WHO: Graeme Dorny & Joy Diserafino
WHAT: They still like each other, but she's also still pregnant.
WHEN: August '78
WHERE: A restaurant

His back leaned against the wall of the restaurant, tossing a coin from one hand to the other. He had to transfer some of his muggle cash into wizarding money, since that was the only source of income he got. The bronze knut collided with his palms as he tossed it back and forth, his hair falling foreward with the slight tilt of his head that was required for him to see what he was doing. His toungue clicked against his teeth, a sign that he was bored, and was just about to glance up to look for Joy when he saw she was standing there. Like, right there. Almost right next to him. He jumped, and dropped his coin, fumbling to catch it before it crashed with the floor. Oh dear God.

He straightened up and looked at her, raising a hand to rub his neck. "Bloody hell, you should wear a bell or something...can't just sneak up on people like that!" He laughed a little bit, and was trying really hard not to look at her stomach. Because it was quite large. Not that she was fat! No, no no no, that wasn't the case at all, but...she was pregnant.

Smirking, he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek to say hello. ( When te hell was the last time he kissed her on the cheek?! ) "Good to see you again, babe."

"Oh my gooosh, same here!" Joy chirped, kissing his cheek as he kissed hers and then pulling him into a short hug. It was still a bit awkward to hug people when there was, like, an enormous stomach in your way, but Joy liked to think that she had somewhat perfected the art by now.

"Let's go in, yeah?" she asked with a grin, positively glowing. Despite the fact that they had broken up, Joy had never stopped absolutely adoring Graeme; he was probably still one of her favorite people, even if they hadn't talked in forever. They walked into the small restaurant and were taken to their table, and she took a seat across from him. She was being kind of bouncy in her seat, but it was just because she was so excited to see him again... cause losing contact with friends was never cool, right!? "So, I want you to tell me everything. Fill me in on all the wonderful things I've missed out on in Graeme Dorny's life in this past year."

She was really just the same as he remembered her. Perky, upbeat, and just...happy. Well, that was when they weren't fighting over stupid shit, but still. Hugging her back ( which was weird, he couldn't even deny th-...DID IT JUST KICK HIM FROM IN THERE?! He had to stop imagining things. ), he pulled away and nodded at her suggestion that they head inside. "Sounds like a plan." He tried to keep his hand from going to the small of her back as they walked inside, and had to slip them both in his pockets just incase instincts kicked in.

When they sat down, his leg started moving almost immediatly. They hadn't even gotten thier menus yet, and she was already asking him about what he'd been up to the last year of his life. "Me? Well, I tavelled the world...wrote a novel...made an album, it was called "Singing with Dorny", wasn't very popular...made a million Galleons, and ended world hunger." He sat back in his seat, and folded his hands over his stomach in a very cocky way. "I've been very busy and important." When the menus finally came, he said thank you to the waitress, and then turned back to Joy, wondering how she would react.

Joy grinned from over the top of her menu, having to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing at him (she really did tend to have a loud laugh and it was kinda bad when you were in quiet restaurants). "Merlin's pants, Graeme, and I thought my life was interesting," she teased. "Yours sure does trump any of that."

She looked down at her menu again, deciding what she wanted... gosh, she'd been craving French food for like, forever and a day, except Finn didn't like to go out and unless it was just shopping for essentials (uh, yes, shoes and cute dresses were essentials too), she really didn't go out without him. Joy had gotten better with dealing with the papparazzi, but there was nothing like a big, scary Quidditch player screaming obscenities at them to get them to keep their distance. "So now really," she said, grin still on her face (she totally couldn't stop grinning!), still looking down at her menu, "I wanna know what's happened with you! Jobs, school, girls, friends... fill me in here."

"Yeah, well..." he shrugged as though he was trying to be modest, and flipped up his menu, looking at the items on the menu. He couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten French food. Do french fries count? Because, he had a lot of those. He had to get out of the diner more often...

"Oh, so you want to know the truth?" He asked this as though this was very unusual. "Well..okay, fine, if you really wanna know." He placed the menu back down and looked up, trying to think of what he could tell her. "Job? Well, it's the same job I've had since we were in our 4th year...only now, I've gone from being a bus boy to a waiter, which is quite the upgrade...uh, schools...let's see...I went to college for a year, but dropped out because I realized that my family really just...couldn't afford it. No girls are in the picture right now, and as for friends, I don't see much of them anymore because I'm always working." He reached out and took a sip of his water, looking a little less perky than he had before. "See, this is why I lie." He said, forcing himself to look amused with how pathetic his life was as he took a sip of water. Before she could pull the pity card, he placed it back down and leaned back. "So, what about you? Jobs, school, boys, friends...fill me in here."

