about last night | Alora + Alfie

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

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Birds chirped outside the window, sunlight bleeding in through the curtains of the cozy Hogsmeade flat. Alfie rolled over, eyes opening to unfamiliar surroundings as he started to wake. His head was immediately met with a pounding headache and dry mouth. A small part of him was pretty sure he'd puke if he tried. One thing he noticed was Alora wasn't in bed, which worried him. He hoped it wasn't late in the afternoon and/or she wasn't out sulking about her wine fueled decisions from the night before. His phone was dead and clothes strewn across the floor.  Signs of a great night...

Slowly he slipped on his clothes from the night before, feeling a bit old for another walk of shame. With nerves nipping at his gut, he slowly opened the door, dreading what he was about to see. Half of him hoped he'd be able to slip out of the flat unseen.

As the door slowly creaked open, he poked his head out and was met with Alora sitting in the kitchen. Now he wasn't sure what his next move was supposed to be. He wanted to keep cool and collected since he knew they blew any chances of remaining professional after sleeping together. "Good morning.." he greeted slowly with a yawn. 

Alora Veda Astor

[Alora Veda Astor]

It had happened in a whirlwind once they fell out of the fireplace in the Three Broomsticks. Hurriedly she had pulled him towards Madam Puddifoots and up the stairs to her flat; only pausing to kiss him feverishly here and there and unlock the door to let them in as it was absolutely necessary. It had been forever since she had let anyone in like this. She was not the type of person to have a one night stand, ever. The idea of it now had ashamed her somewhat even. Truly she didn't like the idea of them all that much, and wasn't quite sure why she'd let this happen.

Yet when she had woken up during the night and seen Alfie's form beside her in the dark she found herself surprisingly pleased with herself. There hadn't been an ounce of regret, at least then. Finding herself being pulled into his chest in a cuddle as he slept on had actually been pretty nice. It had been a good night and she had enjoyed it.

That was until she had woken up properly this morning.

Seeing his bed head on the pillow next to hers, she smiled softly and watched him for a second, before the self-decided enormity of what she had done sunk in. Shame slipped down into her stomach and pooled like ice. What an idiot she had been to get into this mess. Sure she had been the one that had initiated it, her memory wasn't that gone; she hadn't blacked out. But was she proud of it now? No. As she watched Alfie's content, sleeping form, she thought about how this had not been a good idea in the least. Did she like Alfie? Yes. He was cute as fuck and even though she didn't know him that well, Alora felt a draw to him she couldn't explain. They seemed to like similar things and get on easily. She knew this would mess that up. Other than that she had surely gone and fucked whatever professional relationship they were meant to have. Trying to ignore the banging pain in her head; she moved around the room in cat like silence and readied herself.

____________________________________________________

When Alfie did eventually wake up; Alora was to be found sitting on the rug on the floor of the small living area of her flat. Dressed in a simple black pinafore, one of her teal tighted legs tucked under her, and the other spread out to the side as she poured over over Herbology research articles and journals that were spread out in front of her on the floor. She wasn't quite sure why, but she had felt an urge to sort through them this morning as something to do as she waited for Alife to wake up. As the door off the open living area of her flat began to creak open, she looked up to meet his gaze and her cheeks immediately flushed. She didn't quite know what to say at first. Merlin, this was awkward.

"Hi" was all she was able to mimic for the moment. Taking him in, she assumed the hazy smile she had effected the previous night, except now it wasn't wine fuelled. Although he looked rough, there was something about it still quite attractive to her, even moreso when he let out a sleepy yawn. Taking him in, her mouth hung open somewhat. Maybe she didn't look as rough as him in yesterdays clothes, but she wasn't as put together as she usually was. More casual, her hair clipped up at the back of her head, no lipstick or heavy make up, just a gentle slick of moisturiser over her her cheeks that seemed to be growing more red by the minute. As a distraction, she waved a hand over to the small dining table by the kitchenette and pointed to a Spellbucks forever hot takeaway cup, and a bag that held whatever pastry took his fancy "I got them....for you I mean" was all she could muster up to say; it made her feel even more idiotic and caused the flush in her cheeks to deepen further.

alfie edward o'callaghan

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

Alfie's heart rested at the pit of his stomach as visions of the night before flitted through his fuzzy memory. Anxiety hit him like a freight train as Alora's mouth hung open, he couldn't read her. She kindly offered him coffee and pastries she had picked up from Spellbucks. Mentally he was kicking himself in for sleeping in embarrassingly late...

Ruffling his head of hair, he got a glimpse of the plant journals she was hovering over on the ground. "Oh-Heey, thank you...you're a lifesaver." he told her graciously, truly appreciating the gesture of coffee with his pounding hangover, though he was already sensing the slight awkwardness between them. Fuck. Alfie reached for the coffee and took a sip. 

