong than you before you keep running your mouth' sort of thing. He grinned when she huffed at him, noticing those tiny fists of power clench at her sides. He found himself thankful that they weren't heading his way though this was probably because he complimented her rather than her deciding to show him mercy and let him get away with mocking her height which come on, it was funny! She was like a large midget. He of course wasn't stupid enough to say that one aloud...not anymore anyways. He'd done it during her third year and she'd pummeled his shoulder leaving a nice little bruise there for a day or two. He laughed, "How could I forget? I've probably still got some bruises somewhere from you." This was of course dramatic and not true; it'd been over a year since she'd gotten him good so the bruises were long gone by this point. When she flexed in her muscle-man pose, Drew feigned a sense of worry and urgency as he went forward, pushing her arms down, "Good Merlin, woman. You can't bring guns into the store!" he hissed before a smile broke out. He probably should have said it more quietly, as he'd gotten some looks from one of the customers that had straggled in after Abby. He was actually surprised they'd known what a gun was. Good for them.
He chuckled as Abby calmed herself down. How did he know the subject would irritate her? Because, other than the overachievers would have very little but school on the brain and loved to have someone listen to them when they talked academics, no fifth year liked the topic. Not only was it something you were asked so much that you got bored and annoyed with the whole thing but it was something they didn't like to think about. They were stressful, obnoxious and a dark spot on an otherwise bright horizon. When someone brought them up, you were reminded that you would have to take them by the end of the year and try to prove that you had been paying attention in all your classes for the last five years. It was hardly something to look forward to, much less something you wanted to be reminded of when standing in the middle of a joke shop.
Abby began mocking the conversation that had led to her most recent fight and her voices were exceptionally comical. Drew watched with an amused smile but he also could see why this pissed of the Hufflepuff enough to want to deck them in the face. He almost felt bad for mocking her height only moments before since it was something she'd been bullied about before that day but, looking at Abby and remembering how strong she was physically and mentally, he knew she could handle it. She also knew that he was completely kidding around and didn't view her height as some kind of deformity or flaw; it was cute. "Sounds like they deserved it," he concluded with an approving smile before clasping her shoulder briefly, "Good job, Bennett,' he added, supporting her decision. Kids could be downright cruel sometimes. Actually, people could be cruel sometimes. But at least there were people like Abby and the Aurors who could kick them around and try to make them see the error of their ways.
Tricking her brother it was! "it's more fun too," he said with a laugh. "Besides, he'll be caught way off guard then. He'll be like, Abby is the best for sending me something! I bet it's awesome and then BOOM," he added with childish excitement. "We've got Hiccup Sweets but those are lame, we can do better than that," he mused aloud, "Nose-biting teacups can be fun but your brother would have to be the type to actually use teacups for it to work," he continued, trying to think of something really good. "We've got that Frog-Spawn Soap, Fanged Frisbees, Screaming Yo-Yos, Belch Powder, Stink Pellets and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs," he recited. "I know we've got more. Any of those sound appealing to you?"
He took a deep breath, hopefully one that wasn't too audible. He knew he'd end up telling Abby about it eventually but was now the right time? They were having fun. But he also didn't want to just blow her off; that wasn't his style. "I uh..I asked her to marry me and she had better things to do," he responded in such a cavalier tone that it was obvious he was trying to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal despite the fact that it so clearly was. "But that just made me realize I did too," he added with a genuine smile because that was the truth. He knew Abby wasn't going to be the type to make him answer a bunch of questions or pressure him about telling her how he really felt. She wasn't going to treat him like a psychiatrist would (or he thought so anyways) and he was glad for that.
Drew laughed, "I can't make that promise," he said honestly with a childish grin, "But I can promise to do my best to avoid it,' he added. She'd been around him when he was drunk to know that he didn't always have his thinking cap on, especially when intoxicated. His drunken gymnastics antics were enough to tell her that, on top of all the other stupid decisions she'd seen him make.
