BOO! | esther & alfie

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

School had been back in session for well over a month, and Alfie was quickly getting adjusted to his second year teaching at Hogwarts. Apparently, the repairs at Ilvermorny were taking much longer than anticipated. Life in the UK was much different from back home, but he felt like he was doing well. Alfie could get around on his own with ease, but mostly, he enjoyed the flat he shared with his best friend, Esther. It was a great getaway from the castle after long, grueling days in the greenhouse. He found it comforting to know he had a cold brew waiting for him in the fridge every day when he got home. Alfie couldn't believe he spent an entire year living at the castle and returning to cramped quarters.

With this freedom came some struggle. Life hadn't been all smooth sailing. The more he spent time with the blonde, he found feelings resurfacing from the past. Alfie found himself downright pining for Esther some days, and it freaked him out. Over the summer, things between them got slightly messy after they allowed their hormones to get the best of them after a night of drinking. As elated as Alfie was that it had happened, he went through a slight panic. Unable to handle the potential awkwardness, Alfie covered it up the next day by pretending nothing happened and admitting that he didn't remember anything. He wasn't sure what he was thinking by lying straight to her face because he remembered it quite vividly. They hadn't spoken about it since the day it happened, months ago, but he thought about it a lot. Hell, it was eating at him from the inside out.

Tonight would be a great escape from the past couple of weeks with school starting up again. Technically, 'Zombie Island' was a school function, but he and Esther could remain professional after a few drinks....hopefully. They were dressed for the occasion as a devil and an angel. Alfie was adorned in a garish red suit, devil horns, and guyliner that he begrudgingly agreed to. Honestly, he was feeling himself - but fully prepared to get roasted by his students and teacher friends. After a couple of drinks at home, the pair apparated to the destination. As his feet hit the ground, he got a quick look around before he pulled Esther's arm gently, more to get her attention. "It's almost 9:30." he looked at his watch, eyebrows furrowing to the center of his forehead as he whined, "I don't want to be here when the dancing starts.."

@esther

[Deleted]

Halloween season had come around again, and whilst the British didn’t manage to pull it off the same way they did back home, it was still a celebration to look forward to in the wizarding world. The past month or so had been dedicated mostly to settling back into a busy work schedule now that all of the students were back in the castle and getting themselves into various predicaments that required all sorts of medical attention. Some more serious than others... Esther was happy to have a little routine again, but to say she wouldn’t be missing the summer that had just gone by would be a lie.

It’d been an absolute ball living with Alfie these past few months! As far as roommates go, she couldn’t ask for a better match than Alfie. He was chill but tidy and he kept stuff in order. He didn’t really have any habits that she found annoying. The pair of them always had something to talk about, or laugh about, or drink to. One hazy night during the summer break, things had gone a little too far and the formerly platonic duo found themselves getting swept up into a rather hot and steamy situation. Esther had woken up in Alfie’s bed the following morning surrounded by a sea of their clothes scattered on the floor, got up before he had woken and made her way across the hall into her own bedroom for some proper shut eye and to sleep off the hangover. When they saw each other later that day in the kitchen, Alfie pretended to have not remembered what had happened between them. Esther knew 100% that he was faking the sudden loss of memory, but aside from a swift and subtle disbelieving arch of the brow, she let him have this one and gave him a shrug instead. They never spoke about it again.

Now here they were at ‘Zombie Island’ decked out between the two of them in a themed couple’s outfits. Esther was the angel naturally, donned in a white figure-hugging dress that fell mid-thigh with a sheer silk coat covering it. Her costume was topped off with giant feathered wings adorned to her back that gently fluttered thanks to a handy charm and a glittering halo that levitated above her golden hair. Her deep red lipstick matched Alfie’s devil outfit perfectly and together they were quite the picture.

"It's almost 9:30. I don't want to be here when the dancing starts.."

