gabriel l. corner (coverstory) wrote in valesco,
@ 2009-02-14 17:26:00

Entry tags:

gabriel corner, greta catchlove, group, noah boot, odette boot

Daily Prophet Ball - Wizarding World!
Gabriel did not want to be here. He hated this holiday, he had no need for this holiday, and it was only to make appearances for his superiors to be here. He didn't even know how long he should stay, or who he should talk to---maybe the Editor in Chief would be good, to know that he had shown up in support--this was terrible.

He'd been in quite a horrid mood for weeks now, and Valentine's was simply not helping it in any case. Gabriel was excellent, excellent at putting on a good face for those around him (especially those he didn't want noticing his true demeanor), but the pink and the red and the hearts and the smiles, no. It simply reminded him that there were people who were happy in the world with their lives and families and---mostly their families. Bloody---families.

"Excuse me," he muttered, eyes locked onto the exit, as he believed he had made enough of an appearance.

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eieio
2009-02-15 05:20 am UTC (link)

Mary had been standing with a few old friends, trying to catch up and just figure out how things had gone the past few months. She had only been back at the Prophet for a week or so now and it felt very overwhelming. Cuffe had given her a position in the editorial department, although it was by no means a day-to-day writing spot. Nevertheless, Mary was just glad to be back and around her friends. She was enjoying the conversation, if only slightly distracted. It didn't help that her son was wreaking havoc in her belly, nor did it help that Gabriel was being--well, Gabriel. Ever since that night he'd shown up at her flat--no, she wasn't going to think about it. There was no need to push herself to think about it at all. She needed to get this grand idea that things between herself and Gabriel were going to be brilliant out of her head. Things didn't feel okay--maybe it would be better in the end if she just...pushed him away. She couldn't say for sure, but she had this vague feeling that she was the reason for his mood lately and she just--didn't know what to do about it.

Bloody hell, he was leaving, wasn't he? Without--without even saying hello or anything. Bullocks. She forced a smile as she tuned back into the conversation the women around her were having--something about getting their hair trimmed and whether or not they should get fringe. And---

This was rubbish! She was a bloody Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake! She didn't have to just--just stand there and watch things go as they had for the past few weeks. If she wanted things to change, she would have to do it herself, right? Right. Because the "damsel in distress" look was so not her, nor was it working in the least. With a smile she excused herself from the small group of girls before making her way through the crowded room towards Gabriel, not sure if she would even catch him before he made it to the door and apparated himself back home.

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coverstory
2009-02-18 06:52 am UTC (link)

Bloody Christ, of course life couldn't just make things easy for him. Of course he was going to spot, and obviously make eye contact with, the one person he was trying to avoid. The second his eyes caught Mary's, Gabriel's ridiculously guilty conscience shouted at him for being so rude, and he skidded to a halt, though a longing stare toward the exit could not be helped.

It wasn't Mary. It wasn't her. It was the whole bloody situation that he wished to avoid and never be forced to think about again. There were moments, days even, where he was sure that he'd give up everything for his son and Gabriel really, honestly wanted to believe that, but then there were moments, days where he truly believed his family was the most important thing in the world to him. How could he be forced to choose? Why should he have to? Did this not make sense to anyone else? Why was the decision viewed to be so cut and dry to the rest of the world? Was he missing something.

"I'm terribly sorry," he said in a hushed tone as met Mary halfway toward her approach, "I fear I'm coming down with something dreadful." Gabriel wouldn't even have to fake a fever; he was nearly sweating through his attire because of how badly he needed to get away from the crowd.

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eieio
2009-02-18 02:48 pm UTC (link)

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but just barely. Of course he was coming down with something. Her hands were placed firmly on her hips as her lips sucked in and pursed. "Well, I'm terribly sorry to hear that." No I'm not.

There were so many things she wanted to say, to just get out in the clear but because she didn't know everything it didn't feel right to do that. The last time she had opened her mouth she had found herself between a rock and a hard place; she didn't want a repeat of the same situation. If she had known that his parents were playing this 'choose or die' game with him (or was it just him playing the game with himself?), she would have acted differently. But from what she was seeing? He was being a flake.

