Swinging Doors | Evelyn

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Luke had been exploring the Wizarding world in the UK for the past couple of weeks since he arrived from America. He had spent a lot of time in Diagon Alley. He stayed there for his first night and was there almost every day of the past few weeks. He was getting to know the locals and he was beginning to get recognized by some of the shop owners of the shops that he frequented. He spent most nights when he wasn't working in the Leaky Cauldron where he always met someone interesting for him to talk to. The Country boy had also gotten to know Hogsmead a little. He got his job at the pub there called the Three Broomsticks. He liked the little mountain village mostly because it was near the Hogwarts castle. And he knew how weird it sounded that he taken a job in a village that was near a school on purpose, but it really wasn't for a creepy reason. He just wanted to be nearby in case his siblings ever needed something. He thought it would be a good chance to meet or talk to them.

Today however, Luke decided to explore somewhere that he hadn't explored yet. He walked down the side alley off of Diagon Alley and browsed the windows of the shops as he did so. He passed a pub and glanced inside. He was getting hungry, it was around lunch time. He stepped inside and walked up to the bar, taking a seat on a bar stool. "Can I get an order of Fish and Chips? Oh and a soda I guess." he added. He had a shift later that night and didn't want to drink before he went to work. He also felt very British ordering fish and chips. It wasn't something that he had ordered ever at home, but it was something that every place had on their menu and someone that he was sure he liked. 

@evelyn

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Evelyn had the day off and was wandering around Diagon Alley. She wasn't really sure what she wanted to do there, but she hadn't felt like staying at home and reading today, and she wanted a change of scenery from her normal walks around muggle London. So she decided to give the wizarding shopping area a try. Maybe she'd run into a friend ... though she honestly didn't have too many of those. She walked into Flourish and Blotts (one of her favorite stores) and looked at books for a while, before she decided to try somewhere else.

After a while she was hungry and went to get some food. She stepped inside and moved to the bar, sitting and ordering a simple sandwich. Once she placed her order, she looked around and noticed there was a guy sitting on the bar stool next to her own. She offered a small smile and gestured to her seat. "I didn't take someone's seat, did I?" Ev asked hopefully. She could move if she had, of course, but she would rather not move if she didn't have to. So she found herself hoping he was alone.

@luke

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A few minutes after Luke had ordered his lunch and woman walked in and sat down next to him. The bar wasn't too full so she would have had her pick of seats, but she had chosen to sit next to him. If he had learned anything over the time that he had worked at the Three Broomsticks so far, it was that the customers who sat next to strangers at the bar were the type that were looking for a chat. He was curious to see if his theory here was correct or not. "No ma'am, the seats empty." he assured her with a friendly smile and in his obviously Southern accent. The bar tender brought out his soda and set it down in front of him. Luke began to feel a big childish drinking a soda at a bar, but he really wasn't the type of guy to drink before work. He liked to have a beer, and sometimes he even liked to drink the stronger stuff, but he was a little more responsible than someone who would drink before a shift. "You been here before? Is the food any good?" he asked her. 

@evelyn

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Ugh, this part always made Ev feel so self-conscious. She wasn't good when it came to meeting new people. At least, she didn't feel like she was. Evelyn always felt so anxious that she would say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing, basically that she would find a way too make things awkward, which she always hated. Hopefully she wouldn't do that right now, but the nervousness was definitely there. Her smile widened a tiny bit when he told her the seat was empty, speaking with an accent. Honestly, it was an extremely charming accent, but she wasn't going to say that. She was trying to not make things awkward. "Well that's a relief," she responded, her tone a little shy. Evelyn nodded when he asked if she'd been here before. "I have, and I like it better than most others," she admitted. Her mind was racing, trying to come up with something else to say, but Ev had nothing and she was nervous that he could see how hard this was for her. "I'm assuming this is your first time," she commented when nothing else came to mind. Wow. She really needed to work on this.

@luke

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She admitted that the food was good. She had been here before, she told him. And, she liked the food here better than some other places. It was a fairly vague answer, but one that he would accept from a stranger in a pub. She seemed a little shy and Luke hoped that it wasn't him that was making her uncomfortable. He was a friendly guy, or at least, he saw himself as friendly. But he could see how others could see him as pushy or even needy at times. He had been lonely since he moved to England, he had to admit. Which sometimes made him a little more eager to get to know and speak to someone he had just met in the desperate search for companionship. He was hoping this wasn't one of those times. "Yeah. my first time in this pub. My first time in this Alley, actually. I took a turn from Diagon and here I am." he admitted with a smile. "I'm Luke, by the way. Just so you know who you're talking to." he introduced himself.

@evelyn

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Evelyn smiled a little more confidently when the guy beside her said that it was his first time in this pub, and in the Alley? Well, he obviously wasn't from England, so it would make sense that he didn't know Diagon Alley like most people did. Did that mean he was new to England in general, or just this area? She wasn't sure and she didn't really know how to ask. "Well, if you need someone to show you around ..." she started, trailing off nervously. She wasn't good at this, at making friends. "I'm Evelyn," she added, still feeling nervous. Why couldn't she just talk to him (or anyone for that matter) without feeling this way? "Sorry, I'm not ... good at this sort of stuff," She looked at the counter in front of her and bit her lip, breathing out in relief when her sandwich arrived moments later. At least if she was eating she wouldn't feel so awkward. 

@luke

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The woman sitting beside him introduced herself as Evelyn. She said that if he ever needed someone to show him around, and then her sentence trailed off. He knew, of course, what she was trying to say. While had was a very social person and quite the charmer, he understood that some people weren’t quite as good at talking to strangers or getting to know more people. “That’s okay.” he gave a friendly laugh when she said that she wasn’t very good at this, talking to strangers, he assumed. “We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. The company is good enough.” he insisted, trying to make her comfortable. He knew that he could come off strongly sometimes, he was a loud, friendly person. And as nice and sweet as the guy was, he knew he still wasn’t exactly what everyone liked in a lunch partner.

