Graeme Dorny (graeme_cracker) wrote in valesco,
@ 2011-05-29 20:41:00

Entry tags:

Liz
Graeme knew that things had been rough for Liz – and that was putting things lightly. He wished there was more he could do for her, and tried to be there for her whenever she needed him, even if she didn’t say it. After being best friends with her for all these years, he knew when she couldn’t handle things on her own, and when she needed a shoulder to lean on.

This time, however, he had gotten specific instructions to come over and retrieve the gifts she had bought for his son, Jackson – God, that kid was his entire world. After talking to Liz, he always felt compelled to kiss Giada, and tell his wife and his son how much he loved them – the thought of something like what happened to Liz ever happening to him was terrifying, and it broke his heart, which just made him feel even more sorry for his friend.

But he hated feeling sorry for her, because he knew she didn’t want him, or anyone else to. He always tried to act like things were okay, around Liz – try and get her back into the swing of things, since, well…she didn’t have many other people left, and he loved Liz too much to let her go through all of this on her own. So, he told Giada that he would be gone – for how long, he wasn’t sure – and that if she needed to contact him, where he would be. Another set of kisses to his wife’s lips and his son’s forehead, and he was off on his way.

Arriving at her place, he lifted a hand to curl his fist into a ball and rap his knuckles against the door. Stepping back, he hooked his thumbs into his pockets and waited for the petite blonde to open the door.

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ringmybell
2011-05-30 01:20 am UTC (link)

She really wondered some times if there were people out there who could have possibly gone something remotely close to what Liz had endured these past few (more than few, now) months. Her husband had been completely wiped from her mind, she didn't remember having a daughter whom she carried for nine months and gave birth to, and when she was reunited with the wizarding world, her best friends had been murdered by the darkest wizard ever to walk the planet.

Who moves on from that?

Her one night stand with Rian had been completely out of character (or was it? She was still trying to figure out what kind of 'character' she was), and she thought that they'd leave it at that, but he'd started talking to her again, and they had gone on for a bit in a nice conversation at the ice cream parlor so...she wasn't good at this. Hence the freak out to Graeme, the one person that her kidnapper hadn't forced out of her mind.

Normally the door would be flung open and Liz would've jumped into Graeme's arms and cried, cried, cried, but paranoia had gotten the best of her and she had to check through the peephole who exactly was standing outside her door. She pulled open the muggle locks and opened the door, frowning at Graeme with a big pout and sagged, sad shoulders.

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graeme_cracker
2011-05-30 02:23 am UTC (link)

He had started to rock back and forth on his heels, staring down at the ‘Welcome’ mat beneath his feet. For some reason, the sight of it made him a little sad, mainly because he imagined Liz throwing it down in front of her door in an attempt to make herself seem normal. He let out a nasal sigh, his hair actually draped across his forehead, much like he had when he was back in Hogwarts – shorter, yes, but he hadn’t bothered doing anything with it, since he had taken a shower just a short while before he had started talking with Liz through the journals, and didn’t waste the time after that to style before apparating to her new place.

Looking up when the door finally opened, his eyes met with the sparkling blues of his best friend, giving her a small, commiserative smile as he looked down at her slumped posture.

“You look terrible, Fortescue.”

He said, with all the love in his heart, his impish smile broadening to let her know he was just trying to get her to scowl at him, and maybe punch him in the arm like she used to. Really, if Graeme was insulting you to your face, he considered you a friend.

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ringmybell
2011-05-30 04:07 pm UTC (link)

"Thanks," she said with a short laugh, pushing the door open to let Graeme in. Liz was really glad he was here, but now that he was, her issues didn't really feel as easy to talk about as they did during the journals. She'd sort of already accepted the lunch....meeting with Rian (whose name she had just realized was just one letter different than Ian, and it was probably fate's way of messing with her---). She'd warded her acceptance because what if Ian was reading her posts? He hadn't commented, something that she had sort of been looking forward to, but---

Liz backed into the flat after she shut the door and shuffled her feet as she followed behind him. What was there to say? She was feeling tremendous amounts of guilt and that was stopping her from maybe actually moving on with her life? But was she actually allowed to move on, or had she given up on reconciling with Ian too soon? She hadn't given up persay, she still wanted to be friends, she was trying to be a part of Katie's life but his schedule was always so busy and Katie seemed to sense that Liz had no idea what to do with her and shies away.