"What are you workin' on down there?" he asked her curiously, tilting his head to the side as his eyes observed from afar. Even without his glasses he could tell it was about plants. Go figure. That alone had already piqued his interest, he hoped it didn't seem too nosey. It wasn't often he got to talk about plants with people his age and it would be a good distraction from the slight guilt he had for ruining their professional relationship within a couple of hours of meeting each other.

Alora Veda Astor

[Alora Veda Astor]

Though she was less put together than Alfie, there was still a quiet elegance in how she carried herself. Alora was a woman of many surprises. People were always shocked when she explained Herbology was her passion. Usually, traditionally she supposed, Herbologists were usually messy creatures smeared in dirt with tufts of earth under her fingernails. And sure, Alora could get down and dirty with the best of them, but she always made sure she was well cleaned after the Greenhouses and kept her nails manicured. Even without the fancy shoes and make up, sitting on the rug, she had the perfect picture of the English Rose down. Not that she was any way like that last night of course, but still, for now she was well behaved.

With another small smile she watched Alfie creep towards the coffee and bag and gratefully pluck them up.

"It's fine, don't worry. The least I can do for getting you so drunk" There was a tension seeping into the air, sure, but Alora still laughed quietly a small smirk tugging at her lips.

She was surprised when Alfie actually took note of what she was doing for some reason, and looked up to him with her cheeks flushing "Oh this?" Shrugging she looked down again, some of her copper curls falling from her clips to obscure her face. "Just every now and then I like to go through them and do a clear out. I donate them to the library up at the school, or places like that. I'm sure you probably might have read most of them, but if there's any you want, they're yours..." Lapsing into silence it was the perfect cover for the few minutes before the discomfort became unbearable on her end.

Glancing up to him, her cheeks were still flushed. "Alfie I..." it was easy to start but then she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to say, or really how to say it without sounding like a cold hearted bitch. Instead her mouth gaped open for a moment as the little people in her head ran around searching for the words.

"I...uh..." God his stupid face was very distracting. With a silent curse, she hoped those little people would come up with something soon.

alfie edward o'callaghan

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

Alfie noticed Aloras tone and demeanor begin to shift as he got closer to her personal bubble, memories of the night flickering before their memories. Aloras journals were intriguing, he couldn’t hide that he was impressed as he appreciated from afar.

The journals were neat and organized, covered in perfect scrawl. His trained eyes were used to reading Herbology journals from his students adorned with messy handwriting, pages stuck together, and other unmentionables strewn across the pages.

The look on Aloras face was suddenly unsettled, he could tell that she had a lot on her mind. Her mouth gaped open and he cocked his head to the side. “Is everything alright?” He asked her, his expression softening. He tried to appear calm as he ran a hand though his messy curls.

Alfies inner alarms started to go off in his head as they always did anytime he did something naughty. “Last night is a blur..” He finally said what they were both probably thinking. ”Would you like a hangover tonic?” Alfie asked unsure if he should explain that he didn’t typically do this sort of thing.

Alora Veda Astor

[Alora Veda Astor]

The academic journals spread out in front of her were some of her favourites from her wide and varied collection. Some were likely out of date on their theories and the like by now, but mostly there was still enough relevant or useful information in them to keep them. She knew of course Alfie would make use of them if needed, even if it was just to thumb through on his lunch break. She was distracted from them though, as her eyes were locked on him and still she searched for the words. She was sure his face didn't need to be that distracting for sure. in silence she cursed herself; just how did he look even better all rugged and rough from sleep? Watching him run a hand through his mop of bed-head heavy curls was just enough to snap her out of whatever enchantment was coming over her.

"I just-" taking a breath she paused to steady herself. "I don't do this often. Get people drunk, and bring them home with me I mean." as her cheeks flared a bright red her prudish side was showing and she hated herself more for even having to start this conversation. Her eyes dropped away from his stupidly attractive face in a way of attempting to focus herself. She hadn't really ever done it actually. Not since a short rebellious phase at Muggle Uni ten years ago actually, but he didn't need to know that. Especially since she hadn't been with anyone other than Sam in the last ten years. This was already uncomfortable enough for her. Taking another breath she decided if the ground wanted to open up and swallow her whole that would be fine by her. When he admitted last night was a blur, she was surprised to feel a little sting at his words. It wasn't a blur for her. It had come back all morning to her in bright flashes, sure. But all the same, she had found herself smiling at the thoughts of it, and rather enjoying it. She thought about how maybe it would be easier to follow his line of thought for now and found herself slowly nodding in agreement. "Yeah, but no thank you I'm ok. I just mean..." taking another moment she nibbled on her lip "I really enjoyed it, but if we're going to be sort of working together maybe we shouldn't do it again?" She didn't think her face could get any redder, but there it was. Now as she stumbled over the last of her words it was almost beaconlike in the kitchen. What she had been thinking all morning was finally out there. She had struggled with bringing out the words, but now she felt somewhat better. Alora wanted Alfie close, yes, but she was still too fragile to get into all that again after Sam. Too pained and scarred to let anyone that close again.