Don't bury meDon't bury me I'm not yet dead, Not a walking zombie with no head, Not a Stepford wife made to obey, Don't want to go through life that way, I'm alive I'm alive that's what I say, I'm alive I'm alive gonna live that way, I'm alive and I'm gonna live today. "How could I forget? I've probably still got some bruises somewhere from you."Abby laughed with him, shaking her head in amusement and rolling her eyes. Unless owls could suddenly give someone bruises now, it was physically impossible for him to have one from her. ”Probably not anymore, Drew, but if you’re feeling a bit empty I can always give you a new one,” she teased, waggling a finger up at him and smirking. Some days she wondered if they got into an actual fist fight, nothing held back, who would win. She had the experience and strength, but Drew was much larger and also fairly strong. It would definitely have been an interesting match, though one that neither the Hufflepuff or the Puff alumni would want to test. "Good Merlin, woman. You can't bring guns into the store!"Unable to help herself, Abigail let out a small giggle, the girlish sound out of place coming out of her usually no-nonsense mouth. Still, she couldn’t help but be impressed. Half her classmates would have no idea what a gun was, and most of the other half still wouldn’t understand the joke and would instead take it literally. Which, based on the looks the man behind her was flashing her, included the customers at the store. ”Well you know, I have to be able to defend myself, now don’t I?” she asked, a grin playing at her lips. ”And I’d prefer to do it the muggle way, if you don’t mind.” The statement was accompanied with a wink, her tone teasing and the laughter still present in her eyes. It was like she was the old Abby, the one who existed before her father had died and she'd found out about magic. Back when her life was simple. Then again, simplicity was overrated, anyways."Sounds like they deserved it. Good job, Bennett."The tiny girl beamed up at him, happy to have someone of a similar opinion around. The girl had deserved it, and Abby had done a good job by showing her exactly why. This was what she missed about Drew - his understanding of her, er, hobbies and such. Plus he was just a hoot to have around. Really, why hadn't she sought him out over the summer? He'd have been more than happy to come venture into her muggle hometown, she was sure of it. The boy loved any and everything muggle; it was in his nature, and one of the many things she liked about him. That, and the fact he could elicit genuine laughs out of her with his childish demeanor. As was demonstrated by his next few statements.He'll be like, Abby is the best for sending me something! I bet it's awesome and then BOOM."Lips curling up in an amused grin that was (obviously) to keep her from laughing out loud, Abby still had to let out a snort at the whole thing. When he asked if anything sounded appealing, she nodded her head slowly. They all did, actually, but the main question was what harmless thing could she send him? The Fanged Frisbee would be funny, up until it accidentally chewed off his ear or something. She'd never much trusted those things when they'd been thrown around the common room. "Hmmm I think the Screaming Yo-Yo, while simplistic in nature, would be a good choice," she said with a definitive nod of her head. Yes yes, the look on his face would be priceless when he went to play with it, only to be met with a shrill scream. It was just too bad she wouldn't be there to see it."I uh..I asked her to marry me and she had better things to do,"Though not a big one in the romance department, even Abby knew that was pretty harsh. The fact Drew was trying to be nonchalant about it wasn't really helping, either, given that nonchalance was not his thing. But the genuine smile following his next statement gave her hope, and she returned the grin with one of her own. This wasn't her time to play therapist - if he'd wanted a shrink, he'd confided in the wrong girl - and instead tried to focus on a way to cheer him up. That proved easier thought than accomplished, though, given how crowded the shop was. Looks like she'd have to use verbal humor rather than physical humor. How unfortunate."Hey Drew, wanna know what they call a Hufflepuff with one brain cell?" she asked, picking up a blue yo-yo before turning back to the boy with a raised eyebrow. She gave him but a moment to mull it over before answering her own question. "Gifted." Though Abby grinned now, the person who had originally told her that joke had gotten a swift knee to the groin. It was only funny if another Puff said it, not some snarky Slytherin. She let out another chuckle before continuing, "And you know what they call a Hufflepuff with two brain cells? Pregnant." This time she let out a full laugh, rather than just the grins and chuckles from the last one, unable to help but grin at the whole thing. Puffs got the short end of the stick, that was for sure, but at times it was comedic in a way. Only at certain times, though.Shaking her head at his next statement, she gave the boy another light punch on the arm. "Drew! I am not coming to visit you if you end up in St. Mungo's because you were daft enough to like, fry off your hand." She was kidding, of course. Despite hating hospitals (and especially magical ones), Abby would still bring him some plant or some shit to try and cheer him up while there. Maybe she'd even bring her brother's new RCA Studio II, and they could play Baseball on it or something. Given the muggle nature of the console, there was no doubt in the girl's mind it would cheer him up something fierce. Although playing would be difficult with a bandaged hand...OUTFIT: Click! WORDS: 1066 NOTES: ahhh I love their dynamics!thx xo monster @ ATF
Ah yes, the eye roll! This was a gesture frequently thrown in Drew's direction by...well, by just about everyone. But it hadn't bothered him when he was five years old and his sister thought he was being spastic and it didn't bother him now nor did he think it ever really would. One of his mates from home nearly lost it every time someone rolled their eyes at him and Drew had never understood how he could be so irritated by such a natural reaction. He would have never been able to be friends with Sam, let alone date her for all those years, if he'd been bothered by it since eye rolling was a personal favorite of hers. "Merlin no," he insisted with a sigh. "Just said I feel like I've still got the bruises! I don't need any fresh ones," he added with a cheeky smile and a wink to boot. He wasn't scared of Abby, maybe because they were friends and he didn't think he could piss her off enough to make her want to pummel him (because he found himself to be just that charming), but he wouldn't want to get on her bad side either. Her strength matched her quick temper in ferocity and that was just a deadly combination he never wanted to be on the other side of. So good thing they were friends, eh?