"I'm...I can't do this anymore, Gabriel. I'm too exhausted to deal with normalcy half the time and just--lately it's been tenfold," she sucked in a deep breath, trying to hold back tears. Damn hormones. "I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but...I can't deal with it, honestly." She could feel the tears spilling over. "I hope you get feeling well soon," she said softly, now feeling her lower lip start to quiver. "I--I need to go to the powder room, excuse me." She turned quickly on her heels, trying to hold herself together until she was out of sight. She didn't want to explain her tears to anyone, she didn't want to have to deal with anything right now.

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coverstory
2009-02-19 02:26 am UTC (link)

Nooo, no no---no, no--she was the Gryffindor, Mary was the one that was supposed to be able to put up with everything and put on a brave face. Gabriel watched her turn, watched her begin to cry and---he felt his throat clench and he stared toward the ground for a moments (moments that would never be long enough to prepare him for--for any of this) before he started after her.

"Mary! Mary, Mary--wait," he called after her, moving much faster and rougher through the crowd than he ever would. A strong voice in his head told him to smoothly press through the sea of people, but nothing since Halloween had gone smoothly for Gabriel, he felt like his whole life was jumping and bouncing and bolting in harsh manners. He caught up with her, stepping in front of her with his hands out in an almost pleading manner.

He really had been horrible, and his naturally guilty conscience wasn't helping anything. Gabriel avoided eye contact for a moment, trying to put together what he meant to say, now that he had accosted her, but nothing came to mind. He didn't want to tell her about being disowned; Mary didn't need that sort of guilt. It wasn't her fault that his family thought the way they did, so---

What would make this better? Gabriel didn't know if he could completely deal with losing everything, but he couldn't choose. He was desperate for his family to take him back, but he was also completely devoted to the child Mary was carrying. It wasn't fair to her, she didn't deserve to be dragged along, playing nice when he couldn't make up his mind. Mary was right, she couldn't do this anymore because he wouldn't allow it.

"I---" He'd never, ever been so far from eloquent in his life. Gabriel frowned and shook his head slightly. He hated feeling like this, but he'd rather take on all the blame than let Mary feel any of it, "I can't do it either."

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eieio
2009-02-19 07:07 am UTC (link)

Hey, she was 21 weeks pregnant! She was allowed to be teary and the antithesis of what a Gryffindor should be. Besides, she'd been trying that route for the past few weeks; it wasn't working anymore.

She looked up at him, rubbing furiously at his eyes. Didn't he know when to leave things well alo--oh. "So." She let out a frustrated sigh, staring back at her feet. "What do we do, then?" She wasn't sure where he was going with things and refused to assume anything. Was he--she couldn't bring her eyes back up, honestly.

Urgh, her stomach was twisting again from nerves and the baby was having a field day with the sugary drink she'd downed earlier; urgh, did he have to pick the most inopportune moments to do this to her? Honestly? This was not a happy combination.

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coverstory
2009-02-19 03:21 pm UTC (link)

What do they do?

Gabriel blinked at Mary, mouth hanging open slightly as he tried to find some part of the answer she was looking for. He didn't know where to begin. A life of secluding himself from his family and friends felt as if it wasn't in the question for him, and Gabriel felt so weak for it, but he'd always relied on these people. Only a few of his friends had reached out, because they had come across the same sort of situation, but even then they weren't his family.

He really couldn't see this ever getting better. Maybe he was being a chicken, a complete coward in all sense of the word and maybe one day he'd be able to deal with the pain and strife, but right now. Right now all he was doing was hurting Mary, which effectively hurt his son, and he couldn't do that.

God---for the greater good, is what they said, didn't they? This didn't feel good, this didn't feel good at all, but it would allow Mary to open up her life again and not have to worry about him, and she could be happy, the baby could be happy...

"I still want to be involved, if you'll let me," Gabriel muttered, unable to catch her eyes as well. Who would want a coward like him near their child? He felt like dying.

