Midnight Coffee Trip (James)

Winter hated the jokes that came every time the seasons changed from autumn to winter. They were absolutely ridiculous. In the middle of the night, nearing midnight, Winter had been standing in the center of her kitchen trying to brew a cup of coffee, but there had sadly been none in her pantry. As it was usual, Winter grabbed her jacket and headed out to the nearest shop, one that she knew closed a little after the early hours. Walking toward the shop, she kept her hands on the pockets of her jacket, her hood up, and tried to ignore the fact that nothing she was wearing at the moment matched. It had been an impromptu trip, so she wasn't as concerned as she should have been when she walked out of her house. As she reached the store, she saw the teenaged girl that was usually working the night shift and gave her a smile.

"Hey Sara, how's tonight going?" Winter greeted the girl, taking her hands out of her pockets to pull her hood down. The girl rolled her eyes in a joking manner, "It's insanely busy, as it normally is at this time." Winter let out a small laugh, glad to know the girl was still in a good mood despite the fact that there was practically no one else in the shop and it was way too late for her to be awake. "I'll be quick, then." Winter replied before heading towards the coffee - aisle number 5. She knew this small store by hand, and she was sure that not many wizards came by. After all, Winter lived in what was probably the most muggle-esque neighborhood. London wasn't her hometown, but many people in Nottingham had magic and that was something that even though she loved, she wanted to be away from. Winter spent too much time in the magic world already that a break from that life was a breath of fresh air, even if it was as simple as taking a quick trip to a muggle shop.

She was looking over the brands of coffee, running her fingers through all the containers for fun before her eyes settled on the one she always bought. It was on the top shelf, as usual, so Winter got on her tip toes and reached out for the box. After successfully reaching it, Winter smiled to herself. Every time she came here she ended up destroying something, so a huge part of her was proud she hadn't messed anything up so far. With the box of coffee in hand, she turned around the corner only to find herself in front of a cart loaded with boxes that needed to be stocked. Naturally, she accidentally walked right into it. "Ow..." Winter's groan faded out, as it actually wasn't as painful as anything else she had suffered. Still, she placed her hand over her stomach as if that would make it hurt less. Looking back at the box she was holding, Winter sighed. Well, at least she hadn't tipped the cart over. Winter walked around the cart and immediately saw a familiar figure further down the aisle. Her awkwardness kicked in as she realized it was James. What the hell was someone like James doing in a place like this? And at night, no less! So close to midnight!

Actually, she didn't want an answer. She had heard enough about people like him - the typical heartbreaker/sexy bad boy every girl seemed to fall head over heels over. After that little fact was made known to her, she had made it her purpose to distance herself from him because she was 100% sure she was going to be one of those sappy girls as well. In short, he was probably buying protective measures and she really did not need to know that. She stood in the middle of the aisle, though, as awkwardly as ever, and debated whether to keep walking the way she had been doing and eventually walk right past him or to turn around and pretend she was looking for something else until he left the shop.

Okay, so maybe Winter wasn't as sublte as she thought she was. It was as if James could feel her looking at him, which wasn't as surprising because Winter was seriously meaning towards the option of leaving and pretending she hadn't recognized him. But the thing was that he had recognized her. Of course, James' laugh was as enchanting as ever, but Winter was determined to not let it get to her. They were, after all, adults. Straightening her jacket, she gave a reply to his comment. "Not really. I mean, I live here." As soon as the words left her lips, she realized how strange it actually sounded. "I mean, not here here, but in the city."

When he commented on her attire, Winter shrugged a little. "It's not like I'm going to be seducing anyone or something." Wait. Seriously, Winter?! Her brow furrowed as she realized how silly she actually sounded EVERY TIME she had to talk to James. It was ridiculous. He, of course, was dressed elegantly and - not trying to offend him - like a bit of a show off. Surely he must know that it was a supermarket but the reality was that unlike Winter, James had probably come here from some sort of party or personal meeting. Maybe even a transactional meeting.

It took her a second to fully understand his question, and when she did she let out a small laugh. Looking down at the box in her hand, she said, "I'm a big stay-up-all-night kind of person, I guess, so no. It couldn't." Glancing at his basket, she saw the typical stuff, and raising her eyebrow slightly, she commented, "I'm guessing your cereal couldn't wait until morning either?" Worse yet, it was not a sugary, delicious cereal. At least it didn't look like it. Winter almost died on the inside because how could anyone not eat sugary stuff for breakfast? Or lunch or dinner or snacks or anytime of day.