“Alright, alright...” Esther said, giving Alfie a nudge as he went to grab her arm. “I told you that you hadn’t pre-loaded enough,” she added, referring to the fact that they’d only had a couple drinks at home. She had wanted to do shots. Maybe they had been too busy in hysterics over each other’s outfits and getting ready, but it could also be on account of Alfie being professional. “Are you nervous? You’re not regretting the eyeliner are you? I think it looks pretty" she teased, smiling sweetly.

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

Esther was right. He definitely didn't pregame enough, and now he was on this stupid island feeling like a vision from a cheap emo band music video. Wearing makeup started more as a joke...a joke that laughed itself into reality. At the time Alfie was high enough to consider it, but now that he was at the event, he was feeling silly. Alfie didn't think his costume would be such an attention grabber. The sad fact was at the time he didn't consider he'd have a sexy angel by his side. Fuck.

”Fuck!” he grumbled, shooting Esther a deadpan expression, ”Eyeliner was a bad choice.” the Professor admitted, but he was prepared to laugh at his bad choices. Alfie enjoyed making a fool of himself most days, but apparently not as much if it involved a form of crossdressing. He wasn't confident enough for that.

Alfie took a quick look around, caramel brown eyes darting. There was a lot to take in, but the alcoholic in him knew where do find the alcohol trolly. Sighing with relief, ”Some booze will be the perfect attitude adjustment. No worries, Angel..” he promised her in jest, immediately beelining over to the server to order them both doubles of firewhiskey.

@esther

[Deleted]

“Ah stop it. You look great, idiot.” If anyone should be embarrassed it should be her. Talk about a walking cliche. The only thing that could have been worse is if she had come in a sexy blood covered nurse outfit.

She had meant it anyway - Alfie did look good. Sometimes she thought it could be interpreted as sad that he was always her date to parties and social events because it said something about the fact that she couldn’t hold down a romantic interest for more than five minutes on account of her crippling commitment issues. But she’d rather be with Alfie than some douchebag who was only into her because she looked the way she did. She was proud to have Alfie as her perpetual backup date, even if it might not seem that way with her constant taking the piss.

She nodded as he mentioned the whiskey, definitely on the same page with that proposal. There was nothing like a work-related social event to get into the spirit of exploiting free drinks. Alfie rushed off to the bar and Esther slowly followed, observing the people in attendance and offering polite nods of her head as she walked, smiling back at them, vaguely noting a few teenaged jaws dropping on account of her outfit. She joined him at the bar just as he’d ordered and sidled up next to him waiting for the bartender to deliver their drinks.

“Just so I know… Are you planning on capping these at any point?” she asked him, referring to the drinks. It’d be good to get some indication of whether they were meant to be behaving themselves tonight, and they needed that predetermined solidarity. They were both as bad as each other, otherwise. Classic enablers.

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

"The cap will be once I forget I'm wearing eyeliner." he joked with a more playful smile this time. Esther told him he looked good and for some reason he believed her that time, she wasn't just trying to make him feel better. That was cool. He pushed the anxieties of stupid Halloween costumes to the side and put his focus toward the alcohol that was about to fix everything. Alfie was a borderline alcoholic, so drinking around students didn't make him nervous, which probably wasn't a good thing.

Alfie clicked glasses with the blondes before knocking the entire drink back with such ease, it was almost sinful. Placing the money down on the counter, "Two more, please." he ordered the bartender, who didn't even question him, they filled two more glasses with a smile. One of them being for Esther. Alfie thanked them, taking the fresh drink with him and leaving the empty one. The buzz was instantaneous, which he was thankful for in that moment. "Now that that's settled, what do ya wanna do?" he asked her, taking a generous sip of his drink rather than pounding the entire thing. The warm contents heated his insides, it almost made him giddy. Staying close to Esther's side, "There's a haunted corn maze...or are you too much of a ween?" he challenged, attempting to read her face when it came to the idea.

