Escape (Chase/Anna)

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase knew exactly why he was here. There were only a few days left of school and he had yet to owl his father whether he was coming home or not. The reasons for staying were just as compelling as those to slip away for three months and try to sort things in his own mind.

There was Carolynn, the part of his life that currently took the most energy. He was being forced to court her for show, as though it wasn't all about money. Physically he wanted her, there was no denying that, but her little games weren't always as charming as they were supposed to be. Especially since he'd gotten hold of a copy of the Wizarding Genealogy.

The Prophet had been right for once. She was living with a British Pureblood named Mano Berwyn who, unsurprisingly, had no roots in India, where Carolynn herself was from. Cousin. It made him sick. She couldn't even wait until they were married to find a lover. He had half a mind to tell his father to break off the whole deal. He wouldn't be cuckolded, and he wouldn't have Society whispering about whether his heirs were really his.

Then there was Dru. Chase wasn't entirely sure why or how that had happened. Had he thought of Carolynn when he'd said yes? Was any part of it a secret revenge? He didn't think so. He knew he wouldn't have done it if he'd thought Carolynn was being faithful; he'd intended to have a mistress some day, but not a halfblood, and not so soon. And certainly not Dru. He'd been floored when she'd asked, though he was sure she wouldn't think of it in the same terms he did.

So here he was, taking just a short while away from responsibilities and the public eye, kids whose eyes widened when the Head Boy passed and people who challenged him just for his reputation. He was on his third butterbeer now. He'd have far preferred something more substantial, but the place smelled faintly of some kind of animal and the glasses looked disgusting. At least butterbear came in a sealed bottle.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna had just paid a visit to her store and was seriously debating if she was going to sell it. This was her first return to the shop since she'd gone home early and she would have put it off longer if that Mr. d'Avonderre hadn't owled her again with yet another offer. She hadn't stayed long, finding the shop more confining then the haven she used to have. She stepped out onto the streets, needing to be alone.

This decision couldn't be taken lightly and she needed to think. She didn't want to just abandon her shop because of a guy, and wasn't sure if that was really the reason it had lost it's appeal. Anna wouldn't normally have stepped a toe into the Hogshead. It had odd people hanging about, was dirty, smelled, and that was just the outside. But her options were limited and she didn't want to run into any of the people running the shops she normally would visit.

When she stepped into the shop it was even darker than she expected. After the bright sunny street, it took a moment of blinking her eyes before she could make out the room. Luckily it wasn't that crowded and she only saw a few questionable figures scattered about. Her hand reflexively gripped her wand while she asked for a butterbeer. She didn't make eye contact with him, but scanned the room for the safest spot to sit.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase didn't look up when the door opened. He kept his head firmly down on the label of the butterbeer that he now had half peeled off. He didn't want to know who else came in, and he didn't want them to know he was here. If the sound of a female voice registered, Chase's mind blocked it out. He was building thick walls around himself, and if he let anyone in, it would be a rare occasion.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna took her drink with a muttered thanks and turned toward the back wall, away from the majority. There were a few tables in this corner and only one was occupied. She took her seat against the side wall wondering why in the wizarding world she thought a place like this might be easier to sort her thoughts in then her own shop.

She took another paranoid glance around the room as she lifted the butterbeer to her lips. The cool refreshing liquid had just hit her throat when Anna's now adjusted eyes fell on the patron at the table next to her and did a double-take. Chase. She choked on the drink in surprise, sputtering and spitting the butterbeer across the table as she coughed, gasping for air. Any reaction she felt toward Chase's presence was easily overpowered by embarrassment. She knew her choking fit was loud enough to have attracted the whole bar, but still wondered if she might have time to flee out the door and glanced the few feet to where he was.