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eieio
2009-02-20 07:16 am UTC (link)

Mary huffed a bit, trying her best to not become angry or--or whatever. "Gabriel. You've been involved, I've never..." She pouted a bit. She had been more than welcoming to him being around from the start. He was the one that ran off to another bloody country at the news. He was the one who'd suddenly pushed her away after they'd made some decent strides. She had told him from the beginning that she wanted him to be there, to be involved. And he'd all but spat at it.

True, he'd played along with things; met her parents, taken care of her through some rough patches. But it felt like for every step they took forward, there was one giant leap going back. They hadn't told her parents nor his (or so she thought), and she hadn't told anyone past the Goldsteins and Lily. It was killing her to know that she should be open and proud of her son and she wanted to shout it from the roof tops! But she couldn't, because she didn't think that he was ready for that just yet. It didn't help that she was back at the office now and people would start noticing her expanding belly (thank god for slimming charms--would Gabriel frown at her for that?) and whisper. She didn't want to hold this off any longer but...

Mary sighed. "I've never said that you weren't allowed to be involved. Not once." She would never dare push him away on purpose like that, not unless he made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing to do with her and his son. "Don't you dare turn this around on me."

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Odette

supernoah
2009-02-18 06:32 am UTC (link)

It had been hinted, not so subtly, that it would be a good idea to show up at this event.

Noah forced himself not to fidget by the bar, leaning his elbows on the counter to keep himself in a somewhat calm looking stance. This was definitely not his scene, nor his cup of tea. He'd been to big things like this before, when Martin was single and would drag him around to try and hook him up with women, and---that part hadn't been so bad, but only until...oh, just this past year or so, Noah hadn't actually approached any of these said women. Let's see...the last woman he'd slept with before Odette (haa..) had been the girl that bet on him and Martin during the quidditch auction...

...that was a really fucking long time ago.

So--this was definitely not something he was used to, but Noah really wasn't minding it. Nope, getting tugged along by an extremely hot quidditch player was not something you complained about. He puffed his cheeks for a moment, eyes scanning the room; he was pretty sure Odette would approach him when she was ready---or, well. Whatever it was that actually made her come near him. Because he honestly didn't have an idea.

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cockaigne
2009-02-18 08:24 am UTC (link)

Noah was not her date.

No, no--- no. Because see, she hadn't had a date to these things since the days of West and Odette was perfectly fine looking like she didn't need to arrive at an event without holding onto someone else's arm. Nope, those days were over. She had gone to enough public events with West-- now she knew why-- for the spark of attending with someone to officially die by means of being beaten to death. So a date (having, being, etc) was a no. But that didn't mean--- him showing up on his own and being there she had no problem with whatsoever. It was Valentine's Day after all, and whether she believed in the stupid day or not, she most certainly was not going to be caught dead being completely alone tonight.

Not that she was using him for that--- well, not at this point, anyway. In the beginning, perhaps, but Odette had been pleasantly surprised to find out that Martin Boot's brother was not that bad at all. He was cute, and she found that he liked him for that adorable, comfortable to be around a sort of way. Noah was not like all the other men she had hooked up with before, or was around for most of the time, so.

"Hello," she smiled, eventually walking over to sit in the chair next to his. She had been here for a while, and contently spotted him sitting at the bar a bit after she had arrived. Of course she waited a good amount of time before approaching him, but he didn't need to know that.

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supernoah
2009-02-19 03:40 am UTC (link)

Oh thank fucking God. Noah had been quite sure in frantic, on and off intervals, that Odette was not even going to show up and he was going to be sitting at the bar for the entire night looking pathetic and lonely.

Which---okay, he didn't feel pathetic and lonely these days, not with Terry, but he was quite sure that his friends and family thought he was. Maybe that was part of the reason why he was willing to put his pride on the line to be out with Odette MacFarlan of all people (though the fact that she gave him some attention wasn't a bad reason either).

He smiled easily, though, and swiveled his stool only slightly to face her. There was no need to panic, or get overwhelmed; what was the worst that could happen? He went back to being a nerdy astronomer? Hell---he'd been doing that all his life.

"Hello," Noah responded, keeping his expression somewhat neutral as he took Odette in. Okay, so---maybe he was a bit under dressed for this. Fuck. Well, then. "Having fun?"

