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Post by Thorfinn Rowle on Nov 11, 2013 19:26:10 GMT
Thorfinn stood awkwardly in front of the small cafe that he'd stumbled upon during a quick trip into Diagon Alley. He hadn't actually had any real errands to run - in fact, he was simply timing it so that he could avoid Broderick as well as possible. Knowing that the Unspeakable would be arriving home from work at any given time, he left the house & tried to busy himself in town. He hadn't spoken to Broderick at all since coming home to find Charlotte scrambling for her clothes & trying to get out before either of them could process what was happening. Part of him wanted to just throw down & call the other man out on everything, but he was still living under his roof & didn't want to get himself thrown out without anywhere to go. Instead, he was passive & cold about the entire thing, simply ignoring Broderick at every possible turn, constantly planning to be out while Broderick was home, and only home when he was out. When Thorfinn arrived late at night, he'd head wordlessly to his own room & lock the door behind himself. He couldn't fight his landlord, but he certainly didn't need to be his friend.
Now, as he stood outside of the small, brightly lit cafe that seemed like the perfect place to get a bite to eat, Thorfinn was faced with another problem altogether. Ashley.
When he had first come home that afternoon, he considered, drunk off of his own rage, heading straight to Ashley's. Vengeance was in his nature, after all, and he liked Ashley. She was pretty, and charming, sweet in a way that made his insides churn nervously, as if he were going to burst into flames due to his own wickedness just from being too close to her. Beyond all of that, she liked him. More than just that, she had a sort of dark draw toward him that made him feel like the most powerful puppeteer on Earth. She was upset about her crumbling engagement, ending as quickly as it had began, and definitely needed a shoulder to cry on. On top of that, taking her into his arms would be more than enough 'vengeance' when it came to stabbing Broderick in the back.
However, he had realized how easily that plan could backfire, now that he'd calmed down. Plus, time itself was cruel enough to have changed the possible outcome of that little venture. If he'd gone to her immediately, before she knew anything about Charlotte and Broderick, he could have had her all to himself - but now, being best friends with both of the involved parties, it was likely she'd heard about what had happened by now. This was what lead him to his current situation - deciding whether the cafe was worth talking to Ashley. After all, she was settled comfortably in one of the nearest tables, a small stack of likely brand new books beside her on the table.
Thorfinn nearly jumped out of his skin when Ashley happened to glance up in his direction. Whoops. How long had he been standing there?
His stomach growled in protest as he thought of walking away - he'd been avoiding the kitchen at Broderick's. After all, the other man seemed to realize that the best way to catch the death eater off guard was to wait in the kitchen for him - his favourite room of the house. He jingled the coins in his pockets nervously before sighing & deciding to bite the proverbial leather & head inside of the cafe, moving up to the counter.
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Post by Ashley Godfrey on Nov 11, 2013 20:35:07 GMT
It had been months since Ashley had an actual conversation with Thorfinn or seen him really it was obvious why he was avoiding Broderick, of course she had heard about Charlotte and Broderick's encounter from both parties, She knew Thorfinn was hurt and sympathized with him but with Charlotte and Broderick so upset over their own confusion she didn't have much of anyone to talk to about how she was hurting, When Soleus told Ashley that he was ending their engagement she didn't know that meant that he was going to take off on some mission and she wouldn't see him again. Ashley understood why Soleus wanted to call off the wedding but he was still her friend and as someone who didn't have many the few she did have made it that much harder to be away from. As she sat down at the small cafe table with her book in hand her blonde hair flowing out of the white hat placed on her head for warmth from the cool brisk winter air she glanced up from the book she read when she flipped her page, Her eyes locked on The tall dark haired man stationed outside the cafe, a small but inviting smile curved onto her lips as she widened her eyes hopefully biting on her lower lip as she noticed him approach the cafe, only to have her stomach sink again as he approached the counter and did not acknowledge her.
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Post by Thorfinn Rowle on Nov 11, 2013 21:48:27 GMT
Thorfinn tugged his hand from his pocket & eyed the coins for a moment before handing a few over for a hot mug of coffee & one of the sandwiches that sat on a plate in the small display cabinet. After charming it to make it fresh and new, they handed it over to him & he glanced over at Ashley once more. He put the sandwich in his mouth to carry it while one hand held his coffee, the other grabbing the Prophet from a stand next to the counter, then headed over to her table & made an undistinguishable noise around the food in his mouth, nodding at the empty chair across from himself with his eyebrows raised. When she didn't answer immediately he nudged the chair out with his foot & sat down on the edge of it, setting the coffee and paper down carefully, reaching up to take the sandwich from his mouth to address her properly.
"Ashley."
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Post by Ashley Godfrey on Nov 11, 2013 21:56:18 GMT
Ashley watched Thorfinn as he ordered and approached her table the smile growing on her face when he actually sat down across from her "Hello Thorfinn" she spoke softly her eyes wide and hopeful as she played with a piece of her hair "how are you?" she asked softly.
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Post by Thorfinn Rowle on Nov 11, 2013 22:03:35 GMT
He gave her a sort of sarcastic amused look. Nothing cruel, but certainly humorless. "Oh, peachy." he already knew how she was, & didn't bother to return the question - not wanting to walk down that road & upset her. Instead, he questioned something else. "You've been shopping, apparently." he glanced at her books curiously & then turned his gaze back on her, instead. Part of him was relaxing immediately into her company, the way he always felt that he wanted to when she was around, but the other part of him just saw Broderick & Charlotte looking back at him when he looked at her. Tearing his gaze from the blonde in front of him, he cleared his throat & sipped his coffee as distraction as he waited for her answer.
