Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
_{A good, good life}

Clay would admit openly that he did not know much about this place, he was going there merely on the suggestion of Attia, but he had a good feeling about this. He had a feeling that this was going to be a good thing and he really had to hope that he was right. He had a date, an actual date. A real one for the first time in a very long time and he was nervous. The woman was a beauty and he had been struck by her since the very first time that he had seen her but it had taken more than a few times for him to get the guts to ask her out. She was so much more lovely than he thought that someone like him deserved and in truth, he was probably out of his league but the Scot was not going to knock that he had been able to convince her to go out with him.

His uncle would have given him a flask, a smile and slipped condoms and a potion in his pocket like the naughty fool that he was and as he got dressed he could not help but think about how much he was starting to look like the elder man. He was a strong and stubborn old fool who had given his family his all and in the end, it had been what had taken him from them but he could see it in the lines around his eyes, and the way his smile reached his eyes. He was after all his father's son, and they had been twins, but Clay knew that there was something about the other man that had called to him. He wished more than anything in the world that his uncle was still around, for Attia's sake if not his own. The family had not been the same since he was gone, but it seemed that pain of his loss was generally fading.

His mother had wished him well and helped him to pick a suit out. Of course, what had started as 'try this one on', had turned into a full out fashion show when Attia had shown up and they all started having a blast, but they had cut into the time that it took him to get ready. He had been forced to rush out of the house before he wanted to. Now he was sitting at the bar waiting for her to come and join him before they were seated at a table. He had no idea what to expect but he had a rum and coke but nothing too strong, just enough to help him take the edge off. He didn't need to be so nervous and yet he was.

He was finishing off his drink when he looked up and he noticed the blonde coming in. Smiling slowly he watched as she came in his direction.

tag: @sophia // words: 489 // OUTFIT

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Dress

Sophia liked to see the best in most people but there were a few people who were on her bad list but she was not going to take time to focus on them. She had others to focus on. Number one on her list was Audrey. She did everything she could for her daughter. She was unable to tell it was enough but she tried her best. Sophia didn’t want her daughter to ever want for anything. Being raised by a single mother herself, she knew how hard it could get and while she was thankful for everything her mother had given her, she didn’t want Audrey to experience the same.

But it was about time she decided to do something for herself. It was hard to shake the guilt she was feeling for doing this. It was stupid for her to feel this way because there was nothing wrong with her wanting to be happy and the few times she had run into him before this evening she had managed to put a smile on her face. Him asking her out on a date had come as a real surprise to her but she had accepted. Living with her daughter she had no one else to really run through ideas for what to wear tonight but her. It didn't matter, Audrey was slowly developing her mother’s eye for fashion and she was intrigued by that.

They had finally decided on a floor-length piece and Sophia hoped she hadn't overdone it. But she figured it was better that she overdressed than underdressed even if this was going to be bar and grill. She had not been to the Griffin before but thankfully she knew where it was located so the chances of getting lost were slim.

Being without her magic meant she to leave early seeing that she couldn’t just apparate to the bar. She had dropped off Audrey with Calli and Samuel, the former offering her tips and hinting so subtly that she wanted a full rundown of the entire night in the morning. Sophia wasn’t even sure if she was going to have an overnight guest or not at this stage. It was far too early to tell. She had to applaud her friend for being more confident about this night then she was herself.

As she approached the entrance of the bar she took a deep breath, mainly to steady herself as well as to calm her nerves. Walking in, she saw a few heads turn her way, Something she wasn’t expecting, but she took it in her stride. She located her date and made her way over to him, tucking her hair behind her ear as she walked. 'Uh...hi…” she said softly as she came to stand in front of Clay. 'You look very handsome…” it was true. He did look good in a suit. She saw that he had been drinking and she hoped he hadn’t been waiting too long for her.

Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
_{A good, good life}

There was something about a woman that could set him aflame like nothing else in the world. Not work, not his family, not even booze or quidditch could set his soul on fire as a woman could. Not just any woman though, it had been a very long time since he had allowed any woman to mean anything to him. Two reasons for this came to his mind. The first being that he was a stubborn jackass who refused to change and was holding a grudge for the dumbest reasons possible. The second was mere that he didn’t want to open himself up to getting hurt again. He had given his all to Gracie, seven long years they had been together and then she had tried to take it back, she had told him she didn’t want to move things forward and he had seen no choice. He had walked away.

He knew what he wanted and he wasn’t about to bend on anything, he wasn’t going to give up on the things that he wanted just because she didn’t want them. He had the right to have the things that he wanted in his life. Yes, it had hurt to end a relationship that long, but two years was a long enough time to be mourning something that he probably never really had to begin with. He had spent so much time worrying and caring about what she had wanted, and what would make her happy that he had sort of let his own happiness fall by the wayside. He had forgotten that he had just as much of a right to be happy than anyone else did, and now that he had someone new in possibly in his life, he wasn’t going to hesitate to grab life by the horns.

