Baby, you can find me under the lights ¦ lulu

[Arlo Bletchley]

Arlo still wasn't entirely sure how he had ended up at the Gala tonight. Well, he did; his father had shoved two tickets into his hand and growled at him to bring a date to stop his mother asking questions in an almost vaguely threatening tone. He hadn't wanted to followed through on it of course, he didn't actually have anyone to bring and he wasn't sure big showy parties like this were entirely his scene. And yet, here he was, dress robes on and clutching a glass of champagne he had pinched from a waiter walking by with a tray full. He hadn't found anyone to bring with him, and he wasn't going to go at all, except one or two of the lads from LIFE had utterly lambasted him and pressured him into it. Tickets were like gold dust apparently, would be a waste if he didn't go apparently. All of their favourite Quid players would be there apparently. Not that he cared enough to bring one of them to something like this though. He'd rather stand awkwardly alone. With his dad as the national team's coach he had been to enough of these things growing up; they'd lost their appeal just slightly.

Still, after getting off the phone with Georgie earlier in the evening, he had decided to go. If nothing else just to please his mother. Georgie wasn't here and that was bad enough, she said, their mum needed someone for when their dad was off schmoozing. It was a lie, their mother was just as skilled at schmoozing in her own way. But Arlo agreed in an effort just to get her off his back.

People pleasing as always.

Pausing, he held his glass carefully in one hand as he adjusted the cuff of his robe, hoping he didn't look like a total twat at least. Whilst doing so his eyes swept the room, looking for anyone he knew; whether to talk to them or stay away from them he wasn't entirely sure yet. He'd decide that later on.

lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

Lulu never planned on going to the quidditch gala. She only heard about it because her roommate was constantly obsessing on what she was going to wear. The night before the gala Lulu agreed to attend since her roommate officially broke up with her stupid boyfriend. Understandably, she didn’t want to miss out on the elite party.

Hell, maybe if Lulu was lucky she’d rub elbows with some hot athletes. Maybe she’d run into Luna or Addy. The one thing Lulu promised herself she wouldn’t be doing was drink. Every time she only learned that she was a blubbering mess who couldn’t keep her hands to herself. Especially after the incident with Arlo, that was enough of a reason to never drink again.

Tonight she was dressed to impress in a long, shimmering, skin tight black gown. For once in a very long time she actually felt stunning. Lulu charmed her hair to be long and black, spending way too much money and time on her dramatic makeup. It would have been a travesty to waste the beauty, so she socialized with anyone and everyone she encountered, finding the dance floor the most fun and lively of all. Until the older blokes got too close....causing her to shimmy her way back over to her mates.

Lulu and her gal pals tore up the dance floor until their feet could no longer hold them upwards. After a while her friends were proper drunk and found dance partners to do a more dirty style of dancing with. She separated from the fun to indulge in a non-alcoholic drink and fresh air. As she was turning away from her friends to walk into the courtyard for the crisp air, her eyes locked with someone across the room, sending her stomach to fall to the floor. 

Arlo Bletchley.

Panic suddenly struck her as her icy blue eyes widened, body going hot. Lulu didn't want to mess up her makeup tonight. She spent too much bloody money on this mascara. Abruptly, she turned on her heel to face the other way, hoping he didn't see her. That was unfortunate, considering she was having an amazing night before locking with his handsome emerald green eyes. Her roomie shot her a pair of shifty eyes, indicating that Arlo was in fact, headed their way. Lulu froze with her heels on the ground, voice trapped in her throat as she held her breath. After their last encounter, she had nothing to say to him. Seeing him again only opened the wound deeper all over again, she instantly wished she could disappear.


Arlo Bletchley

[Arlo Bletchley]

Lost in his own thoughts, his eyes had been fixed on people on the dance floor; a group of girls probably his own age. Unintentionally his eyes were fixed on them. He was watching them really though, his eyes were unfocused; looking past them. Really we was thinking about how he could get out of here as quick as possible. Not that he had anything else to do, just the black tie tuxedo he had opted for over the more traditional dress robes the older set chose to wear was uncomfortable as fuck. well, really, the whole room was uncomfortable as fuck. He hadn't wanted to come, but once again his people pleasing side shone through and he had agreed to come. With a brief glance at his parents told him that they were busy chatting with whoever was flavour of the week for now, they wouldn't notice if he slipped away.