"Like, maybe we'd just be better as friends?" Ah that famous line.

alfie edward o'callaghan

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

Alfie ruffled a hand through his messy curls, watching Alora's expression closely. Her face was a bright hue of red, which somehow complimented her fair complexion. A part of him that wished he could assure her that it wasn’t that big of a deal but he was still trying to convince himself the same. ”I understand what you mean, completely.” They both overlapped each other awkwardly. Alfie understood, her demeanor matched the situation. ”We got a bit out of hand didn’t we…” he chuckled at their situation. Alfie could feel the awkwardness slowly creeping in after that comment, his ears started to heat up.

They stared back and forth at each other for a prolonged moment, Alfie cleared his throat. The copper haired beauty stated that they’d be better off as friends and he felt a familiar pinch in his stomach. Hell, he knew that famous line all too well. He was pretty sure that was the line that got him into the most trouble through the years with women.

Bobbing his head in agreement, his hazel eyes watched her expression. ”No-er-yeah…I completely agree with you. It’s best to keep things professional from now on. This account is also significant for me and I don’t wish to mess things up.” he grumbled, forcing another laugh to appear unaffected. This was so awkward. ”Well, this secret is safe with me.. Friends?” he held out a hand in agreement before realizing how cringe that was and retracted it. ”It’s great to meet you, Alora. Don’t hesitate to reach out if I can help you get situated…” he started to ramble off, wishing he could just disappear.

Okay…now he was supposed to leave, right? There was a voice in his head telling him to evacuate the premises, but for some reason his feet weren’t leading the way. His eyes were glued to Alora as he hoped his brain would gather what to do next. Exit, hopefully.

Alora Veda Astor

[Alora Veda Astor]

Truthfully, Alora was a little let down at how easily Alfie had seemed to accept the defeat, how easily he agreed to what she had suggested. Last night may have been a haze to a degree, but it had been one of the best nights of her life. Even now as it came back to her in snatches, she could feel the heat rise in her. As much as she tried to look away from the curls she had raked her hands through so much the night before, she found her eyes locked on them, easier than his face. Yes, indeed they had gotten out of hand, but not an inch of her regretted it. Honestly, some small part of her had hoped he might put up a little fight for her. Of course, the hopeless romantic in her had always wanted that. She had always wished for someone to come along and whisk her away for a happy ending.

But that happy ending wasn't meant to be for now.

It was someone else happy ending.

"I..I wouldn't mess that up for you anyway" his business was obviously important to him and fair enough she thought. His livelihood needed to continue. Nodding slightly she plastered on a small, tight small. Her head bobbed in unison with his. She had been about to reach out and take his hand, cheeks flushed at the idea of his touch again (no matter the type), but then he had retracted it himself. Obviously thinking better of it all. "Friends." she agreed firmly. Time stretched out in front of them, and she didn't find herself moving either. She wasn't quite sure why he was watching her, but she thought if he hung around much longer she would be highly tempted to stage a repeat of the night before. That wouldn't be very friendly of her now would it? Instead, she found herself pushing to stand and stand more level with him, wondering if it would be enough to signal she was going to walk him out. "Thanks Alfie, really" For what she wasn't quite sure. Maybe the best night of her life. Maybe it was just for being nice and offering her help if she needed it. But either way, she wouldn't say. In lieu of being able to say, she gave him another small smile, wondering what to do next. Maybe she should start walking to the door. It wouldn't take much. Three small steps to cross the kitchen come living area of the flat. Ane then he'd be gone. She didn't quite want him to leave, and yet, she knew he should.

alfie edward o'callaghan

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

Well, this was growing more awkward by the minute. Alfie couldn’t help but think he’d already said the wrong thing. There was a part of him deep down that wanted to stay with Alora, potentially work through the awkwardness, but he also knew that could be more trouble than it was worth. Sometimes he just cared too much about how people felt.

Slowly, the lanky man started to inch toward the front door, noticing the copper headed beauties eyes stray to the door before they retracted to the ground. He could tell that she was uncomfortable.

Biting down on his lip, ”Er, yeah..” he started awkwardly as he watched Alora carefully, nodding slowly as he feigned nonchalance deep down within him. ”So-yeah-I’ll reach out this week so we can meet up at the school to get everything set up.. reach out if you need anything.” he offered with a kind smile, trying to leave her off on a positive, less awkward note. ”See ya.” and with that, he twisted the door knob and ducked out of Aloras flat, thoughts swirling around his head.

Alora Veda Astor

[Alfie Out]