@evelyn

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He was nice, this guy. He seemed to really be listening and to not want to make her feel uncomfortable at all, which was a cool thing that she didn't quite expect. Ev smiled at him, still a little hesitantly when he said that they didn't have to talk. She shook her head a little. "I don't mind talking," she answered slowly. "I'm just not good at starting conversations. You know, coming up with things to say or questions to ask. I always feel like I do it wrong." Dang it, she hadn't meant to say that last part! Oh well, he did seem like a good guy. Hopefully he wouldn't laugh at her for it.

@luke

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She explained that she just had trouble starting conversations, he nodded. It seemed like it was becoming a norm, he had met quite a few people like that at his job. Some people just had an easier time getting to know strangers than others did. Luke was one of those very social people who loved getting to know new people and socializing whenever he could. So, he liked to make sure that the other people he was talking to were comfortable and wanted to talk. “Okay, we I’ll ask the questions then, and we’ll start with something easy… Do you have a job? What do you do?” he asked, eating one of his french fries after dipping it in ketchup.

@evelyn

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All right, he was definitely nice. Evelyn felt her smile become more sincere as he said that he would start the questions and that he'd start easy. A part of her wondered why he was bothering talking with her when he could have gone anywhere in the place and probably found someone more willing to talk to him, but another part of her was glad. Talking to someone would get her out of her head, which would probably be a good thing for him. She nodded at his question. "Yes, I play Quidditch. For the Falmouth Falcons. I'm a beater," she said with a small smile. "What about you?" If she was going to be talking about herself, she'd just echo the questions back at him. That way it wouldn't be as much of a one-sided conversation.

@luke

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She told him that she was a beater for the Falmouth Falcons and he looked at her with a very impressed look. "I have to admit, I never would have guessed." he told her, feeling a little bad that he had just assumed that she worked in some office somewhere where she could sit behind a desk and file paperwork all day. How very old fashioned of him. He looked at her again after taking a gulp of his soda. She didn't necessary look like a beater, but who was he to make that call? He had played Quodpot at Ilvermorny. He didn't know Quidditch well, but he knew that it was similar in a lot of ways to Quidditch, but as far as he knew, nothing exploded in a normal game of Quidditch. "I've never taken in a Quidditch game actually, I've only been here a few weeks and we don't really have it in the states." he admitted, feeling a little silly since Quidditch was so important in his country. He sat down his soda and continued eating his fish and chips. "I'm a bartender at the Three broomsticks. Nothing as exciting as what you do." he told her, having to pause to finish chewing his food before speaking. 

@evelyn

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Evelyn gave him a sly smile when she saw his surprise, chuckling softly when he admitted that he never would have guessed. "You're not the only one," she answered. For some reason, it pleased her when she was able to surprise people by her job. Maybe it was the surprise factor that she liked so much. Then he said he'd never been to a Quidditch game and she looked at him curiously before remembering he wasn't from here. Maybe they played a different game where he was from? She smiled, "Well I can get you some tickets if you want," Jess answered easily. She rarely had people to give tickets to, so it wasn't like it would be hard. "Do you like bartending?" That was a decent, reasonable question, wasn't it? She watched him curiously.

@luke

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Evelyn told him that she could get him free tickets and he nodded, eagerly. “That would be really cool. Of course, I wouldn’t want to put you out, or anyone else. Like if you normally gave them to family or friends or a partner of any sort.” he insisted. As much as he would love to accept them, he would feel bad if it meant that her parents or friends couldn’t go, he didn’t want to take anyone’s spot. He was fairly interested in the sport, though. As someone who had played Quadpot, he was interested to see how different the two games really were. Plus, he was sure that matches were a great way to meet knew people, something he was trying really hard to accomplish right now. He was someone who got bored and lonely quite easily and he needed social interaction to keep him going, which was why his new job at the bar in Hogsmead was such a good fit for him. There were always customers, and the waitstaff were pretty good company too. “Yeah, I like it. I like talking to people and helping them relax with a drink and listening to stories from their day.” he admitted. “If you come in sometime I’ll buy you a drink in exchange for those tickets.” he promised with a smirk.

@evelyn

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Evelyn shrugged when Luke started mentioning how she didn't have to give them if she normally gave them to other people. "My parents are muggles, so they don't normally come to my games. I have a ticket I can spare for you. Two, if you want to bring someone with you," she added with a small smile. She didn't know if he would want to bring a date to a Quidditch game, but she didn't have a problem with it. Naturally. She'd be playing and he was really just an acquaintance. Her smile widened a little when he started to explain why he liked bartending and then told her he could get her a free drink. "Well I don't normally drink," she answered, "but maybe I will come visit you there, since I wouldn't have to buy it." 

@luke

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Luke found it so very kind that she was willing to part with tickets to a complete stranger. “I would really appreciate that, it’s very nice of you.” he insisted. She even offered him two. Did he need two? He didn’t really know who he would bring? He didn’t have a lot of friends in England yet. He supposed Finn might want to go. He didn’t know how much his fellow American would enjoy Quidditch, and he didn’t want to impose on this woman’s generosity, so he decided that one ticket would be enough, and if the two of them became friends, maybe he’d ask for two next time, if there was a next time. “One should be enough. No dates for me.” he admitted. He wasn’t dating right now anyway, he had bigger things to worry about. He needed to focus on finding his family and figuring out why he was here. Which wasn’t to say that he wasn’t interested in women. He was. And he would love some company, but nothing serious.

@evelyn