don't stop me now [devyn]

[Devyn Oberlin]

“I’m asking nicely right now. Let’s see you make it happen,” she retorted challengingly, “And I’m not going to grovel, because first of all, no, and secondly, you have Aidan for that.”

She shrugged again, making a face at him. “Trust me, I know I was, so don’t worry about my self-esteem at all. It’s your ego that’s at stake here,” she teased, consciously ignoring that this had the potential to get fairly awkward quicker than she could save the situation, but it was too late to change the subject now. His answer was vague, and though she wanted something more specific, she didn’t know exactly how she’d react to it, especially if he gave her names. “A few,” she echoed purposely in response, “It’s whatever.” If he wanted her to elaborate, she was determined to have him do the same.

“Oh, I forgot about the shots,” she waved it off as if it was no big deal, but grinned at him when he ordered himself a Firewhiskey and a round of shots for them. She took another sip of her drink, a part of her wanting to disagree with him on principle, but a part of her just content with going along with what he said for once. “I never thought I’d say these words, but… you’re right. I can’t see you being Head Boy unless they get seriously high.” She was somewhat aware that she was contradicting herself at this point, but couldn’t bother with keeping all her statements consistent. “How are we going to be seventh-years, though?” she added thoughtfully, feeling slightly nostalgic, “I don’t know what happened. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that we were in, like, fourth-year.”

[Louis Weasley]

"That's not asking nicely, that's giving orders," Louis objected. "But fine, I will. Not here though, because that would be called stealing and we'd probably get kicked out if I Accioed a bunch of stuff from the kitchen.

He raised his eyebrows at her confidence. "Oh really? Who says? Maybe I just had low standards back then." He grinned at her, ignoring the fact that he had in fact said himself that she was a good kisser a few moments ago. "Never forget about the shots," he told her reproachfully, nevertheless eyeing her sideways as she refused to tell him how many people she had kissed. Of course, he hadn't told her either, but that was different. He was pretty sure that she was simply refusing because he had asked, rather than because she felt awkward about it.

He took a long drink of his own firewhisky, because in all honesty this conversation was making him slightly nervous, and the feeling of the alcohol going to his head helped. "Yeah," he agreed. "I mean... yeah. But they have to pick someone," he pointed out vaguely, not meaning this to suggest that he expected it to be him, merely commenting on the ridiculousness of anyone in their year being given such a responsibility.

"I know, right!" he agreed, shaking his head. "Like... we're actually going to be doing NEWTs... finishing school. Fourth year was three years ago... well, since the start of it. Two years since the end. I miss those days." He shook his head again. "Though we couldn't drink without sneaking round back then. That's one improvement."

[Devyn Oberlin]

“What exactly is your idea of asking nicely?” she inquired, throwing him a highly skeptical look across the table, “And whatever. Next time, though, for sure. I’ll remember this and won’t let you forget it.” This was true, as she’d drank enough so far that she was starting to feel more tipsy than she’d thought she was, but wasn’t nearly at the saying things she wouldn’t be able to recall later stage. If she had a couple more drinks and shots, though, it might be another story entirely.

“Low standards,” she echoed dubiously, scoffing, “Wow. That might be one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. And trust me, I’ve heard a fair share of ridiculous things over the years, because I’m friends with you, for one,” she continued, as if this was very important information to his understanding of her half-amusement and half-displeasure. His comment did not bother her in the slightest, because she knew he was joking, and yet she still didn’t laugh, glancing thoughtfully at him as she purposely switched back to what they’d been discussing moments earlier.

“No, but seriously, who have you snogged? Let’s not change the topic now. I promise I won’t judge,” she lied, since she inevitably would end up being judgmental but would try not to let it show, especially if that was the real barrier between him telling her versus not telling her. She realized that it was probably more than that, because they both knew that their history could make a conversation like this awkward, but she decided to disregard this annoying part of her brain, choosing instead to make him an offer that her buzzed mind thought was very reasonable. “If you tell me, I’ll buy this round of shots. And yeah, but let’s not talk about NEWTs, please. I’m really not in the mood to be stressed right now.”

