Shape of You [Naomi and Corbin]

Guest

[[OOC: As I'm not comfortable with the f word (and, I've realised, even with just putting the dashes) I'm going to be substituting it with fudge and freak. Corbin wanted me to let you know that, IG, he isn't actually saying that but the ACTUAL f-bomb.]]

The last time Corbin glanced at his watch -- which was, incidentally, about the same time he first approached the bar -- it had been eight forty two, and he noted he was twelve minutes late. In any case, he hadn't been the last to arrive and as he greeted his friends there had been a sly comment about Ashley and his affinity for double booking.

(It had become sort of a running joke after Blake's -- now ex and, in hindsight, definitely psycho -- girlfriend had secretly gone through his phone and, upon seeing a text with a contact named 'Ashley', proceeded to throw a fit so large that Blake had needed to get piss drunk three nights in a row before he calmed down. The only reason Ashley had texted in the first place, however, was to cancel because he had something on -- namely, he'd double booked and decided he would go for a date with a hot chick instead of a movie.

But Ashley had arrived out of breath and apologising for his delay; he'd been tied up with his professor, discussing some extra-credit assignment he'd volunteered to do. "The egg," he'd explained, although nobody but him was all that interested in dragonology, "had displayed some unusual properties and we had-"

"Ashley, we love you, but if you don't shut the fudge up, we'll gag you," Corbin had interrupted; all four of them, Ashley included, laughed, and the topic of university was brought up no more. Instead, everyone accounted for, the real fun could begin.)

He wasn't exactly drunk despite the multiple different concoctions he had, and as he downed his next shot of fire whiskey, he savoured the burn of the alcohol. It was good to get away from the stress of university -- particularly since he was near the top of his class -- and just relax with his friends. No girls, no annoying family members, no anything except alcohol and boy talk.

"Shit, is it already eleven?" Blake suddenly commented, and Corbin stole a glance at his own watch, frowning slightly as he found that it had, at some point, stopped functioning; it was stuck at nine. "I have to go. Great aunt's funeral tomorrow; mum would hex me till Merlin returned if I wake up late and hungover."

"Piss off, then. We have no use for a mummy's boy," Justin had said, his smile showing that he didn't mean the words.

"Come now, let's not be rude. He's got to go home to his darling mummy," Corbin retorted.

There were a few more insults and swear words exchanged between the four before Blake left -- after downing one last shot. As he disappeared out the door, Corbin added, "And then there were three." There was a pause and then, almost simultaneously, they laughed and reached for the bottle on the table to pour themselves another shot.

Guest

Naomi had been studying way too hard at University in her Hit Wizard degree. Her brother had told her that there was no way she could ever do it. She didn't have the mind set, but thus far, she'd proved him wrong with every test she'd taken. Excelling more and more the more they got in to the work, and never hesitating when it came to choosing between what was right, and what was easy.

Of course, doing such a difficult course was not easy on the mind, or the body, and the weekends had become something of a respite period for the witch. Friday had come to be the night she let her hair down. Saturday she slept in past midday, before nursing a severe hangover, and Sunday was kept free for assignments.

The girls had all been predrinking at Naomi's flat - it was so much cheaper than the bars. And, whilst they all got ready - straighteners everywhere, make up galore, fashion parades of outfits, the lot - they were also, slowly, getting drunk. Naomi was a little more sensible, truthfully, playing on her own intake to match her friend's level of 'drunk' with some fine actress skills of her own.

After finally deciding on a skirt much too short - but that showed off her beautiful legs - and a top that left only just enough to the imagination (showing off her midriff and enough cleavage whilst still being highly classy, the girls had headed to the bar. The bar was usually where you could find the kind of guys that weren't always as creepy as those you found in the clubs, and the girls were all on the prowl tonight.

Getting some alcohol at their table, the girls struck up a game of Truth or Dare. Naomi hated the game, in truth, so childish, but she decided she would play anyway. A few rounds went, secrets being divulged about the adventures of Kate in the bedroom, Tris' mad experience with two oranges, before finally the bottle landed on Naomi.

"Dare." The witch said out of reflex. Never did she ever pick Truth, she hated being put on the spot like that, and Merlin her friends hated her lack of ability to play the game properly.

The girls paused for a moment or two, eyes scanning the room, Naomi simply took a sip on her Vodka and orange, wondering what they could think of this time. "Okay, Naomi, you see over there, the table with three boys?" Lizzie asked, waiting for Naomi to half turn in that moment and look where she had motioned to, Naomi turned back with a slight nod.