Looking back to the dancefloor, the group of girls were moving away. But now, he was surprised to see one of them was staring back at him. Looking at him with more familiar a gaze than he had first thought. His gaze narrowed, properly taking her in now. The black hair, the crazy make up, the dark dress; He hadn't realised it was here earlier on because it was all so unlike her, but now he was really looking at her and taking it in, she looked amazing. So different, and bewildering, but still breath-taking.

As their gazes locked, he was brought back to that night all over again where she had walked out of his flat; well two occasions that had happened, but now one more recently. He still hated himself for letting her go. He had stood up for himself for once and not just lain down and act a door mat, but still he had his regrets over letting her go.

By the time he realised what he was doing, he was halfway across the room, mere steps away from her; she hadn't moved the entire time he closed the distance between them. Her friends had been fairly obviously clued in to the situation and they had left off in the directions of the bathroom or the bar, leaving her to it. She hadn't moved until he was in touching distance of her, just stood, wide eyed; trying to make sense of what was happening. When she turned away, his hand went out in a lame attempt to try and reach for hers, but failed, now she was quickly moving away from him.

"Lulu, just wait please. Let me talk to you..." She had gone past him, outside to the courtyard now. In this much quieter area he didn't have to call out as loudly. He stopped walking, letting her put more distance between them. It was empty out here, the party inside throwing light out onto them. Nobody else was here but them; no wonder, all the fun was inside and it was cold out here. The light of the moon lit the square just enough for him to make out her features from behind. He stopped, waiting to see if she would.


lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

Lulu tried to put space between her and Arlo before he noticed her but it was already too late. He spotted her and she could feel his eyes on her as he was approaching. Rushing outside was a stupid idea because now she was trapped and cold. Pulling a tense face, Lulu spun on her heel to face Arlo, sighing deeply, "I spent too much time and money on this make up to cry tonight, Arlo." she warned him, already feeling like she was going to cry. The last time she saw Arlo she severely embarrassed herself. Deep down she hoped Arlo got the long coming closure he deserved. The words were hard to hear and they constantly rang in her memory but he was right. His message was clear. After wandering the streets of Kensington for over an hour Obie side apparated her home without asking her too many questions. Not that she was able to answer any of them from all of the sobbing that was going on.

Arlo's traditional robes were certainly a choice. She wondered if his mum convinced him that was a good idea. Somehow, he still looked handsome though. Bloody hell.

Breathing in through her nose and releasing from her mouth, she stared at Arlo for a moment, "What?" she asked, her tone laced with a hint of agitation. And a bit of embarrassment. Lulu didn't want to repeat what happened with Arlo weeks ago. The pain in her heart was too much. Her icy saucers looked down at the floor before looking at him. "What do you have to say?" she finally asked with a shrug, stomach flipping rapidly back and forth. There was a part of her deep down that was secretly happy to see him again but she was terrified of whatever he was about to say.

Arlo Bletchley

[Arlo Bletchley]

He hung back, a few steps away from her. She needed the space and he knew that. For a moment he just watched her, hand still held up, frozen in the air between them. His face was largely an unreadable mash of emotions. There was too much going on inside his mind to settle on one emotion to portray on his face. If he thought about things too much a pained, almost sorrowful emotion crept across his features. He listened to her while he tried to school his face into a more neutral one. Swallowing the lump in his throat regret started to creep in and he felt his hand drop feebly to his side.

"No of course, you look amazing. So different I didn't recognise you earlier, but gorgeous all the same" slowly he nodded, glancing down. The more he looked directly at her the more it hurt. "You don't need to ruin it.."

The bite to her tone made him hesitate even more. He hadn't known exactly what he was going to say when he had gotten this close. He had just followed an idiotic, blind urge to want to talk to her. To be near her. Now he was here in front of her he was too dumbstruck by her sudden jolting appearance to his boring evening. The agitation pierced him in ways he wasn't exactly ready for or had even considered when he had sought her out.