[Chase Firebrand]

There was no missing that feminine choking and sputtering so nearby. Chase's eyes closed as he tried to gather a little self-control. Anna. He didn't want to deal with her, and she wasn't dying, so he shifted slightly in his seat, turning his gaze toward what he could see through the dirty windows. He hadn't wanted to do this in January, and he didn't want to do it now. He picked up his butterbeer and took another drink, letting it warm him when he would have rather stalked out the door. But he knew Anna. That would be a guarantee she'd come after him, probably shouting for the world to hear that she hadn't seen him in forever. He didn't need that kind of attention, so he ignored and held to an unrealistic hope that she'd ignore him as well.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Seeing Chase completely ignore her when everyone else was staring felt like a knife through her heart. The coughing subsided and Anna put her face in her hands as she caught her breath. She didn't know why she would expect anything more from him especially after the way he suddenly turned his back on her a few months ago. It had been so hard on her, being left again without word then hearing he'd turned his attention elsewhere without so much as a goodbye. It had first happened with Michael but it hurt even worse when Chase did it to her.

She had played out this inevitable confrontation in her head so many times, but she'd never imagined him ignoring her. There was always a heated argument involved. Some days it would end with her slapping him and walking out, while other times she would imagine them ending up in a passionate embrace. Anna didn't want to think about any of those daydreams though. The real Chase at the next table was hard enough to deal with emotionally without the help of her own imagination.

After a short moment which felt like an eternity of silence, Anna fought back tears to find her voice and ask the question plaguing her. "Why didn't you just tell me?" No matter how upset she was for his behavior, the heartache he caused her was more than triple. She had waited for him for far to long not knowing what was going on, building up hope for their next meeting, just to face the loneliness of not even being good enough for him to call things off.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase's brows drew together. He didn't owe Anna anything. They'd never had a relationship, something she'd clarified as much as he ever had. He'd told her to stay away, she'd said they'd have a non-relationship, which was the same as not having one at all, and yeah, they'd talked around the fighting and the kissing, but that's all it was! Fighting, kissing, and talking sometimes. He'd told her it couldn't go anywhere, it wasn't as though he'd ever so much as implied that they were together. Even when he'd been unable to pretend Anna didn't have feelings for him, there at the end in December, he'd told her she'd be better off keeping away from him. He'd warned her. Chase took one last swig of his butterbeer, then set it down before standing up. She wasn't looking at him.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna heard the subtle sounds of him moving and snapped her head up to find him standing. She gave him a pleading look, Is he really just going to leave, without saying a word to me? She'd thought he was better than that, but he didn't look like he was moving to sit with her. She'd been there for him when no one else was, when he was a mess and needed her. Even if he refused to admit it and kept pushing her away, she knew a lot of it was show. He'd felt something for her, she knew it. "Please Chase? I just need to hear it from your own lips." She knew it would hurt, and it wouldn't change the way things were, but maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to get over him somehow.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase wasn't looking at Anna to see that pleading look, and he didn't turn to see it. He knew better, and it was so easy to cling to anger and annoyance when he felt both so often now. Why did she need to hear him say something she already knew? And what was it she wanted to hear? That he was engaged? He wasn't going to ask. He didn't want that fight. So he kept his jaw tightly closed and moved on toward the door. He had enough stress in his life without someone he'd never been with begging for a breakup. A half-blood begging for a breakup, and in public.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Part of her wanted to run after him, to grab him and force him to at least acknowledge she was even alive. She was desperate for something, anything from him. Her heart was too crushed though. Having Chase act as if she wasn't even there was so much worse than anything she had ever felt. She couldn't gather the strength to chase after and argue with him after he had just stomped on her last remaining shred of self worth. She couldn't hold back the flood any longer and covered her head with her arms as her forehead hit the sticky surface of the table with a sob.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase winced at the sudden loud noise behind him, but if anything, it only increased the pace of his footsteps. This was why he'd avoided Anna in the first place rather than hanging out where she might find him and telling her what had happened. He'd known she'd make a scene, even though he'd told her on the train.

I'm going into politics. I'm sure my father will be thrilled that I've finally given in.

Oh?

Yes.

Chase walked out onto the street, the fresh air a relief.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna heard the door shut behind him but didn't move to follow as she'd always done in the past. It hadn't worked then, and it wouldn't do any good now. She'd fallen for someone that would never be hers, and she cried for the chance he'd never really given them. He wouldn't even look at her, she couldn't imagine he'd pick up where they left off without a word. Regardless of what he thought, his hints had been so vague, especially to someone that wasn't familiar with pureblood ways. She would have done anything to have him, and probably still would have if he'd only let her.