"I dare you to go and sit next to the cute one, on the left hand side of the table, and strike up a conversation with him... You can't come back... until he gets you a drink." Lizzie summarised. Naomi had simply raised an eyebrow as if to say 'that's it?' before getting to her feet.

"Don't wait up!" Naomi told them with a smug grin, turning towards the boy in question and taking a deep breath. She wasn't nervous, Naomi had been with a few guys over her university career, so, this one wouldn't be any different. Walking with confidence - but not arrogance (yes, there is a difference), Naomi moved to the table, and (with eyes only for the 'cute' boy) she gave him a smile.

"Hi there, I..." Naomi glanced at the other two boys, before taking a seat next to the 'cute' one. "I was wondering if I could sit with you a moment, there's this really pervy guy waiting around by the toilets, and I was a little worried that... well, you know..." Naomi explained, hoping to pull on the boy's heartstrings a little by using the faux impression of female weakness.

The fact she could put all three of the boy's on their asses, simultaneously, was irrelevant in this moment, of course.

"I'm Naomi, by the way." She added, giving the boy a small, (faked) nervous smile.

But, Naomi Wilson was a good actress, and she was confident the boy before her was not going to see through the act. It was one she'd perfected from countless dares to seduce boys.

Guest

Corbin down another shot with a short laugh. "Alright, alright. I plead the fifth," he said, smirking. "I don't kiss and tell, you know that."

"Yea, because you didn't kiss anyone!" came the retort. "You're bullshitting us again."

Corbin held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, if that makes you feel better about your love life, feel free to make mine pathethic, too."

Justin was just about to reply when someone approached them and, simultaneously, they turned to look at the female there. Corbin raised an eyebrow, taking her in. Her words were genuine enough; he knew that there were some dodgy characters in bars and pubs, be it out of drunkness or out of a desire to control.

However, there was something about this situation that didn't fully read quite genuine -- not that she wasn't acting in all the right ways, but because she was acting in all the right ways. When one was genuinely scared or intimidated, did one actually go to a bunch of males who had obvious been spending the better part of the night drinking? No, as far as he was aware, they went to other females, because there was safety in numbers, or went to friends or the bartender or a bouncer.

It seemed all to perfect, but Corbin wasn't entirely sure if it was because of a well time coincidence (though he didn't believe in that) or because it was faked. Why she'd fake it, though, Corbin couldn't figure out.

He, therefore, was left with a few options, and he spent a few moments debating it. It would be easy enough to make a dry comment, questioning the legitimacy of her statement, and see how she responded. He could demand an explanation, tell her to leave. He could play along, see where it led, how things went, and perhaps he might end up with a good time otherwise, as her 'saviour'.

But none of that was...right. He hated being made a fool of, and if he played along she could easily say he'd been tricked. If he confronted her and she had been telling the truth, then he'd have turned away someone who was genuinely in trouble, which wasn't something he wanted, either. It just wasn't right; besides, he was studying to be an auror, and wasn't it his job to help those in need?

As the girl introduced herself, his suspicion only doubled. What female, after feeling threatened, introduce their names? It didn't make sense. None of it did. But, he wanted to figure it out, and his eyebrow dipped very slightly, almost unnoticably, as he tried to fathom out what to do.

Finally, the right option presented itself. It was one that would call her out on the trick had it been a lie but be a solution should it be real. Either way, he'd have fun. If it was the first, he would be able to turn that into his favour; if it was the latter, he would be the hero of the night.

So, he got to his feet, slipping out his wand and casually holding it by his side, not tightly enough that anyone observing would think he wanted to use it, but not so loosely that Naomi could be mistaken in any form what he intended.

"We can't have pervs at a bar, can we?" he said, simply, calmly, nothing in his tone giving away he was playing a double game. "It wouldn't do to have all the females here unsafe. Point him out to me; I'll deal with him." He paused, to offer her a warm smile. "I'm studying to be an auror; it's my job to ensure the safety of people, after all."

Over her head, when he was sure she wasn't looking, he sent the tinest of winks to his mates, showing them he had this under control and not to worry. If -- and this was a big if -- he needed help, he'd call, and they'd come to his aid at once.

"So," he concluded, glancing around towards the toilets with a pointed, intense look. "Who is it? That one?" He gestured with his free hand randomly towards the male nearest the toilet, and then waited for her response.

Guest

Naomi had thought, in truth, that her story would be both believable, and enough for her to find sanctuary at the table of boys that she'd gone to. However, her words only seemed to inspire an act of bravery (or, more likely stupidity) from the 'cute' boy she'd been asked to approach. Gryffindor, she labelled him almost immediately as he stood, reaching for his wand, and insisting that Naomi show him where the perv was that she'd spoken of.