"I just..." When he spoke again, his tone was low and somewhat searching, as if he hadn't really settled on the words as they came out of his mouth. Though he looked up, he still couldn't bring himself to look directly at her; whether it be from fear, or self preservation. The tight, gripping, stabs at his chest were starting to kill him just a little. Instead he tilted his head back, instead basking in the light of the moon. Focusing on it's eerie light gave him something to look at instead of the pools of her eyes. "I'm sorry I let you go that night. Go out alone like that. Georgie yelled at me, and she's right. It was really dangerous and I shouldn't have let you go. I did follow you down to the street a few minutes later, but there was no sign of you so I guessed you had apparated or else you had fucked off in so much of a hurry that you definitely didn't want to be followed. So I just came back in and drank and worried instead. And....yeah..." realising he had been rambling, her made himself trail off, and push his lips together in silence.

After another beat of quiet between them, he dropped his eyes to his hands again instead and shrugged. At first he couldn't really get his words out, when they did eventually come out they came out in a rush, like they were falling out of his mouth. Or he pushed them out before he could take them back. Just as fragile as a whisper he admitted "I don't really know why I came over here to talk to you. I don't know what made me and I didn't really have a plan. What I said was true but, you probably don't want to talk to me and that's fine. But I just wanted to be near you. That's all..." He had fought with himself long enough, trying to beat himself out of his bad habit as always, but it always won out and his just slightly too large front teeth started chewing over his bottom lip. "Maybe we need to just draw a line under the other and move on with shit..." His final words were careful, as if searching out to await her reaction.

lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

Lulu’s eyes fell on Arlo as she attempted to read his face, noting the anxious crease in his brow. What could he possibly have to say to her after their last nightmarish encounter? Many nights she lay awake trying to forget that conversation. ”Thank you, Arlo. That's very nice of you to say.” she squeaked a reply after he called her gorgeous. Her stomach and heart were at a nasty battle with the way he was looking at her. 

As Arlo stumbled into an apology reminding her of the turbulent night they had the last time they saw each other, her head tilted to the side. ”So you’re only apologizing because Georgie made you feel bad, huh..” she clarified in a deadpan tone, rolling her eyes to the back of her skull. It was impossible to stay mad at someone as sweet as Arlo. He was truly a treasure. Especially after everything she had done. There was a tiny part of her - more like a huge part of her - that was happy he found the courage to approach her tonight. Even if it pained her deep to her core. Lulu wished she was stronger. 

The tears welled up in her eyes threatening to spill over, she wiped them with the back of her hand. Lulu sucked in a breath, contemplating Arlo's words as her feet rooted into the ground, deep down yearning to bury her face in his chest and forget about it all. Her head nodded slowly, arms crossed only because she was feeling vulnerable. Her head nodded in agreement, ”There's nothing I want more than to move forward... I'm truly sorry for everything.” Lulu admitted, eyes looking up to Arlo for validation. Swallowing hard, she asked, "Can we just start over with a fresh slate?"

After a moment her face twisted into a more soft expression, feigning nonchalance but she was screaming on the inside. Reaching out for his hand in a greeting, "Hi, my name is Lulu Blishwick.." she offered him a kind smile with a glint in her eye, wondering if he'd go along with it. 

Arlo Bletchley

[Arlo Bletchley]

He tried to tear his eyes off of her, tried to control himself, but it was useless. She just kept drawing him back in. He was quiet now though, after he called her gorgeous he hadn't much else to say so he just watched her in silence. Every time he tried to focus his attention elsewhere, anywhere but looking at her; she pulled him right back in. In the end if was just easier to keep looking at her, even if it did make his chest tighten up.

That was until her next little glib attack. With that, his face hardened, brow furrowing with annoyance and he glanced down again. "No actually Lulu, that's not it" his tone was cutting, edged with irritation. "When I couldn't find you I came back upstairs and sat there and fretted instead. Except then I couldn't just sit there anymore, so I opened a bottle of Firewhiskey. And then I got drunk, and I got even more worried. I called Georgie because I didn't know what else to do and felt pretty shit and helpless. That's when she yelled at me and called me an idiot for letting you walking out into the night, after she gave out shit to me for interrupting when she was at some fashion show. Still, though she stayed with me on the phone for a while and talked me down." chewing on his bottom lip, he felt the magnet that drew him in earlier was now working over time to repel him to look anywhere but at her. He couldn't face her now, the way she had said that and rolled her eyes, making him feel even more like shit. It was clear by the way he softened as the story unfurled that was how he felt. "I still get a weekly check in to see if I've 'put on my big boy pants' and bothered to find you yet. I hadn't I guess..." he added in a hushed, defeated tone.