[Louis Weasley]

"Well, asking nicely usually involves the word 'please'," Louis told her with a roll of his eyes, though he wasn't particularly expecting or wanting a please. "And that's fine - I just told you I would. It's easier when we're at school though," he added. "You can nick stuff from the kitchens without getting arrested."

He grinned at her reaction. "I'm glad you've got such a good opinion of my standards," he told her. "And of your own kissing skills, of course." This was still an awkward topic, if he stopped to think about it, but now they'd broached it, it didn't seem quite so embarrassing to talk about it. In fact, it was almost a relief not to be carefully pretending it had never happened - Louis had good memories of the summer they'd spent together, and would rather remember them without having to feel awkward about it. Not that he'd quite reached that stage yet, but talking about it was probably better than not talking about it.

"What d'you want, a list?" He shifted uncomfortably. "I don't even know - I was drunk half the time, and they were just random snogs." The only ones that hadn't just been random drunken snogs with people he barely knew - or didn't know at all - were the ones he didn't want to tell her about. The fact that he'd kissed Abby Longbottom while she'd been going out with Lucy still made him feel slightly guilty, and the thing with Chris... well, that had gone slightly beyond kissing, but Chris was one of his best friends, and Louis wasn't sure he'd want it spread around. "Why d'you want to know so much anyway?" he demanded, somewhat hypocritically, since he was dying to ask her the same questions.

[Devyn Oberlin]

“I don’t have time for that,” Devyn replied flippantly, and then, making a face at him, went on, “Oh, no, it’s more about me most certainly not fitting into the category of low standards than about you having higher ones. And I know I’m a good kisser, trust me. So do you. You’d probably still kiss me if you had the chance,” she added, taking another sip of her drink to avoid thinking about what she’d just said in detail, as it was one of those things that while tipsy, she thought was fine, but a part of her mind still knew that it probably wasn’t best point to make.

Hoping she hadn’t made the conversation too awkward - she realized, though, that it would only be awkward if he reacted awkwardly, because her tone of voice had clearly been teasing - she rolled her eyes. “No, I don’t want a list,” she replied, as if he was being completely idiotic about the entire thing, “An idea would be nice. But yeah, okay, drunk random snogs works. Those are the best,” she continued nonchalantly, “Because then you don’t really have to think about them later, since they didn’t mean anything.” Tilting her head to the side, she considered his question for a moment. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m just curious. You can ask me, if you want,” she shrugged, “But I can’t promise you’ll like anything I end up saying.”

[Louis Weasley]

"Well, maybe I don't have time to get you free food," Louis retorted. "And I don't know what you're trying to prove," he added with a grin. "If we're both good kissers, then neither of us has to have low standards..." Having started off confidently, his voice trailed off at her final words and he stared at her, trying to work out what exactly was the appropriate answer to that. If he'd been sober, he'd have been quick to deny it - probably. Would he want to kiss her again? He didn't even know. Well, no, he supposed he did know - the fact that he found her very attractive hadn't changed, and Louis liked kissing attractive people. But everything else had changed, and whether he actually would kiss her was not the same as whether he'd want to.

Deciding to blag his way through it (though his pause had probably been slightly too long for that to be very convincing), he shrugged expressively. "Well, you know. If I was drunk enough, maybe. Would I ever get the chance?" he added curiously, before he could help himself.

"Good," he went on hurriedly. "Because you're not getting one." He glanced sideways at her. "Is that what yours were too then? And why wouldn't I like it?" he added. "You can snog who you like, it's not exactly my business." Which was true, and he knew it, although he also knew that his own feelings weren't quite as straightforward as that implied. He didn't fancy her any more, but he wasn't sure the remnants of those feelings would ever completely go away.