Was it strange that Joy felt happy at the fact that Graeme said that there were no girls involved? It was selfish of her, and she kinda felt bad about it because her and Finn's talk really hadn't consisted of if it was okay to date, like, now--er, not that she wanted to jump ahead of things. For all she knew, Graeme couldn't care less about her that way anymore, it had been a year and they hadn't exactly been the most stable couple in all of Hogwarts.

"Oh please, you don't need to lie, my life is just as pathetic," she said with a wave of the hand. "After school I moved in with my sister, except I couldn't pay the rent half the time because I kept getting fired from my jobs--you don't even want to hear the list of all of them, it's like, novel-length--buuut Daddy was supporting me still, so it was good." Joy paused and sighed a little, her mood changing just a bit and she suddenly didn't want to look into his face. "Then I met Finn at a party, stuff happened--no, I know, that's not what the magazine said, but we were really trying for damage control, so--anyway, yeah... A month later I'm knocked up, Rosalie's kicking me out, Daddy's cutting me off, and I'm living with a Quidditch player."

She forced herself to smile now, even if it was to herself. "But things have gotten better. I'm working as Finn's PA--it's kinda part of the coverup--and we're getting along.... we really didn't at first. Really didn't. As for friends, though, I've always got Erin, but Finn's kinda become one of my best lately, and his brother Tibs is amazing too. And Tibs' wife Elena, and I still talk to some people from Hogwarts like Sebastian and Marlie and James and... yeah, but not too many of them, since, you know, everything and--I've got to be careful about who I do keep around me."

Just as pathetic? Oh, he doubted that, but he listened to what she had to say. He had no idea that things had been that bad for her. Then again, he should know not to believe everything he read in magazines. Half the time everything you read was just complete bullshit.

When she was finished, he couldn't help but continue to stare at her with those crystal blue eyes. Eventually, he shook his head and smirked before he took his menu and flipped it open again. "Well..it may be pathetic, but at least it's eventful." He said with a wink, letting her know he was just playing around. Graeme thought that being mopey and saying 'I'm sorry' or something equally as lame, was pointless. It didn't do anything, so why make the other person feel uncomfortable when you could just try and laugh about it? "So, you two are just...you know, friendly?" He said, as he casually flipped a page, trying to avoid eye contact as he 'read the items on the menu'. Okay, so maybe that was a little bit obvious, but he'd find a way to cover it up...

He hoped.

Her first instinct at his question was that there was something behind it, but... no, see, that was probably her imagination trying to trick her into thinking that something was there that wasn't. Bloody sodding--oi, because who in their right mind would still have feelings for a girl that got knocked up by another guy? Ugh, she had really done a good job of fucking up her life in the past six months--even if she didn't think of Cormac as a fuck-up, the whole thing was, truthfully, a big big stupid mistake on both hers and Finn's parts.

"Yeah, we're just friendly," she answered, looking down the the menu also to hopefully hide the thoughts running across her face. But he was looking down too, so she figured he wouldn't notice anyway. "I mean, there's been a lot of pressure to get married from... everyone, honestly, but... we've both decided that we're too explosive to dare try any sort of relationship that might jeopardize our friendship. We don't care about each other like that, and we figure this is best for Cormac, sooo..."

"Hm." He replied with an understanding nod, finally glancing up at her from his menu, even though he had to raise it up just a bit more to smirk when he found out that that she didn't have feelings for the giant...but it was quickly wiped from his features when he thought of what a jackass he was for being happy about that. I mean, there was a kid involved. This wasn't like she was dating the guy. No, she was definetly attached to him. Or, well, part of him was attached to her. Oy.

"You two sound like you've got it all figured out, yeah? Or well, it sounds like you guys have some sort of plan for him, and that's more than I can say for most people. Not that I know a lot of people who are in the same situation, but still. Normally people try to force something that doesn't work, and it just ends horribly." He dropped his menu and sighed, hoping that he could maybe try and change the topic of conversation. "So, I have no idea what to get."

Joy nodded, her smile becoming easily more genuine now. "We do have a plan, at least, something that we feel we can work out--although I wish more people could see that," she said. Like her father, he was still furious and... well, really, Joy doubted that he cared that she had a plan, or otherwise didn't believe that she was capable of having one. She didn't really blame him for the latter, but the former just frustrated her.

"Hm, I don't know either..." She looked down at her menu. "There's a lot of stuff that looks good, even though half of it I'm not supposed to have. Mmm... maybe the croque monsieur, or... no, I think I'll have that, actually. I can't remember the last time I ordered it anywhere, but I can't remember the last time I came to a French restaurant."

