*~~they gave you a number and took away your name

[Verity Bromley]

CLOSED || Verity&&Lyric

Verity had brought him to the Three Broomsticks. It wasn’t insanely crowded, but in reference to the time…business was doing pretty well. As she opened the door and bustled in from the cold, she was met with a familiar warmth and scent. The bells on the door jingled once as it was pushed open and then another time as it was pulled closed. Nearly every seat at the bar was taken, with the exception of a couple at the end. “Have a seat, there.” Verity instructed pointing to the seat at the very end. She took off her coat, scarf, and hat and hung it up on the rack near the door. The rack had been protected with enough spells and charms to keep anyone from stealing anything from it. “You have a seat; I’ve got to check on something real quick.” Verity disappeared to the back to check on things.

[Trent Frey]

Lyric's gaze rested on the seat for a few seconds before skittering off back to the door. He found himself weighing the chance that she'd be back before he could get on the Knight Bus, then sighed heavily and forced his feet to move, taking him the long way around other customers, keeping as much distance as possible. He hadn't taken off his trench coat, but wore it for the sense of comfort it gave him as he sat. If anyone had sat beside him he'd have gotten up and left, but he was left alone there, and he was able to ignore the curious looks he got. He pulled his book bag up onto the counter in front of him and picked lightly at a loose string, keeping to himself and unsure what else to do.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity was surprised to see that he was still there, but relieved nonetheless. It was a test of some sort, to see if he would stay there or run. Of course, if he had failed the test and booked his out of there she would've been screwed. But he didn't and she wasn't. Verity walked around the counter onto the other side. She wasn't there to work, there were other people for that. No, now she was just sitting talking to an old friend. Verity set down two butterbeers on the counter, one for him and one for her, before sliding into the seat next to him. He looked on edge. A smile touched Verity's lips. "You know, there's no reason to be nervous." She said looking at her glass.

[Trent Frey]

Lyric's brows drew together slightly, and he gave the girl a hard look. "I'm not nervous," he claimed. He had enough pride that he wouldn't admit it, even to himself. He reached for the butterbeer somewhat warily, as though he expected for her to demand payment at any moment. He didn't have money anymore, not even enough to buy a butterbeer, and it was probably a good thing. He didn't need to pick up a smoking habit again, let alone anything else.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity shifted her eyes over to him, returning the glare. "Fine." She said in a tone that resembled a teenager admitting defeat in a battle with their parents. "Suit yourself." She said in a tone slightly calmer. It was better than the 'whatever' she was holding back. Verity had read somewhere that when you say whatever what you really mean is f~ you. She wondered if that was true in every case. "Well, whatever it is that's got that stick up your ass, it's okay to let it go sometimes." She commented letting her eyes drift back to their original focus straight ahead. This was clearly not the same guy from last summer. At least the guy last summer was fun.

[Trent Frey]

"That's what got me into this mess," Lyric muttered. He took a long drink of the butterbeer and tried not to think about how good it had been to let go, to not have a single care beyond the pleasure of the moment. He'd touched people, laughed, danced, done whatever the hell he'd wanted, and all it had cost him was... everything. He shook his head slightly. He'd decided it wasn't worth it, right? Wasn't that why he was here?

[Verity Bromley]

Verity raised her eyebrows. "I wasn't aware that sitting in a pub, drinking butterbeer, and conversing with an old friend was what got you into this mess." She retorted back. Two could play his little game. She has a lot of feisty-ness in her, which also came with stubbornness. Perhaps old friend was pushing it, considering they were hardly the couple to stay up all night sharing the latest gossip over a pint of Ben and Jerry's, but she needed to prove a point. They weren't doing anything illegal. Well, besides breaking his restraining orders, but she would take the hit for that one if it came down to that. There was nothing wrong with sitting around having a butterbeer. Nothing that would force him to sink back to his old ways. "You know, there are other ways of letting go."

[Trent Frey]

Lyric shook his head slightly. He was too f~ed up to do it the way everyone else did. He couldn't just dance with someone, could hardly talk to people, not that he really wanted to, and his life was little more than trying to make it through the day. He didn't argue with her calling them old friends, at least not out loud. That was ridiculous enough that he didn't think it needed said.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity waited for him to say something. Anything. She didn't know why she expected him to speak or what she expected him to day if he finally did speak, but she expected something. A wimper, a sigh, anything that would give her some kind of glimpse into his thoughts. She took a sip of her butterbeer, but nothing came. She was sick of waiting. Being the impatient soul that she was, she decided to speak so he didn't have to. "So, Trent, have you been at Hogwarts from the start?" She asked. Small talk was a start.

[Trent Frey]

Lyric looked aside at her, that wariness in his eyes again. He shook his head. "Just a year and a half," he said, then looked away again. "My last school kicked me out because my hair was scaring the kids." And because apparently he'd looked at Jory at some point, though he mostly remembered trying not to look at Jory. He shrugged.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity didn't bother trying to stifle her laugh. She shot a sideways glance at his hair. She could see how it could scare the kids, but she was distracted by the ever-solemn look on his face. Did he not see the least bit of humor in this? Gawd, he really was no fun. Verity had never been kicked out of a school, although there were probably times when she could've been. For the most part, she got pulled out of one school and placed into another before she even had the chance to get kicked out. "Oh, come on. Don't you think thats a little curious, at least?" It was so ridiculous that she found it a tad humorous.

[Trent Frey]

Lyric shot her another sharp look, then turned his attention to his butterbeer. He wasn't about to tell her that he thought his appearance was the least of his problem. Talking about himself—especially anything personal or private—had never gotten him anything but pain and rejection. No, he wasn't being especially friendly, and he couldn't explain his sudden bad mood, considering he was out of the castle, but he couldn't take another rejection like he'd gotten from Jory.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity was about ready to photograph each glare he shot her way. It was really just amazing how he seemed to scrounge up every negative emotion there was and shoot it her way in one brief glance. Okay, then. There goes that discussion. "You know, you should try modeling sometime." Verity suggested. He had the look going for him and he was really good at contorting his face into a straight expression. She snuck a glance, or at least took what she could get, of his ass. Yep, he could definitely be a model.

[Trent Frey]

Lyric looked aside, stunned and more than a bit baffled at that. "Modeling?" he repeated. Was she crazy? He was a freak at best, and not even an interesting one. Besides, girls modeled, and guys with muscle. He was neither, despite the times he'd apparently been mistaken for the former.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity arched her eyebrows, but didn't take her eyes off of him. "Did I stutter?" She asked. She was in a bit of a sassy mood and there was no sense in hiding it. He seemed skeptical of her idea and she waited for him to elaborate by taking a sup of her butterbeer. When he didn't, she continued. "Yes, modeling." She repeated mimicking his tone. "Don't you think?" Verity studied him a bit more, starting with his face. "I mean you've got excellent cheek bones and that complexion is to die for." Her eyes trailed down his chest and then his torso. "A bit thin, but that's certainly not a problem. If anything, it's what people are looking for these days." She studied that nice ass of his once again and those skinny legs. "I'm serious. You could so pull it off." Verity said with a nod, bringing her eyes back up to meet his.