When he said he wanted to just draw a line under it, he wasn't entirely sure what he meant. Some angry withered part of him wanted to move on alone, without Lulu. The other smaller, hopeful part of him wanted things to just go back to how they had been. when he did finally look up to see the tears welling in her eyes; he wasn't quite sure what side of the fence Lulu seemed to be on. It was difficult to read her. Once upon a time he had known her so well, had once been so trusting of her; until she had pulled the rug from under her when he'd been least expecting it. It had taken him so long to get over that, to heal his heart the best he could and now here she was extending an olive branch. He was silent, frozen mid chew on his lip. His eyes focused on her now, but in a way different from before; now here was more searching. Almost like a animal of prey watching their predator, wondering whether to trust or not. Taking a breath in, he moved to slowly to nod. Hesitantly at first, but then it grew slightly more confident. His demeanour was still wary, but his face had moved. Gone was the high level of anxiety that manifested in chewing off his bottom lip. He wasn't completely smiling, but it had softened significantly. When Lulu spoke and held out a hand, one corner of his mouth twitched up, even if his brow did furrow a little.

"Well this is a lot more civilised than being accosted in the Hogwarts broom shed I guess..." a glint of a smirk floated on his face as he watched her


lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

Lulu could feel Arlo’s irritation when she questioned his true intentions. She immediately regretted saying anything, not wishing to make Arlo feel worse about the situation that was already shit. Lulu raked her fingers through her hair, switching weight on the balls of both of her feet. Arlo’s hardened expression began to soften, eyes on her as they shared a gaze. Her heart skipped a beat as their eyes locked. The butterflies in her stomach went into a frenzy. Looking down at the floor, she swallowed hard, hoping they could get past this awkwardness soon. ”Well, now you can report back to Georgie and tell her you found me.” she stated softly with a flicker of a smile, relieved her eyes didn’t betray her and allow tears to spill over.

Maybe she went too far back into a ‘fresh slate’ but it seemed like Arlo understood what she meant. His hardened expression softened for her the most it had since before the day she broke up with him. Lulu’s head tilted to the side at the smirk tugging at the corners of Arlo’s lips after his remark involving the broom shed. A reminiscent feeling swept her off of her feet. “You can’t accost the willing…“ Lulu giggled with a guilty smile, biting down on her bottom lip as her heart swelled in her chest. There was a time where it was routine for her to pull him into the broom closet for a snog after practice, matches, and whenever she wanted...until one day Arlo decided he was embarrassed by her. She remembered the disappointment she felt after their first falling out that eventually brought them back together again. To think those were simpler times. Now everything was shit. It was a shame to realize the good days were happening when they were already over. Were these supposed to be the good ol' days? She felt like a lost little girl in the big world.

After a quiet moment Lulu's icy saucers looked Arlo up and down with a hint of comical scrutiny. “The traditional robes were a bold choice.” She smiled slowly, wondering if wearing dress robes was his mother’s idea. ”You look really handsome, Arlo.” she reassured him with a tone as sweet as sugar, and genuinely meaning it, while offering a light squeeze to his strong arm. Lulu had grown up exponentially since their school days. To be fair, she felt like a different person every month, always evolving and learning new things about herself. Lately her life was about self discovery. Since ditching the night life scene and starting her new job at Madam Pudifoots she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. 

There was a strange sensation boiling inside her that she couldn't ignore. Lulu was blank in the head but was overwhelmed with the feeling of wanting to hug Arlo from a magnetic shift pulling her in. She succumbed to the temptation and wordlessly pulled Arlo into a hug, immersing herself in his familiar scent as she gave him a comforting squeeze. 

Arlo Bletchley

[Arlo Bletchley]

His strike had landed and the effect of it was pretty immediate. It shouldn't, it put them on more equal footing in reality, but still; it made him feel like a prick at all for lashing out in the way he had. Even if it had been the truth. He had softened slightly, the hard front he had put up for the last however many months had melted away, but not entirely. He was still wary of this whole situation. He didn't reach out and shake her hand in return, nor did he shy away when she self chastised and said that he could happily report back to Georgie.