@esther

[Deleted]

Esther was feeling confident in her assurance to Alfie since his nervousness on account of his prominent guyliner seemed to have subsided. She chuckled a little and picked up her glass, clinking it together with his and then followed his lead in taking back its entire contents. It answered her question - without actually answering it - that there wasn’t a plan. As usual the night would be left to unfold organically and without any kinds of restrictions. They were both pretty easy going people, happy to just go with the flow. The reality was that even if they did make a shallow promise to only consume a certain amount, there was no real guarantee that they’d actually stick to it. It was a party after all.

Now that the ceremonial first shot was out of the way, the pair relaxed into the setting a little easier. Alfie asked what she wanted to do and she figured she would keep the part where she convinced him to dance with her until later, after a few more firewhiskeys. He proposed the haunted cornmaze and asked if she was too scared for it. Esther’s eyes burrowed and she let out a “Pfft.” Her shoulders relaxed and she shrugged, throwing her head back dramatically. “Me? No. I’m not scared.” she told him with conviction. “I’d be more worried about you. That eyeliner isn’t waterproof if you start to cry,” she joked. It was true though. She wouldn’t waste the good makeup on Alfie for a dumb halloween costume. That eyeliner was coming right off if he so much as broke a sweat! "But I'll come with you and protct you."

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

"Stop it. You're going to make me ruin my make up by crying right now." he whined with a pouted out bottom lip before the expression transformed into a more drunken happy one. He knocked back the second shot and tossed it carelessly. Alfie was already feeling better and ready to go headfirst into whatever activity they decided. When she told him she'd protect him in the haunted corn maze, he nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, well, I was hoping I would be able to hold onto you because I scare easily." he told her, his tone borderline flirtatious. It was up to her how she decided to take it. Alfie found himself getting more risky when it came to these sort of comments and actions, especially when it involved alcohol. 

The duo made their way over to the corn maze, where they walked right into it. As soon as they entered the attraction, the vibe changed. It was actually...spooky and dark.  Alfie stood close to Esther's side as they silently started down the first aisle, where a row of corn started shaking violently with growling sounds. Alfie froze with a chuckle, not actually scared but he did find himself grazing Esther's arm, "So...are we supposed to go toward the possible danger, or turn around?" he asked honestly.

@esther

[Deleted]

"Yeah, well, I was hoping I would be able to hold onto you because I scare easily."

Esther laughed, locked her gaze onto Alfie’s and kept it there for a moment, effortlessly meeting his ambivalent level of flirtation. Without breaking eye contact, she knocked back the rest of her drink too, put down her glass and showed him her bicep. Like he didn’t have to worry, because she was obviously very tough. “I know.” she quipped.

When they got to the corn maze, Esther was all smiles, but upon entering she found her confidence shrinking quite dramatically, as did her expression. Ok… So the maze really was rather sinister, she had to admit. To her left, the corn wall shook and growled. Esther gasped audibly, then gave a nervous laugh as Alfie’s arm grazed her’s. He asked her if they should go ahead or turn around and she frowned at him knowingly.

“Obviously we’re going in. Don’t freak out Alfie, they’re just silly charms -” She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more, but just as she’d said it, a cold breeze engulfed them and what sounded like the creepiest person’s whisper danced around in their collective ear shot. Esther jolted and impulsively wrapped her hand around Alfie’s - hard - before once again composing herself and loosening her grip. “Just kidding…”

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

Alfie considered himself a brave person, not many scared him. At the age of eighteen, he experienced his most horrific days. Being attacked and turning into a werewolf, as well as watching his best friend die from the bloodthirsty beast the same night, topped any maze. It all sounded like a nightmare, but it was a reality for him. A haunted corn maze would be a walk in the park. Well, more like a park in New York City at night since it was pretty sketchy. Admittedly, his current surroundings were enough to trigger the fear deep into his stomach, but the thrill also excited him since Esther by his side. The maze had him feeling a little jumpy but the alcohol kept him laughing.