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Post by Ashley Godfrey on Nov 11, 2013 22:11:26 GMT
Ashley picking up on his sarcasm frowned and blushed at her own question "I'm sorry, that was a stupid question" she looked up at him guiltily then cleared her throat softly, "I-I was shopping yes...I just finished working a shift at the book store and there were a few new arrivals I have been waiting for so..." she trailed off as she spoke her eyes falling on Thorfinn's as she noticed he wouldn't look at hers "may I say something?" she asked softly.
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Post by Thorfinn Rowle on Nov 11, 2013 22:15:22 GMT
He considered, before allowing it.
"Shoot, I'm listening." he promised, sipping his coffee again.
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Post by Ashley Godfrey on Nov 11, 2013 22:25:20 GMT
"I know you are mad at Broderick and the anger that you feel is certainly justified I am not going to tell you how to feel because I can't and it is your choice but I do want to just explain something to you as an outsider from this whole thing...someone who.." she paused and blushed faintly as she spoke but didn't tear her gaze from his "as someone who cares for all 3 of you, You and Charlotte were together for 2 years but...how long were you gone, you up and left her I know it was because you had to and that isn't your fault but you did, and all that was left of Charlotte was someone anger and cynical and a shell of a person, Broderick has been in love with Charlotte long before you were, that doesn't mean he loves her more than you did but he /does/ love her, and he hasn't stopped, he was there when you weren't he pulled her back from something that even I couldn't it was hard for both of us to see her that way, when you Broke up with Charlotte she nearly spiraled back again but she didn't because she had B, he doesn't just love her he is her bestfriend. He never wanted to betray you Thorfinn and deep down I think you know that just like when you knew how Broderick felt and went for Charlotte he accepted that he missed his window and it wasn't fair for him to keep her from being happy" She looked away and shrugged "thats all I will say about it, I just I don't like seeing 3 people who mean so much to me so distraught" Ashley fell silent at that and let her hair fall over her face.
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Post by Thorfinn Rowle on Nov 11, 2013 22:31:16 GMT
He already knew everything she was saying was right, he'd thought about it a lot in his own alone time, but she was also right that he still felt betrayed. On top of it all, he mostly felt helpless.
"Distraught isn't the right word." he told her somewhat bitterly, though it was obvious by the way that he was opening up to her that his bitterness wasn't directed at her. "I think they're pretty pleased with themselves, to be honest."
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Post by Ashley Godfrey on Nov 11, 2013 22:36:21 GMT
Ashley frowned and gave him a almost scolding look at his reply and cocked an eyebrow "you know what I meant" she nodded in agreement "you are right you know I just think it gets to a certain point when you have to make that choice....you could stay angry at both of them and never speak to them again, find another place to live and just vanish from their lives and if that is what you want then you should do it, or you could try and move on from the hurt it's not going to go away in a day not even in a week but if keeping Broderick and Charlotte in your life is something you want then maybe you could try talking to him he might be happy he finally told Charlotte but I've also caught him staring at your door with wide helpless eyes on more than one occasion."
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Post by Thorfinn Rowle on Nov 11, 2013 22:44:47 GMT
"Why am I the bad guy, here, again?" he said, his tone a little more stern, now. "Look, I get the whole unrequited love spiel. Very romantic, epic love spanning years, whatever." he felt like he was being backed into a corner. "All I've done here is come home to find my apparent best friend and ex together. So I have avoided talking to him for a while, big goddamn deal." he shoved a piece of crust angrily back & forth on his napkin, totally 100% pouting now. "I didn't do anything. I don't want to sit down & tell him how I really feel because I'll probably be homeless for it. I hope they're very fucking happy together."
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Post by Ashley Godfrey on Nov 11, 2013 22:47:55 GMT
"you are not the bad guy" Ashley widened her eyes and looked at him sheepishly "I'm sorry I wasn't trying to make you out to be the bad guy you /aren't/ I-I'm sorry" she looked down at the ground fiddling with her fingers "I just miss you guys" she admitted softly her lower lip wobbling threateningly for a moment, she let her hair fall back over her face "nevermind forget I said anything"
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Post by Thorfinn Rowle on Nov 11, 2013 22:55:23 GMT
"We're still friends." he reminded her, pausing, "Even if I've been sort of MIA this last little bit." he hesitated, then reached over & took her hand carefully across the table.
He sighed heavily, setting the mug down with his free hand. "I just - I'm thinking maybe I should get on the next trip to South Africa. They're still looking for volunteers & maybe a week or two away can help clear my head a bit."
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Post by Ashley Godfrey on Nov 11, 2013 22:57:30 GMT
Ashley smiled weakly and looked up at Thorfinn sadly, the idea of him going away when she hadn't seen him and Soleus already being gone almost made her burst into tears then and there her lower lip beginning to wobble again but being forced back "if you think you should, then go" she forced an encouraging smile then looked down at their hands her fingers fiddling with his.
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Post by Thorfinn Rowle on Nov 11, 2013 23:04:01 GMT
He lowered his other hand so that his both cradled her own.
"Ashley. What's wrong?" he dipped his head, trying to properly catch her eye.
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