The left side of Drew's face tugged up; his eyebrow arching in surprise that Abigail Bennet had just giggled and the corner of his lips lifting into a smile because he felt kind of proud of himself that he'd managed to make her do so. What? It was always nice to have it be confirmed by someone other than yourself that you were absolutely hysterical (it was one thing the twenty year old prided himself on). He chuckled at her retort, "I'd hope you wouldn't be able to find yourself threatened at Zonko's. It's the happiest place on Earth!" he exclaimed gleefully, fully knowing he was ripping off the slogan for Disney World in the States (a place he intended to go in the near future by the way). "And you know I never mind things being done the Muggle way," he added with a grin. "I guess if wands can be allowed, I'll look the other way about these firearms," he said with an emphasis on the word 'arms' because that made it all the more funny in his books. He enjoyed playing on words and was always pleased when he found an appropriate situation to do so.
Though he would never tell Abby, he did worry about her at Hogwarts (her and Jace were on that list but while he could tell Jace that, he knew Abigail would probably be offended to know). She didn't make friends all that easily, not that he was aware of, just because people had to put in the effort to get to know her fun side and well, the warmth that lay underneath her rather cool exterior. She was funny, nice and quite clever in his opinion but he wasn't exactly difficult to impress. Hogwarts could be rough if you didn't have friends around to help you get through all the bullshit parts (like the actual school part) and while he didn't think she was necessarily hurting for friends, he figured she could probably use a few more. People who could see more than just the girl that got in fights and didn't seem to like magic all that much; there was way more to her than that and people were just robbing themselves of knowing an awesome person by not bothering to really get to know her.
Drew would never understand why Abby always felt the need to hold in her laughter. Probably to keep up her badass image but c'mon, not around him! Besides, wasn't there like...scientific proof that laughing was actually good for you? He was pretty sure there was. Come to think of it, that article may have actually been about crying but he was just going to pretend he hadn't remembered that and that it had indeed been about laughing. While Abby seemed to enjoy inflicting pain on others, it seemed as though she only liked to do so to those who actually deserved it and her brother hadn't done anything to piss her off. How did he come to that conclusion? She chose the single item in his little list that didn't actually bring any physical harm to the victim; just shook them up a little. "Not wanting to hurt him?" he mused aloud with a smile. "I get that. Don't want him to start ignoring your letters," he teased. "But we've got some in the back. Some of them have the prices marked down 'cause well, they don't yo-yo all that well but they scream like a banshee," he assured her. "Want one of those or one that does both up to par?" he asked. He personally would go the cheaper route since who would actually want to yo-yo with one that screamed at you every time? He imagined no one but then again, a Muggle might find it interesting enough to want to do so.
He looked at her briefly to gauge her reaction. He didn't see the look of pity, the one that had been driving him a little bonkers lately, so that was good. In the beginning, he'd wanted to see that. He found his situation to be very pitiable and he was obviously the victim (at least in his mind and it seemed most others agreed). But he was sick of playing the victim and ever since Val had come around and treated it like no big deal with the cure to his situation being shots...well he couldn't help but see some truth in it all. He was done with all of that bullshit. And her returning his grin let him know that she wasn't going to make him talk about it (and she probably wanted to talk about the whole ordeal even less than he did). So he was glad that she dropped the subject because he was more than willing to do the same.
The fact that she turned to joking in an attempt to cheer him up change the subject proved just how well she knew the boy. He scrunched his face as he tried to think of the answer, nothing good coming to mind. "What?" he asked with a half-smile. He snorted at her answer, "Haven't heard that one before," he replied. "I'll have to remember that one." He let out a laugh at her second one. That was gold. "That's awesome. I really like that one," he said with a now wide grin. Oh! He'd heard a blonde joke recently (which were essentially the foundation for Hufflepuff jokes) and decided to try it out on Abby, "What do you call a Hufflepuff with an IQ of 100?" he asked with a waggle of his eyebrows. "A foursome," he answered with a grin. With a nostalgic sigh he commented, "Oh how I've missed the Hufflepuff jokes." Or jokes in general. People didn't tell them nearly enough out here in the adult world, not even at Zonko's which was honestly a bloody shame.
He laughed, "You would. Don't lie to me," he teased. "So what does that mean? You don't want me at Mungo's unless you put me there yourself with your physical abuse?!" he asked with feigned indignation that might have been believable if it weren't for the wide grin on his boyish face.
