Skin Deep (Anna/Chase)

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle let herself lean into him, a sappy smile across her face as she relaxed against his chest. She was breathing deeply, and couldn't help but take in his smell and enjoyed it. All her thoughts ans worries seemed to have been left at the door, because she wasn't thinking of anything beyond the moment. She wondered if this was the way it always was between a man and a woman, or if the wonderful glow she was feeling faded with time. If she looked at Chase's eyes, would show the same glossy satisfied look? She didn't know if the feeling would somehow be muted from his experience, but hoped they weren't. She would be content to stand there leaning against him as they were for as long as he would allow, but didn't trust that the moment would last much longer.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase let the mellow feeling float through him for a short while, then looked down at Anna, curled against him and beaming. Discomfort began to creep into him. She was already attached, if only physically, but how long before she pushed? How long before she decided she wanted more than they had right now? Chase lowered his hands to begin fixing his clothes.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna wondered if there would ever be anything after, or if that was the difference between them and what a relationship meant. Would they always just meet, make out, fix their clothes, then make excuses and leave? She didn't know if she'd push him away by prolonging their departure, or if he'd enjoy her company. "That book you were looking for came in forever ago. You never came back to see if I'd ordered it though." It was an odd topic to bring up at the moment, but she'd been meaning to ask him if he wanted it for a while, and she had to break the silence before it became uncomfortable. She started fixing her clothes, focusing on her buttons that had come undone.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase paused in the middle of tucking in his undershirt to look sharply up at Anna. Damn her. She knew he wanted that book, and she wasn't above using it to get him to go back to her shop with her. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Maybe I should come get it," he said, more than a little suspicious. If the book had come in that long ago, why hadn't she said anything until now? Why had she held onto it?

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna ran her fingers through her hair to straighten the stray strands. She looked at Chase through her hair that was partially blocking her view of his face, noticing the change in his tone. She wished she could read people better, to know if his eyes held irritation or suspicion, but knowing that it was a negative emotion regardless was enough to make her try and elaborate. "Whenever you like, It'll be there. I completely forgot that it came in, and well, every time I've seen you I guess you can say that I've been a little distracted." A blush graced her cheeks as she though back to the times they'd met, first in the shop, as he distracted her, then every other following time they'd crossed paths.

[Chase Firebrand]

One of Chase's brows arched, and a shimmer of crimson sparked through them at the reflexive thoughts that swam through his head. He certainly couldn't call her a liar, considering how distracted he'd been as well. "I'll come in some time, then," he said, his mind already working up scenarios, none of which involved clothing. His eyes caught on Anna's cheeks, and those sparks flickered across his eyes again. Where else did she blush?

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna's cheeks heated even more when Chase noticed. At times she still couldn't believe what she'd done with him, but then at night when she lay in bed, all she could think of was the next time she would see him. Even if the physical aspect of Chase captured her every time, it was the other parts of him too, the deeper parts that he only rarely displayed that earned her respect. She cursed her shyness, unable to think of something better to say, a topic that might engage his cutting intellect that she had glimpsed the very first time they had met. "I have it saved under your name, and I stocked some other books by that author on the shelves in case you hadn't read them." She'd told herself at the time that it was just good business practice, she hadn't done it to please him, she'd had a boyfriend at the time afterall.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase's brow didn't lower. He made the connection without Anna having to say a word. He'd ordered that book long before the masquerade, when she had definitely been taken. Either she'd had some hope, hidden or otherwise, that she could tempt him back, or she was a very conscientious shopkeeper. Considering the level of disorganization that Chase had seen in the bookstore, he thought that the latter was highly unlikely. Which only peaked his interest all the more. "Thank you," he said coolly, though the heat simmered just beneath that coolness. "I'll have to come in. Maybe I'll look at the other books." Or maybe he'd distract Anna again.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna smiled to herself, wondering why it was that Chase never spoke in definite answers; everything had a maybe or sometime, or something similar. She was curious if it was a defensive tactic, or just a habit he'd picked up somewhere. "The muggle section has really grown, mostly due to the students. I think most of the adult wizards either find muggle fiction a waste of time, or they are afraid to get caught reading it by someone who thinks it is a waste of time. I was afraid to add it at first, but I think the muggle section might be selling more books then the wizarding fiction." Her eyes sparkled as she talked about her store. It was more than just a job, it was a hobby, an interest, a passion. Knowing that it was hers to maintain and improve upon gave her a sense of pride that nothing else could compare to.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase gave a noncommittal hm. He didn't really have any interest in what the adult wizards read, nor what the other students read, actually. "You get a lot of business?" Chase asked absently, his gaze straying toward the door. He was still determined to keep his distance, and it would be easy if he let Anna talk about things he had no personal interest in.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle shrugged, noticing he didn't really seem interested, but answered him anyway. "Some days are slower than others. Most students won't read anything they don't have to, including their textbooks, so to spend money on a book for fun is laughable." She paused before asking, "So what do you like to spend your time doing?" Besides girls. It had occurred to her when she'd been looking for him that she really didn't know what he did. She knew Michael liked to draw, she liked to read, Dru was into books and her club, Silver liked to write, Dare liked to quote movies, but didn't know what hobbies Chase might have hidden.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase looked at Anna for a few long moments, one eyebrow arching slightly. "Whatever I want," he said. Had she really expected him to answer that? He wasn't about to tell her that his activity of choice lately had been brooding. His pensive thoughts were all his own, and definitely not her business. There wasn't much else he'd been doing since... Dru. The girl was as lucky she hadn't run into him as he was lucky he hadn't run into her.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna rose both her eyebrows at him, how some people could manage to raise just one was beyond her, And looked him over. Was he really that cocky? Part of her wanted to roll her eyes at how arrogant and self centered he sounded at the moment, but then she realized it was girls like her that had made him the way he was, so was he really to blame? She leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest and resigning to the fact that she wouldn't be getting past anything superficial with Chase anytime soon. "All right, I'll play your game. So what is it that you want?"

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase's lips pressed tight at the question. "I don't know," he said softly. That was the problem with his life. He had no purpose anymore. He'd come to Hogwarts intending to have fun, to float through life and entertain himself as he saw fit. Then everything had gone crazy and he'd felt that desperation that had pushed him from one girl to another, leaving him alone. Utterly alone.

He realized, somewhere in the back of his mind where he refused to acknowledge it, that he didn't have to be alone, that Annabelle would take anything he gave her gladly, and give as much back. But he couldn't. He didn't want to go through that again.

He'd spent the better part of a year working to open himself up to Dru, and it had been a massive failure. Chase couldn't accept failure, especially not from himself. So he said nothing more for now, and only turned his gaze toward the door, unwilling to see whatever reaction Anna might have.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna softened at the change of his tone, taken back by his answer. She'd expected something clever, sarcastic, or even laced with innuendo. She never guessed that he, of all people, would admit to not knowing anything. She knew he wouldn't want her pity, and tore her eyes away from him, giving him space as he obviously got lost in his thoughts. She pushed off the wall and walked to a desk, straightening it so it lined up with the others. She let the silence settle around them, giving him time to either expand on what he'd revealed or to change the subject.