[Devyn Oberlin]

“Yeah right. You would make time,” Devyn told him pointedly, and then, simply because she couldn’t resist, added, “Well, whatever. I’m a better kisser than you are.” She clearly had no logic to elaborate on this with, but trying to one up him came as a habit to her, which only became worse when she wasn’t entirely sober. She took another sip of her drink as she watched him patiently, not missing the long pause between her statement and his response.

“If you were drunk enough?” she scoffed, disbelieving as she set her drink down, “Come on, that’s not completely true and you know it. But if you say so - are you drunk enough right now?” The second half of her remark slipped out before she could think it through, but she didn’t find herself regretting it, instead regarding him carefully so she could catch his immediate reaction on the matter. “If I was drunk enough, maybe,” she mimicked his words, shrugging right back at him in response to his question. In all honesty, she probably would kiss him if she got the chance, because she truly believed that it didn’t have to be a big deal despite their history, but this obviously wasn’t something she was going to admit. Yet.

“I could get it out of you if I really wanted to and actually tried,” she told him, not wanting him to think that her giving up so easily at the moment was a sign of defeat, “So don’t consider yourself completely safe yet.” Before she could reply to his question about why he wouldn’t like it - fuck, why had she even brought this up? - the barman finally arrived with their round of shots, which was a welcome distraction. Disregarding her other drink, which she still hadn’t finished, she immediately threw back one of the shots that was on the tray, wincing only slightly as she shifted her gaze back to Louis.

“I mean,” she began, her attempt to choose her words carefully not going as well as she’d hoped with all the alcohol she’d been consuming, “There was a thing for a little while. With Sebastian. It’s over now, though. But I just - I didn’t tell you earlier because I didn’t want you to think it was something. Because it wasn’t anything, really.” She purposely left out any detail of her not telling him because she didn’t want him to be upset about it, because she still had the sense to know that that might not be the best idea. She didn’t want him to think that she believed he was over sensitive, even though she genuinely did care about his feelings and hadn’t wanted to upset him.

[Louis Weasley]

"I seriously doubt that." Louis shook his head at her. "Though unless we've managed to snog the same person somewhere along the line, we're not going to prove it, are we? And yes," he went on emphatically, taking another drink, "if i was drunk enough. That's what I said." He grinned, suddenly finding the whole conversation funny, which was a sign that the alcohol was significantly affecting him.

"I dunno, are you?" he answered casually, suddenly wondering what she'd have done if he'd just said yes. Probably laughed at him and refused, because it was Devyn, but he almost wanted to try it and see. He was drunk enough that just about anything seemed like a good idea really.

"If you say so," he answered irritatingly, although in truth she probably could, especially if he had a few more drinks. He wasn't actually expecting her to tell him any more about who she'd snogged than he'd told her, and was just reaching for a shot glass himself and about to reproach her for not waiting for him, when the name landed on his ears and for a moment he froze, his hand half way to the tray. Sebastian. Sebastian Nott. Well, it wasn't like he was surprised. He'd suspected it all along, after all, he reminded himself. Suspected it and got over it. Like he'd just said, she could snog who she wanted, and if she chose a complete dick, well that was her problem, wasn't it? He tried to take in what she was saying - something about it being over and not being anything. He shrugged, with slightly overdone nonchalance.

"Well, that's cool. I mean, I'm not going to pretend I like the guy, I think he's a wanker. But y'know, you're the one who had to snog him, not me." He was rambling slightly in his attempt to find words that weren't a complete overreaction, so he stopped himself by following her example and downing a shot. Then he made an effort and grinned at her. "Was it just snogging or what? I mean, what's a thing?" His words were sounding decidedly slurred now, as the shot went to his head. It occurred to him to wonder uneasily, just for a moment, whether he'd really been as paranoid as she'd told him he was when he'd been worried about her spending time with Nott, back when they'd been going out. No, he couldn't ask her that, that was ridiculous. He knew she hadn't been cheating on him - she was his friend first and foremost and he trusted her.