He was fully aware of the things that he wanted in his life, he was fully aware of the things that he needed to accomplish in order to do so and Clay thought that he was making pretty damn good progress now. With the backing of his mother and father, he had gone to school and now he was teaching it. Yes, he was one of the younger professors but he used it, he was smart and not many people would think he was with his senseless nature. That did not deter him from things though, it never has. Barclay Arbuckle lived to prove to people that they were wrong about him and about the things that he wanted from his life, and he wanted to prove it to himself more than anyone else. He wasn’t a bairn anymore, it had been years since he had the right to call himself one, but it would be long before he would be old and frail. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life alone. It was why he had taken the risk and asked the young woman out on a date.

He smiled when she came in and took her in. She was a tad bit overdressed for the place that they were in, but he minds it too much. She said to herself that it had been a long time since she had been on a date, and maybe she was rusty. This was more of a family place that did great food, though they did sport a damn nice bar in his opinion. Which wasn’t a hard mark to get really, most places he had been to lately at least had good Scotch Whiskey, so what more could a bloke ask for?

He smiled softly and leaned to kiss her cheek with a smile. ” Dinna fash, lass. Ye look very bonnie. “ He said before giving her an obnoxious wink and then a small laugh then nodding to the hostess who came to show them to their seats. ” Thank ye.” He said before holding out his arm to take as they were lead to the table. There was a large family who was laughing and joking nearby and Clay nodded his head to one of them who had held up a hand in acknowledgment.

Leaning he whispered into her ear. ” Thank ye for coming. “ He was nervous, but he was hoping that it went well, even if it took everything in his power to hide that his hands were shaking.

tag: @sophia // words: 729 // OUTFIT

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Sophia thought that all her energy should be focused on Audrey with losing Tiwaz and that she owed to her daughter with her losing her father. Granted he had been taken from them even before her baby girl had even turned one, the blond woman felt like it was still going to have some impact on Audrey, if not now but down the track. She, of course, would eventually learn how her father died, Sophia wasn’t sure if that was supposed to come from her or she should learn that of her own research or in the classroom.

She hoped it wasn’t going to happen in the latter scenario, that would be the worst way for her to find out and she didn’t want her daughter to be upset with her for not telling her herself. Sophia that Audrey would get upset with her but she would rather it be over not allowing her to wear something particular or for staying out past her curfew, those kinds of situations she could handle. The woman herself had been there enough times herself. At the moment with her mum and stepfather being on the run, Penny got a reprieve but she tried to keep an eye on her sister as much as she could. Things would be easier if she lived Hogsmeade like she had done so a few years back but now she was better in London. Calli and Samuel and her family were there to look after Audrey when she needed them. This evening Sophia had left her daughter with her close friends and the other woman had been very excited for her friend.

Her friend had asked her all the mandatory questions of where her date was if she needed to pick up Audrey in the morning. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure about that. She supposed that if the date did go really well, she wasn’t against that but she didn’t want to get ahead of herself. Calli had thrown in a cheeky comment about her remembering to bring along protection with her tonight. It was advisable since she had lost her magic.

Ironically, after she had lost, she had started her new job at the University of Bangor which meant she had to travel some distance using the floo network. She had soon gotten used to using it regularly but she hated to take Audrey via because the toddler didn’t like it. Sophia couldn’t blame her, being sucked by from chimney to another was not a normal way of travelling. Audrey didn’t mind apparition and it made it easier to travel with a toddler.

Sophia had to just let her nerves not the better of her tonight, she was not a teenager anymore and this was hardly her first time dating but this was her first date with Clay. She had said yes to him because she felt like it was about time that she took a chance with someone and she deserved to be happy. She even felt her younger sister would be pushing her to date the guy but Sophia hadn’t even told Penny about this date. Maybe on the next Hogsmeade weekend, she would dish all the details.

After she had greeted her date, she looked around and noted she was definitely overdressed for hits but it was too late to change that now. She hoped that everyone else was far to absorbed with their own dates or gatherings to take any notice of her. She had only dressed up for herself and Clay anyway. She followed the waitress to their table, holding onto his arm. ”Friends of yours?”she asked seeing him wave out to someone.

When Clay whispered in her ear, she had to do her best to stop herself from shuddering. It had been a long time since any male had whispered in her ear, let alone one that was interested in her romantically. ”I wasn’t going to ask for a raincheck” she winked at him as she took her seat. There was no way she could have done that to him after he had been so bold in asking her out.

Sophia nodded her thanks as their waitress came back to set down a water jug and some glasses before she turned to Clay and rested her hands on the table with one resting on top of the other. ”So….how was your day been? Tonight has been on my mind off and on, I’m honest” She knew could have kept her mouth shut about that but at the same time, she wanted to be honest with him.


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