As Esther reassured Alfie everything was just charms, a cold blanket of air surrounded them. All of the hairs on his arms and back of his neck stood straight up at full attention. A nervous chuckle slipped past his lips as the broken whispers caused them both to stop and stare at each other. Esther's hand clasped into Alfies, he instinctively held it without thinking, but as fast as it happened, she yanked it away with a 'Just kidding'. An electrifying current raced through him, familiar to the time they ended up in bed about a month ago. The alcohol was doing an extraordinary job, so he'd go with the flow. "I'm not.." he flashed a devilish smile, threading his fingers through hers, before yanking her playfully toward the whispers in the mist ahead.

Alfie bolted head-on toward the scary stuff with Esther in tow. "Come at us, demons! We're here to play!" he announced, as Cobwebs surrounded them and he felt a couple of random pokes to the side. "Welcome to Hell! he belted at Esther with a demonic laugh and crazy, joker-like smile. Hey, he was dressed as a devil with an angel by his side, might as well play the part.

@esther

[Deleted]

Alfie grabbed Esther’s hand and yanked her forth further into the maze. His assertiveness caused the corners of her mouth upwards in an amused smirk, his boldness rubbing off on her as she prepared to take on this creepy haunted labyrinth together. The two quick shots of whiskey just before this had worked quite a treat as Esther found the perfect amount of liquid courage starting to balance out her nerves. The result was pretty exhilarating.

As Alfie picked up the pace and began yelling into the mist, inviting the demons to come at them, Esther couldn’t help but laugh along merrily. The random pokes and shaking walls, and all those other little charms set out to make the place more ominous were all in her peripheral - the real star of the show here was Alfie. "Welcome to Hell!”

She slowed up a little, her cheeks sore from laughing. “Slow down will you for Merlin’s sake” she told him, resisting a little with her arm. This dress was way too tight to keep up with him at the pace he was going, and by now they were probably half way into the maze. “You’re going to scare all the demons if you keep it up.” Or the students, if there were any currently participating in the same maze. “Maybe they should have hired you as part of the attraction...”

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

Alfie's stomach fluttered with adrenaline from the rush of something as innocent as a handhold with Esther. As a thirty-four-year-old man, it made him inwardly want to cringe because he marveled in the moment like a drunken, lovesick schoolboy. Something as simple as holding Esther's hand ignited his insides, making his heart swell in his chest. Hell, maybe he was more lonely than he thought.

She urged him to slow down after barreling through half of the maze, laughing and playing along with his hysterics. Esther appeared that she was experiencing a wardrobe malfunction along the way, so he released her hand, stopping so she could get herself together. The blonde mentioned that he should have been a part of the attraction, and slowly, a mischievous smile spread across his face. "Hey, that's not a bad idea.." he agreed with a curt nod of the head. And just like that, Alfie sprinted away from her into the darkness, concealing himself in a row of corn with the objective to jump out at her if she decided to walk ahead. The poking charms were making it hard to stay quiet though, he'd let out a stifled giggle every could of seconds.

@esther

[Deleted]

There wasn’t much about the hand-holding that really phased Esther - nothing about it really sparked any conscious feelings inside herself. That being said, she was pretty closed off to romantic feelings. She was aware that she had a more casual attitude towards these things and she always had been that way - that’s why she had let Alfie carry on pretending like he hadn’t remembered anything from that night together. Maybe he was worried that it would have a negative impact on their friendship, but Esther wasn’t concerned about that. It was a pity that men couldn’t just have casual relationships for the sole purposes of fulfilling physical needs without making some kind of drama over it, bringing feelings into it.

Thankful for the slower pace, Esther caught her breath, arching a brow when he actually entertained her comment about being part of the maze. And then just like that, Alfie shot off into the darkness. She shook her head to herself and bought her fingers up to rub her forehead defeatedly. She could continue to laugh along, but it was becoming hard to hide the fact that the heebie jeebies were coming back to envelope her now that she was standing there alone.

Maybe it was the whiskey, but she could have sworn that the walls were closing in around her as she began moving slowly in the direction that Alfie had ran off in. Fully expecting at any second now that he would jump out and scare her still didn’t really make her feel prepared. Her eyes darted around her, peering carefully into the few feet in front of her that she could actually focus on before the mist made everything beyond that blurry.