James' smile made her feel better, despite the fact that she was trying not to be better. It meant he was joking, or so she suspected, and she could deal with that. She returned the smile, to show that she wasn't being a stuck up, that  she could take a joke. "I know it's not a wise decision." She said, her voice lowering so that nobody she didn't know couldn't hear. "Besides, come one, me? Doing something like that?" She laughed a little, because it was pretty obvious Winter wasn't interested in that. Finding someone attractive and, well, actually acting on it was different. "I think it's safe to say that I'm probably the only one who doesn't hit on anyone at bars." Truthfully - and she didn't tell him this - Winter had only been to a bar about three times, and those three times she had been with River, which wasn't exactly the proper environment.

"Oh." Winter said softly, because she didn't think it would be very nice to keep him up. "Well, I hope you enjoy your cereal..." she offered him a genuine smile, not longer caring about trying to be strong. Hey, there were coworkers, they were bound to see each other on a constant basis and Winter couldn't be flustered forever. However, she decided to stay when he motioned to the city visible through the windows. Shrugging, she found that she really had no words for London. "Yeah..." she began, "This isn't exactly me, but it's the present me, I would say." She waited a second, to make sure that he understood her unintentional riddles. Seriously, if Winter ever won an award it could be one for Most Confusing Person Alive because most of the time she had a very hard time wording her thoughts.

Since neither of them had made any actual movement, indication that they were ready to pay, Winter asked, "Do you need help? In spicing up your breakfast, I mean." She clearly didn't have a filter. "Personally, what you have there is too bland. Not that it matters, I suppose, but maybe I can make some suggestions."

"It is, believe me." she said, thinking about all the things she could and most likely would do if she were in that environment. "I would pretty much embarrass you as the worst wingman ever." She said, "Or...wingwoman?" She wasn't entirely sure what the term was, so she just let her words trail off. "Anyway, that's kind of why my brother doesn't let me go to bars with him." She gave him a goofy smile, thinking back on how many miserable dates River had had because of her. She just couldn't help getting flustered around people, let alone if they were intimidating, and River didn't exactly go to the most respectable places. Not that James needed to know that, but it was worth pointing out as she didn't want to confuse him. Even though she probably was.

Scratching the inside of her wrist, Winter became a bit uncomfortable. Even more so, when James moved closer. "Well, yeah." She shrugged. "I mean you have nothing sweet in that basket of yours!" She motioned to the items, all healthy and gross, in Winter's opinion. Just the way he looked at her seemed, well....wrong. She wasn't sure if she liked that she was being looked at that way, or if she really just wanted to walk away and not show up anywhere near the dungeons at work. It wasn't that she hadn't been looked at that way before, because she had - she wasn't hidden under a rock. The difference between this time and the rest was that she had actually been in a relationship with the guy, and James was someone she definitely couldn't picture in that position.

Instead, Winter laughed awkwardly when he said she could make anything more appetizing. "Not really, I suck at cooking." She declared, still unsure of what was really running through her mind at the moment. "BUT!" She took a step back in a moment of uncertainty. "I can suggest some really good cereals to help you break out of...well, whatever diet you're on." She smiled. She really needed to learn how to control herself. It was no secret that she had immediately been infatuated with James - even from the moment they met - but it also wasn't a secret that James had never thought of her that way.

Winter could argue further that she was actually better than people thought, but she didn't. Mostly, she didn't want to push it and talking to him in the middle of the aisle was uncomfortable. Not to mention she was actually tired. Something told her that from the tone in his voice, she should have been at least midly offended, but she wasn't. Winter didn't expect him to be awkward, because from the times they had spoken he had never been. If anything, she was the one calling the elephant into the room.

Winter just wasnt one to give into temptation, so she figured that was the biggest barrier when it came to understanding James. A part of her wanted to be like him, because the way Winter saw it - James was one of those leather-jacket-wearing men who had an alternative rock theme song as they went around breaking hearts, and there was something admirable about them because they were confident. Something Winter had never been.

And it was mostly because of that that she couldn't talk to him. Because she wasn't sure if she was actually interested in him as a person or if she was actually - in a twisted sort of way - looking up to him. Winter was about to say that his cereal was bland, and that if he liked bland things he might as well live off air alone, but then he just flat out said what Winter hoped he didn't know. Blinking, Winter stayed quiet for a beat, trying to figure out what she could do or say. She let out a small, awkward laugh.

"Ha. Says who?" That was probably the worst thing to say, but she wasn't going to give him time to actually answer that question. "You know, I'm not really into body builders." she pointed out. Because, well...James was huge. "But, I mean, if that's what you're into..." Was that a sudden moment of sassy confidence? It seemed like it. But it didn't last, as Winter went back to her normal self. "I'm not saying you're not attractive, because I'm sure lots of people think you are, I mean I hear that lots of people think you are." Shut up, Winter. "But...you know."