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cockaigne
2009-02-19 06:20 am UTC (link)

She ordered a drink, and then held out her hand lazily on the counter knowing that within the next few seconds it would be filled with something in the form of a cup that had good tasting liquid in it. And, as predicted, a few moments later Odette's hand clasped around a cool cup: only then did she turn back to Noah to look at him over the rim.

Was she having fun? Did it look like things like this were fun? She had concluded a long time ago that if you had to attend any type of a public appearance in a constricting dress that hardly let you breathe, then odds were the night was not going to be fun. Afterward, yes. During, no. So she would have to go with a-- no, not especially. Plus there was the fact hardly anyone she cared to know was actually present at this point, and the event was now just forced falsities. Hence why Noah had so heavily been implied to come.

"As much as you are," Odette responded, pressing her lips together slightly into something of an amused response. But unfortunately, she still had-- they, technically-- another hour of being here until it was respectable enough to leave. Which meant... bring on the drinks, because she was most definitely not going to be dancing here anytime soon.

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supernoah
2009-02-19 07:37 am UTC (link)

That wasn't good, considering he'd been bored off his ass for the past hour or so. Noah's eyebrows raised and he signaled the bartender for a drink and was promptly ignored. Well. He could wait, who needed a drink?

He did, he definitely needed a drink.

Noah's eyes scanned the crowd quickly, wondering if his brother had shown up and hoping he hadn't. He couldn't imagine what a scene Martin would create, in public, if he found him with Odette, or at least---not with, sitting near and starting a conversation with. Martin had gotten absolutely ridiculous with...what Noah could only perceive as jealousy or something just as ridiculous about it, so. It would benefit the younger brother greatly if he was left without the annoying presence of his brother.

"Anything I could do to change that?" he added, attempting to be nonchalantly as he glared down the bartender. Really, he was doing a bloody shoddy job at his--job. Maybe you had to be a world famous quidditch player to get this guy's attention, which meant he should definitely make it known that if you were anything less to not even bother.

Right, that was just the nerves, Noah. Giving up, he looked over to Odette with a shrug, a quick smirk appearing on his face.

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cockaigne
2009-02-20 04:32 am UTC (link)

Odette felt her shoulders relax back, and a coy smile slip onto her lips as he spoke. There were a lot of things he could do to her that would change her mood, but that didn't mean they were appropriate in public. Which was so boring. It was like anything that was remotely interesting or exciting had to be behind closed doors or kept hush-hush, or you didn't even think about until after it had gotten dark. What was with that? It was as if society wanted you to be boring, and enjoy standing around to talk about dreadfully dull topics for hours on end.

Really. The Daily Prophet needed to lighten up a little. Or at least graduate from the status of only hosting 'Balls.'

In her humble opinion.

And--- Odette couldn't help it, she had to stifle back a (somewhat poorly) laugh as Noah commenced a complete stare-down duel with the man behind the bar. She thought for a moment about ordering another one for him, or simply passing him hers, but the thought quickly appalled her. She didn't need to do anything for him like that... but that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to distract him from this pathetic dominance struggle.

"Mmhmm," she finally responded, smoothly slipping off her seat to stand up. Odette brushed her dress of evenly without a hitch, and as if on a beat moved close to Noah to roughly grab the back of his neck. Pulling him to her, she forcefully pushed her mouth onto his. See, a solution to all their problems.

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supernoah
2009-02-20 07:26 am UTC (link)

This--he could deal with.

Drinks were forgotten as he immediately kissed her back. As hard as it was to be in a public place as Odette's personal entertainment (okay...that really wasn't a bad thing), Noah found it quite easy to kiss and snog her back. Even from the first encounter, he'd had no hesitations or reservations which was ridiculously strange to him in hindsight. He should've been terrified about how he performed in bed, but that came more than naturally, much more than sitting at a bar in a bloody vest and tie.

He supposed--that was a good thing, then. Calm and collected about sex was bound to lead you into more interesting situations.