He tilted his head as he looked at the menu, as though this would help him decide. "I think the last time I came here was with you. I don't exactly have the most sophisticated palate, so I don't crave it as often as other people might." He smirked to himself and turned the page back for about the millionth time, trying to make up his mind. "What the hell is Tartiflette...?" He said, once again tilting his head. His pronunciation of the dish was probably horrible, but he didn't really care.

He was actually surprised how not awkward this felt. But, that didn't make him any less worried about that whole stupid vibe thing that Dorcas had told him about. Was there a vibe because it wasn't awkward? Or, was he just...comfortable? Why the hell did things have to be so confusing when it came to relationships?

The two of them placed thier orders, and were now sitting at the table, conversation flowing freely between the both of them. He told some stories about work, and she told him some things about what it was like to have your face in the paper every week. They both spent a good deal of the time laughing at the other's stupid jokes, and just having a good time. He was glad that there didn't seem to be any tension.

Poking at the little bit of food that remained on his plate, he leaned foreward and rested his arm on the table, looking down at it. "So..." He said, biting at the inside of his cheek as he poked more. "Am I still as entertaining as you remembered me to be?" He glanced up, giving her a grin.

Honestly, although Joy hadn't expected that things would be obscenely awkward between the two of them, she was amazed by the fact that it wasn't even the tiniest bit so. Maybe it had felt a little bit strange when they had been hugging and all that, but beyond that 'hello', it really hadn't been a big deal. It was like they might as well have been back at Hogwarts, sitting at a table in the Gryffindor common room late and night and catching up on their days. It was this thought that made Joy realize how much she missed that, missed Graeme's company--he just, he understood her when there were so many that didn't--and... Merlin, how stupid had she been to let him get away from her, even to just lose contact? Sleeping with Finn had been her first big mistake, but letting go of Graeme was a very close second.

"You are," she answered him with a soft smile, taking a drink of her soda--white soda, see, she was being very good with the no caffeine thing, even if it did tend to drive her a bit crazy. "But I'd be shocked if you ever lost that sense of humor. Am I still as ditzy and bubbly as you remember me to be?" Joy laughed and sat back in her chair, watching for him to answer with interest.

He twisted his mouth as though he was deep in thought and then leaned back in his seat, dropping his fork. "That's really not a fair question...because ditzy isn't exactly a compliment. So...I'll say this. You're just as bubbly as I remember, and just as..." he rolled his hand in the air, as he tried to think of the right word to describe her. When he finally thought of it, he snapped his fingers and pointed. "Mirthful. I think that's a good word to describe you." He rose the cup of iced tea he had ordered to his lips.

"And blonde." He grinned behind his cup and took a sip before placing the glass back down on the table. He glanced down at his watch while his arm was extended, just to see what time it was.

Had they really been talking for that long?

His glancing at his watch prompted Joy to do the same, and---holy crap, they really had been here a long time... after they had finished lunch, they must have talked for a whole hour and a half without even realizing it. Like earlier, the thought of how this was exactly like their late nights in the common room at Hogwarts popped into her head, and Joy was struck with a powerful instance of longing to get that back again.

Ugh, and then she remembered how she couldn't do that, how there was no way on earth that that was going to happen, and she had to fight to keep the frown off of her face. It wasn't Cormac's fault, it wasn't Finn's fault (well...it was partially Finn's fault); she had no one to be mad at but herself.

"Well, I do try," she said, trying to brush off the sudden sick feeling she had gotten at that last thought. "Anyway, I... well, I had better get going. Finn's going to be home soon from practice and I just can't stand to miss our nightly argument about who gets the last of the Cap'n Crunch for dinner." Joy stood up from her chair and pushed it in, moving to the other side to give Graeme another hug, a little longer than the first. "But it was great seeing you. I guess I'll see you at the concert, then?"

"Well, you're very good at it." He said, laughing a little bit with his words. Finishing off the rest of his drink, he rose to his feet as she did, pushing in hos own chair before stepping towards her to give her a hug. Now that he had gotten used to the whole baby bump, it wasn't as awkward as it was. He held her tight, but not too tight where he's squish her. Or the bump. ( Could you squish the bump? )

"Well, if that's what you need to get home to, don't let me hold you up."

Pulling back, he looked at her and after nodding, he hesitated a moment before he leaned foreward and gave her another kiss on the cheek...only this one was a little closer to her mouth than it had been before. Hopefully she wouldn't, notice. "See you then, princess."

Okay, that had totally just slipped out. He was just...he had just been holding her, and he could smell her hair and...fuck. Giving her a smile he turned to walk away, giving her a little salute as he exited the restaurant, his smile fading once he was out of sight.

Dorcas was going to kill him if he told her that there was a vibe. A very strong vibe. There was radiation.

Damn it. WHY WAS THE PREGNANT?!