The witch was left with two options, now, tell the truth, and admit that she'd lied to try and get in with him. Or, go along with her lie, and see how far the man was willing to go for her.

There was no doubting upon which route Naomi was going to take.

'Cute' boy's question made Naomi look towards the man he'd pointed out, and then back up to the boy with a false look of worry - not that he'd know how to read her. "Are you sure you'll be able to handle this situation..?" Naomi asked softly, continuing on with her damsel in distress lie with ease. Taking a few steps forward, Naomi noted a relatively drunk man, not very well built, and obviously on his way out for the night because he could barely stand. Close enough to the toilets to be plausible, too.

Turning back to the boy she'd been dared to seduce, Naomi motioned for him to come a little closer, before motioning to the man - who rather coincidentally, reached out to a passing woman for help, before falling over himself. The man had only just missed the woman - but had definitely reached out to grab her to stop his fall. "That's him..." Naomi said, somewhat alarmed (she was enjoying the charade) as her eyes came back to the boy's.

Yes, she was lying about this man, but he did not know that. And the recent activities of the man only enhanced her story.

How could he possibly call her out on this?

Guest

He watched her carefully, trying to spot any hesitation or faltering, but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. The question brought a smirk to his lips and a sense of outraged dignity inside him; of course he could. Instead of saying that, though, he shrugged lightly. "We'll find out, won't we? I either handle it or fail, and if I can't deal with a desperate asshole, I'd drop out of the auror course altogether."

He watched her walk forward and as she looked out towards the toilets, Corbin shot a very quick look over at his friends, signalling them with a few flicks of his free hand, telling them he wasn't sure what was going on. They'd understand him, he was sure, as they always did, and as they nodded he turned his attention back to the witch.

Stepping forward, Corbin followed her gesture, glancing over at the male in question. He appeared drunk, not so much pervy, but there was no denying he'd reached for another female. If that had been out of habit to break his fall or intentional, Corbin couldn't be sure. Something deep down, instincts built over the years both in school and in his course, told him to be careful, that something was off about it, but he wasn't always one to follow his instincts and only noted them.

But how to go about this without causing a scene? For a moment, Corbin was stumpped. If she was telling the truth -- which seemed more likely now than before -- then he would need to take care of the fudger. If she was lying, though, he couldn't be responsible for the arrest of a man whose only crime was drinking one too many drinks.

And then his training kicked into gear and he bit back a smirk.

Yes, he knew exactly what he would do. Looking towards her, he nodded, tightening his grip on his wand a little. If it was true, he would have to act quickly to stop the drunk man from touching anyone else. Corbin took a step forward then paused, as if in thought, then turned. "How exactly was he behaving earlier, if I may ask?" He offered her a crooked smile. "It's not that I don't believe you, of course; I'll need to know the specifics for when I arrest him and bring him to the auror headquarters."

Guest

Naomi was not sure how far the man truly intended to go with this. Her, well, she was more than happy to take this all the way. The man was so far drunk she doubted his account would be reliable. She? Well, she would take 'pity' on him, and though he would get a telling off, nothing would come of it.

Naomi had only offered a small - carefully sculpted to show a little bit of 'worry' - smile to the man as he said he would manage, or drop out of his Auror course. Whilst she was sure he could take on a drunkard, he had a knack for amateur dramatics in his choice of words.

The question, though, as the man turned back to her, made Naomi consider him for a moment. A look that told him she was thinking back touched her features for a few seconds, before she spoke. "Well, I was headed to the toilets, and as I came closer to the door, he..."

Naomi trailed off, though, noticing that two of the bar's bouncers had come over to the man who could not stand, and quite forcefully dragged him to the door. She assumed someone else had made a complaint, meaning the boy did not need to deal with him after all.

"But, it seems that I didn't need to bother you after all... I should have gone to the bouncers, I suppose. My mind wasn't really thinking, I just moved to the table that looked the most approachable..." She explained, shoulders relaxing now because the 'pervy' man had been escorted out. That would be what she'd have the man before her think, anyway. She was relaxing simply because he would never find out that she'd concocted a whole lie just to get to talk to him.

"I'm... really sorry I bothered you so much over something so silly. Could...
I buy you a drink for the inconvenience?" Naomi asked, hoping that he would agree, because she didn't know how else she was going to get this conversation to keep going if he denied her.

» Party Like There's No Tomorrow - Private Thread (Corbin & Naomi)
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» Along the Grapevine (Corbin and Eli)
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