That comment actually only made his frown deepen. "No I won't be saying anything to Georgie, except to mind her own business. I don't need to perpetuate any ideas she has." His admission was quiet enough, not exactly leaning towards harsh, but not friendly either.

Instead he focused on what else she said, his frown didn't disappear but there was less of a crease to his brow as he started "I wouldn't exactly say I was willing the first time you burst in and disturbed me there. Would you?" Pointedly looking to her, one eyebrow raised, and he was still frowning, but there was more of a teasing tone to his voice. His eyes dropped away then she his mind drifted back to that time she had caught him in there about to crack into his newest comic book, and all the times they had spent in there after that. Hidden away. Times he enjoyed, even if on reflection, he wasn't entirely proud of how he carried on in those early days. Even so, after he decided he didn't care what people thought, and stopped being embarrassed. When people had been more than a little shocked that they, of all people, were together. Lulu had always ignited a little carefree feeling in his chest; cemented his bold streak. He supposed she was lost in thoughts of that as well because when he did dare look back to her, her eyes were glassed over a little, thinking back just the same as he was.

When she spoke again though, it caught him off guard. The way she watched him, taking in all details, made him a slight bit uncomfortable. He didn't want to be watched and scrutinized like that. To be judged. He half thought she was going to call her out for being weird and old fashioned. His breath caught in his chest just a little when she actually complimented him. He cheeks flushed again up to his ears and he didn't really know what to say, so he shrugged feebly. His Mum had put a picture in the family chat and Georgie had agreed he looked handsome, but she had 100% been taking the piss. By the way she watched him, Lulu was genuinely saying it. "Yeah. Mum suggested them and then I said I didn't really care. I didn't plan to come at all really. But Dad said it would probably be good to come and talk to people. If I wanted to get work after I graduate. I had actually been planning on leaving soon. I haven't really been enjoy-"

But his thought had been cut short when Lulu stepped in to pull him into a hug. Feeling like his breath had be squished out of him when she gave him a comforting squeeze. It wasn't particularly tight, but it had caught him off guard and for a split second he had found it utterly suffocating. Her arms wrapped around his abdomen and he felt her tucking her face into him, while his own arms had began to lift into place, but then froze as if unsure. They remained there, still in the air, inches away from their intended land point as he questioned everything. For a moment he had to pause; forcing himself to remembering to breathe. Then slowly, without any other idea of what to do, gingerly they took their intended place and returned Lulu's embrace. Even if he didn't understand why; why either of them were doing it he was unsure of whether it was entirely the right thing to do. Would this bring them back to some sort of entanglement? Would he better to pull himself back to reality and push her away, to completely draw a line under things and walk away as he had initially intended.

But then he found himself tilting his head forward and settling his cheek against the top of her head and realised he was enjoying it far too much.

lulu anne blishwick

[lulu anne blishwick]

”I guess not, huh?” she agreed with shifty eyes. Maybe he did have a point there. Lulu literally burrowed her way into Arlo's life at the beginning of their relationship. There was a time Arlo could barely look at her in front of his ‘cool’ jock friends which always hurt her feelings. Now it seemed Arlo was the one with the hurt feelings. Which was understandable.

Lulu enveloped herself in the smell of Arlo for a brief moment, knowing that tears were threatening to spill over and betray her perfect make up. It was nice to feel the comfort of Arlo’s arms once again. A sigh past her lips, knowing he probably thought she was acting weird. ”Sorry. I don’t know why I did that..” she muffled into his chest honestly, a warmth rushing into her cheeks. The selfish part of her knew that she probably should have kept her hands to herself but she missed Arlo terribly.

After a brief moment she pulled away, refusing to allow herself to melt into his familiar touch any deeper. She was hyper aware of his chin on the top of her head. There was a time not too long ago she used to get the warm and fuzzies from their height difference. That feeling didn’t quite hit the same anymore for obvious reasons. Her icy blue eyes stared at Arlo before tearing to the ground, suddenly feeling anxious again. Talking to Arlo used to be so easy, now she felt like she’d break into tears at any second.

Running her fingers through her long braid nervously, her head cocked to the side as she feigned nonchalance, squeezing his arm lightly, ”-What haven’t you been enjoying?” she asked him curiously, realizing she rudely interrupted his train of thought by hugging him and cut him off. Lulu would take any glimpse into his life that he’d spare.

Arlo Bletchley