“Alright, very funny Alfie…” Except she wasn’t really laughing anymore. Esther suddenly heard the sound of a twig snapping behind her and froze, snapping around to look behind her shoulder at it, but there was nothing there. Alfie was going to pay for this prank, big time!

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

As Esther started her way down the aisle where he was hiding, it took everything in him to be quite. The man froze, trying not to make a sound as he heard her say 'very funny' in her typical Esther fashion. Alfie rushed out of the bushes flailing his arms, "BOO!" he shouted, behind her. Oops. He meant to jump in front of her! Alfie was met her her large wings, feathers straight to the face. "Oh, fuck!" he chuckled as he tittered back and forth on his feet drunkenly, attempting to regain his balance. The whiskey, darkness, and disorienting charms didn't help much...

Without much luck of catching himself, he fell straight backwards into the corn stalks, causing them to bend back unnaturally with a crunching sound. On the way down he accidentally pulled Esther down from where his feet slipped. "Oww" he erupted with drunken cackles as his bum met the hard ground. He was probably covered in dirt now but didn't really care.

@esther

[Deleted]

"BOO!"

She heard Alfie and immediately identified his voice, so she didn’t seem overly startled right away. The confusion mostly came from the wobble that was inflicted on her as Alfie came flailing into her, pulling her wings as his arms went whipping about. She turned to look at him, brows arched, watching in slow motion while he lost his balance then fell backwards pulling them both into the corn stalks.

There was a thud as the herbology professor landed flat on his bum, Esther’s fall was broken as she landed square on top of him, forearms braced upon his chest. Her eyes softly opened to note this situation they had come to be in thanks to Alfie’s drunken clumsiness. The fact that her face hovered mere inches from his didn’t go unnoticed as she caught his gaze and gave a vaguely mocking look of disapproval.

Time seemed to move slowly for a moment, until a large piece of one of Esther’s wings snapped off and dropped into the corn beside them making a quiet rattling noise. “Good one. You broke my costume!” she exclaimed, noting simultaneously a glow buried under some leaves just over from where Alfie’s shoulder was. Her halo must have come off, too.

She sat upright, legs still straddling either side of his waist and began to fiddle with the straps tied under her sleeve that were holding the wings in place. "Imagine the scariest part of this maze is you breaking it and getting into trouble with the groundskeeper..." she joked deadpan, now focussed on removing the wings. 

[alfie edward o'callaghan]

As Esther fell directly on top of him, legs straddled around his waist, Alfie's body froze, almost unsure what to do next. As Alfie locked eyes with the blonde, his stomach dropped, face going red hot. It was intense. He hoped she didn't notice that. The liquid courage was mingling with his thought process somewhere, he wished it would be more blurred so he wouldn't be thinking so much.

Alfie noticed the damage to her costume as she told him 'good job' and his mouth gaped open drunkenly. "Ooh, no! Fuck! I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, actually genuine for breaking her costume. A part of him was also sorry because now he was walking around in full costume and she wasn't. He would pay for his shenanigans tonight, eyeliner and all. He reached for the glowing halo behind his shoulder, removing a cob from the center and tossing it before handing her glowing accessory back.

He laughed at her joke about the angry groundskeeper but felt equally bad for ruining someone's crops. As an herbologist, he knew the time and care it took to grow anything. If someone acted like he did tonight in his greenhouses, they'd be in trouble.  "I will probably have to deal with the karma of my greenhouses for this one." he told her, eyes shifting as he smiled slightly nervous. His heart was beating out of his chest and he found himself desperately wanting to kiss her. Now he was practically craving the taste of her lips again. Especially as she started to remove her broken wings, he offered assistance before locking eyes again. "Well, uh, yeah this corn maze kind of sucks." he said lamely, feigning nonchalance and failing. Then, unable to play it cool any longer, he reached forward to cup Esther's face, leaning forward to smash his lips and completely devour her.

@esther