In an attempt to dispel that stupid thought, he turned round to face her properly.

"So what if I said," he announced with the air of a challenge, "that now I'm drunk enough?"

[Devyn Oberlin]

“Let’s not go there,” Devyn said in response to them having snogged the same person, even though they’d been discussing people they’d snogged only a few moments prior. She raised an eyebrow at him, which was probably not all that effective considering her present level of sobriety, but it was impossible for her not to react to him grinning at her like that. “What - what’s so funny?” she demanded, since the idea that he found something she’d said or done humorous seemed utterly ridiculous, and if it hadn’t been her, then she wanted in on the joke.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m pretty drunk,” she told him agreeably, as if she was stating a simple fact rather than insinuating that she would still kiss him. She shrugged for good measure, attempting to be as casual as possible about it, but she supposed they had stepped over that line already.

She was drunk enough to have told him about Sebastian in the first place, albeit vaguely, but she wasn’t so drunk that she missed his reaction to it, subtle as it was - his hand freezing momentarily as he reached for a shot, which just made her want to drink another and somehow talk her way out of this conversation, but it was too late for that. Unable to take his nonchalance the least bit seriously, she sighed dramatically, throwing him a critical look as he went on about what a wanker Nott was.

“Can you not?” she pleaded, now reaching for another shot glass and continuing only after she’d downed its contents, “I don’t need to hear this from you. He’s a dick. I know it, everyone knows it, so let’s just move on with our lives. There’s no use talking about it now. Or ever.” She paused, eyeing him suspiciously, and was on the verge of asking if he really didn’t care when his next words made her cringe. “Yeah, it was just snogging. That’s what I meant by thing, okay, what else would it have been?” she answered with the slightest hint of annoyance. She almost regretted bringing it up to begin with, not even because of Louis’s reaction, but because it meant she actually had to think about Sebastian Nott and that was a road she’d promised herself not to travel on.

It took her a moment to register Louis’s question, partly because it had nothing to do with Sebastian and partly because of his challenging tone, but when she did, she was overly glad for the distraction. Of course that had nothing to do with how they’d been joking about kissing each other again. Definitely not. “Oh, really?” she responded, abandoning her previous casualness and opting for confidence, “I’d say you’ve been drunk enough for a while, and that you could kiss me if you want to. Which you obviously want to.”

[Louis Weasley]

"Your face," Louis replied promptly, since he'd more or less forgotten what he'd suddenly found amusing, but that seemed like an appropriate response whatever the actual answer to her question had been. He eyed her thoughtfully, however, at her reply, as he wasn't sure how she expected him to take it. Was she serious, or was she screwing with him? The second option seemed likelier. But although it had started as a joke, with no actual intention on his part of following through with it, he couldn't stop his brain from imagining snogging her now, and his eyes moved down to her lips for a moment, before he made himself focus on her eyes again.

"Okay, okay." He held his hands in a surrender position. After the first moment, it didn't really bother him any more than hearing she'd snogged anyone else. "I'm not judging you," he went on, the alcohol removing any kind of filter between his brain and his mouth. "I mean, he's a dick, but he's a pretty good-looking one. Unless you liked him as well as snogging him." He looked calculatingly at her. "Then I might judge you a bit." The thought that she might have seriously fancied Nott bothered him considerably more than the thought that she'd snogged him, but he shoved the feeling away. He was cool about this. Completely.

He felt his heart speed up at her answer, which at least answered his question about whether she was serious or not. You could kiss me if you want to. He didn't bother denying her final assertion, because it was true. And they were sitting close enough that it would be easy. He still hesitated though. It had been nearly two years since he'd kissed her, and a lot less time than that since the thought of kissing her had stopped hurting. He swallowed, his eyes on her face as he leaned slightly closer to her. "Seriously?" he asked her. "I mean... d'you want to kiss me?