Noah's arm wrapped around her waist, pressing into her back as his hand disappeared into the ends of her hair. Still sitting (ha-), he swiveled the chair to maneuver himself (and Odette, he supposed) with better ease. The thought that they were snogging in front of people hadn't crossed his mind until he heard the clanking of a glass on the bar beside him, and Noah grinned against Odette's lips; well, he'd gotten his drink.

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cockaigne
2009-02-20 10:28 pm UTC (link)

What--- or how, more specifically--- they were doing was hardly appropriate for being in public, no less a stuffy Prophet ball, and for that Odette became immensely pleased with Noah. Not that he honestly had any say in the matter, because for the most part concerning any aspect of her life whatever Odette got what Odette wanted. But it definitely made her feel satisfied which definitely helped him in the long run. Since he was so willing.

And she completely took back what she had said before about him being geekishly adorable and comfortable, that wasn't the thing that mattered (or kept her around)-- it was the great sex. Yes, there was no reason to try and make it sound less superficial, or with fancy words. Odette liked sex--- Noah was good at sex. You didn't need to be an Arithmancy genius find out that putting those two together worked well.

Of course, he could undo all of that in a second by reaching for that drink. But just to make sure-- she let go of him for a second, using her opposite hand to push up against the edge of the bar and up off the ground slightly, effectively placing herself between him and it. She was far too enjoying herself for him to go and ruin everything.

Odette kept one hand holding onto his neck, but eventually it began to wander... to his hairline, the back of his ears, his chest, feeling indifferently free to push onto him however she pleased. Maybe she should have stopped at that last drink-- ha, ha, too late now.

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OPEN!

catchthislove
2009-02-19 02:53 am UTC (link)

Greta had a love/hate relationship with giant social events like dances, and balls. Because the last time she had been to one, there was that small fact that she'd been public humiliated by her two-timing WWN-celebrity boyfriend.

But she had put that behind her! Really, she had.

But since she herself had been caught up in the catastrophe that had destroyed some of their offices, Greta really, really, had to be there. And, in a move fairly unusual for herself, had eschewed the usual escort of one of her family members with the hopes that there'd be someone there she could meet up with.

Taking another sip from her goblet of pumpkin juice, she adjusted her dress robes with a little bit of a sigh. Had she put on weight? Why was this not fitting as well as she remembered it fitting...

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Re: OPEN!

mrpopular
2009-02-23 05:16 am UTC (link)

Most of the reason why Ludo was at this ball was to see seen out and about. True, he had the Quidditch thing to help him and his popularity or whatever, but being at giant social events wouldn't hurt. The money was going to a good cause, and the fact that he'd donated a large sum of money to the war victims fund and for fixing the Prophet offices was probably for the better. And hey, it was a Prophet event. That meant that Prophet writers and Prophet interns would be there. Hellooooo, Greta.

"You look marvelous," Ludo said, approaching Greta from behind. The dress hung just right on her curves and--damn. Easy, boy. It wouldn't do Ludo much good to get ahead of himself with this one. She did have a boyfriend, after all. And playing the home wrecker was so 1979.

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catchthislove
2009-02-23 05:40 am UTC (link)

She turned around, startled, "Oh, do you really think so?" She smoothed the bottom half of it down and tried not to look nervous about it. "You don't think it's a bit much, or anything?"

Greta really didn't make a habit of wearing this sort of thing, she didn't, but sometimes, it was just nice to splurge, but--she should probably stop thinking these rambling thoughts and focus on the dapper boy who'd come up to her.

"I'm surprised to see you here! I thought you'd have far more scandalous and interesting things to attend to," she grinned. "I hope you have decided that it was a very wise choice."

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mrpopular
2009-02-23 05:50 am UTC (link)

I can make the evening scandalous and interesting if you'd like...

"Oh, a very wise choice, indeed. There aren't pretty birds around my flat, you know." He offered Greta a wink and a smirk. "And the dress is not a bit much. It's perfect." Merlin, she looked hot.

He cleared his throat, grabbing two drinks off of the tray of a waiter who was making his way through the crowd, offering one to Greta. "Besides, I'd like to think of myself as a philanthropist. Events like this give me a chance to give back to my community." He decided it would be better to leave out the descriptor adoring...didn't want to look too cocky, yeah?

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