"So, remind me again why I'm not supposed to feel like a terrible no-good person?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and trying to smile even though her voice had cracked during her little quip.

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graeme_cracker
2011-05-31 10:33 pm UTC (link)

Graeme stepped forward to make his way a little further inside, turning around to face her when he heard that her shuffling had come to an end, and was no longer following behind him. He looked down at her, knowing that look in her eyes – that broken, sad look that made his heart break into a million pieces each and every time he saw it. And he saw it far too often – she was miserable way too often, and it made him ache, knowing that there wasn’t much more he could do for her but just…be there.

After she asked her question, Graeme stepped closer to her, letting out a breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding as both of his hands went to the side of her face.

“Because you’re not a terrible no-good person….and don’t let anyone tell you differently.” He pushed her hair behind her ears, hoping that his words were getting through to her – he had a feeling that it was going to take much more than that, for her to truly believe his words, but he would keep telling her the same thing every single day, for as long as he needed to. He didn’t care if she got so sick and tired of hearing it that she told him to shut up each time, he’d keep saying it.

“You’re a good person, Elizabeth Fortescue….most of the time.”

He gave her a sad smile, hoping that she would know that he was just kidding - it was his coping method, to make stupid jokes and use sarcasm as a way of keeping things from getting too heavy. He knew when to be serious when he needed to be, but she remembered him – she knew him. Even after everything, she knew him, and how he handled these sorts of situations, so if he hadn’t said something like that, it would have probably sent off alarms that something was wrong.

But really…what wasn’t wrong with her situation?

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ringmybell
2011-06-02 02:16 am UTC (link)

She didn't know how Graeme Dorny could be so silly and ridiculous one minute, and then speak such absolutely amazing words of wisdom the next. Maybe he was some sort of genius, and maybe that's why they'd been friends for so long. Liz had wondered why her kidnappers hadn't forced all of her memories away, there were so many things she missed about Lily like---her wedding, both of their weddings were just blurs of crowds, the most recent memory she had of Lily was from seventh year, when she told her about Evan---

But Graeme was crystal clear. Maybe her kidnapper had not know about her relationship with Graeme Dorny, how that he was the person she turned to when she knew Lily wouldn't appreciate the joke, or when she had to vent about Lily and other things. Graeme always got her jokes, he matched her sense of humor perfectly, and it was that Liz that she was aiming to be. The one that was best mates with Graeme Dorny and kept him laughing and happy.

She let out a breath as he cupped her face, touching her in way she hadn't been touched in a while. When she'd gone back to Ian's it had been worried, concerned bits of affection. Her night with Rian had been drunken and intense, so feeling like Graeme truly cared and loved her sent such a warm and beautiful feeling through her. Liz felt herself choke up and nod, understanding that he was right, but it was just so hard to believe, but it was Graeme and she had to believe him!

"Thank you, I--thank you, thank you---" Liz let out a shaky breath and before she knew what she was doing she pushed forward and kissed him hard, her hands clutching onto his shirt. Graeme was the only person in her life that she truly loved--

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graeme_cracker
2011-06-02 03:15 am UTC (link)

Her repeated words of gratitude made his chest ache a little more, if only because of how much he realized she truly needed to hear those words from someone who meant them – and even as he hands clutched at his shirt and she drew closer to him, he remained still, stunned by the sudden, unexpected kiss she had just pressed to his lips. His eyes closed before he dropped his hands down to take hold of hers, still clutched into the fabric of his shirt – the kiss was not returned, since he knew to kiss Liz in such a way would have been inappropriate. Instead, he pulled back in order to instead kiss the corner of her mouth, more near her cheek – it was innocent, and sweet.

Their relationship, for most of their lives, had been strictly platonic, save for the short time they tried their hand at dating. He just couldn’t feel right about kissing another woman while he was so happily married, even if he wouldn’t have ever considered it ‘cheating’ because of who it was with. Then again, that mindset was what encouraged him not too – whether or not Giada thought she hid it well or not, he knew there was always a twinge of jealousy when it came to his relationship with Elizabeth.

He loved the two women in entirely different ways, but both with all of his heart.

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